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SPORTS BIZ VIDEO GALLERY

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Wall Street Poker Face 06 Nov 2009
It's a new house of cards for a former Bear Stearns executive, with Steve Begleiter and CNBC's Darren Rovell.
Inside World Series of Poker 06 Nov 2009
Insight on the high stakes of world series poker, with CNBC's Darren Rovell and Power Lunch crew.
Vegas: Big Bucks Poker 06 Nov 2009
The World Series of Poker gets set for the home stretch in Las Vegas, and CNBC's Darren Rovell has the details.

Sports Memorabilia: Top Collector Hits a Homer

28 Oct 2009

Marshall Fogel, one of America’s top collectors of sports memorabilia, gives the public a glimpse of his prized possessions, including rare items from Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Ty Cobb. CNBC’s Darren Rovell says their value is more than just sentimental.

NY Yankees Break Even 27 Oct 2009
New York Yankees will not make a profit, but break even this year, with CNBC's Darren Rovell.

Saints Come Marching Back

27 Oct 2009

The New Orleans Saints is now one of the NFL's greatest success stories, with Rita Benson LeBlanc, New Orleans Saints executive VP/owner and CNBC's Darren Rovell.

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Handicapping The 2009 Spelling Bee

Published: Tuesday, 26 May 2009 | 3:14 PM ET

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By: Darren Rovell
Sports Business Reporter

When it comes to handicapping the Spelling Bee, I'm one of the best in the world and I can easily show my work. In 2006, I picked eight spellers who could win and the winner Katherine Close was among my picks.

In 2007, I gave you a Top 10 and the winner Evan O'Dorney was among those. And last year, I did it again with Sameer Mishra (even though I only picked my Top 5). So here goes for four in a row. To up the stakes, I'm taking four kids this time and I'm guaranteeing that one of them will be your champion come Thursday night.

Kavya Shivashankar
1. Kavya Shivashankar, Speller No. 110 (Kansas): Every year this girl gets better. For the past three years, she's placed 10th, 8th and 4th, respectively. Spellers of Indian decent have won six out of the last 10 years. My only concern is that the girls have only won two times in the last decade.

More: Getting To Know This Year's Spellers

Sidharth Chand
2. Sidharth Chand, Speller No. 139 (Michigan): Sidharth really impressed me last year with his second place finish. Equally impressive is his peach fuzz mustache. He's one of three contestants whose bio pictures have mustaches. Perfect for a "Got Milk?" ad should he win it all. We like that Chand says he spends the majority of his weekend studying words.

More Sports Biz: Today's Sports Genius— David Katzman

Vaibhav S. Vavilala
3. Vaibhav S. Vavilala, Speller No. 97 (Indiana): Not only has Vaibhav participated in three national finals, his brother Vikas also had a national finals appearance. Family history in this contest is often a good indicator. So is the fact that Vaibhav had his 14th birthday last week, but refuses to celebrate until after the Spelling Bee is done.

Kyle Mou
4. Kyle Mou, Speller No. 88 (Illinois): Kyle has been in the finals twice and I was impressed with his Top 10 performance last year. I especially felt good about his correct spelling of the words cryptarithm and trochiline. The negative? He's blogging for his local paper. I don't like anything that could take away from his last minute push.