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CNBC.com BusinessWeek |
Last year, after I took the magazine to task for some of its calls, the editors looked past my venom and invited me to participate this year. I give them credit for that as well as selecting a good mix of 34 others to weigh in on the list.
Take a look at this year’s list here.
Tiger Woods, my No. 1, was a no-brainer at No. 1 on the BW list. But I guess the great thing about lists like these is that people have their strong opinions and they are going to debate the choices. I’m no different.
Let’s go into Nike [NKE
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]first, since the company is probably the most powerful force in the business of sports. I actually ranked Nike CEO Mark Parker at the No. 2 slot (BW has him at No. 31) and Michael Jordan, whose shoes are still dominating the shelves, at No. 3 (BW has him at No. 9). This list has Nike chairman Phil Knight at No. 6. Even after I told people last year that his involvement in the company is now minimal, there’s a perception, I guess, that Knight is still heavily involved.
ESPN might be the second most popular name in the business of sports. The BW list has ESPN president George Bodenheimer at No. 4, but doesn’t have the guys that pull a lot of the strings – John Skipper and John Walsh – until No. 30 and No. 72, respectively. I had them both in my top 10. I'd also throw in a third John, John Kosner, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN.com. Many people don't realize this, but particularly with the acquisitions he makes, he might deserve a spot on this list ahead of Serena Williams (No. 100).
The most glaring omission from a sector standpoint is the agents. Most notably, Drew Rosenhaus, who I had as No. 20 on my list, is even not in BW’s top 100. Agents Scott Boras (37), Tom Condon (70) and Arn Tellem (98) appear on the list, but I might have had Aaron and Eric Goodwin on the list this year, particularly because of the shoe deals they structured for Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Candace Parker.
I’m still baffled by the lack of respect given to Under Armour[UA
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] CEO Kevin Plank. Last year, after he missed the entire list, I said he would have definitely made my top 40. This year, in the list I submitted to BusinessWeek, I put Plank at No. 21. They have him at an absurd No. 95, somehow behind the president of Oakley, whom I’ve honestly never heard of in my life.
BW probably did as best as they could. I was pleased that they took the time to put together a vast panel to actually do this instead of do what other publications do--just rank it all themselves and call it a day. In the end, the list is never going to be right by everyone and that’s a good thing.
Questions? Comments?
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