IMG exec calls Ovechkin a "global icon"

IMG Worldwide has a few people you might have heard of in their client portfolio--Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Giselle Bundchen, Heidi Klum and Peyton and Eli Manning, for example. Until this week, though, the sports media and entertainment company wasn't in the hockey business, although they used to represent Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and several dozen other players. So, does today's news that the agency will be handling marketing, sponsorship and licensing for Alex Ovechkin signal a return to hockey? "This is really about Alex as an individual that has the ability to transcend his sport and be successful in the commercial arena," David Abrutyn, IMG's Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Global Consulting told me Monday afternoon. "We're committed to Alex, and not much beyond that at this point." That's a pretty nice leap from the days when Ovie got a trim at the