A weekly survey of sports execs offering their thoughts on a handful of pressing (and trivial) issues in sports and pop culture. This week, insights and personal nuggets from the leaders of four major professional sports leagues:
Outtakes from The Grid:
-All four commissioners are "dog people," Garber has a lab named Boo Radley
-Three of the four point to China as the biggest international growth market
-Both Bettman and Garber answered "Boys in the Boat" as best book read recently
-Referee was a popular answer for the hardest job in sports, but Whan says Roger Goodell
-Exercise is important to all; Whan is big into P90X, Allaster loves paddle boarding
-Avg. hours of sleep during season = 5.75
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
– When it comes to music,
"Classic rock rules."
- MLS Commissioner Don Garber
– Big digital media consumer;
loves Netflix, Spotify, Soundcloud.
- LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan
– Reality TV junkie, and has somehow earned the nickname "Flash."
- WTA Chair & CEO Stacey Allaster
– Gets news from Flipboard; Women's sports, technology, parenting teens.
|
Most impact on my sport in past
20 years |
Biggest issue facing our industry
right now |
Daily routine that would surprise people |
Dinner with three people, alive or dead |
Song I'll never change if it comes on the radio
|
Bettman |
Salary cap |
Speed of technological change |
How much time I spend on the phone |
Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Larry David |
Something In The Air - Thunderclap Newman |
Garber |
American soccer "movement" |
Keeping the public trust |
I own a working farm in N.J. |
My father, Nelson Mandela, Marvin Gaye |
Two Tickets To Paradise - Eddie Money |
Whan |
Growth of int'l players, TV coverage |
Proliferation of options for fans |
On my third Diet Pepsi by 9:30am |
George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. |
Hotel California - The Eagles |
Allaster |
Venus
and
Serena |
In-venue attendance |
I love making my kids breakfast |
Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt |
Vogue - Madonna |
Do you want to get your thoughts in the Grid? If so, shoot an email to
adamharris@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
