Top 10 Most Innovative Sports Companies

In this month's issue of Fast Company magazine, which is a terrific read, they had a cover story on the top 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World, as a subset of that list they put together the Top-10 Most Innovative Sports Companies.

It's an interesting and very diverse list with a surgeon, a restaurant, an architecture group and a banana hammock purveyor on the list. Check it out for yourself

1. New England Sports Ventures: Like a five-tool talent, the Boston Red Sox are a multiple threat, making money on deals in Nascar, bull riding, golf, and, oh yeah, baseball.
2. Nike: Channeling its notoriously competitive culture into designing products with a smaller environmental footprint, the Beaverton, Oregon, behemoth is winning the race to make toxin-free and made-to-be-recycled shoes.
3. Andrews Sports Medicine: Another banner year for superstar sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews. The Yankees signed former patients C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett for a cool $245 million.
4. ESPN: As penetration of high-def TVs approaches 25% of all U.S. households, ESPN has added three more HD channels. Total number of HD sports events last year: 1,100.
5. Speedo: In winning eight gold medals, Michael Phelps did for the LZR Racer what MJ did for Air Jordans. The LZR racked up 48 of the 52 swimming records set in 2008.
6. HOK Sport: The premier architectural team in sports unveiled the first LEED-certified stadium in the majors, for the Washington Nationals. On deck this spring: the Yankees' and Mets' new stadiums.
7. NHL.com: The challenger brand of sports leagues is becoming quite the creative digital-media company. Free from other leagues' restrictions on video, NHL.com shows exclusive off-the-ice footage as well as every goal scored.
8. AEG: It owns teams and arenas around the world, but its biggest move is the recent partnership with the NBA to build a dozen arenas in China, which will globalize the league like never before.
9. Levy Restaurants: This Chicago restaurant company caters the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, tennis's U.S. Open, and every venue from Wrigley to Lambeau.
10. Ultimate Fighting Championship: Higher ratings than Monday Night Football, sponsorship by Bud Light, and pay-per-view streaming over Yahoo -- UFC continues to take mixed martial arts mainstream.