Ten Sports Stories to Watch in 2010

From tennis up-and-comer Melanie Oudin to soccer's World Cup in South Africa, these are the 10 stories that will shape the sports world in 2010

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

10. Melanie Oudin, Endorsement Darling

Even though Melanie Oudin has yet to win another WTA main-draw match after her joyous U.S. Open march through Russian seeds (Dementieva, Sharapova, and Petrova) before she was eliminated by a Dane (Wozniacki), the young American is still poised to be our newest sports endorsement sweetheart in 2010. As long, of course, as she makes it to at least the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. And keeps winning thereafter.

Oudin cemented one new six-figure multiyear sponsor, BackOffice Associates, during the Open, and veteran sports marketers are predicting that in the next few years the sky's the limit for the plucky blonde teenager from Atlanta. Oudin finished the year ranked No. 48 in the world and as the third-ranked American woman behind aging Serena and Venus Williams. Her career earnings to date are $351,710; look for that figure to triple in 2010.

9. Danica Debuts

On Feb. 6, racy IRL racer Danica Patrick will make her stock-car competition debut in the ARCA Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Media darling Patrick has confirmed that she will drive in as many as 13 races in Nascar's Nationwide Series in 2010. Sports marketers are revving their engines.

Outside of the speedway, the Go Daddy girl, who appeals to men and women alike, is launching her own line of perfume in the spring (presumably it will not smell like tailpipe fumes), and Patrick's likeness is being transferred to a Barbie doll as part of a deal with Mattel (MAT), according to her spokespeople at IMG.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway General Manager Jerry Gappens sums up Patrick's appeal well. "She could do for our sport," he told SportsBusiness Journal, "what Hannah Montana did for Disney."

8. CBAs on the Table in NFL, MLS, MLB, NHL

See No.3 on our 2009 Year in Review list. If the NFL is unable to come to terms on labor issues it's negotiating with the NFL Players Assn., look for a pronounced ripple effect to rock the other pro sports leagues, all of which are facing labor negotiations of their own in 2010 or shortly thereafter. (MLS is up first, as that league's current collective bargaining agreement expires Jan. 31.)

However, it's still unthinkable to envision a Sports Labor Armageddon in which all pro stick and ball sports are on strike at the same time, in 2010 or in any year. Tennis, anyone?

7. Comcast's NBC Acquisition

Announced in 2009, Comcast (CMCSA) buying a controlling interest from General Electric (GE) in NBC Universal will come to fruition sometime in 2010, depending on the whims and political inclinations of the FCC and other relevant federal regulators. The distribution giant's full-blown entry into the world of content generation will result in one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world, one that could give ESPN its first true competition in the sports sphere, especially since the newly merged company would have the financial resources to bid on the rights to any and all of ESPN's current high-profile properties, including Bowl Championship Series games and Monday Night Football.

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