It's happened.   Enough is finally enough.   We've had so many people who have flaunted the law, got picked up, disappointed their fans.   Last weekend, Miami Heat forward James Posey was slapped with a DUI near Miami Beach -- six hours before he was supposed to be at practice.  This came right after Florida Panthers goalie Edward Belfour got picked up for a DUI on nearby Nikki Beach.  The new and not very attractive South Florida pro sports trend seems to be "do stupid stuff, get arrested."    We tolerated this behavior from athletes in the good old days, with Paul Hornung and his gambling and Joe Namath and his drunken guarantees. Then, it was an aberration.  Now, it's the unfortunate norm.  So it's about time that society has turned around and stood up in protest.   This attitude of entitlement and being above the law, and the widespread negative perception of this attitude, has made it easier for Commissioner Roger Goodell to get the NFL Players Association to buy into his kicking butt without getting union support first.  That's why Titan Adam "Pacman" Jones was suspended for a year, and that's why Bengal Chris Henry was suspended for 8 games on the same day, before the policy was announced.   A couple of years ago, Goodell wouldn't have been able to pull that off, because old school thinking dictated that you have to have a union policy first before you suspend people for violating it.  Now, the general public and even avid fans are sick and tired of it.  The NFLPA was forced to listen, and forced to empower the Commissioner with an authority his office should have had long ago.   Bad behavior is like everything else in life -- timing is everything.  It didn't help Jones' and Henry's case -- and it likely will affect Posey's and Belfour's as well -- that radio superstar Don Imus chose this moment in airtime to call the Rutgers womens basketball players "nappy headed hos."  Rightfully, the Imus story continues to be a major news event.  He's already lost sponsors, and his MSNBC television feed, and he may be forced to resign his CBS post.    All of these incidents add up to a major sports and entertainment wildfire.  The NFL has taken firm steps to douse it.  It remains to be seen whether the NBA, the NHL, and CBS will follow suit.  If they don't, it's clear that fans -- and sponsors -- are standing ready armed with very cold buckets of water.  

In 1991, I attended my first Masters at Augusta National.  I went as a guest of Jack Nicklaus -- I was doing some sports management consulting work for his company at the time.   While I didn't see the Golden Bear win -- Ian Woosnam beat Jose Maria Olazabal by one stroke to take the green jacket that year -- the tournament's traditions amazed me then, and they've continued to do so through he ensuing years I've attended, up to this week.   A decade after I witnessed Tiger Woods win by shooting 30 on the back nine after a front nine 40, commercially speaking, things at Augusta National really haven't changed at all.  Here's a look at ten aspects of the Masters that don't get a lot of television coverage -- and, like a stiff Augusta breeze, fly right in the face of current sports industry trends.   1.  Practice round tickets with a face value of $35.00.  While the practice round days are crazy crowded, as is Wednesday's Par 3 event, $35.00 will get you a two-time admission.  Scalped, it's $1,500.00.   2.  Four-day badges with a face value of $175.00.  The waiting list for badges closed years ago, but thousands have held ducetsfor decades for the best bargain in sports.  (Not on the list?  No worries.  A ticket broker can get you a badge.  For $3,000.00.  Per day.)   3.  PCCC's instead of PSL's.  The Masters' answer to Personal Seat Licenses and skyboxes are personally-owned canvas camp chairs (some dating back to the 1970s and 1980s), carried in by patrons early Thursday morning, planted in open seating areas set aside on every green...and if the patron chooses, left undisturbed until Sunday afternoon.  Golf's equivalent of courtside seats, without a premium fee.   4.  No segregation.  With no corporate tents in which to hide, celebrities and other VIPs roam the course alongside everyone else.    5.  No sponsors.  Anywhere on the course.  I continue to be surprised that the golfers aren't required to go logo free, bags swathed in masking tape.  On Friday, I carried in an allowed bottle of Aquafina -- only to have a polite but persistent gate guard ask me to remove the water bottle's label.   6.  Lunch, with beer, for under $5.00.  Sandwiches are $1.50.  The pricey breaded chicken ones and "Masters Clubs," which have no bacon, go for $2.50.  Beer is $1.00, as are "snacks" including candy, chips, aspirin, and Tylenol, possibly the only brand name product in the joint.  (When you're serving beer for a buck, it's probably necessary to regard pain relievers as a snack food.)  A major change was made this year, when condiment carts were added in front of the orderly concession tents.  In previous years, you ate your chicken sandwich dry, unless of course you were clever enough to bring your own mayo or Durkees.   7.  No "quiet" signs.  You'd think with $1.00 beer the place would get rowdy.  Not Augusta.  Polite applause rules, except for the occasional collective rebel birdie yells that reverberate through the pines.  Hecklers need not apply.   8.  No electronic signs.  Leaderboards at every hole are updated the old-fashioned way -- by hand, providing hundreds of volunteer jobs throughout the four-day event.  No standard-bearers lead the players, either, meaning patrons have to pay close attention to the golfers and to the game.    9.  Exclusive swag.  Augusta National officials could make a mint if they ever chose to sell Masters merchandise online.  But they haven't, and won't, meaning that anything with an official Masters logo is only sold on the premises of 2604 Washington Road, Augusta, Georgia.  They've left open only a tiny loophole -- at each of the course's three walk-in gates are small merchandise stands accessible even to those with no badges.  Who says this bunch isn't democratic?   10.  No piped-in bird songs.  While CBS got in trouble for airing nonnative bird sounds, all the birds you hear while strolling the grounds of Augusta National are genuine.  But that blue water in Rae's Creek?  Nah.  It's dyed.  Even in this most uncommercial of sports cathedrals, some concessions have to be made to the television gods.  

The Jets have Fireman Ed.

The Lakers have Jack Nicholson. 

In the end, though, Crazy Ray had the last word.  The unofficial cheerleader, heart, and ten-gallon- hatted soul of the Dallas Cowboys died on Saturday, at 76, one day after pseudo Dolphins mascot "Dolfan Denny," who passed last Friday at 72.

Neither one was paid (you just can't count the paltry $50 Joe Robbie offered Denny per game, which barely covered gas and parking, let alone sequins).  Neither was a face painter.  Yet both embodied, quite literally, the passion and spirit that most true fans carry mostly in their hearts and into the occasional laryngitis-invoking playoff game.  They act out what, by and large, we feel.

Quite often, these unofficial mascots -- who devote decades of their lives to their favorite teams -- receive more respect and support from a team's home fan base than do the official, animal-like figures roaming most sidelines.  Or the cheerleaders, even the Dallas Cowboys variety.

Long after those cheerleaders have reached middle age (like, 30) or gained a pound or two, long after the Native American characters have been struck down by the NCAA and the ACLU, these impassioned turbo fans cheer on.

Take Wilford "Crazy Ray" Jones, who despite having a leg amputated in 1997 due to advanced diabetes and withstanding five heart bypasses and a stroke, continued to entertain fans with magic tricks and sideline antics while wearing his signature hat, chaps, and Texas-sized toy six shooter.

Encouraged by Jerry Jones -- no relation, honest -- Crazy Ray  was given a special parking space at Texas Stadium and granted all-access at home games.  "He touched thousands of lives and generations of football fans," the-Jones-who-owns-the-team has stated on the Cowboy's Web site. "He will remain an important part of this team's heritage and family for as long as fans go to Cowboys games and feel his spirit."

One man sideline sideshow Dolfan Denny, aka Denny Sym, cheered on the Miami Dolphins for 34 years.  I've been a Dolphin season ticket holder since the 1960s, so I was witness to the show from the get go. 

When I was appointed head of the newly-created South Florida Sports Authority in 1979, our focus was not just a new stadium for the Dolphins, but an entire plan to bring other pro sports to the "Magic City," as Miami was known in those days.  Denny wrote me a letter asking to be involved.

In the Sports Authority's initial months, we put together a super committee of key sports leaders.  Knowing that he was likely the most passionate and outspoken local sports fan I could find, I made Denny one of our first five committee appointees.

I was a little concerned that he would wear his sparkly orange jumpsuit to a business meeting and start the proceedings off with a Dolphin cheer, but I needn't have worried.  He took the role very seriously, and his enthusiasm was infectious in the hundreds of meetings we convened.

Like Crazy Ray, Sym's health was in decline.  While he may have missed the stray game or two, his kidney disease and cancer never canceled a season. "Constant heckling by belligerent fans" finally forced his retirement in 2000.    Raiders games can't have helped, but "he never lost his love for football," wife Ingrid Sym said.   As we get set for both the advanced rounds of March Madness and baseball's Opening Day in ballparks across America, two Spring bellweathers of extreme fandom, let us remember Ray and Denny.  Cheer a little louder.  Whistle a little shriller.  Stomp until your foot hurts.  Annoy your neighbors, scare the dog.  Do whatever it takes to remind yourself, and everybody else who supports YOUR team, that while the players are out there working their tails off for the fans, its the fans, in turn, who need to shake their tailfeathers for the players.

A Countdown of 10 Top Sports and Entertainment Business Issues
February 26-March 4, 2007

1) Ball-ywood:  the merger of sports and entertainment.  Dubbed "The Super Bowl for Women," the 79th Annual Academy Awards was watched by more than 40 million viewers (compared to approximately 90 million domestic viewers for Super Bowl XLI).  Ads sold for over $1.7 million per 30-second spot (compared to $2.6 million for the Super Bowl) -- companies like General Motors, JCPenney, and MasterCard were big spenders.  The "Academy Awards industry" (preparing for the event, including parties, hype, swag, and the pre-award shows) exceeds $700 million in economic impact -- compared to about $400 million for the Super Bowl.  Clearly, the merger of sports and entertainment is on the rise.  For example, there have been more than 2,000 sports movies made since the advent of motion pictures in the late 19th century -- and a new recently released book titled Sports Cinema:  the Best of Hollywood's Athletic Heroes, Losers, Myths, and Misfits chronicles them all.  The recent purchase of Johnny Rockets by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Synder for over $500 million is another example in this ongoing trend -- as is NASCAR's entry into the movie, IMAX, and entertainment business as well.


2) Bad actors, image problems, and league responses.  Hollywood recovers from its scandals -- the juicier the better (Anna Nicole Smith).  At the same time, sports deals with this as well.  At the player combine, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held an "image meeting" with about a dozen NFL players, NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw, and assorted owners.  At the same time, the Tom Brady paternity disclosure caused a stir, though the Pacman Jones embarrassment in Las Vegas still resonates in Nashville.  Michael Vick and Jonathan Babineaux with the Atlanta Falcons, and Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels with the Indiana Pacers caused more concern.  On the other hand, NFL Charities awarded more than $1 million in grants to community service organizations in recent months, and Sports Management Worldwide has expanded its curriculum entitled "Ethics in Sport Management" in order to attempt to deal with the negative image and perception of the overpaid and coddled athlete superstar.  By the way, an overall 403 arrests were made in Las Vegas around the All-Star Game.  Notwithstanding that, over 136,000 fans attended the All-Star Jam Session at Mandalay Bay, and sales of All-Star merchandise increased by 54 percent.  The dollars rule!


3) Celebrity endorsers:  the good, the bad, and the young.  Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn signs a deal this week with EAS nutritional supplements before he works out for the NFL Draft.  Anna Kournikova signs an endorsement deal with K Swiss the same day -- at least she is referred to as a "former tennis player."  Overall, corporations spend over $12 billion in athlete endorsements.  The top five are predictable:  Woods, Mickelson, James, Agassi, and Manning.  Reggie Bush signs deals with Gold Toe socks, and a "fragrance" company.  Even former basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell does a deal with Wheaties, appearing on a cereal box in celebration of Black History Month. 

On the "bad" side, Barry Bonds still leads the world as the "worst athlete to endorse a product," according to TNS Sport -- even with his new $15.8 million contract and chasing 755.  Most critically, the Josephson Institute study of 5,275 high school athletes found that over 72 percent of high school football players acknowledged cheating on an exam at least once a year, and 65 percent of general athletes admitted such -- many citing Barry Bonds as their "role model." 

Finally, the newest trend is the superstar endorse kid.  Autistic basketball superstar Jason McElwain stands to reap millions -- selling his story to movie studios.  Thirteen year-old golfer Dakoda Dowd entered the LPGA tournament last year, fulfilling the dream of her terminally ill mother.  Kyle Carter, 12, became the first pitcher to win four games in a Little League World Series on behalf of Columbus, Georgia last year in Williamsport.  Unbelievably, Dylan Oliver, a Kentucky skateboarder, signed a major deal with Nice Skateboards, though he was five years old at the time. Nike invests about $15 million a year in amateur youth basketball, and adidas spends about $10 million.  Clearly, the business trend is here to stay.


4) How to succeed in a "niche" sport without really trying:  Arena Football League kicks off its 2007 season this week.  The Big Four plus NASCAR dominate the headlines, but the AFL begins its 21st year of operation with an ESPN contract and a Collective Bargaining Agreement that will probably extend through 2015.  Expansion fees are expected to reach $20 million, and the league brings back the New Orleans VooDoo -- growing to 19 teams this season.  In case you want to become even more "extreme" in the business of sports, Major League Eating recently signed a deal with Spike TV -- airing after the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  One TV executive was quoted as saying "If you see a guy eating a beef tongue, you are going to stop and watch." 


5) The business of the Boys of Summer -- intensifying.  Major League Baseball begins its "official" Spring Training games this week.  At the same time, U.S. Senator John Kerry is investigating the proposed $700 million new deal between MLB and
DirectTV -- claiming it may "reduce consumer choice and competition."  The $5.2 billion industry is in the middle of an unprecedented 16 years of labor peace with a "level playing field."  Last year, the club that ranked 13th in the major leagues won the World Series (St. Louis) over a team that lost 91 games the previous season (Detroit).  Only one team with a top 10 payroll won a post-season series (the Mets, at #5).  Though spending increased, the business has never been healthier. At Spring Training, the competition between Florida and Arizona continues to be intense -- with the Cactus League stealing teams from the Grapefruit League.  In 1997, the Grapefruit League had 20 teams training in Florida, the Cactus League eight.  By 2009, the Cactus League will have 14 of the teams training in Arizona.  Most visibly, the Los Angeles Dodgers will move to Glendale, Arizona (sharing a new facility with the Chicago White Sox), in a gleaming $76.8 million, 15,000-seat facility -- leaving Vero Beach, Florida after 60 years of training.  For years, there was no home run fence at Holman Field in Vero, but the chain link fence was added in 1971 after BLEEP Allen injured himself colliding with a palm tree.  Baseball has undergone significant economic changes.  Internationally, the Red Sox continue to welcome Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the economic impact he attracts from Japan.  Red Sox owner John Henry has teamed with NASCAR owner Jack Roush -- who ironically has resisted Toyota's arrival on the NASCAR circuit.  Henry has distanced himself from any Japanese bashing (for obvious reasons).  At the same time, former major leaguers Ken Holtzman, Ron Blomberg, and others have christened the Israel Baseball League, continuing to expand baseball's international presence.


6) The latest Olympic news, and the "business and economics" of the 2008 China Olympic effort.  This weekend, the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games unveiled plans for a $112 million temporary renovation of the L.A. Coliseum that will add 204 luxury seats, a restored track, and other amenities (in hopes that they win the 2016 Olympic bid).  For 2012, the London operational budget is fixed at $3.9 billion, but overruns may plague the venues as well.  However, the major focus remains on China and its Olympic readiness for 2008.  As was mentioned earlier, ad spending rose 22 percent last year up to $50 billion -- with the biggest spenders in Chinese advertising including pharmaceuticals and toiletries.  The NBA boasts 500 million Chinese fans who purchased 400 million "branded pieces" of NBA merchandise last year.  The NFL preseason game between the Seahawks and Patriots in China this August will be moved a day to accommodate the massive Olympic countdown ceremony -- one year to the day before the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing.  From a golf perspective, TaylorMade is implementing its three-year deal with the China Golf Association to expand from the 300,000 golfers in China (which make up only 0.0002 percent of the country's population).  Even a five percent bump in new golfers revolutionizes the international golf industry.


7) More business across the pond.  Deloitte and its annual Football Money Study notes that Real Madrid generates more revenue than any major league professional sports franchise -- $381 million.  Its six percent revenue increase easily outstrips FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Manchester United.  The other side may be Chelsea.  Russian oil magnate and owner Roman Abramovich claims he has lost over $600.7 million since he took control of the club, spending over $975.2 million to operate the franchise.  We also mentioned the popularity of football in Germany -- the German Medical Association continues to ask for more hospital beds because of a shortage in their maternity wards -- nine months after the World Cup was held in that country.  Another example of "sports across the pond":  the 15th quadrennial Asian Games attracted 10,500 athletes from 45 countries, 5,700 journalists, more than 400 events in 39 sports at 36 venues.  The country of Qatar spent nearly $3 billion generating the event -- with more than 2,000 hours of television programming to be broadcast to 1.5 billion viewers worldwide.  Clearly, Americans do not dominate the sporting landscape, regardless of what we think.


8) Inside the growing international entertainment and sports industry:  amazing numbers.  Inside information from the Sports Management Worldwide Sports Careers Conference in Indianapolis this week:  PricewaterhouseCoopers recently published its Entertainment, Media, and Sports Industry Study -- the industry now exceeds $553 billion, expanding to $726 billion by 2012.   The international athlete endorsement and advertising business exceeds $350 billion; specific sports spending will increase to $61.6 billion by 2010.  There are $15 billion worth of sports tickets purchased annually, and the International Licensing Industry Merchandise Association notes the sale of licensed goods and merchandise exceeds $5.8 billion.  Total Internet viewers of the World Cup soccer matches in 54 global markets:  5.9 billion.  Corporate sports naming and sports sponsorships:  $12 billion.  The future belongs to those who can master evolving technology -- and high-tech video games, Internet advances, and stadium "smart seats" are three of the key revenue generators in the years ahead.


9) Inside the golf business -- the Honda Classic Pro-Am signals the beginning of the "Florida swing" this month.  I will be able to report on the business development opportunities -- playing in Monday's Pro-Am.  Over 11,000 square foot Fan Zone, and many opportunities for corporate business to be conducted -- the estimate is over $150 million.  Tiger's streak stopped at seven with his loss to O'Hearn at the Match Play -- his effect on the Tour is still formidable (a 50-80 percent bump in revenues where Tiger plays compared to the "have-nots").  As March 21 draws closer, plans to promote the Tiger Woods participation in the Doral CA Championship, cross-marketed with Roger Federer playing across town in Miami at the Ericsson Tennis Championship, should be analyzed. 


10) Equal prize money and women's sports:  finally at Wimbledon.  The renewed focus on the business of women's sports from two perspectives.  First, the beginning of the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament -- leading to the lucrative Women's Final Four in Cleveland (an $800 million business).  Second, the commitment by Wimbledon to equalize prize money for the men's and women's champions after 123 years of inequality.  Last year, champion Amelie Mauresmo earned $1.117 million, while men's champion Roger Federer received $1.17 million.  No more.  The overall state of the women's sports industry should be reviewed, from corporate commitments to league startups, to Title IX, and the like.