The Next Step in Sports Merchandising

Team-licensed caps, T-shirts and watches may be all very well for the average sports fan, but what of the truly ardent supporter? Working on the assumption that there are enthusiasts out there wishing for bigger and better ways to express their passion, Stadium Associates is now giving fans of the New York Yankees a chance to bring nothing less than a piece of the stadium into their own back yard.

Indeed, Yankees fans can now buy grass seed and sod drawn from the very same farm and crops that have supplied Yankee Stadium for the past four decades. The proprietary sports turf—specially grown for the Yankees by DeLea Sod Farms on an 80-acre farm in Southern New Jersey—features the same 100 percent Kentucky Bluegrass used in Yankee Stadium and "grooms easy and stands tough," in the words of Stadium Associates; "you will never feel a stronger connection with the team or the game than with this Authentic MLB product." Yankees Grass Seed is priced starting at USD 14.99 for a 3 oz. bag, and is available both online and through Yankee Stadium, Yankee Clubhouse Stores, and select Home Depot stores in the New York metro area. Yankees Sod is available through New York Home Depot stores as well as DeLea Sod Farms.

Is there any underestimating consumers' enthusiasm for the teams, artists and performers they love? We think not—nor has their fondness for a good status story and some (still) made here appeal faded at all. For sports teams around the globe, this is one to emulate; for all others: look around you, and be inspired!

Website: www.stadiumassociates.com

Contact: www.stadiumassociates.com/Pages/Contact

-This aricle has been taken from springwise.com and is protected by a Creatvie Commons License

Microsoft vs. Google: The battle heats up

Google announced that it will release a free Operating System in 2010. This was some thing people had expected and it was not a question of why Google would do it but when Google does it.

This announcement would have ringed alarm bells at Microsoft which heavily relies on the sales of its flagship Windows Operating System. With Windows Vista, the current version not doing so well, Microsoft really needs to go back to the drawing board to counter Google's threat of entering the OS market.

But Microsoft, although under a lot of pressure, is not a silent player. Microsoft plans to get a piece of the pie which is largely dominated by Google. Yes, web search! Microsoft recently launched Bing, its shiny new search engine which promises to declare Microsoft as a solid contender in the search market. Not only this, Microsoft partnered with Yahoo in a search adverting deal to take on Google which owns 65% market share. According to the deal, Microsoft's Bing search engine will power the Yahoo website and Yahoo will in turn become the advertising sales team for Microsoft's online offering.

Never in the history of these two companies has the battle been so fierce with either one working aggressively to take the lion's share in different markets. May the best company win!

Currency of the Future

China has begun a trial scheme that allows trade with its neighbours to be settled with its own currency, the 'yuan', also known as the renminbi. – bbcworld.com: July 06, 2009

Although the Chinese currency is not freely convertible, it is our belief that the demand for the yuan will go up in the coming years which makes it a a very safe and lucrative long term investment considering China's economic growth.

So go ahead and invest in yuan while its still cheap. You won't regret it!

Business Exchange (beta) by Business Week

Business Week the business magazine has joined the Web 2.0 race by launching Business Exchange. Still in its beta stages, it has already gained a massive following mostly because of the Business Week backing.

Business Exchange is a website where users share content such as articles and blogs related to the business world, which the users themselves put under different categories available or can even add a new category if the ones available do not do justice to the content being submitted.

Users need to get registered first in order to share but can access the content without registering. Registering at Business Exchange also allows users to rate content and even connect with other users to see what content they are submitting and they recommend.

Over all, the site sports a nice, clean look which makes navigation easy. A must resource for the avid business reader.