Bulls and Bears: Baseball and basketball surging to be the NFL's No. 2

Amplified by the afterglow of the World Baseball Classic held two weeks ago and opening days this week in Major League Baseball, the game is hotter than it’s been in three generations and almost 45 years. If you take a snapshot of the sport business landscape going into this weekend, it’s hard to dismiss the notion that baseball has moved ahead of NBA basketball in what is a race for second place behind the NFL when it comes to media, popularity and fan engagement in North American professional sport. As veterans in the business of sport know, success can be fleeting. It can change and will change quickly if baseball doesn’t find a way to avoid a lockout or a strike one year from now, one that could ruin many of the gains the American national pastime has made in recent years. In addition to collective bargaining, MLB also has to address revenue disparities within its 30-team club, not to mention new challenges in television and streaming distribution. Read More