The year 2008 has once again been a test of endurance and financial stability for major sporting leagues. The global financial crisis, set off by millions of unpaid mortgages lent out by large American financial institutions, has made it difficult for the public to patronize international sporting leagues, and thus increased the burden of maintaining them.

In October, the National Basketball Association became the first major American sporting league to cut jobs. About 80 people from unnecessary or redundant positions were cut as an effect of the global economic slowdown. Com. David Stern said that the league is hitting all its financial targets, despite reports that crowds in many arenas are thinner than previous seasons. Individual NHL teams started cutting employees days after.

In November, NASCAR, the most economically sound sports business model in the US, suspended all testing for all its sanctioned top-tier races for the 2009 season. This is a big part of teams’ preparations for the next season, beginning with the Daytona 500 in January.

Later last month, General Motors, one of the three major American automobile manufacturers hoping for a government bailout, cut its sponsorship contract with Tiger Woods after nine years. GM spent over half a billion dollars in sports advertising last year, and is desperately trying to cut costs where it can.

Honda, Japan’s second-largest car manufacturer, announced that it was pulling out of Formula One at the start of this month. In November alone, Honda’s US car sales dropped 32 percent. Maintaining its two-car F1 team cost them $217 million this season.

“No one knows how serious the world crisis is,” Max Mosley, president of Federation Internationale de l-Automobile, F1’s governing body, was quoted as saying on Bloomberg.com. “It’s not just the racing teams. It affects fans’ abilities to attend racing and sponsors’ paying fees.”

A little over a week ago, Suzuki pulled out of the World Rally Championship after finally becoming a full-fledged member. Its Paris-based headquarters for the WRC announced the pullout on the 15th. At the same time, Arena Football League, the 22-year old indoor version of the NFL, reveals it was not going to play at all in 2009, supposedly with all team owners agreeing to come back in 2010.

Why is sports so hard-hit?

Professional sports anywhere is a combination of both entertainment and advertising. In tough economic times, these are the two areas corporations cut costs first. Advertising is either eliminated or scaled down, and entertainment becomes more selective.

Take the cost of going to any game in the US. First, you have to buy the tickets, which average out at about P50 per person. Then you have to drive to the venue, which is usually outside of the downtown area, where land used to be cheaper. Then you pay for parking and buy expensive popcorn, hotdogs and beer. The whole evening could cost you upwards to $200 for two persons. If you have season tickets, the spending becomes all the more unreasonable.

So what does the future hold for professional sports leagues?

For the ultra-expensive like Formula One, obviously the first thing to do is find new owners for teams that fold, and Honda will probably be followed by at least one other team that will most likely just announce a change in ownership. It wouldn’t be surprising if F1 announced it was scaling back the number of races for 2009. Middle East businesses have reportedly expressed interest in buying major Formula One and American sports teams, as well.

Although the NBA has announced it will play regular season games in Europe, they are mum on the dates, and other international playdates are being considered for later dates.

Advertisers will definitely be cutting down on global sports spending in the next two years, until they get a clearer picture of what the future holds. Some long-term endorsement deals with big-name athletes will certainly be restructured, either quietly or openly.

There is actually no need to worry for now, as no major sports leagues like the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL or NHL will be doing anything drastic. The election of Barack Obama will, at the very least, engender some hope for change. The next two years will be difficult, but then again, we’ve been through this before.

The big sports leagues always find a way to survive.

LAS VEGAS – It was a performance worthy of an Oscar.

Behind unbelievable hand speed and a well-executed game plan, Manny Pacquiao pounded Oscar de la Hoya to submission Saturday evening (yesterday in Manila), and lived up to his billing as the greatest and most exciting fighter in the planet today.

Pacquiao was all over his taller, longer and favored opponent right from the start of their scheduled 12-round non-title bout at 147 pounds.

A crowd of more than 15,000 packed the MGM Grand Arena to see the biggest fight of the year dubbed the Dream Match but turned out to be a shocking mismatch.

The Filipino superstar who said he never dreamed of fighting De la Hoya before made boxing’s Golden Boy an easy target, turning him into a 5-foot-10 punching bag and forcing his corner to call for a stoppage at the end of the eighth round.

“I was able to foil his jab. I was connecting with everything. He was connecting with nothing. Speed was the key to this fight. I was only surprised when my trainer picked the correct round that I would win,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao fans in the star-studded crowd cheered each time Pacquiao landed a big punch, and that meant most of the time. When the referee signaled the end of the bout before the bell to start the ninth round, they just exploded.

Pacquiao was getting ready to answer the bell for the ninth round when De la Hoya’s corner gave it up. De la Hoya was gracious in defeat, crossing the ring to congratulate Pacquiao. By this time, MGM’s roof looked ready to blow away.

Pacquiao, who has plans of vacating the WBC lightweight (135 lbs) crown he won from David Diaz only last June, was ahead on all three scorecards when the fight was stopped. Two of the judges gave him all eight rounds.

Pacquiao showed up at the post-fight press conference in his tailored suit then talked about the fight that was called a mismatch by many. Indeed it was a mismatch, but one favoring the smaller fighter, the underdog.

Freddie Roach, his trainer, said Pacquiao would knock out De la Hoya in the ninth round, and was short of his prediction by just a few seconds.

Pacquiao said up next could be Ricky Hatton, the British hit man fighting in the 140-lb division.

“I can fight him anywhere they want to make a deal with us. I would be happy to fight him, but not until I have a long vacation. I am happy to contribute honor to my country with this victory,” he added.

“The game plan was perfect. That’s how we fought in the gym. Taking Oscar’s left hand away was the key and we took that left hand away. And the fight was over,” said Roach, who trained De la Hoya in his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year.

Up in the ring, De la Hoya was interviewed by HBO commentator Larry Merchant, the man who brought up this fight, and got some harsh reactions from the crowd. On his way out of the venue, some sections booed and jeered him away.

“Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter and he fought a great fight. He was a better man tonight and he deserves all he has accomplished in his career. I am not shocked because at this stage, when you face someone like Manny Pacquiao you know you are going to be in a fight,” said De la Hoya.

“I worked and trained really hard for this fight, but as I have told everyone, it is a totally different story when you get in the ring. My style is to go forward, but he was boxing on all his toes all night and waiting for me to make my mistake.

“I just didn’t have the strength to stop him and my body did not respond,” said De la Hoya who said he’ll “see what happens” when asked about retirement from the ring.

Nacho Beristain, who trained De la Hoya for this “Dream Match,” was the one who called a halt to the fight.

“I stopped the fight because I didn’t want him (De la Hoya) to leave his greatness in the ring. Oscar was in good condition. But he couldn’t control Manny’s southpaw stance or style. He wasn’t able to stop him. He just didn’t have the strength tonight.

De la Hoya did not show up at the post-fight conference because he had to be brought to the hospital for a precautionary check-up.

Pacquiao landed the first big punch of the fight, a lead left right on De la Hoya’s nose. The Filipino seemed to be in control and landed two more of those punches the rest of the round.

De la Hoya tried to steal the round in the eyes of the judges but missed with his flurry.

De la Hoya’s face, particularly around nose, was red at the start of the second round, and not long after he took another left straight and a right hook from Pacquiao who also landed two good shots to the body.

It was Pacquiao, not De la Hoya, who worked his jab in the second round, landing a double-jab that was followed by a left straight to the body.

By the end of the second round, De la Hoya looked confused and surprised by Pacquiao’s power. His face had a big marking on the bridge of his nose that seemed ready to pop.

De la Hoya landed a heavy right to the side of Pacquiao’s head early in the third, and tried hard to take control of the fight. But the younger, quicker Pacquiao kept hitting him with his left.

They traded hooks early in the fourth round, but that was all De la Hoya could give. Instead, he took jarring lefts to the head, one of them shaking him and making him look like he’s ready to go.

The fifth round started slow until Pacquiao connected with a right hook that was later followed by three body punches. Again, De la Hoya tried to steal the round, which would have been his first, but like in the first four, he failed.

In the sixth round, De la Hoya’s left eye was beginning to close, making it very difficult for him to see the punches coming from Pacquiao, who had piled up the points by this time.

The seventh round gave a big hint of things to come.

Pacquiao pinned De la Hoya on the ropes and rained punches on the hapless former Olympic champion. He continued to show unbelievable hand speed, hitting his foe on the body and the face so hard that the referee could have stopped the fight right there.

Twice in the seventh round, De la Hoya held on to the ropes, and in his stool after the round his left eye looked badly swollen. All De la Hoya had by the end of the round was his guts and his pride.

In the eighth round, Pacquiao played a little cocky, allowing De la Hoya to hit him with a combination to the body. But when he turned serious, in the closing seconds, he pinned De la Hoya on the ropes once more and landed another flurry of hard punches.

Nothing changed in what proved to be the final bout of the round, and it was just a matter of time when De la Hoya would go down. Referee Tony Weeks called a halt to the bout before the bell for the ninth round sounded.

Pacquiao came out of his dressing room smiling and bouncing, entering the arena to the booming sound of “We Will Rock You!” He wore a red-white-and-blue robe that looked like a Philippine flag.

Pacquiao pumped his fists at the crowd looking every inch a happy, confident fighter. He was almost running toward the steps that led to the square ring, then he went to his corner to face the crowd.

De la Hoya’s entrance was met by loud cheers from the overflow crowd. He was in maroon, hooded all the way up. He looked more serious though, chewing gum and his face shining with Vaseline.

Before leaving his suite at Mandalay Bay, Pacquiao prayed the rosary. He and his entourage made it to the MGM at exactly 6:15 p.m., smiling and exchanging high fives with some fans.

Inside the dressing room, he was met by his trainers. Miguel Diaz, the cutman, gave Pacquiao a hug as Roach, and his two Pinoy assistants, Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri, looked on.

Human traffic inside the MGM was heavy at least two hours before the main bout. The playing area was full, tables loaded, and the bars were jumping with the most gorgeous people in town.

Filipino Richie Mepranum shone under the bright lights of Vegas when he defeated Cesar Lopez of El Paso, Texas via a unanimous decision.

It was the first time that Mepranum, from Maasim, Sarangani, fought outside of the Philippines, and he didn’t waste his time travelling thousands of miles.

Judge Al Lefkowitz scored the six-round bout 58-56, Ricardo Ocasio 59-55 and Glenn Townbridge 60-54 all in favor of the Filipino, now 15-2-1.

Lopez also lost via unanimous decision to Fil-Amerian Brian Viloria last February, and dropped to 20-7 with four knockouts.

It was a star-studded evening, and among the audience were boxing heroes Thomas Hearns, Mike Tyson, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and Bernard Hopkins.

Also in attendance were NBA superstars Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson, and Hollywood giants Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, Mark Walhberg and Russell Crowe.

source: http://www.philstar.com

It’s spherical. It’s plastic. It’s much larger than a beach ball. And, it’s about to roll down a grassy slope with a passenger inside.

The zorb tumbled into existence in the mid-1990s in New Zealand, hitting the extreme sport scene in 1998. What has now become a worldwide phenomenon is a simple ride inside a plastic ball down a grassy — or even snowy — slope. In areas where there are no natural hills, zorb operators may build a metal track down which the zorb rolls. Although zorbing takes place on land, it can be a wet and wild experience when water is added to inside of the ball for the ride.

A zorb is actually two separate balls, both made of flexible plastic. The outer ball is around 9 feet (2.7 m) 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter. The inner ball, which can accommodate one to three passengers, is about 6 feet (1.8 m) 6 inches (15 cm). This leaves roughly 2 feet (60 cm) of air to absorb the shock for the riders as they make their way downhill.

The zorb is made of a 0.8 millimeter thick, transparent but strong plastic. The inner and outer balls are connected by hundreds pieces of rope, which keeps the balls turning together. The average zorb has one or two openings through which the rider enters and exits. The openings are normally around 2 feet (60 cm) wide. They not only provide an entrance and exit, but ensure that the passenger has plenty of oxygen for the breathtaking ride.

Is a zorb like a hamster ball?

A zorb may look like a hamster ball, but they’re not alike. First of all, a hamster ball is made of rigid plastic. The hamster runs along the inside of the ball to move it forward. A zorb, on the other hand, rolls on its own — pulled by gravity down a slope. The passenger can try to remain upright and run as the zorb turns, but few are successful. In fact, it’s such a challenge to remain upright in a rolling zorb that many zorbing facilities award a T-shirt to anyone who manages to remain on two feet throughout the ride.

Football may be one of America’s most treasured sports, but this traditional pastime is getting a high-tech makeover that is moving the game from the gridiron to the Internet and even video game consoles.

For many college and pro coaches, technology is a necessary tool to connect with players in the digital age. Some coaches acknowledge that there can be a digital divide between player and coach, and say that it has become increasingly important to engage their players online.

Kevin Morris, the offensive coordinator of the University of Massachusetts football team, has recently started using OnePlaybook, an interactive online playbook that helps coaches manage teams and communicate with their players.

Morris says the program, which allows him to upload opponent video and other coaching materials to a secure Web site, has encouraged his players to plug in and spend more time reviewing plays before game day.

“What it allows us to do in this day of the instant access is get our kids to get online and watch video of the opponents from their rooms,” Morris said. “They’re all online these days. They have Internet on their phones. It’s ridiculous. Now they can just sit in their rooms and click to view game material … and they are better prepared for Saturday.”

Brian Manning, the creator of OnePlaybook, says the program offers coaches another teaching tool.

“[The Internet is] a medium that players are really used to. They get information that way all the time, so it makes sense for coaches to leverage that,” Manning said. “People learn a lot of different ways. Putting coaching material online is another way for players to learn.”

XOS Technologies, one of the leading providers of sports technology to professional and college teams, not only hopes to leverage the Internet, but is also trying to teach players through another medium they may be familiar with — video games.

Tiger Woods returned to the golf course with a complete golf set with him, but not as a player, but as a caddy.

How would you like to have Tiger caddy for you?

The lucky guy, who won the raffle to have Tiger tote his bag was John Abel of New Jersey. I wonder what was going on in the guy’s mind while he was getting tips from the world’s best golfer today and probably of all time.

If you ask me whether I’d want to have Tiger as caddy, I’d say no, but I’ll surely say yes if it’s Natalie Gulbis of the LPGA Tour. If we’re dreaming then let’s shoot for the stars.

Tiger Woods Returns As Caddie Video