A discussion about the process, steps and options of starting a new business

Every business goes through ups and downs.

Pro sports are no different.  Yes, professional sports is business...all business, as a matter of fact.

And recently, pro sports has been weathering some scandals that have threatened to hit team owners right where it hurts: Their pocketbooks.  In just the past few months we've heard about the Barry Bonds steroid rumors, the Michael Vick dog fighting plea deal, the NBA referee betting scandal...all of these stories hurt the individual sports brands, just like a product recall would hurt the image of a manufacturer.

The latest allegations to surface in the pro sports world is in, of all places, pro tennis.  Here's what's breaking today:

Match-fixing, some of which is linked to internet gambling, is not uncommon in pro tennis, according to a damaging report in L'Equipe on Thursday.

Two elite players made the claims, under anonymity, in an interview with the French sports daily claiming they have witnessed matches being "thrown" and that they had personally been offered bribes.

The allegations come in the wake of the controversy surrounding Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, who is the subject of an ATP enquiry.

Davydenko recenty pulled out a match injured on the same day that large sums of money had been bet on his defeat to Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello.

Betfair, an internet gambling website, refused to pay out on Davydenko's defeat. Seven million dollars in wagers, 10 times more than normal for such a match, swung to Arguello even after Davydenko won the first set.

The lesson here for your new business?  Keep it clean.  Demand that your employees keep it clean.  And never give into the temptation to cut corners, or associate with people who do.

Each of these incidents hurts the "business" and the individual "brands" that the offenders are associated with.  Don't let that happen to you.