Los
Angeles, December 19, 1996 Dear Reader: The lure of false promises . . . Atlanta Olympic boss Billy Payne recently reported to ACOG's board of directors that the Games will show a slight surplus and claimed, "While we're proud that we have met our financial objectives, making a significant surplus was not the reason we sought to put on these Games." Fair enough, but lest we forget, breaking even wasn't part of the original plan. Here's what Atlanta organizers had to say when they bid for the Games: "Having made a detailed study of the financial models of Barcelona and four previous Olympiads, we expect an Atlanta Olympiad will achieve a substantial surplus. . . . The majority of this surplus . . . will instead be redistributed to the worldwide Olympic Family through the IOC . . . It is Atlanta's desire to make the international sports community the beneficiary of our financial success." The Atlanta organizing committee in its 1990 bid projected a surplus of $156.5 million. Two years later in ACOG's May 1992 Press Information Guide, that projection had shrunk, but still was a hefty $132 million. No wonder that Atlanta's current estimate of less than $10 million, a portion of which will go to the USOC and IOC, is a disappointment to those who had hoped for a more substantial legacy.
Atlanta spin doctors keep trying to sell the line that the only people unhappy with Atlanta's organizational effort were those nattering nabobs of negativism: THE MEDIA. A recent report of the European Olympic Committee - Technical Commission (clearly not a media group) seriously undermines the ACOG interpretation. The commission report notes that "there was much to be admired in Atlanta," but takes ACOG and the city to task on several points. In the Olympic Village "[c]leaning of rooms and hygiene generally was poor." The food was "boring and unpalatable." Goods and services "were grossly overpriced and these costs were deeply resented." The installation of phones and faxes "was extremely slow to the point of being totally unacceptable" and "too few were supplied." Downtown traffic flow "was generally poor with traffic control by police very unsatisfactory." Athlete transportation, a "main concern," suffered from "[p]oor equipment . . . poor scheduling [and] drivers who were constantly getting lost." The motor pool "was poorly managed." Olympic delegations arriving in Atlanta "frequently experienced delays of 4 to 6 hours in the accreditation process." "Baggage was frequently lost . . . no-one seemed in overall charge of the system and no-one was aware of how it worked." The "marshalling of the delegations at the Opening Ceremonies was little short of disgraceful." We could go on, but you get the picture. Olympic discus thrower Al Oerter, a four-time gold medalist who also ran one of the final legs of the 1996 torch relay, was another non-media observer who was less than thrilled with the host city. Oerter, speaking recently in Australia, site of the 2000 Games, said he hoped that "Sydney learns something from Atlanta [and] will not trash the city, will not have T-shirt shacks every 15 feet, will test out the technical end of the Games" in advance.
Strictly ballroom . . . No, no, a thousand times no. Ballroom dancing is not an Olympic sport. The New York Times (Nov. 14, 1996, international edition) reported that within the sport "there is already talk of Olympic medals at the Games in 2000 in Sydney, where ballroom dancing will be a new event." And, Women's Sports + Fitness (October 1996) stated that ballroom is "an Olympic exhibition sport." Wrong. The International Dance Sport Federation is one of more than a dozen sports organizations that are recognized by the IOC, but whose sports are not on the Olympic program. Ballroom dancing will not be on the program in Sydney as a medal sport or exhibition sport. In fact, at this time, there are no exhibition sports scheduled for Sydney. Raising the glass ceiling . . . Six of the eight women's American Basketball League (ABL) teams have female head coaches and six teams have female general managers. For your interest, here are the teams of the ABL and the NBA-sponsored WNBA, which starts play in June 1997.
The Continental Basketball Association really has developed into the NBA's minor league system. A total of 87 former CBA players appeared in the NBA during 1995-96, according to the 1996-97 Official CBA Guide and Register, including 30 who were called up during the season. The Chicago Bulls were the only NBA team without a former CBA player on its roster last year. Bull's Coach Phil Jackson, however, was the was a CBA coach in 1984, leading the Albany Patroons to the league title. All those professional sports salaries add up. The total payrolls for the three major American professional sports leagues amount to a major chunk of change. Added together the NFL, NBA and MLB paid their athletes, in 1995-96, an approximate total of $2.7 billion. The NFL had the largest payroll at $1.03 billion followed by MLB at $937.9 million and the NBA at $802.03 million. (sources: USA Today and Sports Industry News) Add salaries . . . Sometimes you get what you pay for. Major league baseball's 1996 World Series teams led their leagues in total payroll. The world champion Yankees led all major league teams, according to Sports Industry News, with a total 1996 payroll of $61.51 million. The Braves led the National League with a total payroll of $53.42 million. Actually, the four highest paying teams made it to the divisional playoffs. The Orioles paid out $55.12 million and the Indians paid $47.61. The lowest-paying team in the majors was Bud Selig's Milwaukee Brewers at only $11.7 million.
Last add salaries . . . Of course, the Brewers got by far the best deal on a cost per win basis; each of their 80 wins cost $146,250. The Orioles, on the other hand, paid the most for each of their 92 wins (playoffs included) at $599,239. The Yankees, though, led the regular-season payoff at $668,587 per game. On November 30,1996, Grambling and Southern met in the annual Bayou Classic. The match-up was reported to be the first time that two white quarterbacks would start in a game pitting two historically black schools. NBC, which broadcast the game nationally, even featured the story at halftime. According to a December 5 Los Angeles Sentinel story, NBC and others were wrong. The October 5, 1996, game featuring Tuskeegee and Kentucky State holds the distinction. In the Sentinel's words "In that game, Tuskeegee started junior Grant Mitchell at quarterback while Kentucky State countered with junior Roman Lori at the helm. Both starting signal callers were, and still are, white." Curious accounting . . . The lead story in the November 18, 1996, NCAA News boasts that the athletics program at the typical NCAA Division 1-A school brought in an average 1995 profit of $1.2 million. Somewhat later the story gets around to mentioning that the figure includes institutional support. Remove institutional support and the average Division 1-A program operates at an annual loss of $237,000. More troubling than the amount spent by schools each year is the NCAA's interpretation of what constitutes profit.
Ever wonder just how many of those 90 scholarships allowed Division I-A schools are really necessary? On any autumn Saturday it seems nearly one half of the Division I-A football players on scholarship never play a single down. According to the sports information department at UCLA, an average of 50-55 Bruins play in each game, a figure they think is higher than average. That means at most schools somewhere around 40 scholarship athletes, or 44% of all scholarship players don't play in any given game. The October 1996 issue of Emerge, a magazine serving a mostly African-American readership, ranks the 50 worst universities in terms of graduation rates for black football players at Division I institutions. The list was culled from the NCAA's 1996 Division I Graduation Rates Report that includes entering classes from 1986-1989. Seven schools failed to graduate a single black football player. Seven schools from Texas make the bottom 50, and seven schools from California make the list, too. The seven California schools are all part of the Cal State University system: San Jose State, Cal State Sacramento, Cal State Northridge, Fresno State, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, and San Diego State University. (Fullerton and Long Beach no longer play football.) San Jose, Sacramento and Northridge did not graduate a single black player, and the average graduation rate for the seven California schools was a disgraceful 11%. Add Graduation Rates . . . As collegiate conferences go, the West looks pretty dismal. The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) had five schools on the list, all in its Pacific Division. The Big Sky had four of its nine teams on the list, and the Big West had three of its six teams in the "Bottom 50."
Last add Graduation Rates . . . A number of historically black universities have some of the worst graduation rates for African-American football players. Prairie View A&M, Tennessee State, Texas Southern, Alabama State, Morgan State and Florida A&M all make Emerge's "Bottom 50" list. Britain's National Criminal Intelligence Service reports that soccer hooliganism is on the decline. There was a 10% drop in arrests at English league games between the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. Police arrested 3,427 "hoolies" during the past year. "Drink related offence" was far and away the most frequent cause of arrest. "Disorderly behaviour" and "Threatening behaviour" ranked second and third. However, not a single robbery arrest was recorded. The current issue of Golf Market Today reports that 199 golf courses opened in the first three quarters of this year. During the same period, another 551 courses were under construction. What do you think the people at Disney will think of this one? At left is the mighty mascot of the CBA's Connecticut Pride. At right, Mufasa, the hero of the Lion King.
Copyright 1997, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. SportsLetter is published bimonthly. Reproduction is encouraged with credit to the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. Sincerely, The AAF Paul Ziffren Sports Resource Center 2141 West Adams
Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90018. E-mail: Library Staff: Wayne Wilson, Vice President Research; Edward Derse, Research Director; Shirley Ito, Librarian; Michael Salmon, Librarian; Bonita Hester Library Assistant; Carmen Rivera Research Associate. (213)730-4646. SportsLetter Editorial Staff: F. Patrick Escobar, Managing Editor; Wayne Wilson, Editor; Edward Derse, Associate Editor.
Copyright, 1997 Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. All rights reserved.
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