There are turning points for every professional sports league. Sometimes its the merger of two leagues such as the NFL and AFL in 1966, or the NBA and ABA 10 years later. Sometimes its the impact of a player. When Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, the NHL didnt have another team in the United States west of Minneapolis or south of Philadelphia. When Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entered the NBA in 1979, the NBA Finals, which would become their annual stage, was still televised on tape delay.On Thursday, esports, and more specifically League of Legends, might have ushered in a turning point for an emerging league looking for the same credibility and stability as traditional sports.Riot Games, which is the developer and publisher of League of Legends, announced a series of initiatives aimed at growing the game and moving it closer to a traditional sports model. While the jury is still out whether players and team owners take to the new model, Riot hopes these moves will inject more revenue into the entire ecosystem.To help us get there, the organization said in a news release, well share [League of Legends] esports revenue streams and collaborate with our partners to develop new business models and actively shape the league. We want these partners to have permanent stakes, to be invested in a stable future and profit from the continued success of the sport.The announcement came after a series of high-profile events - from two North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS) teams, Renegades and Team Impulse, being kicked out of the league to a public dispute between Riot co-founder Marc Merrill and Team Solomid owner Andy Dinh - called into question the structure and practices of the company.There are obviously many differences between esports and traditional sports, but talk to the owners of the 10 teams competing in the NA LCS and theyll tell you it starts at the top. Unlike traditional sports where individual teams make up the ownership group of leagues like the NFL and the NBA, owners of LCS teams in the leagues in North America, Europe, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and many more, have no ownership stake in the league.Riot Games owns the game and there is currently no significant sharing of revenue streams as there is in other professional sports league where member clubs profit from broadcast rights, league merchandise and sponsorship sales. Teams make most of their money off of their own individual sponsorship deals and streaming revenue. And even those deals are hard to come by for many teams since the NA LCS forces the bottom three teams in a 10-team league to play in a relegation tournament, where two teams could not only be sent down to the Challenger Series but be forced to fold with the loss of revenue following such a move. Its a chance many sponsors dont want to take and serves as the biggest reason why sponsorship and player deals are largely year-to-year arrangements instead of long-term contracts.Its an outdated model that has come under heavy criticism lately from team owners looking to grow along with the sport before being forced out due to shrinking revenues, increasing player salaries and the instability caused by a relegation system thats common abroad but foreign to North American professional sports leagues.Weve had the privilege of talking to a number of different sports leagues across a variety of topics and one of the things that we learned is there is there is no singular path or singular outcome that works for everybody, Whalen Rozelle, co-director of esports at Riot Games, told ESPN. What we were inspired by was the idea of a collective group that has shared interest in achieving victory together. We believe League of Legends as a sport can get to that point.When Riot Games kicked out Renegades and Team Impulse, as well as Team Dragon Knights of the Challenger Series in May, telling owners they had 10 days to sell the team, many within the community were outraged by the drastic action that came without much in the way of publicly divulged proof of wrongdoing. The swift rulings without the opportunity for an appeals process also gave many prospective investors pause. After having their teams receive investments from athletes such as Shaquille ONeal, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins and Rick Fox as well as inquiries from teams such as the Miami Dolphins, the death penalties served as a black eye for a company in need of makeover.We learned theres a desire within the community for more transparency, Jarred Kennedy, director of esports and merchandise at Riot Games, told ESPN. Theres a concern with whos keeping Riot accountable. We acknowledge the need to build mechanisms so there can be more shared governance of what we do together. We think there are some things we can do with third-party arbitration in cases that are death-penalty situations. We want to reinforce the comfort level of the community that were doing things in the best interest of the sports and the fans and the players.Five years ago, Brandon Beck, co-founder of Riot Games, envisioned a future where events and production value matched that of traditional sports, and where major tournaments would be held at sold-out arenas in front of thousands of screaming fans. It seemed like a pipe dream at the time, but the truth was he didnt need five years. When the League of Legends Season 3 World Championship was held at Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2013, it sold out within an hour and had 32 million unique viewers online. That figure is higher than the number of people who tuned in to watch the BCS National Championship Game or Game 7 of the NBA Finals that year.This years world championships will once again be held at Staples Center next month, and after again selling out in a matter of minutes it became the most searched for event on StubHub, surpassing NFL and college football games.Beck also envisioned a future where there would be rivalries among storied teams with strong fan bases and legendary players known for long careers with a team, just like in traditional sports. While weve seen that in some cases, the current economic model has made it impossible for teams to think past one year as they try to not get regulated or worse, fold. The majority of contracts in the NA LCS are year-to-year, as is the shelf life for some of the lower-tier teams. Thats something that Riot Games plans to address following Thursdays announcement.The idea of a long-term partnership is a major step, Rozelle said. That allows teams to think on a longer time frame, and as we build the future that will be highly unlikely without the teams thinking on the same time frame that were thinking. You make different decisions when youre thinking in the short term and the long term. And the increased economic activity in the scene will ensure both security long term and give teams the confidence to sign players to longer term contracts.Esports and League of Legends specifically isnt where it wants to be yet. Where that is exactly is even a mystery to Riot Games executives still amazed at how far theyve come with a game they introduced to the public only seven years ago and now has over 100 million monthly players. The idea of selling out arenas and being watched by more people than the NBA Finals or Final Four was too far-fetched to even be a dream five years ago. But they know to get the next level theyre going to need some help now.Our goal is to make this as professional an enterprise as any other major sports leagues, Kennedy said. We know there are gaps and how we close those gaps is by working with the teams and players. We cant do that alone. Nikola Jokic Jersey . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Byron Beck Jersey . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. https://www.cheapnuggets.com/677y-richard-jefferson-jersey-nuggets.html .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Nuggets Jerseys 2019 . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Torrey Craig Jersey . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.Paul McGinley reflects on a second day of tough conditions at Augusta National and highlights the importance of bouncing back from inevitable mistakes at the Masters. The most impressive thing for me about Rory McIlroys second round was his mental resilience. It was a war of attrition out there, and this years Masters is a very different test to 12 months ago.Last year turned into a shoot-out and we saw record scoring, birdies and eagles all over the place. The conditions were benign, and the course played softer than in previous years.But this week, the wind has got up and its gusting to 20mph, and the course is playing so much more difficult as a result because its much firmer and faster. Everybody is making bogeys, you cant get round Augusta without a couple of mistakes in these conditions. Rory McIlroy showed great mental resilience and birdied three of the last six holes So its a real test of resilience and your ability to bounce back from the bogeys and double-bogeys that every player in the field cannot avoid. Earlier in the week, I spoke about the importance of knowing when to attack and when to hold back. But when Augusta is playing this tough, finding that balance becomes even more vital as every mistake is accentuated.You can still attack 13 and 15 if you get a good drive away, and theres a few holes playing downwind. Players are going into the ninth with wedges, and 14, 17 and 18 are also playing reasonably short.But the first, fourth and fifth have been particularly brutal, and you can go through the whole course and find dangers. You have to accept you are not going to make many birdies, and the chances of making more bogeys than birdies are greater. McIlroy was able to bounce back from his double-bogey at the fourth Theres been a lot of talk about makinng courses longer because of how far the professionals are hitting it these days - putting a new tee in to lengthen the 13th here has been widely mentioned.ddddddddddddBut the biggest test for the pros is not length, it is getting to grips with firm greens and fairways. And when you add a swirling breeze like weve had here for two days, those three factors have combined to have a huge effect on the scoring. Thats why only seven players are under par after 36 holes.Rorys second round was all the more impressive considering the conditions and the overall scoring, and his 71 was the joint low round of the day and one of only four sub-par scores. The 13th at Augusta can still be attacked Arnold Palmer once said: The greatest gift you need mentally in this game is the ability to forget. Thats what Rory McIlroy did today. He was two over for his round after a bogey at 11, but he had the mental strength to bounce back with three birdies coming in.When Augusta is like this, you have to accept youre going to make bogeys and you need to go to the next tee with a clear head. Its a lot easier said than done, but having that ability is what separates the great players from the rest.With Rory playing with Jordan Spieth in the final group on Saturday were in for a great weekend, and we could see the course playing a little easier if the forecast is right. The wind is predicted to drop a little, and I would expect the set-up to be friendlier on Sunday in particular. They will probably soften the greens a little and choose pin positions that will yield more birdies and eagles, especially on the back nine. That will create atmosphere and the opportunity for someone to come out of the field and make a run.We should see some more aggressive golf this weekend, and you can catch all the action with myself, Ewen, Butch, Monty, Boxy and Rich Beem on Sky Sports. Also See: McIlroy: Best position in years Monty: Rory the favourite ' ' '