BlogPoll Roundtable IV

Now for something a little different for this blog. I have decided to participate in the college football blogpoll. If you haven't heard of it, it's a group of about 50 blogs, mostly devoted to college football organized by Brian over at mgoblog where you can catch the full rundown. In fact, the full list of participating blogs can be found here. This round's questions are being hosted by Blue-Gray Sky and the topic is rivals.

1. Who are your rivals? During the last decade of the resurgence of Wildcat football, the Cats have developed a real rivalry and significant hard feelings with both Iowa and Wisconsin. Iowa because, well, who really thinks much of those farmers anyway. It's just a few hours away and the game generally turns out to be meaningful as far as bowl selection. Wisconsin's resurrection under Alvarez began a bit before the Purple Haze began to be resurrected under Barnett, but the cheese eaters always seem to be standing or fumbling between the Cats and a better bowl. The schools are close and there is usually a large contingent of overweight, beer drinking, cheese eating folks dressed up in red at the game in Evanston. For reasons known only to the Big Ten office, this was not a designated rivalry game and Wisconsin does go off the schedule every now and then. The other rivalry game designated by the conference office doesn't even deserve a mention because they don't really care about us and we don't really care about them. The true rival is the Illiniwhine. Those downstate bozos who couldn't have gotten into NU if we had spotted them 400 points on their SATs. I mean, they went out and hired Ron Zook! What does that tell you.

2. Size up your chances in your rivalry game. See the last couple of sentences of the previous answer. THEY HIRED RON ZOOK

3. If you could start up a new rivalry who would it be with. I actually have two candidates for this slot. One is an old rival who got beat and then turned tail and ran, never playing us again. That, dear friends at blue-gray sky, is ND. What, you guys can't take losing to a superior academic institution, so you cancel the series.
Since it's apparent that Notre Dame won't renew the series, my other candidate would be Stanford. It makes sense: a peer institution, a Pac-10 school and a comparable football program.

4. Overall, what's the best rivalry? I have to vote for two: Michigan-Ohio State for the obvious reasons. It has 100,000 fans, the TV, the pageantry and most of all, it is usually the most meaningful. The other is Army-Navy because there is simply nothing like it. It is the most meaningful in an entirely different way.

5. Best and worst game trophies. The best has to be Floyd of Rosedale, the pig for which Minnesota and Iowa play. I mean, it has a totally ridiculous name, it's a pig and it's very cool. The worst has to be the so-called land grant trophy for the made-up rivalry between Michigan State and Penn State. Penn State didn't have a rival in the Big Ten when they joined, perhaps a clue that they didn't belong, and so the conference office (there they go again) dreamed up this rivalry and this trophy. It's totally meaningless and the trophy is totally nondescript.

Professional Miniature Golf - Believe It

Remember all those summer days trying to putt those little yellow or blue balls through the clown's nose or under the windmill or perhaps into the dragon's mouth so it would come out its tail? Did you ever think you could make money doing that? Well, this week, in Louisville, 140 putters are competing for total prize money of $50,000 in the 46th annual Professional Putters Association National Championships. That's right, the Professional putting championships, with the winner of the $20,000 medal play main event earning $3,000. Not exactly Tiger Woods money but then again this is being played on a course laid out on concrete by the side of a highway.

Now, granted these putters aren't competing on courses made up of novelty holes like the ones with waterfalls and clowns. They compete on Putt-Putt courses which require angling shots off wooden boards and rails. This game is essentially pool, standing up. I can remember playing this for hours as a young teen and got pretty good at it too. However, the leader of this tournament is averaging 11 aces every 18 holes. That, my friends, is championship putting on any stage.

Dissing the NBA for Europe

Now comes news via True Hoop that Tau Ceramica, the Spanish league powerhouse is raiding the NBA. Atlanta Hawk forward-center Peja Drobnjak has left the league to sign with a new contract with Tau which is trying to build a NBA ready frontline in an attempt to stop Maccabi Tel Aviv from its third straight Euroleague title.


With Euroleague teams now raiding the NBA for talent, it's clear that David Stern needs to accelerate his timetable for European expansion. Maybe he should consider a wholesale takeover of the Euroleague. It is increasingly necessary for the NBA to have outlets other than the much maligned and poorly managed D League for players not yet ready for the League. Why not use Europe? The pay scale is probably right and the market is already there. Make a deal with the Euroleague team owners to buy majority control of the league, revise league rules to allow for a greater number of American players, get an American TV contract and Bam you have an instant AAA farm system. Looks to me like a win, win for everyone. Your serve, Commissioner.

Does the NCAA Encourage Underage Drinking?

It does, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest , which has been waging a campaign for alcohol-free sports on TV. Current NCAA policy, which is scheduled to be examined at an executive committee meeting on August 4, prohibits alcohol ads but has a specific exemption for beer, particularly important given the presence of beer ads on most college football and basketball games. It isn't hard to understand why the NCAA permits beer ads. One only needs to look at the revenue numbers. In 2003, beer advertisers spent $52.4 million on televised college sports, with $21.1 million spent on March Madness alone. It will be interesting to see if the colleges and universities will be willing to turn their back on that kind of revenue in the interests of what is best for higher education and the the children who watch these sports on TV.

ACC's Turn at Bowl Roulette

The ACC announced today that it has signed on with two additional bowls beginning after this season. Beginning in the 2006 season, the ACC will have eight bowls, all played after Christmas. The leagues announced agreements today with the Emerald Bowl and the Music City Bowl. In the Music City, the ACC will be facing a SEC team, as it does in the Peach Bowl.

Sneaker Wars Hit a New Low

It's July and in high school basketball that means it's time for summer camp sponsored by the big three sneaker companies. All three, Nike, Reebok and addidas sponsor a camp the same week in July and compete for the best known players to attend. This year, the star attractions seemed headed to Reebok's ABCD Camp in New Jersey. The really big names, the ones even the casual college basketball fan has heard of were lined up for that camp - Greg Oden, O J Mayo and Kevin Love, a 6'9" forward from Oregon, who is one of the top juniors in the country decided he wanted to test himself against the best and go to that camp.

Now, that doesn't seem like much of a story right? Love went to ABCD Camp and did very well. In fact, he was co-Underclassmen of the Week, along with OJ Mayo, and if the story ended there, well, I wouldn't be writing about it. However, it's what came next that makes it worth writing about. You see, only a few hours after the camp was over, Kevin's father received a call from a Nike representative who told him how unhappy Nike was that Kevin went to the ABCD Camp instead of the Nike Camp that week, since Kevin had been to past Nike summer camps and had been playing for a Nike AAU team. In fact, Nike was so unhappy that Kevin was told not to go to the Peach Jam tournament with his AAU team and that "Nike will no longer be associated with Kevin Love."

I don't know about you but to me this is way over the line. If Nike is going to try and dictate where a 16 year old kid is going to go to summer camp, how soon is going to be before they try and dictate where he goes to college? Are they doing it now? Should the NCAA be investigating Nike? Reebok? addidas? According to some long-time observers of the high school basketball recruiting scene, Nike's dismissal of Love was unprecedented. It's important to make sure that it stays that way.

Masters Poll to Debut in Late September

Just what college football needs is another poll. Well, that is exactly what we are going to get as the so-called "Masters Poll" of former coaches will make its debut sometime in late September if certain matters can be worked out. Those certain matters are small things like who is going to pay for it and exactly which coaches will be voting. Other than that, well, it's a done deal, as they say. For some strange reason, nobody who has been approached about associating with this poll other than the coaches who might be voting have been too excited about it - even the BCS turned it down.

MLS Salaries - A Part Time Major League

Major League Soccer has a unique business structure that allows it to negotiate all player contracts through the league office rather than with each individual team. It is a single entity which is owned by all the investors in the league and just recently signed its first collective bargaining agreement. This season is the first in which the CBA is in effect. The disparity in salaries between the stars and the younger players is quite dramatic.

According to an article in this week's Sports Business Journal, 27 players are being paid the league minimum of $28,000, while another 85 reserve league players (the reserve league is new this year) are being paid either $11,000 or $16,500. At the other end, there are 10 players being paid at least $200,000, topped by Landon Donovan at $900,000, Eddie Johnson at $875,000 and Freddy Adu at $500,000.

Wide disparity exists between teams as well. The highest payrolls, not surprisingly, are for the Donovan's Los Angeles Galaxy, at $2.7 million and Johnson's FC Dallas at $2.61 million. At the other end of the scale, we find the Colorado Rapids at $1.46 million and the New England Revolution at $1.22 million.

MLS needs to do something about this wide disparity. It is shameful for a sport which considers itself to be "major league" to be paying its players minor league money and asking for a full-time commitment. The league schedule now runs from February into late October and takes a toll on its players. They deserve better compensation. I don't think the answer is to hold down salaries at the top as that will only lessen the chance of attracting or retaining the best talent. The answer has to be raising the bar at the bottom, and not just the minimum but the shameful reserve league salaries as well. For the time and physical commitment the league expects its players to put in, they should compensate them in return.

A final note: Congratulations to the Mens National Team on a hard fought victory in the Gold Cup today. It wasn't always pretty, but they got job done, and a special congratulations to Brad Davis on his tournament winning goal in only his second cap.

NCAA's Academic Reform Plan Needs Reform

Most of you have probably read about the NCAA's new measurement of academic progress at colleges known as the APR, for Academic Progress Rate. It's a measurement tool the NCAA will use to determine if a college is in compliance with academic guidelines and if the APR falls below a certain level - 925 on a scale of 1000 - the school will receive penalties, such as ineligibility for the NCAA basketball tournament. It's now five months before the NCAA plans to begin enforcement and most coaches don't understand the system and think it's flawed .

For one thing, the system is so complex that most coaches don't understand it. Another significant problem is that it penalizes a school whenever a student-athlete leaves school before graduation, no matter what the reason. For basketball especially, this is a major flaw in the system. With the NBA collective bargaining agreement, there will be more kids than ever going to college for only one year. This may not be a good thing, but it is a reality. The NCAA should not penalize a school as long as the kids are doing the work and leave in good academic standing. Merely leaving school early to pursue a professional career should not penalize a school.

What do you think is going to happen in a few years when UNC and Duke are both ineligible for the men's basketball tournament as a result of too many players opting to turn pro early. Just this year, four Tarheels left early after winning the national championship and UNC will be penalized a point for each one. However, almost to a man, the coaches interviewed for the Post article said that they wouldn't change their recruiting patterns as a result of the APR, even if no changes to the APR are made. That is easy to say now, but let's see what happens when those schools start missing tournaments.

Cottrell Wins Defamation Case after Judge Changes Mind

One day after an Alabama state judge reversed himself and decided that former Unveirsity of Alabama assistant football coach and recruiting coordinator Ronnie Cottrell was not a public figure, the jury awarded him $30 million in damages in his defamation case against recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper. Earlier, Cottrell's case against the NCAA had been dismissed and his lawyer's vowed to appeal that dismissal. A more complete report of the case can be found in the Mobile Register. The importance of Cottrell being ruled a private citizen is that significantly lessened the burden of proof on Cottrell in that he no longer had to prove that the defaming statements made by Culpepper were made with malice and intention. Had the judge's original ruling that Cottrell was a semi-public figure remained, he would have had a significantly higher burden of proof, which would have been very difficult to meet.

Nicknames Revisited

Whle the NCAA decides what it is going to do about Native American nicknames, take a moment to read this article from The Week Magazine with a little background on how these nicknames came to be popular in the first place and a particularly interesting story I had never heard about the Washington Redskins.

A New Player in the Shoe Wars

The Big Three in collegiate footwear face a new competitor today as New Balance has decided to enter the football shoe market and has inked its first deal. Auburn has announced that it is dropping the mighty swoosh for the upstart and in a truly shocking development the Tigers aren't getting paid. That's right, all the Auburn football program gets out of the new deal is shoes and plenty of them. Not just any shoes mind you, but individually, custom-made shoes so those big linemen can finally get shoes that fit. For the first time, the men up front will get to wear those 16EEs and be comfortable.

Northwestern's Flip-flop Flap for Charity

Northwestern's national championship women's lacrosse team set off a national firestorm by wearing flip-flops to the white House to meet President Bush. Not wanting to let an opportunity go by, the women are turning the controversy into a fundraiser for a 10 year old girl fighting brain cancer. In a "Today Show" apperance, head coach, Kelly Amonte Hill, announced plans to auction the flip-flops on the Northwestern sports website to raise money for Jaclyn Murphy who had inspired the team all year. You can participate by going to www.nusports.com beginning on Tuesday and bidding high for your very own pair of flip-flops worn at the white House.

Big Ten's Turn at Bowl Roulette

The Big Ten today announced its new slate of bowl games which featured a new tie-in with the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando and the earlier rumored agreement with the Insight Bowl which will be moving from Phoenix to Tempe. The Big Ten renewed its ties to the Capital One Bowl, the Alamo and the Outback. Yet to be announced is a seventh bowl, which the league has had for several years. That has been the Motor City Bowl in the past, which still remains a possibility. The league dropped its ties with the Sun and Music City Bowls.

PGA Tour May Soon Resemble NASCAR

No, I don't mean that every golfer on the tour will be covered from head to toe in sponsor's ads. I'm sure they will be no more ubiquitous than ever. And I don't mean that the course will be surrounded by 250,000 beer drinking, fried chicken eating, rv driving, drawl talking folk who wouldn't know a golf ball from a baseball. What I mean is that NASCAR's Chase for the Cup has been so successful that the PGA is considering restructuring the Tour into something similar starting with the 2007 season.

According to ESPN.com the Tour is now discussing restructuring into a points system with a grand finale in September at the Tour Championship. It would involve moving the PGA Championship up a week, moving the TPC to May from late March (a move which has been under discussion for some time) and probably moving the American Express Championship to March from September.

How likely any of this will be is unknown as its unclear how much the players have been brought into the planning so far. The plan has not been finalized sufficiently yet to be brought to either the players or importantly, the networks so much work still lies ahead. Nevertheless, it is a plan that could go a long way towards bringing new attention to golf in the fall when it battles football for attention.

NCAA Deals a Setback to Female Athletes

For the first time in the history of the NCAA the membership has overturned a decision of the board of directors and by doing so has dealt a blow to wider parity for female athletes. In a vote of 116 colleges in Division I, nearly a third of the total, the members chose to overrule a Board of Directors rule change which would have increased the number of scholarships colleges can offer to women athletes in gymnastics, soccer, track and volleyball. Unless the Board of Directors votes to reinstate the rule and the membership approves the change in January, the rule changes would no longer take effect and the old scholarship limits would stay in place. While the NCAA is prepared to battle the Bush Administration over its proposed weakened enforcement of Title IX, its members are not prepared to expand opportunities for women athletes when those opportunities might come out of their budgets. One might call that hypocritical but that would be just too easy.

Failed Premise: Moving Up to Division I Doesn't Mean Making Money

The NCAA recently released a first of its kind empirical study that focused on the finances of Division II athletics. Not surprisingly, the authors found that the average football playing program faced a deficit of about $100,000. This compares favorably to the average deficit faced by a Division I-AA school of $300,000.

The authors of the study found no economic benefit to switching divisions. On average spending increased $3.7 million, while revenue increased only $2.5 million. The study concluded that most schools decide to make the leap without doing a cost benefit analysis. The decision is made on grounds that have little to do with finances, but the institution is left with the bills to pay and must find ways to make up the ever increasing deficits.

Just this year, eight schools are undergoing the process of reclassifying themselves from Division II to Division I, including 3 who are in the first year of the process and will still have time to reconsider. Those three are The University of North Florida, Kennesaw Sate and New Jersey Institute of Technology. However, since both North Florida and Kennesaw State have joined the Atlantic Sun Conference, it looks like their decisions have been made.

The sad part here is that universities are moving into Division I for all of the wrong reasons. There is the drive to be perceived as one of the big boys, on an equal level with the big state schools that drive Division I. Yet, for all of the television time that comes with Division I football and basketball, and increasingly with other sports, how much pyschic benefit do athletes get from being beaten by forty points, even if its by the best team in the country? What does that add to their educational experience? How does all of the additional travel time and missed classroom time better prepare these students for life after graduation? I think the administrators at these schools need to take a good, hard look at themselves and ask what they are doing for their students when they make these decisions.

NHL Needs ESPN, Now More that Ever

Now that the NHL has settled its labor dispute and is making plans for the start of a new season, it must quickly turn its attention to another nasty problem caused by last year's lockout. It doesn't have a national cable broadcast contract. In the spring, ESPN exercised its option to terminate its contract and now the NHL is faced with having as its sole US national television contract an over the air broadcast contract with NBC that calls for only about 7 regular season games, six playoff games and up to five Stanley Cup finals games. Hardly the sort of exposure that will drive fans back to the arenas.

What Gary Bettman must do now is crawl to Bristol on his knees, if necessary, and beg ESPN to take hockey back. Sure, they are other possible cable outlets for the sport, but none of them offer either the demographic that ESPN delivers or more importantly for this rebirth of hockey, the validation that comes from being carried by the Worldwide Leader. Unfortunately, ESPN has now established itself not merely as the dominant cable sports outlet but as the legitimizing network for sports.

Not only that, but there is no network that will offer the NHL the cross-network promotional opportunities that ESPN offers. With two high-definition channels, ESPN can offer the NHL full HD broadcasts and hockey is a sport in which HD makes a dramatic difference to the viewer. This will not come cheap however. The NHL is likely going to have to agree to a revenue sharing arrangement similar to that with NBC, with little or no upfront rights guarantee. However, the sad fact is that is the situation that hockey finds itself in after doing its best to implode over the last 301 days. It will be lucky to get that much done.

As it was quoted in the L.A. Times:

"You know the old saying, 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression? The NHL has one of those very rare opportunities for a second chance to make a a first impression. At a terrible cost, but they have that opportunity."

Let's hope they make better use of it this time.

Universities Get Creative with Heisman Promotion

Each year college football fans are treated to new publicity campaigns launched by college sports information directors eager to get their star player recognized for his abilities by being awarded college football's Holy Grail - the Heisman Trophy. This year, the University of Memphis has launched perhaps the most unique campaign we have yet seen. Memphis has ordered and distributed die cast models of NASCAR cars featuring its star running back DeAngelo Williams and a NASCAR themed website www.racefortheheisman.com

Many other Heisman campaigns have featured handouts that are memorable in their own right and the hype associated with Heisman campaigns has been over the top for some time now. This article features the top 10 hyped Heisman campaigns of the recent past.

What can we learn from reading through this list. First and foremost you have to appreciate the creativity and sense of theatre that is displayed by the sports information directors reflected in this list. Second, it is important to see which of the candidates actually won the award. Only one of the players on the list won the Heisman, but one of the other players, Ryan Leaf, became the second pick in the NFL draft largely on the strength of his Heisman campaign. As with most things in life, hype draws attention, but it is substance that wins results. I am not naive enough to believe that the Heisman actually goes to the best college football player in the country every year, but more often than not, it goes to one of the best. But at least in the case of the players on this list, those who did not win the trophy lost to players who had a better claim to the trophy than they did.

Bowl Roulette Begins

The latest game of college football bowl game musical chairs has begun. The first to make their moves are the Big XII, Big East and Notre Dame, which have entered into a unique arrangement with the Gator Bowl and the Sun Bowl for four years beginning with the 2006 season. The leagues will share tie-ins, with a Big XII team going to the Gator Bowl in two of the year and to the Sun Bowl in the other two years, while a Big East team or Notre Dame (which shares a bowl affiliation with the Big East for non-BCS bowls) will go to the alternate bowl in alternate years. The opponent will be an ACC team in the Gator Bowl and a Pac-10 team in the Sun Bowl. Expect more arrangements like this for other bowls as the conferences firm up their arrangements. More conferences and bowls seem to favor these types of deals as it lessens the likelihood of repeat teams which tends to hold down the crowd, as well as the number of fans who will travel to watch their team play.

Kentucky Speedway Sues NASCAR

Frustrated by years of failing to land a NASCAR Nextel Cup race, Kentucky Speedway today filed a federal lawsuit against NASCAR and its sister corporation, International Speedway Corporation, alleging violations of federal antitrust and restraint of trade. The complaint was filed in federal court in Kentucky and according to the Louisville Courier-Journal seeks $400 million in damages, a future Nextel Cup race for Kentucky Speedway and for NASCAR to open its events to a competitive bidding process.

The heart of the complaint is the quite cozy relationship between NASCAR and ISC, both of which are controlled by the French family. ISC owns 12 tracks that are home to 19 of the Nextel Cup races.

While there is certainly some elements of sour grapes to the Kentucky Speedway complaint, there is also a strong degree of justification to the arguments being made. The incestuous relationship between ISC and NASCAR effectively renders it impossible for anyone to obtain a racing date without letting the French family into the ownership of their track, and that is exactly what the antitrust laws were enacted to prevent. There actually may be no clearer example of that than Kentucky which has routinely drawn sold out crowds to Busch Series and truck races. Meanwhile, NASCAR puts them off while holding new dates for ISC tracks not yet built in New York and Seattle.

Book Report

Does your knowledge of sports agents start with "show me the money" and end with Arli$$? Is so, then Jerry Crasnick, a writer for ESPN.com has written a book that will bring you a view of a side of baseball that you have never seen. License to Deal is the story of Matt Sosnick, a relatively small time baseball agent who co-owns a sports agency with few major league players and several minor leaguers. Dontrelle Willis is the star of the stable and how Matt became one of his closest friends is one of the best stories in the book. Crasnick does a fine job in detailing the struggles of starting an agency business from nothing and dealing with clients leaving and being stolen by the big boys. He drifts a bit when he tries to tell the story of Scott Boras and some of the other major agents, but when his focus is on Sosnick and his clients, which is most of the time, the book is informative and entertaining. I highly recommend it. It's a good summertime read.

BCS Has a New Poll

The BCS has found a new poll to replace the AP Poll for the upcoming football season. A new pool put together by the Harris Interactive will be used. It will feature former players, coaches and media members and the first poll will not be released until September 25. Plans call for 114 voters. Harris is in the process of compiling the panel from 300 nominations. Every conference will be represented and all voters names will be made public. If anyone knows or has any connections with anyone at Harris Interactive, I would appreciate them putting in a good word for me as I would like one of the poll voters.

Kobe's Back; Did Nike Make a Mistake?

Kobe Bryant signed a $45 million contract with Nike shortly before his arrest two years ago for sexually assaulting a female employee at a Colorado ski resort. Shortly after his arrest, Nike decided to pull all ads featuring Bryant, as did most of the other companies for which he was an endorser. So far, most of those companies have not been quick to bring him back. Nike is an exception. Just this past week, Nike has launched a new series of ads featuring a picture of Kobe Bryant, the first since his arrest.

Is this a smart move on Nike's part? Nike states correctly, that "Kobe ranks among the very best players in the NBA and his training and preparation are key elements of his game." However, Kobe wasn't acquitted. The case was dismissed when the victim decided not to pursue the criminal matter but continued the civil case she had. That case was eventually settled. Kobe Bryant's public image was sufficiently damaged that it will take a huge effort on his part to repair it. So far, that effort hasn't been evident. Nike is gambling that the public will forget what he did and to whom he did and think of only the games he plays.

Is this in Nike's best interest? Nike has always carefully crafted an image centered around sports stars that appeal to kids and there is no denying Kobe's appeal to kids. However, this is an image that parents will not necessarily want to see their kids bring home. I suspect that they won't be running out to spend $150 to buy his shoes anytime soon.

The Kobe case raises the question most companies face at one time or another which is just how do you want your company and your products or services to be perceived by the public? Market positioning is probably the most important decision you can make as you take your marketing campaign public. Just exactly where and to what segment are you positioning your product? To whom are you selling your services? Is Nike selling Kobe to the kids who watch NBA games, play NBA video games, adore Kobe Bryant and couldn't care less what happened in that hotel room in Colorado, assuming they have even heard about it? Of course they are. They are counting on the kids being able to overcome any objection their parents may have through sheer force of kid power - you know what I mean - constant whining, pleading and deal making until you finally give in just to shut them up. The kids are masters at it and Nike and Kobe are counting on it.

This Jersey for Rent?

Mark Cuban has never been one to shy away from controversy nor overlook a an opportunity to market his Dallas Mavericks in new and interesting ways. He recently
called for placing advertising on the jerseys of NBA teams. Now to American sports fans this may seem a radical concept. However, the reality is that jerseys of players around the world have been walking billboards for years.

The major soccer teams around the world do not have their names on the front of their jerseys as Americans are used to seeing. No, they have the names of their corporate sponsors who have paid for the privilege, in some case quite handsomely. Juventus F.C. of the Italian Serie A recently signed a jersey deal with the Libyan oil company Tamoil for a reported $26.2 million per year. The reigning champion of the English Premier League, Chelsea, recently signed a five year deal with Samsung worth about $17.6 million a year and F.C. Barcelona, the last hold out among major soccer powers just signed a deal with China to promote the 2008 Olympics. For $23.9 million, Barca's jerseys will say Beijing.

The NBA finals was telecast in 212 countries but the NBA can't sell ads or sponsorships in all those places. However, sell a place on the jersey and the sponsor reaches ever viewer in every country. The price is high and the value is enormous. The teams will better be able to pay the escalating price of talent while keeping a lid on ticket prices.

The NBA and the NHL probably are best suited to make the jersey sponsorship leap. First, both are very popular outside North America. Second, the NFL already makes so much money the fans probably wouldn't be as accepting and baseball is too traditional as well as its foreign markets are not as well off financially. Finally, the NHL should be the first to try it and see how the fans react. They are the league most in need of the additional revenue. The sponsorship deals won't be anything on the order of the large soccer deals described above, but deals in the $5 million range would be major boosts as the league tries to regain its footing following the lockout.

NHL on Its Way Back

Despite denials by both the union and the league, the NHL and its players have reached an agreement in principle on a new collective bargaining agreement according to the Los Angeles Times. The deal still needs to be approved by the owners but that is a mere formality. It also needs to be approved by the players and that meeting will be far more interesting and a bit less predictable. It will be approved, but not without heated discussion.

It is hard to overstate the complete rout of the owners victory in this battle. As between the owners and the players, the owners have obtained everything they and Commissioner Gary Bettman set out to achieve. They have gotten a 24% rollback in salaries; a salary cap of $37 million; a hard salary cap tied to 54% of league revenue; and capped any player at no more than 20% of a team's cap in any year. The union basically lost at every turn, finally settling for a cap that is significantly below the offer made by the owners in the last ditch attempt to save last season. They agreed to a hard salary cap tied to league revenue, which is the very principle that the players claimed was the line they wouldn't cross and cost them the season. The players could have has this deal well below last season was supposed to have started.

The lockout may end up costing the owners far more than they have gained in this battle with the players. The fans have realized that they haven't really missed hockey all that much. Hockey has lost its contract with ESPN and its future on American television is very much in doubt. The national media have treated the lockout as a sideshow, when it has bothered to cover it all. Much of the nation's media has decided that hockey is just not worth their time. How will the NHL generate interest in its game now that people have found other outlets for their time, interest and money.

Sponsors may return, but the dollars allocated to hockey will be reduced. They will expect cut-rate deals given reduced fan interest and television coverage.

Rule changes are on the way. Let's hope they're enough. The NHL needs to move its game to more closely resemble the international game with emphasis on passing and offense. The most skilled players in the world still play in the NHL. The problem has been that the way the game had evolved no one got to appreciate those skills.

Much work lies ahead for Bettman and company. Let's hope that by finally negotiating a collective bargaining agreement that creates a true partnership between the players and the owners, that partnership will carry over to the marketing of the game that will be necessary between now and the start of the season. It will take a huge effort on the part of everyone involved in hockey to overcome the ill well and general apathy of the public engendered by the lockout, and there is not a lot of time until the season starts.

Hockey will not regain its status overnight. It needs to recast itself more in the mode of the international game with an emphasis on passing

Pitt Settles With Season Ticket Holders

Rather than face protracted and emotional litigation, Pitt chose to settle a class action lawsuit filed by a group of season ticket holders to men's basketball games who had bought preferential seating. The suit was filed after Pitt announced plans to move the tickets holders seat locations based on donations above the price of the game tickets.

The settlement insures that the ticketholders will get to keep their seat locations for the next five years while making a donation to the University's athletic fund of $250 in the first year, rising to $300 in 2006-07 for two tickets. In perhaps the understatement of this week, Pitt Athletic Director called the case a "misunderstanding", which, of course, is why he was sued in a class action law suit.

London Celebrates But Should It?

Thousands of people gathered today in Trafalgar Square to celebrate another British victory over France and Spain in the 200th anniversary of Lord Nelson's defeat of the Spanish and French navy. Prime Minister Tony Blair, hosting the G-8 summit of the leaders of industrialized nation's declared "It's a momentous day for London. This will pay dividends for all of us. It will regenerate parts of east London."

Of course, that is what the Olympics winning host always say. However, the reality rarely squares with the bright vision of the future laid out at the time the bid is awarded. Montreal, the host of the 1976 Games, is still paying off the debt incurred to stage them. Of course, London expects the Games to transform east London, which for generations has been London's "backyard" through the construction of the Olympic Park there. The area around the Park is expected to see 9,000 new homes and attract 11,000 new jobs. London's mayor is projecting new investment to be around $9 billion.

Yet, there is the memory of Montreal and the more recent vision of Athens to take into account. The Games in Athens cost about 50% more than budgeted, according to Bloomberg.com and the Greek government is selling venues to raise the cash necessary to meet some of the costs. And to make matters worse, Britain's record in this regard doesn't exactly leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. After all, the new Wembley Stadium is finally scheduled to open next year, very late and significantly over budget.

So while I'm glad to see London prevail over Paris, which I think would have been a disastrous host, I just hope that Britain hasn't bought itself a multi-billion pound debt.

And the 2012 Olympics Goes to

London. In an slight upset, London is awarded the 2012 Olympic Games on the fourth ballot defeating Paris. New York was eliminated on the second ballot, following Moscow, while Madrid lasted until the third round. London last hosted the Olympics in 1948.

Military Takes Recruiting to NASCAR

You have probably been reading lately about the difficulty the US military has been having meeting its recruiting goals. Who can blame them? After all, we are in a difficult war with an enemy that has little value for human life, including those of its own children. The war is becoming increasingly unpopular at home and many military families are beginning to feel that the support from the both the government and the nation is not all that it could be. Anyway, this post is not intended to be a statement about the war or the very tough job handed to our military.

What I really wanted to bring to your attention is the very creative approach the Army is trying to take to reach a targeted demographic. With the cooperation of NASCAR, the Army has set up shop at each NASCAR race in an all out effort to win over recruits. It's become one of the most successful ventures the Army has tried in quite some time, with over thousands of leads being generated from each race. This is not your run of the mill booth either. No, as I said, the military got creative this time using climbing walls and pit crew challenges to draw in their targeted 17-24 year old males, which just happens to be NASCAR's major market. The Army has estimated that they will get upwards of 40,000 new leads from the NASCAR season alone and with recruiting going as it has been, those are very valuable contacts.

Quakes to be Sold and Moved to Houston

It now appears that the sale of the San Jose Earthqaukes is nearing completion and it may mark the entry of another Mexican club into Major League Soccer. According to Soccer America Grupo Televisa is in the final stages of negotiating the purchase of the Quakes and will move the team to Houston. Grupo Televisa is one of the largest Mexican conglomerates and specializes in Spanish language television, radio, internet and print media and also counts the Mexican League Club America team among its holdings.

An interesting sidelight is that Grupo Televisa holds the Spanish language rights to World Cup 2006, while Anschutz Entertainment Group, the current owner of the Quakes, controls the American rights through Soccer United Marketing, an arm of MLS. I imagine that joint ventures in broadcasting are in the offing as well. Club America and Chivas have a rather healthy rivalry in the Mexican league which I'm sure will carry over to MLS.

One problem yet to be worked out is the use of a stadium. Apparently, it is proposed that the Astrodome be used, but exactly how the turf will be brought in and how conflicts with the use of the turf at Reliant Stadium next door will be handled haven't been worked out.

Baseball World Cup - Marketing Gold Mine

Major League Baseball and the Japanese Baseball League have been locked in negotiations for weeks over the details of baseball's World Cup which is scheduled for next March if all goes well. Announcements of a deal are expected at next week's All-Star game.

Expect near unanimous participation by baseball's top players according to Business Week, as this will be an opportunity for them to project themselves onto a global marketing stage. The World Cup will do more than just expose baseball to the world, as MLB hopes. It will present the stars of baseball with marketing and endorsement opportunities from global multinationals that have not traditionally used players who have made their mark in America. It will also permit MLB's traditional sponsors to reach out to new markets, beyond what they have reached their sponsorship of Major League Baseball. Expect most of MLB's major sponsors to sign on too, for defensive purposes, if nothing else. If you're Budweiser and a baseball sponsor, you don't want to see Miller doing this tournament.