Enthusiasts who can't find cricket coverage on ESPN are going to live-stream it. And that projected demand has resulted in a bidding war between Amazon, Twitter and Facebook. Yes, really. Sports planners and destinations who shrugged off pickleball and beach volleyball should prepare for the next emerging sport.

Google "referee shortage," and you'll come up with page after page of news articles written this fall about communities all over the country where shortages of sports officials at the high school level have reached near-epidemic proportions. So how is it affecting the event industry?

The FIFA scandal erupted about 18 months ago. Like a volcano, it has had periods of activity since. Get ready for a new spew of molten-hot (read: controversial) material as the organization releases its new ideas for the World Cup. And those could impact potential hosts, including the U.S.

It might be the greatest thing to happen to fishing since the invention of the earthworm. The international governing body for sport fishing has applied for Olympic status in the 2020 Tokyo Games. It's a popular sport, certainly, so what are its chances to hook the IOC?

A small seaside host city and an enormously growing sport, mixed with a lack of communication, was the unfortunate combination that resulted in a large-scale disappointment for a world championship event. And for sports planners, it goes under the headline of Don't Let This Happen to You.

Automated computerized judging of gymnastics? Maybe. While a non-gymnastics-savvy portion of America might think judging doesn't need an overhaul following the victory of the Final Five in Rio, there are plenty within the sport, particularly at lower levels, who believe change needs to be made.