US Sports Biz - December 2006  

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...

NY Yankees star Derek Jeter wants everyone to smell nice for the holidays. He is on the talk show circuit promoting his new cologne Driven. I’m not so sure I need to smell like a sweaty shortstop…
In other baseball news, Citigroup has purchased the naming rights to the NY Mets new stadium, which will be called CitiField. However, there is no truth to the rumour that each seat will have its own ATM machine.
Tiger Woods is developing his first golf course in Dubai, called Tiger Woods Dubai (catchy title)…it will have a 60,000-square foot clubhouse. Of course my question is ‘how long will the bar be’?
Bank of America has signed a five-year deal with NASCAR, reported to be worth $15m-$20m. One marketing genius thought NASCAR drivers could be used as getaway drivers in a bank robbery promotion…
Stop your engines…in other NASCAR news, the controversial plans to build a NASCAR track on Staten Island has hit a speed bump and come to a screeching halt. Apparently, the $600m 82,500-seat track would cause too much traffic for the area.
Here’s a nutty story…Diamond Foods will use its Emerald Bowl title sponsorship to sample trail mix to football fans later this month.
NFL quarterback Tony Romo has just been added to the Fathead’s NFL product line. I’m not so sure that is such a great honour…
American Express has become the first corporate sponsor of the United States Golf Association in a multiyear deal.
As GPS technology gets better and better and smaller and smaller it will be able to be used for many things…How about finding all my lost golf ball shots.
Speaking of out of this world golfing. Here’s one, a Russian cosmonaut recently hit a golf shot off the International Space Station some 260 miles above the earth sponsored by E21 Golf. As of press time, it was still orbiting having gone over 6m miles…and you thought Tiger Woods hit it long!
NBA star Stephon Marbury’s new athletic shoe or sneakers as I call them has been a great sales success. The shoes sell for only $14.98, in most athletic shoes the laces cost that much.
That wraps it up for this edition of US Sports Biz, folks! I would like to wish all of you a happy holiday season and a great 2007. Have a nog on me…

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