Here's the great thing about juice: It's fluid.
Nearly half the entries on the second "Juice List," our annual compilation of the most influential people in New Jersey sports, are newcomers -- a sign that the ever-changing sports landscape in the state is more volatile than you may think.
One year ago, who could have foreseen that a 6-foot-8 Russian billionaire would crack the list?
Or a law school dean?
Or a French soccer star?
Fittingly, the top spot belongs to a newcomer, too: Chris Christie. The governor has taken an aggressive approach to virtually everything in his first year, and sports-related issues are no exception.
When he declared that "the sports authority needs to get out of the business of running things, and be a landlord," he was putting the first nail in the coffin of a long-standing and powerful entity in the state.
And when he decided that casino gambling was not an option for the struggling horse racing tracks in the state, he was all-but sounding a death knell for the once-dominant industry.
While juice is a subjective term, Christie has it and isn't afraid to use it. Having power makes it easier to get on this list -- politicians and team owners have juice based on their position alone -- but it isn't the only ingredient.
Influence matters the most. Do people listen when they talk?
Do they care deeply about the teams we love and the games we watch? Can they effect change, good or bad, on the sports landscape in the state?
That landscape is always changing, and as a result, so is this list.
1. Chris Christie (NR):
In his first year as governor, Christie is preparing to gut the once-powerful but now financially insolvent Sports Authority -- an institution that has operated in the state for three decades -- and pull state funding from the horse racing industry. His budget slashing, meanwhile, will affect every level of sports, including the bottom line at Rutgers and high schools.
T-2. John Mara (2):
Without the new patriarch of one of the NFL's founding families, it is doubtful the league would have considered New Jersey as the site for the 2014 Super Bowl. Mara, the son of the late Giants owner, had the influence to make a cold-weather venue a reality. But ...
T-2. Woody Johnson (7):
... without Jets owner Woody Johnson pushing behind the scenes to make that bid a reality, the New Meadowlands Stadium wouldn't have landed the big game. Johnson was instrumental in convincing people -- including Mara -- that the game would benefit everyone.
4. Greg Schiano (4):
The football coach is the biggest reason that Rutgers, once a national joke, is a serious contender for the Big Ten should the league expand again. Rutgers has reached five straight bowl games, winning four in a row, under his watch. The next step: Finally winning the Big East.
5. Jeff Vanderbeek (3):
In a very un-Devils-like move, the team owner opened his wallet and signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a controversial 17-year, $102 million contract. Vanderbeek is everything a fan wants as an owner -- passionate, dedicated and willing to spend. Now will that investment pay off in the postseason?
6. Mikhail Prokhorov (NR):
One year ago, few basketball fans had ever heard of the Russian billionaire, and this summer he was the talk of the NBA. Prokhorov is a significant upgrade over Bruce Ratner, but still, his rubles failed to land a single prominent free agent.
7. Tim Pernetti (9):
The Rutgers athletic director made his first big move, firing basketball coach Fred Hill Jr. He has shown a strong ability to raise money, which is good news, because now he has to fight a struggling economy to fund much-needed improvements at the RAC.
8. Steve Timko (8):
The executive director of the NJSIAA faces his biggest challenge, one that threatens the association's very existence, from a lawmaker hellbent on its dissolution. Can he save it? Or ...
9. John Burzichelli (NR):
... will the assemblyman from Paulsboro, whose battle with the group started over ticket prices, win out and change the way high school sports are governed in the state forever?
10. Bob Hurley Sr. (12):
Rutgers and Seton Hall both needed basketball coaches this spring. Who'd they call for advice? The new Hall of Fame coach from St. Anthony in Jersey City, who gave his stamp of approval on the new hires.
11. Lou Lamoriello (10):
The Devils czar revamped his team in the offseason, hoping after six straight postseason flops that he has found the right combination to make the NHL power relevant again.
12. Steve Sweeney (NR):
The state senate president probably has the future of horse racing in his hands, though it's tough to figure out where the Democrat stands. He vows to save horse racing, but, to protect the casinos, he has blocked slot machines at the Meadowlands.
13. Rex Ryan (NR):
He's loud, he's proud, and after just one season as head coach, he has turned the Jets into our most compelling NFL team. Now, can he make them the most successful? Or ...
14. Tom Coughlin (15):
... will the Giants head coach, facing an important season three years removed from Super Bowl glory, keep his team on top in this market after the defensive collapse last winter?
15. Pat Hobbs (NR):
The law school dean has won more battles at Seton Hall than Perry Mason, firing head coach Bobby Gonzalez and eliminating several sports while acting as the de facto athletic director.
16. C. Vivian Stringer (11):
The Rutgers women's hoops coach earned a spot in the Hall of Fame last summer, but now she must rebuild her program to the Final Four level that helped her get there.
17. Greg Toal (17):
Don Bosco has become such a high school football powerhouse under Toal, the school has to leave the state to find competition. That could change with Bergen Catholic escalating the stakes in the gridiron arms race.
18. Richard Codey (1):
The former governor has tumbled from No. 1 after losing the Senate presidency, but he still has access to every power broker in the state and a fanatical love for sports.
19. Jerry Reese (13):
He won a Super Bowl in his first year as Giants GM, but in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of the NFL, that seems like eons ago. If his defense doesn't improve, he'll inch toward the hot seat for the first time in his career.
20. Mike Tannenbaum (NR):
The Jets GM, meanwhile, has built a team that is expected to win a Super Bowl and just got a contract extension through 2014. But Mike? How about getting Darrelle Revis into training camp, like, yesterday.
21. Avery Johnson (NR):
The Nets have changed their owner, general manager and head coach this year, and if the first few months of that trifecta are any indication, the coach is going to have plenty of juice as the team hopes to win more than 12 games at the Prudential Center next season.
22. Kevin Willard/Mike Rice (NR):
Lumping them together is natural, since Rutgers and Seton Hall always seem to get new men's basketball coaches at the same time. Both are trying to rebuild, but Willard has the benefit of a much better roster in his first season at the Hall.
23. Martin Brodeur (23):
He isn't just a goalie any more. He was named to the 2010 NJBIZ "Forty Under 40" list, which honors people who have "been making headlines in their field and who share a commitment to business growth, to professional excellence and to the community."
24. Thierry Henry (NR):
The French superstar is the latest (and arguably the best) soccer import in New Jersey since Pele. The Red Bulls are trying to fill a stadium, and while star power helps, the key for Henry is simple. Score goals and win games.
25. Anne Donovan (NR):
The most decorated woman in basketball history will try to add one more line to her resume: Turning around the fortunes of the Seton Hall program as the new head coach.
Dropped out:
Jon Corzine (5), Bruce Ratner (6), Dennis Robinson (14), Cory Booker (15), Rod Thorn (18), Eli Manning (19), Msgr. Michael Kelly (20), Erik Stover (21), Nancy Williams (22), Chris Olsen (24) and David Fay (25)
Five who could crack this list next year
Mark Lamping. The Meadowlands CEO is lining up big events for the new stadium, including college football and soccer games, and also will lead the preparations for the 2014 Super Bowl.
Tom Savage. A 20-year-old with juice? The kid will have plenty if he builds on his successful first season as Rutgers quarterback and leads the Scarlet Knights to a major bowl game this winter.
Ilya Kovalchuk. The Devils will become his team once Brodeur retires, but before then, can the Russian star bag a 50-goal season -- and another Stanley Cup -- to earn that $100 million contract?
Bret Schundler. What happens to the NJSIAA -- and, by extension, who enforces the rules for high school athletes from Cape May to Mahwah -- could largely depend on the Commissioner of Education.
Brett Yormark. Do the Nets leave New Jersey with a whimper? Or does the lame-duck team fill the Prudential Center? The Nets' marketing guru has a new arena to sell, but still has to do it with a non-playoff team.