NEW YORK — My BS detector goes off when marketers promise a product will be the “game-changer” that will absolutely, positively turn the category upside down. But I think adidas has found a contender with their new Boost running shoe technology.

During a launch event here, adidas’ top executives unveiled the softer, more comfortable Boost cushioning they say will changing running forever by providing the “highest energy return” in the industry. Eventually, they’ll add the new foam cushioning to training and basketball shoes.

The key for adidas will be getting runners to try on the shoes. Once they do, they’ll be hooked, said Eric Liedtke, head of sports performance for adidas. “The technology speaks for itself,” he told SportsBizUSA.

To demonstrate the technology, adidas showed a video of steel balls being dropped on Boost, the standard EVA foam used in most running shoes and concrete. The balls bounce higher and longer on the Boost cushioning.

I took these kicks for a run and they delivered.

As soon as I laced them up, I could feel extra springiness of the new Boost foam cushioning. I also liked the spartan look of the shoes. There’s breathable, stretch mesh across the top. The bottoms remind me a bit of those old Styrofoam coolers your grandparents used to haul to the beach. But they delivered where it counts, especially for people like me who prefer comfort over style points.

adidas will start selling the shoes online and at specialty retailers starting Feb. 27.  The price: $150. But be warned. The new Boost shoes run small. So if you normally wear a size 10, order a size 11.

The athletic company declined to comment on how much it will spend to advertise and promote Boost. But Ryan Morlan, head of brand marketing,  said it will be the company’s “largest running campaign” in the last 10 years.

“It’s a significant spend within the U.S. — but mostly global worldwide,” Morlan said.

The company spared no expense for its swanky launch event, flying in hundreds of journalists from around the world and hiring celebrities such as actresses Rosario Dawson, Morena Baccarin of Homeland and Maggie Grace of Taken to try on the shoes.

UPDATE: Oscar Pistorius wept so loudly in court the judge said, “Take it easy,” as prosecutors announced they plan to pursue premeditated murder charges that could put him in prison for life.

The Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Futterman noted the Blade Runner is just the latest Nike-affiliated athlete or coach to get in trouble, following Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Joe Paterno and Michael Vick.

Via the WSJ:

There’s a perception that Nike has somehow changed the rules of athletic success in a crass or craven way. Some accuse the company of commoditizing fame. The size of one’s Nike contract is often seen as another form of scorekeeping for the modern athlete, alongside things like the size of their contracts or the number of Twitter followers they have.

The thing about Nike that rarely gets acknowledged is that it doesn’t sell shoes, or even athletes, as much as it buys and sells stories, narratives, fairy tales. They aren’t a shoe company as much as a giant abstraction—a condition of the aspirational mind.

PREVIOUS: Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius joins the infamous list of athletes charged with murder, along with Ray Lewis, O.J. Simpson and Rae Carruth.

In my story for Advertising Age, I report how Pistorius’ stunned sponsors such as Nike, Oakley and BP Global are reacting to news he shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp over Valentine’s Day at his upscale home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Nike’s 2011 ad featuring the double-amputee nicknamed the “Blade Runner” seems eerily prophetic now. “I am the bullet in the chamber,” it reads, next to an image of Pistorius firing out of the starting block next to Swoosh’s traditional “Just Do It” slogan.

The Swoosh also featured the 26-year old Pistorius, (whose legs were amputated as a baby when he was born without fibula bones), in a TV spot themed: “My Body is my Weapon.” The Swoosh ad with the “bullet” reference was yanked from Pistorius’ personal web site Thursday.

Blogger Jay Busbee of Yahoo! Sports made a smart point on the subject of marketers using bullets and weapons in their ads. “Is weaponry and violence too serious of a metaphor to employ so casually in marketing?” he asked.

With the debate over gun control raging in the U.S., crisis manager Eric Dezenhall predicts Madison Avenue will “chill out” on using violent images and metaphors in ads for a while.

Nike and Oakley recently dropped disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong as an endorser. From my story in Ad Age:

Nike and other corporate sponsors of the jailed 26-year-old Pistorius reacted quickly to the horrific news from Pretoria, South Africa.

Nicknamed the “Blade Runner” for racing on carbon-fiber blades, Pistorius made history at the 2012 London Olympics by becoming the first double-leg amputee to participate in the games. The world’s most famous Paralympian is expected to appear at a bail hearing Friday.

“Nike extends its deepest sympathy and condolences to all families concerned following this tragic incident,” said the Swoosh in a statement. “As it is a police matter, Nike will not comment further at this time.”

Oakley and BP Global both said they were “shocked” by the news, but both declined to comment further, citing the investigation.

Nike and Oakley recently dropped disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong after it became clear he lied about using performance enhancing drugs. But the two marketers and Pistorius’ others sponsors in South Africa and Europe will have to navigate very deep waters, said Eric Dezenhall, author of “Damage Control.”

O. J. Simpson is the most famous athletic endorser charged with murder. But Hertz dropped Mr. Simpson in late 1992 when reports surfaced of domestic-violence incidents between him and his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. So the deal was history when he was charged with murdering his estranged wife and Ron Goldman in 1994.

Other endorsers such as Mr. Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger, and Kobe Bryant have lost sponsors due to their use of performance-enhancing drugs, engaging in extramarital affairs, running dog-fighting rings and being charged with sexual assault. But there’s few examples of American athletes in their prime charged with murder.

One would be wide receiver Rae Carruth of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, who was found guilty of conspiring to murder his eight-months-pregnant girlfriend in 2001. Cherica Adams died. But she lived long enough to finger Carruth after the 1999 shooting. Her unborn son, Chancellor Lee Adams, survived after an emergency caesarean section.

Linebacker Ray Lewis of the Super Bowl XLVII champion Baltimore Ravens was charged with two counts of murder in 2000. But the charges were reduced when he agreed to testify against his friends. When Mr. Lewis was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, Disney chose quarterback Trent Dilfer for its “I’m going to Disney World” ad campaign instead of the controversial Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Dezenhall, the crisis-management adviser, said he’d advise Pistorius’ sponsors to “express great distress,” then keep their mouths shut until they find out more facts. Meanwhile, he predicts Nike and other marketers will “chill out” on violent imagery in ads.

After Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Woods and others, the public is almost numb to athletic scandals. “Some of this celebrity malfeasance is kind of baked into the casserole at this point,” Mr. Dezenhall said.

NEW YORK–Yahoo! Sports and ESPN have long competed for the title of most popular online sports site. But the ground shifted in January.

Not only did Yahoo retain its No. 1 ranking but ESPN.com fell to 3rd place behind FoxSports.com in the monthly comScore rankings. Yahoo Sports had almost 55 million unique visitors last month — compared to 38.6 million for Fox and 38.2 million for ESPN. It was the first time in four years that ESPN was not ranked either No. 1 or No. 2, according to SportsBusiness Daily.

The shift owes “primarily” to ESPN losing traffic from Active.com, noted SBD. And ESPN still led in time spent among sports sites. But something’s up.

Yahoo! executives were at the On Deck Sports and Technology Conference presented by SeatGeek and RSE Ventures Tuesday in Manhattan. So Mike McCarthy of Sports Biz USA asked Brian Marshall and Ken Fuchs of Yahoo! Sports flat out: How does their editorial approach differ from the Worldwide Leader?

ESPN does a great job of exploiting its many national TV sports properties, said Marshall, senior director of product management at Yahoo! Sports. His company, on the other hand, focuses more on individual fans.

“Yes, we reach 100 million users globally. But for us we want to focus on each person as an individual fan. We’re not worried about a national broadcast TV gig that we may have. We want to give you the information that’s important to you at the right time as fast as possible,” Marshall said.  ”So ESPN does a lot of things great. For us, what we we focus on is each individual user, what are they trying to do on our site today and how do you we give them that great content and those great scores.”

We grabbed Fuchs in the hallway after Marshall’s presentation and asked him the same question.

“I think Brian summed it up well. We reach a massive worldwide audience but we’re more concerned about each individual fan and what we can deliver to them. Our reach is tremendous, but it’s really about the product and content experience we deliver to the fan every day.”

So sports fans have two very different approaches to choose from. As ESPN’s army of on-air talent grows, it’s trying to “embrace debate” by highlighting arguments as well as providing highlights, live game coverage, investigative reporting, etc. Yahoo! counters with more of a just-the-facts approach. But it’s also able to give ESPN and everyone else a run for their money with investigative reporters such as Charles Robinson.

During an interview with Sports Biz USA, rising ESPN star Sage Steele admitted to reading Yahoo.  The reason? She said she gets the scores, stats, game info and analysis she needs from Yahoo!, while she can pretty much predict the opinions of her colleagues at ESPN.

Here’s the full comScore’s January rankings via SportsBusiness Daily:

NOTES: * = Sites include NBA.com, SI.com, NASCAR.com, PGATour.com, PGA.com, NCAA.com and WNBA.com.. ** = Sites include The Big Lead, HoopsHype.com, HoopsWorld.com, KFFL.com, The Huddle, BaseballHQ.com and other sites within Fantasy Sports Ventures Inc. *** = Sites include 81 local Gannett newspaper sites, 23 Gannett-owned broadcast TV station sites, HighSchoolSports.net and the BNQT Media Group, which includes MMAjunkie.com.

The 2012 NFL season is over but questions continue around the future of the $9.5 billion league. Could mounting concerns over concussions and brain trauma drive the NFL from its perch as the country’s most popular, powerful sports league?  Could tackle football go the way of boxing, a niche sport that most American parents refuse to let their kids participate in?

Look, concussions are not a problem just for the NFL. New York Knicks legend Walt Frazier, now an analyst for MSG Network, notes Pau Gasol of the the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers suffered a concussion from an elbow in the face in January. And Jason Bay of MLB’s New York Mets missed parts of two seasons from concussions suffered by running into outfield walls.

But the NFL is still No. 1 on everybody’s concern list. Mike McCarthy of Sports Biz USA interviewed Justin Tuck of the New York Giants, CBS Sports’ lead NFL analyst Phil Simms, former New York Rangers star Adam Graves, Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel and Frazier for their take on the future of contact sports such as tackle football and hockey.

We interviewed Tuck, Frazier and Graves at an MSG Garden of Dreams charity event. We caught up with Simms, the former Super Bowl-winning QB for the New York Giants, at a CBS presser previewing the network’s coverage of Super Bowl XLVII.

We talked to Wetzel, author of Death to the BCS, by phone on a variety of topics including whether or not college football has passed baseball as America’s No. 2 sport. The Yahoo! Sports columnist thinks it’s a “reach” that concussions could hurt the popularity of the NFL, given the league’s ticket sales, enormous TV ratings and the legions of fantasy football fanatics and gamblers who live and die by the sport. But concussions could stop some parents from letting little Johnny play tackle football, diluting the high school and college football talent pools the NFL draws from.

Excerpts:

Justin Tuck, Giants: We all know football is a dangerous sport. We all know the things that come with it. The NFL is doing what it can to make the game a ‘safer’ game. But it’s never going going to be a ‘safe’ game. It’s a violent game. That’s what draws fans all over the world to watch it. Society is drawn to violence. The bigger the hits, the louder the crowd cheers. The NFL is doing everything it can to take some of the emphasis away from the big hits. Making sure that guys form tackle. That guys not only think about their safety, but the safety of other players as well. It’s a work in progress. We’re all trying to figure out the best way to make this game as a safe game but also keep this sport No. 1 in the U.S … You have to do both. We haven’t figured out the way to do both. But we will.

Phil Simms, CBS: It’s a big concern. But I really, truly believe as time goes on it will be less of an issue. For so many reasons. They’re changing the game a little bit. Which is amazing. What sport can change the game — and it still doesn’t hurt what the people think?  They still watch it. But they’re changing practices and everything, from the youth level all the way through the pros. In my town, they’re allowed to put their pads on and hit for like 15 minutes a week. That’s all they’re allowed to do — 15 minutes! It’s just a new way of playing the sport. We’re seeing less and less contact with professional football players.

Adam Graves, MSG Ambassador:  Pretty much every sport has some element of risk. You have to balance that … You have to protect the kids. But at the same time you have to allow them to have fun playing sports. To me it’s less about the end game. Its more about the journey. It has to be a safe journey … We have to make the sporting environment, regardless of what sport, as safe as you can for all participants, regardless of age.

Walt Frazier, MSG Network: A severe blow to the head can happen in any sport.  I’m just astounded that we can go to the moon but we can’t invent a helmet that can deny guys from having concussions. It’s baffling to me … You talk to the hockey players like (ex-NY Rangers star) Rod Gilbert, they say, ‘What they used to call a headache we call a concussion today. … The ironic thing to me? Whenever you see a guy score a touchdown, where do they hit him? All over the head. Same in baseball. Guy hits a home run. They’re waiting. They hit him on the head.

Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports: There’s no question that (concern over concussions could) make the talent pool in the U.S. smaller. Now can you expand the talent pool by making the game more global? I think the NFL is certainly working very hard to do that. Can American football be exported to other countries beyond the U.S. and some parts of Canada? Will we ever see it played in high school in Mexico or England or other places? We don’t know. That’s a real challenge, I think, for the NFL … Participation in football could definitely drop. But I don’t know if that impacts the popularity of the sport in terms of TV audiences or ticket interest at the NFL level.

On the surface, the question seem preposterous. Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers earned the highest overnight rating ever, according to Nielsen. The $9.5 billion league is by far the most successful and profitable in revenue, TV rights, ratings, etc. But take a closer look and you see troubling trends that could crack the NFL shield.

Thousands of ex-players are suing the league, claiming the NFL hid potential physical and mental dangers from playing pro football. Parents are concerned: the number of kids playing tackle football has been dropping 5% annually for the past 3-4 years. Eventually, tackle football could face the same problem as boxing where parents steer their kids away from the sport.

Guess what? While the NFL’s still the most popular pro league by far, it dropped a few points in the latest Harris Poll while Major League Baseball and the NBA gained. The NFL has the best marketing/PR operation of all the leagues. But Commissioner Roger Goodell reminds owners and staffers of formerly popular sports/corporate giants that are now in the ash bin of history. From this week’s Ad Age:

In a New Republic interview, first fan Barack Obama said he’d think long and hard before letting a son of his play tackle football. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Fox Sports anchor Troy Aikman last year publicly wondered about the long-term viability of the NFL: “At some point, football is not going to be the No. 1 sport.” And Baltimore Ravens safety Bernard Pollard told CBSSports.com that he would not be surprised to see the first player killed during an NFL game, noting that he doesn’t think the sport will exist in its current form in 30 years.

The NFL’s ‘Evolution’ spot in last year’s Super Bowl.

All the doomsaying comes as the country’s most-popular and -successful sports league has never been healthier. The league generated $9.5 billion in revenue in 2012 vs. $7.5 billion for Major League Baseball. Super Bowl XLVI was the most-watched TV show in history, averaging 111.3 million viewers. NFL game telecasts accounted for 31 of the 32 most-watched programs this past fall.

As was proved just yesterday, the Super Bowl is the ultimate advertising showcase, pulling in nearly $4 million for 30-second spots this year. National advertisers spent $3.3 billion on pro football in 2011, according to Nielsen, dwarfing the $975 million spent on college football.

But there are troubling trends that threaten to dent, if not crack, the NFL’s “shield” brand in the future.

Although some 3 million kids play organized tackle football, according to USA Football, the number of kids ages 6- to 12-years-old participating regularly has been dropping around 5% annually for the past three to four years, said Tom Cove, president of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. And as more parents steer their kids away from tackle football because of concern over concussions, it raises the potential of fewer high school and college players — and a “smaller talent pool” for the NFL, said Dan Wetzel, national columnist for Yahoo Sports.

While the future is cause for concern, the past is haunting the league as well. More than 1,500 ex-players are suing the NFL in federal court, claiming the league fraudulently concealed the risk of brain trauma caused by playing pro football.

Add to that a slight decline in popularity for football. The percentage of respondents who named the NFL their favorite sport dropped to 34% from 36% in 2012 in the latest Harris Poll this January. The statistic didn’t escape NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who likes to remind complacent staffers that boxing and horse racing were once among the country’s favorite sports. During a meeting with 32 team owners in March, he ticked off the names of other corporate giants that are either defunct or no longer leaders: Blockbuster, Enron, Pan Am, Bethlehem Steel, General Foods and E.F Hutton.

His NFL defense? An offense. It’s trying to counter negative coverage with advertising and PR campaigns designed to position the league as positive, proactive and transparent about its key issues.

Last week the NFL was putting the finishing touches on a branding spot by Grey Advertising slated to air during yesterday’s Super Bowl and it is planning a TV spot promoting the NFL Network and a couple of 10-second quick hitters “celebrating the game of football,” said league spokesman Brian McCarthy.

The feel-good ad strategy about the bright future of pro football builds on the NFL’s “Evolution” Super Bowl spot from last year, in which Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis glowingly described the helmet, equipment and rules changes that have made the game safer than ever before.

“We certainly have come a long way. Thing is, we’re just getting started,” narrates Mr. Lewis as viewers see the game change from the leather helmets of the early 1900s to the face masks and hard-plastic helmets of today’s NFL. “Here’s to making the next century safer and more exciting than ever. Forever forward. Forever football.”

The league also launched a website at NFLEvolution.com that focuses on health and safety issues. Last week, the site featured player responses to President Obama saying it would be a tough call to let his son play tackle football. And the NFL Players Association is making a $100 million grant to Harvard for concussion studies, along with $30 million to National Institutes of Health for brain research. It’s also sponsoring studies of new helmet designs. The NFL is not working with a crisis-PR agency or adviser, Mr. McCarthy said.

It’s a start, but the NFL still faces an inherent marketing challenge. Nobody knows that better than the players. “The NFL is going to do what it can to make the game safe—but it’s never going to be a “safe’ game,” Justin Tuck, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants, told Ad Age. “It’s a violent game. That’s what draws fans all over the world to watch it. Society is drawn to the violence. The bigger the hits, the louder the crowd cheers.”

a

Despite competing with Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter and the rest, Glazer’s the No. 1  NFL Insider, breaking stories such as the labor deal that saved the 2011 season, the many moves of Brett Favre and, most famously, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots “Spygate” scandal.

He’s also broken NFL scandals such as Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants shooting himself at a nightclub, Oakland Raiders center Barret Robbins going AWOL the night before the Super Bowl and, my personal favorite, scoring surveillance video of two players brawling at the Palms casino in Las Vegas.

The longtime football insider for Fox NFL Sunday’s is relentless, well-connected and feisty. He’ll get in anybody’s face if his scoops aren’t respected.

In a recent flare-up with the Worldwide Leader, Glazer mocked ESPN’s policy of attributing info broken by him and other competitors as “sources.” He tweeted: “Does their auto correct automatically change @jayglazer to Sources?”  ESPN changed its policy, at least when it comes to him.

The 43-year old Glazer grew up in Manalapan, N.J., (graduating from the same high school that later produced Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino of MTV’s Jersey Shore). As Neil Best of Newsday reported, he broke into TV in the mid-1990′s while covering the New York Jets and Giants for the New York Post and local TV station NY1.

Glazer lived in a dumpy Manhattan apartment, where the ceiling caved in one memorable night like an “Inspector Clouseau movie,” he recalls. But he developed tight friendships with players like Michael Strahan of the Giants who helped make him the go-to guy for NFL players. After an off-camera role at CBS’ The NFL Today, he landed the Fox gig in 2004 and never looked back.

Away from the field, Glazer’s a mixed martial artist who posted a 4-3 record before focusing on training. He’s brought his dual interests of football and MMA together by training dozens of NFL, MLB and NHL players through MMAthletics, a company he started with UFC legend and close friend Randy Couture. 

Those relationships with players made him the target of critics who warned the New York Times‘ Richard Sandomir he could have “competing loyalties.” Glazer fired back via Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated: “”Some people have criticized me for getting close [with players], but my job is to get the fans scoops and information and the real inside story, and that comes from relationships.”

Sports Biz USA’s Mike McCarthy interviewed Glazer about what role he’ll play in Fox’s new, all-sports cable channels slated to launch this year. John Ourand of SportsBusiness Journal says Fox will rebrand its Speed and Fuel channels and relaunch them as Fox Sports 1 and 2 in August.

We also talked about the UFC and Fox, his turf wars with ESPN and whether Jim or John Harbaugh should try to ice the opposing team’s kicker in today’s Super Bowl XLVII between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. Excerpts:

What will you be doing for Fox’s new sports cable channels?

We’re trying to get something done. A daily football show. All my crazy stories. I have a story for everything. There would be lot of interaction with fans. Just trying to bring you something that’s a little bit different than everybody else. It’s not your normal football show where you sit down and go over A, B, C and D.  It’s a lot more a high octane … We’ll see if we can get it worked out.

Has ESPN ever taken a run at you?

Not really … I’ve been with CBS and Fox. I could not be happier.

What’s your contract status with Fox?

Again, we’re trying to do something now because of this new network … I’m just trying to get a deal done with Fox Sports 1 for this show. Fox is where I want my home to be for a long, long time.

Is training NFL players a conflict of interest?

That story is so old and dead. How many stories have I broken? I think people look at my track record and say: ‘This guy is bringing the news first. He’s bringing the news right and correct.’…I don’t make any money off these guys. All the money that comes in goes to the equipment and the fighters. (Sportswriters) write books with athletes. They’re making money. They’re living with these guys. Why is that any less of a conflict of interest … Look, I’ve got two different careers. I’ve got a fight career. And I’ve got an NFL career. I like merging them together.  It helps me preach the MMA way, preach the way of the UFC, which is part of my life. I love it.

Is MMA still the sport of the future in USA? Or has it peaked?

It’s getting bigger and bigger … The (pro athletes) who come in. They are so star-struck with the fighters. They want that fighter mentality — of pushing yourself to the breaking point. A fighter has to shake off something bad happening faster than anybody else out there. They have to shake off a mistake immediately. I think pro athletes will look up to fighters more and more. The UFC will just get bigger and bigger.

Who are your favorite UFC fighters? I’ve always loved Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell.

Chuck and Randy. Those are two of my closest friends. I became friends with them in the very early days, right when they fought the first time. I had a couple of fights back then. Became friends with them. Didn’t know what I didn’t know. I really learned a lot from them. Back then, nobody really knew who they were … Many years ago, Marcus Allen and Warren Moon had a party in LA. I brought Chuck. People were asking, ‘Who’s your friend with the mohawk and tattoo on his head?’ Then I came back a year later and the same people were saying, ‘Can I get a picture with your friend Chuck Liddell?’

What do you think of Dana White’s newest UFC star, ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey, who’ll fight Feb. 23?

She’s phenomenal. She is the real deal man. She is tough. She’s like an anaconda. In real life, she couldn’t be sweeter. She’s a competitor.

Was Fox smart to sign a deal with UFC and put it on broadcast TV?

Fox is always cutting edge, man. They always come out of the box. I tell you the greatest difference. When I was at CBS, we used to have the NFL seminar before the season. It was like this real long, conservative day. Then I went to Fox and I showed up in a sports coat. They looked at me like I committed a crime. They were like, ‘Hang out, chill out, come, just be.’ David Hill and Eric Shanks make you feel like you are showing up to their party every day. Like you’re invited to the coolest party in the world every day. That’s what really what it is. David Hill and Eric Shanks are like, ‘You’re going to come to our party and have fun.’

Back to the NFL. Does ‘icing’ the kicker work? It sure as hell backfired on Seahawks coach Pete Carroll against the Falcons in the playoffs.

It’s ridiculous. When does it really work? It does nothing but make you second-guess yourself. And makes everybody second-guess you. Let the guy go out and kick the damn thing. He either makes it — or he doesn’t. But getting him to think about it some more? C’mon. The dude’s a professional athlete. If he was a head case, he’s not going to be out there in the first place. I’m just not a fan of it. I don’t think it works. The risk/reward just isn’t worth it. This is pro football. Let them line up. Let them play. Either he makes it or he doesn’t.

Was adding rules expert Mike Pereira a game-changer for Fox? I’ve noticed competing networks trying to bring in ‘experts’ without the same success.

Everybody is trying to get the next Mike Pereira. But there is none. He’s phenomenal at what he does. He gets the stuff correct. He gives you a different look. Fans want to know instantly. Is this right? Is it wrong? Why? The refs have become as much a part of the story as anybody else.

We have the foremost authority on it all. It’s fantastic. The other people who are hired to do the same thing as Mike? They can’t carry his zebra stripes. Football fans these days know more than they ever have. You can’t treat them like you’re going to teach them something new. They know … The thing with Fox, they let us be who we are. If you have a personality, great, they want us to use it. Not only do they let me be who I am. They cultivate it. A guy like Mike. He’s not just some ex-ref, the guy has a personality. He’s entertaining. He’s an entertaining watch.

How do you compete with Mortensen, Schefter, John Clayton and the rest at ESPN?

I just hope my relationships stand up more than theirs .. .It’s all about the relationships you have with people. The business now is so incredibly competitive. We put more and more pressure, and stress, on our own sources. All of us. Because there’s so much more stress, and pressure, to have that big story and be first and be right. Even our sources and people in the league realize how much more competitive and second by second and minute by minute it is … It’s all  about loyalty. You have to make sure people are loyal to you. You just got to make sure you never screw anybody over. You’ve got to make sure those lines of communication are open for years and years.

Is ESPN out of hand by labeling info from competitors like yourself as ‘sources?’ 

Absolutely. I’m not a ‘source.’ Nor is anybody else. If we are, then cut us a check. I have no problem if you want to use me as a source. But cut me a check. Otherwise you’re not paying me, I’m not your source. All they have to do is say ‘reports.’ If you don’t want to use my name, or anybody’s else name, that’s still really petty. But OK, you don’t want anybody to know you got beat by your competitor. But use ‘reports,’ not ‘sources.’

It’s not just me. I see it with all my brethren in every other sport. I wish more would speak up about it. I’m friendly with a lot of the guys at ESPN. We’re in this together. We don’t have to act like we have every single scoop. We are in this together. We all work in the same office and that office is sports. You don’t take credit for other people’s work … Some fans really keep track of this. They keep scorecards. Other fans don’t care. They get frustrated we care so much. But we care because that’s how I get judged by my bosses. It’s how I’m judged in whether or not I’m going to get a raise. So I care. You’re darn right.

Why does ESPN do it?  Because they tout themselves as Worldwide Leader?

I don’t know. We’re all in this together. I don’t get it. It’s the way they sell themselves. ‘We’re the WWL, we have every single story out there …’ I don’t think they need to do it. They’re great at what they do. They’ve changed the way sports is on TV. Everybody else is playing catch-up. I don’t think they need to do that.

How is your job changing with increased competition?

As ESPN gets more and more (reporters), and NFL Network gets more and more and people, it’s harder and harder for me to do the minute by minute. I can’t keep up with 10 guys at each place. You know, I just can’t do it. What I try and do now is only report when things get done. I don’t do the minute by minute. Same with Favre. I didn’t do the second by second. When the man got traded to Jets, I had it.

That is as much for the fans as it is for my own sanity … With the lockout, I didn’t do anything. It was like reporting on a boxing match where you’re reporting every jab and feint. I’ll just report when there’s a knockout or a decision on the scorecards … I try to report as much as I can –when it’s done. If I get it, great. Stuff I get beat on, I get beat on.

Does the press love the process story, the tick-tock of what went down and where?

Everybody goes after that. But it doesn’t make any sense for me to do it. If you link somebody to eight places, and they go to one of them, well then 7 of the 8 are wrong. I only care about getting it right. I don’t care even that much about getting it first. I just care about getting it right. That’s all I care about.

So now when I say something, or report something, hopefully fans can say, ‘We can put more stock into this because we know he only reports stuff when it’s done.’ It’s a big thing for me. I’m not being cliched. I’m not being hokey. As a result, I lose out on a lot of stories … I’d rather hit a home run than a single. I just don’t want to make an error.

Even Jacksonville Jaguars appear to have no interest in Tim Tebow. Is he done?

It’s hard to do business with Tim Tebow. That’s actually a quote I took from a head coach I’m friendly with. It’s hard to do business with him because of all the other stuff. Because all of a sudden, training camp is televised. ESPN’s sending people up there to do a whole week. NFL Network.  Everybody’s there — just for a backup.

So many of these coaches just want it all about football. Wherever Tim goes, is going to be a circus.  There’s going to be people who are jealous of the attention that he gets. So you’re going to have a lot of backbiting. You’re going to have a lot of people talking …Unless somebody says, ‘He’s our starting quarterback.’ Then you have to bring in different coaches. You have to run a different scheme. You have to do a whole totally different thing. I don’t see why anybody else would do that.

Name your biggest scoop?

Spygate is No. 1 by far. Spygate was enormous.

What happened to the defending champion Giants this season?

I don’t think they had a the same defense. Last year, when they won it, and the year they won it when Strahan was there, that defense set the tone. They were feared. They were dudes you did not want to mess with. And they didn’t have that this year.

It all starts with that pressure up front. If they don’t get that pressure up front, theyre not going to be the same old effective Giants. It really starts with those guys. They just weren’t there … Osi (Umenyiora) got after it this year. But nobody else really did.

Even star players are wondering out loud about the future of the NFL due to mounting concerns over concussions and on-field violence. Your thoughts?

I love the NFL … Can there be injuries? Yes. There can be injuries in hockey, in fighting, in a ton of stuff. I think the confidence it builds in young guys, the teamwork. The social skills it builds for young kids. It’s not something I’m going to hold my kid back from. I think there’s an awful lot of benefits … Most of these football players understood what they were getting into and they understand the risks of doing it. They know they’re going to get banged up doing this sport — but they love it.

I asked Jerome Bettis once during warm-ups: ‘If I told you at 18 or 20 or 30 (years of age), I’d give you this career. But at 30 you’re going to have trouble walking, at 40 youre going to have a horrible limp and 50 you’d be in a wheelchair, would you still do it?’ Absolutely he said. That’s the mentaility of a lot of guys … For me personally, training in MMA has helped me as a person. It’s helped with confidence, the camaraderie I have with other people I train with. It’s helped me in an awful lot of ways.

Ever picture your pal Michael Strahan as host of a daytime morning show?

He can do anything he wants. People don’t realize his worth ethic. He has the uncanny ability to make people at home think, ‘He’s talking to me. I feel this connection with him.’ I knew he was different the first appearance he ever did. He and I went together. It was at a synagogue in Long Island … I was at NY1.  He was the Giants’ top pick, but he was injured. So we go out to do this appearance.

I tell you there weren’t two people under 75. A whole bunch of senior citizens. He got up there, and I’m telling you, he brought the house down. He’s talking to 80-year old Jewish men. He had this place roaring. I said: ‘This guy is different.’ Talk about a scenario where you think, ‘Oh this guy is going to sink.’ And he just lit it up. They were like, ‘Oh Jay, thank you so much for bringing him. This guy is just incredible. We’re going to watch his career now. We’re going to root for him.’ It was phenomenal. He brought the house down. It may have been one of the best appearances he ever did. And it was his first one.

Photo credits: Fox Sports

The married former Miami Dolphins quarterback had an affair with Donna Savattere, who gave birth to a daughter named Chloe in 2005, according to the Post’s Page 6.  Marino seemed to admit the affair– but said it was a private matter and that his 28-year marriage remains intact.

Marino’s been a mainstay for years on CBS’ The NFL Today pre-game show and is scheduled to work CBS’ coverage of Super Bowl XLVII between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

I’ve interviewed Marino many times in person and over the phone. He’s always been one of the nicest, most down-to-earth TV sports people around, especially for a guy who set so many NFL passing records. From today’s Post:

The ex-Miami Dolphin QB — who has long had an image as one of pro sports’ most squeaky-clean guys— knocked up Donna Savattere, a then-35-year-old production assistant at CBS Sports’ Manhattan studio.

She gave birth to their daughter, Chloe, in June 2005.

“They had an affair, and she had a baby,” said a source. “Everything was on the down-low and secretive.”

News of the affair and child comes as Marino is set to work Sunday’s big “Super Bowl Today” telecast.

He and other former NFL greats, such as Boomer Esiason and Shannon Sharpe, will jaw about the big game for hours before the 6:30 p.m. kickoff between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. The revelation could make for some awkward moments during the long broadcast, which starts at 2 p.m.

Marino yesterday admitted to his dalliance.

“This is a personal and private matter. I take full responsibility both personally and financially for my actions now as I did then,” he told The Post in a written statement. “We mutually agreed to keep our arrangement private to protect all parties involved.”

At the time of the affair and Chloe’s birth, Marino was married to his wife of 20 years, Claire, with whom he had six kids, including four sons and two adopted daughters.

The birth of baby Chloe came about two months before Marino’s Hall of Fame induction — at which his son Daniel made what danmarino.com called “a moving tribute to his father.”

Marino insisted that his marriage is still intact, despite the affair.

“My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years and have six children together,” he wrote yesterday — which happened to be his 28th wedding anniversary.

“And we continue to be a strong and loving family.”

But Deadspin’s scoop exposing his imaginary girlfriend — and the question of whether he’s a victim or a perpetrator in the hoax — has made him radioactive on Madison Avenue. Sports marketing experts I talked to last week said his endorsement career may be finished before it even gets started in a story I wrote for Advertising Age.

As sports marketing expert Bob Dorfman asked: “If you can’t believe him about his girlfriend, how can you believe him with a product in his hand?” I called Subway which uses a revolving door of athletic endorsers including Griffin and Michael Strahan and Jay Glazer of Fox. They wouldn’t touch this story with a 10-foot pole and declined to comment.

From my story in Ad Age:

The more significant damage could be to the potential athletic endorser value on Madison Avenue of Mr. Te’o, who recently signed with Creative Artists Agency. He seemed to embody the best Notre Dame story since Knute Rockne and the Gipper: The Catholic school’s most-popular player overcomes personal loss and tragedy to triumphantly lead the Irish to their first undefeated season in decades. In her dying words, his stricken girlfriend tells him to go out and win one for the team.

But if it turns out Mr. Te’o was cynically trying to generate sympathetic headlines for himself with gullible media outlets blinded by the Golden Dome, then sponsors won’t touch him with a 10-foot pole, said sports marketing expert Bob Dorfman.

‘If you can’t believe him about his girlfriend, how can you believe him with a product in his hand?’ asked Mr. Dorfman.

The amount of damage Mr. Te’o's marketability sustains depends on whether he’s a victim or a perpetrator in the hoax. Said Mr. Dorfman: “This makes him look stupid and naive — at best. At worst, it makes him look like a conniving liar trying to build a myth around his play.

Look out Peyton and Eli Manning, and Venus and Serena Williams. Super Bowl XLVII coaches Jim and John Harbaugh could become the next big sibling endorsers on Madison Avenue.

Look, it won’t be easy. The Harbaugh boys are not warm and cuddly. Neither of these guys has the boisterous personality of a John Madden. But sports marketing experts told me for a story in this week’s Advertising Age the greatest earning potential for the brothers is if they appear together in ads ala the Manning brothers and Williams sisters.

Jim Harbaugh is currently appearing in a funny Visa commercial that I like a lot. John Harbaugh showed a playful side by pranking a conference call between his parents and the media last week — and asking Mom if she always liked him better than little brother Jim.

Ryan Williams, vice president of marketing at Jim Harbaugh’s agency, Athletes First in Irvine, Calif., got back to me Sunday nighty after the story closed. Yes, he said, potential sponsors are already calling for both Harbaughs.

“Although both myself and John’s agent, Bryan Harlan, have been receiving calls for the brothers, we haven’t finalized anything yet,” said Williams.

More from this week’s Ad Age:

Together they could pull off the type of sibling ad campaigns done by the Manning brothers for Oreo, DirecTV and ESPN and the Williams sisters for iPhone and Avon, say sports-marketing experts.

“If they appear as brothers, like the Mannings do, that could be great creative,” said David Schwab, senior VP at Octagon, which links brands with celeb endorsers. “They’re more powerful as a pair than they are individually. They would make more money, too.”

Casting the brothers together in a TV commercial would be a smart play, agreed sports-marketing expert Robert Tuchman, president of Goviva. The brothers would be natural spokespeople for a wireless marketer looking to show how siblings on either side of the country stay ‘connected,’ he said.

In the meantime, the Harbaughs are doing plenty of marketing for the NFL, the savviest league when it comes to PR and image management. As if the Super Bowl needs more publicity, the league is playing up the sibling rivalry angle for the big game.

For the first time in Super Bowl history, the NFL is planning a joint press conference between opposing coaches. Jim and John will face the microphones together on Friday, Feb. 1, in New Orleans.

Madison Square Garden is selling six autographed art pieces by longtime MSG photographer George Kalinsky. All proceeds from the gallery sale go to benefit kids involved in the Garden of Dreams charity.

The canvases include images of New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler, goalie Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, Justin Tuck of the New York Giants, Knicks legend Walt Frazier, Rangers legend Adam Graves, plus James Gandolfini, Steve Schirripa, Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico and Steve Van Zandt of HBO’s The Sopranos.

You’ll have to pay a pretty penny for the originals. The 36″ X 48″ canvasses are being auctioned at a starting bid of $2,500 on SteinerSports.com. For fans on a budget, you can also buy signed, 18″ X 24″ poster prints for $200; unsigned posters for $75.

During Tuesday’s announcement at the Garden, MSG’s Hank Ratner said they came up with the idea of a public auction when the high-rolling customers frequenting the remodeled Garden’s new “event level” suites kept commenting on the  paintings lining the hallways — and asked how they could buy them.

After the event, Tuck told (New York) Newsday he’s leaning toward the Baltimore Ravens to emerge the winner of Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers.

“They seem to be a team of destiny. I’m reminded of some of our Super Bowl wins. Of a team getting hot. A team with a great leader in Ray Lewis. A quarterback that’s playing lights out in (Joe) Flacco. I think it’s going to be one of those classic NFL games that going to come down to the wire. The team that doesn’t make the mistakes at the end of the football game is going to win it. Who that’s going to be? I have no clue. Vegas usually gets these things right. So you all might wanna look at that.”

Tuck’s Giants dominated the 49ers 26-3 at Candlestick Park in October. SportsBizUSA asked Tuck: does it frustrate him and his teammates to watch a team they pounded play in the Super Bowl?

“Not really,” Tuck answered.”I think of it like this: There were some games that we got dominated when we won the Super Bowl. Washington beat us twice the last time we won the Super Bowl. It’s all about the team that’s playing best at the right time. Obviously, San Fran is doing that.”

I asked Sirico, a Brooklyn native, if he had any issues with the controversial ending of The Sopranos. Nope, he said. After all his “Paulie Walnuts” character survived the bloody finale.

Here’s my favorite Sirico scene where he explains the difference between Hell and Purgatory to a wounded Christopher: “Hell is hot. That’s never been disputed by anybody.”

At the end of the event, I walked around and took a close look at all of the paintings. I liked the Tuck canvas best. Kalinsky said his two favorites are his Tuck and Frazier.

Frazier said it was Kalinsky’s photos of him in hats and fur coats in the 1970′s that helped establish his swinging “Clyde” persona.

“George is the guy who made me famous as ‘Clyde.’ I had the hat on one day — and he took a picture. I’m really indebted to him for all his creativity,” said Frazier, who now calls Knicks games for MSG Network.

Photo credits: James Braswell, SportsBizUSA

BOTTOM LINE: LANCE ARMSTRONG IS FINISHED, DONE, AS AN ENDORSER ON MADISON AVENUE, SAY EXPERTS

From the minute he opened his mouth to Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong was finished as an athletic endorser on Madison Avenue.

In his “tell-all” interview Thursday, Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing-drugs, cheating his way to seven Tour de France titles and bullying friends and foes who tried to blow the whistle on his cheating. Oh yes, he never felt bad about any of it — until he was caught by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, stripped of his titles and banned from elite competitions for life.

I asked several sports marketing, Crisis PR and body language experts for Advertising Age if Lance had a shot at reclaiming endorsers such as Nike, Anheuser-Busch and Oakley that dumped him in October. Or if he was a believable witness for himself. They said Armstrong blew his last chance at redemption.

Meanwhile, it’s worth remembering the comments of Bryant Gumbel of HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on October 23 when he weighed in on Oakley cutting ties with Armstrong.  The legend of Lance Armstrong was a fraud, he said:

“Finally tonight, congratulations to Oakley. Just yesterday the sunglasses, goggles and apparel company became the latest sponsor to cut ties with Lance Armstrong, the cyclist who for so long posed as a champion yet seems to have been little more than a liar, a cheater, a doper and a briber Even though we’ve witnessed the disgrace of Pete Rose, the exposure of Tiger Woods and the incarceration of OJ, it’s hard to think we’ve ever seen any athlete in any era fall so hard so fast as Armstrong. The guy who bullied his way past any and all accusations for years while hiding behind his lawyers has now been understandably cowered into silence and, at last, officially stripped of all seven of those Tour de France titles that he conned so many into thinking he won, while pocketing millions in the process.

While I can’t think of any single athlete more undeserving of empathy, I’m sure many will note the money he raised for cancer research and see him as simply a flawed hero. But in light of his cited patterns of deceptions, intimidation, and coercion, it’s hard not to see even his charity work as simply part of his con act. If the accusations of investigators are true, and by now there’s no intelligent reason to doubt they are, Lance Armstrong threatened his friends, bribed his foes, cheated his fans, and deceived his sponsors – all of whom thought he was one of a kind. Turns out there were right, he was one of a kind – the worst kind.”

BUDWEISER HONORS ‘STAN THE MAN’ WITH TRIBUTE AD

Another reason to love Stan “The Man” Musial. The MLB legend shared a Budwesier with grandson and caretaker Brian Schwarze before passing away, according to St. Louis TV station KSDK.

Anheuser-Busch, the quintessential St. Louis brewer, is honoring the 3-time National League MVP with a tribute ad in Sports Illustrated and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Musial died at age 92 on Jan. 19.

What, do you think Stan The Man, an American baseball hero, would ask for an import on his deathbed? Here’s A-B’s tribute to St. Louis’ favorite son: