I am mostly concerned with American Sports. Is baseball the top paying sport, or is it football, basketball, golf, or whatever?
119652
Tiger Woods is the highest paid American sportsperson, so the answer is golf.
154965
Yeah, these questions are always hard to answer, and I don't think it is possible to give a correct answer.\n\nCertainly, the Bears merit consideration, but what about the 1972 Dolphins?  What about the recent Patriot teams?  \n\nBest by wins and losses?  By which season's league rules?  \n\nSo many other questions.  What about the effects of performance enhancing drugs?  \n\nMy thought is that I would take today's athlete over any from previous decades, merely because of the advances in training technology and knowledge of the sport, such that a star of old is inherently disadvantaged when compared to the players of today.\n\nIt is very hard to make these comparisions.  So, I think the benchmark should be a relative comparison of how much better were they than the other teams in the league.  \n\nSo, I give the Patriots more credit in the fact that they had such a dominant team for 3 of 4 years, yet did so in a league in which parity dominates.  The salary cap and revenue sharing of today's NFL ensures that teams are on roughly an even footing.  Contrast this to baseball where the Royals $40 million payroll is expected to compete against the Yankees $200 million.  Is it any wonder why the Royals lost 106 games last season?\n\nSo, in my estimation, the Bears certainly could be considered one of the best teams ever, but it is all subjective.  It is much easier to say that they are probably one of the 5 best teams ever.
446696
Baseball is a classier sport then football most teams wont allow the extra Bling.  I use to were flip-up sunglasses if you can still find them.  Or the bright colored cleats.
485265
I agree that other countries are pretty much on the same level as the United States when it comes to baseball.  I don't think it's embarrassing at all.  It's just the normal evolution of the game world wide.  It had to happen one day.  Just look at basketball, another American game.  We don't dominate basketball either on the world circuit anymore.  There are great athletes all over the world in all sports.  One day I'd like to see a real world series.  The champions from all the leagues across the world play in a world championship tournament and crown a real "World Champion."
651976
Here is the deal...all of the top American atheletes play other sports such as football, basketball and baseball.  Look at the best American player, I think he is 5-8 150lbs.  If our top atheletes chose to play soccer when they were growing up instead of other sports, America would be a top team, if not the best in the world.\n\nIf you look at the top American atheletes in their repective sports and compare them to atheletes in other countries, the Americans are far and away BETTER.  \n\nWhat if growing up Michael Jordon chose to play soccer instead of basketball or Barry Bonds instead of baseball?  America would be an elite team.
342343
I think it has to do with it being football season. If it were baseball season, there would be more baseball stuff. ESPN always has its "Instant Classics" during the season. I'm sure that then the NBA heats up, you will see more NBA stuff on there, although I'm not sure about the NHL, seeing how ESPN no longer carries it. They just go with whatever is the major sport at the time.
93992
It is a simple lesson in economics supply and demand. For athletes, people are willing to pay money to see a game and receive a service. Owners are willing to pay star players more because they attract more fans to the games, sell more gear, get more endorsements, get more radio/tv money. The players pay for themselves.\n\nTeachers, policemen and other civil servants does not fall so much into this same criteria. Most of these are paid with taxpayers money.  The taxes come from property, sales or income taxes.  At the same time, they do not produce the revenue that a baseball player/team can produce.  Due to both of these factors they do not get paid as  pro athletes do.\n\nThe same applies to anyone with a specific job with the city, county, state or federal government such as an attorney or an engineer. They typically get paid less than a counterpart in the private industry. They have the same skill set and experience but get paid less. In exchange, they usually get better hours, more benefits. More importantly they usually enjoy knowing that they are working for the citizens.\n\nAs with everything in life there is a tradeoff.
316648
I love all sports and these are the top 10:\n\n1. Baseball- You can't argue with the magic a baseball game brings to a father and son, including all around the world.\n2. Football- Football is a rugged sport and is very popular with our country.\n3. Soccer- I'm talking world wide here.  I think soccer is a very physically demanding sport, though I find it particularly boring to watch.\n4. NASCAR- Anybody can drive a car.  This sport shows that you can be extremely competitive while doing something relatively easy.\n5. Basketball- Alot of people in the world think basketball is a new age sport with nothing but new aged moves.\n6. Hockey- Hockey is a very popular sport with all of those tough guys in the world.\n7. Boxing- Boxing is a sport where it is survival of the fittest.  No evolution involved.\n8. Golf- Golf is a particularly easy sport to play.  It just takes a lot of practice to get good at it.\n9. Lacrosse- Lacrosse is the best hodgepodge sport ever.  It is a mix of field hockey, hockey, soccer, basketball, football and catch.  Ahh the power of cheese.\n10. Horse Racing- Congratulations to all of the lazy people in the world who watch horses and call it their sport.  It is the horses who should get all of the credit with the support of their jockeys.
608010
Softball is much like baseball - hit the ball and run the bases correctly, and  you win the game.  Basketball is a dance where you seek to impose the "rhythm" of YOUR game onto the other team - a little more difficult but utimately much more rewarding
242830
Well, I feel that the reason that baseball and football are much more popular in the US is because they are both games that orginated in the US. Soccer, for instance, orgininated in European countries, and there in those countries, soccer is very popular. Sports that orginate stay the most popular in their country. Also, people sometimes dont enjoy sitting for 45 minutes straight, knowing that the second that they get up to go pee, they miss the only play of the game. And my third point is that there is much more action in both Baseball and Football than there is in soccer.
125830
Yes. The way baseball is now teams that can spend a lot of money, and do it wisely, stand a much better chance of being competitive. I expect that both teams will be in the playoffs this year and I'd give it a 1 in 4 chance that there will be one this year.
664227
I play Baseball, Football, Hockey, Basketball, and March Madness. You play Auto Racing, Baseball, Formula 1, and Golf. Gimme my 10 please :-)
546328
the answer to your question is found in the TV ratings, that's the true measure of who's watching what. so according to the neilson ratings, football is by far the most popular sport in america. NASCAR is second, baseball 3rd, and basketball 4th. soccer isn't even a blip on the radar screen, in fact very few soccer games are on TV here. the pro leauge does not have a network TV contract, because we really don't care about soccer here.
74174
Football, and here is why:  no other sport combines the athleticism, grace, speed, power, and strategy that football does.  No other sport requires each player on the field to do his exact job, close to or away from the ball, in order for a play to work.  Each player has his own role to fulfill, and if he doesn't, the play doesn't work.  Basketball approaches this level, as does baseball, but football is king.
526498
baseball\nhockey\nfootball
153399
Basketball would be the best. Soccer is more famous but if your looking for the sport with all the satisfaction and coolness then basketball is it. The fact that your good at it only improves it. Basketball needs way more physical fitness and mental attitude and if your a basketball player you'll gain an air and an attitude unlike in soccer. So take my word as I play it myself and go to basketball.
186054
Cricket, darts, and curling are very popular sports in areas outside the USA.  Yahoo Answers does have an international audience, so I see why these are listed individually.\nI guess that Yahoo can't put all of the sports in their own category.\nLacrosse would probably need to have quite a few questions being asked, or have a national/worldwide craze to get its own category.\nI love the sport - wish I grew up in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast area so I could have played in high school.