The first NFL Europa title for the Hamburg Sea Devils will be their last.
After 16 years of losing money, the NFL folded its development league in Europe, calling the decision a sound business move that will allow for a stronger international focus on regular-season games outside the US.
The announcement came less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in the World Bowl XV title game in Frankfurt before a crowd of 48,125. Five of the league's six teams are based in Germany, with the other in the Netherlands.
"The time is right to refocus the NFL's strategy on initiatives with global impact, including worldwide media coverage of our sport and the staging of regular-season NFL games," said Mark Waller, senior vice president of NFL International.
"We will continue to build our international fan base by taking advantage of technology and customized digital media that make the NFL more accessible on a global scale than ever before and through the regular-season game experience," he said.
The league was used by NFL teams to test young talent and produced players such as quarterback Kurt Warner, who led the St. Louis Rams to the 2000 Super Bowl championship and won two NFL Most Valuable Player awards; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme; and star Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri.
Some franchises drew strong crowds -- especially Frankfurt -- and broad newspaper coverage. The fans liked the party atmosphere in the stadiums, which was much more relaxed than soccer games with their often rowdy supporters.
But the league got little television exposure locally. Apart from the Super Bowl, no other NFL games are shown on free-to-air TV in Germany.
"The disappointment and the frustration are great," Hamburg general manager Kathrin Platz said.
A statement on the German-language edition of the NFL's Web site said the NFL decided to concentrate its resources on regular-season games outside the US in an effort to reach as many people as possible.
"We thank our fans for the great support in the past years," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
Goodell said that it was time to develop a new international strategy, describing the move to fold NFL Europa as the "best business decision."
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB