Beckham, Pepsi End 10-Year Sponsorship

Despite his high-profile loan move to AC Milan, the fizz could be evaporating from David Beckham's commercial appeal after ending a 10-year deal with Pepsi.

"David's football legacy will live on and everyone at Pepsi will continue to be as passionate about his success as we have been over the last 10 years," the soft drinks manufacturer said in a statement. "We wish David well with the many projects he is pursuing and look forward to the possibility of partnering together with him again someday."

The 33-year-old England midfielder, who is in Italy on loan from Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, still has lucrative sponsorship deals with major brands like Adidas and Armani.

"I have nothing but good memories of my association with Pepsi," Beckham said. "I've played a gladiator, a cowboy, a surfer, and worked alongside Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez as well as some of the biggest names in world football."

NY Times Trying To Sell Red Sox Stake

The New York Times Co is trying to sell its stake in the holding company of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The sale, which could give the Times desperately needed cash as newspaper advertising revenue falls and its debt payments loom, could involve its 17.5 percent stake in New England Sports Ventures and possibly the struggling Boston Globe daily newspaper, the Journal reported.

New England Sports Ventures owns the Red Sox, the Fenway Park baseball field where the team plays, and most of the cable network that shows their games.

A New York Times spokeswoman declined to comment.

The Journal report comes on the same day that the Times Co reported a 20 percent drop in advertising revenue in November, compared with the same period last year.

The Times has said that it is evaluating the future of its assets, which also include online encyclopedia About.com and several daily newspapers throughout the United States, as it tries to meet its debt obligations and cut its borrowing.

Debt is proving difficult for many U.S. publishers to handle because they are bringing in less cash to make them able to meet their obligations. This is partly because of the fading relevance of printed newspapers to people now used to getting news for free online. The world financial crisis has only worsened the ad sale declines.

The Times could raise at least $200 million if it sold its stake, analysts and sports bankers told Reuters earlier this month. The team, while not central to the Times's business, could be attractive to many buyers despite the recession because it is popular with fans.

Other baseball teams are up for sale as well, including the Chicago Cubs, which is owned by Tribune Co, the privately held newspaper publisher that filed for bankruptcy this month.

The Times got the Red Sox stake in 2002 as part of a group led by hedge fund manager John Henry that bought the team, Fenway Park and an 80 percent stake in the New England Sports Network. The price for the deal was $700 million, including debt. The network also includes a NASCAR auto-racing team.

My Impression Of "The Q"

The new JQH Arena, affectionately nicknamed "the Q", is definitely on par with the best arenas around the country for college basketball.

The $67 million facility opened its doors this season and the reviews have been positive. I have to agree that there is really not a bad seat in the house. In comparison to Hammons Student Center, the seats are bigger and wider and come with cup holders.

As far as the concourse, the wide open spaces are very nice as well as the numerous restroom facilities. The suites are spacious and have all the things you need to watch a game in comfort. The selection of menu items at the concession stands are tremendous. Who would think you could get Starbucks at a Bears game?

Also on the concourse is the tremendous offerings of the BearWear Shop. If you remember the same store inside Hammons, only two people were allowed in the store at one time. This store looks like one you'd see at the mall.

At the center of the arena is an awesome video scoreboard with constant game action and all the stats you'll need. Public address announcer Rick Jester gets a little time off with the abundance of video advertisements going on at the breaks.

The only negative I saw on the night was the lack of noise in the building. Now I've been told it was very noisy on opening night and nearly 11,000 people in one place would do that. What I'm talking about was during the starting lineups when traditionally the crowd is rockin', not the play on the court of which there was nothing to cheer for during the game. Last night reminded me of an NBA game. A few people were clapping to the new lineup song (which I think was expertly put together by the MSU staff). However, that same loud vibe that we heard in Hammons wasn't there.

In Hammons, the band nearly blew you out of the arena. The starting lineup song with Michael Buffer would send a ringing through your ears and make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. When there was a horrible call, like the foul Chris Cooks' face made on the MTSU players knee that knocked Cooks senseless, and the crowd booed, it didn't have the same effect. I remember times in Hammons where my water bottle vibrated and I had to yell at my staff so they could hear me if that same thing happened.

So in fairness, the Q is new and 6,000 fans in an 11,000-seater probably isn't as loud as Hammons. I do wish that the designers would have left out the sound mufflers and let the roof rock a little more. Or maybe, just turn up the speakers and let the lineup music take over.

Rovell: Why The Yankees Can Sign Who They Want

By Darren Rovell, CNBC

ESPN is reporting that the New York Yankees have signed free agent first agent Mark Teixeira. Add up Teixeira's contract with the offseason signings of A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabathia and you have $423.5 million in guaranteed contracts. Pretty amazing, huh?

Sure, the Yankees have contracts that come off the books, but that's not the reason why the Yankees can do this. The reason the Yankees can do this is because their owners, the Steinbrenners, have no other primary business besides the Yankees.

What am I talking about? Think about all the other owners who have gotten pounded this year in the sector of the economy that they might still have their money in.

Think about the New York Mets, whose owners not only lost money from the Madoff mess, but are in the real estate investment business. So too is Theodore Lerner, the owner of the Washington Nationals, who were hoping to land Teixeira. The Chicago Cubs are being sold by an entity that is bankrupt.

Go down the list and you can see that there's a lot of people that lost money this year in other businesses. I have no idea where the Yankees are investing their personal money, but the bottom line is that their business is only the New York Yankees.

What does that mean? It means that as long as the Steinbrenners believe that the business of the Yankees will be good, they are not as affected as the others are. Will people still go to games? If not, will they watch the YES Network. It's a pretty simple equation.

Here's a quote from an owner: "One of the challenges I have is buying into a falling market," he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "When you buy into a rising market, you can't move fast enough. The challenge here is that, look, any investment you made in 2008 on Wall Street, 12 months ago, 12 weeks ago, 12 days ago, even 12 hours ago, you are down. We have to be careful with what is going on here."

That owner was Mark Attanasio. He is the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. He gave up C.C. Sabathia. And you have to believe that some of that has to do with the fact that he's an investment banker. Hank and Hal Steinbrenner are not.

Bears JQH Attendance Up Slightly Compared To Last Season

Attendance at men's basketball games at the new JQH Arena on the Missouri State campus is up by over 1,211 fans per game through the first eight games. However, if you take out the Arkansas arena opener and the high game of last season versus league foe Creighton, that average number drops to a meager 857 additional fans in the seats.

Two Missouri Valley Conference games figured into last season's first eight with home dates against Bradley and Creighton.

The economy and the holiday season may have a contributing effect on the season so far. As far as the product on the floor, the Bears have exceeded expectations by going 7-4 during their non-conference slate.

Missouri State opens Valley action on Sunday, Dec. 28 at the "Q" with unbeaten Illinois State.

2008-09 at the new JQH Arena (56636 in 8 games | 7,080 average)

Arkansas (10,881); JQH Opening Night
Utah (7,742)
UALR (6,366)
Arkansas State (7,246)
Central Arkansas (7,216)
Norfolk State (5,831)
UC-Irvine (5,596)
Middle Tennessee (5,758)

2007-08 at Hammons Student Center (46,957 in 8 games | 5,869 average)
Harding (5,880)
UNC-Greensboro (5,734)
Saint Louis (6,126)
UNC-Wilmington (5,532)
UT-Pan American (5,286)
Bethune-Cookman (5,435)
Bradley (5,760)
Creighton (7,204)

Yankees Assessed $27 million Luxury Tax

The New York Yankees not only failed to make the playoffs, they were hit with their highest luxury tax in three years.

The Yankees were assessed a $26.9 million tax by the commissioner's office on Monday, up from $23.9 million last year and their biggest bill since paying nearly $34 million for 2005.

The Detroit Tigers, who also failed to qualify for the postseason, are the only other team that must pay tax and owe $1.3 million to the commissioner's office.

Checks are due by Jan. 31.

Both teams got little for what they spent. The Yankees' streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances ended, and they finished third in the AL East at 89-73, prompting them to spend nearly a quarter-billion dollars to sign pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

Detroit entered the year with lofty expectations after acquiring Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis but went 74-88 and finished last in the AL Central.

While the Yankees pay at a 40 percent rate for the amount over $155 million, the Tigers pay at a 22.5 percent rate because they exceeded the specified threshold for the first time.

This year's figure brings the Yankees' total tax to $148.5 million in the six seasons since it began - 90 percent of the total.

Before this year, the only other teams to pay were the Boston Red Sox, who owed $13.9 million for exceeding the threshold in four seasons, and the Los Angeles Angels, who paid $927,000 in 2004.

New York's payroll was $222.2 million and Detroit was second at $160.8 million for the purpose of the luxury tax. To compute it, Major League Baseball uses the average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters and adds benefits.

The threshold rose from $148 million last year to $155 million this season. It goes up to $162 million next year and rises by $8 million in each of the following two seasons.

Source: Associated Press

Bowl Game Attendance Down Through Five

The first five college bowl games have been completed and bowl game attendance is down considerably.

For the first time in at least five years, we're below the 30,000 attendance mark for the first five games.

Average Bowl Game Attendance Through First Five Games
YEAR | NUMBERS
2008-09 | 29,852
2007-08 | 34,094
2006-07 | 32,677
2005-06 | 32,832
2004-05 | 31,150