Bust, Boom, Hope: March 3, 2014

“Bust”: Top Five Reasons the Armageddon is Near
 

1. The Rutgers University athletics department last year needed $47 million in subsidies from the school to make up a budget shortfall.  The total marks a 68% increase from the $28 million subsidy the athletics department got in 2012.
2. Portland Trailblazers G Damian Lillard can opt out of his shoe contract with Adidas at the end of the season after reaching certain incentive clauses.  Losing Lillard, last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year, would be a huge loss for Adidas, given that he’s their most marketable endorser while Derrick Rose is hurt.
3. A record-setting rain delay and primetime competition resulted in the Daytona 500 posting its lowest TV ratings in at least a decade.  The six-and-a-half hour rain delay meant the race didn’t end until nearly 11:30 pm ET, putting it up against NBC’s coverage of the Sochi Olympics Closing Ceremony.
4. Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice’s endorsement deal with BodyArmor SuperDrink may be over following his recent arrest.  Rice, who’s had a relationship with the company for more than a year, has been removed from the company’s website, and BodyArmor simultaneously signed Houston Rockets star James Harden to an endorsement deal.
5. The Los Angeles Dodgers are causing headaches for the organizers of their season-opening series in Australia.  In addition to the Dodgers possibly leaving Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw at home, pitcher Zack Greinke expressed “zero excitement” in opening the season Down Under.

 
“Boom”: Top Five Reasons that Prosperity is Right Around the Corner
 

1. Jerry Jones last week celebrated his 25th anniversary as owner of the Dallas Cowboys.  Jones originally purchased the Cowboys and Texas Stadium in 1989 for a then NFL record $140 million.  Today, the team alone is worth $2.3 billion, and AT&T Stadium cost $1.3 billion to build.
2. St. Louis-based beer giant Anheuser-Busch and baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith are teaming up on a petition to make MLB Opening Day a national holiday.  The two parties are trying to get 100,000 signatures by the end of March in order for the petition to be posted on the White House’s website.
3. The Milwaukee Bucks have approached future NBA player Junior Bridgeman about investing in the team.  Current Bucks owner Herb Kohl wants to add partners who will keep the team in Milwaukee long-term.  Bridgeman, the 18th wealthiest African-American in the U.S., played 10 years for the Bucks.
4. The ACC signed a six-year deal to keep their football conference championship game at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium through 2019.  Charlotte has hosted the ACC Championship since 2010, and the game annually brings $15-20 million in economic impact to the city.
5. NASCAR is enjoying a post-Daytona 500 publicity boost thanks to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory.  Despite winning just his second Sprint Cup Series race in six years, Earnhardt Jr. has been named NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver for 11 consecutive years.

 
“Hope”: Top Five Reasons That Creativity is the Key to Economic Survival
 

1. The NBA is donating proceeds from sales of Jason Collins’ jersey to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, wears No. 98 in honor of the year college student Matthew Shepard was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime.
2. The San Francisco Giants have had preliminary discussions with the San Jose Sharks about hosting a hockey game at the ballpark. NHL officials in the coming months are expected to visit the ballpark, Levi’s Stadium, and Stanford Stadium to determine which is best equipped to hold an outdoor game should the Sharks receive one.
3. More and more colleges are beginning to offer alcohol at sporting events. The latest school is the University of Texas, which will begin selling beer and wine at Longhorn sporting events this spring. School officials are using the spring events as a test before rolling out alcohol sales at football games this fall.
4. The NFL is considering moving the 2015 Pro Bowl from Hawaii to the Super Bowl site in Arizona in order to improve the game’s profile and revenue. This wouldn’t be the first time the league played the Pro Bowl outside Hawaii, having held both the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl in Miami in 2010.
5. Phoenix International Raceway last week celebrated its 50th anniversary by hosting a slate of three NASCAR races. In honor of the track’s 50 years, PIR officials have planned a variety of events at the track throughout 2014.