Sports gets bigger all the time, everywhere. But even with a superabundance of sport, that's not enough to satisfy our appetites, and so now we have to have make-believe sport, too. Who would've ever thought we would bet real money on our sports fantasies?

Maybe H.L. Mencken was right when he said: "I hate all sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense." And Mencken didn't even know about Ultimate Fighting or the halfpipe of snowboarding.

However, even in the biggest bull markets, there are always a few stocks that fail, so I began to contemplate what in sports is bucking the trend and losing out.

Click the audio to hear Frank Deford's commentary.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

300x250 Ad

Support quality journalism, like the story above, with your gift right now.

Donate