As I could have predicted, Papa John's 23-cent pizza idea backfired yesterday. So many people showed up at the 86 stores throughout Ohio that mayhem reportedly ensued. Meant to be a goodwill gesture after a Washington D.C. Papa John's location printed LeBron James "Crybaby 23" shirts for the first round of the playoffs against the Wizards, someone tried to be cute with the "23" and got the decimal point wrong...   Read More

Michelle Wie shot four over par Thursday at the Michelob Ultra Open. Doesn’t sound like a total breakdown... We’ll assume she’s not going to shoot about four under today to make the cut. So let’s say you are responsible for making the Michelle Wie decision at Nike, Sony and Omega. When do you say, “We’re outta here.”   Read More

I obviously don't see or hear about everything that is out there, so that's why I count on you readers to send me sports biz happenings that you think are of interest. Major props go to Brian Degan of the Bruins, who sent me this unbelievable sponsorship the Bruins did with Gillette. We've seen sponsorships on Zambonis before, but this is ingenious.    Read More

When Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank sold $76 million in stock in November, shares of Under Armour plummeted under the hypothesis that "if the CEO sells, something smells." It's interesting how Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight's selling of $1 billion worth of Nike...   Read More

When Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault almost five years ago, the pitchman in Bryant fell off the face of the earth. Coke, which was using him for Sprite, shelved his ads and replaced him with Lebron James when his contract expired. McDonald's didn't renew him, neither did Nutella and Spalding.    Read More

With Tiger Woods sitting out, Wachovia was facing the prospect of having a no-name champ win its golf tournament. But the suffering bank gave the average person a reason to care when they announced a national consumer promotion tied to the winner's score in the tournament.   Read More

Sponsoring Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown paid dividends for UPS. The package delivery company garnered $1.4 million worth of exposure from partnering up with the horse that was named after it, according to Joyce Julius & Associates, a sponsorship evaluation firm.    Read More

Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown was purchased in 2007 by Paul Pompa Jr. in April 2007 for $190,000. Later in the year, Pompa sold 75 percent of the horse to Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo of International Equine Acquisitions Holdings for $2.5 million.    Read More

So I click over to Maria Sharapova's web site today and find this as the top story. "I want all my fans to know that the WTA Tour is forcing me and several of the other top players to do a 4 hour commercial shoot for WTA Tour marketing materials...   Read More

Every time Under Armour announces its earnings, they get pounded for the same thing: high marketing costs. Wall Street is obsessed with that. Personally, I think it’s overblown. They’re a growing company that’s now going head-to-head with Nike.   Read More