RICH ARDEN / ESPN

The free agency frenzy surrounding the courtship of LeBron James culminated in July with the NBA superstar's "The Decision" broadcast on ESPN. The hourlong, prime-time broadcast was heavily hyped, and criticized, as the network provided James a stage to announce his decision to dump the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. But the special also delivered a massive television audience and helped drive the NBA's offseason business to record levels.

SHANA WITTENWYLER

Turner's David Levy likes to call the 14-year, $10.8 billion deal to secure the NCAA tournament's media rights the biggest media rights deal on record, but that's only part of the reason why the deal is so significant. For starters, it shows the changing sphere of influence between broadcast and cable. CBS executives admit they couldn't afford the deal on their own and needed Turner and its dual revenue stream to step in. The deal also shows the value of live sports will continue to grow, especially for crown jewel events.

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At this summer's World Cup, South Africa buzzed for an entire month with the sound of plastic horns, known as vuvuzelas. Although the horns may have stopped buzzing, the country continues to vibrate. Many said South Africa wasn't ready for the world, but it proved them wrong. Stadiums were completed, crime was minimized and strikes were mere interruptions in a memorable event. As a result, spectators and visitors worldwide discovered the magic of the African continent.

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Leagues and teams stepped up efforts to improve the game experience, realizing that the tough economy and HD viewing options at home have encouraged many fans to stay in their recliners. The NFL allowed teams to encourage crowd noise, venues took a tougher stance with problematic patrons, and teams rolled out improved options for ticket pricing and delivery. The message? You can no longer take fans for granted. Getting them to come back means providing a better experience and better value.

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The Vancouver Games oscillated wildly from lows to highs. The event navigated blemishes and tragedy ranging from warm weather to the death of a luger to deliver record red mitten sales and the triumphant victory of the Canadian hockey team. Ultimately, the city and event organizers persevered to deliver one of the most fun Winter Olympics in recent history. Revelers filled the streets throughout the 17 days, creating an energy-filled city that will be remembered for years by visitors from across Canada and around the world.

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Immersion was the name of the game in sports technology this year. From the celebrated arrival of Apple's iPad tablet and the mass availability of 3-D TVs, to the continued runaway growth of social media and expanse of in-stadium digital amenities, fans are now closer to the action than ever. In virtually every instance, sports has been a key driver of awareness and adoption of these new advances. But the technological explosion is also prompting some difficult questions in terms of rights, intellectual property and how fans will want to consume sports in the coming years.

The power of live sports was evident this fall when Fox went dark on Cablevision during a retransmission dispute. Cablevision subscribers missed World Series games and New York Giants games — a situation the cable operator hoped would cause the government to step in and put the channel back on. When it became apparent that the government wouldn't, Cablevision could not afford to go without live sports and struck a deal with Fox. But the disagreements over how much distributors should pay for retransmission consent continue to dominate the pay-TV industry.

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One giant question hovering over the NFL season was whether the astounding TV ratings of the 2009 campaign — which culminated in this year's Super Bowl becoming the most-watched TV program ever — could be replicated? The answer is yes, with ratings continuing to show increases. More than ever, the NFL is must-see programming, consistently outdrawing virtually everything else on TV. Now the next question is would a work stoppage, if one occurs, send those ratings earthward when games resume?

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The very core of intercollegiate athletics shook as the Big Ten, Pac-10, Big 12 and Big East altered their look. Some added, some subtracted and others, like the WAC, clung to life, but the changes weren't as seismic as some anticipated when the Big Ten and the Pac-10 explored expansion to as many as 16 teams. Even though the larger conferences seem to have settled, no one's comfortable with saying that the realignment period is over.

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The return of Tiger Woods offered a case study in crisis and brand management. Woods officially lost corporate endorsements with Gatorade, AT&T and Accenture. His carefully constructed return to the game was closely analyzed, Nike used his travails to debut a stark and controversial spot and, by year's end, Tiger was positioned as a regular dude hitting Twitter. But all the off-course distractions took their toll and Woods' play suffered as expected. With TV ratings down, the PGA Tour needs a Tiger resurgence on the course to lift interest as it goes into negotiations for its next deal.

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The Russian billionaire became the first foreign owner of a major U.S. sports franchise by taking over the Nets. He has brought a mix of flamboyance and panache to the league, and is already putting his own stamp on the team in making his Nets a more international franchise. In the summer, the team held a clinic in Moscow, it has created a Russian team website, and has signed a sponsorship with Russian vodka brand Stolichnaya. He's also been going one-on-one with Mark Cuban, putting himself in rare company of an owner not afraid of mixing it up.

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Just a few years ago, the very existence of Chip Ganassi Racing was in question. Ganassi shuttered a money-sucking NASCAR Sprint Cup team in midseason and failures on the track seemed to outnumber successes. No one, except maybe Ganassi, saw what was coming in 2010. Ganassi's new Sprint Cup driver, Jamie McMurray, started the year by winning the Daytona 500, then followed it up in the summer with a win at the Brickyard 400. In between, Ganassi drank from the milk bottle when his IndyCar driver, Dario Franchitti, won the Indianapolis 500, cementing the team owner as the year's biggest winner in motorsports.

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After a 15-year career building a business around bulls at the PBR, Bernard left to build a business around autos at the IndyCar Series. Though he was quick to admit he knew nothing about motorsports, his arrival stirred the corporate marketplace. Several new partners pointed to new leadership as a reason for partnering with IndyCar, and more than 14 new sponsors signed up this year. Even General Motors returned. Bernard's stamp on the sport will be clear in 2011 when the series trims some tracks from its schedule and returns to markets such as Milwaukee.

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When Whan moved into his job at the LPGA in January, he took a more defensive position, focused on damage control because sponsors and tournament owners were upset at former Commissioner Carolyn Bivens. Over the last several months, he's taken a more offensive-minded approach. The former Procter & Gamble executive and golf fanatic has pushed the LPGA as a unique international property that invests back in its tournament owners and sponsors, making it much more customer and partner-friendly than it was known before.

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Riley is the mastermind behind this summer's stunning free agency frenzy that brought LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join Dwyane Wade in Miami. It has been a rocky start for the Heat, but the deal of the decade would never have happened if not for Riley's sterling reputation as a master motivator and for building winning teams and organizations.

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Already oft-pegged as the NBA's greatest player of all time, Jordan took his legacy in a new direction, closing on a $275 million purchase of the Charlotte Bobcats in March. What happens when the most marketable U.S. athlete, ever — a man who still graces the cover of an NBA video game, seven years after leaving the court — puts his own time and money into a franchise that has languished since birth? The Bobcats made the playoffs for the first time last season and this year all their business metrics are up. But they have a long way to go and the MJ legacy is clearly affixed to the team's future success.

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At the start of the year, the USOC was in disarray and Olympic constituents demanded new leadership. The arrival of Blackmun as the organization's new CEO brought order to the unsettled organization. Blackmun spent the year drawing on his calm demeanor and previous experience as a USOC general counsel to show constituents and partners that the USOC had changed. The organization went on to sign a new partnership with BMW, sign a financing agreement with the IOC, and partner with NBC to sell a combined sponsorship and advertising deal for the first time.

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For a while Greenberg insisted all was well with his bid to buy the Rangers from a debt-strapped Tom Hicks, while just behind the scenes, chaos was everywhere. But many months, contested maneuvers and a dramatic, high-stakes auction later, Greenberg, team President Nolan Ryan and their partners emerged with the club in a $593 million deal. And with a World Series appearance and a bold new operating plan, four largely sour decades of Texas baseball are becoming a thing of the past. The contentious transaction, however, sullied the image of MLB in the financial community, and is believed to have a played a role in the departure of league President Bob DuPuy. Greenberg persevered through it all and now can focus on the business at hand.

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Kroenke likes to stay under the radar, but good luck with that now that he's bought the Rams. Kroenke has transferred operational control of his Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his son to comply with NFL ownership rules, but he still owns the MLS Colorado Rapids and is the largest shareholder in Arsenal of the English Premier League. The possibility of the Rams relocating back to Los Angeles has often been mentioned, but it's hard to figure that Kroenke, a Missouri native, would take the NFL out of St. Louis.

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The McCourts began nearly seven years ago with promise and hope ­— a high-energy, power couple aggressively seeking to revive a landmark MLB franchise. And with four playoff appearances in six years and big increases in many business metrics, all seemed well. But a bitter divorce and legal battle for control of the franchise exposed an ugly reality behind the once-glittering facade. The long-term direction of the franchise, and who will own it, remains decidedly unclear, and may not be fully known for years.

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When Lane Kiffin suddenly quit as the University of Tennessee's football coach and headed to USC, Volunteer football fans took to burning T-shirts related to the departing coach. However, local apparel store co-owner Dan Burks had a better idea. He offered customers who brought in one of the "It's Time" T-shirts a 20 percent discount off the purchase of a new shirt, and then shipped the old shirts to earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

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During a pre-draft interview, Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland wanted to learn more about the mother of wide receiver prospect Dez Bryant. Bryant's mother had a troubled past, including a jail sentence for drug trafficking. But when reports surfaced that Ireland bluntly asked Bryant if his mother was a prostitute, some people thought he went too far. Ireland later apologized.

Hyundai pulled a World Cup-themed TV ad after an outcry from Catholic advocates who called the spot sacrilegious and offensive. The 30-second "Wedding" spot featured a church in Argentina that worships soccer. The commercial depicted a church service with religiously charged imagery, including a soccer ball with a crown of thorns and worshipers kneeling as they received pizza for communion.

Heading into the Super Bowl, a planned advertisement for Focus on the Family featuring quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother drew plenty of debate over whether the pro-life ad was appropriate for the big game. The ad, however, proved to be anticlimactic and the hubbub quickly subsided.

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Speedway Motorsports Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith said investing in Motorsports Authentics was "the worst decision that I have ever made in my business life." Smith: "I refused to do it for five years and finally got talked into it and should have never done it. ... It was a sorry-run company and the due diligence was not done properly and the company had a lot of crap out there."

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Major League Baseball banned Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon from wearing a hoodie during games, citing rules that instruct all coaches to wear official team jackets or Majestic brand tops. But the league later "reinterpreted" its decision as cooler heads prevailed.

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Unusual advertisement art appeared on the west side of Wrigley Field, meant to resemble a large, yellow, elbow macaroni noodle. The ad, with the slogan "You know you love it" written across it, advertised Kraft's macaroni-and-cheese dinners. Cubs fans howled at a new Toyota sign that was installed inside the ballpark in the left-field bleachers, but they must like their mac and cheese, as little was heard about the noodle.

Head & Shoulders took out a $1 million Lloyd's of London insurance policy on Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu's hair.

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Venus Williams wore a lacy, black dress with bright red trim during her opening-round French Open match, and the black overlay material made the dress appear as if it were see-through. Critics panned the outfit, saying it made Williams look like she was auditioning for a spot at a 19th century cabaret.

Hublot, the official watch of Formula One, used the battered face of F1 Chairman Bernie Ecclestone in a print ad that ran in the Financial Times. Ecclestone provided Hublot with an image of his face following his mugging in November outside F1 offices in London, during which his watch was stolen. The ad featured Ecclestone with a black eye and scratched face with the tag line, "See what people will do for a Hublot."

WAYNE EBINGER

The outdoor lounges, fine dining restaurant and midlevel baseline bar are open to all Orlando Magic ticket holders regardless of where they are sitting. The $480 million arena also stands out for its business operation: The city of Orlando, a partner in the project, owns, operates and books the building, an anomaly in the NBA.

DAVID KAUP

The two-year project to renovate the 38-year-old NFL facility added 500,000 square feet of space to the building. Spacious club lounges, the new Chiefs Hall of Fame and the Penthouse Suite on the eighth floor are among the upgrades and improvements.

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The $86 million arena opened in October with 12 "tailgate suites" featuring outdoor patios that skybox holders can use to entertain guests for football games held across the parking lot at Jordan-Hare Stadium..

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The Big House is back to being the biggest facility in college football after completing a $226 million renovation. The 82 new suites and 3,000 club seats expanded total seating to about 111,000.

RENEE ROSENSTEEL

The Pittsburgh Penguins moved across the street from the NHL's oldest arena to the league's newest venue. The $321 million facility is heavy on new technology tied to mobile devices, IPTV and LED signs shaped like hockey pucks. The single suite level brings fans sitting in the upper deck closer to the ice.

RON BATH

The Louisville Arena Authority, in conjunction with the University of Louisville, developed a $238 million arena with 76 suites, 70 loge boxes and more than 2,000 club seats, which are premium amenities on par with NBA facilities. It's no surprise, then, that officials are lining up investors and talking to NBA teams about moving to Kentucky.

PATRICK E. MCCARTHY

The new home of the New York Red Bulls is the first of the new wave of European-style MLS stadiums, featuring a 360-degree roof cover and communal dining for premium-seat patrons. The $200 million-plus facility is also the first American sports venue to install an access-control system in which season-ticket holders use smart cards for gate admission and to pay for food and merchandise.

CURT HUDSON

The $122 million waterfront stadium is the keystone of a proposed mixed-use development along the Delaware River in Chester, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb. Comcast-Spectacor, a partner in the project, has three of its business units involved in building operations: Global Spectrum (stadium management), Ovations Food Services (concessions) and New Era Tickets (ticketing).

PATRICK E. MCCARTHY

The $1.7 billion home of the NFL Jets and Giants is the most expensive sports venue ever built in North America. Technology plays a key role in a building that can change colors and brands overnight to match the home team, as it did on the first weekend of the regular season. The presence of four large video scoreboards in the corners is the stadium's signature design element.

DAVID DUROCHICK

The Minnesota Twins saw daylight after playing 28 years indoors at the Metrodome. Their new $512 million stone-and-steel open-air ballpark drew rave reviews for its intimacy, abundance of local foods, and tasteful memorabilia displays tied to the club's three hall of famers: Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett.

The commish tested his footwork while promoting the NFL's Play 60 fitness campaign during a stop at a school in New Orleans.

The Friendly Confines literally squeezed in a little college football, as Wrigley Field played host to a game between Northwestern and Illinois in November.

Delta Air Lines pulled in pilots and flight attendants to help show off its Delta-themed gate at Madison Square Garden, complete with a terminal airport gate, runway and fuselage — but no pat-downs.

Ian Poulter is the wheel deal as he hits this tee shot in front of a sponsor ad at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

Charlotte city buses got a little "racey" with wraparound ads that promoted the October NASCAR race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

As Omega opened its lounge in Vancouver for the Winter Games, company and Olympics officials couldn't resist taking part in a unique photo op.

Angel Stadium in Anaheim got all warm and fuzzy as fans set a record for the most Snuggies worn at one time.

It was time for hellos and goodbyes as Yankees fans stood at the team's new ballpark and snapped a few photos of the demolition taking place on a piece of baseball history next door.

It wasn't Milwaukee's racing sausages, but hot sauces that sprinted at Houston's Minute Maid Park.