Sports and Money

     Having just written about BOOZE, I will now turn to two subjects which are even more important. Sports are infrequently mentioned in MM and I have generally lost interest in watching most of them, but I am sure you remain interested and will read on because of the mention of money. Although they are often related, they are treated separately here since I have already covered gambling and betting. Short bits are offered while we await the return of the muse who will produce lengthier and very thoughtful posts. (Note: If you actually make it to somewhere near the end of this post, there should be some mention of a guy who owns 7,000 cars.)

Event Planning:
  You are reminded here to start putting games in your calendar since many fans already have. These were noticed a while back in a Facebook post:

Those are college football games, but don't forget about the NFL. As Jason Gay noted in the Wall Street Journal: “Everywhere I look, the page has turned, and turned long ago — to football, football, football. Forget what the calendar says. The N.F.L. media is now the pharmacy that puts out its Christmas stuff during the first week of June.”

And before you do your Christmas shopping, do buy tickets for Dec. 25 for basketball games.

"NBA Christmas Day, Opening Night games feature Lakers, Warriors, Thunder,"
"The first NBA game on NBC in 23 years will feature the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder against perhaps their chief competition in the West, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are back on Christmas Day for the first time since the LeBron James era, league and network sources confirmed to The Athletic on Friday....
This coming season is the first of an 11-year, $75 billion national TV contract for the NBA, which features a new partnership with Amazon and a reuniting of the league with NBC. ESPN and ABC remain partners — and will carry Christmas Day games per usual...
ESPN was the first to report NBC’s opening night slate as well as the five Christmas Day games, which are:
Cleveland at the New York Knicks
San Antonio at Oklahoma City
Houston at the Lakers
Dallas at Golden State
Minnesota at Denver.

 Fighting:
   UFC stands for "Ultimate Fighting Championship" and it involves men fighting in cages. Such brutality is reluctantly allowed up here as long as the affair is conducted in English and French. But, the political importance of the UFC has been noticed even in the Globe & Mail:

"All the Rage: How the UFC Became America’s Most Important (and Misunderstood) Political Powerhouse," Sam Egan, Aug. 8, 2025: 
   "The UFC played an unexpected role in the second election of Donald Trump to the White House. But politicians of all stripes in the U.S. should take heed of its followers if they hope to retain, or gain, voters."

  Wait, there's more:

"White House Cage Fight Is 'Going to Happen' --- Dana White's Octagon Behemoth Gets a $7.7 billion Deal with Paramount. Now the Promoter is Planning a South Lawn Event," Jason Gay, WSJ, August 13, 2025.
     
Fishing:
   I told you about the White Marlin Open in "Fishing For Money" and lots of money was won again this year as you can see from the chart below. "Catch 23" is the clever name for the boat owned by Michael Jordan, who flew in on his private plane to participate. His boat is an 82-foot Bayliss that costs about $15 million. The $389,377.11 should cover some of the fuel costs.

Boating:

   Some wealthy people just like to float around and a couple of large boats were spotted off Victoria: "Two Super Yachts Spotted in Oak Bay," Oak Bay News, July 28, 2025. 
"The vessels are owned by Las Vegas billionaire Lorenzo Fertitta....

The larger of the two vessels – the 87-metre Lonian – can accommodate dozens of passengers and crew, and even a helicopter."
    And, guess what: The UFC Again
"Two super yachts owned by 56-year-old Las Vegas entrepreneur Lorenzo Fertitta, who Forbes says sold his stake in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for billions in 2016 and 2017, were seen anchored in Oak Bay."

  

   If you are really into boating, why not just buy the shipyard:
"Superyacht-obsessed Gaming Billionaire Just Bought the Entire Shipyard Behind Some Very Iconic Vessels," Henry Kelsall, Superblondie.com. 

   "Gabe Newell has made billions from video games and also has a love for luxury superyachts. However, he has now decided to take that love to another level.

   Instead of just buying another yacht, he has bought the whole Oceanco group, one of the world’s largest superyacht builders, and now owns the company....

   He used to own the Dapple yacht, and recently acquired his $400 million, 367-ft Oceanco yacht, Project Y722.
   With so much money on hand, it’s no wonder that Newell has a net worth estimated to be $9.5 billion."

Flying:
   Avoid Air Canada and buy your own plane so you won't have to worry about your dog. Two examples involve a goldendoodle and a cavapoo, which are apparently some kind of new canine.

1.   "When Maxx Chewning sold his sour-candy business to Hershey for $75.5 million, the first thing he did -- before buying a Rolex or dream home -- was jet his wife and six friends to Vail on a Dassault Falcon 900.

   They skipped security lines, zipped straight to the runway and seated themselves in leather recliners with gold accents in the wood-paneled cabin. The price tag for this adventure: $100,000.

   Chewning's goldendoodle, Dood, sprawled at their feet. "The joke is, I had to get a private plane so I could bring my dog," the 35-year-old said. "I didn't really care what the price was."

 2.  "Tennille Holt, 44, retired in 2023 and now spends much of her time traveling the world with her husband and 8-year-old cavapoo, Hudson. Hudson has his own Instagram account documenting his life, including his private-jet flights, where he is often served his favorite: grilled chicken.

   She and her husband spent about $200,000 to fly Hudson from Australia to Los Angeles in a Bombardier Global 6000 and avoid the commercial flight. She recalls dreaming about this flexibility while working long days and nights as an entrepreneur.

  "The goal was to create the freedom to live life on our own terms, which now includes plenty of travel and the ability to fly privately whenever we want," Holt said. "It's the best and most comfortable option for Hudson."

From: "Private-Jet Money Is New Wealth Yardstick," Gunjan Banerji, WSJ, August 54, 2025.

Golf:

  Rory McIlroy has had a pretty good year and decided to buy a house back in the UK, for which he paid $9 million. The neighbourhood competition is tough, however, and it is difficult  to keep up with the Joneses, when one of them is the Sultan of Brunei. "Meet Rory McIlroy's Billionaire Neighbor with 7,000 Cars, 39 Tigers and $15K Haircut Habit," Jackie Longo, The Sporting News, July 21, 2025. He probably won't be around much: "He primarily resides in the Istana Nurul Iman in Brunei, a residence considered the world's largest palace, boasting a staggering 1,788 rooms."

"A Tradition Unlike Any Other"

    Since that was more related to the Sultan than golf, here is a bit about The Masters. At some point soon, those who attend will need to be more like Members of Augusta than mere fans of the sport. This is from Dan Wetzel, ESPN, Aug 14, 2025:
"Let Them Eat Wings Somewhere Else: The Masters and Masses Part Ways."

  "Sporting events, including the venues that house them, were once designed mostly for the masses. Now they are increasingly being repackaged to deliver more and more luxury and exclusivity -- an understandable attempt to maximize profit, but with an associated cost nonetheless....

  Last week, Sports Business Journal detailed the 2026 "Official Masters Hospitality" program. It included offers of housing, transportation, catering and so on to the corporate and/or well-heeled. Consider the "Full Scale, Private Home Program," which will run you a mere $219,600 for the week.

  That bit of news came days after the announcement that a local Hooters restaurant, just a short stroll from Augusta National Golf Club, is closing.

   Nationally, the chain is known for its wings among, uh, other things. The Augusta Hooters, however, was very much a Masters week institution, a spot for the everyman to relax after a day at the tournament.
  It spoke to the dichotomy of Augusta, the club, and Augusta, the city. The former is the nation's most exclusive country club, located on formal and pristine grounds. The latter, especially on Washington Road leading from Interstate 20 to Magnolia Lane, is a snapshot of strip-mall, middle-American consumerism. Traffic lights and turn lanes, Taco Bells and tire shops.
  Maybe nothing comically defined that contrast as much as the Hooters, which capitalized on its location by setting up a huge tent to handle overflow crowds. It hosted a "Miss Green Jacket" contest and clung to the chain's slogan -- "Delightfully Tacky, Yet Unrefined" -- which is antithetical to the prim and proper country club.... [wasn't it worth reading the entire post, just for that slogan?]

   The Hooters was most famous for, in recent years, having John Daly park his RV outside, allowing fans to drink, smoke cigarettes and buy merch from golf's ultimate folk hero. The party, unsurprisingly, often raged loud and late. Daly once told me his presence was even written into the restaurant's lease -- "As long as they don't get mad at me for signing girls' asses, I'm OK," he joked....
   The club is famously secretive, but it wouldn't surprise anyone if the ultimate goal was an exclusive ramp from the highway to the club, lined with club-controlled housing and hospitality, bypassing Washington Road altogether.

   This is a trend where stadiums increasingly have built not just luxury boxes but numerous exclusive clubs -- from courtside to behind home plate.

    Sports is a business, so this isn't to condemn anyone from meeting a demand. Organizations are just cashing in on the "next door" phenomenon of people wanting something more special than what's already special."

  We visited The Masters a couple of years ago and the pimento cheese sandwich and beer were still affordable and one barely notices Berckmans Place along one fairway where the entry fee is around $10,000.

The Bonus:

  Even if you are a loyal reader of MM you likely missed all of The Masters information I have already provided. That is because it is cleverly hidden in this post - The Canadian Masters. Read it to find out what "The Canadian Masters" is, and what the sports commentator Gary McCord said to be banned from Augusta. And, if you look at "The Bonus" you will learn who committed suicide near Ike's Pond on the Augusta course.

Fishing For Money

 

The White Marlin Open

   This is not a fish story. "The White Marlin Open" which has been open and ongoing for 50 years, really is the "World's Largest & Richest Billfish Tournament." The port from which the contestants venture forth is Ocean City, Maryland. When we visited back in early April, there were many signs promoting the tournament which has now been completed. I thought I would take a look and see what happened. While I am looking and you are waiting, you can read or re-read my earlier account about visiting Ocean City in "Blogging While Travelling." 

  In that post, I did not focus on the rowdier aspects of the resort since we deliberately went before Memorial Day to enjoy the unoccupied ocean beach. From then until Labour Day, the place is a festive one and I suppose the reporting during that period would be more exciting, but I can assure you that this account about the fishing tournament is likely to be more rewarding than you might think. If you would like a sample of the more raucous side, simply visit the website of SEACRETS. It is a mini-Jamaica on the bay side where there are 15+bars and a distillery. Palm trees are trucked in every spring, but if you don't want to drink under them or in one of the many bars, you can drink right in the Isle of Wright Bay. 

   Rather than focus on the summer-long, "Spring Break" atmosphere and those people who spend a great deal of money drinking, I will now report on the fisherpeople who win large sums of money fishing (and likely drink some while doing so.) Here are some of the results which were taken from the WMO site or other sources. The prize amounts will seem confusing since someone in fourth may have won more than someone in second. That has to do with things like the type of contestant and the fish. The WMO rule book is 12 pp. of small type and that does not include the IFGA rules. As well, there is an additional information sheet where you can find out if it is legal to use a "FLIPPY FLOPPY" or a "STINKY TINKY." And, if you win a large amount, you may be asked to take a polygraph test. 

Blue Marlin

John Ols of Laytonsville, Md., was this year's big money winner, reeling in a 640.5-pound blue marlin aboard the Floor Reel out of Ocean City to take home $6,200,000.

Tuna

First place: Brian Stewart of Shady Side, Md., reeled in a 265-pound tuna aboard the Reel Tight out of Ocean City to take home $1M.

Second place: Chris Mentlik of Street, Md., reeled in a 221.5-pound tuna aboard the Fishlik out of Chincoteage to take home $360,000.

Third place: John Zimmerman of Boynton Beach, Fla., reeled in a 221.5-pound tuna aboard the Game Over out of Ocean City to take home $160,000.

Fourth place: Rusty Shriver of Leonardtown, Md., reeled in a 215-pound tuna aboard the Ro Sham Bo out of Ocean City to take home $1,700,000.

Wahoo

First place: John Harris of Boyertown, Pa., reeled in a 57-pound wahoo aboard the "Shooting Star" out of Indian River to take home $2,000.

Second place: Chad Jackson of Fory Myers, Fla., reeled in a 55-pound wahoo aboard the Captain Deadley out of Ocean City to take home $28,000.

Third place: Matthew Gessler, 15, of Chadds Ford, Pa., reeled in a 46-pound wahoo aboard the Boy's Toy out of Indian River to take home $26,000.

Dolphin

First place: Andrew Spangenberger of New Freedom, Pa., reeled in a 50.5-pound dolphin aboard the Roncito out of Ocean City to take home $25,000.

Second place: Timothy Goodman of Palm Beach, Fla., reeled in a 32-pound dolphin aboard the Aquila out of Beach Haven, N.J., to take home $78,000.
Third place: Will Mcateer of Kent Island, Md., reeled in a 31-pound dolphin aboard the Maverick out of Ocean City to take home $27,000.

White Marlin

  Ironically enough, there were no White Marlin caught at this year's White Marlin Tournament. But, the total payout was around $10.5 MILLION. 

The Bonus:

   Michael Jordan often competes in this tournament and did so again this year. Just about all you need to know is found in this title: "Michael Jordan Took His $8 Million Fishing Boat, Catch 23, to the White Marlin Open Competition: The 84-Foot-Long Vessel, Wrapped in Elephant Print, Costs a Whopping $1 Million Annually to Operate," Neha Tandon Sharma, Luxurylaunches.com, Aug. 14, 2023.

   I followed him farther north to the "Midatlantic Fishing Tournament" and learned this: "In total, the tournament paid out $5.79 million to 35 boat crews. Jordan's boat Catch 23, by the way, took home $462,318 for a 75-pound white marlin, good for third in that category."

The person who chose the name for Jordan's boat also deserves some credit.

Sources:

To prove that this is not just a fish story, here are some sources. 

   The website of "The White Marlin Open" contains all the rules and regulations and you will also find some archival issues of the White Marlin Open magazine. The recent issue has this article: "How OC Became the White Marlin Capital of the World." For another history of the event see: "The White Marlin Open: A History Lesson," Jan Fogt, Marlin Magazine, March 6, 2015.

  For coverage of this year's WMO see: "White Marlin Open 2023 Final Leaderboard: A $6.2M Blue Marlin is Big Winner," Keith Demko, Delmarva Now, August 12, 2023.

   The "Midatlantic Tournament" numbers were found in: "Sports Outdoors: Pipe Dreamer Wins $1.18M in MidAtlantic With Blue Marlin Catch," Dan Radel, Asbury Park Press, August 30, 2023.

  The more sensitive readers of MM may be disappointed that I did not mention the more serious subjects related to fishing, namely overfishing and endangered species. The issue of "conservation" is raised on both the website of the WMO and in the article about the history of the event. Many of the fish caught are released, although admittedly the process is not painless.  In short, industrial fishing is more problematic than sports fishing and those engaged in the sport are often ardent protectors of the things they wish to fish or hunt. Sushi eaters should be reluctant to throw stones, and appreciate the irony.

Some Perspective: 

   Perspective is somewhat difficult to apply when you compare fishing to putting or angling to golfing, but in the most recent PGA Fortinet Championship which was held on a golf course, Sahith Theegala won and received $1.512 million. If you weren't reading carefully the bit above, you may not have noticed that the winner of the WMO received $6,200,000 and another guy got $1,700,00 for catching a tuna.