Daily Madden: Caution Needed In Push For Global Sports
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - The Oakland A's lost their season opener to the Mariners in Tokyo Wednesday. John Madden told the KCBS morning crew he doesn't like the idea of baseball's opening day being played overseas.
"We know one thing about baseball," Madden said. "They're big on tradition. And they don't mess with their tradition, right? And they open in Japan, which makes no sense whatsoever."
He said he doesn't have a problem with some games being played outside the United States.
"I think the tradition of opening day is what would concern me more than playing over there," Madden said. "I think that, if you really eventually think you're going to be over there, you have to dabble in it a little first. But I don't know that if I were dabbling that I would dabble with the opener."
The NFL plays a game in London every year, and it's been suggested that a Super Bowl be held overseas.
"That would be terrible," Madden said. "It's been discussed, and then it's been debunked very quickly. That can't get any legs at all... You talk about an uproar. Just think of the fans if they did something like that ever."
A group led by NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson was selected as the new owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"You know what I can't understand," Madden said, "is a tattered franchise being worth two billion dollars. Usually when you become tattered, you lower value. When you get tattered and then increase the value that much, in this economy I didn't think that would happen." (8:05)
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
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