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Most Americans, if asked, would tell you that either the New York Yankees or the Dallas Cowboys were the most profitable teams in professional sports and either of those would be a good guess for an American centric audience.  However, those guesses don't take into account the worldwide phenomenon that is global soccer. No sport captures the imagination of sports fans around the world in quite the same way as soccer.

Today was decision day in Storrs as the NCAA Committee on Infractions handed down its alleged punishment of the UConn men's basketball program and head coach Jim Calhoun for violations of NCAA rules in the recruitment of Nate Miles and for failing to create an atmosphere of compliance.  The headline sanctions include the suspension of Calhoun for the first three Big East next season and placing the team on three year's probation.  Other penalties include reduction of scholarships from 13 to 12 for three years, limitations on official campus recruiting visits and limiting the number of coaches allowed to recruit off-campus.

UConn and Calhoun should consider themselves lucky.  Failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance is one step removed from lack of institutional control, which is the NCAA's least favorite violation.  nevertheless, the sanctions will not have any material effect on the way in which UConn conducts its program.  Probation is a joke these days since the NCAA has not done anything serious to repeat offenders since it dropped the death penalty on SMU back in the 1980s.

Suspending Calhoun for three Big East games is equally meaningless. First, no one knows what those games will be since the Big East schedule isn't made until the summer.  You can be sure that suspension will be taken into account when the UConn portion of the schedule is made up . The Huskies are not barred from the postseason, nor are they barred from any television appearances, not even non-conference games.  Without hitting a program where it counts - television and the NCAA tournament - the Committee on Infractions is doing little more than slapping the school on the wrist and telling it to go play nice and not to do it again.

If the NCAA is serious about enforcing its rules, it needs to hold head coaches accountable for everything that happens in a program.  No more hiding under the ridiculous notion that he just didn't know what was transpiring right under his nose.  A three game suspension is not enough to get the attention of the average coach.  Some argue that Calhoun takes the suspension hard because of a perceived stain on his legacy and reputation and he, indeed, has implied that he may at least appeal the decision if not sue the NCAA.

�I am very disappointed with the NCAA�s decision in this case,�� Calhoun said in a statement. �My lawyer and I are evaluating my options and will make a decision which way to proceed.��

Nevertheless, the average coach is not Jim Calhoun and for the sanctions to truly be effective the NCAA should hit coaches where their attention is most likely to be drawn - their wallets.  Suspend coaches not for a few games during the season, conference games or not.  Suspend them for NCAA tournament games, or other post-season games if the team doesn't make the field of 68.  In the event a school under sanction fails to make the post-season, then the suspension can either carry over to the following year's post-season tournament or could be enforced in the following year's conference tournament with any remaining games to be enforced during the post-season.  That may play havoc with Vegas' college basketball predictions, but that is just an added bonus as far as the NCAA is concerned.

Coaches make their reputation and their big bucks by what they do come tournament time.  If they have to sit out the tournament, they may begin to realize that there is a real price to pay for violating recruiting regulations.  Right now, the only problem with NCAA violations is that the player that usually causes schools to get caught rarely proves worthwhile.  Nate Miles was expelled from UConn in October, 2008 without ever playing for the Huskies.

Marvel comics inspired NBA team covers appeared on ESPN The Magazine's NBA preview edition in the first of the NBA-Marvel partnering efforts.  I'm guessing those covers were a success because the NBA and Marvel have just announced that they are launching a new line of clothing pairing  famous Marvel superheroes with famous NBA teams.  Imagine the Hulk and the Celtics (think green) and Spiderman and the Knicks (the webslinger prowls Gotham).  Since the pairing is only famous superheroes and famous teams, I imagine that means we won't be seeing the Memphis Grizzlies paired with a superhero anytime soon.

Without seeing the clothing line, it's a bit premature to speculate on the success of the venture.  However, Marvel characters are very popular now, fueled by the success of the recent run of Marvel movies: Spiderman (and sequels) , X-Men (and sequels), Wolverine and Iron Man I and II, with more: Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, on the way.   The saturation marketing movies seem to get coupled with the ever present NBA ought to guarantee success.  The clothing line just has to not be too ugly to succeed.

One other point about this partnership that we should not overlook is the deep and extensive partnership that the NBA has with Marvel's parent corporation, Disney.  You may recall that Disney is also the owner of ESPN and ABC, two of the NBA's longstanding broadcast partners, so this is just another exercise of corporate synergy at work.

Conference realignment is far from over just because the Big Ten announced that it was satisfied stopping at 12 members.  In fact,  the so-called low major Division I conferences may be the next group to undergo reshuffling, as the moratorium on moving up to Division I is drawing to an end and a number of Division II programs are examining the possibility of moving up, including the University of North Alabama.  

The Packers may have won the game on the field, but the game on the screen - the battle for the hearts and minds of the TV ad viewers ended in a tie.  The consumer created Doritos ad featuring a guy who pays big for teasing a hungry pug with Dorito chips finished in a tie atop the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter.

To help get you ready for tonight, here are the top 10 ads, as determined by Mae Anderson, business reporter for the AP:

The first Wednesday of February is the first day of the annual signing period for NCAA Division I football players during which prospective student athletes sign copies of the National Letter of Intent indicating their commitment to attend the school of their choice and fax the letter into the football coach of the chosen school.  It's an annual rite in which we all get to witness hundreds of grown crowded around fax machines in various states of panic for periods of several hours, awaiting faxes from all those kids who verbally committed to their program. Some schools, notably Alabama, have live webcams fixed on those same fax machines to satisfy maniacal fans who want to see the faxes spit out even though they can't read the names.

AEG, the sports and entertainment megafirm, which owns the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Staples Center, among other things, is set to announce a $700 million dollar naming rights deal with Farmers Insurance for a NFL stadium to be built in downtown Los Angeles.  AEG is one of two groups pursuing a NFL team for LA, but this deal certainly pushes it to the forefront.  A deal for a yet to built stadium for a non-existent team has to be the first of a kind, not to mention the largest naming rights deal ever made in North American sports.