Here are my quick picks for this week (Baseball-themed edition):

Website: Sabernomics – Economic Thinking About Baseball – This is a blog run by J.C. Bradbury, the author of The Sports Economist.  He writes about many different economic-related topics in baseball, from player contracts to stadium revenues.  Bradbury is a very talented writer and offers a uniquely analytical perspective on the sport.

Book: The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci – I am picking this book without having even read it yet.  This book was positioned to be one of the biggest stories of the spring, before the A-Rod/steroids story broke.  I don’t know if that story will help or hurt Joe’s book sales, but I’m still looking forward to sitting down with this book when I have a free minute…maybe I’ll get to it by the All-Star break!

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers – I picked the Dodgers for two reasons.  They are still the top candidate to finally sign Manny Ramirez, which is a story that is just hanging over that franchise.  Also, this is the first year in decades when they will not have their spring training in Vero Beach (a.k.a Dodgertown).  They are now part of the Cactus League, playing their games at Camelback Ranch in Glendaleand sharing the facility with the Chicago White Sox (you can also follow @camelbackranch on Twitter).  This facility features the most expensive spring training ticket – $90 for their “Home Plate Club” tickets, which include free food and drinks, a premium gift , and in seat service.  I know there was some negative reaction to this package when it first came out, but the teams seem to have recognized a demand for premium inventory in the spring training market.  They still offer the $8-10 lawn seats, so they really do have something for everyone.

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Website:  StadiaTech.com – Over the past two decades, sports stadiums and facilities have implemented amazing new technologies, all in an effort to reduce costs, increase revenue and entertain fans.  StadiaTech.com is a great sports blog dedicated to discussing stadium technology and innovation.  Even if you’re not on the facility side, there is a lot of valuable content offered on this site.

Book:  “Bargaining for Advantage” by G. Richard Shell – One of the best classes I had in business school was a course on negotiation, and this was the primary book that we used.  Negotiation takes place everywhere, from negotiating the terms of a sponsorship deal to negotiating your salary.  There are so many important things to consider within a negotiation, including individual personality, goal setting, norms, leverage, exchange of information, concessions, gaining commitment, and ethics.  This book is an excellent resource in better understanding this process.

Event:  Daytona 500 - The 51st Annual Daytona 500 is tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.  This is one of NASCAR’s biggest stages, and all of the usual stars (Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, Earnhardt Jr, Busch, etc.) will be in the limelight.  This has been a tough time for NASCAR with their dependence on sponsor dollars, particularly from the automotive industry.  They need to put on a good show and generate some good ratings if they want to attract some new corporate partners.

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Website: sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com – This site is a great resource for tracking ratings and media exposure for recent events. They also blog about current events in sports media, such as Costas moving to the MLB Network and Torre’s tell-all book.

Book: Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger- With National Signing Day this week, I was reminded of this incredible book. Bissinger spends a year following a prominent Texas high school football team, and gives insight into so many aspects of the high school football culture in Texas, from socio-economic issues and racism to the immense pressure put on these young athletes by the community. There’s a good reason this book spawned a movie and a television series.

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers – Let’s see, the team is undefeated at home, has the 2nd best recond in the league, and has arguably the most talented (and marketable) player in the league. Oh, they’ve also sold out almost every home game this year and are on pace to break team records for attendance and television ratings. Business is always easier when the on-court product is successful, and the Cavs should enjoy this at least through next season. The real story will come after the 2009-10 season. Does LeBron stay or go? Over the next 18 months, the team needs to strengthen both their internal relationship with King James and their external relationship with the fans. If he does leave town, hopefully the bond with fans will be strong enough to keep them in the seats!

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Website:  SportsAgentBlog.com - A great sports business and law blog created by Darren Heitner and focused primarily on agent-related topics (although they also cover many general industry topics as well). Some of the latest posts have covered the Darius Miles/Blazers conflict and recent high-profile MLB signings. 

Book:  Moneyball by Michael Lewis – I realized that I jumped right to recommending “The Blind Side” without ever touching on Lewis’ best sports book.  Moneyball is a must read for any baseball fan, particularly anyone who dreams of working on the personnel/operations side.  He writes in-depth about Billy Beane’s unique (at the time), statistical approach to building a MLB team, and the success that his Oakland teams had by using his methods.

Team:  Arizona Cardinals – Yes, the headlines were true.  The Arizona Cardinals are indeed playing in the NFC Conference Finals tomorrow.  This is by far the most success the franchise has ever had, and their fans have responded enthusiastically by selling out the stadium in about six minutes (even though some fans quickly tried reselling their tickets).  Arizona has always been a tough market, considering how quickly their population turns over compared to other cities and regions.  Most local residents grew up elsewhere and follow teams like the Bears, Giants, and even the Eagles.  Hopefully this season is just what they need to develop a more passionate and more loyal local fan base, and the team is doing all they can to turn playoff ticket buyers into season ticket holders for next year.

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Website: NBA All-Access (nba.com/allaccess) – The NBA is continuing to develop their direct fan-relationship initiatives.  They recognize that the league-to-fan relationship can be just as powerful as the team-to-fan equivalent. and they help develop this relationship through their NBA All-Access platform, which you can join for free.  From one location, you can manage your NBA newsletter preferences (which are also tailored to your favorite team), play fantasy games, listen to streaming audio of games, write on the Fan Voice message board, and enter league contests such as their new Sprite “They Dunk, You Decide” promotion.  It also provides a platform to promote other paid offers, such as League Pass Broadband and the NBA Store. Overall, the All-Access site is a valuable, engaging product that will help the league build quality, one-to-one relationships with their fans.

Book:  “Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the ABA” by Terry Pluto - Today’s pick comes from Eric Habermas, a classmate of my from Arizona State’s Sports Business program.  This book covers the short history of the American Basketball Association, and it is filled with lots of humorous stories and colorful characters.  Beyond that, it also covers many of the ways that the ABA helped develop the game of basketball as well as their business battles with the established NBA.  People may not realize that a lot of the game style and business practices of the NBA were created by the ABA, so the book is very eye-opening and entertaining.

Team:  Florida Gators - This was a no-brainer choice after winning both “official” college football championships (BCS and AP).  The Florida athletic department continues to churn out championship teams, which keeps the revenue flowing.  They’ve created one of the more powerful college sports brands, they have a devoted fan base, and they have the most recognizable and marketable athletes in college football in Tim Tebow (presuming he stays for another season).

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Book:  “The Business of Sports: Cases and Text on Strategy and Management” by George Foster, Stephen Greyser and Bill Walsh - This book is great for sports management programs or people interested in exploring career paths in the industry.  The book is a collection of business cases designed to review different elements and problems within the industry, giving the reader concrete examples to review and analyze.  I am a strong believe in case-based education, so this book has a great deal of educational value.

Website:  TheSportsEconomist.com – Another excellent sports business-related blog, focusing primarily on the economics of the industry.  The blog features some recent articles on the Yankees’ spending spree, the AFL, and the state of the sports economy.  Definitely one to add to your bookmarks or RSS reader.

Team:  New York Yankees – First they go on a record spending spree ($423.5 million to be exact) and then they get their luxury tax bill from MLB for another $27 million.  While everyone else seems to be limited by the economy, the Yankees are throwing money around like a kid in a candy shop.  How can they do this?  As Darren Rovell writes on his blog , other owners are getting hurt by their regular (i.e. non-baseball) business ventures, while the Yankees only care about the Yankees.  With the power of the new stadium, ticket revenues, and the YES network, the business of the New York Yankees shows no signs of slowing.

Other:  Losing – This weekend, the Detroit Lions will have the “opportunity” to go 0-16, something that has never been done in NFL history.  Normally bad teams generate poor ratings, but will more people actually tune in to watch this weekend, assuming the game is not blacked out?  Can going 0-16 actually create opportunities for the team going into next year?  Maybe they can make the best out of a pretty terrible situation.

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Book:  “Ball Four” by Jim Bouton- There is no question that performance enhancing drugs have been an important part of the sports landscape over the past couple of years, but this book shows a bit of their history.  Bouton got “blacklisted” from baseball for this tell-all book, which includes many details of “greenies” use in baseball in the 1970s.  A very informative and entertaining look at the inside world of a baseball clubhouse.

Website:  SportsNetworker.com- Everyone agrees that to excel in the sports world, you must know how to network, and Lewis Howes is an incredible networker.  He runs the SportsNetworker.com blog, and updates it regularly with lots of valuable content for people who want to or already work in the industry.

Teams:  Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers – The Celtics are in the midst of a 17 game winning streak, and the Lakers are the top team in the Western Conference.  All of this leads to the most anticipated regular season NBA game in quite a while when these two teams play on Christmas day.  The NBA is promoting this game very heavily, and they’ve done a great job over the past few years on making Christmas day a staple of their regular season schedule.

Other:  “The Second Screen” – This weekend is the championship for most fantasy football players, so many people are going to be flipping back and forth between their television and laptop/cell phone/mobile device, obsessively checking scores.  Many companies are battling over possession of this second screen.  The NFL, Yahoo, ESPN and many others all want you to visit there site or receive their mobile alerts.  The more interesting challenge though is, can you generate revenue?  You can’t charge for these services because someone else will offer them for free.  Even if you gain a large audience share, there are costs involved without revenue to support it, especially via mobile.  The first company to truly monetize the second screen, most specifically mobile devices, will be in great shape, at least until everyone else copies them!

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Book:  “The Education of a Coach” by David Haberstam - This book might not be viewed the same way after the video-taping controversy from last season, but it is still an incredibly interesting and education read on the development of a coach’s career and some of the evolution within coaching itself.  While not a business book, the more you know about your sport, the better job you can do delivering the right message to your audience.

Website:  LinkedIn.com – This may seem like a no-brainer, but LinkedIn is a powerful site to network with other sports industry professionals (you can click here to see my LinkedIn profile).  I want to encourage you specifically to check out all of the great sports business groups that have been created, including Sports Marketing & PR Pros, Sports Industry Network, Team & Event Marketers, Sports Industry Forum, and Athletic Networking.  The groups present an easy way to start discussions and network with other members.

Team:  Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons have to be the best overall story in the NFL this season, including from a business perspective (my apologies to the Giants, Jets, and Titans).  Here is a team that lost their iconic star, their head coach, and their entire identity over the course of last year, and this season they are a winning team with a chance at making the playoffs.  They have talented new players to build their team brand around, especially in rookie Matt Ryan.  They have put fans back into the seats and in front of the television, and there is no reason why the success shouldn’t continue well into the future.

Commercial:  LeBron James and Nike:

I know the common sentiment is that, for LeBron to be a global icon, he has to end up in New York or Los Angeles.  But even in Cleveland, combining his success on the court with the power of the Nike brand, he can still “do it.”

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Book:  “The GM: A Football Life, a Final Season, and a Last Laugh” by Tom Callahan - The original subtitle for this book was “The Inside Story of a Dream Job and the Nightmares that Go With It,” but that was before the Giants shocked the football world and won Super Bowl XLII.  This book is a particularly interesting read in light of what the Giants have done the last two year.  The author write about Ernie Accorsi’s last year as the Giants GM, and touches on many different topics, including player evaluation, team dynamics, and how the game has changed over time.

Article:  “What the Rise of Southern Football Says About America” on WSJ.com – A very good article on the evolution of college football in the South, particularly for the SEC.  The author touches on many different contributing social and political factors.  Understanding these cultural elements are always important on the business side, so I believe this is a very relevant and useful article.

Teams:  Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners – I didn’t write anything this week about the Big 12/BCS controversy that sent the Sooners to the Big 12 Championship game over Texas, even though Texas beat OU head-to-head.  You can find PLENTY of articles arguing back and forth over who should be playing tonight and in the BCS Championship.  Either way, a series of computers has decided the fate of millions of college football dollars.  However upset Texas might be, the irony is that they should now root for the Sooners to win tonight, since OU playing in the BCS Championship will help all Big 12 schools financially.  (Update: I may have jumped the gun in suggested that Texas needs to root for OU. If OU loses, either Texas or USC will play Florida in the BCS Championship.)

Other:  NHL Winter Classic 2009 – Last year’s NHL Winter Classic was considered a complete success.  Great attendance, strong ratings, lots of publicity, and an entertaining game.  This year, the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks (two of the original six teams) will face off on New Years Day at Wrigley Field.  The NHL is putting a lot of weight behind this event – they’ve even created special throwback jerseys for the game which are selling well on the NHL Shop website.  The NHL might not have the same game-to-game interest that the other three leagues have, but they have created a unique, must-see regular season event, something that the other leagues have not done.

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Book:  “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie – This book was first published in 1937, and everything in it still applies today.  While this book has nothing to do with sports, the principles it discusses regarding how to get the most of your relationships with people are important in any industry.  If you want to have a successful career, you must read this book.

Website:  MotherPucker.ca - MotherPucker is a great hockey blog for any hockey fans out there.  It’s my pick of the week because of a recent post regarding the economic downturn and the NHL.  Teams are definitely having trouble moving their premium inventory and there seems to be more and more no-shows.  The problems are obvious to people watching and attending the games, although they do vary a lot by market.

Team:  Detroit Lions – I may be a few days late on this one, but there’s been some recent news for this team, albeit bad news.  The Lions came very close to not selling out their traditional Thanksgiving day game and having it blacked out by TV.  They actually needed a last minute extension to give them more time to reach the sellout.  This is after three straight weeks of their games actually being blacked out.  There are people that want to see them lose the Thanksgiving day game, a tradition that has existed since 1934! 

Other:  Sponsorship Dollars – In the past week, we’ve had GM end their relationship with Tiger Woods and rumors about Citibank backing out of their naming rights deal with the Mets.  Is this the start of a significant trend for the industry, or just isolated instances reflective of specific company troubles.  We’ll find out over the next few months! (Update: a related post on this topic can be found here)

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Books:  The Starbucks Experience by Joseph A. Michelli - It’s not a sports book, but it definitely has an application to sports business. Starbucks has defined itself by the highest quality service, and this book reviews the company’s five service principles and how effective they are. Sports can also be viewed as a service industry, where a team is providing an interactive experience consumed immediately by the customer. While we cannot control what happens on the court, we can influence the rest of the customer’s experience. Delivering the best experience possible will help build loyalty and a lifetime customer. Teams can use the principles described in Michelli’s book to deliver that type of experience.

Website:  Quantcast.com - Do you want an easy way to learn about who is visiting your website? I don’t mean the number of hits per page, I mean demographics, geography, and lifestyle! Quantcast.com is a free service – all you have to do is sign up and drop a small piece of code on your website. Then Quantcast will track all this information, which you can easily access through their website. Click here to see an example of the statistics for my blog!

Teams:  Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Michigan Wolverines – The mighty have fallen (or continue to fall) this year. Both teams are disappointing (ND just lost to Syracuse and UM has their worst record in history) and both teams have committed millions of dollars over the next several years to high profile coaches. In the past, it would have been much easier to fire the coach and eat the salary, with the help of alumni donors of course. But the money is not there this year to handle that type of buyout. This is good news for Charlie Weis and Rich Rodriguez, but it might be bad news for the two schools if things don’t turn around next season.

Other:  The_Real_SHAQ - Shaq (yes, the real Shaq) has decided to dive into the world of Twitter and is now posting regular updates to the world.  In about a week, he already has almost 9,000 followers (other twitter users that subscribe to see his updates).  The numbers exploded once people realized it was really him (there are many Twitter users that pretend to be celebs). How did we learn the truth? He actually called another user that did not believe it was him! We’ve seen athletes as bloggers before, but this is the first major athlete “twitterer” that I’ve encountered. I expect others to follow Shaq’s lead soon. Just another way for teams and athletes to connect with fans. (Thanks to Sports PR Blog who also wrote about this story!)

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Here are my quick picks for this week:

Books:  This week, rather than suggesting a book that I’ve read, I’m going to share the next couple of books I’m planning on reading.  If you’ve read one of these, leave a comment and let us all know what you thought of the book!

• The Elusive Fan: Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace by Ben Shields
• The Olympic Games Effect: How Sports Marketing Builds Strong Brands by John Davis
• Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
• Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking by Andy Sernovitz

Website:  PartnershipActivation.com - This is a blog run by Brian Gainor, and he has put together some great content on best practices and creative approaches to sports sponsorships.  He was also a recent guest blogger on Darren Rovell’s CNBC Sports Biz blog.  If you are interested or involved in corporate partnerships, Brian’s blog is a must read.

Athlete(s):  C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez – The MLB free agency period has officially started, and started with a bang!  Sabathia has already been offered a record contract by the Yankees, and Manny has received at least one offer from the Dodgers.  These two players will set the market this off-season, especially Sabathia.  There are several other high-profile free agents to follow, including K-Rod, Teixeira and Burnett, so the dollars will be flying over the next few weeks.

Other:  Rick Tocchet as the Lightning Head Coach - Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Lightning fired Barry Melrose after just one month of games, replacing him with Rick Tocchet.  While I’m surprised at the quick firing, I’m even more surprised at who is replacing him.  Tocchet came back from a two-year absences in early 2008, after being involved in a gambling scandal while working with the Phoenix Coyotes.  With the recent gambling-related issues in professional sports, I would think that teams would avoid situations like this for a while longer.  The league is ok with the appointment, and Tocchet has always claimed to never bet on NHL games, so hopefully this will be a non-issue for the team and the league.

Do you have a good “pick of the week?” Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page and send me your picks – I could really use some suggestions!!!

Here are my quick picks for this week:

Books:  Ice to the Eskimos and Marketing Outrageously by Jon Spoelstra – Both of these books are excellent reads on the sales side of the industry.  Jon has an amazing talent for creative and effective approaches to selling everything, from tickets to sponsorships.  There is a bit of repetition between the two books since they do have common principles, but anyone on the sales or marketing side of sports should read both of these titles.

Website:  Twitter (twitter.com/rscibetti) - I’ve been using Twitter a lot more yesterday to promote the blog and learn about interesting topics from other “Twitterers.”  The site offers another communications channel to reach your fans and customers at NO cost (other than your time).  Some teams have already started using Twitter to reach their fans, and more teams should start using it!

Team:  Texas Tech Red Raiders – I am writing this early in the day on Saturday, so there is a chance that they could lose tonight to Oklahoma State.  Regardless, this is by far the most successful football season in the school’s history after their win last week over Texas.  They are a legitimate contender for the BCS National Championship, which would be a HUGE revenue boost for the school. I’m sure that their success so far has already had a tremendous impact on ticket and merchandise sales, and will probably have a carryover effect on the other sports as well.

Other:  Will Ferrell and USC – Just in case some of you haven’t seen this video already, Will Ferrell was part of a Halloween prank at a USC practice.  Now clearly this was meant to generate some laughs for the team, but it turned into a great viral video on YouTube.  It pays to always video tape events like this, because you never know what will take off on the Internet.

Do you have a good “pick of the week?” Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page and send me your picks – I could really use some suggestions!!!

Here are my quick picks for this week:

Book: Sports, Inc: 100 Years of Sports Business by Phil Schaaf – Just as the title says, this book is a good overview of the history of sports business.  He covers a wide range of topics across sports and industry segments, and highlights how the industry has evolved over time.  I read this book before going to school for sports business, and I felt more prepared because of it.

Website: Sports PR Blog by Christy Hammond – Christy is a student at UM and has interned with the Red Wings and the University of Michigan.  She’s been a loyal reader and recently found me on Twitter as well (you can find her at twitter.com/behindthejersey).  Her blog is very interesting and offers a mix of content on PR, marketing, and career tips.

Team: Philadelphia Phillies (yes, again) – I’ve already written about the World Series and the Phillies a couple of times, but they have to be my team of the week.   One quick side note - in most situations, a major sports championship is a positive economic event (see my previous post on this year’s Super Bowl).  With all the carnage in the aftermath of the Phillies’ win, I wonder if it ended up costing the city money!

Other: World Series of Poker – My friends will laugh at this, since they know I enjoy playing poker, but in the next two weeks, the World Series of Poker will finally play out their Main Event final table (dubbed the “November Nine”).  They delayed the final table with the goal of marketing the final players and generating a lot of hype for the ESPN television broadcast, but they really haven’t generated any buzz.  Maybe that will change over the next two weeks.

Do you have a good “pick of the week?” Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page and send me your picks – I could really use some suggestions!!!

Here are my quick picks for this week:

Book: The Blind Side by Michael Lewis – This is another book that has been out for a while that I really enjoyed.  Michael Lewis gets a lot of recognition for writing Moneyball, and deservedly so.  But this follow-up about the evolution of the passing game in football and the importance of the left tackle is also a great read.  There is a business angle as well on the collegiate sports side, as he tells the story of how a major college programs try to recruit an underprivileged athlete specifically to fill this left tackle spot.

Website: Sports Biz with Darren Rovell – This is one of my favorite sports business blogs.  Darren is always on top of the latest sports business news (working for CNBC has to help!), and his posts are informative and entertaining.

Team: Philadelphia Phillies/Eagles/Flyers/Sixers - The Phillies have taken a 2-1 series lead against the Rays (although I expect the series to go the full seven); The Eagles are trying to hang tough in the NFC East; The Flyers are off to a rough start but have a lot of talent (reached the conference finals last year); The Sixers start the regular season on Wednesday, were a surprise playoff team last season, and have added Elton Brand.  There is a LOT going on in Philadelphia right now!

Other: EliteXC and MMA – Over the past few years, the idea that MMA was going to replace Boxing in the sports world was quite popular.  Now, it looks like MMA is in a bit of trouble, with EliteXC declaring bankruptcy (LA Times, 10/22/08), and the response that CBS and Showtime will stop showing MMA events (Reuters, 10/23/08).  UFC and Pride are still up and running, but the sport has definitely taken a hit (no pun intended).

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Here are my recommendations and quick picks for this week:

Book: License to Deal by Jerry Crasnick - This book is more of a fun read than anything else, but it does give the reader a unique look at the world of being a sports agent.  Crasnick follows around Matt Sosnick, who runs a small agency with one marquis client (Dontrelle Willis).  I can’t believe that all agents are as genuine and interesting as Sosnick, but Crasnick does write about other notable agents in the business as well.

Website: BNET – The Great American Business Model – BNET is a business and management resource site, and they put together a special feature on the business of baseball.  The site includes some good content on baseball’s monopoly status, stadium and media revenue, and player salaries.

Team: Oklahoma City Thunder - We are just a couple of weeks away from the start on the NBA season, and with it, the official first games of the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Following the creation/transition of a new team or a team relocation is very interesting.  How does the team build its brand?  How do they build a relationship with a new fan base (which is particularly unique in this case, with the Hornets having played their temporarily)?  What is the relationship like with the new city and arena?  Combine this with the backdrop of how the team left Seattle, and you have a great story to follow this season.

Other: The New York Jets Coaches Club - The Jets have rolled out a huge campaign to auction off what they’re calling the best 2,000 seats in the stadium.  They are using the web, television, and direct mail to promote this seat auction, which is being run through StubHub.  You can see their commercial with Donald Trump on YouTube, and just today I received a beautiful direct mail piece (it looks almost like a wedding invitation).  I like their initiative, but the timing is unfortunate considering the current market conditions.  I doubt they’ll generate the revenue they were hoping for.

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Here are my recommendations and quick picks for this week:

Book: The Business of Sports by Scott Rosner and Kenneth Shropshire - I used this book as part of a class at Arizona State, and it’s a great reference for anyone looking to learn more about sports business.  The book covers a wide range of topics, including league structures, finance, sports media, franchise valuation, Olympic and collegiate sports, stadiums, licensing, and much more.

Website: ESPN Outside the Lines – Sports and the Economy - ESPN usually stays away from the business aspects of the industry, but here they did a great job talking about the ways that troubled economy is having an impact on sports. 

Teams: BYU (#9) / Utah (#14) / Boise State (#15) / Ball State (#25) – These four non-BCS schools are all undefeated and well positioned to break into a top-tier Bowl game, maybe even the BCS Championship if things fall in place.  The pressure on these schools has to be huge, and you have to believe each school’s athletic department is excited at the potential financial windfall they would receive for breaking into the BCS party.

Other: 14th Annual Mike Haynes Golf Classic - This is an annual fundraising event that the W.P. Carey Sports Business MBA Program at Arizona State puts on every year.  It’s a great event and helps raise money for Haynes Scholarship, which is awarded every year to two students from under-represented groups.  If you are in the Tempe area, I would encourage you to attend!

Do you have a good “pick of the week?” Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page and send me your picks!

Here are my recommendations and quick picks for this week:

Book: Bleachers by John Grisham – This may not be a business book, but it is my favorite sports fiction book.  The story revolves around the passing of a legendary local high school football coach, and people coming back together to celebrate his life, even those who hated him.  The book does a great job showing how big an impact sports can have on people, even at such a small scale.

Website: Business Week’s Power 100- I wrote about this 2 weeks ago, and they have just released this year’s list.  I thought that David Stern (3rd) or George Bodenheimer (4th) would top the list this year, but they selected Tiger Woods.  It’s still a great choice – the only reason I didn’t think he’d be #1 was because of how long he’s been away from the public stage this year with the injury, but it wasn’t enough to keep him out of the top slot.

Team: The Chicago Cubs – You have (maybe) another year of disappointment for the most loyal fans in baseball, combined with the continuous process of the Tribune Company trying to sell the team.  The Cubs are an prime example of brand power – no matter how many times the team falls short, the fans keep coming back, and as a result, the team is one of the most valuable franchises in all of professional sports (even with the potential cost of renovating Wrigley Field).

Other: I’m going with a podcast this week – Marketing Edge by Provident Partners.  There are new episodes of this podcast every week, and while it’s gear towards traditional business, the content is just as applicable in sports.  They cover some great topics, including how to leverage new media, market research, social networking, and more.

Do you have a good “pick of the week?” Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page and send me your picks!

Here are my recommendations and quick picks for this week:

Book:  Money Players: The Amazing Rise and Fall of Bob Goodenow and the NHL Players Association by Bruce Dowbiggin - This book was recommended to me by a former classmate of mine in the ASU Sports Business program, and it’s a must read for anyone who has ever been interested in hockey.  Dowbiggin does a great job going through the history of the relationship between the league and the players, the development of the players association, and the final conflict between them that led to the 2005 lockout. 

Website: Forbes Business - SportsMoney (www.forbes.com/business/sportsmoney) – I can’t believe that I didn’t know this site existed.  There are some great articles from Forbes about a wide variety of sports business topics, including naming rights, team valuation, and more.  Most of the articles focus on economics, finance, and revenue, which makes sense since it is from Forbes.

Team: Tampa Bay Rays – For the first time in their franchise history, the Rays will play in October.  From a business perspective, it will be interesting to see what the response is from the Tampa community.  The team has always had trouble selling tickets, so will they be able to sell out their playoff games?  The assumption is that playoff games always sell, but the Diamondbacks had trouble with this last year, so there is no guarantee.  Also, what will the local and national television audience be like?  You can be sure that MLB will be watching this.  (Edit: I’m a bit late on this one – ESPN.com reported earlier this week that the first two games have sold out already.  I hope they can keep this up and sustain the interest into next season (they were 12 out of 14 in the AL in attendance this season, even with one of the best records in MLB).

Other: The BCS – With USC’s loss to Oregon State, people are already talking about all the situations that will complicate this year’s BCS Championship Game.  Beyond the traditional arguments over which teams deserve to play, there will be plenty of discussion about the system itself again this year, and more people calling for an actual playoff system.  The bowls will resist any significant changes, but I have to believe that ultimately the system will change.  The negotiations between all the parties involved (conferences, bowls, colleges, television stations) will be interesting to follow.

I think I’m going to do a “picks” post each weekend, starting today.  So here are my recommendations and quick thoughts for this week:

Book:  The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott- This is a great book for people that know they need to expand their use of the web and new media in marketing (blogs, podcasts, etc.) but either don’t know how to start or don’t understand how to connect these channels to their traditional marketing efforts.  Lots of great examples from the business world and very easy to read.  David is generally regarded as one of the leaders in online and viral marketing.

Website:  Sports Biz Feed (www.sportsbizfeed.com) - This site brings together feeds from some of the best sports business blogs on the web into one easy-to-read website.  Its a great site to visit every couple of days to see what other sports business bloggers on the web are writing about (including me!)

Team:  New York Yankees – I’m not just picking them because I’m a NY/NJ guy.  This is the last weekend of games at Yankee Stadium.  This is the first time since 1994 that they will not be in the playoffs, which even for the Yankees will have an impact on their revenue (especially considering their payroll costs).  There is more controversy over the new stadium financing (ESPN.com, 9/18/08) and their high ticket prices (CNBC, 9/17/08), and they’re close to a deal with Bank of America (BizJournals.com, 9/8/08). There is a lot going on in New York, and unfortunately, most of it is pretty negative.  Hopefully they will at least close the stadium this weekend on a good note.

Other:  Hockey – NHL teams open their preseason in the upcoming weeks, and I’m excited.  The question is, will others also be?  The league closed the 2008-09 season with a lot of momentum, capped by their “perfect” finals match-up between the Penguins and Red Wings.  I actually predict that the NHL will show a strong uptick this year, in ratings, revenue, attendance, and general fan interest.  It might be the last year for sponsors to “buy low” in deals with the league and NHL franchises.