Sports are about competition - right?

One of the themes that I've noticed coming up again and again this summer in the sporting world is Competition. That might seem like an inane statement. But I'm not talking about the competition between athletes, or teams. I'm talking about competition between leagues. The NHL, the NBA and even the UFC have seen competitors arise to challenge their previously undisputed place at the top of their respective sports.

The Russian Super League of hockey expanded to become the Kontinental Hockey League. It added a few new teams in former Soviet republics, and poached Jaromir Jagr, as well as a couple of other players, from the NHL. Jagr is a big name who is on the downside of his career, and certainly could have gotten a deal from an NHL team. But he was lured, presumably, by a tax-free contract, and playing closer to home. There were rumours that the KHL was after Evgeni Malkin, and the league may expand to Sweden, Finland, and/or the Czech Republic, according to the KHL Wikipedia page. As it stands now I can't imagine that Russian teams can be profitable paying NHL-style salaries. But if the league takes a stronghold in Europe, more revenue streams will come in, and it could be a more serious threat to the NHL's world dominance.

Recently, Carlos Delfino, Jorge Garbajosa, and Bostjan Nachbar, formerly role players in the NBA, all signed with European teams. Delfino and Nachbar signed in Russia, and again the lack of income tax means they will take home far more pay than they would have in the NBA.

Finally, Affliction, a new Mixed Martial Arts company, had its first event this past weekend, which saw Fedor Emelianenko face Tim Sylvia, as well as other bouts. Many people believe that Fedor is the world's best MMA fighter, and the UFC felt the need to quickly put together an event to compete with it on the same night.

It could be argued that, as in many cases, competition will prevent leagues from being complacent, and will make them strive to sell the best product. But when I watch sports, I want to watch the best athletes and the best teams. If the NHL starts to bleed players to the KHL, I'm sure I'll start to wonder if the calibre of play has declined. Also, fans like to have a definitive answer to the question, "who is the best?" MMA fans are already being deprived of this aspect of the sport, since most of the world's best have contracts with the UFC, and therefore cannot face Fedor. What if one day, the Stanley Cup was handed out, and we were left wondering, "but could they beat HC Spartak Moscow?"