Basketball

There is no shortage of winners when it comes to the surprising ascent of basketball star Jeremy Lin: the Knicks; Madison Square Garden Inc.; the fans; the NBA; Linsanity T-shirt sellers. But the loser has been Time Warner Cable, and its losing streak could last awhile.

With Jeremy Lin's standout performances bringing a sudden shine to the otherwise lackluster New York Knicks, a number of companies have hitched their wagons to his star to buff up their brands. And with the value of such an association easy to see, why wouldn't they?

Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson earned $154 million from his Sixers salary alone during his career. Now, he owes more than he can pay. How did it happen, and what lessons can his fiscal foul-ups teach to the rest of us. The answers are distressingly simple.

After months of bitter negotiations, NBA owners and players finally agreed to terms, and a pro basketball season will start on Christmas Day. So who besides players, owners and fans will benefit? Let's start with stockholders in these companies.

When it comes to the profit side of the pro basketball lockout, nobody wins -- except maybe basketball fans' savings accounts. Those fans and the money that the now-shuttered NBA stands to lose will not migrate to another sport.

After the strife-torn NBA cancelled the first two weeks of the basketball season, we wondered: Would this mean any financial relief for fans? Somewhere in the war between the wealthy players and owners, are there savings to be found for the ordinary people who spend money on NBA tickets and gear?

LeBron James isn't sitting still in the NBA off season. He's introducing a new product, called Sheets Energy Strips, that supplies a flavored dose of caffeine and vitamins as it dissolves on the tongue. The strips will be sold from vending machines.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued the estate of money manager Joel David Salinas, the president of J. David Financial who died last month, and Brian Bjork, chief investment officer of Select Asset Management, for allegedly selling $50 million of fake bonds.

OK, so it's that great time of year again -- March Madness. Are you ready for some basketball? In the workplace, employees love to waste time at work during the NCAA tournament. Turns out, that can be a good thing.

Fewer spectators are shelling out to see basketball games live this season. The average NBA ticket price fell 2.5% this year after declining 2.8% last season, according to sports business publisher Team Marketing Report.