Gold
Sports Illustrated
The first eight-medal photo of Michael Phelps was going to end up somewhere, and SI made sure that it was the place. It rolls out in this week's issue (a shirtless Phelps in front of a red background with eight gold medals hanging around his neck). It's hard to say whether or not that big goofy grin will sell magazines, but it can't hurt.

Silver
AVP
As if NBC's continuous prime-time coverage of beach volleyball wasn't enough, the pro beach volleyball tour wound up with the best-case scenario for a gold-medal match when American stars Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh take on a team from China on Thursday.

Bronze
NBC and DVR
Is NBC intentionally making the Olympics DVR resistant? The network has things set up in six-hour increments, and yesterday morning it set the USA basketball game to start in the fifth hour of a six-hour block and then carry through an additional six-hour block from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. On most DVRs, that means you had to record 12 hours of programming to get the entire game. Seems a little fishy to us.

Tin
Judging controversies
Judging controversies have become as much an Olympic tradition as doves during the Opening Ceremony. Yesterday, Nastia Liukin found herself in the center of the latest controversy when she tied for first place in the uneven bars but ended up with the silver medal. It was just the latest in a string of controversies that ultimately devalue Olympic competition.

Watch The Interview

As the director of the International Olympic Committee’s marketing commission, Norwegian Gerhard Heiberg oversees the organization’s legendary sponsor program and more than $866 million in sponsor revenues. He is a 1964 graduate of San Jose State University and has been a member of the IOC executive board since 2003. He took time to sit down with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle and contributor Jay Weiner in Beijing last week.    Read More  >

Vizio called its latest commercial on NBC “Splash,” but the U.S. Olympic Committee and its partner Panasonic feel more like it’s a cannonball.

The 30-second Vizio commercial, which is airing during the Olympics, promotes the company’s high-definition television by showing an athlete complete a slow-motion dive against the backdrop of an American flag. The ad raised red flags for the USOC and Panasonic, the official audio and video partner for the Olympics worldwide, according to people familiar with the matter.    Read More  >

The NBA has thrived in the land of 1.3 billion for years. Now, it’s looking to cash in by creating its own NBA China division, which is valued at more than $2.5 billion. The company, which has opened two NBA stores, is being managed by CEO Tim Chen and supported from the U.S. by Heidi Ueberroth, the league’s president of global marketing partnerships and international business operations. Both sat down in Beijing with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle to talk about the company and its plan.    Read More  >

A member of both the AVP and FIVB pro tours and a three-time Olympian with a gold medal from the 2004 Athens Games, Misty May-Treanor is one of the most successful and recognizable female volleyball players in history. May-Treanor shares her fame, success and some endorsements with partner Kerri Walsh, and the pair have advanced to the semifinals of the Beijing Games. But May-Treanor and her agent, WMG’s Dan Levy, have managed to build a brand and endorsement profile that reflects her individual appeal.    Read More  >

Michael Phelps currently earns about $5 million a year.

Maybe, just maybe, with his past Olympic week of medals and records, Michael Phelps has single-handedly changed the nature of swimming. It sure feels that way in Beijing.

Let the Phelps Phrenzy begin. His agent is in full leverage mode. His current sponsors are in activation overdrive.

Let us count the ways that Michaelmania is manifesting itself …
     Read More  >

Gold
Michael Phelps
Some in the United States feel like NBC overdid it this week in their focus on Phelps. If the swimmer had fallen short of eight gold medals, they might have been on point. But he didn't. And both NBC and Phelps stand to benefit big time. NBC pulled the largest Olympic audience (31.1 million viewers) on a Saturday night since 1990. And Phelps is poised to see a major spike in his income, followed by a lifetime of commanding significant appearance fees.

Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser

Silver
Puma
"The proud sponsors of the Jamaican Olympic team" just got a whole lot prouder. The company can lay claim to the world's fastest man and fastest woman following the 100-meter victories by Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser.

The results have given Puma immediate visibility among its competitors (Nike, Adidas and Li Ning) who spent more sponsoring either BOCOG or a multitude of Olympic teams.

Bronze
Mark Wetmore
The agent at Global Athletics Management had a tough weekend. First, Tyson Gay (Wetmore's stud sprinter) failed to qualify for the finals of the 100-meter dash. Then, Liu Xiang, the Chinese superstar hurdler who Wetmore works with, injured his Achilles and exited the competition. In an endorsement world based in part on performance, both results will hurt for some time to come.

Tin
Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian
Yes, this one is obvious and the IOC has already penalized Abrahamian, but it's worth repeating. There's no room in the Olympics or any other sport for someone to publicly toss a medal or trophy just because they're dissatisfied with the result. It denigrates the work of your competitors, belittles those who have organized and sanctioned the competition, and is just plain rude.

Mark Wetmore, president of Global Athletics & Marketing, one of the top track and field talent and meet production shops, has had a tough week in China.

Wetmore represents American sprinter Tyson Gay, a gold-medal contender who failed to get to the finals of the 100 meters during the weekend following an injury-plagued summer. Wetmore also is the agent for Liu Xiang, China’s national sports hero and hurdler who pulled out of the Olympics today with an injury.    Read More  >

Nastia Liukin shows off her all-around gold medal.

Not long after Nastia Liukin won gold in the women’s gymnastics all around, her agent Evan Morgenstein escorted her mother down to see her. As mother and daughter hugged, Nastia’s father, Valeri, spoke to Morgenstein.

“I did what I needed to do,” he said. “Now you do what you need to do.”

Morgenstein, who repeated that story a day later, said he is focused on building Liukin’s brand so that it lasts forever.    Read More  >

McDonald’s is a TOP sponsor. McDonald’s is based in Chicago. Chicago wants the 2016 Olympics. A competition is under way between the Windy City, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

What’s an influential sponsor to do in the run-up to next October’s vote in Copenhagen?    Read More  >