Don't you love all the great things that happen when American money gets involved in global sports? To wit...
* the Ryder Cup has almost been washed out this weekend because the NBC television network, brandishing its chequebook (sorry, checkbook), insisted it should be played in October, instead of September as is usually the case. Sky Sports just ran a graphic showing that October is the wettest month of the year in South Wales, with 50% more precipitation than September. Maybe NBC thought it was the same place as New South Wales.
* the America's Cup has been landlocked for several years amid litigation. Now the holders, BMW Oracle (Larry Ellison, Prop.) have unveiled a new set of rules so outrageously rigged that a mooted UK challenge has already foundered. It may well be that no challenger is prepared to risk the $100 million it would take to get whupped by Larry, which would put an end to a sporting tradition stretching back well over a century.
* cricket narrowly dodged a bullet when the carpetbagger Allen Stanford's efforts to take over the game were stumped by his sudden incarceration on fraud charges.
* and here at home, two of the Premiership teams owned by US asset strippers (sorry, investors) -- Liverpool and Manchester United, are facing increasing financial pressure, with the situation at Anfield particularly ominous.
The amazing thing is that the major US team sports -- football, baseball and basketball -- are beacons of co-operative organisation in the land of red-blooded capitalism. Bad teams get first pick of young players, salary limits are enforced, there's even revenue sharing between teams in the major markets and those in smaller cities. It's a model the Premiership, in particular, would be wise to follow. Of course, it's much too restrictive for American entrepreneurs looking to get rich through sport. Which is why, with usually disastrous results, some of the more aggressive have taken their love of sport and their personal charm to foreign shores.
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