U.S. women’s national team and magicJack soccer goalie Hope Solo steps up her game from World Cup star to nude action figure on one of four covers of ESPN The Magazine’s third annual The Body Issue that appears on newsstands Friday.

The others are Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin and New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.

Continue reading "Hope Solo one of four nude cover subjects in ESPN's 'The Body Issue'" »

Hope solo recently graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. The popular U.S. and magicJack goalkeeper hinted this week that she is about to step up her game with a more revealing spread in ESPN The Magazine.

Continue reading "Hope Solo's tweets raise hopes of nude appearance in ESPN The Magazine" »

Abby Wambach, an offensive catalyst of the U.S. women’s World Cup team, will sign autographs during a meet-and-greet session Tuesday in Boca Raton.

The first 200 fans will receive autographs beginning at 2 p.m. on the second floor of Macy’s at the Boca Town Center Mall, 5700 W. Glades Road.

Continue reading "Abby Wambach to sign autographs Tuesday at Macy's in Boca Raton" »

Hope Solo, goalkeeper of the U.S. World Cup team, will be the first women’s soccer player on the cover of Sports Illustrated in eight years when this week’s edition hits the newsstands Wednesday.

It is a bittersweet distinction as a somber Solo stares out above the headline “Heart and Heartbreak.” The story details the emotional rollercoaster of Team USA’s stirring run to the Cup Finals, from the improbable comeback against Brazil to the stunning defeat against Japan.

Solo is one of six members of the U.S. team who play for the magicJack, a Boca Raton-based club in the Women’s Professional Soccer league. The group, including Cup standouts Abby Wambach and Christine Rampone, will return this week to the magicJack, which plays their next home game July 27 at FAU Soccer Stadium.

The last women’s soccer player to grace a cover of Sports Illustrated was Mia Hamm on Sept. 22, 2003, under the heading, “The Reluctant Superstar.”

Continue reading "Hope Solo featured in bittersweet Sports Illustrated cover story about women's World Cup" »

Just 30 days remain until FIFA announces the host country for the 2022 World Cup. So the Miami Host City Bid Committee is continuing to rev up support to bring the world’s largest sporting event to the U.S.

The committee is hoping to generate 30,000 signatures in support of the U.S. bid in the next 30 days. Sign the petition at gousabid.com/miami or by texting the word MIAMI to 22442 (data rates apply).

"We were the first city to reach 50,000 signatures, so why not be the first to reach 100,000?," Miami-Dade County Commissioner and bid committee chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz said in a statement. "I think Miami has shown how much we want to host the World Cup and how much we love soccer."

FIFA is scheduled to announce the host nations for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on Dec. 2. Last month, the United States withdrew its bid for the 2018 soccer spectacle to concentrate on 2022.

Miami is one of 18 U.S. cities included in the bid, with Sun Life Stadium considered a potential location for an opening or final match. If the U.S. does win the bid, the number of host cities, which also includes Tampa, is expected to be pared to 12 to 15, but not until roughly five years before the event. The Miami Beach Convention Center has also been pitched as a potential location for the draw held in the December preceding the event.

Count Dunkin’ Donuts among the bars, restaurants and hotels inviting fans in to watch the 2010 World Cup, which kicked off today in South Africa.

Dunkin’ Donuts is welcoming soccer fans with World Cup afternoon specials at locations across Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Every day through July 11, the local stores will host a “Happy Hour” from 1 to 4 p.m., during which customers who buy medium or larger beverages will get one beverage of the same size free. Another special: two dozen doughnuts for $9.99 during the same hours.

Meanwhile, locations with TVs will show the 2 p.m. matches each day and Dunkin’ Donuts employees will be wearing special World Cup shirts with the logo above.

+Gotta love it when a team takes one for its fans: The Seattle Sounders after suffering an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the LA Galaxy at home announce they are giving season ticket holders a one-game refund – good toward season tickets next year.

+ The Field of Dreams film site – well part of the Iowa cornfield from the 1989 movie anyway -- is up for sale. Scant details here.

+ We have WeWantWade.com, but LeBron James has a group of politicians, officials and other Cleveland fans serenading him to the tune of We Are The World. If you can stand it, click here.

+ Pompano Beach Paralympian Bradley Johnson joined The Hartford for the insurance company’s 200th anniversary at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Johnson is the guy on the left side of the net, helping to demonstrate sit volleyball. The Hartford is founding sponsor of U.S. Paralympics.

It won’t be just the renewal of a more than 30-year rivalry tomorrow night when Miami FC hosts the new Tampa Bay Rowdies at Lockhart Stadium, but also the launch of a new business partnership.

Miami FC and Dunkin’ Donuts, which is active in sponsorships across sports, forged a new partnership this week. Details are still being worked out, but at tomorrow's game, Dunkin' is supplying 25 vouchers good for a dozen doughnuts each and conducting doughnut decorating. Meanwhile, Dunkin's Joe the Donut will also be at the game, perhaps mingling with Super Mario. Will Hotshot join in?

Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners are mulling what to do with Fort Lauderdale Stadium, abandoned last year by the Baltimore Orioles, who found a better deal for their spring training operations in Sarasota.

On Tuesday, the commission agreed to keep its aging stadium open for another seven months buying time to make a long-term decision on the future of the venue, which had been home to spring training – first the New York Yankees and then the Orioles – for nearly 50 years.

Traffic Sports, owner of Miami FC, the professional soccer team holding its home games at next-door Lockhart Stadium this season, which kicks off Saturday, will pay rent to use the baseball stadium and its grounds for practice, but also keep it open for community use. Traffic Sports wants to transform the old stadium into a soccer academy long-term.

The semi-professional men’s baseball league, the Federal League, wants to turn the stadium into a baseball academy. But perhaps the most radical idea is to transform it into a water park-hotel-retail sports destination. Schlitterbahn Development Group submitted a proposal to the city last week. Read my colleague Brittany Wallman’s story about the proposal here.

Any long-term use will need the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration, because the stadium sits on land owned by adjacent Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The FAA wants the land used for aviation purposes or to be paid fair market rent for use of the site. That’s what hung up the proposal for the Orioles to revamp the stadium – the FAA wanted $1.3 million annually from the team.

Stay tuned.

The end of the decade also corresponds with my first decade as the Sun Sentinel’s sports business writer. When I first got the job in September 1999, people would congratulate me and then ask: “What are you going to do with the rest of your time?” As if this somehow wasn’t a full-time job!?

Just in case those people are still wondering what I do with my time, here’s my $2 added to the end of the decade lists with a by the numbers sampling of South Florida sports business stories. (Disclaimer -- this does not purport to be a full or complete list):

5 NEW TEAM OWNERS: Alan P. Cohen and his group bought the Panthers from H. Wayne Huizenga in 2001. Jeffrey Loria took ownership of the Marlins from John W. Henry (by way of Major League Baseball) in 2002. Steve Ross completed his purchase of the Dolphins from Huizenga in 2009. And Cohen’s partners Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel (I’m counting them as two) took over majority ownership of the Panthers this fall.

5 (at least) TEAM MOVES: The Heat moved to AmericanAirlines Arena in 2000. Hurricanes football moved to Dolphin Stadium in 2008. FAU moved from Dolphin Stadium to Lockhart Stadium. FIU football moved into a new stadium. The Baltimore Orioles ended their spring training run at Fort Lauderdale Stadium and are moving to Sarasota next year.

10 (and counting...) TEAMS LOST: Miami Fusion (Major League Soccer); Miami Sol (WNBA); Miami Tropics (Spring Football League); Miami Manatees (minor league hockey); Florida Bobcats (AFL); Florida Pitbulls (ABA); Miami Morays, Palm Beach Phantoms and Florida Frenzy (all of the National Indoor Football League); Miami Diamantes (baseball); and others too numerous to count…

2 VENUES BUILT: UM opened BankUnited Center in 2003; FIU opened its new football stadium in 2008.

2 TORN DOWN: Both the Orange Bowl and Miami Arena came down in 2008.

4 TEAMS STARTED (and still exist in some form): Miami FC (soccer), Miami Caliente (Lingerie Football League); Miami Fury and Palm Beach Punishers of the Independent Women’s Football League.

NAME CHANGES get their own section: In 2001, Sports & Sponsorships President Scott Becher was more prophetic than he might have imagined when he told me this for a story about the golf tournament at Doral changing its name to Genuity:

"You're going to start to see names change for a second and a third time," Becher said. "I think by and large, fans get it, but from the sponsor's standpoint, it's like buying a used car. The car is never going to smell like new. The value of the sponsorship is diminished when you have to untrain fans to think of it as one name and reteach them a new name."

3 (Three-way tie) – Dolphins’ home stadium: Started the decade as Pro Player, then Dolphins Stadium, followed by Dolphin (no s) Stadium, and Land Shark Stadium. It’s set to become Dolphin Stadium again in January.

-- Key Biscayne tennis tournament: Lipton became Ericsson Open then Nasdaq-100 Open. Now it’s Sony Ericsson Open.

-- Golf tournament at Doral: Doral Ryder Open became Genuity Championship, then Ford Championship, and now it’s CA Championship.

2 (two-way tie) – Panthers home arena: National Car Rental Center became Office Depot Center and is now BankAtlantic Center.
--
FIU’s basketball arena: Golden Panther Arena started the decade as Golden Panther Arena, became Pharmed and is now U.S. Century Bank.

1 ZILLION Marlins ballpark plans: But the ballpark is under construction and scheduled to open in 2012.

A contingent of Miami-Dade and Land Shark Stadium officials is in New York today making the region’s pitch to be included in the United States’ bid to play host to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

In August, Miami was included on a short list of 27 U.S. communities that are finalists as host sites. The 27 communities have been meeting and attending host community workshops with the USA Bid Committee in New York this week.

Mike Sophia, executive director of the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, is in New York, along with Commission Chairman and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Bill Talbert, Land Shark Stadium President M. Bruce Schulze and Vice President and General Manager Todd Boyan.

“It’s really an opportunity for us to go up and just highlight our bid, any changes,” Sophia said. “We’ll take a little bit of time to explain here’s what we are, who we are.”

Sophia says the committee is expected to narrow the group of 27 to 18 that will be announced in early December. The U.S. application to FIFA to host either of the two upcoming World Cups is due in May, with the announcement of the host nations coming in December 2010.

Meanwhile, local World Cup supporters are encouraging soccer fans to sign a petition showing their support for bringing the World Cup to the U.S.

“The USA Bid Committee wants to show the grassroots support for soccer,” Sophia said of the petition drive.

Those interested in signing the petition can find it here or through the Sports Commission’s Web site.

Additionally, the commission is planning to drum up support at local sporting events by setting up petition drive booths at Saturday night’s Miami Heat-New Jersey Nets game at AmericanAirlines Arena; Sunday’s Miami Dolphins-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game at Land Shark Stadium; and at next Wednesday’s "Celebracion Honduras Mundialista 2010" soccer friendly featuring Honduras and Peru, also at Land Shark.

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As of today, the Miami Dolphins have now joined 17 other NFL teams in sporting sponsor patches on their practice jerseys.

NFL owners approved putting sponsor patches on practice jerseys earlier this year, but until today – the first day of regular season practice – the Dolphins hadn’t had worn a patch. Today they’re wearing an AT&T logo on their jerseys.

“It’s a league-wide initiative that does now allow for sponsorships on practice jerseys during the regular season,” Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene said. “We took advantage to provide additional values to one of our largest corporate sponsors.”

Greene would not disclose financial details of the deal, but AT&T is already a team sponsor. Regular season practices are closed to the public and only open to the media for short periods on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and on Mondays when a full practice is scheduled. That means there is some potential media exposure for the corporate logos.

Under NFL rules, teams had until Sept. 1 to finalize deals with one corporate sponsor for a patch on practice jerseys. Separate deals can be made for the playoffs, an NFL spokesman said.

Other NFL teams with practice jersey sponsors include the Buffalo Bills with Sanyo, Chicago Bears with Northshore University Healthsystem, Cincinnati Bengals with Spongetech, Dallas Cowboys with the University of Phoenix, Indianapolis Colts with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, and the New England Patriots with Gillette.

Leagues have been softening their stance on corporate logos on jerseys this year. The NBA is now allowing sponsor patches on practice jerseys. The New Jersey Nets announced Tuesday they have become the first NBA team to strike a practice jersey sponsorship deal. The team will wear the logo for PNY Technologies Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of computing and digital imaging products. PNY will also own the naming rights to the team’s practice facility in East Rutherford.

The WNBA this season allowed sponsor logos on its regular season uniforms and two teams took advantage: the Phoenix Mercury struck a deal with LifeLock and the Los Angeles Sparks forged a partnership with Farmer’s Insurance. MLS players also wear sponsor logos on their jerseys during the season.

How long before sponsor logos appear on jerseys during the big four sports’ regular seasons?

And then there were 27… The USA Bid Committee narrowed on Thursday its list of potential U.S. cities to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup to 27, including Miami and Land Shark Stadium.

Eleven U.S. communities were stripped from contention. The remaining cities will continue working with the bid committee to develop their local campaigns to host the giant soccer event. FIFA and its 24-member executive committee will spend the fall studying the bids and visiting the communities. The cities the U.S. will put forward for formal bids will be determined in December. The host nations for the two upcoming World Cups will be announced in December 2010.

The group of 27 communities includes 32 stadiums ranging from the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Miami’s bid was submitted by a group of local leaders that includes the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, retired Heat center Alonzo Mourning, Brightstar Corp. CEO Marcelo Claure, music producer Emilio Estefan, and Bacardi’s Facundo L. Barcardi.

“Miami is proud to be contention for this exciting and prestigious event,” Miami-Dade County Commissioner and Miami Bid Committee Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz said in a statement. “The FIFA World Cup is the most significant international event in the world today.”

The Phoenix Mercury will become the first WNBA team to wear a corporate sponsor’s logo prominently on its jerseys this season. In a deal being announced today, identity-theft protection company LifeLock Inc., will sponsor the team for three years in a deal said to be worth at least $1 million a year.

The Arizona-based company, which also sponsors NASCAR, will be the team’s presenting sponsor and get its name on the team’s warm-up jerseys and its arena. It is also to offer complimentary membership to WNBA season ticket holders.

The WNBA did a deal prior to last season with McDonald’s in which the fast food giant sponsored Tip-Off for the league’s 12th season. Players wore the Golden Arches on a Tip-Off logo on their jerseys during the home openers, but the logos weren’t as prominently displayed as LifeLock’s will be on Mercury jerseys.

The Mercury will still wear its team logo, but Mercury will be a much smaller badge-style logo on the upper left – similar to the way the L.A. Galaxy’s logo appears on the MLS team’s jerseys since Herbalife began sponsoring that team in 2007.

So, while we’re used to seeing corporate logos on jerseys overseas, they are beginning to seep into U.S. sports more frequently than they have in the past. The Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s wore sponsor logos on their jerseys and helmets during the two games that opened the 2008 MLB season in Japan. The Puerto Rican team wore Best Buy logos on their jerseys during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Since we used to seeing logos just about everywhere these days, does this bother you? Do you think the uniforms for NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL teams are still sacred?

Also, I’ve just joined the masses on Twitter. Follow me there: @sarahtalalay

While still far from a done deal, a ballpark for the Marlins could be a lot closer now that the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County have come up with a way to pay for it that doesn’t involve state funding.

It’s a complex plan that involves expanding the boundaries and extending the life of Miami’s Community Redevelopment Agencies to generate millions of dollars for city projects including paying down debt on the performing arts center and developing the museum park and a traffic tunnel to the Port of Miami. Using those dollars for the performing arts center frees up millions in hotel bed taxes that can be used to help pay for a ballpark at the Orange Bowl and, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz hopes, a soccer stadium, too.

Miami City Commissioners signed off on the CRA deal Thursday. There’s still a lot more work to be done to make a ballpark deal a reality – and the next test comes Tuesday when Miami-Dade County Commissioners get a crack at the CRA deal and a county proposal to finance a $525 million stadium that has yet to receive the blessing of the city or the team.

But more about soccer: Diaz envisions a sports complex at the site of the Orange Bowl stadium that includes not just a 37,000-seat retractable roof Marlins ballpark, but also a 25,000-seat soccer stadium.

Diaz has wanted to bring a Major League Soccer franchise back to South Florida almost since the league folded the Fusion in January 2002 and has been in contact with the league for years.

“I believe Miami should have a soccer franchise. I think soccer is obviously the world’s most popular sport. It’s a growing sport,” Diaz said. “I think it’s a natural for us to be able to do something. I’m excited at prospects of having a franchise here.”

Diaz says the CRA deal can generate $50 million for a soccer stadium. A soccer stadium would likely cost $100 million and it's unclear where the rest would come from, but according to an MLS spokesman it's not unusual for a team owner to contribute the rest.

There’s no guarantee the city will be able to secure an MLS team, but MLS spokesman Daniel Courtemanche said talks with the city are ongoing.

“Those discussions are still very preliminary, but we are closely monitoring the Miami market,” Courtemanche said.

The league has set its roster of teams through 2009 and Philadelphia and St. Louis have been identified as frontrunner cities for expansion beyond that, although situations could change.

Nevertheless, Diaz said the soccer stadium, which he would want to be called the Orange Bowl, helps the baseball stadium deal. A ballpark proposal requires the city to fund a 6,000-space parking garage, which Diaz estimates at $85 million to $95 million. He said with both teams enough revenue should be generated to service the debt on the garage.

“You need a certain number of events to generate the amount of income you need so it at least breaks even,” Diaz said.

Diaz hopes one day the neighborhood around the Orange Bowl will become a vital area with baseball and soccer games, bars, and restaurants.

“When you see a building that sits idle 359 days of the year, what does that do for the neighborhood? Absolutely nothing,” Diaz said referring to the Orange Bowl hosting six University of Miami football games annually.

“I saw the possibility of creating something that could now be a destination, beyond just an 81 game event days, to hopefully add soccer and then hopefully bring with it retail and mixed use components,” Diaz said. “So it’s not place you just go to watch a sporting event. It’s a place you can go to year round, 365 days a year, not just see a baseball game. Maybe you’ll go to a restaurant or have a beer with friends or shop. It’s got that potential. I think from a neighborhood revitalization perspective, it’s pretty exciting.”