What is the most watched sporting event in the world? The World Cup. What's the second most watched sporting event in the world? The European Championships, more commonly called The Euros. I guess it's not surprising considering the Euros are pretty much the World Cup less Argentina and Brazil. There are some African, Asian, and North American countries in the World Cup, but for all intents and purposes Argentina and Brazil are the only contenders outside of Europe.
I've watched the last two Euros in 2000 and 2004 at a local pub in Boulder and Berkeley, respectively. I don't know if there is a connection between liberal college towns and football, but I'm going to disprove this theory by watching this year's final at a pub in Colorado Springs. Luckily, ESPN2 is televising this year's tournament so I will be able to watch the weekday games at home after work. In 2000 and 2004 it was a challenge to find a television. This time around, the only challenge will be finding the best place to watch it outside of my living room. I believe this is just another example of the growth of the sport in this country over the past 10 years. It used to be on pay-per-view and shown in the dark, back room of an Irish pub. In 2008 it's going to be available to 88.4 million homes on ESPN2...and some matches will even be on ESPN with the final shown on ABC.
The final in 2000 between France and Italy is still my fondest football memory (or experience). Bryan and Stephanie joined me at the pub in Boulder, which made it that much more interesting since Bryan had recently returned from his exchange program in France. The place was packed...packed as in you were standing shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers and making your way to the counter was a 5 minute process. The color blue was everywhere: on shirts, on faces, in hair. The atmosphere was electric. Fans would break into song in the middle of the match for no reason. To top it off, the game was outstanding. Italy were winning 1-0 and at the very end of the game (injury time) France scored a goal to send it to extra time. A few minutes into extra time France scored again and the game was over (golden ball/sudden death rule at that time). The place was mostly filled with French fans, so the placed went berserk. To this day I still don't know the names of, or how many people I got hugs from after the goal went in. All I know was that it was an outstanding time and a great memory.
If this year's tournament and "spot" are half as good as they were in Boulder, I'm going to be a very happy little boy for the next few weekends starting Saturday.
01 June 2008
26 May 2008
Think About It
The Flight of the Conchords really make an effort to address the issues facing the world today with their song "Issues (Think About It)". Seriously, think about it.
24 May 2008
Memorial Day Weekend
I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing 3-day weekend.
Music by Sixpence None The Richer (Tension is a Passing Note)
23 May 2008
21 May 2008
20 May 2008
Champions League Hymn
Since the Champions League Final is tomorrow, I downloaded the UEFA Champions League Hymn. The song is an arrangement by Tony Britten of Georg Frideric Handel's "Zadok the Priest" from the Coronation Anthems. UEFA commissioned Britten in 1992 to arrange their hymn, and the piece was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chorus in the three official languages used by UEFA: English, German, and French. The hymn's chorus is played before each UEFA Champions League game, as well as at the beginning and end of television broadcasts of the matches (source: wikipedia).
If you’d like to download the entire song, you can find it here. “Music association” is a fascinating topic when you think about it. I love the fact that a song can bring back memories, can get you excited about an upcoming event, and speak a thousand words without much speaking at all.
19 May 2008
Your Style
There’s nothing like a bootleg copy of this morning's devotions. Even if I am swiping the idea at least I got permission by my co-worker to make a copy of her notes. Mark Mittelberg wrote a book called “Becoming a Contagious Christian”. The book discusses 6 styles of evangelism found in the Bible. Many people hear the “E” word and immediately think of people like Billy Graham, or going door-to-door, or might even picture in their mind the crazy guy standing on the corner with a megaphone. Most ordinary people look at evangelism this way and fail to realize that there are many different forms and many different styles of evangelizing. In addition, they don’t realize that they were made just the way they are, and that God can use them the way they are and in a way that feels natural to further His purposes.
Knowing yourself and how God made you can only make you a more effective witness. If you’re looking for a quick study and self-discovery session, read the passages associated with this list. You can fall into more then one category, but you should be able to narrow it down to 2-3.
1) Direct - confident, assertive, to-the-point - Peter, Acts 2
2) Intellectual - inquisitive, analytical, logical - Paul, Acts 17
3) Testimonial - clear communicator, story-teller, listener - The Blind Man, John 9
4) Interpersonal – relational, conversational, friendship oriented – Matthew, Luke 5:27
5) Invitational – hospitable, relational, persuasive – Samaritan Woman, John 4
6) Serving – others centered, behind the scenes, patient – Tabitha, Acts 9:36
Knowing yourself and how God made you can only make you a more effective witness. If you’re looking for a quick study and self-discovery session, read the passages associated with this list. You can fall into more then one category, but you should be able to narrow it down to 2-3.
1) Direct - confident, assertive, to-the-point - Peter, Acts 2
2) Intellectual - inquisitive, analytical, logical - Paul, Acts 17
3) Testimonial - clear communicator, story-teller, listener - The Blind Man, John 9
4) Interpersonal – relational, conversational, friendship oriented – Matthew, Luke 5:27
5) Invitational – hospitable, relational, persuasive – Samaritan Woman, John 4
6) Serving – others centered, behind the scenes, patient – Tabitha, Acts 9:36
18 May 2008
Forbes Team Rankings, Part 2
Two posts ago I brought up the topic of finances and sports, and how the best teams in the world across various sports compared to one another. The second part of this look into the Forbes list will deal with the top 25 valued football clubs (aka soccer, but I'm only talking about one sport here so it won't be that confusing). I thought I'd take a look at some of the "other" things this data tells us above and beyond the obvious.
So what do we already know from the previous post? United are the most valued team in the world at $1.8B. Liverpool have 131% in debt to value of the club, also the highest in the world. Real Madrid have the highest revenue ($474M) and profit ($122M) values of any club. However, over all the categories Bayern Munich has the best average ranking which you could argue makes them the world's best club overall, financially speaking.
I started playing with the numbers and came up with the question, how much revenue and profit do these clubs make, as a percentage of their total value? For each dollar earned, how much of it goes to profit? I came up with the following list:
Revenue/Value
1 - Olympique Marseille - 71.7%
2 - Celtic - 66.5%
3 - Manchester City - 59.7%
(Tottenham 13, 50.0% - Liverpool 24, 25.6%)
Interestingly enough, some of the smaller clubs actually make way more money as a percentage of value then the bigger clubs do. In fact, United are dead last in this category (21.9%). It seems to me that if you wanted a good money generating club compared to the price you paid for it you should go with a club like Marseille, because their revenues are almost 3/4 of what their approximate cost (value) would be.
Profit/Value
1 - Celtic - 21.1%
2 - Tottenham Hotspur - 15.5%
3 - Manchester City - 14.1%
(Liverpool 16, 5.7%)
At the end of the day though, I'd be more interested in buying a club that returned my investment as fast as possible. For every $1 you spent buying Celtic, 21 cents of it would come back to you in profit in a year. Spurs give you back almost 16 cents on every dollar. Although these clubs aren't huge, they are probably the best return on your money in the football world. They are the right sized clubs - big enough to make the cash yet small enough to not be overrun by size and other inefficiencies.
Revenue/Profit
1 - Celtic - 32%
2 - Tottenham Hotspur - 31%
3 - Manchester United - 28%
(Liverpool 13, 22%)
If there is one measure of how efficiently run an organization's business side is, it would be this one. Basically, this answers the question, for every dollar we make, how much of that actually goes towards our profit? Celtic and Spurs again top this list, but interestingly enough United has structured itself in such a way that it really takes advantage of what it brings in. These clubs have managed to trim the fat and are running like well-oiled machines.
Overall
1 - Celtic - 4
2 - Manchester City - 13
3 - Tottenham Hotspur - 15
(Liverpool 21, 53)
Overall, Celtic are the clear winners. Based only on the numbers I have in front of me, they are probably the best value for the buck. They are a steal and are apparently well run. All three of these teams have storied histories, and any of of them would be a good buy. Steven from WSD always says football is first and foremost a business, and I wholeheartedly agree with him. It's good to see that my club, Spurs, is among the elite in this respect. Hopefully, the success off the field will translate into success on the field for Spurs next season.
So what do we already know from the previous post? United are the most valued team in the world at $1.8B. Liverpool have 131% in debt to value of the club, also the highest in the world. Real Madrid have the highest revenue ($474M) and profit ($122M) values of any club. However, over all the categories Bayern Munich has the best average ranking which you could argue makes them the world's best club overall, financially speaking.
I started playing with the numbers and came up with the question, how much revenue and profit do these clubs make, as a percentage of their total value? For each dollar earned, how much of it goes to profit? I came up with the following list:
Revenue/Value
1 - Olympique Marseille - 71.7%
2 - Celtic - 66.5%
3 - Manchester City - 59.7%
(Tottenham 13, 50.0% - Liverpool 24, 25.6%)
Interestingly enough, some of the smaller clubs actually make way more money as a percentage of value then the bigger clubs do. In fact, United are dead last in this category (21.9%). It seems to me that if you wanted a good money generating club compared to the price you paid for it you should go with a club like Marseille, because their revenues are almost 3/4 of what their approximate cost (value) would be.
Profit/Value
1 - Celtic - 21.1%
2 - Tottenham Hotspur - 15.5%
3 - Manchester City - 14.1%
(Liverpool 16, 5.7%)
At the end of the day though, I'd be more interested in buying a club that returned my investment as fast as possible. For every $1 you spent buying Celtic, 21 cents of it would come back to you in profit in a year. Spurs give you back almost 16 cents on every dollar. Although these clubs aren't huge, they are probably the best return on your money in the football world. They are the right sized clubs - big enough to make the cash yet small enough to not be overrun by size and other inefficiencies.
Revenue/Profit
1 - Celtic - 32%
2 - Tottenham Hotspur - 31%
3 - Manchester United - 28%
(Liverpool 13, 22%)
If there is one measure of how efficiently run an organization's business side is, it would be this one. Basically, this answers the question, for every dollar we make, how much of that actually goes towards our profit? Celtic and Spurs again top this list, but interestingly enough United has structured itself in such a way that it really takes advantage of what it brings in. These clubs have managed to trim the fat and are running like well-oiled machines.
Overall
1 - Celtic - 4
2 - Manchester City - 13
3 - Tottenham Hotspur - 15
(Liverpool 21, 53)
Overall, Celtic are the clear winners. Based only on the numbers I have in front of me, they are probably the best value for the buck. They are a steal and are apparently well run. All three of these teams have storied histories, and any of of them would be a good buy. Steven from WSD always says football is first and foremost a business, and I wholeheartedly agree with him. It's good to see that my club, Spurs, is among the elite in this respect. Hopefully, the success off the field will translate into success on the field for Spurs next season.
17 May 2008
Terrierist Update
CIA Press Re-leash
Recent intelligence reports say that a Terrierist should be considered armed and dangerous when dealing with the subject of food. Special security measures should be taken when handling valuable processed Italian meat and fried nuggets; both deemed high interest targets by a Terrierist. Terrierists have been known to ambush would-be rival snackers in an attempt to eliminate any threat to the mission.
Terrierists have also been known to operate undercovers. They are patient, willing to wait hours on end undercovers of darkness. Additionally, Terrierists will wait until surveillance cameras and security guards have left the premises to leave their mark. They leave their mark on prominent living places, which can only be described as smell tactics.
Although in their traditional battle gear they may seem cute and harmless, they are actually very dangerous. If you see a Terrierist in a white pickup truck at the hardware store or getting a biscuit at the drive thru, do not approach them. Call the CIA immediately to report the location and details of their mischief.
Recent intelligence reports say that a Terrierist should be considered armed and dangerous when dealing with the subject of food. Special security measures should be taken when handling valuable processed Italian meat and fried nuggets; both deemed high interest targets by a Terrierist. Terrierists have been known to ambush would-be rival snackers in an attempt to eliminate any threat to the mission.
Terrierists have also been known to operate undercovers. They are patient, willing to wait hours on end undercovers of darkness. Additionally, Terrierists will wait until surveillance cameras and security guards have left the premises to leave their mark. They leave their mark on prominent living places, which can only be described as smell tactics.
Although in their traditional battle gear they may seem cute and harmless, they are actually very dangerous. If you see a Terrierist in a white pickup truck at the hardware store or getting a biscuit at the drive thru, do not approach them. Call the CIA immediately to report the location and details of their mischief.
15 May 2008
Forbes Team Rankings, Part 1
Forbes Magazine is the king...of lists relating to money, that is. A few weeks ago they published their latest rankings on the values of football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer teams. I don't know how I stumbled across this at work today, but I found it very interesting. I found it so interesting that I took each sport (they are published separately) and rolled them into one list for the entire world. So here are the rankings and an explanation of each category:
Current Value ($ in Millions)
1 - Manchester United (England) - $1,800
2 - Dallas Cowboys - $1,500
3 - Washington Redskins - $1,467
4 - New York Yankees - $1,306
5 - Real Madrid (Spain) - $1,285
(Liverpool #10, $1,050 - Tottenham #68, $414)
I am not surprised that United are the world's most valued club. What I find interesting, however, is that these numbers are based on the club's current stadium deal. Essentially, the value of a club is based on its ability to produce revenue in the form of ticket sales, luxury suite boxes, etc. Interesting.
Debt/Value (%)
1 - Liverpool (England) - 131%
2 - New Jersey Devils - 128%
3 - New York Mets - 97%
4 - AS Roma (Italy) - 94%
5 - Los Angeles Kings - 91%
(Tottenham #12 - 70%)
An England team tops this list as well, but unfortunately for Liverpool it's not a title you want to hold. Liverpool are officially the highest leveraged, or most in debt compared to value of any other club in the world. Liverpool owe 31% more money then they are worth. This is a scary thought - which, in my opinion, is why their fans are passionately opposed to the current American ownership and why Liverpool will probably be sold in the very near future. Their current owners just don't have enough cash to keep it all going so they have done it through the use of debt.
Revenues ($ in Millions)
1 - Real Madrid (Spain) - $474
2 - Manchester United (England) - $394
3 - Barcelona (Spain) - $392
4 - Chelsea (England) - $382
5 - Arsenal (England) - $329
(Liverpool #10, $269 - Tottenham #23, $207)
When it comes to generating revenue, soccer wins in a landslide. The New York Yankees just barely missed the cut for 5th, but these soccer clubs are money making machines.
Operating Income ($ in Millions)
1 - Real Madrid (Spain) - $112
2 - Manchester United (England) - $111
3 - Barcelona (Spain) - $92
4 - Arsenal (England) - $77
5 - Bayern Munich (Germany) - $72
(Tottenham #7, $64 - Liverpool #8, $60)
When all is said and done, in business terms, this is the most important category. Operating income is essentially a measure of profitability (to simplify things). It's essentially the difference between revenues and expenses. Soccer again dominates this category, with the Washington Redskins just missing the cut. In terms of net income, Real Madrid and United are the clear winner and runner-up.
Total Ranking
1 - Bayern Munich (Germany) - 60
2 - AC Milan (Italy) - 61
3 - Washington Redskins - 62
4 - Manchester United (England) - 69
5 - Real Madrid (Spain) - 72
(Liverpool #34, 174 - Tottenham #52, 235)
I created this category from the previous 4 categories. Basically, I summed up the rankings of all the categories for each club to see who, overall, had the lowest combined score (highest ranking) in the world. Again, soccer dominates the top list. According to these figures, relatively speaking, Bayern Munich is the overall winner considering all categories. I was shocked that the Washington Redskins were 3rd in the world and barely missed 1st place.
Although the NFL is the richest league overall, the majority of top clubs are from Europe and play soccer.
Current Value ($ in Millions)
1 - Manchester United (England) - $1,800
2 - Dallas Cowboys - $1,500
3 - Washington Redskins - $1,467
4 - New York Yankees - $1,306
5 - Real Madrid (Spain) - $1,285
(Liverpool #10, $1,050 - Tottenham #68, $414)
I am not surprised that United are the world's most valued club. What I find interesting, however, is that these numbers are based on the club's current stadium deal. Essentially, the value of a club is based on its ability to produce revenue in the form of ticket sales, luxury suite boxes, etc. Interesting.
Debt/Value (%)
1 - Liverpool (England) - 131%
2 - New Jersey Devils - 128%
3 - New York Mets - 97%
4 - AS Roma (Italy) - 94%
5 - Los Angeles Kings - 91%
(Tottenham #12 - 70%)
An England team tops this list as well, but unfortunately for Liverpool it's not a title you want to hold. Liverpool are officially the highest leveraged, or most in debt compared to value of any other club in the world. Liverpool owe 31% more money then they are worth. This is a scary thought - which, in my opinion, is why their fans are passionately opposed to the current American ownership and why Liverpool will probably be sold in the very near future. Their current owners just don't have enough cash to keep it all going so they have done it through the use of debt.
Revenues ($ in Millions)
1 - Real Madrid (Spain) - $474
2 - Manchester United (England) - $394
3 - Barcelona (Spain) - $392
4 - Chelsea (England) - $382
5 - Arsenal (England) - $329
(Liverpool #10, $269 - Tottenham #23, $207)
When it comes to generating revenue, soccer wins in a landslide. The New York Yankees just barely missed the cut for 5th, but these soccer clubs are money making machines.
Operating Income ($ in Millions)
1 - Real Madrid (Spain) - $112
2 - Manchester United (England) - $111
3 - Barcelona (Spain) - $92
4 - Arsenal (England) - $77
5 - Bayern Munich (Germany) - $72
(Tottenham #7, $64 - Liverpool #8, $60)
When all is said and done, in business terms, this is the most important category. Operating income is essentially a measure of profitability (to simplify things). It's essentially the difference between revenues and expenses. Soccer again dominates this category, with the Washington Redskins just missing the cut. In terms of net income, Real Madrid and United are the clear winner and runner-up.
Total Ranking
1 - Bayern Munich (Germany) - 60
2 - AC Milan (Italy) - 61
3 - Washington Redskins - 62
4 - Manchester United (England) - 69
5 - Real Madrid (Spain) - 72
(Liverpool #34, 174 - Tottenham #52, 235)
I created this category from the previous 4 categories. Basically, I summed up the rankings of all the categories for each club to see who, overall, had the lowest combined score (highest ranking) in the world. Again, soccer dominates the top list. According to these figures, relatively speaking, Bayern Munich is the overall winner considering all categories. I was shocked that the Washington Redskins were 3rd in the world and barely missed 1st place.
Although the NFL is the richest league overall, the majority of top clubs are from Europe and play soccer.
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