Feature: US Sports Biz - March 2005  

S&T's US correspondent Mark J Jeffers, takes another look at the wild and wacky world of the movers and shakers in sports across the other side of the pond...

Hockey franchise the Mighty Ducks will quack to a new owner, as the Walt Disney Company has agreed to sell the team to billionaire Henry Samueli. Samueli’s company operates the Arrowhead Pond, the Mighty Ducks home arena. So at least the Ducks will slide on familiar ice…
The Golf Channel and the LPGA have reached a new TV deal that will give the network a minimum of 10 events per season through 2009.
It looks like over 36m ‘Live Strong’ bracelets have been sold to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
As we all know former NY Yankee nemesis Pedro Martinez has joined the Bombers cross town rivals the NY Mets. Lots of fans are wondering when Pedro will stir up the first bench clearing brawl and will Don Zimmer be brought in to referee.
NFL Executives are now allowing their online store NFLShop.com to sell personalised jerseys with ‘gay’ on the back. We hear that the NFL is also allowing ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ jerseys to be sold.
So, Jose Canseco is planning a pay-per-view event where he is strapped up to a lie detector, personally, I can thing of at least a million other things I’d rather spend $29.95 on.
And there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that the NY Mets will sponsor a binocular giveaway at Shea Stadium on days that Kris Benson pitches, allowing their fans to search for Kris’ model wife Anna in the stands.
Syracuse University this season will lead all NCAA basketball teams in attendance with an average of 22,978 fans per game, marking the first time since 1995 that the University of Kentucky has not led in attendance. That sure is a lot of Orange, do you suppose the citrus capitol of the world has moved from Florida to upstate New York?
 “Yesss!” Marv Albert, the voice of the New York Knicks for 36 years is returning to the New York metro area as lead play-by-play announcer for the NJ Nets.
Bacardi’s Grey Goose vodka brand has signed PGA Tour player Retief Goosen to a multiyear endorsement deal. The Grey Goose logo will appear on Goosen’s sleeve and club cover. As far as drinking the product, this columnist would be happy to help out!
That wraps it up for this edition of ‘US Sports Biz’, folks!

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