America’s reputation as a sports-crazed nation is demonstrated by the impact on the economy to the tune of nearly half a trillion dollars. The worth of the sporting industry is highlighted in this infographic. Check out these fascinating figures.

Baseball may be considered America’s game but the NFL earns double the profit over the MLB with nearly double the average team value and more than double average attendance.

Nearly 3 million jobs dot the sporting landscape including players, refs, coaches and trainers. Look closer at the trends for getting and keeping a job in the sports industry.

You’ll also see whether the NCAA or NASCAR brings in more revenue and compare NBA with NHL revenues. You’ll view the value of a pro team, the dominance of the amusement, gambling and recreation sectors and the anatomy of a sports business professional. Sports dominates on and off the field.

From: Top Business Degrees

Ponder that for a while and you’ll be as confused as I am with this unpredictable season. This weekend saw an exciting qualifying session with Lewis Hamilton storming his way to pole and then saw his pole stripped over a fuel penalty decision. He would start from the back, more about that later. This decision led Williams to pole and their driver Pastor Maldonado getting first on the grid with Fernando Alonso in second. With Frank Williams celebrating his 70th birthday, Williams were back at No1 on the grid. Watching Maldonado win must have been the real greatest gift for a man who has helped provide the sport already with so many great moments.

Alonso had snatched an early lead and it seemed to be getting set for a Ferrari win. Maldonado’s second pit stop in lap 25 then led to some very fast race speed and when Alonso went in a few laps later he returned behind the Williams car. Maldonado’s tyres outlasted Alonso’s and they finished 1-2. Fernando Alonso finds himself joint top in the Championship table now with Sebastian Vettel. Kimi Raikkonen had an impressive race and came close to Alonso but it wasn’t quite enough and he made do with the last podium place.

Further down the field and Romain Grosjean had a few incidents through the race but finished fourth with Kamui Kobayashi behind him in fifth. Kobayashi must have been happy with his fifth place finish after watching his teammate Sergio Perez grab all the headlines recently. Sebastian Vettel finished sixth in a very odd race for the Red Bull, damage to his front wing cost him in pit stops and he also paid a penalty for ignoring yellow flags. He still sits top of the Championship table but Alonso is matching him on points now.

Maldonado crosses the line

Nico Rosberg came home in seventh after being involved in many overtaking moves and tussles with those around him. He was the bright light for Mercedes after Michael Schumacher misjudged Bruno Senna’s braking and slammed into the back of him. Schumacher and Senna both retired. Schumacher will have a five place penalty on him for the next race in Monaco.

Hamilton had been made to start from the pack of the grid as his car had been unable to provide the necessary fuel sample after qualifying when he was given orders by his team to stop the car on the track. McLaren were still reeling and obviously Hamilton felt equally punished, he ended the race in eighth which is a testament to the great driver that he is. There was also ANOTHER pit stop error with his car getting caught on a wheel as he was let go. The car is working for Hamilton which is more than it is for his teammate Jenson Button. He was quick to admit he’s struggling with the car and it’s no overnight fix. Button finished in ninth place.

The final point went to Nico Hulkenberg from Force India after a race which saw him around the top drivers of Hamilton, Vettel, Webber and Button for most of the race. Webber finished in 11th and will be disappointed but like Vettel he had issues with the front wing. Alonso’s teammate Massa finished in 15th for another disappointing drive in the Ferrari.

Aftermath of damage to Williams garage after fire

With Williams celebrating their win it was cut short after a fire started in the Williams garage. Nine people were injured in what seems to have been a fire started by a spark from a KERS system reaching fuel. Frank Williams was addressing his team after their triumphant display, the black smoke soon filled the pit lane. I hope everyone involved has a speedy recovery.

F1 now heads onto Monaco and one of my favourite tracks of them all, Circuit de Monaco. Could we see six races with six different drivers from six different teams? Who knows. But I would not bet against it!

Top 10 in the Drivers Championship so far in 2012

The ex-rugby captain and part-time DIY guru has become a viral hit after taking on a Vertical Tiling challenge.

The 33-year-old has turned into a huge sensation on YouTube after being videoed trying to tile a wall whilst being tied to a rope. The ‘Extreme DIY with Elastoplast Extra Tough’ clip involves the sportsman running back and forth with plaster and tiles in a nail-biting race against the stopwatch but the tongue in cheek video shows him falling all over the place as he is catapulted back by the spring.

Despite spilling plaster all over himself and being in a race against the horn, Moody shows just how super sticky, durable and waterproof the new plasters are no matter how extreme the DIY task is!

But why was the sportsman the perfect candidate? The English rugby union player from Berkshire recently announced his retirement from the game in March of this year. With so much spare time on his hands, he has starting to enjoy a spot of DIY as well as take part in extreme sports like wakeboarding. And as many people know, accidents can happen when participating in dangerous sports as well as trying to put up a shelf or fix a leaking tap around the home.

The video has already received over 100,000 views and if you fancy checking out the hilarious clip you can watch it too by clicking here. Next week Brits can watch how the Extreme Tough plaster copes against bandsaw skateboards!