I've just read the front page of CNN.com where they're reporting that baseball players are on strike due to a luxury tax to be introduced on teams with high payrolls.
http//sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2002/08/11/labor_sunday_ap/
The average baseball salary is now $2.38 million - not bad for playing rounders.
Makes me wonder why they are going on strike. It's not as though they have poor working conditions, pay, lack of vacation time or health insurance benefits they can't afford to pay for.
It's greed, pure and simple. Theres a mammoth amount of money involved in the game and the players and owners will never be satisfied with their size of the pie. I grew up a rabid baseball fan, frequently going to games, reading the box scores daily, I loved it. But the last time the players went out on strike, I went out on strike also, and have never returned as a fan. I went to one game since, the day before Cal Ripken set his record because I was a longtime Orioles fan and had alot of respect for him. But, sadly, few of today's other players share his respect for the game and the fans.
I hope they do strike. Football (American) is about to start anyway so the Sports Fans will have something else to focus on.
I find it comical. A Players Union allows 1 Man to get $25 Million a year and another player to get $300,000 a year.
Also Teams like the Yankee's don't want share money out more evenly with the poorer teams. Well, it will get to a point where there's no opposition left as they all fold up under crushing debts because players can't live on $5 Million a year.
I feel sorry for the true fans of the Sport because without Fans, Sport Wouldn't exist. The Players and the owners of the Teams seem to have forgotten that small point.
When they come back to the field after the Strike it'll be ten times worse anyway. The fans are going to be sick and wont be rushing back to the Stadiums so it will separate the big boys from the small boys even more.
The New York Yankees make more a year in Radio Revenue than the Tampa Bay Devil Rays make total (including Ticket Sales, TV, Radio and Merchandising). That stinks.
There's a $hit load of money in Football in the UK but at least the TV Money gets shared about making the league a little fairer.
What really makes me laugh about all of this is the Sports TV Stations are getting really excited about Pennant Races and Wild Cards. What a Joke. Still if they can keep the people watching they can keep the Commercial Slots priced highly.
Roll on Football and let these jumped up, over-paid, Pre-Madonna $hit heads go play silly buggers by themselves. I'll be sat waiting for the first News Report of a Fan spitting in a Players eye in the Supermarket lol
Cheers
Richie cool
Baseball i wont miss it .
And by the looks of the dwindling fans at stadiums when its shown on tv neither will a lot of other people.
I only hope if and when they came back they dont try to make up the games and encroach on my football allocated watching time .
Americas %1 spectator sport is starting soon and im looking for a great and challenging season ,and soom Brit SOCCER will be under way ...My 2 favourite sports ..sorry baseball fans
Yawnball.
My step-son once asked me which I would rather suffer - watching baseball on TV, watching cricket on TV or watching two old men playing chess.
The chess won hands down, with cricket taking second.