CORNER KICKS:
If you want the truth, follow the money. David Pratt, my old co-host in the early days of 1040, loved using that phrase when it came to explain certain things.
I wonder if Christine Sinclair has ever heard the expression.
The Canadian National Women’s Team star has been demanding equal pay equity from a national team perspective but when one looks at the economics of the game, you begin to see that this isn’t a gender equality issue but an economic one.
Simply put, the women’s game doesn’t even come close to the revenue generated by the men’s game.
All you have to do is look at the numbers when comparing the two World Cups.
There will be $110 million dollars distributed between the 32 teams participating in this year’s Women’s World Cup which basically means each player will receive $30,000. This pales in comparison to the men, who had a $440 million dollar pot to divvy up.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said that the Women’s World Cup is expected to generate a half-billion dollars in revenue. According to Infantino, the event is expected to break even.
Now compare that to the record $7.5 billion generated by the World Cup in Qatar.
Congratulations are in order for Sinclair and her teammates though as they came to an agreement with the Canadian Soccer Association prior to the World Cup in which they will be paid the same as their male counterparts.
Forget about playing, after negotiating that deal Sinclair should become an agent.
WINLESS IN EDMONTON:
The Edmonton Elks dropped to 0-7 after their 28-14 loss in Winnipeg on Thursday night and to say things have reached crisis mode is an understatement for this once-proud franchise.
Head coach Chris Jones is feeling the heat but luckily for him the CFL’s salary cap when it comes to football operations is in his favour when it comes to his employment.
Elks President Victor Cui recently gave Jones a vote of confidence yet at the same time discussed how making a mid-season coaching change would “hamstring any business” which was his way of stating that he couldn’t make a move even if he wanted to.
Much more was expected from Jones in his second-year back in Edmonton after a 4-14 record last year but he hasn’t come close to anywhere near the success he enjoyed in his first go-around in Edmonton when he compiled a 26-10 record which included a Grey Cup win in 2015.
So what’s gone wrong?
The biggest factor in any football coach’s success is who his quarterback is.
Pete Carroll was basically a .500 coach (47-49) during his first six seasons as a head coach in the NFL. Then Russell Wilson arrives and Carroll becomes a ‘genius’ who is looked at as one of the best in the business.
The difference for Jones this time around is that he doesn’t have Mike Reilly in his prime playing quarterback but rather Taylor Cornelius. After Thursday’s loss to Winnipeg, Cornelius is 4-22 as a starter in the CFL.
You want to win football games?
Find a quarterback.
NOT IN OUR HOUSE:
The Toronto Blue Jays make their annual trip to Seattle this weekend to take on the Mariners at “Rogers Centre West” in front of their adoring fans who will make the trek from not only the Lower Mainland but from Western Canada.
The sheer number of Toronto fans precipitated the Mariners organization to sell Blue Jays gear in their merchandise stores at T-Mobile Park – that is until a pair of Mariners players voiced their displeasure on Twitter.
Shortstop J.P. Crawford and reliever Paul Sewald posted tweets critical of the organization’s choice to sell Jays swag. The Mariners then pulled back all the Toronto merchandise from their team stores much to the dismay of Jays fans.
It might not be the best business decision ever made but one can understand it from a Mariner’s fans perspective. It’s bad enough that your home stadium is overrun by the visiting team’s fans but it adds insult to injury when your own team is supplying them with gear.
Personally, I can never understand why baseball fans in this part of the country jump on the Jays bandwagon.
Seattle is the ‘local team’ within a two-hour drive while Toronto is half a continent away – yet people buy into this “Canada’s Team” nonsense.
Last time I checked, they’re called the Toronto Blue Jays not Team Canada.
One can understand the phenomenon though as the Blue Jays and Sportsnet have monopolized the local TV market. There was a time when the Mariners would get equal treatment when it came to broadcasting games in the Vancouver market but that’s no longer the case as Sportsnet floods the airwaves with Jays games.
The end result is that fans have no option when it comes to viewing unless they want to purchase the MLB.TV package.
SHOW ME THE MONEY:
This past week NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the Washington Commanders from Dan Snyder to a group led by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion dollars. It’s quite the fall from grace for Snyder, who had to pay a $60 million dollar fine on the way out the door for improprieties that resulted from a toxic culture within the organization.
Don’t feel too sorry for Snyder though.
He bought the team in 1999 for $800 million.
After selling the team for $6.05 billion, that’s 700% return on his original investment.
The sale reminds me of the story in which the late David Braley was looking at buying the Minnesota Vikings in 2005. Braley was hoping to secure the franchise but the team was eventually sold to a group led by Zygi Wilf for a reported $600 million.
That franchise is now worth close to $4 billion.
JOB WELL DONE:
Finally, some props going out to Ryan and Lucas Johansen. Port Moody’s version of hockey royalty hosted their annual golf tournament on July 12 at Westwood Plateau and wound up raising $264,000 for the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation. It’s an amazing number that is a testament to the pair and their readiness to give back to the community.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media. And check out his weekly podcast every Monday at Today in B.C. or your local Black Press Media website.
READ MORE: THE MOJ: Vancouver Canadians always find a way to be a destination
