The leagues, especially the NFL, don't want to discount their product for a particular market,

All the (major sports) events have some presenting sponsors.

The good news for NBC is that China is a bigger story than any athlete. The significance of those Games will draw the casual viewer because it's China. ... You are talking about 1.3 billion people and a country that is using the Games as a statement of its place in the global economy.

The general feeling is that firms are trying to be more selective about the number of athletes with whom they have relationships. You have to remember that, for the most part, the industry is young and learning how to measure success and get the best return on its investment. The emerging trend is the use of entertainers and retired athletes to market these products.

You want to be using the off-season to generate momentum. And nothing has happened, from the stadium issue on down, to give much acceleration to that momentum. For every step forward, it seems like they've taken two steps backward.

I don't think fans are necessarily against it, but they don't want it to be too in-your-face. If it becomes overly commercialized, people will turn away. We've already stepped out with buildings, but the connection the fans have isn't with the building, it's with the team. This gets closer to the core.

I don't know if we'd call this a renaissance, but I think he's certainly coming back to life both on and off the court. He may never get back to where his potential was two or three years ago, but there was always the sense that he could rebuild some of that equity. ... It's clear he's well on his way.

Clearly in an era in which most athletic departments are told to be self-sufficient, they should look more like the way a business is structured.

If you don't pay attention to them long term, you are going to wake up one day and have asked yourself, 'Where did all your fans go?'

It's not about bringing the loyal fans back. They're probably at the doors now. It's the casual fans that will make the difference between teams being profitable and not being profitable.