Rodney Fort 🐀
@rodneyfort.bsky.social
Sports economist. Emeritus Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan.
How often do Stan Kroenke-owned teams play? We crunched the numbers. - If you add the Angels, his major teams will play on 311 different days this year - Some days have five teams in action! - Longest stretch is 34 straight days - Longest drought is four days Take a spin 👇
2/2 And all eyes turn to Silver who still speaks for the WNBA. Why does WNBA continue to negotiate with the puppet rather than the puppet master?
1/2 Should rename the position. Assistant to the NBA commissioner. That appears to be the way it works. Just being realistic. NBA owns 42% WNBA equity, NBA still picks up any excess WNBA operating expense, and NBA owners own 10/18 WNBA teams. www.nytimes.com/athletic/756...
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert retiring at end of 2026
Engelbert’s tenure as the first WNBA commissioner has been marked by financial success, but she's been criticized for her leadership style.
nytimes.com
I find it funny that Mr Moreno, who grew an asset Fromm $334M to $4B (11.4% inflation adjusted CAGR!), is deemed inept. Like that result was just dumb luck. Angry fans and sportswriters need to remember that the “LA market” is for the Dodgers. And looks like Moreno figured his out quite well.
Repeating this rhetorical question for the morning crowd. I'm seriously perplexed why the NCAA is arguing that because someone *failed* to make a pro team, their decision to return to college is obviously fake, when those people are the most likely to realize they need to fall back on a degree.
Andy "Andyfa" Schwarz@andyhre.bsky.social · 4d agoCould someone explain to me how a guy who tried but failed to make the NBA or NFL and is now returning to finish his degree as a 5th year senior is less of an "actual college student" than a freshman who plans to leave college in April of his first year to join the NBA?
This is shocking. A salary cap should have generated immediate parity. Worthy of investigation.
Chris Lempesis @chrislempesis.bsky.social · 3d ago0-for-32. I mean, that should literally be impossible right? Feels like it should be impossible 😏
Whenever I hear people say "we need to exempt the NCAA from the law" after a judge rules that what the NCAA is doing is illegal, I just want to ask them: maybe the better path would be to create NCAA rules that aren't illegal? A short thread.
Funny one. Quirk and I saw *Paydirt* published in 1992. While a very small amount now, I received royalties every year since. Just saw a deposit today. Funny to me.
Maria Edgeworth, a famous Irish novelist at the turn of the 19th century, sneaked economic theory into her best-selling novels. Two centuries later, a new book finally gives her the credit she deserves.
“The Invisible Hand of Maria Edgeworth”: An Economist, Erased
Maria Edgeworth sneaked economic theory into her best-selling novels. Two centuries later, a new book finally gives her the credit she deserves.
nyti.ms
I wonder what CFP's ownership strcuture's market share is in the labor market this would impact. (original at x.com/RossDellenge...)
Update — and this is absolutely true — an Oklahoma State official just confirmed that the Cowboys have completed their 2026 football roster. They have *92* new players.
Rachel Bachman, WSJ sports reporter@realbachscore.bsky.social · last wk.Remember when Deion Sanders brought in an astounding 86 new players in his first year at Colorado? Oklahoma State has 91. Behind the most audacious rebuild in college football history: www.wsj.com/sports/footb...
This is a terrific read for those who are baseball historians and the monumental effort it took to find and digitize scoresheets. Without this work, @fangraphs.com and @baseball-reference.com would be severely lacking in data www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...
How Retrosheet Saved Baseball History: Wigley, Jay: 9798252055732: Amazon.com: Books
How Retrosheet Saved Baseball History [Wigley, Jay] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. How Retrosheet Saved Baseball History
amazon.com
Ellen Adair@ellenadair.bsky.social · last wk.An extremely belated thank you to @jaywigley.bsky.social for sending me his book HOW RETROSHEET SAVED BASEBALL HISTORY! Any current FanGraphs or Baseball Reference fan has Retrosheet to thank!
I hope the SEC and Big Ten used "bag man" rules for their cross-conference disucssions of conference-level rulemaking or else discovery is going to be nasty for them.
Show me any other student who is barred from pursuing funding to further their education if they take a foray into employment and change their minds. www.nytimes.com/athletic/753...
Kudos to the Big Ten for taking a stand. Will the SEC issue another statement?
Some issues, like this one, aren’t very complicated. The Big Ten gets to take a victory lap because of it.
nytimes.com
I wonder if the credits rransfer to other colleges? Better ask your A.I. Clone Registrars. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/b...
Harvard Is Selling a $699 Course Taught by A.I. Clones of Its Faculty
To create a new bootcamp for entrepreneurs, Harvard Business School made A.I. avatars of its instructors.
nytimes.com
Well…SD ranks right in the middle of MLB teams. So not really small market by a meaningful economic measure. And…Forbes valuations: Marlins $1.4B lowest. NYY $8.5B highest. Midpoint is $4.95B. So relatively, SD is closer to midpoint rather than “behemoth”. www.nytimes.com/athletic/752...
How the Padres defied small-market constraints and became a $3.9 billion behemoth
The underdog Padres, who play in the sport’s smallest television market, emerged as the most expensive MLB franchise ever sold.
nytimes.com
Fabulous film by Ken Mars, especially considering that no image of the 1887 National Colored League has survived. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvmh...
Early Black Baseball in Baltimore 1865-1887 by Ken Mars (2017)
YouTube video by Marsfilms
youtube.com
On my way to the European Sports Economics Association (ESEA), Zurich. Always happy to learn. Will be sharing this paper this year
There is a “mechanism” or “element”. Not named or detailed. Sigh. www.nytimes.com/athletic/751...
Jeff Bezos consortium hold option to purchase controlling stake in Liverpool per terms of deal
As part of the agreement with FSG there is a mechanism that could see 1892 Holdings purchase a controlling stake in the club.
nytimes.com
lfg @baseball-reference.com ftw
Adam Darowski@adarowski.bsky.social · 3w agoA lot of you have reached out to me already about this because you already searched for it and saw we were working on it. We recently added WPBL stats on Baseball Reference, and also added AAGPBL stats. www.baseball-reference.com/register/wom...
Read the full column here: club.sportico.com/p/kushner-la...
The Lakers Are a Massive Bet on AI Disruption
Joshua Kushner is buying the Lakers because sports are relatively insulated from the economic havoc looming from the rest of his portfolio. That's not a hedge against AI, it's a doubling down.
club.sportico.com
Past as prologue. Chicago and state antitrust authorities both sue the NFL and get a back-fill expansion team very soon. www.nytimes.com/athletic/750...
Chicago Bears say Indiana is now ‘sole focus’ of stadium search
Amid "minimal" discussions with Illinois lawmakers, the franchise's leaders said their focus on securing a site in Indiana.
nytimes.com
Average WNBA attendance 2024: 9,807 Average WNBA attendance 2025: 10,986 Average WNBA attendance 2026: 11,303 Media Take: WNBA IS IN TURMOIL! LEAGUE IS IN TROUBLE!!! BTW.... NBA took FOUR decades to draw this well! acrossthetimeline.com/wnba/attenda...
WNBA Attendance - Across the Timeline
acrossthetimeline.com
How do billionaire team owners not only pay a lower tax rate than some of their superstar players, but also a lower rate than the people who sell concessions at the games? Revisit our 2021 investigation from "The Secret IRS Files":
The Billionaire Playbook: How Sports Owners Use Their Teams to Avoid Millions in Taxes
Owners like Steve Ballmer can take the kinds of deductions on team assets — everything from media deals to player contracts — that industrialists take on factory equipment. That helps them pay lower t...
propublica.org
WNBA Players Association executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson to @wsj.com on the response to a chaotic season: www.wsj.com/sports/baske...
Excellent summary of the continued antitrust issues facing the NCAA even IF the Protect College Sports Act survives...h/t @saracuster.insidehighered.com www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
The NCAA Can’t Outrun Its Antitrust Problem
A stalled bill, a growing pile of lawsuits and no clear path for the athletes at the center of it all.
insidehighered.com
