The following are the winning ‘bids’ for various players on the new Indian Premier League of Cricket:
Mahendra Dhoni: $1.5m (Chennai)
Andrew Symonds: $1.35m (Hyderabad)
Sanath Jayasuriya: $975,000 (Mumbai)
Ishant Sharma: $950,000 (Kolkata)
Irfan Pathan: $925,000 (Mohali)
Brett Lee : $900,000 (Mohali)
Jacques Kallis: $900,000 (Bangalore)
RP Singh: $875,000 (Hyderabad)
Harbhajan Singh: $850,000 (Mumbai)
Chris Gayle: $800,000 (Kolkata)
it’s really pretty funny that most of the players listed above were nowhere to be seen near the scene of the bidding. i realize that the amounts paid are pittances compared to what goes on in the Imperial Games of America(Baseball, NFL football, Basketball etc.) but is pretty staggering in this country. Hopefully it leads the way to an actual professional cricket circuit so the local cricketers do not have to rely on other jobs to survive.
on the other hand i cannot help but think that this will move cricket from a semi-patriotic international venture into a more capitalistic effort devoid of some of the magic that is attached to a national team. no doubt the hype will be terrific, coming as it does from one of the world’s richest cricket organizations and the potential for entertainment is indeed high but this whole thing still leaves a strange taste in my mouth for reasons i cant really explain.
flubber, maybe?
doop HQ 
Oh, don’t worry, the infusion of big money hasn’t changed the nature of sports in the US at all. Nope. Not at all. Not even a little. Especially in colleges.