A-Rod's Marital Woes Won't Stop Capitalism

As the Alex Rodriguez divorce/affair/Madonna mess reaches almost a full week of circulation, ESPN is forced to address it. They do so begrudgingly, as evidenced by every SportsCenter anchors annoyance at having to report the story. (Stu Scott looked like he was about to punch the teleprompter when he had to read a quote from Madonna during last night's 11 p.m. show. Scott Van Pelt tried to convince him that the story was legit — "it was the most popular story on ESPN.com..." That didn't make it better for Scott. [Shakes head])

More details are spilling out, as Cynthia Rodriguez's support team goes into protect-the-baby mode to keep the focus on Alex and distract everyone from that whole shackin' up with Lenny Kravitz in Paris-thing. One silver lining for A-Rod is that, according to some "branding experts" his commercial appeal won't be tarnished.

"Wife-beating would hurt him, underage girls would hurt him, a gay lover would hurt him, but run-of-the-mill affairs - that's a non-issue in American life," said branding expert Howard Bragman, head of the public-relations agency Fifteen Minutes. "We just don't hold affairs against people anymore."

Superb.

A-Rod Pal: Cynthia Spent $100G In Paris [NY Daily News] Cheating Hubby A-OK With Corporate Sponsors [NY Post]