This Week's Newsmakers: Phelps' Image Tarnished By Bong Photo
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:
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Bruce Springsteen Receives Rave Reviews For
Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Performance Sunday |
WIN: SUPER BOWL XLIII -- What more can be said about Sunday's festivities? NBC exceeds all rational expectations, as the Steelers' dramatic last-second victory over the Cardinals proves to be the second most-watched show in U.S. television history. Tampa overcomes some skeptical forecasts and puts on a great show leading up to the game, and there are no notable incidents during the week. Oh, and as expected, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN shows again why he always will be The Boss.
LOSE: MICHAEL PHELPS -- If a picture tells 1,000 words. ... Michael Phelps seemed to be a marketer's dream after his record-setting performance in Beijing -- a humble, All-American kid who loved his mom and his dog. But that image, at least temporarily, has been replaced by one of him smoking a bong at a party. Some columnists say the action is that of any normal 23-year-old, and while that may be true, few 23-year-olds have multi-million dollar endorsements from Visa and Speedo and host "Saturday Night Live." While he has already been suspended by USA Swimming for three months and has lost one of his endorsements, the long-term effects of his extracurricular activities may not be felt until London comes calling in three years.
DRAW: DANICA PATRICK -- The queen of racing looks to further establish her off-track marketing options by signing with IMG, the same company that reps such global icons as TIGER WOODS and PEYTON MANNING. While some question if the window is starting to close on Patrick, perhaps the move cannot come soon enough, as she is knocked for her appearance in two GoDaddy.com Super Bowl ads. ESPN's SKIP BAYLESS goes so far as to say, "She doesn't think a whole lot of her long-term potential credibility in racing or she wouldn't resort to this blatant ... sex symbol stuff."
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