Football

• Largest increase in 3 years. And I predict a new CBA will be signed before the start of next season [Final adjustment increases salary cap].
• Sheldon Brown deserves more money, but who told him to sign a 9-year deal when he was 25-years-old? [The Early Extension of Young Players' Contracts].
• The guy has made a lot of money for his clients.. [Drew Rosenhaus, good or evil for the NFL??].
• My man, Kevin Sullivan, gives his advice to the Vick Camp [The PR campaign: A four-point plan for Vick].
• And Adam Ostrow of Mashable.com has some ideas of his own [Can Social Media Help Repair Michael Vick’s Image?].

Basketball

• King James makes roughly $25 million a year from endorsements alone (including a nice deal with Bubblicious) [NBA AM: LeBron James Staying Put].
• Shaq is serious about a career in broadcasting [IT'S ALL SHAQ-ADEMIC].

Sports Business

• What do you think about Danica Patrick’s new Twitter campaign? [Danica Patrick, Twitter, and Sponorships].

While NASCAR has led the way in US motorsports over the last decade or two, open wheel racing has always maintained a passionate following. The Indianapolis 500, the highlight of the Indy Racing League (IRL) season, is still the highest attended single day sporting event in the world, and open wheel racing has a long history and tradition in the US. Additionally, outside of North America, open wheel racing and the Formula One circuit dominate the racing arena with over 50 million live television viewers worldwide for every race.

As the IRL season officially came to a close last week with the league’s Championship Celebration in Las Vegas, league officials were already preparing for the 2009 season. And the league looks poised to make a jump forward on the racing scene. The emergence of star driver Danica Patrick has brought substantial media coverage to IRL events and IRL viewer ratings were up in 2008. The league has forged several significant new sponsorship relationships with Coca-Cola and Philips-Van Heusen (PVH)-the PVH IZOD brand has been named the official apparel line for the IRL. IRL Vice President of Sales, Greg Gruning, suggested that sponsorship relationships like these are “what is going to generate our sport to another level.”

Additionally, the league has executed a new television rights contract with the upstart Versus network. While some critics have suggested that this move will diminish the overall exposure for the IRL by taking races off of the more publicly recognized ESPN network, proponents of the deal contend that ESPN coverage was often relegated to the networks secondary channels and provided very little in the way of IRL specialized coverage. The Versus network, on the other hand, has agreed to provide substantial pre and post race coverage as well as a number of hours of specialized IRL coverage devoted to the drivers and the sport of open wheel racing. Jamie Davis, the new Versus president, has pledged to showcase the IRL on the network, to attract a younger demographic and to help the IRL grow. All promising indicators for open wheel racing.

Combine that with the merger between the IRL and the Champ Car circuit along with the IRL’s increased funding of its steppingstone Indy Lights series, and one can see increased growth on the horizon. As economic times look bleak, and some pundits are predicting challenging times for NASCAR ahead, the IRL, while not immune to the effects of the economic downturn, looks to be in a position to gain ground in the racing arena.

And finally, the IRL has one additional advantage in the fight for racing dominance-speed. The cars are just faster and more technically sophisticated. At top speeds of over 230 mph, open wheel racing arguably provides a product that is more exhilarating, more technically demanding and more cerebrally challenging than stock car racing. While no one is arguing that the IRL is going to supplant NASCAR as America’s racing darling anytime soon, the future looks bright for open wheel racing and its proponents.

Guest contribution by Michael C. Frilling, Esq.; General Counsel; www.fksportsmanagement.com

• I think it’s safe to say that basketball agent, Jeff Schwartz, is no longer invited to dinner at Lute Olson’s house [Blame agents and everyone else].
• Chances are you have never heard of this guy, but he just became the third highest paid offensive tackle in the NFL [Roos Gets $43 Million Extension From Titans].
• He must be a true sportsman, he’s the only player to win the award twice [Suns’ Hill Wins 2007-08 NBA Sportsmanship Award].
• The ladies are looking for some top notch endorsements too [Payback time for Danica Patrick and women's sports?].
• The 11th annual University of Kentucky Sports Marketing Academy is right around the corner. Too bad you can’t buy a ticket to it [Sports Marketing Academy Begins Second Decade].
• Taj Gibson stays, Davon Jefferson goes…to Arn Tellem…surprise…[Mixed News for USC Hoops Fans].
• Greece or United States? Kosta Koufos chooses red, white, and blue [Koufos to sign with agent, stay in draft].
• Okay forget about the individual announcements…here is your official 2008 Early Entry list. I hope the Miami Heat select Dnipro Maksym Vilkhovetskyi, who hails from the Ukraine. [2008 Official NBA Draft Early Entry List].

I am pretty much obligated to put the interview with Leigh Steinberg as the featured post of this past week. It was a great experience for me and hopefully a good read for all of you. Check it out by clicking on Featured, which is hanging around on the right sidebar.