Show Me the Money

Lists are made to generate debate on a topic and the recently released 100 most powerful people in the sports world is sure to do so. At the top of the list are the normal cast of characters: Tigers Woods, Roger Goodall, David Stern and George Bodenheimer. But one sports appears to be left off the list: Soccer.

If there is a list of the top 100 power brokers in sports why does it not acknowledge soccer in particular, the English Premier League.

Here are a couple of names that should have been listed above David Beckham and the president of the WNBA both from the soccer world and other areas:

• Roman Abramovich: The owner and Czar of Chelski. Started the trend of foreign ownership in the EPL and is the world's version of the early 1990's George Steinbrenner.
• Richard Scudamore: The Chairmain of the English Premier League. Over the course of the last couple of years, no sports leauge in the world has seen the increase of television revenues that the EPL has seen. In the past two years, Scudamore has helped secured more then $1.6 billion in television revenue.
• Michel Platini (pictured): The former french soccer star and current president of UEFA. Platini is one of the best players ever to be produced by France, but now he is making his name as president of UEFA and trying to overhaul the money generating Champions League. If he gets a chance to change the league, he might alter the flow of money in European soccer.
• Pini Zahavni: Soccer Agent. Any where there is a big money transfer, Pini is sure to be involved. In July 2002 was involved in Rio Ferdinand 30 million pound move from Leeds to Manchester United and in July 2001 Juan Sebastian Vernon 28 million pound move to United from Lazio.
• Jimmy Sexton: college football agent. Represents some of the best coaches in the south. Including: Auburn's Tommy Tuberville, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer and Arkansas' Houston Nutt, former Miami head coach Larry Coker, Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech, Nick Saban of Alabama and former Dallas Cowboys' Bill Parcells.
• Kevin White: AD Notre Dame: White is the king maker at every ones favorite school. The explosion in college coaches salary can be tied to White and giving his coaches more money. He named the first black football coach in Notre Dame history and then fired him. After five good games gave the Lord of the Ring Dings a 10 year contract for $4 million a year.

The list for the most part is good but you have to remind your self that soccer is played all over the world and just because the united states did not invent it, that does not mean it does not exist.