It's time for the second edition of the Sports Business Carnival, which is a bi-weekly collection of posts from some of the best and brightest sports business bloggers and minds. The next edition will be published October 22, and the cutoff for submissions is October 21 at 5pm Eastern Time. You can submit an article here. If you're interested in hosting one of these carnivals, definitely let me know.
Besides Nationwide locking up the title sponsorship of NASCAR's former Busch Series and MSG and Isiah Thomas being found guilty, here's what else has been going on lately:
Brian Berger from Sports Business Radio recently took a trip to China and was granted incredible access to a sports apparel factory there. Brian provides some insight about the conditions at the factory and its workers. On one hand you'll be appalled to know that the monthly minimum wage is $110 (US Dollars) based on a 6 day, 60-hour work work. However, most workers are glad to have a steady job and decent working conditions. These sports apparel factories certainly aren't sweatshops--one drop of sweat could taint the products and put things behind schedule. Brian's article is definitely a fascinating read.
Formula One rookie driver Lewis Hamilton stands to secure up to $60 million in endorsements, should he win the F-1 title, according to Mark from Sports Biz. Lewis would be the first rookie driver and first black driver ever to win the title.
Darren at Sports Agent Blog discusses the announcement that Creative Artists Agency will work with the Yankees to bring corporate sponsorships to new Yankee Stadium, among other business opportunities. He also sheds some light on CAA's core business, which is representing athletes, actors, artists and others in the entertainment space. It will be interesting to see how CAA tries to build cred in the sports space, and the challenges it will face trying to convince people that it knows about more than just entertainment.
Donations to university athletic departments are rising at a greater pace than donations for academics. Rachael Bachman of The Oregonian picked up on this for and interviewed some people from University of Oregon to comment on it for her story. FYI the Oregonian has a great sports business blog written by Brent Hunsberger--Playbooks and Profits.
Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong brand has generated more than $200 million for cancer research. Check out Darren Rovell's interview with Lance about the brand.
For the third year in a row, GMC has teamed up with the National Football League and Digitas to create a “Pro Grade Challenge” minisite, downplaying traditional media in favor of digital interaction with NFL viewers to promote its vehicles. Pat Coyle of Sports Marketing 2.0 gives us some details about the site and provides a few key points for brands who are trying to do something like this.
You would think MSG would be trying to lay low for a while because of all the stuff relating to the Anucha Browne-Sanders trial stuff. But they are also suing the NHL for monopolizing control of team promotions (mainly the Rangers website). Skip Sauer from The Sports Economist provides some insight about this from an economist's perpective.
In his article about Shawn Marion seeking a trade (possibly to the Lakers), David Friedman from The Biz of Basketball dispels two information myths that the mainstream media regularly tout. 1) Stars will take less money to play with Steve Nash and 2)Nobody likes Kobe Bryant. IMHO this really shows the influence media have in spinning a story and getting people to think something is true. Even though rumors like these may not be completely true or factual, they definitely have an impact on a star's marketability, and sponsors pay attention to these things.
Lucas Aykroyd presents In the Spotlight: IIHF President René Fasel posted at HockeyAdventure.com. In this exclusive interview, the President of the International Ice Hockey Federation discusses plans for NHL hockey teams to play European clubs and a new European Champions League modeled on soccer's, among other topics.
Last by not least, David Stein presents the first Celebration of Life Through Sports Award to Alexi Maguire at Britannica Blog. I know we usually focus on sports business topics, but this post is a good example of how sports are intertwined with life, and how sports can give people hope, joy and motivation. Sports are more than a business, and they mean so much to so many people.