Saleries of Pro Sports

I'm not really into sports per say let alone pro-sports. However  I do like the occasional get together over beer and pizza to shout for a team I think I like and ridicule someone elseses team. That for me is as enjoyable as it gets. But looking in depth at Pro-cycling, my passion and weakness, and it's finances I want to seek out other pro-sports salaries as one comparison to the wonderful world of our 'Tour' kings and princes.
OK, so we will start with the top 20 as reported online by "Free money finance"  in  August of 2006, three years ago and this is per Annam. This includes salaries, bonus, endorsements...the works:
In the US
1. Tiger Woods, Golf, $97,628,024
2. Phil Mickelson, Golf, $45,971,710
3. Shaquille O'Neal, Basketball, $34,000,000
4. Kobe Bryant, Basketball, $33,656,932
5. Carson Palmer, Football, $31,550,000
6. LeBron James, Basketball, $28,621,800
7. Derek Jeter, Baseball, $28,000,000
8. Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, $27,000,000
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Auto Racing, $25,761,830
10. Michael Vick, Football, $25,400,000
 In Europe

1. Michael Schumacher, Auto Racing, $80,000,000
2. Valentino Rossi, Motorcycle Racing, $30,000,000
3. Ronaldinho, Soccer, $29,100,000
4. Maria Sharapova, Tennis, $25,421,283
5. David Beckham, Soccer, $23,000,000
6. Ichiro Suzuki, Baseball, $22,500,000
7. Roger Federer, Tennis, $22,137,018
8. Ronaldo, Soccer, $21,600,000
9. Hideki Matsui, Baseball, $21,000,0009
10. Christian Vieri, Soccer, $20,000,000
So why is it so impossible to think that a pro-cyclist is worth at least 10 million a year given that in 2006 these guys were making this kind of money? Mind you I am not advocating that all the TOP DOGS get more than their share but that's all hinged on what they attract to a Tour, what they attract  watch to watch on Tv/internet and what they can sell, in other words it's all based on YOU!
Finding anything on the pro-cycling teams finances and the individual salaries has proved to be quite difficult. However in light of the other sports salaries I don't think I would be as shocked at our cycle heroes salaries given that the income quoted above is almost four years ago!  Also in light of the amount of work produced and finesse/strategy by the individuals and their teams at the Pro-cycling level I think a 'good living' is due each one including the DOMESTICS
I guess bottom line is with out finding raw numbers, but lots of speculation in the blogs, I would have to side with the Pro teams to be paid in the realm of the other sports stars. But why is it such a mystery anyway? Although looking at the supposed salary cap on American executives and in some cases skilled workers here, why are the sportsmen getting the lions share of $$$ for playing a game and we foot the bill? Convoluted to say the least. More on Monday and then the whole dreary thing will be over with...maybe.

Remember if I pass you on the road stop at Peets, because your buying.

In the shop for repairs

Working on a new view, see you later?

closed today for mental repair

be back after my bannana break...peace

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtian

I worked a lot of years for corporations in order to put dollars to the bottom line for share holders, partnerships and owners. No matter the ideal or dogma they all had one mantra. 'plan your work and work your plan'. It's not like you haven't heard it before and it sounds easy right? But in average guy lingo that means have a goal and work towards that goal with out to many distractions and you'll make it, kinda like buying a house...but let's not open that can of worms!
So as I am reading the cycle mags and watching all the 'Tours' I can on the internet and also reading the Pro-cycle news and blogs, and there is a lot of 'em, my corporate mind took over. All I began to see is $ $ $ $'s flying around and of course I began to think about the Plan. You know the plan, the big picture the whole enchilada, the Business Plan of a Pro cycling team. So with a ton of research on Google,which didn't yield much, I did manage find the Pro team Application and general outline of how UCI, the pro governing body, wants to keep all the ducks in a row...http://www.wiwi.uni-hannover.de/Forschung/Diskussionspapiere/dp-345.pdf
The Meat really begins on page 5 of this 32 page treatise on ' what a governing body has to do in order to get some respect' piece. Hey these athletes are the hardiest working of any sport with an average of 25,000, yes that's thousand, miles a year on a pro's legs. And yes cycling did fall on it's face with all the doping and illicit behavior that goes along with any sport back before Eddy Merckx. So it is understandable that in order to be world class you have to look, feel, smell and present yourself to be, dare I say it...World Class. All cynicism aside I love this sport and I  for one want it to be for families not thugs and bookies. No disrespect to any soccer teams or their regional events it may or may not resemble.
Here is just  a little exert from pg 5 of the application so you get a glimmer of what I'm talking about:
The teams must apply for a Pro Tour License, which is limited to 20 Teams and runs 4 years,
costing EUR 100.000 (UCI 2006). Additional fees are to be paid for each race. Each Pro Tour
Team has to participate in all Pro Tour races and has to employ 25 riders. Also race organizers
have to apply for a Pro Tour license, with a maximum of 30 events being licensed per
year. The UCI system comprehends either two lower categories, the Continental Pro Teams,
which can be invited to Pro Tour races, and Continental UCI-Teams. No promotions and relegation's
are allowed for. That's $149,649 American just for the License, makes me have second thoughts about owning my own team. Oh and that's in 2006 dollars!
Reading this I know I'm just scratching the surface and an investigative journalist I'm not. I  want to understand how these organizations  function and in that way you can understand the shear magnitude of planning and money it takes before our favorite teams and heroes even get to the starting line for the first race of the season. The plan also calculates having cash reserves for the care of  the whole team all season in paychecks and accident care should someone break a collar bone or wrist or something. No one ever plans one, they just happen...Cheers to an accident free year.
More tommorow and I hope your still right there with me. Untill then if I pass you on the road stop at Peets, because your buying.

I'm just saying

The wife and I were dining al-fresco Saturday afternoon and as usual having a fine talk about things in general, sometimes brushing over social-political subjects. She is very in touch with the Peace thru love ideal and I, well I try to encompass that and keep an eye on those who are saying it but not walking it out...bless my yoga girls soul.  When comparing notes we found that the ones who shout racist and bigot the loudest are usually the ones who themselves are profiting from this agenda. Do you get me so far?
It really sickens me and most people who are trying to be good to others when all they see is the finger pointers tell them that they are racists, homophobes, xenophobes,  haters of colors and different religions and worst of all...American patriots, oh how dreadful! Suddenly the worst-most ugly dreadful person to be is an American who loves his country. I wonder how these same people feel about those French when cheering on their countrymen at the Tour of France. How do they feel about the Italians or the Spaniards during their Tours, dreadful right?
So how about those dreadful smokers of tobacco and those horrible people who eat fast food? WOW, now there is a couple of hate groups  huh, smokers and overweight people. Why then are we going after these two groups and not the real haters? Haters of diversity in all aspects of life.
For example they, them, those who are the problem, hate cigarettes but not smoking of anything else like marijuana; those who hate fast food but insist on spraying our produce with chemicals that kills our children's bodies ability to fight sickness and among another things, cancer; Those who hate gasoline power but have no way to keep our nation going and finally for this day those who want to kill the health insurance companies because they will be making trillions off the "new system" or more relevant from the very people they call the haters.We know it would be different if all of them in the government had the exact same coverage as they are trying to give us, RIGHT!
Bottom line if you want Peace work towards it, not with an Ak-47 or a suicide vest or a 1000 page bill that nobody can understand, but with your two feet. Tell a co-worker that you like working with them; tell a next door neighbor that you got their back; don't let anyone badmouth another person or religon in your presence and lastly, most importantly be part of the solution and not the problem by trusting people of other colors and religions but not blindly. PC just isn't, it's stupid and you are not stupid.
If I pass you on the road stop at Peets, because your buying.

PS, cycling for peace in the middle east :http://www.heiseheise.com/1241/cycling-for-peace-from-rome-to-mecca
 The poster here shows cyclist  for peace in Berlin Germany circa 1954, this is not a new idea but it is time for us to see it through.

Week 8 around town

The best part of 'beginning again' as a cyclist is that I know the feeling when I pass a plateau, get over the hump or, if you will, find the next gear. This last week was a series of pushing the limits and really finding the edges of the performance envelope to date. Therefore I can move the performance quotient closer to the bench mark I have set as a theoretical standard that I have targeted for the ride in May and also using my made-up standard from my memory about my racing days 24 yrs ago.  Memories are all smoke and mirrors believe me.
I don't have a cycle computer to really gauge my heart rate, speed, cadence and distance but I have mapped several courses with Mapmyride.com and can approximate the mileage. This has enabled me to follow basic rule of thumb: 60 min divided by time elapsed x distance = mph using departure time and return time, crude but effective. I have no way to accurately take my heart rate but I can say for sure it's strong and steady with my rpms  around 95-105, again a rough estimation from previous training.
All the technical chatter aside I have had a blast burning the pavement, or what seemed to me as burning the pavement, and just screaming, not me the bike, as I blew through the streets of Naples. I know that the pros are at work on their bikes but I hope they are diggin the vibes as they break away, beat the other guy , ascend to the top, go through villages that have been standing since who knows when and finally just because! Like in many of the baseball movies when one guy says to the other,'we are grown men who GET to play for a living!' Yeh baby.
I guess bottom line for me is I am so happy to have re-discovered this sport and connected with it in a big way. I have tried so many other sports and hobbies but none have made me feel so connected and given so much pleasure. To others they get runners high or surfers peace or football sore-elation or whatever sport endorphins, but to me this is the sport that's pure and raw. A team sport that depends on strong individuals that can think for themselves but work as a unit with elite machinery thrown into the mix going at speeds of 35-40 mph.
Be back next week for more good stuff from the road and If I pass you on the road stop at Peets, because your buying.

Ben Bostrom to the starting line

I read about Ben in this months issue of Bicycling magazine and saw the future of cycling. A couple of months ago they interviewed a Nascar driver who had a Carmichael jersey on and thought, this is interesting. But now I see that LA, that's what the cool people call Lance Armstrong, has had a huge effect on celebs in every walk of sport. Bring'em on I say and let the sport of cycing be better for it.
Ben Bostrom (born May 7, 1974) is an American motorcycle racer. Bostrom returned to Ducati as Neil Hodgson's teammate for the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship. Ducati withdrew from the AMA Superbike Championship at the end of 2006, leaving Ben to join the Yamaha/Graves Motorsports team in 2007 for a rebuilding year, riding in the AMA Superstock Championship, where he finished second in points, though unable to score a win. In 2008, Ben Bostrom switched from Superstock to Supersport and led the Graves Motorsports Yamaha team to an AMA championship in the 600cc class. 
That's his creds. This guy, Ben, is now on a mountain bike in the off season. Yah, he claims it's to stay in shape and when he started it was, but now his competitiveness has landed him on a pro mountain bike team.That's not just staying in shape that's a real  A plus personality for you. The team is SHO-AIR and the complete story on BE @: http://www.team-shoair.com/pdf/Bicycle_2009_Bostrom.pdf
To me this just shows that cycling is becoming more mainstream and therefore more accepted as a true sport in the US.It  also means four things to us cyclists which are   1 opportunity 2 opportunity 3 opportunity and 4 respect on the road or 'street cred' if you will. I don't like it when all the straits jump on the band wagon but it does wonders for the tech side, the big name draw and also our place in the sporting world. But, and there is always a BIG BUT, when the crowds leave and we cyclist are all that's left to sweep up the party I hope for all our sakes we have kept a few of the party favors for the future and not fallen apart. It happens all the time in every sport, it's like being re-discovered only to be left for the next hottest, newest trend.  Here is to getting the big revenue boost, cheers! What ever the outcome this guy Ben is having a great time and I hope you are too!
If I pass you on the road stop at Peets, because your buying.