I'd still put U2 over Coldplay.

Where has the NFL screwed up?

Where has the NFL screwed up?

Greedy, senseless lockout.
Head trauma issue.
Massively inflated offense (especially this year)

Extremely disruptive instant replay. (I count it in Selig's favor we don't have it in MLB yet)

The main things Selig has going for him are basic, but important:

MLBAM
No play stoppages since 1994 (although that one was a doozy)and continuing CBA peace on the horizon.

As far as the NFL, they are playing, making a ton of money and have used the nature of the sport (the nature of the sport always ties directly to the business model--people often seem to forget that) to more or less crush the NFLPA.

That doesn't make Goodell and Tagilabue geniuses or anything; they are playing a strong hand. But they are doing what they were hired to do.

I'm not really sure why more offense is bad nor how the lockout meant anything.

The head trauma is a small issue and for the most part the players themselves are fighting it. The players on the field don't actually want to make the game safer and don't want the rules enforced.

That isn't to say the NFL is perfect or has been perfect but there really is no way Selig comes out above Goodell in recent years.

Selig isn't the best commissioner, but he's the commissioner that's overseeing the most stable labor relationship with the players right now.

It's really remarkable the change that's occurred from what used to take place.

u2 >>>> coldplay.

but yeah, i really don't like selig, but he's the best commissioner on many fronts.

Bud Selig has emerged as the best commissioner of the four major pro sports.

That's kind of like saying High Pitch Eric is more with it than Beetlejuice, Crackhead Bob, and Hank the Ugly Drunken Dwarf (RIP).

Where has the NFL screwed up?

Well, it's not about the league, it's about the commissioners. Stern's image is in tatters at the moment as he's about to lose a season and Bettman's been a joke forever and he's seeing his precious southern teams move to Canada. Goodell's seen by some as a tyrant, at the very least the attempt to clamp down on headshots through inconsistent fines and penalties leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. But really, it's this:

Selig isn't the best commissioner, but he's the commissioner that's overseeing the most stable labor relationship with the players right now.

i guess it's more that bud may be a dork, but he's not as big a dork as the other guys. the labor peace is a big deal, i remember being extremely upset over the work stoppages back in the day.

Bud Selig may not be seen as a tyrant but he is viewed as an idiot, greedy, no integrity, and will sell out all the core values of baseball that so many of its fans hold dear. I'm not sure how that makes him come out on top.

The Dodgers and Mets are a mess and the Astros are getting Crane while the Marlins have Loria. That's a pretty big mess that exists right now in the game.

Creed is waaay better than those other lame bands!!!111!1!1

the labor peace is a big deal, i remember being extremely upset over the work stoppages back in the day.

It's important only to the extent it detracts from the interests of his employers, the individual team owners. As was pointed out above, the NFL has crushed the NFLPA, and the individual teams continue to print cash, enhance the book value of their franchises, and enjoy regular BJs from the media, particularly TV.

I hate this because it's probably true.

I think Goodell really overstepped his bounds by suspending Roehtlisberger last year and Pryor this year. Ben was not charged with anything. Pryor didn't violate any NFL rules or any laws. You can't decide to just punish people because their name comes up on ESPN too much. There needs to be something tangible.

I guess, in comparison, Bud may look good, but it's hard for me to give him too much credit for avoiding strikes and lockouts--shouldn't actually making sure the sport gets played be, like, the bare minimum we should expect from a commissioner?

So continuously handpicking shitty owners doesn't count against him?

The only league I am pleased with the direction of is the NHL. It has a more entertaining and watchable product than ever.

I'm not really sure why more offense is bad nor how the lockout meant anything.

The bonkers levels of offense cheapens the game and makes fans question the accomplishments. Personally, I stopped watching the NFL because of the lockout. Maybe I'm the only one.

The head trauma is a small issue and for the most part the players themselves are fighting it. The players on the field don't actually want to make the game safer and don't want the rules enforced.

I know two people who are less of a fan than they were 3 years ago because of the feeling that the players are getting hurt and no one cares.


/shrug. YMMV. I'm a Niners fan and I watched every game of the 2-14 season and have yet to watch a snap of this year's 8-1 team because of how repulsed I was by the way the NFL has buried its head in the sand on head trauma and strong-armed the players during the lockout.

The bonkers levels of offense cheapens the game and makes fans question the accomplishments.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see any of that going on.

I know two people who are less of a fan than they were 3 years ago because of the feeling that the players are getting hurt and no one cares.

The NFL's steps to combat head trauma are largely cosmetic, but they're doing more now than they did even three years ago. If treating players as pieces of meat is an issue for a fan, they should be abhorred at the past.

I guess, in comparison, Bud may look good, but it's hard for me to give him too much credit for avoiding strikes and lockouts--shouldn't actually making sure the sport gets played be, like, the bare minimum we should expect from a commissioner?

Aren't all the major commissioners basically employed by their sports' owners?

It definitely doesn't look good for a commissioner's legacy if its marred by lockouts & labor problems, but if your bosses are telling you "get us the best deal possible, even if it means stopping work," well... don't you have to listen to them?

Also, I don't like Gary Bettman much, but the NHL has improved over the last decade or so. The lockout *really* hurt, yes. But, the actual gameplay has improved greatly. The NHL has done a lot to improve safety and remove thugs & goons from the game. I'm not big on the salary cap & the shenanigans around player contracts, but I could live with it.

The bonkers levels of offense cheapens the game and makes fans question the accomplishments.

I'm right with you on the 1st part, don't' care to much about the accomplishments. The NFL doesn't have the history of MLB to begin with. I do not care the slightest how Tom Brady, Torry Holt, or LdT stack up historically.

Personally, I stopped watching the NFL because of the lockout. Maybe I'm the only one.

I have not stopped completely, but I watch it a lot less than I have in years past. I was semi-disgusted at how the NFL was negotiating and how 98% of the sports media was sipping the kool-aid they were serving.

I'm not big on the salary cap & the shenanigans around player contracts, but I could live with it.

I hate salary caps but I do enjoy that the Devils, who are amazingly even worse than the Flyers at salary cap management, gave Ilya Kovalchuk a 63 year contract.

That's kind of like saying High Pitch Eric is more with it than Beetlejuice, Crackhead Bob, and Hank the Ugly Drunken Dwarf (RIP).

ANGRY Drunken Dwarf. Angry. How dare you call someone Ugly who demolished the competition in People Magazine's online "Most Beautiful" poll?

The Dodgers and Mets are a mess and the Astros are getting Crane while the Marlins have Loria. That's a pretty big mess that exists right now in the game.

This.

A number of critical markets... LA (NL), New York (NL), all of Florida and now Houston have been essentially neutered by dysfunctional team ownership and/or the collective action of multiple owners... all on Bud's watch and by some combination of negligence, tacit approval and active cooperation.
That is going to have consequences down the road...

It isn't just head injuries which are (or should be) a concern.

Aren't all the major commissioners basically employed by their sports' owners?

Yeah. The article pretty narrowly defines best as which commissioner has kept the sport out of labor trouble most recently, while throwing some injury accusations to knock Goodell down, whose league has missed a grand entire total of one preseason game since 1987.

You could say the best commissioner is the one who's done the most to make more profit for the sport's owners. That probably is indeed Selig, as MLB's revenue something like quadrupled from $1.5B to $6B+ during his reign.

You could alternatively say the best commissioner is the one who's made the sport more fun and appealing for the fans. Selig hasn't really done much of anything there, maybe the WBC. Gary Bettman is underrated there, constantly tweaking rules for the sport's betterment and doing fun stuff like the Winter Classic and letting players go to the Olympics.

The Dodgers and Mets are a mess

Let's face it...small-market teams just can't compete!

#22 - i stopped watching nfl football a few years ago. decided i didn't like 1) the injuries / brutality of football 2) the way the league treated their current and past players (ie. the non guaranteed contracts).

the only thing i've missed was watching michael vick run like he was in a video game. that's it.

A number of critical markets... LA (NL), New York (NL), all of Florida and now Houston have been essentially neutered by dysfunctional team ownership and/or the collective action of multiple owners... all on Bud's watch and by some combination of negligence, tacit approval and active cooperation.

Compared to the NFL, where LA doesn't even have a team.

You could say the best commissioner is the one who's done the most to make more profit for the sport's owners. That probably is indeed Selig, as MLB's revenue something like quadrupled from $1.5B to $6B+ during his reign.

I hate Bud Selig with the white-hot fire of a thousand super-novae, but since a "commissioner" is really President and CEO of "insert name of sport" Inc, how else should they really be rated?

Kudos for the Fantasy Baseball tag.

I think Goodell really overstepped his bounds by suspending Roehtlisberger last year and Pryor this year. Ben was not charged with anything. Pryor didn't violate any NFL rules or any laws.

At the time, Pryor had only been suspended for 5 games by the NCAA, and it was past the time to declare for the regular draft; Pryor wasn't eligible for the supplimental draft. Goodell only allowed him to enter the draft by agreeing to the suspension. The alternative for Pryor was to stay at OSU (where he may have eventually been declared ineligible, meaning no football at all for a year).

Compared to the NFL, where LA doesn't even have a team.

But the ratings for the NFL in LA are still very good.

A number of critical markets... LA (NL), New York (NL), all of Florida and now Houston have been essentially neutered by dysfunctional team ownership and/or the collective action of multiple owners... all on Bud's watch and by some combination of negligence, tacit approval and active cooperation.
That is going to have consequences down the road...

this is something i've lately come to think is a definite strategy on bud's part. i don't think he wants to work with/for a strong owner. he's a sneaky b@stard who does a lot of back room conniving to get what he wants, so he needs to steer the ownership of teams towards crony types that he can build consensus with. mccourt was a misstep but only because there was no way he could know the guy would get divorced and then turn it into a public spectacle.

#22 - i stopped watching nfl football a few years ago. decided i didn't like 1) the injuries / brutality of football 2) the way the league treated their current and past players (ie. the non guaranteed contracts).

that's pretty much my POV. i wouldn't care if L.A. never gets a team.

Yeah, I really don't get that Bud gets such a pass on labor issues. Under his watch, we got a canceled World Series. The only thing comparable was the NHL lost season. NFL and NBA haven't missed a championship. Of course, NBA looks like it might, but that would still put them even with Bud. You can say that there's been peace for 15 years or whatever, but that's certainly selective endpoints.

That's kind of like saying High Pitch Eric is more with it than Beetlejuice, Crackhead Bob, and Hank the Ugly Drunken Dwarf (RIP).

"Who's High Pitch? This is Kelly Clarkson!"

I hate Bud Selig with the white-hot fire of a thousand super-novae, but since a "commissioner" is really President and CEO of "insert name of sport" Inc, how else should they really be rated?

At least superficially, the commisioner is supposed to look out for whats in the best interest of the sport as a whole both short and long term. I'm a Selig fan, after the Expos disaster, he hasn't really done anything bad overall. Sure one of the best things he's done was a failure on his part, and that is of course not to institute a salary cap(competitive balance my ass) Other things he's done that make sense, 1. interleague play 2.got rid of the stupid rule about homefield for the post season being determined by the year 3.instituted the dh into the all star game(basically every tweak he's made for the all star game has been a plus with the exception of allowing the players to vote for the second string) 4.expansion(not enough to be honest) 5. recently fixed the stupidity of uneven divisions and a whole host of other things... Of course he has to also live with the Loria crime, the Expos, missing a world series and allowing greed to win out by giving Fox TV rights. In comparison the NBA has failed to maintain it's popularity from the 80's and early 90's, the NHL is a second class citizen, and NFL is a naked Emperor, all sorts of screwed up, but no one wants to call them out on it. It has nearly no parity, treats it's players like crap, rampant drug(PED) abuse, treats it's fans like crap(they intentionally keep the LA market open to allow teams to negotiate with their current cities under the threat of relocation), have basically treated the stars as moveable commodities so that fans no longer get to keep favorites(again I despise salary caps) etc.

At least superficially, the commisioner is supposed to look out for whats in the best interest of the sport as a whole both short and long term.

In reality, he's a CEO whose only job is to maximize the bottom line.

As I'm sure you know, you'd get vehement arguments on at least three of the items on your list of five. Number three is either a no-brainer or an extension of an abomination according to some in another thread. And number five is just fixing a problem of his own creation.

3.instituted the dh into the all star game(basically every tweak he's made for the all star game has been a plus with the exception of allowing the players to vote for the second string)

Besides ramming the Titanic into an iceberg the Captain has done a pretty good job of making sure the chairs look real pretty out on the deck.

NFL is a naked Emperor, all sorts of screwed up, but no one wants to call them out on it. It has nearly no parity, treats it's players like crap, rampant drug(PED) abuse, treats it's fans like crap(they intentionally keep the LA market open to allow teams to negotiate with their current cities under the threat of relocation), have basically treated the stars as moveable commodities so that fans no longer get to keep favorites(again I despise salary caps) etc.

This. This NFL is absolutely despicable.

1) The owners are scum who extort from their fans at every opportunity (e.g. PSLs, forced to pay for pre-season games) and who don't care at all that half their employee end up maimed with a life expectancy short of 60.

2) The players are often actual criminals. What other sport has a rapist (Roethlisberger) an accessory to murder after-the-fact (Ray Lewis) and an animal-torturer (Vick) as major stars?

In reality, he's a CEO whose only job is to maximize the bottom line.

As I'm sure you know, you'd get vehement arguments on at least three of the items on your list of five. Number three is either a no-brainer or an extension of an abomination according to some in another thread. And number five is just fixing a problem of his own creation.

Agreed that others don't agree(vehemently) with me(except of course everyone hates Fox baseball broadcasts). For the most part I like almost all the changes that have happened under Bud's watch, I keep hoping for a sensible instant replay system to get instituted but have the fear that they'll follow the NFL's lead and create a crappy version of instant replay. And of course as people like to mention, his biggest mistakes/failures have been a doozy, most notably of course the lost post season and the Expos travesty. I don't really see an issue with either McCourt or the Mets, bad management is going to happen from time to time, how he fixes it, is what matters.

The Astros thing is also a pretty big problem, although I fully support the move of an NL team to the AL, and I understand the reasoning for moving the Astros(league has leverage with a new owner, add a team in the same time zone as the Rangers, not one of the original 16 teams etc) doesn't completely forgive him for treating a 50 year old franchise this way. It makes more sense to move either the Marlins, Diamondbacks, Rockies or Nationals to the AL and adjust the divisions accordingly...

2) The players are often actual criminals. What other sport has a rapist (Roethlisberger) an accessory to murder after-the-fact (Ray Lewis) and an animal-torturer (Vick) as major stars?

Funny that you would say that when this was posted today.

@43: I still want to know how paying a settlement to the victim's family doesn't mean he did it.

Funny that you would say that when this was posted today.

That's bad, but even if he did shoot a guy in a bar fight, that's not really a calculated crime, like the others.

The NFL also has Rae Carruth, to one up Angel.

The NFL has a murderer in the hof, baseball won't even admit steroid users into the hof(of course if NFL refused steroid users, they wouldn't have anyone eligible who started their career after 1980, except maybe Flutie)

The NFL has a murderer in the hof

Hah! Can't believe I forgot OJ!

Hah! Can't believe I forgot OJ!

Leonard Little isn't in the hof, but he did play for years after serving Jail time.

edit: Although MLB does have Villanola and Urbina

edit: Although MLB does have Villanola and Urbina

Was Urbina murder or attempted? Just attempted I think.

Edit: Yup, attempted. Attacked five farms workers with a machete.

The bonkers levels of offense cheapens the game and makes fans question the accomplishments.

If you mean passing yards, those are historically high for the season to date. Points scored are not at a historic high. Total yards are up, but turnovers have trended way down over the years, which actually dampens scoring.