Football Gets Shut Out At 2009 Sports Business Awards

Our friends at SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily handed out earlier tonight the second Sports Business Awards. And the greatest sport on the planet did not fare well. The NBA was named the professional sports league of the year, and the Boston Celtics were named the pro sports team of the year. The sports event of the year was the NHL’s Winter Classic, an outdoor hockey game played on New Year’s Day -- when absolutely nothing else is going on the in sports world (unlike the first Sunday in February, when a sports exhibition known in some quarters as “the Super Bowl” is jostling for the public’s attention). But two of the NFL’s broadcast partners had solid nights. ESPN was honored for best in sports media and best in digital media. Also, NBC Sports won the award for best in sports television, and Chairman of NBC Sports & Olympics Dick Ebersol was named sports executive of the year.