THE DAILY each Friday offers our take on the performances over the past week of people and entities in sports business. Here are this week's newsmakers:
WIN: NFL RATINGS -- The train keeps on rolling for pro pigskin on the tube. A little over 107 million fans watched NFL games during Week One across CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN, marking the league's most-viewed opening weekend ever. Those figures will keep smiles on the faces of all network and league execs, as advertisers will continue to pay top dollar to showcase their products and services during NFL programming.
LOSE: SERENA WILLIAMS -- Women's tennis has no bigger draw than Serena right now, and she behaved like a petulant child during her loss in the U.S. Open final last Sunday. Her image and long-term sponsorship prospects may take a hit, as she's proving to be a recidivist when it comes to berating officials. And in a sport that celebrates sportsmanship, her antics ended up stealing the headlines from SAMANTHA STOSUR during her first major win.
DRAW: MLB -- The league comes out with some moving 9/11 tributes, including a special video message played at all stadiums, an on-field moment of remembrance and commemorative base jewels and line-up cards. But then the league sees its name in the news for the wrong reason, as the Mets are denied their request to wear special responder caps. The tribute clearly wouldn't have offended anyone, and in this particular instance, MLB should have looked the other way.
