NEWS » 265 passing yards per game.Safety Kyzir Whi

The WWE is a very healthy business. We actually know this because, unlike any other major North American sports league or organization, the pro wrestling body of record is a public company.Lets take a look at the eye-popping numbers.? Revenues grew by more than 20 percent last year to an all-time record of $658 million.? With its Raw and SmackDown Live franchises, combined with its developmental NXT, the company put on 273 live events in the U.S. alone, where 1.6 million people paid an average of $53.22 to get into the arena.Putting those numbers into greater perspective, the WWE -- considered to be a touring business -- sold more tickets in 2015 than Fleetwood Mac, Maroon 5, Def Leppard and Ariana Grande, according to entertainment business tracking firm Pollstar.? Two-thirds of the companys revenue comes from media, which was worth $231.1 million last year, including more than $130 million in TV rights deals that will grow to $235 million by 2018.? Raw counts as the longest-running weekly episodic program in prime-time TV history, on the air since 1993. We have more of a female audience than people think, said WWE chief strategy and financial officer George Barrios. As much as 40 percent of our fans are women, which is lower than the U.S. population at 52 percent, but if you think of sheer numbers, we have more women watching our shows than Oxygen and Lifetime.? The WWE Network has 1.5 million subscribers paying $9.99 a month to get live fight content as well as archival footage and scripted and reality shows. To put that into context, the only direct-to-consumer content businesses that surpass that are Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and Major League Baseball. Its the WWEs second-biggest business, but is its fastest growing.? Net revenues from the WWE Network rose from $69.5 million to $138.8 million from 2014 to 2015, and because pay-per-view events are included in the network subscription, pay-per-view, a $82.5 million business in 2013, dropped to $20.6 million in 2015.? WWE is the No. 1 most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in the sports category, with more than 12 million fans taking in more than 10 billion video views in the past year. In 2010, Vince [McMahon] sat down our executive team and challenged us every day to be a little bit more digital, a little by more direct to consumer and a little bit more global, Barrios said. Five years ago, our business was 5 percent digital. Its now 33 percent. Our international business is up 40 percent and now makes up 26 percent of our sales.? Vince McMahon made $3.3 million in total compensation last year, which is peanuts compared to the 39.2 million shares of stock he owns, which was worth $800 million when the market opened Wednesday. Paul Triple H Levesque, his son-in-law, made $3.1 million in 2015. Levesques wife, Stephanie McMahon, even though she is the chief brand officer, is not listed as being compensated as an executive, although she does own 1.9 million shares (as of April), which are worth $38.6 million today. According to the WWE, the average main-roster performer earns $500,000, with top performers earning in the seven figures annually.? In 2015, the WWE made $49 million off licensing and another $49 million of in-venue and online merchandise sales. Only Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchandise beat out WWE in the action figure sales category. WWE, not the athletes themselves, has the rights to file to get a trademark for names used in the ring to be able to license that to merchandise producers.? John Cena is the most-followed North American athlete on Facebook. His Facebook fan page has 42.2 million likes, which is a million more than what LeBron James (23 million), Maria Sharapova (15.5 million) and Tom Brady (3.7 million) have combined.? The organization created The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), who has grown into Hollywoods biggest action hero.? Talent development has turned into a massive operation with the WWE Performance Center, where 80 percent of the current roster of athletes have been involved in some way. The company is starting to showcase more raw talent like Bin Wang of China and is using the development center to help build a character with great moves and good oratory skills. One step up is NXT, which is an ideal training ground for the wrestlers to get practical experience in front of more intimate crowds as well as allow the WWE to gauge the response of those crowds.Now lets take a look at the challenges:? The only numbers that are not public are what the WWE pays its talent. It does not break out the dollar figures either on salary or revenue split with larger stars, and Barrios said the company has no plan to do so. Theres no wrestlers union, but with Vince McMahon in ultimate control of the plot lines, its hard to believe wrestlers could rise in power enough to even create one.? McMahons longevity is the biggest material risk to the business, and the company even advises shareholders of this fact. Sure, his kids Shane and Stephanie have learned the business and have even become characters like their father. Triple H is firmly entrenched in growing the organizations talent pool. But McMahon has more singular power than any head of any sports organization on the planet. He owns nearly 50 percent of Class B voting stock, but hes getting up in years, turning 71 at the end of the month.? McMahons power understood, the WWE is under more outside pressure than any other major sports organization in that there are investors, who arent necessarily fans, who want to see the numbers grow. Shares rose to their all-time highs after the WWE Network was launched in February 2014. But two months later -- skeptical about forsaking the traditional pay-per-view model for a monthly subscription service -- shares had dropped by 63.5 percent. Today, shares are hovering around a two-year high. So why does McMahon, worth more than $1 billion, subject himself to the woes of Wall Street? Vince appreciates the rigor of what it means to be a public company, Barrios said.? The WWE boasts huge international growth numbers, especially in India. The question is, can those regions be monetized?? The risk associated with athletes is injury, like Seth Rollins recently having to give up his title after a knee injury forced him out of action, but unlike, say, the UFC, the WWE can control the narrative. That makes it easier to make transitions on bad injuries or even a fighter leaving the sport.The WWE is a robust business that has become one of the more interesting companies in the world. We dont get to see behind the curtain when it comes to plot lines, but being able to see the financials more than any organization in North American sports gives us a fascinating peek at how a juggernaut in todays world has to shift its business and cater to the whims of society. Clearance Paul George Shoes . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Cheap Paul George Shoes .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/ . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Paul George Shoes For Sale . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. Paul George Shoes Outlet .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. In a Big 12 Conference becoming known more and more for its wacky video-game-like scores, No. 20 West Virginia is off to a 4-0 start thanks to, gasp, defense.The Mountaineers certainly wont be confused with the 1986 Chicago Bears on that side of the ball, but they gave up just a combined 27 points in wins over Missouri (26-11) and Kansas State (17-16). They rank third in the Big 12 in scoring defense (20 points per game), pass defense (227.2 yards per game) and total defense (418.5 yards per game).But now comes the stiffest test of the season for West Virginia (4-0, 1-0) as it travels to Texas Tech (3-2, 1-1) on Saturday (noon ET, FS1).The Red Raiders lead the nation in passing yards per game (544) and are second to only Louisville in both scoring (55.2 points per game) and total offense (649.8 yards per game).Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes leads the nation in passing yards per game (454.8) and total offense (487.2 yards per game). Despite being bothered by a sore shoulder, he has completed 166 of 228 passes for 2,274 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions.Whew! Good thing the Mountaineers had an extra week to get ready for this one. In their past nine games at Jones Stadium, the Red Raiders have averaged 60.1 points and 668.1 yards.Theyre so unique with what theyre doing, Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said. Its not really a secret what theyre doing, its just that Mahomes is so good at keeping things alive. They play so fast and score so many points that its challenging.Since Mahomes took over the starting job last year, Texas Tech has scored at least 52 points and gained at least 607 yards in every home game.The best defense for West Virginia could be a prolific offense. The Mountaineers have shown they can make big plays at times in the first four games, but they really havent had that open-your-eyes outing, the game in which they go for a half-hundred or more.This will have to be that game, because it is unrealistic to count on the defense to hold down Mahomes. West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard might not have to outplay him, but he has to come close to matching him and avoid the mistakes that would give the Red Raiders extra possessions.When you get into these games like Texas Tech, you better score more, so that probably means you need to take a few more chances, maybe go for it on fourth down more and try and get touchddowns instead of field goals, Holgorsen said.ddddddddddddOne way for the Mountaineers to reduce the impact that Texas Techs offense could have is to run the ball often and well. Junior college transfer Justin Crawford has become the teams leading rusher as senior Rushel Shell has managed just 35 yards in each of the past two games. The Red Raiders are allowing 179.4 rushing yards per game, so opponent can run on them, and if West Virginias veteran offensive line can execute, Crawford and Shell could put up good numbers.Howard is quietly ninth in FBS in total offense through four games with 344.5 yards per game, yet there is a feeling he can probably be more efficient.Howard has tossed an interception in each game this year, but it hasnt come back to haunt the Mountaineers yet. This will be a good week for Howard to eliminate turnovers because if he can, the Texas Tech defense is pliable enough that West Virginia should post some healthy numbers.Wide receiver Shelton Gibson has been Howards top target, averaging 24.1 yards per catch. Gibson has caught 19 passes, and his average of 114.5 yards per game ranks third in the Big 12 and ninth in FBS. He will be going against a Red Raiders defense that is yielding more than 265 passing yards per game.Safety Kyzir White has been a nice addition to the Mountaineers defense, collecting 24 tackles in his first four games. White had an impactful game against Kansas State last Saturday with six stops, a sack and a pass breakup. He figures to have plenty of action this week against Texas Techs pass-happy attack, which will come at West Virginia from every imaginable angle.Mahomes was questionable last week due to a sore shoulder, then started and threw for 504 yards in a 44-38 loss at Kansas State. He also surrendered a pick-six, and the team struggled to pick up yardage in key spots late in the game.Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said that Mahomes appeared to be bothered again by his injured shoulder late in that contest but doesnt expect that to be a factor on Saturday.I think he pushed it to be out there this past week. A lot of guys would not have played in that game, Kingsbury said. He wanted to play, and threw it really well. So it will just continue to get better and better. ' ' '