I was watching the NBA playoffs last night in a game between the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors.  Following the game, just before the TNT post game show was about to come on, a T-Mobile commercial came on featuring Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade in a golf match with former NBA star Charles Barkley.  Barkley tells Wade that he’ll put him “in his five” (cell phone promotion) if he makes his putt.  As Wade begins to putt, Barkley calls his cell phone and disrupts the shot.

When the TNT post game show comes back from break, they show a clip from…

Since our curriculum base features sports and entertainment business content, I think it is about time I dedicate some of my blogging “energy” to an entertainment news story. 

That said, I couldn’t resist reading this story from ABC News:  A Jimi Hendrix Energy Drink is in the Works.  According to the story, a Los Angeles company (Beverage Concepts) says its nonalcoholic “Liquid Experience” drinks, named for Hendrix’s breakthrough album, “Are You Experienced?” will debut in April.  Hmmmm…interesting. 

In a story that made headlines last week, Ben Wallace, star center for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls announced that he will begin wearing a low-cost sneaker introduced earlier this season by New York Knicks star Stephon Marbury.  ESPN reported that Wallace began wearing the “Starbury II” basketball shoe when the Chicago Bulls play his former team, the Detroit Pistons (no coincidence there I’m sure). 

Discussing the Starbury shoe movement, Wallace said in a news conference:

“Kids don’t really understand what it takes to go out and buy a pair of $300 pair of shoes.  We don’t understand the pressure we put on our…

This is a site dedicated to the business of sports and entertainment, so normally I don’t post anything unrelated to business or marketing.  That said, the NBA season is winding down and there is much debate over who should be named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).  Should it be Kobe Bryant?  Steve Nash for a third straight year?  Many think the player most deserving of the award should be the best player on the league’s best team…at this point, that distinction goes to Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.

Here’s what caught my eye on this one…the Dallas Mavericks aggressively…

What is it with this guy? He’s everywhere. I can only imagine how the efforts of corporations to ramp Manning Mania will intensify after the Super Bowl, especially if the Colts win the game.

Recently, Manning was named the National Football League’s “Most Marketable Player” (according to a survey of sports marketing and media executives). So what exactly is the appeal of Mr. Manning? He’s selling you everything from cable TV service (DirecTV), and beverages (Gatorade) to credit cards (MasterCard), shoes (Reebok) and telephone service (Sprint).  He’s even pushing (along with his dad and his brother) specific television channels (ESPN).