LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr.s dominating win over Canelo Alvarez was the richest fight ever, a box-office smash at the arena and on television. Showtime said Thursday that at least 2.2 million homes bought the pay-per-view for the bout, second only to the 2.44 million homes in Mayweathers 2007 fight against Oscar De La Hoya. With the highest pay-per-view boxing price -- at an average of more than $70 -- the fight will generate nearly $150 million in revenue in TV sales alone. Nevada boxing regulators say the gate for the bout was just more than $20 million, also a record. A total of 16,146 seats were sold for the event at an average price of almost $1,240 per ticket. Promoter Richard Schaefer said total revenues would approach $200 million upon final count, surpassing the $165 million generated by the Mayweather-De La Hoya fight. "You sort of reach for the stars but you dont always catch them," Schaefer said. "I was reaching for the stars but the way this fight caught fire surprised everyone." Mayweather earned a guaranteed $41.5 million for the fight, while Alvarez was guaranteed $5 million. Both will make more based on a percentage of the pay-per-view revenue. "It will make big paychecks even bigger," Schaefer said. "I dont know how big but certainly bigger. Much bigger." Mayweather was as impressive as the ticket sales, outclassing Alvarez and winning nearly every round on his way to a majority decision. He remained unbeaten in 45 fights, while Alvarez lost for the first time in 44 professional fights. The fight was a hot ticket from the time it was announced, even with ringside seats selling for $2,000. Those proved a bargain in the days leading up to the event when some tickets in the resale market were being offered for as much as $29,000. Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer said that the total gate of just over $20 million eclipsed the $18.4 million earned from 17,000 tickets for the Mayweather-De La Hoya fight. Both bouts were held at the MGM Grand arena. Only 50 comp tickets were distributed, and promoters said before the fight that tickets were in such short supply that celebrities who normally watch for free were offering to pay. Showtime said that the 2.2 million PPV figure was a conservative number, based on preliminary reports from cable and satellite TV distributors. When fully reported, the network said, the total buys could challenge the record set by Mayweather and De La Hoya. Schaefer, head of Golden Boy Promotions, said he knew from the crowds attending the opening press tour in June that the fight was going to be big. Golden Boy spent nearly $10 million advertising the fight, and promoted it heavily in Hispanic markets. "It just shows you that the health of the sport is good," Schaefer said. "Theres not too many other sports than can generate $200 million in revenue in one night." Golden Boy said previously that the fight generated the highest rating in Mexican television history, with nearly eight out of 10 households in Mexico tuning in to the free broadcast by Televisia. "What I kept on saying to all those negative voices out there is boxing is still big," Schaefer said. "Bigger today maybe than it has been in a long time." DaRon Payne Jersey . Interestingly, the culprits were not rookies, but well paid, experienced pros. The first gaffe came in the 24th minute of arguably the biggest early season MLS game in history between Seattle and Toronto. Sounder newcomer Marco Pappa, (with over 100 MLS games, and 39 Guatemalan Caps to his name) attempted a back pass to one of his central defenders. Shaun Dion Hamilton Jersey . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. http://www.cheapredskinsjerseysauthentic...-rahming-jersey. The Brazilian heads into Saturday afternoons race coming off a close runner-up finish to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500. Wholesale Redskins Jerseys .C. - Canadian ice dancing, it seems, is in good hands. Jimmy Moreland Jersey .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders.In preserving Bruins forward Shawn Thorntons 15 game suspension on appeal, Commissioner Gary Bettman concluded that the attack on Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik was "a bad act with a bad result, and neither will be tolerated in our game." Bettman very clearly confirms that protecting the brains of players is of paramount importance, and decisive action will be taken to discourage excessive and unnecessary force that may result in irreversible brain damage. Thornton will now have seven days to appeal Bettmans decision to an independent arbitrator. This is brand new under the CBA and has never been done. So if we do see an appeal, we will break new ground (and/or ice). The Hearing: Who Was There? The hearing was held at the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP. Thats the firm that acted for the NHL during the lockout. Very good law firm. Apart from Thornton appearing at the hearing, his agent Anton Thun, NHLPA representatives Roman Stoykewych, David Sinclair and Maria Dennis, and Boston General Manager Peter Chiarelli were all in attendance. Thun and Chiarelli were called by the Union to testify. On the NHL side were members of the League office, including Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, David Zimmerman, Julie Grand and Brendan Shanahan (who was called to testify), as well as Joseph Baumgarten from Proskauer Rose. While Thornton has an agent, the NHLPA handles the hearing. The agent can help with arguments, but ultimately the Union is in charge of the appeal and does the talking. NHLPA: What They Argued The NHLPA did not dispute that a suspension was warranted, but rather argued that the suspension was too long. So the NHLPA focused on length and not whether a wrong was committed. In fact, at the hearing, the NHLPA and Thornton acknowledged that the act was "quite serious", "harmful", and resulted in "significant" injury. Bettman writes that the NHLPA was aiming for a suspension closer to 10 to 12 games. In doing so, the Union relied on the leagues past practice for similar incidents, Thorntons clean record and the act lacking premeditation. Overall, the NHLPA argued that the "punishment was excessive." Bettman Disagrees In preserving the length of the suspension, Bettman relied heavily on the intentional nature of the act together with its "highly dangerous nature" and the "extent of the injury." As per the NHL CBA, the league considers a number of factors when determining the length of a suspension, including the following: (1) the excessive and unnecessary nature of the act, (2) the injury sustained, (3) whether the player has a rap sheet or is a repeat offender, and (4) the circumstances of the game. The league can also consider any other relevant surrounding circumstances. Bettman ruled that Thornton engaged in intentionally excessive force. He skated the length of the ice, slew footed Orpik, dragged him to the ice from behind and punched him multiple times in the face. Orpik, Bettman writes, "never had a chance to fairly confront his opponent, much less an opportunity to defend himself..dddddddddddd" As well, Orpiks injury was also key in maintaining the suspension. Bettman noted that there was still no "definitive date for his return" and that there is "uncertainty as to his future condition." Bettman also ruled that the act constituted "retribution" for Orpik declining Thorntons invitation to fight after Orpiks hit on Louis Eriksson. For the Commissioner, that also supported upholding the suspension. The fact that Thornton had no prior history of suspensions was recognized by Bettman. Indeed, the Commissioner expressed that it was "certainly possible" to argue for a more "severe punishment." So it looks like Thorntons clean record may have resulted in a shorter suspension. Bettman also relied on one more key factor: the human brain. It is recognized that players may suffer irreversible brain damage as a result of blows to the head. Consequently, the league must take active and decisive steps to safeguard the brains of its players. That includes imposing punishments that are designed to strongly discourage behavior that threatens the long-term health of its players. The league would argue that failing to firmly discipline players puts all players at risk. Hockey is an inherently dangerous sport and that will never change. Still, contact that is not part of the game will be scrutinized. Indeed, the 200 plus NFL concussion lawsuits, the NHL class action concussion lawsuit and the Derek Boogaard lawsuit weighed heavily on the decision making process. The league simply cannot be seen as soft on brain damage with this mass of litigation gathering around sports. So the legal side of this case was inescapably important. Some have argued that the nature of Thorntons act just doesnt match up with past lengthy suspensions because Thornton used his glove to punish Orpik rather than his stick or skate. This type of argument is a red herring and ignores the bigger issue at play: its not how the harm is delivered but rather what harm is inflicted. Times have changed and penalties must be aligned with evolving sensibilities. Indeed, Bettman wrote in his Decision that a player "who today blatantly flouts the rules in a manner that causes a head injury can and should expect to be severely disciplined." Why So Long For Bettman Decision? Thorntons hearing was on December 20. So it took 4 days for the Commissioner to issue his decision. In part, a reason for the delay was that the NHL wanted to get the decision just right given the possibility the case could be appealed to an independent arbitrator. The NHL wanted to make sure, in part, that its reas