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Year In Review

They Said It: Quotes Of The Year, Part IV

We are not going to run out of cash. We have no bank debt.
-- Rangers Financial Dir Brian Stockbridge, declaring that the club was past its financial woes and on track with its long-term plan.

It's not the first time there has been a disagreement between the broadcasters.
-- National Rugby League Dir of Marketing & Commercial Paul Kind, on the legal row between Nine and Fox Sports over who has rights to the league's Sunday matches.

There is no doubt we will play in Qatar.
-- FIFA Dir of Communications & Public Affairs Walter De Gregorio, telling reporters that the only question to be answered on the 2022 World Cup was when, not where.

I am quite happy because BCCI needs somebody.
-- Board of Control for Cricket in India President N. Srinivasan, after India's Supreme Court ruled he could resume his duties overseeing the country's cricket board.

You could have paved this road with five million tons of gold or caviar and the price would have been the same.
-- Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, complaining about Olympics-related corruption, including a 18-mile stretch of highway in Sochi that cost $8.6B.

It's an extraordinary career. The greatest Indian ever to wield a cricket bat.
-- Indian politician and author Shashi Tharoor, on cricket player Sachin Tendulkar, who announced he was retiring next month.

I don’t believe that media-rights costs for top sporting events will stagnate, certainly not on a worldwide basis.
-- FIFA TV Division Dir Niclas Ericson, on whether recent high-priced deals are an indication that broadcasters are near the ceiling for what they'll offer on media rights.

I'd rather wake up to headlines reading 'Rosell won't let kids in' than ones saying 'Rosell was responsible for a kid's death.'
-- Barcelona President Sandro Rosell, on his decision to not allow an estimated 40,000 kids under 7 from entering Camp Nou without tickets.

The way this was going to work over time, I would say that for the amount of money we were talking about, it was the biggest no-brainer I've seen.
-- Former GM Global CMO Joel Ewanick, on the carmaker signing a sponsorship deal with ManU.

A margin of error of three centimeters, as FIFA allows, is not acceptable for us.
-- DFL Managing Dir Andreas Rettig, on why the German Football League will not implement goal-line technology, despite a "phantom goal" being scored in a game last weekend.

We don't do red at Tottenham.
-- EPL Tottenham Hotspur Chair Daniel Levy after exchanging jerseys with the NFL San Francisco 49ers in London.

We are involved in a historic protest.
-- French professional clubs union (UCPF) President Jean-Pierre Louvel on the planned strike over the country's 75% 'super tax.'

The Super Bowl won't be played anywhere where we don't have a franchise.
-- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, commenting on the possibility of the NFL title game being played in London.

I don't need a yacht, I'd rather swim.
-- Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, explaining that he doesn't really care that he isn't the highest paid F1 driver despite four consecutive world championships.

There is clearly a growing appetite for European football coverage in China.
-- Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, after the league signed a broadcast deal with China's PPLive TV.

If you can persuade millions to watch golf, chess is going to be an easy sell.
-- Media entrepreneur Andrew Paulson, who is promoting chess as the next breakout sports competition.

It's getting to the pointy end of the deal and the steak knives always come out at this time.
-- AFL Collingwood President Eddie McGuire, on sponsorship talks with Emirates that apparently stalled over the club's increased asking price.

Today, football is not only a sport, but the shining players are countries' peace ambassadors [on] football fields.
-- Iranian President Hassaan Rouhani, making a pitch to FIFA's Sepp Blatter for Iran to be able to host the Asian Cup in '19.

This signals the end of peaceful co-existence in U.K. telecom and pay TV.
-- Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Claudia Aspesi, after BT Sport paid $1.4B to take Champions League rights away from rival Sky.

Sometimes you have to sup with the devil with a long spoon.
-- Former senior FIFA exec Jérôme Champagne, insisting that FIFA President Sepp Blatter is not corrupt but has had to make compromises because of the organization's structure.

We associate with IPL because we think cricket is like next to God in the country.
-- PepsiCo Chair and CEO Indra Nooyi, on the company maintaining its relationship with cricket despite the ongoing scandals.

He told me that he had never lied to me and I must say I had trouble believing you could forget payment of $40
million.

-- CVC co-Founder Donald Mackenzie, after Bernie Ecclestone said he "forgot" about a $40M payment to a German banker.

Jerome Valcke and FIFA have no jurisdiction over South Africa. This is not a banana republic.
-- South Africa Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula, lashing out at FIFA's plan to undertake its own investigation of alleged corruption in the SAFA.

I would say the U.S. is definitely an emerging market in football.

-- Liverpool CCO Billy Hogan, on the Premier League club's ambitions to grow into international markets.

They can die as soon as they want, as long as they leave the club for the majority who just want to watch good
football.

-- EPL Hull City Owner Assem Allam on club supporters opposed to his proposal to change the club's name to Hull Tigers.

Money by itself doesn't achieve anything, it's what you do with it that really matters.
-- Rugby League Int'l Federation Chair Scott Carter, on the organization's plan to use some of its World Cup windfall to support grassroots rugby.

If you want to go somewhere when everybody else wants to go, you can expect to pay more. That's just economics 101. No one is going to repeal the laws of economics for this event.
-- Independent airline industry analyst Robert Mann, on the high cost of air fares in Brazil during the World Cup.

Young fellows get swelled heads, big eyes and take a lot of controlling.
-- Australian horse racing trainer Bart Cummings, on the reason for ending a four-month old training partnership with his grandson, James.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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