Just now, we_gotta_believe said:

But I was referring to illicitly gained money, not purely the broadcast rights. Getting $200M for something that was previously bundled together with the men's rights pretty much indicates it was something they should've done years ago or at the very least for 2019. How much were they truly leaving on the table by not doing so? Hard to say, but like I mentioned, I doubt they even cared when that Qatari oil money came flooding in.

The legit money from the TV rights for the World Cup already makes $200 million a rounding error, before you even get into the kickbacks. If you work at FIFA, and one deal is worth billions and also comes with cash, hookers and blow, and the other is $200 million with no goodies, where are you spending your time?

17 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

Is it possible that the problem is fifa bungled ad sales in the 2019 world cup? Sponsor partnerships increased 150 percent this wc. How do you reconcile that? Do you think maybe fifa left some money on the table previously, or is women's soccer just that much more popular now? 

Relative number on a small base is disingenuous

its still small and very few people care

2 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

Eh...Americans watch sports when we win. It's why men's soccer doesn't catch on here - we suck at it. It's why tennis ratings have plummeted since all the good US players have retired. Americans are front-runners.

Not sure how you're defining "catching on" but soccer is getting pretty popular even though the USMNT and MLS suck major balls. NBC recently bought the broadcast rights for the EPL at $2.5B which was a big jump from the previous deal they had with Fox. It's the most popular sport among latinos, but I agree if the USMNT ever did get their collective heads out of their asses, it would blow up even more. 

Man. Training Camp really needs to start already...

23 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

The legit money from the TV rights for the World Cup already makes $200 million a rounding error, before you even get into the kickbacks. If you work at FIFA, and one deal is worth billions and also comes with cash, hookers and blow, and the other is $200 million with no goodies, where are you spending your time?

Right, that's my point. It's a bit of a chicken and egg scenario, so you could make an argument that they didn't care because there were no buyers, but I'd make the argument they didn't even really attempt to seek out buyers because they were already burying their faces into hookers asses and piles of blow by then. Now that the hookers and blow are starting to dry up, (and now that the rights are being offered separately), they were able to get $200M, so we can start to draw more direct comparisons. I'm gonna bet 2027 will be at least double the current deal and be closer to $500M. Yes, still a fraction of the rights of the men's game, but certainly a far cry from it being "free". 

There's also another lesser known factor that FIFA allows all the pro women players to compete in the olympics but doesn't allow the same for the mens (limits it to 3 veterans per team), out of fear of dilution. A change there to similar set of restrictions would probably be a boost (albeit likely not a significant one) to the broadcast rights for the World Cup in 2027.

 

2 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Man. Training Camp really needs to start already...

Oh, you mean for American football

58 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

Classic but incredibly boring. The biggest thing that makes them look bad IMO is the grey facemask. Either go white or blue and it would change the look of the uniform. 

Interesting to see 2 HOF RB who were better known as Rams.

With a reverse order of play.  Faulk started with the Colts, finished with the Rams.  Dickerson started with the Rams, finished with the Colts.

 

Boring uniform?  Meh.  I don't even know what that means.  The uniform is what they wear, the players make them exciting.

1 hour ago, DEagle7 said:

https://www.immaculategrid.com/football

Anyone ever try this out?  Kinda fun. Got to remember the player had to have played an actual snap for both teams, so recent signings and PS/drafted players don't count (screwed me twice on the Eagles/49ers one)

  Reveal hidden contents

🏈 Immaculate Grid 1 6/9:
Rarity: 485
🟩🟩🟩
⬜️⬜️🟩
⬜️🟩🟩
Play at:
https://immaculategrid.com/football
@immaculategrid x @pfref

 

🏈 Immaculate Grid 1 8/9:
Rarity: 278
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
🟩⬜️🟩
Play at:
https://immaculategrid.com/football
@immaculategrid x @pfref

2 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

With a reverse order of play.  Faulk started with the Colts, finished with the Rams.  Dickerson started with the Rams, finished with the Colts.

 

Boring uniform?  Meh.  I don't even know what that means.  The uniform is what they wear, the players make them exciting.

Boring as it's very basic, which there's nothing wrong with. 2 colors, royal blue and white. UCLA stripes (the ones on the shoulders) and pants stripes. There's one pair pants that matches with both the home and away jersey. Before these terrible "Indiana Nights" uniforms, the Colts had 2 options. Blue on white or white on white. There's nothing else. Even their throwback was essentially the same thing.

The Eagles on the other hand, just last year went green/white, white/white, white/green, black/black, white/black. They could always add, green/green, green/black, black/white and black/green if they wanted to. Then you add in if they wanted to wear black socks with their white pants and you get even more combos.  Not saying I like the Eagles having that many options but they do if they wanted. 

 

1 hour ago, paco said:

Nice find. I'm a fan

 

🏈 Immaculate Grid 1 9/9:
Rarity: 205
IMMACULATE!
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
Play at:
https://immaculategrid.com/football
@immaculategrid x @pfref

 

  Hide contents

 

My strategy with the Vikings is obvious.  They have been ass at QB for so long they change them almost every year.  So I thought through of all the cast offs they brought on.

 

I also got a kick out of the fact I JUST posted that Westbrook went from Philly to San Fran  

 

Did a lot better than me. I blew 2 guesses on

Spoiler

Javon Hargrave and Raheem Mostert

before I read the damn rules 

There's more eagles/49ers crossover than I realized 

1 hour ago, Alphagrand said:

I wish I would have taken a keener interest in Astronomy when I was younger.  IIRC we were taught in Grade 5/6 science class that Jupiter had 12 moons and Saturn had 9 moons.  Now students are being taught that Jupiter has 67 moons, Saturn has 66, Uranus has 27, etc.  We weren't even taught that Uranus and Neptune had rings.  A lot of what is passed off as scientific "fact" is only such until technology yields new discoveries, when we realize a lot of cosmological science is scientific theory, in reality.

Now with the JWST discovering fully formed galaxies from only a few million years after the theorized timeline of the formation of the universe, scientists need to go from saying "those shouldn't be there" to theorizing "maybe the universe is actually 24 billion years old instead of 14 billion" -- that's a pretty big difference, even for a simple person like me.  As more discoveries are made over the next few years, textbooks will need to be re-written again.  

Having said all that, flat earthers need a collective cuff across the head.

You outlined why flat earthers position "Scientists are in on a conspiracy!!!" is so freaking stupid.  Scientists LITERALLY are trying to discover new facts and prove old assumptions wrong.  If a scientist proves that we are actually living on the worlds largest version of The Game of Life, they would go down in history of one of the greatest ever

31 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

Relative number on a small base is disingenuous

its still small and very few people care

More people in the US watched the women's wc final in 2019 than watched the Rose Bowl. And more people internationally watched women kick a ball around than watched the Super Bowl.

9 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

Did a lot better than me. I blew 2 guesses on

  Reveal hidden contents

Javon Hargrave and Raheem Mostert

before I read the damn rules 

There's more eagles/49ers crossover than I realized 

Spoiler

Even before I realized you got scored on rarity, I almost put Dwayne Bowe for my KC 1000 yarder.  But I wanted to be 100% sure (I thought maybe he got close but never eclipsed 1000 yards) and went with the obvious pick.

I was stuck on Falcons\Niners and Ashley Lelie was a hail mary.  I remember he went Broncos then Falcons but after that thought I remembered him going to San fran but wasn't sure.  

 

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

Did a lot better than me. I blew 2 guesses on

  Reveal hidden contents

Javon Hargrave and Raheem Mostert

before I read the damn rules 

There's more eagles/49ers crossover than I realized 

 

Spoiler

Charlie Garner was my Niners/Eagles guess.  Travis Kelce was my 1,000 yard receiver.  I could not think of a Falcons Viking player.  

 

4 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

How do you figure that?  The city of Cleveland sued the league, THAT is why the Browns ONLY got to retain their history in Cleveland, and the city was awarded an expansion franchise as quickly as the league could put another team into the league... and make an ODD number of teams.  NONE of that was because of Modell's magnanimity, nor the NFL's intent.  They went from 30 to 31 teams because the city of Cleveland took them to court.  And it took an additional number of years for the league to expand to 32 teams with the inclusion of the Texans to even it out again to bring the league to its current situation with the 'perfect' (As Rooney called it) 32... 16 per conference and 4 4-team divisions.

Because Cleveland wasn’t the only city to sue an owner and Modell willingly gave up a team name he owned to resolve the dispute.  

10 minutes ago, paco said:

  Hide contents

Even before I realized you got scored on rarity, I almost put Dwayne Bowe for my KC 1000 yarder.  But I wanted to be 100% sure (I thought maybe he got close but never eclipsed 1000 yards) and went with the obvious pick.

I was stuck on Falcons\Niners and Ashley Lelie was a hail mary.  I remember he went Broncos then Falcons but after that thought I remembered him going to San fran but wasn't sure.  

 

That was a great pull, but I gotta give @LeanMeanGM props for the rarity of his Eagles 1000+ receiver pick. Made me chuckle. 

1 minute ago, DEagle7 said:

That was a great pull, but I gotta give @LeanMeanGM props for the rarity of his Eagles 1000+ receiver pick. Made me chuckle. 

I didn't see that.  Oh dear god  

4 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Driscoll has two major problems at OT.  1 - He has short arms.  2 - His body is made of glass.  If Driscoll is your top backup OT, you desperately need another backup OT.

Competition for back up T includes Fred Robinson (NFL experience), Roderick Johnson (NFL experience), Brett Toth (NFL experience and G flexibility), to go with Kelly, plus arguably Steen and Good-Jones and Reid.  OL back up battles will be fun.  Also have to wonder if Toth sees some more C snaps as Tom needs some competition if Jurgens is the starting RG. Bet the also see if Reid and Steen can snap and we may yet see some snaps for Driscoll.

2 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

That was a great pull, but I gotta give @LeanMeanGM props for the rarity of his Eagles 1000+ receiver pick. Made me chuckle. 

I knew the non-Eagles two team players were going to screw my rarity score so I had to think about obscure Eagles

1 minute ago, paco said:

I didn't see that.  Oh dear god  

Only 0.6% guessed! I can only assume exclusively by Eagles fans in their 30s. 

I also definitely didn't realize rarity played a factor until halfway through and I read the rules. Definitely a fun angle to the game. 

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Because Josh Harris has proven to know what he's doing running the Sixers?  Seems like a nothing move to me.  Washington is a laughingstock right now.  They might elevate all the way to medicore with Harris running the ship.

From what I have read about the new ownership group, there are suggestions they would not have passed financially were it not for the NFL wanting to be done with Snyder.  Smells a bit like the cash strapped Raiders/Davis situation.

1 hour ago, just relax said:

I'm in the process of reading Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking. EVA could do worse than read it. Not that he/she/it will, of course.

Respecting its pronoun.  Nice. 

21 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

Only 0.6% guessed! I can only assume exclusively by Eagles fans in their 30s. 

Between that and Michael Lewis I must have really given myself away, huh?