ESPN names Bryce Harper as the most famous ballplayer on the planet

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Harper likely to fall further behind after already late spring start

Sports Illustrated has released its annual “World Fame 100” ranking of the most famous athletes on the planet. Only one baseball player made the 2019 list – new Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper.

There had been no baseball players to make the list in either of the last two years. Harper undoubtedly received a big push from his hotly contested pursuit in free agency this past off-season.

The folks at ESPN explain their process in this manner: “To identify the 100 most famous athletes in the world, we started with 800 of the biggest names in sports, drawn from 78 countries. We then ranked them based on a formula that took into account three fame factors.”

Those three fame factors are made up of the individual’s internet “search score“, the annual value of their current endorsement deals, and the size of their social media following.

The search score measures just how often the name was searched on Google by taking “the weighted average of an athlete’s Google Trends peak score (how much he spiked on his most searched day) and his average score (how much he was searched throughout 2018, on average.)”

ESPN uses a variety of resources including contributors to such sites as Forbes in order to approximate the endorsement values. The social media figure is taken from the individual’s number of followers on their most popular account platform.

Harper received a search score of 3, was listed as having a $13 million endorsement figure, and had 1.4 million followers (Instagram) on his largest social media account.

Why All the 'Oscar' Fuss?

Why any human being would sit at home on a Sunday night and watch a bunch of zillionaire Hollywood actors and actresses pat themselves and one another on the back is beyond me. But there they were last night, parading before the cameras on 'Oscar' night at the annual Academy Awards.

I mean, I do get it for the actors and actresses themselves, and for their families and friends, of course.

Almost every industry takes time out during the year to recognize and honor those in each profession or business who excelled during the previous year. Dinners are shared, toasts are made, speeches are given, trophies and plaques are handed out.

But while the nation's leading architects, novelists, construction workers, police officers, firefighters, bankers, small business persons, mass transit employees, entrepreneurs, secretaries, priests, and many others receive their honors in near-anonymity surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues their exploits are almost never celebrated in front of a television audience.

Why would any office worker, home maker, student, or businessperson care who took home what trophy for some movie that the vast majority of them have never seen and likely will never see? Why should I care what kind of dress Sandra Bullock or Meryl Streep wears as they walk down some red carpet and into a theatre to receive their awards?

Britt Hume's Advice to Tiger Woods

Everyone pretty much knows the story of Tiger Woods' recent fall from grace. It became public that the mega-star athlete and corporation head was a serial adulterer.

The married Woods is the father of two kids in diapers and cashed in greatly not only on his golfing acumen, but also on a squeaky-clean family man image.

Since the numerous affairs began to become public on Turkey Day following a late night domestic incident and auto accident at his home, Woods' sponsorship deals have disappeared and his golf career put on hold as his family disintegrated in public.

Into this mess last Sunday waded Fox News political analyst and veteran newsman Britt Hume. On the program 'Fox News Sunday', the network's key Sunday news offering on major events, the panel participants were commenting on the big stories in the coming year. In the category of sports, Hume decided to tackle the immediate future of Tiger Woods, opining that Woods would indeed recover his golfing career this year.

However, Hume did not stop there. He went on to add that though Woods, who is believed to be a follower of Buddhism in his religious leanings, would indeed regain his golfing status, he might have a more difficult time in battling and overcoming his personal moral demons. Here is the full, exact quote by Hume at it's relevant point:

"My message would be to Tiger..turn to the Christian faith, and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."

If Tiger Crashes in the Woods....

Tiger Woods is not having an affair with stunningly beautiful New York nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel, a woman who has been described as a 'professional homewrecker' after sleeping with actor David Boreanaz while his wife was pregnant. Just ask them.

Tiger Woods was not intoxicated when he crashed his car this weekend at almost 2:30am while leaving his home either. Tiger Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, 'rescued' him by smashing out the rear window of his SUV with a golf club after the accident. Really. No, seriously. She was, uh, rescuing him when she smashed out the window of his car. Res-cu-ing, thank you.

There are more holes in this story than in a block of swiss cheese. But one statement that is coming out of the Woods camp is beyond dispute. Tiger Woods has said that this is a 'private matter' within his family, and beyond a possible police interest involving the nature of the car crash, that is absolutely true.

The good folks at the National Enquirer and TMZ would like you to think differently, but what happens in the private home life of a celebrity is no one's business. Not when the events, incidents, or happenings of that life are not affecting your life directly, or society in general.

The arguments and discussions have gone on for as long as there have been human beings. Are other people's business in any way our business? The question is raised legitimately not just in reference to celebrities, but with your neighbors as well.

How many of us have been guilty of gossiping over the happenings in someone else's family, home, or marriage? Are we ready to have our own situation become fodder for some similar gossip?

We all have a right to privacy. Every single one of us, whether we are a world-famous celebrity like Tiger Woods or a simple ditch digger, is going to have familial problems. We are going to have a marital spat or worse. We are going to have a kid who does something crazy. We are going to become involved in an accident after leaving a party. Something.

My bet is that every single person who ever reads this little blog entry has done something in their lives that they are very happy never got out into the public domain. Perhaps there are some who have not been as fortunate, and who have had some scandalous or embarrassing or personal situation become the source of such public gossip.

The fact is that Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have a young child. They have the normal stresses and strains on their family and relationship that we all feel. Sure they have tremendous financial resources that make some things much easier. They also spend a great deal of time apart with his constant travels to golf tournaments, sponsorship commitments and other events.

The very last thing that the Woods family needs if there has indeed been a sexual indiscretion, or an auto accident, or a marital fight, or any type of misstep in their family is all of our eyes watching them, hungry for ever more sordid details, thirsting for more insider knowledge. It's hard enough to overcome familial trauma under normal circumstances.

Every single one of us who stays tuned in to one of the gossip television programs, or reads some gossip article online or in a tabloid, everyone who thinks that they for some reason deserve access to the Woods family personal troubles is pouring gasoline on the fire. Sure, maybe Woods lit the match. But he and his wife deserve the opportunity to put their fire out, if that is what they wish. They don't need us dumping that petrol into the mix.

The next time that someone says to you "What do you think about Tiger Woods and that girl?", or perhaps "So, I heard Susie down the block is having an affair with Joe at the gas station, whatta ya think?" why not make your response "Do they care about what's happening in my family? Because that's what matters to me."

It's only a matter of time before you or one of your own slips up big time, and the very last thing that you will want is a bunch of nosy neighbors, or worse, the news media, sticking those big noses into your business. None of us could survive much of an in-depth prying into our personal affairs. We should not be doing the same to the Woods family, or any other family or individual for that matter.