The Tip-Off on the NBA's New Season

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From naming Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski as the squad's head coach to hand-picking the stars who would make up the team's roster, Colangelo guided it all.

Return of the Gold isn't simply a recap of the 2008 gold medal run. As the NBA season prepares to tip off, it's also a look at the sport in general over the last 20 years. Why are we so enthusiastic about this book? It's the first title out in our Sports Professor Series with publisher Morgan James, and it's now available at bookstores and online booksellers near you!

4. World Series Set to Begin

Even though many baseball fans consider a start date three days before Halloween to be a cruel All Hallows-type prank by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig (especially those getting ready to freeze their masks off in New York and Philadelphia), it's set.

Ticket prices for the World Series are set by Major League Baseball, not by the teams. In New York the "cheap" bleacher seats, $5 during the regular season, will go for $50—even though people sitting in them will not be able to see a third of the field. Field-level seats that are $100 during the regular season double, to $200. Overall Yankees ticket sales are averaging $488.

In Philadelphia a prominent ticket broker reports that standing-room-only tickets at Citizens Bank Park for the World Series are "going for about $750, and some outfield seats are available for about $1,000." TicketNetwork.com spokesman Mike Garvie adds that as of Thursday, $830 was the "average sales price for Philadelphia Series tickets." He also said that the "most actually paid so far for a Series game was $4,700 for each of two seats right behind home plate in Philadelphia—and each of two seats in a special section at Yankee Stadium."

Once considered the National League's laughingstock, the Phillies are looking to repeat the World Series Championship they earned last October. This will be Philadelphia's seventh trip to the World Series in 127 years. (The team lost in 1915, 1950, 1983, and 1993, and beat the Kansas City Royals in 1980.) The Yankees swept the Phillies in 1950. As of this writing, the Phillies lead the Series 1-0, having beaten the Yanks 6-1 in Game 1.

5. Say "Cheese!" Favre Returns to Green Bay

Last week the mayor of Green Bay, Wisc., threw down a challenge to Packers fans: find "tasteful" ways to welcome Brett Favre back to the city when Favre's Minnesota Vikings come to town to play the Pack on Nov. 1. Mayor Jim Schmitt asked fans to submit the ideas to the city Web site, and he'll select the top four.

Among the "tasteful" suggestions submitted so far:

• Inviting Italian performer Luca Lionello to sing the pregame national anthem. (Lionello played Judas Iscariot in the film Passion of the Christ.)

• Preparing the world's largest waffle in the shape of the number 4.

• Flying in the Norwich (Conn.) Free Academy marching band to perform during halftime. (Norwich is the birthplace of Benedict Arnold.)

• Encouraging fans to wear flip-flops despite the fall chill.

Rick Horrow is a leading expert in the business of sports. As CEO of Horrow Sports Ventures, he has been the architect of 103 deals worth more than $13 billion in sports and other urban infrastructure projects. He is also the sports business analyst for CNN, Fox Sports, and the Fox Business Channel

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