Federer’s fine, Davies is dandy, but here comes the Judge!
Tale of young Bronx Bomber grew in leaps, bounds and moon shots over the past week
BULLS OF THE WEEK
What else can you say about Roger Federer as he continues an inspiring resurgence on the ATP Tour?
He’s made it a terrific Wimbledon fortnight for his sponsors, including Nike, Wilson, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz and, of course, Lindt Swiss chocolate.
Meanwhile, it’s been a decent week for 16-year-old Vancouver Whitecaps sensation Alphonso Davies and Canada’s national men’s soccer team, poised to book a berth in the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup. It was an even better week for Canadian basketball, with Canada winning the FIBA Under-19 World Cup and R.J. Barrett serving notice that he is part of the country’s very bullish future on the global hoops stage.
Meanwhile, ESPN held the North American sports television audience captive when it rolled out the 25th anniversary ESPYs, with Canadian snowboarder par excellence Mark McMorris of Regina among the winners. The Olympic bronze medallist in slopestyle at Sochi 2014 was tabbed best male action sports athlete.
Also, Manchester United may be saying goodbye to Wayne Rooney, but they’re saying hello again to the podium of the richest franchises in all of professional sport. They do so largely on the strength of the most powerful jersey kit in the world, one that drives an astonishing US$180 million in annual club revenues ($100 million from supplier Adidas and another $80 million from the Chevrolet brand at General Motors). That jersey clout is the single biggest reason why, after spending the past half-decade in the financial shadows of Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, Manchester United leapfrogged over both of them and into third place on the new Forbes Magazine Top-50 list. Valued at US$3.69 billion, United stands behind only the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys (US$4.2 billion) and Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees (US$3.7 billion) among the most valuable teams in the world.
Yet there was no one whose reputational stock rose more this week than Yankees rookie phenom Aaron Judge. Already the talk of baseball as holder of the Yankees’ rookie home run mark with almost half a season still to play, the six-foot-seven Judge dominated the home run derby at the MLB all-star break in Miami. In both volume and distance, Judge was in a home run physics class of his own. His week included hitting the roof at Marlins Park with a 513-foot shot Monday, starting in the all-star game Tuesday and being best breakthrough athlete at the ESPYs Wednesday. Judgemania will continue throughout the second half of the baseball season, with fans from the Big Apple and MLB’s other 26 markets watching his every swing as the 25-year-old strives to equal a remarkable first half that saw him smash 31 homers.
BEARS OF THE WEEK
The biggest loser in the business of sport this week is CFL officiating after an unnecessary late flag erased a brilliant 109-yard kickoff return by Martese Jackson of the Toronto Argonauts Thursday. The questionable penalty ruined a chance at $1 million for Karen Kuldys of Winnipeg. Unsurprisingly, Twitter weighed in with a vengeance under the hashtag #whataboutKaren. It was uncomfortable for contest sponsors Safeway and CFL rights holder TSN, but downright embarrassing for a league that wants to shed its flag-fest reputation. The Sport Market on TSN 1040 rates and debates the bulls and bears of sport business. Join Tom Mayenknecht Saturday from 7 to 11 a.m. for a behind-the-scenes look at the sport business stories that matter most to fans.
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