In the sports business, marketing business, or the "business of business," the best way I can describe being a digital marketer is to be an "agent of change." With the pace of technology and innovation moving at the speed of light, digital marketers across all industries are challenged to remain relevant in a rapidly changing landscape, while working to win more customers and reach a targeted audience in an increasingly crowded market. Easy enough, right?

The song that appeared on the Beastie Boys' 1986 debut album, "Licensed to Ill," predated by some 26 years the feeling that Bruce Ratner, Mikhail Prokhorov, Jay-Z, Brett Yormark and a bevy of others have this week as they finally see the light that is the Barclays Center at the end of a long and arduous tunnel.

Of all the places for a marketer to be in sports these days, perhaps the most intriguing just might be the NBA. It might be in the midst of its next great era. (The last two being the Magic-Bird and Jordan eras.)

I had the opportunity to participate in a Wharton Sports Business Initiative Forum on the state of tennis during the recent U.S. Open, and was struck by some intriguing comments revolving around what was needed to fuel interest and participation in the game. Top of the potential solutions was a perceived importance to identify and nurture a "dynamic and up-and-coming star."

With the calendar turning to September, it is finally here - college football season. The fans aside, no one is more excited to have football back than the networks that deliver TV coverage. Perhaps the most exciting addition to college football is the rise of conference networks, which are still relatively new to the landscape. The Big Ten Network has seen great success thus far, since its creation in 2006 when it was the first cable start-up to receive 30 million subscribers in the first 30 days of existence (a good omen for the Pac-12 Network which launches this season). …

In men's tennis, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal know the answer. And it became a bit less problematic for the first two with Nadal, who did not participate in the recent Summer Olympics, also withdrawing from the 2012 U.S. Open due to chronic knee problems.

As the sports world turns their collective attention from the London Summer Games to the start of the 2012 National Football League season, online video will continue to play a vital role in the way content is delivered to fans through innovative and engaging experiences. With a plethora of tools available for marketers, online video has certainly made the cut and deserves a spot on the team.

We rightfully spend a lot of time in the sports marketing business, defining and selling the unique touch points and entre to a valued and often elusive audience provided by aligning brands with athletes and properties. I've ranted previously in this space about how not enough of us take the time to go beyond simple GRP equivalencies and eyeball counting to evaluate sports marketing efforts. I've also acknowledged that to do this correctly isn't easy, yet I've also maintained that, done correctly, it can be quite insightful and value additive. So, as we get ready for the onslaught of back-to-school …

Whatever you do, be careful of spoilers. A warning typically uttered before the dramatic twist is revealed at the end of movies or TV shows, the spoiler alert has quickly become familiar to viewers of London's 2012 Summer Olympics. Due to the time difference and NBC's reluctance to air major events live during the day, many of the results for major events are being reported before the mass United States television audience is able to watch them. NBC knew this was going to be an expensive issue, but the backlash the network has received online, especially via social media, has …

After a few days of action, we are getting a glimpse into the future of sports TV with NBC's somewhat brave real-time "experiment." NBC's challenge was to strike a balance between the way people consume information in 2012 with the need to make back their more than $1billion investment in the games.