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Fun. Edgy. Fun. Global. Fun.Those buzzwords rang through the NASCAR news conference last week when the league introduced Monster Energy as the sponsor of its Cup series, or whatever it chooses to call it in the future.The news conference included two mentions of global and three references to edgy ... but fun -- a fun, fun, fun 10 times.It sounds good. It sounds like last Thursday could go down as a historic day in the sport. Or at least a fun day.The potential appears awesome, and the storyline sounds so, so fun and good. But thinking NASCAR just landed a sponsor with a florescent green wand that will magically wave and automatically create great things for the sport would rate as a stretch of the imagination.If the NASCAR-Monster pairing provided the perfect deal, they would have gotten it done six months ago and not late Wednesday night or Thursday morning of banquet week. Both sides had such little time to prepare for the news conference, they didnt have an elaborate plan, leading to even more speculation to what Monster intends to do with the sports premier asset.While Monsters consumer fan base trends younger, those fans wont migrate to NASCAR just because their favorite energy drink sponsors the sport. If they did, they would have followed Ricky Carmichael or Travis Pastrana. Those famous athletes didnt win as they had in their motocross and X Games endeavors, and their fans loved them because they won and because of their personalities.So NASCAR cant just slap a logo on a bunch of NASCAR drivers, have some Supercross (and even recent Monster signee Tiger Woods) show up at the track and expect those ages 18 to 34 to fall in love with the sport.It could expose NASCAR to a new group of fans, but NASCAR will need to make the most of it. It seems strange that people seem to still stick to the philosophy that if someone goes to a race, that person will turn into a fan for life. Tracks wouldnt remove seats if that philosophy proved true.NASCAR doesnt need all those fans -- it just needs some of those fans -- and hopefully with the cars having less downforce in 2017, the competition will build on a strong 2016 season on the track.The gnawing question: What will Monster get from this relationship?Monster has money to burn -- its net income for the first nine months of 2016 was $539 million. Its market cap, the combined worth of all of its stock based on the current stock price, sat at $25.63 billion at the close of trading Monday. For comparison, International Speedway Corp. had a market cap of $1.67 billion, Lowes $63.43 billion and ESPNs parent company, The Walt Disney Co., $159.1 billion.Monster Energys revenues rank it 787th on the Fortune 1000 list, up from 875th a year earlier with a revenue increase of 10.5 percent and profit increase of 13.2 percent in 2015 from 2014. About 23 percent of its gross sales come from outside the United States.So did Monster just buy the series -- for what some would consider at an estimated $20 million to $25 million a similar amount to the sponsorship of one full-time Cup car on a prominent team -- because it can? Part of having an edgy persona requires doing the unconventional.That edginess could ruffle traditionalists and alienate an already frustrated longtime fan base. From the marketing standpoint, not everyone will look favorably upon the scantily clad Monster Energy girls. And what will Monster want on the competition side?Will Monster try to influence race formats to try unconventional ideas to attract millennial fans? As the whole Chase concept has evolved, NASCAR hasnt shied away from unconventional, but every step will serve as a test of whether it goes too far.NASCAR executive vice president Steve ODonnell appears as the executive most likely to sit in the crosshairs as his job will include saying yes or no to any stir-the-pot ideas that conflict with competition philosophy. ODonnell perfectly fits that role -- he has pushed for change while also trying to balance it with NASCARs historical roots -- but even his strong diplomacy skills inside and outside the garage could receive a mighty test.Monster Energy obviously faces a hurdle as an energy drink, and it remains a legal target by certain families who blame the drink for ailments and even deaths of loved ones. Monster doesnt market to children under 12, while some in Congress have urged energy drink companies not to market to anyone under 18.But all companies have challenges, and Monster and NASCAR (which navigated the world of cigarette marketing for decades) at least know what they signed up for. Or at least they should.Among those things, they should know Monster enters a sport with drivers who already have deals with beverage companies.At least in the relationships I have, I know everybody wants to grow the sport, said Gatorde-sponsored and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Sure, Im going to get out of my race car, Im going to drink a Gatorade; Im not going to drink a Monster Energy drink.I am sure there will be some collaboration and support from both sides.If thats the biggest issue, then NASCAR did better than some of the other sponsors it apparently considered that could have had much bigger conflicts. The only primary sponsorship conflict at the moment appears to be the 5-Hour Energy deal with Erik Jones, and many consider energy-shot and energy-drink markets as different.So what to make of the Monster deal? Well, maybe look at it a lot like the product itself. For some, it makes their day go much easier. For others, it doesnt have as much of a boosting impact.Life is about the ride, and NASCAR has paired with a company that promotes the motto Unleash The Beast. In a sport of many leashes, it could end up entertaining -- ahem, fun -- to watch, if nothing else.Adidas Ultra Boost Outlet Uk . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Cheap Adidas Nmd Wholesale . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. http://www.nmdukonlinestore.com/nmd-chukka-trainers-outlet-deals.html . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Cheap Ultra Boost Wholesale . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Adidas NMD R2 Outlet . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home.With no trophies and Tottenham set to finish above Arsenal for the first time in 21 years, pressure is building on Arsene Wenger like never before. Is his time up? Adam Bate looks at the reasons for his success and why there’s little reason to expect a repeat… One of the key moments for Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future series was when he got hold of the Grays Sports Almanac that revealed the winners of every forthcoming sporting event for years to come. Tannen was transformed into a visionary, armed with the information that his contemporaries craved. Success became a formality.Perhaps thats how it felt for Arsene Wenger when he arrived in England in the autumn of 1996. Hed been a top-class coach in his native France, of course, but in the Premier League his encyclopedic knowledge of superior markets and ideas dwarfed that of his new peers. As an intellectual Gulliver in Lilliput, it didnt take too long for his impact to be felt. By his own admission, Wenger was left bemused by the fact that he could assemble an entire squad for the price quoted to sign Graeme Le Saux from Blackburn. And so, he did just that. Nicolas Anelka had already been acquired for less than £1m. Patrick Vieira joined from AC Milan for just £3.5m. And that was just the transfer market. Wenger says his past successes mean Arsenal fans expect trophies each year On the training ground, the focus on muscle toning was new to old pros. Sharper sessions timed to the second. The introduction of periodisation. Conditioning work. Nutrition ideas from Japan. Dieticians such as Yann Rougier. Regular attention from osteopath Philippe Boixel. None of it seems outlandish now but these changes were significant at the time.When we had the first pre-season under Wenger, it was completely different from anything I experienced in my whole career, Nigel Winterburn told The Independent. There were footballs all over the pitch! What? Footballs! It was unheard of, a football session on the first day back off pre-season training. I had never heard of it.Its difficult to appreciate the context. The previous example of a foreign manager at such as high-profile club had been when Dr Josef Venglos was appointed by Aston Villa in 1990. He arrived just weeks after taking Czechoslovakia to a World Cup quarter-final but was still Dr Who to the press pack. Villas players didnt enjoy the post-match warm downs. The house that Arsene built: But is he the same manager today? Venglos was a pioneer but having taken over from the successful Graham Taylor, only wins wouldve earned him patience and he couldnt get them. Wengers combination of better ideas and better players brought improved results and so the story was very different. Experienced players such as Winterburn, Tony Adams and Martin Keown bought into it.He harnessed this existing defence and fused it with a much-improved attacking unit. The likes of Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit helped Arsenal to a league and cup double in 1998. A remarkable achievement in itself, but what puts Wenger on a level few have reached is that he built another team too. Only Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp were still first-choice picks in the Invincibles of 2004.That Arsenal side, the team of Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, remainss the only one to go through an entire Premier League season without suffering a defeat.dddddddddddd That they did so by playing some of the most exciting football this country has ever seen only adds to the achievement. But 12 years on and the wait for the next Premier League title goes on. Arsenal won the Premier League title without losing a game in 2003/04 What went wrong? Undeniably, there have been external factors. It got harder as opponents rose up like never before. With Chelsea emerging as a genuine force, Arsenal were no longer competing with only Manchester United. Liverpool had their moments too and more recently there has been Manchester City and Tottenham to contend with as well.It got harder as the club managed the transition to the new stadium. Supporters were tolerant in that respect, noting the managers complaints about the financial doping of others. But that sympathy has long since dissipated, giving way to a more troubling thought: that the real issue for Wenger is that so many of his advantages have now been neutralised.He had enjoyed what is known in marketing as first-mover advantage - the benefits that stem from being the initial occupant in a market, gaining control of resources others cannot. But now others have caught up. Its Wengers strength no more. He is a victim of his own success given that his ideas and principles are now so ubiquitous they do not set him apart. Ive been tremendously loyal to the manager. Id like to stay that way if I could, but Im just finding that the solutions are getting harder for him to solve. Charlie Nicholas Former Arsenal forward Charlie Nicholas feels it is a problem. Ive been tremendously loyal to the manager, Nicholas told Sky Sports. Id like to stay that way if I could, but Im just finding that the solutions are getting harder for him to solve. Its not easy to find the right players but this is where we have always loved Arsene.Hes always found magical players or turned them into magical players. Hes always had that talent. Now that talent seems to be becoming harder. You cant get Nicolas Anelka now for half a million or Thierry Henry for £8m. But other clubs seem to find them. And if other clubs can find them...Perhaps its prudence that persuaded him against moving for Anthony Martial. Certainly, globalisation has opened things up to allow Newcastle, Leicester and West Ham to swoop upon the French market in recent years. Wenger knew about them all. He just didnt know whether to sign them. His recent risk-free acquisitions have arrived for north of £30m. A section of Arsenals supporters have lost faith in their long-serving manager Where once ignorance of others might have protected Wenger against criticism, allowing it to appear as if World Cup winners such as Henry had been plucked from obscurity, the game has now changed sufficiently to allow Arsenal fans to implore him to sign Gonzalo Higuain - and then feel justified when seeing the Argentine score over 30 goals in a Serie A season.Arsenal have these funds and with the stadium having long since ceased to be a viable excuse, Wenger can no longer point to the financial advantages of club rivals. Particularly when Leicester are champions and, perhaps more damagingly, Tottenham are above them in the table, too. It seems St Totteringhams Day wont be coming this year, but perhaps another day has arrived.In Back to the Future, the results in Tannens Almanac only went up to 2000. Hed secured his legacy by then but the magic touch was gone. Wenger managed to extend his success into the new millennium but the fear is that he too no longer has the answers. The fear is that Arsene Wenger is a man out of time.Also See:Welbeck out for nine monthsWho is Granit Xhaka? ' ' '