Andrew Zimbalist

PROFILE

Andrew Zimbalist Guest

Smith College

Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College and consultant to the sports industry; author of several books about sport and the business of sport, including National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer, Sports, Jobs and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums, Circling the Bases: Essays on the Challenges and Prospects of the Sports Industry, The Sabermetric Revolution: Assessing the Growth of Analytics in Baseball, and Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup

FROM Andrew Zimbalist

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Re-Imagining the Olympics Rio de Janeiro struggled to prepare to host the Summer Olympic Games. Brazil is in a recession, and less than two months before the games began, Rio’s Governor had to declare a state of emergency to access funding for the preparations. Now some estimates put cost overruns for the Games at $ 1.6 billion. And despite the Olympic fanfare viewers watching at home see, a myriad of problems continue to spring up now that the Games are underway – shoddy housing arrangements, security scares, terrible traffic, polluted water, and of course, Zika...the list of problems goes on and on, as it seems to every Games. But does it have to be this way? It’s time to reimagine the Olympics.

14 MIN, 11 SEC Aug 10, 2016

To the Point

The Crazy Money behind "March Madness" This year's NCAA basketball championships will generate $1.5 billion; Division One athletics are major business. Big schools get big money and coaches make millions, but many players may be left with nothing but injuries — and no education at all. "March Madness" usually features Syracuse University, where millionaire coach Jim Boeheim has developed a winning record. But, after penalties leveled by the NCAA , Syracuse withdrew from this year's competition, and while Syracuse and North Carolina may be this year's examples of how academic fraud victimizes "student athletes," the practice is widespread. As another season is winding down, is it time to give the players what they're really worth? What's the best way to do it?

33 MIN, 20 SEC Mar 27, 2015

Which Way, L.A.?

Clippers Sell for $2 Billion to Ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Donald Sterling owned the NBA Clippers franchise for 30 years — not any more. A court order today confirmed the sale of the team by Sterling’s wife Shelly to Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft. The selling price of the Clippers was $2 billion — three and a half times the amount it was recently valued by Forbes magazine.

10 MIN, 36 SEC Aug 12, 2014

To the Point

NBA Goes All In on Pushing Clippers Owner Out Today NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life in response to racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Silver also said that an investigation has confirmed that the man speaking in the recording was indeed Sterling.

7 MIN, 50 SEC Apr 29, 2014

To the Point

The First Step Toward Unionizing College Athletes College football is big business, and there's long been dispute about the status of so-called "student athletes." Peter Ohr, regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago, ruled yesterday that football players at Northwestern University are employees with the right to form a union and bargain collectively. What does that mean for the "student athlete" and the NCAA? Andrew Zimbalist is Professor of Economics at Smith College and author of the new book, The Sabermetric Revolution : Assessing the Growth of Analytics in Baseball.

7 MIN, 35 SEC Mar 27, 2014

To the Point

NFL: the 'Nonprofit Football League' The National Football League is a tax-exempt nonprofit — even though it makes $10 billion in revenue every year. Individual teams are taxed, but they're also heavily subsidized by states and cities across the country, enriching their wealthy owners. Nobody knows if Sunday's 48th Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium, the most expensive in history, will compensate New Jersey taxpayers for security, transportation and trash collection. We debate the public cost of America's newest "national pastime."

35 MIN, 37 SEC Jan 31, 2014

To the Point

Massive Economic Protests as Brazil Readies for World Cup Another wave of protests snarled traffic today in São Paulo, and federal police have been sent to five cities hosting international soccer games. It all started less than two weeks ago with protests against a 10¢ increase in bus fares in São Paulo, Brazil's biggest city. Brutal police repression was shared on social media, and protests spread to other cities, where tens of thousands have turned out in outrage over a whole range of issues, becoming Brazil's biggest upheaval since democracy replaced military dictatorship in 1985. Middle-class professionals are in the streets alongside radicals and university students, to the apparent surprise of elected leaders. We hear about political corruption, the high cost of living and huge public spending for the upcoming World Cup and Olympic Games .

33 MIN, 15 SEC Jun 19, 2013

Which Way, L.A.?

There's a New Kind of Magic in Chavez Ravine Frank McCourt isn't going away completely, but Dodger fans are basking in his sale of the franchise to "basketball legend" Magic Johnson, along with a baseball veteran and financiers who came up with $2 billion.

13 MIN, 7 SEC Mar 28, 2012

Which Way, L.A.?

A Third NBA Team for Southern California? Today was the day the Maloof Brothers, who own the Sacramento Kings , were set to apply for relocation to Anaheim. That would add a third National Basketball Association franchise to Los Angeles, alongside the Lakers and Clippers . But LA's own billionaire, Ron Burkle, got into the act, along with Sacramento Mayor, former all-star Kevin Johnson. Now they have two weeks to show the NBA Board of Governors a better deal if the Kings stay put.

18 MIN, 2 SEC Apr 18, 2011

Which Way, L.A.?

How Is the McCourts' Divorce Affecting the Dodgers? The latest act in what Kevin Roderick of LA Observed calls the " best soap opera " in town came last week when lawyers for Jamie McCourt released papers showing that she and estranged husband Frank took home $108 million in income between 2004 and last year — without paying a dime in local, state or federal taxes.

11 MIN, 8 SEC Mar 01, 2010

Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.

51 MIN, 17 SEC Jun 09, 2017

To the Point

What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?

51 MIN, 5 SEC May 23, 2017

To the Point

Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.

51 MIN, 12 SEC May 26, 2017

To the Point

Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.

51 MIN, 18 SEC Jun 08, 2017

PROFILE

FROM Andrew Zimbalist

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