Best and Worst Sports Executives 2008

There is a whole other game that goes on behind the scenes in any sport. TIME has chosen some of the notable — and not so notable — sports executives and asks you to vote on who plays the game best

By Sean Gregory, Josh Tyrangiel, Adam Smith, Hannah Beech, Kristina Dell, Andrew Downie, Uki Goni, Jeff Israely, Tony Karon, Glen Levy, Catherine Mayer, Simon Robinson, Bill Saporito, and Yuri Zarakhovich

Richard Scudamore

Adrian Dennis / AFP / Getty
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Age: 47
Title: Chief executive, Premier League

PRO: After almost a decade at the helm of English soccer's top table, Scudamore has helped turn the league into the world's richest and most popular, flush with star foreign players, wealthy overseas owners and international broadcast revenue that the NBA and NFL would kill for.

CON: When Scudamore announced in February that the league was mulling plans to play competitive games abroad, the clubs, he said, were "excited." Few others were. Surprised fans and football federations all over the world promptly rounded on Scudamore's big idea, much to the league's embarrassment. In their current form, the plans are all but dead.

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