SportBusiness.com

NFL Europe's annual World Bowl kicks off in Frankfurt overshadowed by the Euro 2000 coverage but team officials say the pageantry of the American game - including pre-game tailgating parties and rock music - attracts tens of thousands of live fans too.
"In soccer if you have a bad game it's boring but with us whether the game is good or bad you can enjoy several other things. The whole thing lasts seven or eight hours and you can have fun," said Rhein Fire team public relations head Markus Mueller.
Roughly half the players on NFL Europe squads are NFL veterans allocated by their American teams to tune up in the off-season.
A former NFL Europe player, quarterback Kurt Warner, stepped up from the Amsterdam Admirals to lead the NFL's St. Louis Rams to this year's Super Bowl Championship. The European league also has teams in Barcelona, Berlin and Frankfurt and aims to expand.
The Duesseldorf-based Fire, who are looking to win their second championship in three years, face the Scottish Claymores, a Glasgow-based outfit who want to spread the sport's appeal in Scotland to a level seen in Germany, if not in the United States.
The Fire increased average attendance at their five home games this year to 35,000 from 28,500 while a typical Claymores home game manages between 12,000 and 13,000.
"In Germany they don't really have a contact sport like rugby - I think that appeals to sports fans here," said Steve Livingstone, Scottish Claymores' public relations director.
"And American culture in Germany is more endemic - there has been an American presence in Germany since the end of World War Two."
Sunday's game might draw an even greater audience after the German soccer team's dismal performance in Euro 2000, capped by a 3-0 rout by Portugal, which eliminated Germany from the tournament.
The World Bowl will be broadcast to 80 countries, reaching an estimated audience of 200 million, NFLeurope.com says.
Reuters