I want to keep track of all of the past NBA players/draftees or NCAA college basketball players or just Americans playing basketball abroad, so this is my list so far:
Air Avellino:
- Travis Best
Alba Berlin:
- Casey Jacobsen
Asseco Prokom:
- Daniel Ewing
(FC) Barcelona:
- Andre Barrett
- Ersan Ilyasova
Cibona Zagreb:
- Damir Markota
- Rawle Marshall
CSKA Moscow
- Sasha Kaun
- Trajan Langdon
- Viktor Khryapa
Efes Pilsen:
- Mario Kasun
- Predrag Drobjnak
Fenerbahce Ulker:
- Gordan Giricek
Lottomatica Roma:
- Brandon Jennings
- Primoz Brezec
Maccabi Electra
- Carlos Arroyo
- D'Or Fischer
- Elton Brown
- Marcus Brown
Olympiacos:
- Josh Childress
- Lynn Greer
Panathinaikos:
- Sarunas Jasikevicius
Panionios On Telecoms:
- Lonny Baxter
Partizan Belgrade:
- Stephane Lasme
Unicaja:
- Marcus Haislip
- Omar Cook
- Robert Archibald
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Beckham Essay
Here's a review I wrote of David Beckham's MLS experiment:
Becks a Success?
by Burud, December 15, 2008
In the summer of 2007, Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer, scored a major coup. The world’s most recognizable athlete was coming to America. Expectations were through the roof and Beckham was to be the “savior” of the world’s game in the United States.
"I'm here to be an ambassador for the MLS and, hopefully, take this sport to another level," Beckham said (Globe & Mail, 7/14/07). The golden boy of soccer would lift the Galaxy out of the cellar, make soccer an American sensation, and legitimize the league in the eyes of the world. With high expectations and one and a half seasons under his belt, David Beckham’s American expedition has come under intense scrutiny, justified or not.
The Galaxy will be first and foremost judged by their on-field success. In this exper-iment there has been relatively none. The once proud Galaxy organization went from two championships in the five years to failing to make the playoffs both years that Beckham has manned Los Angeles’ right side. The Galaxy finished third to last his first year, and second to last his second year. Most of his possible production was limited by an ankle injury which was followed by a leg injury and kept him out for most of 2007. These missed games fostered resentment from the fans and with Beckham’s salary taking up approximately twenty percent of the team salary cap, the Galaxy had trouble fielding a deep squad around him. Tallying five goals and ten assists in twenty-five games, Beckham has settled in as an above average player, as expected. The sub-par performances from his teammates (most notably, the defense) have led to headlines highlighting the club’s demise and frustration. With the league’s salary cap structure and the incompetence of the front office to sign complementary players for Beckham, the timing and execution of the deal was misplaced at best.
When measuring the benefits of any transaction, money is obviously the main indicator of profit or disappointment. The economic success of the Beckham deal varies between the four affected parties: Beckham himself, the Galaxy front office, the Galaxy Organization, and Major League Soccer. For Beckham, his standard professional athlete deal will net him a total of 27.5 million dol-lars for his five years of service. Compared to his salary in Europe, Beckham is making less money per game than he made at his previous team, Real Madrid. However, Beckham is recouping these losses through endorsements. At the time of his crossing of the Atlantic, his contract was valued at fifty million dollars per year. That’s right, tens of millions of dollars per year to do ads for the likes of Adidas and Sharpie. In a celebrity-obsessed country virtually untouched by Beckham’s appeal throughout his career, Becks’ looks, wife (the former Posh Spice), and instantly recognizable name among even non-sports fans have made him a tour-de-force in the gossip pages and made his American excursion an extremely lucrative success.
The Galaxy front office has not been as fortunate. The team had failed to make the playoffs the previous year and was under extreme pressure to turn the team around and market David Beckham effectively. After dismal performances left the team out of the playoffs again, manager Frank Yallop left the team at the end of the season, and was replaced by Ruud Gullit. In Beckham’s second year, and under the leadership of Gullit, the Galaxy finished in second to last place. Gullit “resigned” and general manager Alexi Lalas was fired. Lalas had come under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that Beckham was injured before he even came to the Los Angeles Galaxy. This mishandling of the league’s most expensive player haunted the front office and resulted in sweeping changes, a major failure for the team on the field and the team’s public relations.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Galaxy organization has profited greatly overall. In the first week following Beckham’s signing, the Galaxy sold over 250,000 jerseys. At over fifty dollars a jersey, this is more than twelve million dollars in one week of business. This is where the Galaxy deserve credit. They recog-nized that the Beckham deal would essentially pay for itself before Beckham’s tenure was even half complete. Along with selling eleven thou-sand season tickets, the Galaxy were able to tour Canada and Australia, drawing revenue from merchandise and ticket sales. For the organiza-tion, significant cash flow and international recognition was a huge plus in the wake of declining on-field results.
Major League Soccer’s results as a whole were mixed. As a fan, if I wanted to go to the local New England team’s Galaxy match in 2007 I would have had to buy a four game pack just to go. Imagine the fans’ outrage when Beckham was injured, and they realized they had bought tickets to four games only to not see the main attraction. Beckham’s arrival did attract international competition for the league, such as the Pan-Pacific Championship, a tour-nament with MLS, Japanese, and Australian teams. Also, foreign clubs began scouting the MLS much more seriously, offering increased transfer fees to the league to buy its players. Despite static television ratings, more fans attended games as a result of greater visibility for the league. MLS had not had consecutive years with increases in average attendance until David Beckham’s arrival in 2007. For business, Becks was good, but for fans not from Los Angeles, many were left feeling betrayed.
A key component of the Beckham acquisition was legitimacy. Essentially the only nation where soccer is not accepted by the majority of the population, the United States will always be labeled as sub-par until there is a major breakthrough on the inter-national stage. Public paranoia and intoler-ance of soccer has haunted the sport since the league’s inception in 1996. David Beckham was tasked with breaking down this label. His early appearances in a Los Angeles uniform received national attention in the form of ESPN broadcasts. However, since those first few games, soccer’s attendance on Sports-center has been limited to the occasional goal in the top ten plays and even then they are usually from Europe. The MLS Cup, the league’s championship game, received only the bare minimum highlight on ESPN, and soccer coverage is still permeated with the frequent dig at the sport by Sportscenter anchors, and other network personalities, such as PTI’s Tony Kornheiser. In this aspect of legitimacy, Beckham’s arrival has failed. His presence has not generated the demand that would shift more focus to soccer program-ming and his play has not created that aura of legitimacy that commentators seek when evaluating a sport that is not one of America’s big four (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). Despite these shortcomings, one facet of legitimacy where Beckham has succeeded is in the newfound attractiveness of the league to foreign talent. Foreign players now recognize that Major League Soccer is not a destination where careers go to die, but now one where the international community is watching and quality players compete. Because of Beckham, Argentinean great Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Swedish legend Freddie Ljungberg have decided to make the United States their home for the near future. Where Beckham has failed to legitimize MLS in the media, he has succeeded with the athletes.
Despite numerous setbacks, there is no denying that Beckham’s signing will be remem-bered as a landmark moment for American soccer. Foreign talent began to see MLS as a viable option and the league was exposed to all corners of the globe. Imagine, Michael Jordan going to play in Italy during his early thirties. That is the significance of the Beckham move. The world’s most famous player, chose to make a non-soccer nation his place of employment. Expectations were way too high for Beckham coming in, and the Galaxy front office mis-handled his transition from Europe. Fans were angered and the Galaxy wallowed in the league’s basement. However, these are short-term failures. Where the transaction has had its greatest effect and its most profound success is in its rejuvenation of a stuttering league and its massive impact on the MLS brand. International exposure, foreign talent, and team profits are at some of their highest levels ever. In ten years, only Los Angeles fans will truly remember their poor record, and few fans will hold grudges about Beckham’s injury. The general population will be enjoying more attractive soccer from the new imported players, watching more games on more occasions and experiencing the benefits of sustained profitability by the league’s clubs, all thanks to the doors that Becks has opened. The Beckham deal was a local, short-term failure, but a league-wide, business success.
Works Cited
D'Hippolito, Joseph. "Beckham's journey to another Galaxy; Soccer star feted in Los Angeles as he embarks on career in Major League Soccer." 14 July 2007. The Globe and Mail. 11 Dec. 2008
Major League Soccer. 15 Dec. 2008.
Becks a Success?
by Burud, December 15, 2008
In the summer of 2007, Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer, scored a major coup. The world’s most recognizable athlete was coming to America. Expectations were through the roof and Beckham was to be the “savior” of the world’s game in the United States.
"I'm here to be an ambassador for the MLS and, hopefully, take this sport to another level," Beckham said (Globe & Mail, 7/14/07). The golden boy of soccer would lift the Galaxy out of the cellar, make soccer an American sensation, and legitimize the league in the eyes of the world. With high expectations and one and a half seasons under his belt, David Beckham’s American expedition has come under intense scrutiny, justified or not.
The Galaxy will be first and foremost judged by their on-field success. In this exper-iment there has been relatively none. The once proud Galaxy organization went from two championships in the five years to failing to make the playoffs both years that Beckham has manned Los Angeles’ right side. The Galaxy finished third to last his first year, and second to last his second year. Most of his possible production was limited by an ankle injury which was followed by a leg injury and kept him out for most of 2007. These missed games fostered resentment from the fans and with Beckham’s salary taking up approximately twenty percent of the team salary cap, the Galaxy had trouble fielding a deep squad around him. Tallying five goals and ten assists in twenty-five games, Beckham has settled in as an above average player, as expected. The sub-par performances from his teammates (most notably, the defense) have led to headlines highlighting the club’s demise and frustration. With the league’s salary cap structure and the incompetence of the front office to sign complementary players for Beckham, the timing and execution of the deal was misplaced at best.
When measuring the benefits of any transaction, money is obviously the main indicator of profit or disappointment. The economic success of the Beckham deal varies between the four affected parties: Beckham himself, the Galaxy front office, the Galaxy Organization, and Major League Soccer. For Beckham, his standard professional athlete deal will net him a total of 27.5 million dol-lars for his five years of service. Compared to his salary in Europe, Beckham is making less money per game than he made at his previous team, Real Madrid. However, Beckham is recouping these losses through endorsements. At the time of his crossing of the Atlantic, his contract was valued at fifty million dollars per year. That’s right, tens of millions of dollars per year to do ads for the likes of Adidas and Sharpie. In a celebrity-obsessed country virtually untouched by Beckham’s appeal throughout his career, Becks’ looks, wife (the former Posh Spice), and instantly recognizable name among even non-sports fans have made him a tour-de-force in the gossip pages and made his American excursion an extremely lucrative success.
The Galaxy front office has not been as fortunate. The team had failed to make the playoffs the previous year and was under extreme pressure to turn the team around and market David Beckham effectively. After dismal performances left the team out of the playoffs again, manager Frank Yallop left the team at the end of the season, and was replaced by Ruud Gullit. In Beckham’s second year, and under the leadership of Gullit, the Galaxy finished in second to last place. Gullit “resigned” and general manager Alexi Lalas was fired. Lalas had come under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that Beckham was injured before he even came to the Los Angeles Galaxy. This mishandling of the league’s most expensive player haunted the front office and resulted in sweeping changes, a major failure for the team on the field and the team’s public relations.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Galaxy organization has profited greatly overall. In the first week following Beckham’s signing, the Galaxy sold over 250,000 jerseys. At over fifty dollars a jersey, this is more than twelve million dollars in one week of business. This is where the Galaxy deserve credit. They recog-nized that the Beckham deal would essentially pay for itself before Beckham’s tenure was even half complete. Along with selling eleven thou-sand season tickets, the Galaxy were able to tour Canada and Australia, drawing revenue from merchandise and ticket sales. For the organiza-tion, significant cash flow and international recognition was a huge plus in the wake of declining on-field results.
Major League Soccer’s results as a whole were mixed. As a fan, if I wanted to go to the local New England team’s Galaxy match in 2007 I would have had to buy a four game pack just to go. Imagine the fans’ outrage when Beckham was injured, and they realized they had bought tickets to four games only to not see the main attraction. Beckham’s arrival did attract international competition for the league, such as the Pan-Pacific Championship, a tour-nament with MLS, Japanese, and Australian teams. Also, foreign clubs began scouting the MLS much more seriously, offering increased transfer fees to the league to buy its players. Despite static television ratings, more fans attended games as a result of greater visibility for the league. MLS had not had consecutive years with increases in average attendance until David Beckham’s arrival in 2007. For business, Becks was good, but for fans not from Los Angeles, many were left feeling betrayed.
A key component of the Beckham acquisition was legitimacy. Essentially the only nation where soccer is not accepted by the majority of the population, the United States will always be labeled as sub-par until there is a major breakthrough on the inter-national stage. Public paranoia and intoler-ance of soccer has haunted the sport since the league’s inception in 1996. David Beckham was tasked with breaking down this label. His early appearances in a Los Angeles uniform received national attention in the form of ESPN broadcasts. However, since those first few games, soccer’s attendance on Sports-center has been limited to the occasional goal in the top ten plays and even then they are usually from Europe. The MLS Cup, the league’s championship game, received only the bare minimum highlight on ESPN, and soccer coverage is still permeated with the frequent dig at the sport by Sportscenter anchors, and other network personalities, such as PTI’s Tony Kornheiser. In this aspect of legitimacy, Beckham’s arrival has failed. His presence has not generated the demand that would shift more focus to soccer program-ming and his play has not created that aura of legitimacy that commentators seek when evaluating a sport that is not one of America’s big four (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). Despite these shortcomings, one facet of legitimacy where Beckham has succeeded is in the newfound attractiveness of the league to foreign talent. Foreign players now recognize that Major League Soccer is not a destination where careers go to die, but now one where the international community is watching and quality players compete. Because of Beckham, Argentinean great Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Swedish legend Freddie Ljungberg have decided to make the United States their home for the near future. Where Beckham has failed to legitimize MLS in the media, he has succeeded with the athletes.
Despite numerous setbacks, there is no denying that Beckham’s signing will be remem-bered as a landmark moment for American soccer. Foreign talent began to see MLS as a viable option and the league was exposed to all corners of the globe. Imagine, Michael Jordan going to play in Italy during his early thirties. That is the significance of the Beckham move. The world’s most famous player, chose to make a non-soccer nation his place of employment. Expectations were way too high for Beckham coming in, and the Galaxy front office mis-handled his transition from Europe. Fans were angered and the Galaxy wallowed in the league’s basement. However, these are short-term failures. Where the transaction has had its greatest effect and its most profound success is in its rejuvenation of a stuttering league and its massive impact on the MLS brand. International exposure, foreign talent, and team profits are at some of their highest levels ever. In ten years, only Los Angeles fans will truly remember their poor record, and few fans will hold grudges about Beckham’s injury. The general population will be enjoying more attractive soccer from the new imported players, watching more games on more occasions and experiencing the benefits of sustained profitability by the league’s clubs, all thanks to the doors that Becks has opened. The Beckham deal was a local, short-term failure, but a league-wide, business success.
Works Cited
D'Hippolito, Joseph. "Beckham's journey to another Galaxy; Soccer star feted in Los Angeles as he embarks on career in Major League Soccer." 14 July 2007. The Globe and Mail. 11 Dec. 2008
Major League Soccer. 15 Dec. 2008
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