Q&A with Darren Rovell of CNBC

With the Michael Vick and Tim Donaghy stories dominating the headlines, Darren Rovell of CNBC and The Sports Biz Blog (which is a must read) is a very busy man. Lucky for JCMJ, he was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions on Michael Vick's marketability (or lack thereof) and the possible consequences of the Tim Donaghy scandal. Enjoy!

JCMJ: Have you ever seen an a star athlete the caliber of Michael Vick lose so much marketability so quickly?

DR:He might be the biggest active star in sports to go through something like this, but his marketing fall actually is not as quick as people think and he might not have been as marketable as people think. Don't get me wrong, Michael Vick is a huge star. But corporate America was never really comfortable with his image or his ability to be a spokesman. None of the deals he signed -- Coke, Hasbro, Air Tran -- with the exception of Nike were multi-year deals. That says to me that they wanted to capitalize on the hype (that Powerade commercial was great), but they weren't sure how much they wanted to associate him with the brand. The second point to make is that while he was one of the league's top jersey sellers, that dropped in recent years. Last year, he finished out of the top 10.

JCMJ: Nike is known for being very loyal to it's athletes, but given the nature of this case, is there any way that you can see Nike retaining Vick?

DR: I actually think Nike should pay whatever penalty they have to pay and dump him now. They'll likely only owe him a couple million and sticking by his side can only do damage to their $14 billion brand. Dumping him can win them points, plus it doesn't pay to ride it out because they will never use him again even if he is innocent of the charge

JCMJ: A number of star athletes like Kobe Bryant and Ray Lewis have been able to rebound from controversy to remain marketable, any chance that Vick can rebound if he somehow gets back onto the field this season?

DR: I don't believe Vick is ever playing again. Just my opinion. Bryant and Lewis might have rebounded but neither of them picked up one blue chip endorsement besides having on the

field and on the court apparel and shoe deals in Nike and Reebok, respectively.

JCMJ: As far as the NBA referee scandal, were you as shocked as everyone else that this could happen in this day and age?

DR: Definitely not shocked it happened. But I thought someone in the league would catch it before the FBI stumbled upon it.

JCMJ: How big of hit financially could this scandal be for the NBA?

DR: I think some of it depends on exactly what Tim Donaghy did. What games and how? But I don't think it will be that bad if it's just Donaghy, as is speculated and it's accurate that the league didn't know until the end of the season. If it were a couple of refs in on this and the league knew about it and they were putting him out there on the court just to cooperate, that would have been worse.

JCMJ: How do you think that David Stern has handled the situation thus far?

DR: I would have liked more specifics at the news conference. Did they really not know what games, if any, he was betting on and how he did it? The issue is that they are allowing the media to break that information. Someone will get tipped off. I think it would have been better if the league beat them tot he punch. That being said, I'm not sure -- given the investigation -- that Stern is allowed to disclose that. I will say that after thinking about it, I'm not sure any commissioner in the history of sports would have ad-libbed his way through a press conference like that and taking every question from reporters. While this is a black eye for the league, how the press conference was handled was legendary.

JCMJ: Most damaging to the value of their sport; gambling in the NBA, steroids in baseball or athlete behavior (dogfighting) in the NFL?

DR: Steroids haven't hurt baseball a lick. Baseball has thrived. Dogfighting, if it's only Vick, will significantly hurt the Falcons and set them back, but not the league. Basketball is in the worst position, but I don't think it's that bad. People won't abandon the sport. I know it's not an American love, but I do believe -- with more of those drug scandals -- cycling and the Tour De France are the closest sport to taking a major hit. I guess the difference between cycling and baseball is that cycling catches the cheaters. I wonder how baseball would have suffered, if at all, if that had been the case.