Cannon Firing Line
The New Wide World Of Sports
By Ellis G. Cannon
PSR Publisher

Every once in a while, you may see those old films of immigrants passing through Ellis Island, making their way to the United States from origins far away. Rest assured that future generations will not see future NBAer Yao Ming similarly process his papers as he make his way here from China, but it's a good metaphor for what's happening in the sports world: America's pro sports are becoming more global by the day.

That's a good thing.

Years ago, when NBA Commissioner David Stern talked about globalizing his sport, many snickered, and with good reason. After all, hoops belonged to "us" and there was no way those international guys were capable of hanging with our guys. All you have to do is remember those lopsided whoopins' our dream teamers put on them whenever they felt like it, not to mention just how stilted and unnatural Italians, Greeks, and Spaniards looked on the court.

Man, has that changed. Talking to experts about the influx of international players into the NBA prior to last month's draft, it's clear Stern was onto something. Simply put, when the league goes out looking for players most cable-ready for the NBA, it goes abroad to find the talent. Seems that the players in foreign lands are playing a much higher level of hoops than we give them credit for and their fundamentals are much stronger than the domestic lot. One expert, ESPN.com's Chad Ford, told me that if Duke played one of the top teams in Italy they'd get beat by 30. Think about that.

For many years, the draft was actually made less fun to follow with all the international players simply because we didn't know their backgrounds and they seemed to be taking spots traditionally reserved for top collegiate players. That frustration, however, has given away to the deference we now have to a league that seems to always be ahead of the curve ball, in part because of its willingness to think outside the box. What struck so many of us as silly a decade ago – global hoops – now seems almost passé.

While some fans may have started paying attention to the quality of international players with the success of the Sacramento Kings, the depth of influx is beyond just the headliners. NBA rosters included 52 international players, from 31 countries and territories, last season. 26 of the players were in the playoffs.

Combined with this international strategy is the dual pursuit of nabbing top prep and collegiate prospects based on raw upside. These players, who, for the most part, are not coming into the league anywhere near finished products, are welcomed into the circuit because their skills and athleticism allow for them to be developed as long-term prospects. Between these youngsters and the more mature players coming from abroad, the league has figured out a way to create an entire new generation of a quality product.

These on-court decisions, of course, are not made in a vacuum. Knowing Stern and his crew, who somehow were able to get an increase in their recent television packages despite the fading of Michael Jordan and an economic downturn, the development of global hoops would also be a marketing and financial bonanza. Illustrative is the league's web site, which has four existing international sections available through the season – Spain, Japan, United Kingdom and Canada – and added one in Chinese characters for the draft. Nearly 40% of NBA.com traffic comes from international locations, with the highest numbers reportedly coming from such traditional NBA outposts as Germany, Australia, Spain, Korea, Phillipines, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada and, of course, China.

Now, we're not that well-versed on the World Cup, but didn't we hear that nearly 11 million viewers in China watched Brazil blow out the Chinese team, 4-0, in June? Or that roughly nine mil checked out France vs. Senegal, neither of which we believe is from China? We've never been keen on the politics of China and regret their being awarded a future Olympics, but American businesses – including the NBA – salivate when they hear these types of numbers.

From Stern's perspective, China is just one, albeit huge, market his operatives can target for merchandising and other revenue-generating efforts. We doubt that the NBA following in China rivals that of these World Cup numbers, but they certainly illustrate an interest in sports and if Stern can have success with even a small percentage of such huge numbers, he wins. And that's in just in one nation for a sport that is clearly covering more of the Earth each year.

The NFL similarly recognized value in going abroad years ago with its European operations, but it's very unlikely the pro football presence abroad will ever rival that of the NBA. European football gives NFL personnel types another chance to look at players, but as I was told by one from those ranks, most of those players have already been scouted, seen on video and tried out by NFL teams at camps, so it's not like the league is going to see much different when Amsterdam takes on Rhein.

Further, unlike basketball, which is a much more transferable game from one culture to another than football, Europe is not going to start producing NFL talent. It's relevance is largely about marketing and a chance to check on the developments of backups.

As for professional baseball, there is undoubtedly going to be an increase in international players, largely of Latin backgrounds, into the "national pastime". Although Asian players are also being increasingly welcomed, according to Pedro Gomez, a columnist for The Sporting News and Arizona Republic, the numbers of current minor leaguers project to about 50% of major league baseball being made up by Latin players in the next ten years. Considering the troubles of MLB over the past decade, including a palpable alienation of its fan base, it will be interesting how such a development will be accepted. As with all pay leagues, however, it's about having the best talent, regardless of their nationality.

It's safe to say that the most tangible impact of international growth in MLB will be about talent, even if from fewer countries than that found in the NBA. Lord knows the idea of marketing the game, or placing professional baseball teams in countries other than the USA and Canada is nothing more than a pipe dream at this point considering MLB has trouble getting out of its own way.

As evidenced again in last month's NHL Draft, the growth of international players in hockey continues. In fact, the increase in that circuit is pretty much a non-story, which speaks well for talent, although whether the NHL has the ability to capitalize on it in dollars and cents is less clear.

Again, these are good things. More of the best players play in North America across the pro sports landscape. That should mean better products for fans and a larger talent pool for the leagues, not to mention increased revenues for leagues with the leadership capable of capitalizing on it.

No matter what language is being spoken.

Ellis Cannon is also a regular panelist on KDKA-TV's "#1 Cochran Sports Showdown" aired Sundays at 11:35 p.m.