I've gotta say, it's a rare occasion that, as a blogger, I can't think of a wittier opening than the article I'm looking to reference in a blog posting, but the one that the New York Times' Richard Sandomir put together for this item takes the cake. For an item describing how the Chicago White Sox managed to change their game start times to 7:11, and then they received $500,000, from you guessed it, 7-Eleven. Sandomir said "It is not easy to conjure $500,000 out of the ether, but the Chicago White Sox have discovered a way."

Ain't that the case. I really had thought I'd seen it all when it comes to various branding and advertising opportunities, but this one has to take the cake, doesn't it? At first I was a little bit offended, but honestly, I'd been thinking that 7:05 was a bit early the last two seasons anyway, so 7:11 gives just that much extra time to stop and pick up a Slurpee or a Big Gulp on the way home to watch the game. Hey, I just came up with a great portion to their campaign! Who's paying me? And while we're on this subject, go learn more about the stores.