Scholar

Rodney Fort

H-index: 31
Economics 56%
Political science 12%
rodneyfort.bsky.social
I think he is just doing what commissioners do—owners’ bidding. They like the WNBA. But always want to squash players. Novelty is that it appears that Silver is commissioner of two leagues.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
This is a great place for difference-in-difference analysis.
jjcoop36.bsky.social
Conventional wisdom says if you throw extremely hard as an MLB SP you at significant risk to blow out and fade away.

In reality, the hardest throwing MLB SPs are the most long-lasting/durable. I studied 236 MLB SPs that debuted from 2008-2015.

www.baseballamerica.com/stories/to-h...
To Have A Lengthy MLB Career, Pitchers Need To Throw Hard
J.J. Cooper digs into years' worth of MLB pitching data to investigate the connection between throwing harder and career length.
www.baseballamerica.com

Reposted by: Rodney Fort

jjcoop36.bsky.social
Conventional wisdom says if you throw extremely hard as an MLB SP you at significant risk to blow out and fade away.

In reality, the hardest throwing MLB SPs are the most long-lasting/durable. I studied 236 MLB SPs that debuted from 2008-2015.

www.baseballamerica.com/stories/to-h...
To Have A Lengthy MLB Career, Pitchers Need To Throw Hard
J.J. Cooper digs into years' worth of MLB pitching data to investigate the connection between throwing harder and career length.
www.baseballamerica.com
realbachscore.bsky.social
The early years of the Michigan-Wisconsin series were marked by catastrophic collapses of the stadiums they played in. In the Ann Arbor game, players actually helped rescue people from the wreckage.

Chicago (1902) and Ann Arbor (1905)
rodneyfort.bsky.social
It’s not a new “cost” problem. No school is required to pay the $20.5mil. And without NCAA constraints, new rev opportunities make it possible *for the obvious group*. Everything has always been driven by *revenue* differences.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
Indeed. Otherwise sounds like we all turned into dead weight. Good on you.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
Not that hard: A particular level of sports at given U is best for Univ admins. The more sports generate, the less UAs have to invest. Result: Revenue imperative dictated to ADs. Always was that way. New twist? New forms of revenue are now OK. So ADs go get it. Still the same rev imperative.

Reposted by: Rodney Fort

johnthorn.bsky.social
The Massachusetts Game had four bases PLUS a striker's point. The fourth base was home, which a runner had to touch to score. Below is the New York Game (same story), with a distance between first and third base of "42 paces OR yds." [Emphasis mine; see: ourgame.mlblogs.com/the-making-o... ]
The Making of Baseball’s Magna Carta
The Making of Baseball’s Magna Carta Something odd, unusual, unexpected, even — to one not inclined to superlatives — utterly amazing has just now turned up, some 160 years since it vanished …
ourgame.mlblogs.com
rodneyfort.bsky.social
Interesting. Watching Clev Det. At Progressive Field. All of the ads behind home plate are Geico.😆
rodneyfort.bsky.social
And always remember, the WNBA is just the owners acting cooperatively to their own ends. And the commissioner serves at their pleasure.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
A picture showing a *player* squashing the basketball is obvious, and telling, bias. If there is a stoppage, highest probability is a lockout by *owners*. And absurdly low pay by the *owners* is the major issue.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...
Is the WNBA headed for a work stoppage? The consequences could be grim for the league
What happens if the players association and the league don't reach an agreement by the Oct. 31 deadline?
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by: Rodney Fort

andyhre.bsky.social
The new Democratic party alternative to the SCORE Act (called the SAFE ACT) has a major trojan horse designed to recreate the pre-1985 CFB landscape where there is far less content available on over-the-air or basic cable TV.
Section 903: Expansion of Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to College Sports Amends the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to exempt from the antitrust laws, any joint agreement by an association of schools consisting of (1) at least all Football Bowl Subdivision institutions, or, in the alternative, at least each of the 136 highest earning institutions, or (2) any other group of institutions other than those in (1), to pool media rights if the association agrees to distribute revenues in accordance with the requirements under Section 904.

Reposted by: Rodney Fort

candacedbuckner.bsky.social
The WNBA coaches are raging, the players are revolting and the loyal fan base along with those who are just learning your name are ridiculing the entire operation.

So what are you going to do, Commissioner?

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Column | Listen up, Cathy Engelbert: The WNBA has a big problem.
Napheesa Collier said the quiet part out loud in a league where players pride themselves on action, not gratitude.
www.washingtonpost.com
rodneyfort.bsky.social
Interestingly, in the NBA. Donald Sterling as much as said the same? And there’s the possibly apochraphyl “Players are cattle and we can always get more cattle” episode with Tex Schramm, ‘87 NFLPA strike. Maybe not the same magnitude you were thinking.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
All good questions. IMHO ADs do understand NILs. Forcing bidding by third party firms might get ADs some of the excess value over the cap. As for future, my crystal ball is cloudy. Depends on legislative response and law suits.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
But I think this is also ADs just admitting they are overwhelmed by the new NIL world. Plus NIL firms scooping up the excess of player value over the $20.5m cap.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
I’m sure we’ll hear “Gotta spend $ to make $”. They’ve outsourced their own university NIL, sponsorship, and even stadium concessions. Money all in part generated by athletes.
rodneyfort.bsky.social
The upshot? 1) ADs have outsourced NIL generation at almost a 50% share and 2) people besides athletes expect to make a lot of money generating NIL rights revenue.

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