Madden NFL 12 Predicts Giants Win the Super Bowl

h/t Kotaku

There Was Football This Weekend?

And no one told me?

(h/t Deadspin with a full explanation)

How the NBA Uses Accounting Strategies to Maximize Losses

Deadspin has an analysis of the NJ Nets’ books from 2003 to 2006 with some interesting tax law and business strategy aspects.  For instance, NBA teams are allowed to take depreciation on players as well as writing off their salaries.  This allows the teams to take a loss on taxes.  Then the teams can then take advantage of pass-through to apply their owners’ other businesses.

Teams can then use those losses to beg politicians for new stadiums and land deals that they otherwise couldn’t get.  Case in point, Bruce Ratner, who is building the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn:

[T]he best explanation for why a buccaneering real estate developer like Ratner might buy a middling franchise like the Nets in the first place. As Neil deMause, co-author of Field of Schemes, explains: “If Ratner had gone to Brooklyn politicians and said, ‘Hey, I want to build offices and residential buildings on public land,’ they’d have hung up on him. But when he says, ‘I’m going to bring professional sports back to Brooklyn,’ suddenly here’s [Brooklyn Borough President] Marty Markowitz holding press conferences and sobbing about the Dodgers. [Buying the Nets] helped him get a foot in the door with Brooklyn politicians.”

An interesting and cynical look at the business of sports.

UFC Encourages Its Fighters to Tweet

The UFC is embracing Twitter as part of its promotion strategy.

From MMA Fighting.com:

Unlike other professional sports organizations that have cautioned, not to mention fined, its players for using Twitter, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is encouraging its fighters to tweet as much as possible.
.  .  .  .
At the conclusion of a full calendar year, the UFC will end up paying $240,000 a year to its fighters for their Twitter usage.
So while NFL and NBA players have been fined for tweeting during team functions, the UFC is doing the exact opposite, which is no surprise considering how active White is on Twitter and how he has long been in favor of embracing social media.

This makes sense from the MMA’s perspective.  Take advantage of controversies to build awareness of the brand, the fighters, and the fights.

It encourages the fighters to reach out to their fans and build a more-direct and stronger fan-base.  I think it’s another smart move from UFC boss Dana White.