Worst commissioner of the three major (American) sports

Stern not even close.

BIG HOOPS aka the sterndriver

Don't know much about the other two, but I'll vote for Selig based on the fact that, under his watch, the steroid issue completely overtook the sport in a way that will linger for another decade or two at a minimum--let's say until Ryan Braun comes up for HOF consideration, unless it never goes away. The sport seems to be in good shape financially right now, and there haven't been major labour-relations issues for a while, and those are significant points in Selig's favour. But for me, his initial slowness in dealing with steroids--just sort of hoping it went away, I think--dwarfs all. (Also didn't like the way he eased himself into the position.)

I detest Selig, but he has presided over booming business. And I don't give a shit about steroids.

Not voting bcz I don't watch the other sports (I'd rather the NFL didn't exist).

I know you personally don't care about them, but you must at least get tired of the issue automatically coming up when Bonds or the HOF or records or so much else is discussed. Seems to me that that could have been prevented.

Selig following the Marlins line re: Guillen this past week makes me hate him, but no, it's gotta be Stern. Tho I don't like the NBA so...

I'm only a casual basketball fan, but is this year's delayed season the reason people are so down on Stern, or is that just one of many issues? I know the NBA was viewed as the ideal business model for all sports if you go back to the Jordan era...which was quite a while ago, I realize.

yeah clemenza: kill sportswriters

I'm only a casual basketball fan, but is this year's delayed season the reason people are so down on Stern, or is that just one of many issues? I know the NBA was viewed as the ideal business model for all sports if you go back to the Jordan era...which was quite a while ago, I realize.

He vetoed a major trade.

And did a lot of lying about the reasons for it/how he did it

For years he's shown little interest in reforming terrible officiating, his dress code for players was kind of absurd, a lot of people seem to think he plays favorites.

I think it's wishful thinking to blame sportswriters for keeping the steroids issue alive--it's obviously a lightning rod for fans, and players hold court on it too.

Selig has points for and against, and it just depends how you weigh them. Kenesaw Mountain Landis acted swiftly and drastically after the 1919 World Series, and gambling was no longer an issue. At the same time, had the good luck of having Ruth come along. And he also largely did nothing to desegregate the sport, and often actively worked against it.

Basketball is still pretty much the same game it was 20 years ago. NFL is just a powerhouse organization that only gets bigger and better, no matter what problems it faces.

MLB though, from 1994 to now, has been an abandoned sandcastle. The wild card. The strike. The expansion teams. The disparity between the have's and the have-not's. Tying the All-Star game into the postseason. Rearranging the leagues and still having the NL West being what it is. THE GODDAM INTERLEAGUE PLAY FUCKING EVERYTHING UP. The steroids. The late starts. The season not concluding until after Election Day. I honestly could keep going.

Fuck Bud Selig. Fuck him in that wrinkled-up old vadge he calls a mouth.

^^ would agree, if ML baseball mattered any more.

See there? It once did!

Yeah, this is Bud Selig by MILES.

the vast majority of nhl teams are in america so i will vote gary bettman

There will be kids drafted over the next couple of years who weren't even born when MLB had a labor stoppage and every sport has had a more recent labor issue than baseball, sometimes two.
Interleague and the wild card are unquestionable successes.

Selig's a bastard but so are all sports commissioners. Baseball is healthier than any other point my lifetime, so I'm not that bothered by him anymore.

Basketball is still pretty much the same game it was 20 years ago. NFL is just a powerhouse organization that only gets bigger and better, no matter what problems it faces.

I dunno, the nfl is facing some pretty fundamental problems these days - people aren't talking about whether baseball or basketball should even be played - and it hasn't made inroads overseas

people aren't talking about whether baseball...should even be played

I'm talking about it, because it's boring as all fuck.

I dunno, the nfl is facing some pretty fundamental problems these days...and it hasn't made inroads overseas

Not necessarily true. NFL has a healthy following in the UK and when NFL Europe existed as sort of an expo/farm league, it drew crowds.

not the kinda crowds that create a sustainable business

MLB though, from 1994 to now, has been an abandoned sandcastle. The wild card. The strike. The expansion teams. The disparity between the have's and the have-not's. Tying the All-Star game into the postseason. Rearranging the leagues and still having the NL West being what it is. THE GODDAM INTERLEAGUE PLAY FUCKING EVERYTHING UP. The steroids. The late starts. The season not concluding until after Election Day. I honestly could keep going.

outside of the steroid thing I don't really think any of these are problems - is interleague play really that bad an idea?

would agree, if ML baseball mattered any more.

what exactly are your criteria for what matters? it's still a big deal

wtf else did the baseball people expect when they sold their souls to a tawdry Milwaukee used-car salesman?!?

The disparity between the have's and the have-not's.

This issue in baseball bothers me, but yes I know Yankees and Red Sox fans differ, and others may too

competitive inbalance is not as much of an issue in baseball - regardless of payroll or talent levels, there's so much variance in the game that even the best teams only win about 65%, and the WS is almost never won by the best team

That problem exists in all three leagues fwiw.

i do miss the days when the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals were successful and competitive franchises.

not much Selig can do about incompetant management

The steroid scandal has wounded MLB very badly. Selig was instrumental in trying to sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened.

competitive imbalance has been a part of baseball since day one
How did PEDs really wound MLB? Revenues, attendance and fantasy participation are higher than ever. It wounded baseball with useless sportswriters.

Seems like people always point to NFL ratings as proof of baseball's irrelevance and demise.

Well, yeah, there are 240 regular season NFL games every year. There are 2400 regular season MLB games.

The majority of the former on Sundays, making for perfect TV events.

There are 2400 regular season MLB games.

Part of the reason it's hard to give a fuck about the regular season. With the NFL, each week the tv audience congregates to watch a slate of games that have immediate implications toward division rankings. Nobody watches baseball on tv until the post-season because hardly any game during the regular season ever matters. Baseball (at least in the regular season) has become a sport you see played live rather than watch on tv.

Lots of people watch baseball on TV. That's why the Dodgers recently became the most valuable franchise in all of sports.

generally, the only times i pay attention during the baseball season are the 1st and last months, and when favored teams play hated rivals (phillies v. mutts, yankees v. red suxx).

bettman really deserves this

I'd rather listen to baseball on the radio than watch it (in part because my local team's radio crew has always been 1000x better than its TV crew), but I find football almost unwatchable on TV. It's boring as fuck, five seconds of action followed by 40 seconds of nothing followed by 2 minutes of commercials.

Bettman wins by default, given that it's his fault hockey is only barely a 'major' sport

The Dodgers just got bought for $2 bil, and the woeful Padres are about to get purchased for something like 700mil. Just because you dudes don't enjoy watching regular season baseball doesn't mean people aren't watching. The Giants fans in SF are like a virus. They're everywhere! GO AWAY

Nobody watches baseball on tv until the post-season

Well, nobody watches every game but tons of people watch on TV. You also have to consider radio listeners, as MLB is the only sport that really works on the radio

bettman really deserves this

yes yes yes

The Giants fans in SF are like a virus. They're everywhere! GO AWAY

lol. how dare there be fans of the hometown team?

selig with a bullet. mlb's flourished as a business but he's a repulsive old toad who consistently makes infuriating decisions

i like stern because of his cool gangster ass 'tude.

I will say MLB's technology/blackout policies drive me up a fuckin' wall, I really fail to understand how blocking Youtube videos and preventing mlb.tv customers from watching their OWN TEAMS could possibly increase revenue

I find football almost unwatchable on TV. It's boring as fuck, five seconds of action followed by 40 seconds of nothing followed by 2 minutes of commercials.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Saturday, April 14, 2012 2:20 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark

go back to russia motherfucker

The latter seems to be hostility from decrepit old owners and the people they have TV contracts with. Regional television is where all the money comes from for now.

the existence of mlb.tv and being able to stream it via Boxee/etc. is still miles ahead of the NFL and NBA

logical case: head trauma is leaps and bounds a more important issue than steroids (big source of Selig's bad rap) and Goodell actively ignored the issue, tried to move to an 18-game season while talking about player safety and has now taken to demonizing the kind of players the NFL built a lot of popularity around rather than making a real attempt to fix the systemic issues?

goodell is evil, but such is the nature of his position

the other dudes more obviously suck, unless you're a shareholder

well the difference between head trauma and steroids is that you really can't get rid of the former, but I don't want to defend Goodell and his intentional misunderstanding of the issue

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7881228/players-nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-toughest-critics

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1085526/Animation15.gif

the fact that Goodell got only 3 votes in this makes me want to puke

give him time, bill

Goodell is Mussolini; Selig and Stern are Hitler and Stalin. all three are contemptible assholes who never should be allowed to hold any responsible office, but it's a question of degree of assholery.

or to be less inflammatory -- Goodell is Mitt Romney; Selig and Stern are Gingrich and Santorum.

goodell is doing a pretty bang up job imo. new cba was solid work.

I loathe the man. I am happy they got a deal done so we didnt miss a season (that would have been a nitemare) but he really sucks. Making one guy judge, jury and executioner is a total joke.

I may have to change my vote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGIr3i2Unu4

And if you hate Jim Rome, fine. But ask yourself who you hate worse at the end of this clip?

RE-DO THIS FUCKING POLL

at least some instant replay

Hahaha, it would probably come out the exact same way, if we have any replacement mods running this joint.

the fact that Goodell got only 3 votes in this makes me want to puke

― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Tuesday, May 8, 2012 2:49 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

give him time, bill

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, May 8, 2012 2:54 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Can I take my bow now? If this poll was taken now, it should be a shutout and Goddell should win. The guy is utterly incompetent. Also a Nazi

This ref thing is fucking amazing to me. As a Bears fan I want to do nothing but chuckle hardily at the Packers throwing away a game in the final seconds, but not like this.

lol bill i just came here to copy/paste that exchange

who knew it would take Roger Goddell ruining football to get me to start watching it regularly again? I am spending every game waiting for the exasperated, crestfallen cries of discontent from the announcers about how the replacement refs are destroying America and I don't think I've ever had so much delight watching ie the Jets come from behind to win (although Tebow getting beaned in the head with the ball was a factor there as much as the terrible refs)

also this is totally against the spirit of the sport but anything that screws over the Packers is automatically awesome to me

at the end of the day I think I just like carnivals, which is what the NFL currently is

http://gif.mocksession.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/REPLACEMENT-REF.gif

http://www.pigskinbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/replacement-ref-kevin-ogletree-trips-hat.gif

looooooool

^^^^^^ obv terrible, but also the funniest fucking thing

I mean why did that even happen

fuck wearing a hat

fear of a black hat

What does he slip on? A cap?

yes

apparently refs will throw their hat if a receiver steps out of bounds and is ineligible, but dude never really got close to the sideline and clearly stayed in bounds, so it really looks like the ref was just all "fuck it, gonna throw my hat under his feet *fling*"

COMEDY FOR EVERYONE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6TXMsvgQg

the refs havent screwed my team yet so im still enjoying it all. would happily vote for selig again

I know it's football and all but that gif is kind of worrisome; his slip comes out of nowhere, he puts a lot pressure on his left knee and ankle and lands awkwardly on his left leg with a lot of opportunity to screw that ankle, too.

http://data.whicdn.com/images/35360075/283_large.gif

Occupy Wall Street has a Facebook post today about how the NFL debacle shows "all our issues are connected" through the hiring of scabs.

anyway, best football season ever

Haha, yeah, this happened: As NFL Referees Lockout Continues, Gov. Scott Walker Calls For Return Of Unionized Refs

I know it's football and all but that gif is kind of worrisome; his slip comes out of nowhere, he puts a lot pressure on his left knee and ankle and lands awkwardly on his left leg with a lot of opportunity to screw that ankle, too.

― The windiest militant trash (Michael White), Tuesday, September 25, 2012 10:40 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Agree. If that guy had gotten hurt, the players probably would have seriously considering walking out until the real refs were back due to unsafe working conditions. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

I'm still kinda hoping for a players walk-out.

Pretty sure I wound up a Goodell voter.

Players should just start calling the game themselves like pick-up basketball.

At the commissioner's press conference today, he appeared caught off guard by a question from 49ers tight end Vernon Davis: Why doesn't the league take care of its former players?

Goodell's scattershot answer included the notion that the healthcare benefits for current NFL players are "the best in the world." Past players? Not so much. Every NBA player who played from 2000-01 on receives some post-career benefits, and in MLB, all it takes is one day on an active roster to get lifetime coverage. But in the sport where they need it the most, NFL players (if they played three seasons) receive five years of healthcare after retirement, and then they're cut off.

the nfl players union deserves a lot of blame for this state of affairs, but man roger goodell is a prick

yeah i hate him way more than i hate selig

yeah seeing goodell finish a very distant third up there just looks ridiculous now. just a complete joke of a man, almost wonder if tagliabue set goodell up to provide a long term argument to the 'he was no pete rozelle' talk he got when he retired. the problems baseball has - loss of viewers, relevance, aging of market - are things you can't really blame him for. cancelling the world series hurt the sport's popularity more than steroids but its effects were shaken off pretty quickly. stern's obv the most important historically to his sport and deserves alot of credit but should've retired years ago, there are alot of black marks on that record and most of them came in the past ten years or so.

Selig is a putz

“If you look at the numbers, including in the Native American community, in a Native American community poll nine out of 10 supported the name. Eight out of 10 Americans in the general population would not like us to change the name. So we’re listening and being respectful for people who disagree, but let’s not forget this is the name of a football team.”

lmao

i watched the goodell thing and there was this amazing cringe comedy moment where he goes 'i can't control the weather--' and then fake snow starts coming down around him while hes giving this aint i a stinker grin

"Native American" community? Why not just say R</I>edskins community?

Whoops, almost gave away the secret to that.