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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri
@wagesofwins.bsky.social
1.9K followers 2.2K following 1.2K posts

Professor of Economics at Southern Utah University. The latest book is Slaying the Trolls. Also author/co-author of The Wages of Wins Stumbling on Wins https://www.davidberri.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Trolls-Wrong-About-Sports/dp/B0D33VK9SN/ .. more

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David J. Berri is a sports economist and professor of economics at Southern Utah University, known for his sometimes-controversial analysis of NBA basketball. He is a past president of the North American Association of Sports Economists, and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics and The International Journal of Sport Finance. .. more

Economics 57%
Sociology 14%
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 8h
The replies to this are as funny as you would expect.

And I am surprised -- given how so many men act in relationships -- the human race is still around.
cbuckthorn.bsky.social
C. Buckthorn @cbuckthorn.bsky.social · 15h
This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success". When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be. ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich. "Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."
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Reposted by Will Jennings, David J. Berri, Simon Lester , and 1 more

cbuckthorn.bsky.social
C. Buckthorn @cbuckthorn.bsky.social · 15h
This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success". When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be. ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich. "Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
I suspect the Venn Diagram of men who do not care that AI doesn't generate a profit and the men who insist the WNBA isn't profitable (and think that matters if it was true) is a damn circle.
matthewterrill.bsky.social
Matthew Terrill @matthewterrill.bsky.social · 1d
I was already a hard AI-skeptic but this cements my long suspicion that there is no feasible path to anything close to return on invested capital for these data centers. Tech would need 15 to 25 times current AI revenues within the next 2-3 years just to break even. Not financially viable.
"I clearly hit a nerve in the industry, when judging by the number of individuals who reached out to chat," he wrote in an followup blog post. "In total, l've spoken with over two-dozen rather senior people in the datacenter universe, and there was an interesting and overriding theme to our conversations: no one understands how the financial math is supposed to work. They are as baffled as I am, and they do this for a living." Kupperman's original skepticism was built on a guess that the components in an average Al data center would take ten years to depreciate, requiring costly replacements. That was bad enough: "I don't see how there can ever be any return on investment given the current math," he wrote at the time. But ten years, he now understands, is way too generous. " had previously assumed a 10-year depreciation curve, which I now recognize as quite unrealistic based upon the speed with which Al datacenter technology is advancing," Kupperman wrote. "Based on my conversations over the past month, the physical data centers last for three to ten years, at most." In his previous analysis, Kupperman assumed it would take the tech industry $160 billion of revenue to break even on data center spending in 2025 alone. And that's assuming an incredibly generous 25 percent gross margin - not to mention the fact that the industry's actual Al revenue is closer to $20 billion annually, as the investment manager noted in his previous blog. "In reality, the industry probably needs a revenue range that is closer to the $320 billion to $480 billion range, just to break even on the capex to be spent this year," Kupperman posited in his updated essay. "No wonder my new contacts in the industry shoulder a heavy burden - heavier than I could ever imagine. They know the truth." Kupperman called that gulf between tech industry spending and actual revenue in 2025 "astonishing." However, it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. For example, how does it all shake out when we account for 2026, when hundreds of new data centers are expected to pop up? "Adding the two years together, and using the math from my prior post, you'd need approximately $1 trillion in revenue to hit break even, and many trillions more to earn an acceptable return on this spend," he writes. "If the economics don't work, doing it at massive scale doesn't make the economics work any better - it just takes an industry crisis and makes it into a national economic crisis," he concludes. Overall, the pessimists broadly agree: it's no longer a matter of if Al is massively overhyped, but when the whole thing comes crashing down. More on Al hype: Data Shows That Al Use Is Now Declining at Large Companies
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Reposted by David J. Berri

matthewterrill.bsky.social
Matthew Terrill @matthewterrill.bsky.social · 1d
I was already a hard AI-skeptic but this cements my long suspicion that there is no feasible path to anything close to return on invested capital for these data centers. Tech would need 15 to 25 times current AI revenues within the next 2-3 years just to break even. Not financially viable.
"I clearly hit a nerve in the industry, when judging by the number of individuals who reached out to chat," he wrote in an followup blog post. "In total, l've spoken with over two-dozen rather senior people in the datacenter universe, and there was an interesting and overriding theme to our conversations: no one understands how the financial math is supposed to work. They are as baffled as I am, and they do this for a living." Kupperman's original skepticism was built on a guess that the components in an average Al data center would take ten years to depreciate, requiring costly replacements. That was bad enough: "I don't see how there can ever be any return on investment given the current math," he wrote at the time. But ten years, he now understands, is way too generous. " had previously assumed a 10-year depreciation curve, which I now recognize as quite unrealistic based upon the speed with which Al datacenter technology is advancing," Kupperman wrote. "Based on my conversations over the past month, the physical data centers last for three to ten years, at most." In his previous analysis, Kupperman assumed it would take the tech industry $160 billion of revenue to break even on data center spending in 2025 alone. And that's assuming an incredibly generous 25 percent gross margin - not to mention the fact that the industry's actual Al revenue is closer to $20 billion annually, as the investment manager noted in his previous blog. "In reality, the industry probably needs a revenue range that is closer to the $320 billion to $480 billion range, just to break even on the capex to be spent this year," Kupperman posited in his updated essay. "No wonder my new contacts in the industry shoulder a heavy burden - heavier than I could ever imagine. They know the truth." Kupperman called that gulf between tech industry spending and actual revenue in 2025 "astonishing." However, it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. For example, how does it all shake out when we account for 2026, when hundreds of new data centers are expected to pop up? "Adding the two years together, and using the math from my prior post, you'd need approximately $1 trillion in revenue to hit break even, and many trillions more to earn an acceptable return on this spend," he writes. "If the economics don't work, doing it at massive scale doesn't make the economics work any better - it just takes an industry crisis and makes it into a national economic crisis," he concludes. Overall, the pessimists broadly agree: it's no longer a matter of if Al is massively overhyped, but when the whole thing comes crashing down. More on Al hype: Data Shows That Al Use Is Now Declining at Large Companies
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
Now that the WNBA season is over, the real game begins.
The fight for the future of the league.

WNBA fans believe in this league.

Time for the owners of the WNBA (yes, the NBA is the majority owner) to have the same belief!
wagesofwins.substack.com/p/the-wnbanb...
The WNBA/NBA Doesn’t Believe IN Phee
And Are the People of the WNBA/NBA Really Great Business People?
wagesofwins.substack.com
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
The entire Tigers season comes down to two innings.
So we know the outcome will definitely be statistically significant!!!
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
If women don't like sports, why is my wife yelling at the television during the WNBA Finals??? 😂
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 2d
Open the pod bay doors, HAL!!! 😂
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
It is fascinating how many men
a. know nothing about the WNBA
b. are not interested in the WNBA
c. have immensely strong opinions about the economics of the WNBA

We need to create special WNBA Dunning-Kruger stickers for these men:

"Congratulations! You are a WNBA Dunning-Kruger Effect!"🤣
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
Just spent an hour working on my next book. Wrote about a sentence.

I would rather spend my time making so little progress than asking an AI program for help.
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
I share this sentiment. I have zero interest in having AI write my articles and books for me. I can figure out my own transitions.
junoryleejournalism.com
Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 3d
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems... SIMON: What? SHAPIRO: ...Or saying... SIMON: You imagine that? SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over. SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level. SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this. SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
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Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Will Jennings , and 22 more

junoryleejournalism.com
Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 3d
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems... SIMON: What? SHAPIRO: ...Or saying... SIMON: You imagine that? SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over. SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level. SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this. SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
340 8.8K 28K

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
I think I am showing this to my history students tomorrow. Time to tell my students about what dating was like once upon a time! 😂
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
Detroit Tigers are still alive on Yankee elimination day.
My late father would be very happy!
2

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
I definitely never heard it before and it sounds like something very recent. Until you hear the part that it is about a telephone call!

Once upon a time -- before texting, email, etc... -- we had to call people we liked! 😂
1 1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
Rick Barry had a theory that if you overcame a huge deficit and there was some time left on the clock, you would still lose the game. The team that lost the lead makes a counter-run at the end to win the game.

Will see if that is true tonight!
3

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
The song from the Bumble ad is from 1971.

My wife and I like the song so much we are now both joining Bumble! 😂

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMMP...
Labi Siffre - Bless the Telephone (Official HD Music Video)
YouTube video by DemonMusicGroup
www.youtube.com
1 4

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
I am not sure I can relate to a commercial where part of the story is a 9-year old having a catered birthday party (with an extensive staff).
1 6

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 4d
The Detroit Tigers this past month seem to hit very well when it doesn't matter at all. When they needed a hit (game is close, runner in scoring position), they have been awful.

Pressure has just killed this team.
2

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 4d
The AI sports ads are teaching people how to find spurious correlations.

Not so much artificial intelligence as artificial silliness!
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
Yep. Same dollars.
1 1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
The capital raise -- along with the recent media deal -- shows a lack of faith in the WNBA product.

The NBA (the de facto majority owners of the WNBA) show us by their actions they don’t think very much of the WNBA.

And that is why they don’t want to pay the WNBA players what they owe them!
1 2

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
The WNBA and NBA sold off 16% of the league for just $75 million in 2022.

When the WNBA is worth billions in the future, that 2022 capital raise will look worse than the decision to give the Silna brother a piece of the NBA’s TV rights in 1976.
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
The NBA also had a crisis of confidence in the 1970s.

Someone decided to give the Silna brothers a share of future NBA TV money in 1976. This deal meant the NBA paid $800 million to fold the Spirts of St. Louis of the ABA.

The WNBA had its Spirts of St. Louis moment in 2022.
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
Sophie Cunningham said the WNBA “might be really great business people”. I don’t think the evidence supports that story at all.

The WNBA is now sprinting ahead of the NBA historic revenue and attendance growth path. But the WNBA is still worried about “sustainability”.
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
This is a rather lengthy story (really it is two columns) on how the fundamental issue in the WNBA is that NBA doesn’t truly believe the WNBA is just as good as the NBA.

wagesofwins.substack.com/p/the-wnbanb...

Here is a thread on this…
The WNBA/NBA Doesn’t Believe IN Phee
And Are the People of the WNBA/NBA Really Great Business People?
wagesofwins.substack.com
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
Maybe!! Wish they would say!!
1 2

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
Nice to see ESPN quote our New York Times story today.

But the big story here is this sentence:

"According to a report from Deloitte earlier this year, revenues are projected to top $1 billion this year."

If true, WNBA players are getting 2% of revenue!!!

www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
'Beyond repair': Napheesa Collier, Cathy Engelbert and a WNBA teetering on the brink
Amid the WNBA Finals, two of the most powerful people in the game are locked in a contentious battle -- for public opinion, power and money.
www.espn.com
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Reposted by David J. Berri

michelesgreenbook.bsky.social
Michele Dotson 🇺🇸🫶🏾⚖️🗳📬🇺🇦✌🏾🦾 @michelesgreenbook.bsky.social · 7d
A must-read for every #WNBA fan. ⛹️🏾‍♀️⛹️‍♀️🏀👏🏾👏🏾

SOURCE: @wagesofwins.bsky.social
@nytimes.com

GRAPHICS: Sara Chodosh

#GiftArticle: 🎁
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | The W.N.B.A. Is Making More Money Than Ever. Why Aren’t the Players? (Gift Article)
Other professional sports leagues give their players roughly 50 percent of the revenue, but the W.N.B.A. players get less than 10 percent.
www.nytimes.com
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 7d
Okay... that looks cool!! Thanks for taking the pic!
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