What I Like.... With LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens

Being LPGA Commissioner Has Always Been Carolyn Bivens' Fantasy Job

In our continuing series, SportsBusiness Daily/SportsBusiness Journal asks top sports personalities for their thoughts, ideas, aspirations and likes. Today, LPGA Commissioner CAROLYN BIVENS.

A story that bears watching: Demise of local sports sections and how that void will be filled.

What I like in an insight: If something appears to be too good to be true, it is.

An influential person in my career: My father and AL NEUHARTH, founder of USA Today. Dad taught me to dream big and work hard; Al taught me the right idea at the right time works if there's a good plan, plenty of money and a committed team of people who don't give up.

A marketing idea: QVC, eBay and Food Network.

A TV ad campaign: MasterCard's "Priceless"... juxtaposes business and personal side of life with humor, and connects the brand and the consumer.

A print ad campaign: Dove's "Real Women" ads ... seeing women who look like "all of us" in advertising was novel. What a concept!

A brand: Olympics, Rolex, Susan G. Komen and Nike.

A trend: Companies concerned about hosting customers. Let's hope this is a short-lived trend!

An innovation: Kindle, Amazon's wireless book reading system. Don't carry books anymore and wouldn't travel without it.

A business decision: Thinking beyond next quarter's results.

An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: iPod.

A fantasy job: LPGA Commissioner, until I got the job!

My game: Buzztime Trivia in sports bars around the country.

Sports media: "Golf Central," Sports Illustrated and anything JOHN PAUL NEWPORT writes.

Pro sports: LPGA, of course, and MLB World Series.

A hire: Mark, our handyman.

An idea: Encouraging fans to use their PDAs at sports competitions so they can more closely follow the action.

A pro league business initiative: How can you beat charity fundraising and the impact athletes can have on raising the profile of important causes.

A college sports business initiative: Improving graduation rates and Title IX.

A decision-maker: STEVEN JOBS.

About my job: Boredom is not an issue.

Competing in this business: Isn't getting easier but neither are other industries and this one is more fun.

The direction of sports business: Is headed where our leagues, associations, sponsors and media decide it will go, though it is the fans who will ultimately determine the outcome.

Players: Work hard and put in many hours while making it look easy.

What I don't like in general: Impolite people.

Pet peeve: An airplane seat-mate who talks incessantly.

In sports: Drugs.

In business: Blackberries/PDAs in meetings; multi-tasking is a figment of the imagination.

Sports media: As newspapers close, we're losing too many great storytellers.

In sports marketing: What's not to like?

In golf: Slow play.

About my job: The good aspects outweigh the downside.

About the direction of sports: Too many sports stories in the news section.

About myself: Short and impatient.

What I'd like to change: Purse and venue disparity in women's sports.

See more of: The great things people do every day in their communities and around the world.

See less of: Ponzi-scheme artists.

Refresh: Airline travel without going through security. Remember going from the curb to the gate without removing your shoes?

Reinvent: Women's shoes. Good looking and comfortable are still largely incompatible.

Reintroduce: Martini lunches.

Eliminate: The "reply all" option for e-mails.

Continue: Enjoying our family, especially our granddaughter.

Above all else: Try to learn, contribute and laugh every day.

Teams: The Redskins, Yankees, Huskies and Trojans.

City: Lived in too many to select one.

Possession: Beach house.

Memento: Grandmother's Bible.

Music: On iPod now: KELLY CLARKSON, SHAKIRA, JIMMY BUFFETT, Chicago, MADONNA, ANDREA BOCELLI, DAVID OSBORNE.

Books: Just finished "The Necklace," "Pressure is a Privilege" and "Sway."

Magazines: Lots: Vanity Fair, The Economist, Shape, SI, Cosmopolitan, Time, InStyle, Gourmet.

Newspapers: Favorite is New York Post; track it down all over the world.

Web sites: LPGA.com of course, Golf Channel, RueLaLa (new one for me) and MSNBC.

Blogs: Browse a few occasionally but still flip through at least four newspapers every day.

Authors: JOHN GRISHAM, MAYA ANGELOU.

Hobbies: Cooking, photography, piano and scrapbooking.

Movies: "Bull Durham," "Million Dollar Baby," "The Debaters," "Charlie Wilson's War," "Ghandi," "Slumdog Millionaire."

TV: "House" and "American Idol."

Concerts: Eagles, ELTON JOHN.

Dessert: Would rather have potato chips.

Vacation spot: Like to explore new places but it is hard to beat South Africa and Newport Beach.

Cars: Infiniti M35.

Quote: "Whether you think you can or not you're probably right." Attributed to HENRY FORD, though I've never checked.

That would surprise those who know me: Can sit at a roulette or blackjack table all night.