Feature: US Sports Biz - June 2007  

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...

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Cal Ripken Jr has signed a deal with Upper Deck Cards that include some special autograph inserts. You know I miss the gum they used to insert…
In a related ‘deal’, Topps has received an unsolicited buyout offer from Upper Deck; we will just have to see how these cards play out!
CBS Corp has made a significant investment in TicketReserve…does that mean I will have to buy a ticket to watch CBS Sports on my TV?
I guess LPGA player Paula Creamer will get more than a toaster as The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has renewed its sponsorship deal with the LPGA star.
Apparently, after the NFL raised a flag against the proposed new TV series ‘Football Wives’, ABC decided not to pick up the pilot. I guess you could say the league made ABC drop the wives, before they got too serious…
With only three people watching the NBA Finals, commissioner David Stern responded to the record-low TV ratings by saying that they were a sign of the changing media times, or you could say nobody cared.
Speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno has won this season’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’, however the gold medal winner will not toss his hat into next year’s ‘American Idol’.
Anheuser-Busch has yanked its Spykes beverage from retail shelves after receiving complaints that the beverage was attracting under-aged drinkers. Good move by the company! And if they need a place to put the extra cases, my garage is available.
Finally, a subject close to my own heart – television and gaming. GSN has partnered with Two Way TV, the UK's leading interactive production company, to become the first network, broadcast or cable, in the US to utilise Two Way TV's Simcast technology that allows viewers to play along with their televisions in realtime via their mobile phones.  With 'game texting', viewers will be able to take part in this new interactive programming initially during the network's Monday primetime casino programming and at a later date, play along with GSN's game and reality shows. GSN will debut the new interactive technology by third quarter 2007. When launched, viewers of GSN's Monday night casino programming will be able to engage in this advanced interactivity during High Stakes Poker and World Series of Blackjack. Additional GSN game shows and reality series utilising 'game texting' will subsequently roll out. High Stakes Poker viewers will be offered a series of cards on their TV screens and can accept cards via SMS messaging to try to create the best possible hand. World Series of Blackjack players will have the opportunity to play against the on-screen dealer by requesting cards to their mobile phones and attempting to hit '21'. Players of both games will compete against other mobile contestants in realtime. Top 10 players will have their user names appear on leader boards on-screen. Well, let’s face it, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has left a few of us with a bit of time on our hands!

That wraps it up for this edition of US Sports Biz, folks!

This article was seen first by people who receive the monthly newsletter, join them.