League Notes

Jimmie Johnson Takes Home Over $15M For Winning NASCAR Nextel Cup

In Charlotte, David Poole wrote NASCAR “deserves credit for figuring out a way to cut” the duration of Friday night’s Nextel Cup awards banquet in N.Y. Shorter “was absolutely better. But still, you wonder about some choices made.” A little less of host Jay Mohr “could have meant a couple of minutes for [champion crew chief Chad] Knaus to be acknowledged.” The “real way to fix the banquet is the same as it has always been. Bring fans in” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/2). Champion driver Jimmie Johnson collected a record $15.8M, including $6.8M from the sponsor’s points fund. Over $22M in money was distributed, “the largest top-10 point fund payout in series history” (AP, 12/2).

WTA: The USTA “still isn’t pleased with the direction” of the WTA’s Roadmap 2010. A USTA official: “This still doesn’t work for us. The U.S. Open Series needs a consistent TV schedule, with back-to-back, consecutive-weeks coverage of top tournaments and the roadmap takes away from that.” USTA officials in a letter to WTA CEO Larry Scott wrote, “Your plans put the TV package and the race for the U.S. Open bonus prize money in jeopardy. ... How can the U.S. stand by and allow this to take place” (TENNISREPORTERS.net, 11/21).

FILING DEADLINE: Thoroughbred owners and trainers sued NYRA in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, “claiming it diverted [$15-20M] to operational costs that should have gone to winnings.” NYRA filed for Chapter 11 protection in the same court in November (DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, 12/2).

EQUAL FOOTING: A FINANCIAL TIMES editorial addressed competitive balance issues in European soccer under the subhead, “Salary caps are worth considering — if agreed by all.” The editorial: “When a few big clubs ... use their billions to buy every decent player going, much of the sport’s drama is lost. Salary caps are a way of trying to level the playing field and ensure the sport retains its interest. Even in free-market America salary caps in sport are common” (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/2).