With the current trend of trying to market sports overseas, many leagues are conducting themselves as large corporations looking to sell their product.
The NBA has been trying to sell basketball overseas for years, and the talented players like Yao Ming and Manu Ginobili are the results.
MLB has played baseball games in Japan and has attracted many Japanese players whose coming to America has thrown the local media into a frenzy.
The NFL has tried overseas expansion with NFL Europe and last year's New York Giants and Miami Dolphins game in London.
Now the NHL is considering having the All-Star Game abroad as well, and America is still attempting to embrace soccer.
One would think that when trying to advertise these leagues, the commissioners would try to present their best products, but every league is currently entangled in major dilemmas that threaten the integrity of the games.
The NBA's current quandary deals with the Seattle Supersonics, an institution in the city for the past 41 seasons. They even won an NBA championship in 1979, the city's only title, and in 1995 completely renovated their arena.
However, former team owner Howard Schultz sold the team to Clay Bennett, who plans to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City because the citizens of Seattle are not willing to pay for yet another new stadium after financing two other sports venues recently. However, the discussions about moving the team and the cries of the Supersonics' fans have fallen on deaf ears. Why?
Well, NBA commissioner David Stern and Clay Bennett have been friends for years. It does not matter that the Sonics are a staple in Seattle or that, despite a few recent losing seasons, they have won an NBA championship and were in another final series 10 years ago. Even the fact that they just drafted teen superstar Kevin Durant and have shown strides of improvement this season does not matter. All that matters is that the friendship between two men is allowing a city to be robbed of its proud sports franchise.
2008 Woodie Awards
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