When Turkish Airlines signed on for five years of being the sole sponsor of Euroleague Basketball, the professional basketball league in Europe, it likely had no idea that it would (a) be getting a lot of press because current NBA players have either signed or are considering playing there this season if the NBA’s lockout continues, and (b) had no idea their name would be plastered onto one of the world’s most popular video games: NBA Jam.

SportBusiness.com reports that Euroleague Basketball has signed a licensing deal with Electronic Arts to use its players and teams in NBA Jam. This is the first time that European players and teams are featured in the game, beginning with NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, according to the EA/Euroleague press release on the partnership.

“All fans will be able to choose any of the four participating teams in the last Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four,” said a statement from the league. And if video-game players get bored of playing with the Carmelo Anthonys and Kevin Durants of the NBA part of the game, they can get a little dose of international flair and take control of such players as Dimitris Diamantidis, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, or Carlos Suarez.Continue reading...

When the New Jersey Nets move to Brooklyn at the start of the 2012 season, the team will have a new arena (the Barclays Center), a new name (Brooklyn Nets perhaps?), and a new soda. Their current arena serves Pepsi, but the one in Brooklyn will serve Coke.

According to the New York Post, Coca-Cola has made a deal with the arena to be the exclusive soft-drink provider there. This is actually the second beverage company to make such a deal with the arena, the Post notes: Back in 2007, a similar deal was made with Seattle-based Jones Soda. “Nets fans and Brooklynites lobbied for Coke products” after the seven-year, $1.7 million Jones deal was announced, so the arena broke that contract and came to a settlement with the company, the Post reports.

Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said that one of the reasons Coke was selected is “because of its longstanding historical ties to Brooklyn, where it once was the official soda of the Dodgers at Ebbets Field,” the Post reports. Continue reading...

Apple and Samsung tablet war reaches Australia.

Facebook facial-recognition feature is ruled as violating German privacy laws as comScore and Nielsen introduce metrics for measuring Facebook ads.

Google+ tops 25 million users, growing at 1 million users daily.

Jaguar is rumored to unveil sports-car concept at Frankfurt auto show.

Kirin acquisition intends to tap into Brazil’s boom.

McAfee uncovers evidence of massive "Operation Shady Rat" hacking ring targeting governments and organizations.Continue reading...

Amazon results beat Wall Street estimates as ad-supported Kindle tops e-reader sales.

American Apparel partners with eBay.

Comcast and NBC launch TV's "holy grail" — dynamic VOD advertising.

Dunkin' Brands prices IPO at $19/share for $2.4 billion valuation; but can it grow coffee biz?

Facebook launches new portal to help brands better target their marketing.

FOX narrows window on free streaming of network programming, with Dish Network first to sign on.

Google targets small business ad market, while interest in Hulu raises speculation.

Kraft begins global pitch for Trident.Continue reading...

NBA great Yao Ming officially announced his retirement today at a press conference in his hometown in China. According to translated comments via the Associated Press, the 7-foot-6 center, who launched his NBA career with the Houston Rockets as the top draft pick in 2002, stated:

"Today is an important day for me and holds a special meaning for both my basketball career and my future. I had to leave the court since I suffered a stress fracture in my left foot for the third time at the end of last year. My past six months were an agonizing wait. I had been thinking (about my future) over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision, ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening."

Alfa Romeo delays full return to US.

Amazon introduces digital textbook rentals.

American Airlines splits order between Airbus and Boeing.

Apple directors ponder succession.

BMW grows cautious on developed markets.

Borders succumbs to digital era as Barnes & Noble focuses on e-books.

Campbell expands lower-sodium soup options.Continue reading...

Google posts record revenue as site expands beyond search ads, Android passes 6B app downloads, and CEO Larry Page takes swipe at Facebook.

Spotify — the second biggest digital retailer in Europe after iTunes — finally launches in the US.

Warner Bros. opens final Harry Potter film at midnight.

Amazon moves strike fear into retailers' hearts.

Dupont faces greenwashing claims.

Groupon comes under scrutiny in Connecticut.Continue reading...

The next retail marketplace is online. No, not real-world goods purchased via the web, but virtual goods purchased online for your virtual life. It's a brave new world that Warner Bros TV is leaping into by releasing lines of "branded virtual goods" based on some of its programming.

The Time Warner-owned TV hit-maker just announced a partnership with Virtual Greats aimed at creating "custom branded boutiques for the initial launch of branded virtual goods from popular series The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and Pretty Little Liars." So what the heck is a "branded virtual good?", you ask?Continue reading...