Our annual list of the people who set the tone of the industry, the ones who dictate the action and make the decisions that everyone in sports watches.
{podcast}
SBJ Podcast:
Abe Madkour & John Ourand on the selection of Fox's Randy Freer and Eric Shanks as No. 1 and why media executives dominate this year's list.
From the Executive Editor:
The Thinking Behind Our Influential List
1. Randy Freer / Eric Shanks, Fox Sports
4. David Stern / Adam Silver, NBA
5. Bud Selig, Major League Baseball
7. Robert Kraft, The Kraft Group
8. David Levy, Turner Broadcasting System
9. Mark Lazarus, NBC Sports Group
15. Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys
16. Mark Walter, Los Angeles Dodgers / Guggenheim Partners
18. Mark Parker, Nike Inc. / Trevor Edwards, Nike Brand
19. Casey Wasserman, Wasserman Media Group
21. Tim Brosnan and Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball
22. Don Garber, Major League Soccer
23. Mike Slive, Southeastern Conference
24. Jim Delany, Big Ten Conference
25. Melinda Witmer, Time Warner Cable
27. John Henry, Fenway Sports Group
29. Larry Probst / Scott Blackmun, U.S. Olympic Committee
30. Michael Levine / Howard Nuchow, CAA Sports
31. Tim Leiweke, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
32. Paul Chibe / Blaise D'Sylva, Anheuser-Busch
35. Jerry Reinsdorf, Chicago White Sox / Bulls
36. Ed O’Bannon, O’Bannon v. NCAA
37. Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee
38. Don Fehr, NHL Players’ Association
40. Bob Bowman, MLB Advanced Media
42. Andy England / Tom Long, MillerCoors
44. Jed York, San Francisco 49ers
46. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees / Fred Horowitz
47. DeMaurice Smith, NFL Players Association
48. Stephen Espinoza, Showtime
