1. Tennis player Novak Djokovic is responsible for surging sales and orders for Italian sportswear brand Tacchini with demand for the new Djokovic line exceeding supply thanks to his unbelievable run on the men's tour. The world's hottest player is wearing a colorful new line which features a rainbow wave graphic prominently playing on the Serbian tri-colors across the front and back of the polo. There are also t-shirts and a track suit with Djokovic’s initials emblazoned on the bottom. The new line should be available in most American retail stores in June.

2. With their sport's interest level and television ratings surging to unprecedented levels, Commisioner David Stern told both owners and players union officials to bring their negotiating talents to South Beach. They met in earnest in Miami during the NBA Finals with the June 30 deadline of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement approaching quickly. As Lebron and Wade tried to start building their legacy with a championship, both the union and players were expected to submit their best proposals and there was a feeling of optimism that both sides understood the need to get a deal done.

3. Baltimore developer Willard Hackerman has offered to finance and build an 18,500-seat arena in downtown Baltimore, freeing taxpayers from having to foot the bill. If it happens, Baltimore will become a frontrunner to land an NBA team either through relocation or expansion. The complex would also include a convention center and hotel.

4. Race Car driver Danica Patrick's career could be about to explode with the news that she likely will make an almost full-time move to NASCAR next season. The TV audience for NASCAR events is significantly higher than Indy Car events. But it is believed that Patrick will also make an attempt to run in an occasional Indy Car Race as well so she can participate in the Indianapolis 500.

5. The Cleveland Indians have used their torrid start to shore up the business side of the organization. The Indians are drawing just over 18,000 fans per game at Progressive Field, 27th out of baseball's 30 teams. But the Indians attracted their first non-Opening Day sellout in three seasons on May 21 against the Reds. The team has reached one million tickets sold three weeks ahead of last season, single-game ticket sales are up 84%, and in May alone, fans bought 142,000 tickets, compared to 63,000 for the month last season. In addition, TV ratings are up 136 percent compared to last season.

1. Rising television ratings and sold out title sponsorships are creating a positive atmosphere despite the struggles of Tiger Woods as the PGA TOUR gets ready to enter into media rights negotiations. Average weekend ratings on CBS and NBC have jumped 29 percent this year. The Tour has done a better job matching high interest players in Thursday-Friday pairings and the emergence of young stars like Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler also is credited for renewed interest in the TOUR. A Woods return for the U.S. Open would not hurt things either.

2. Speculation continues that ESPN and Disney will be making aggressive bids on the 2014 and 2016 Olympics and Fox and Turner/CBS may also join the fray. As one option of sweetening the deal, ESPN is considering supplementing its TV rights offer with a marketing deal from parent company Disney. By wedding Mickey Mouse with Olympic rings, ESPN will make a case that the plan will introduce the Olympic brand to a younger demographic. The International Olympic Committee is trying to stay relevant with the younger generation at a time when kids are distracted by video games and computers. In the meantime, Comcast is trying to buy controlling interest in Universal Orlando.

3. Tennis player Maria Sharapova recently was troubled by an article about the financial problems facing former athletes. So she called her agent and told him to contact all of her sponsors and tell them to forget about what their contracts say, that she will do whatever they want or need to make their deals with her successful. Her latest deal is for a new line of candy called Sugarpova which will include gumballs shaped like tennis balls, and gummy candies packaged in containers shaped like tennis-ball cans. Sharapova is the highest paid female athlete in the world at $24.5 million a year, about $4 million more than her nearest competitor, Serena Williams. Her eight-year deal with Nike is worth $70 million, most ever for a female athlete.

4. The Autozone Liberty Bowl is taking a leap into the big-time with the announcement that the Dec. 31 game will now be televised on ABC instead of ESPN. The game will be one of just five bowls out of the 35 postseason games not televised by ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. The others are the Rose and the Outback (both on ABC), Sun (CBS) and the Cotton (Fox). The move gives the game a reach of an additional 16 million households.

5. Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky thinks something has to give on the issue of paying student-athletes more than the scholarship money currently awarded. He theorizes that unless student-athletes in the revenue-producing sports get more of the pie, the model will eventually break down. Jim Tressel's resignation at Ohio State over the money-related activities of his players will only cast further attention on this issue.