Commenter Newbie does his thing. Newbie: ---------------------

Rhetorical Question of the Week:

A few weeks ago, the NFL tried to break an attendance record for Super Bowl attendance. They failed spectacularly. The UFC is looking to set their own attendance record, this April. I assume all seats have already been built so there should be no issues. But it is Canada, so...

A report from Yahoo! was claiming tickets were for sale on Stubhub for almost 50 times the face value.

The secondary ticket market is already exploding in terms of price. According to the Canadian Press, one major ticket re-seller has posted some crazy prices: On Friday, ticket reseller Stubhub offered seats from $104.99 (500 level, Row 20, corner upper tier) to $39,999 (ringside cage, Row 1). Tickets originally ranged in price from $50 to $800. Let's pretend that you will actually pay $40,000 for a ringside ticket. And I suppose if you can justify spending $40k on a ticket to a fight, you can afford 2 and bring a friend. So, you just paid $80,000, let's face it not to see the fight, but to be seen at the fight. Now, let's also assume that someone who really wants to go to the fight was able to get tickets at face value to sit ringside. When you get to arena, and sit down, you begin chatting with the person next to you and realize you paid 4,900% more for your tickets than he paid for his. Which of the two mistakes in this scenario would you rather make? And yes, both of you made a mistake. Would you be upset being the person who paid 50 times the face value of a ticket and sat next to a guy who didn't? Or would you be upset if you were the guy that could have sold his tickets for somewhere between twice and 50 times the value? I like the spot I am in that didn't invest anything and will (hopefully) not be in Canada that day Now, maybe you are into MMA and would actually pay money to see it. At least you will get to see 11 fights. And if you are going to sit that close; will inevitably get blood on your custom tailored, diamond suit that you clearly can afford, Mr. Rockefeller! Wait, is he still considered rich? I guess not. Looks like I need to update my jokes. I assume no one will actually pay that kind of money for the tickets, but assuming you could afford it, is there an event you would pay that kind of money to be a part of? Or what is the most you would pay for an event and which event? Untrue, Unresearched, and Possibly Incendiary Slurs Against Various Niche Sports - Elephant Polo Edition It has come to my attention that PETA is still ruining people's fun. They successfully petitioned for the removal of all 'Elephant Polo' records in the Guinness Book of World Records despite the fact that the headline writer can't spell the name correctly. Go look it up on the Guinness site; you won't find any records. I know what you are thinking... How does this affect India? Poorly. I would just like to state for the record and for PETA, the photo on this guest post does not reflect the opinions of Newbie or his affiliates. It is sole property of Michael Rand, the Star Tribune, and whatever website he downloaded it from. You and I are bound to have a run in sooner or later, PETA, but this is not it.

This does not mean I am against Elephant Polo, by any means. In fact, I'd be surprised if the Elephant Polo League didn't get a publicly financed stadium built, in Minneapolis, before the Vikings.

What else is happening in Niche Sports?: Horse Racing Edition

NBC is on board to broadcast all three 'legs' of the triple crown. (That pun seems awfully offensive to horses given their fragile legs, propensity to break them, and subsequent glue factory trips.) What does this mean to you as a racing fan/viewer? Pretty much nothing, except that for the 5 week stretch beginning mother's day weekend, if you dedicate 1 TV to horse racing ... you won't have to change channels and risk missing the pre-race. Which will, by NBC and NHL contract, pre-empt an NHL playoff game specifically scheduled to be pre-empted by horse racing.
You may think this is a stretch as a news item, and it is. But my contract* forbids me to talk about the mainstream sport that is beginning it's full squad workouts this week, and horse racing is another sign of spring. So I got excited.

Your thoughts on UFC, events you'd pay big money to see, Elephant Polo, PETA, horse racing in the comments are welcome. Also, feel free to make suggestions for future update and segments.