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Jon Wertheim's great piece on Colts owner Jim Irsay this past week in Sports Illustrated has stirred a bit of a debate as to whether the Indianapolis Colts could now be the model franchise for the NFL.. Without the flash and dash, and the oversized suites and prices, of the Dallas Cowboys, or the tradition …

Slowly but surely we are seeing non-American brands find spots in the American marketplace. Banks like Barclay's, sneaker brands, Emirates Airways, are all looking now to the American consumer to find ways to activate their brands through American sport. Just like American brands looking to activate overseas, it is not a quick fix and in …

Monday is a National Holiday honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It would seem a perfect time…NFL in full postseason, NBA and NHL gearing up for All-Star, college sports pushing ahead, the Olympics on the horizon, the holidays in the distance…for a brand or an organization to take ownership of the weekend, especially …

Beach volleyball is unquestionably the darling sport of the Olympic Games. Every four years the men's, and especially the women's competition, draws one of the largest windows for NBC and has helped make pop culture stars of athletes like Misty May Treanor, Holly McPeak, Karch Kiraly, Kerri Walsh, and many others. More importantly, the AVP …

It was a long time in coming and caused many people a great deal of angst over the years, but Mark McGwire's long-awaited and often doubted announcement that he used steroids was actually well orchastrated this week, and was effectively communicated on a number of levels. While many will look back as to the quality …

Cause related marketing for brands, even in a down economy, remains one of the growth areas for active consumer brands. With overall marketing dollars slashed last, companies had to find more efficient ways to reach consumers, and one of the biggest ways was combining dollars earmarked for straight advertising and rallying behind a cause. Instead …

Several years ago the Toronto Maple Leafs took what was then considered a very bold step by breaking a coaching hiring first on ther website, which at the time was unheard of. Since then, the Washington Redskins have used their Daniel Snyder-owned sites, and radio stations to break and try and control news, a host …

One of the biggest problems that professional soccer in the United States has had to deal with in terms of brand growth was the barren area of success from south of Boston to Washington, DC. The Revolution, under the Kraft family, built a solid business in New England, while the United enjoyed both on field …

There is still more than a little contention over how.ho. professional Mixed Martial Arts is as a sport. One thing is for sure, the UFC as an experiential brand, is certainly very hot and very active for the me.s demo, and that experience was again in full force for their New Yea.s weekend card, which …

This month two of the strongest, if not the strongest, Halls of Fame will reveal their 2010 selections, the Baseball and Football Halls. The annual selection issue always operates under stealth and the very tight control over the voters, and usually has more than enough intrigue, suspicion, and debate. However with an ever shrinking number …