WHAT YOU SAID: Not surprisingly, the economy was top of mind, with 33% of voters saying the economy poses the biggest threat to sports. Nearly 35% expect sports sponsorship spending will decrease slightly over the next five years; last year, just 8.5% felt that way. More than 37% think NASCAR, so dependent on the auto sector, will be the most adversely affected. Despite the negative forces at work, more than 76% of voters think the industry is on the right track, down slightly from the 79% mark registered in last year’s survey.

METHODOLOGY: Voting was conducted over two weeks starting September 29, with polling via SportsBusinessDaily.com and SportsBusinessJournal.com. Only the top vote-getters are listed, and the results have been rounded. Our thanks here to Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, who again this year provided the technical and surveying support to make this effort possible. Of course, we also thank you. Whether you’re a first-time voter or a fourth-time voter, these are your results, which you will see in THE DAILY over the next three days. Today, we present data on the general state of the industry, as well as on media, sponsorship and teams.

ABOUT THE VOTERS

If you could be a professional athlete, which sport would you compete in? Baseball 22.34% Golf 15.59% Basketball 11.80% Football 10.46% Hockey 8.67% Responses: 2,238 Age: 21-30 34.92% 31-40 28.47% 41-50 20.27% 51-60 11.03% Under 20 3.49% Over 60 1.83% Responses: 2,294 Hours of sleep each night: 7-8 50.38% 5-6 46.06% More than 8 2.31% 4 or less 1.25% Responses: 2,247 Weeks of vacation each year: 2-3 54.39% 1 or less 26.20% 4-5 8.73% Vacation? What vacation? 7.50% More than 5 3.18% Responses: 2,267

Have a Facebook and/or MySpace account: Neither 40.80% Facebook 35.70% Facebook and MySpace 19.41% MySpace 4.09% Responses: 2,272 Hours of exercise each week: 3-4 33.95% 1-2 23.21% 5-6 19.24% More than 7 8.67% 6-7 8.06% 0 6.87% Responses: 2,271 Hours worked each week: 41-50 34.80% 51-60 30.89% More than 60 17.38% 31-40 7.28% 10 or fewer 3.99% 11-20 2.81% 21-30 2.85% Responses: 2,279 Miles flown each year: 0-5,000 25.32% 5,001-10,000 19.35% 10,001-20,000 17.33% 20,001-30,000 11.50% More than 60,000 9.74% 30,001-40,000 7.99% 40,001-50,000 4.96% 50,001-60,000 3.82% Responses: 2,279

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY

Sports industry: On the right track or headed in the wrong direction? Right track 76.23% Wrong direction 23.77% Responses: 2,255 Biggest sports business story of the year: Beijing Games 54.97% Expanded use of live, online streaming of sporting events 10.70% Tightening credit markets challenge team and facility financing 10.26% Tiger Woods misses most of season because of injury 6.13% NFL owners opt out of current labor deal 5.51% Responses: 2,251 Most influential person in sports business: Roger Goodell 26.24% George Bodenheimer 13.48% David Stern 10.68% Dick Ebersol 7.92% Sean McManus 6.02% Responses: 2,210 Best sports event: Super Bowl 29.08% NCAA Final Four 17.58% FIFA World Cup 11.32% Summer Olympics 9.11% Stanley Cup Finals 8.74% Responses: 2,173

Biggest threat to sports: Economy 33.19% Rising ticket prices 18.77% Disconnect with fan base 18.07% Inflated salaries 13.84% Integrity of the game 6.30% Responses: 2,269 Most powerful brand in sports: ESPN 30.94% Nike 26.38% New York Yankees 18.21% Manchester United 4.38% Boston Red Sox 3.47% Responses: 2,191 Major property that will be the most adversely affected by the current economic downturn: NASCAR 37.54% NHL 24.15% NBA 18.75% MLB 12.01% NFL 7.54% Responses: 2,240 Fan behavior at sports events today compared with five years ago: Same 42.36% Somewhat worse 24.78% Somewhat better 23.80% Much better 4.75% Much worse 4.31% Responses: 2,252

ABOUT MEDIA

Most effective television network sports executive: Dick Ebersol 37.94% George Bodenheimer 28.60% Sean McManus 17.25% David Hill 8.14% Responses: 1,339 Favorite TV game broadcast analyst: John Madden 12.26% Kirk Herbstreit 9.34% Troy Aikman 8.52% Cris Collinsworth 6.73% Phil Simms 6.73% Responses: 1,338 Favorite non-NFL studio show analyst: Charles Barkley 32.95% Kirk Herbstreit 13.01% Peter Gammons 12.63% Responses: 1,299 Favorite league-specific studio show: College GameDay (ESPN, football) 25.13% Baseball Tonight (ESPN) 17.75% The NFL Today (CBS) 10.89% Fox NFL Sunday (Fox) 10.36% Inside the NBA (TNT) 10.05% Responses: 1,313 Favorite league Web site: MLB.com 28.71% NFL.com 24.19% NHL.com 15.75% NBA.com 10.25% MLSnet.com 5.28% Responses: 1,327 Favorite fantasy sport: Football 56.73% Baseball 15.66% Hockey 7.56% Responses: 1,322 Best fantasy game provider: Yahoo! Sports 29.77% CBSSports.com 26.00% ESPN.com 20.03% Responses: 1,273 Favorite sports magazine: Sports Illustrated 54.22% ESPN The Magazine 16.34% Sporting News 7.38% Responses: 1,328

Network with the most effective overall sports division: ABC/ESPN 67.62% CBS 12.74% Fox 9.68% NBC 6.34% Responses: 1,436 Network with the most effective sports PR division: ABC/ESPN 60.46% Fox 12.82% CBS 12.24% NBC 8.18% Responses: 1,381 Favorite TV play-by-play personality: Jim Nantz 14.19% Joe Buck 13.39% Al Michaels 12.95% Marv Albert 7.35% Mike Tirico 6.70% Responses: 1,374 Favorite studio show host: Bob Costas 22.57% Chris Berman 17.04% James Brown 14.05% Chris Fowler 8.07% Ernie Johnson 7.17% Responses: 1,338 Favorite studio show: Pardon the Interruption 30.08% Mike and Mike in the Morning 13.38% Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel 12.32% Outside the Lines 8.16% Inside the NFL 7.63% Responses: 1,323 Favorite non-league sports Web site: ESPN.com 51.25% CBSSports.com 14.87% Yahoo! Sports 8.32% SI.com 5.96% Deadspin 5.15% Responses: 1,358 League/property with the best overall digital strategy: MLB 33.10% NFL 20.87% NHL 13.65% NBA 10.40% Responses: 1,260 Top pick to QB your fantasy football team: Peyton Manning 25.71% Tom Brady 22.50% Tony Romo 13.29% Drew Brees 11.47% Responses: 1,368

ABOUT SPONSORSHIP

Corporate category that will see the biggest spending cut in the coming year: Financial services 41.87% Automotive 39.74% Credit cards 6.65% Alcoholic beverages 2.79% Responses: 1,218 Corporate category that will see the most spending growth in the coming year: Alcoholic beverages 21.38% Telecommunications 14.74% Computers/technology 13.51% Quick-service restaurants 9.58% Health care 8.76% Responses: 1,221 Corporate sponsor you most want aligned with your property: Nike 18.71% Anheuser-Busch 15.43% Coca-Cola 14.42% Apple 5.46% Responses: 1,283

Over the next five years, sports sponsorship spending will: Decrease slightly 34.74% Increase slightly 29.67% Remain the same 20.48% Decrease dramatically 10.36% Increase dramatically 4.75% Responses: 1,284 Property whose athletes have the best reputation with sponsors: NASCAR 23.26% NFL 15.96% PGA Tour 15.24% NHL 12.03% MLB 8.26% Responses: 1,247 Property whose athletes sponsors are most reluctant to deal with: NBA 47.50% NFL 9.27% UFC 8.93% NHL 4.59% WNBA 4.34% Responses: 1,198

ABOUT TEAMS & LEAGUES

Most effective commissioner/top executive: Roger Goodell (NFL) 44.63% David Stern (NBA) 20.64% Bud Selig (MLB) 6.86% Gary Bettman (NHL) 6.19% Don Garber (MLS) 5.06% Responses: 1,938 Most underrated commissioner/top executive: Don Garber (MLS) 16.85% Gary Bettman (NHL) 14.09% Tim Finchem (PGA Tour) 9.30% Bud Selig (MLB) 9.04% Brian France (NASCAR) 8.45% Responses: 1,881 Least effective PR operation: NHL 16.33% LPGA Tour 13.98% WNBA 12.06% IndyCar Series 8.80% MLB 7.47% Responses: 1,874

Least effective commissioner/top executive: Bud Selig (MLB) 19.42% Gary Bettman (NHL) 19.16% Carolyn Bivens (LPGA Tour) 14.20% Myles Brand (NCAA) 7.97% Donna Orender (WNBA) 7.65% Responses: 1,895 Most effective PR operation: NFL 49.87% NBA 12.53% NASCAR 12.37% MLB 7.37% NHL 4.63% Responses: 1,899 Property/organization with the most growth potential: MLS 20.01% NHL 14.35% X Games 10.11% UFC 8.10% NCAA 6.51% Responses: 1,889 Property/organization most likely to fold within the next five years: WNBA 23.53% NLL 9.57% AFL 8.24% AST Dew Tour 8.24% MLL 7.70% Responses: 1,870