The Grass Is Seldom Greener In The Other NFL Stadium

 Didn't watch every match, but did see a number of World Cup games. Interesting that no matter where the games were played, be it Mexico or Canada or in the US, the pitch was always grass.

That includes the NFL stadiums that hosted World Cup matches, with said stadiums tearing up their artificial turf and installing grass. Why? Because the players demand it. That's right. World Cup soccer players, well, professionals in Europe, etc., say the will only play on grass. And NFL owners said OK.

And right after the World Cup wrapped up, said NFL owners tore up the grass to go back to artificial surfaces.

Huh?

Never mind that  92% of NFL players would much rather play on grass, and want that to extend their careers.

Nope. In the NFL, 16 of the 32 stadiums are turf, while the other 16 are grass (14 fully grass, 2 hybrids of 97% grass).

The reasoning from NFL owners who have turf? It's done so they can use their stadiums for other events, like rodeos and monster truck rallies.

Too bad those owners won't listen to their employees, the players, and follow the lead that soccer has provided.

LaBron James took a $50 million pay cut to sign with Philadelphia. You read that right. He was making $54 million last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, this year will make $4 million with the 76ers -- part of a two-year contract worth $8 million.

Talk about a bargain!

Going back to the World Cup, which was so successful -- and hats off to Spain for their dramatic win over poor-loser Argentina. In the wake of the tournament, FIFA head Gianni Infantino said that they should turn FIFA into a commercial venture and sell a stake in it. 

According to the New York Post,  that plan was to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling about a 20% stake in a new unit, valuing it at $20 billion. (And, what a coincidence, leading one of those major investors would be a guy who happens to be the brother of a son-in-law of a certain head of state....)

The move was quickly rejected by controlling bodies in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Europe, and it's 55 members, going so far as to say they would boycott FIFA events. Of course, that would probably impact the upcoming women's World Cup as well.

Even Infantino's senior advisor termed the plan "a bad deal for football" and resigned. He also said "It is a bad deal for FIFA's Member Associations...and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game."

Infantino finally read the room and said "oops, never mind..."

Won't surprise me if there's a major shakeup coming at FIFA after the "peace prize" and all the other sucking up was done.