The sport business, like most its counterparts, has never been a pure enterprise. Cheats, swindlers, and opportunists have openly for centuries. Beer barons have owned franchises solely to sell their suds to thirsty patrons on hot summer days. Radio and television announcers have often been handpicked shills. Although today's executives are more polished, do the more complex connections of these new corporate behemoths create unacceptable conflicts of interest? Some think so. For instance, in April 1998, Chris Berman of ESPN flew out to Anahiem for the Angels' opening-day festivities. Unfortunately, he wasn't on assignment for ESPN's SportsCenter. He was a promoter for Disney and Micheal Eisner, referring to the conglomerate as "we." One sportswriter correctly referred to Berman as an "on-field carnival barker.