Feature: US Sports Biz - October 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...

A new sports drink is teeing off…Tiger Woods and Gatorade are teaming up for what else - ‘Gatorade Tiger’.  The deal could be worth as much as $100m; well at least Gatorade got its name first.

Attendance at Madison Square Garden may be down during New York Knicks games this season, question is are fans boycotting due to the sexual harassment conviction, or that the Knicks are [in my opinion] just plain lousy?

In other hoop news…NBA star Reggie Miller has once again traded his sneakers for a microphone and will join Marv Albert in calling NBA games for TNT.

Bridgestone is laying down some serious rubber, as it has become the sponsor of the Super Bowl XLII halftime show on Fox.

Ole!  EA Sports is producing a Spanish language version of its Madden videogame series to be called ‘Madden NFL 08 En Espanol’.  I hope our friends south of the border know its American football and not their beloved soccer…

And there is no truth to the rumour that OJ Simpson is autographing the guns he used in the sports memorabilia robbery.

The US Ski and Snowboard Association has signed a one-year sponsorship agreement with Avis Rent A Car.  I hope snow tires were thrown in to the deal.

I guess you could say IBM hit the ‘escape’ key, as the company has ended its 10-year PGA Tour sponsorship after this season.

iN DEMAND Networks has renewed its deal with the National Hockey League (NHL) for distribution of the NHL Centre Ice package beginning with the 2007-08 season. I was a little surprised because the NHL is seldom ‘in demand’ on TV here in the US!

What a ‘scrummy’ move…ESPN has picked up rights to the Rugby Super League for its broadband service ESPN360.com.

It looks like Eastman Kodak is over-exposed as the company has announced that it will end its sponsorship of the Olympics after the Beijing 2008 Summer Games.

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

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