Brazil’s Marta is considered to be the world’s most dazzling women’s soccer player, but does the new U.S. women’s league stand a chance of signing her for its inaugural season? Women’s Professional Soccer Commissioner Tonya Antonucci thinks so.

“She’s indicated interest in coming to WPS, which is fantastic,” Antonucci said.    Read More  >

Adi Dassler first created spikes for Olympic athletes in 1928. Eighty years later, American Erica Kerner is overseeing a new extension of the Adidas brand in China. A former international marketing executive for Nike, Kerner has lived in Taiwan and China for 17 years. She is the director of the Beijing 2008 Olympics Program for Adidas China, which is the official sportswear partner of the Games. SportsBusiness Journal correspondent Jay Weiner caught up with her this week as China’s athletes kept winning medals and appearing on podiums wearing the Adidas logo on their uniforms.    Read More  >

Robinson hopes the inclusion of BMX racing will help broaden its appeal.

BMX made its debut as the newest Olympic sport last night, and American Donny Robinson, the world’s top-ranked BMX rider, helped kick off the proceedings. Aside from battling for the gold tonight, Robinson hopes his appearance will help broaden exposure to the sport, and he boasts a marketing portfolio full of partners willing to help him in that endeavor. Robinson’s agent, Octagon’s Heather Novickis, hopes the exposure will “help people see that it is an accessible, popular and cool sport, and I think athletes like Donny are going to help take BMX to the next level.”    Read More  >

The Olympics couldn’t come at a better time for the AVP. The professional beach volleyball company recently reported revenue of $8.8 million, compared to $11 million reported for the same period in 2007. But AVP CEO Leonard Armato is optimistic that the Beijing Games will be a catalyst, spurring the kind of growth the tour experienced after the Athens Olympics in 2004 when revenue increased 38 percent. He shared that and more with SportsBusiness Journal writer Tripp Mickle outside the beach volleyball venue in Beijing.    Read More  >

Gold
Kellogg Co.
The company is taking a cue from rival General Mills' Wheaties and putting the star of the Beijing Games, Michael Phelps, on the cover of its cereal boxes. It will put Phelps on the front of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes in the coming weeks in a move best described as scooping the competition.

Shawn Johnson

Silver
Shawn Johnson
After being bested for gold in the all-around competition by teammate Nastia Liukin, the Iowan looked like she might return home without a gold of her own. But Johnson dug one out in her last event, giving her a chance to extend her endorsement window beyond the Games.

Bronze
Beijing's buzz
Is it because the Olympic Green is closed, or because the city is so large and sprawling? It's hard to say, but Helios Partners CEO Chris Welton, whose firm has worked with past Olympic host cities, returned from Beijing saying that the city lacked the buzz of other Olympic cities.

Tin
USOC
How many unflattering situations will the USOC find itself in during the 17 days of the Games? First came the cyclists wearing USOC-issued masks. Then came the organization staying silent when Joey Cheek's visa to China was denied. Now, it has had to apologize to other national organizing committees for offering U.S. Olympians a $50 voucher if they voted in this Thursday's IOC Athletes Commission election, a violation of IOC rules.

For more than 20 years, Michael Payne played a key role in the global marketing strategy of the Olympic movement. He served as its marketing director for more than a decade before stepping down after the Athens Games in 2004 to join Formula One. He now runs his own consulting firm.

While he was in Beijing, the author of “Olympic Turnaround” sat down with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle.    Read More  >

An opening ceremony to die for. A swimmer making a splash for the ages. A nation of 1.3 billion passionate, or at least potential, fans. TV ratings that “Seinfeld” could take to the bank. Political tension as a backdrop.

Can the Olympics get any better than this?

Ever again?    Read More  >

It used to be the centerpiece. It wants to be again.

So, as the Beijing Olympics track and field competition got under way last Friday, the stewards of the sport in the U.S. are seeking ways to rebuild its tarnished, drug-linked reputation, to repackage itself to garner TV rights fees and to broaden a fan base that reaches beyond the “track geek” aficionados.    Read More  >

Allyson Felix is looking to land sponsors.

Allyson Felix began her pursuit of gold in the women’s 200 meters today when she qualified for the semifinals. In Beijing, Felix is looking to build upon her performance at the 2004 Athens Games, where she won the silver medal. Breakaway Sports Management LLC's Todd Provost, who handles Felix’s marketing, hopes that success in Beijing could serve to further broaden Felix’s appeal. Provost emphasized that in searching for sponsorships he looks for a long-term commitment from companies, and most of Felix’s current sponsors “have been around greater than one year.”    Read More  >

As the Beijing Games continue into the second week, the panelists in the latest installment of our Olympics roundtable reflected on the marketing impact of one of the biggest stories of the first week, Michael Phelps’ record eight gold medals. Participants also assessed other marketing and business stories from the opening week and offered their take on whether the momentum can continue.    Read More  >