I've been asked lately "What's the deal with Reckless Abandon?" As you can see, I have not written on the blog for over two months. The reason stems not from a lack of interest, but from a lack of time.
I am currently finishing up my degree in Strategic Communications at the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities. I will graduate in December with a major in Strategic Communications (Advertising/PR) and minors in Business Management and Spanish Studies.
In addition to finishing up my degree, I am also working at the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) as the Public Affairs Intern. Two weeks ago, I quit my second job with Public Health Solutions (PHS) so I would have more time to focus on the MHTA internship and my final classes.
With Reckless Abandon now on the backburner, I am focusing my free time and energy on a new project called the "WiscoSota Sports Podcast." This audio podcast will be a weekly sports talk show that includes commentary from friends and fans in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Don't forget to check www.wiscosotasports.com in the coming days for the kickoff of the "WiscoSota Sports Podcast!"
On Tuesday, after Brett Favre officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings, I posted this on my Twitter:
thinking that the timing of the favre signing couldn't have been better for michael vick's public relations efforts. be invisible for awhile
About 5 minutes after I posted that, I was followed on Twitter by @michaelvickproj
The Michael Vick Project is an interactive blog that aggregates information, news articles, and online comments and opinions regarding the return of Michael Vick to the NFL.
An interesting "project" indeed, this type of site can prove very useful to public relations professionals, specifically the countless troops working behind the scenes for this much maligned athlete.
As far as my tweet about the Favre-Vick timing is concerned, I really believe it worked out wonderfully for the Vick team.
Less than a week after Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and only two days after Vick's first public interview aired on 60 Minutes, Favre swooped in to steal the limelight away -- an act that should be much appreciated by Vick and his team of lawyers and PR professionals.
The Vick Team has executed a careful and calculated PR campaign in their early attempts at easing Vick back into the public eye. The 60 Minutes interview was an excellent route for the Vick Team to control their message in a well-respected and widely viewed program.
Now that the "firecracker" is over, the Vick Team should let the smoke clear and the legions of haters cool their jets. If we have learned anything from the past, we can certainly agree that people forget others' mistakes over time. And don't we all just love a comeback story?
If Vick is sincere and continues his efforts with the Humane Society to end dogfighting in America, then he is already well on his way to rebuilding his reputation.
With Favre signing so soon after Vick, the Favre-obsessed sports media will have plenty to keep the headline stories off of Michael Vick for awhile. Just what Vick needs right now.
Vick should focus on practicing hard, doing what his new team asks of him, and continue reaching out in humanitarian efforts. An aggressive media relations campaign no longer seems appropriate. Time is on his side.
In case you haven't seen the Vick interview on 60 Minutes, check it out below (in 2 parts). Which type of cake do you think his PR team fed him with these responses?
Jon "Chucky" Gruden, possibly the most intense human in the world, will be replacing Tony Kornheiser in the Monday Night Football booth this season.
Kornheiser said the reason for his resignation from MNF is, and I kid you not, because of his fear of flying. I wonder if Kornheiser proposed that he announce via video conference like he an Wilbon occasionally do in Pardon the Interruption?
I am glad to see Kornheiser, who I thoroughly enjoy on PTI, leave the MNF booth. He just wasn't cut out for covering an NFL broadcast. His commentary and personality in the format of a sports talk show is outstanding. But with uber-guru Ron "Jaws" Jaworski and always-solid Mike Tirico in the booth, Kornheiser's color commentary never quite felt right. After failing with Dennis Miller and Kornheiser, ESPN seems to finally understand that the Howard Cosell color-guy is an extinct species, especially with NFL broadcasts.
Most viewers, I would bet, would rather listen to insightful football discussion around the table instead of the consistently forced color commentary meant to bridge the gap between the hardcore fan and the casual fan. Just focus on the football game itself and the casual fan will soon be a real fan!
I think that Chucky, with his obvious intensity and passion for all things football, will be an excellent addition to the booth. It will be fun listening to Jaws and Chucky go back and forth about football strategy instead of Jaws and Kornheiser awkwardly transitioning from football to pop culture topics.
Not all professional athletes enjoy the limelight. Or being annointed as a "role model." Or having to put up with grocery store run-ins with adoring fans. But whether they like it or not, professional athletes are in a position that regular Joes, and more importantly, kids, look up to and admire. They have chances that many regular people do not have to make a difference in the world.
While some athletes choose the selfish road -- the me-first, get-mine attitude that we often read about in the news -- other athletes embrace their stature and try to make a difference in the world. This is a tribute to two late, great NFL Hall of Famers who made an impact on me as a kid. Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton and Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke were two professional athletes who deserve to be remembered not only as great football players, but also as two gentlemen who respected and embraced their fans.
Walter Payton's legacy as perhaps the greatest running back to ever play the game of football is unquestioned. On the field, he was known for playing the position like a linebacker -- eager to deliver a blow instead of escaping one. Fans would need a double-take if Payton ran out of bounds because he finished plays like no other running back before or since.
In 1996, when I was a pudgy fourth-grader, I attended an IndyCar race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Sure, the race would be entertaining (and deafening), but the real reason my dad and I were excited was because Walter Payton would be there. At the time Payton was a partner in Payton-Coyne Racing (now Dale Coyne Racing), and even though his presence was unpublicized, we thought we would scope out the tents for a glimpse of Sweetness himself.
We came across an air-conditioned tent with a Payton-Coyne Racing banner in front. My dad asked the security guard in front, not actually expecting a visit, if Walter could have a word with us. A minute later Payton came outside and chatted our ears off for what seemed like an hour, but was probably more like 10 minutes.
When I told him I played running back in youth football, he was quick to give me pointers. "This is how you give a deadly stiff arm," he said as he jabbed me lightly in the chest. "Pretend like you don't see him, wait until he is right next to you, and jab him like you're in the boxing ring." Hard to think of a better person to learn a stiff arm from -- his blows often made defenders scared to tackle him.
Payton talked about how intense Bears-Packers games were, even in the '80s when the Packers struggled. He told us how much he missed the competition more than anything, which is why he found himself in love with another sport, racing.
In addition to his uber-competitiveness (have you heard about Payton's Hill?), Payton was known by his teammates and friends as the ultimate practical jokester. His penchant for lighting fireworks in rookies' dorm rooms during training camp is well-documented by former teammates (you should read his autobiography, Never Die Easy).
"Payton's Hill" in Arlington Heights, Illinois
At his core, though, Payton was known as a fun-loving, caring person. Even today, nine years after his unexpected death from a rare liver disease in 1999, Payton's charity contributions continue to make a difference. The Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, which helps neglected, abused, and underprivileged children, continues to thrive, along with his other organizations and affiliations, including the United Network for Organ Sharing, the Walter Payton Liver Center, and the Walter Payton Cancer Fund.
Picture how mean Ray Nitschke was on the field -- that's how nice he was off of it
A few years before the Walter Payton encounter, a new sports grill, Damon's, opened in my hometown Mequon, Wisconsin. The special guest for the grand opening was none other than Packers legend Ray Nitschke. As avid Packers fans, my dad and I headed to Damon's to meet one of the greatest linebackers ever.
Nitschke and his wife were actually celebrating their anniversary that night, yet his friendliness with fans was incredible. For one of the meanest defensive players in the history of the NFL, Nitschke was one hell of a nice guy. He got a kick out of me saying I was going to play for the Packers some day. Well, at the time, I really believed it.
We talked Packers, Packers, and more Packers. He was quick to give Vince Lombardi credit not only for his football coaching skills, but also for helping make him the person he became. He reminisced about the Super Bowl days (which only my dad could really relate to), and he even let me wear his Super Bowl II ring (which is a pebble compared to today's) and his Hall of Fame ring.
Nitschke, who died in 1998, is one of only five players to have their numbers retired by the Packers. One of the Packers practice fields is also named Ray Nitschke Field. I recommend you read Nitschke's autobiography, "Mean on Sunday," which really gives light to his warm heart off of the gridiron. Nitschke made cameos in several different movies, including the original "Longest Yard," and "Head," which stars the Monkees. Oh, and Nitschke was a bit of a goofball himself.
Last summer, two years after being acquired by American City Business Journals (ACBJ), Sporting News (SN) made significant strategic changes in the direction of its publications.
Along with changes in content, SN magazine switched from a weekly to a bi-weekly format. Sporting News also created the industry's first daily online sports newspaper, SN Today. Delivered every morning, for free, to each subscriber's email, SN Today is leading the charge in what many believe is the future of daily newspapers.
Dan Graf, the Managing Editor of Sporting News magazine was kind enough to answer my questions about these changes and the new direction of SN's online and print publications.
Jerome: Sporting News was acquired in 2006 by American City Business Journals. In summer 2008, Sporting News launched SN Today, a free daily online newspaper delivered to each subscriber's email every morning. It also switched from a weekly to a bi-weekly print format. What were the driving forces behind the decision to implement these strategic changes?
Dan: SN Today gives us a chance to be a market leader. We weren't in the top handful of traditional sports websites, but the hybrid newspaper/website format of SN Today positions us as a leader and trendsetter in an area that we believe is the future for daily newspapers. And from a content standpoint, SN Today gives us a place to put the day-to-day team notes, statistics, etc., that no longer made sense to run in a printed product. The two-week cycle for the magazine was part of an effort to make our printed product more timeless--every story in the magazine needs to have staying power and not be tied to breaking news that gets dated quickly--and we use SN Today to fill in the gaps for readers who want in-depth analysis every day.
Jerome: What types of communications research was conducted leading up to Sporting News' strategic changes? What were the different tactics that were used to communicate these changes to your readers and potential readers? Dan: Shortly after acquiring Sporting News, ACBJ did some pretty extensive readership studies. For a number of years under previous ownership, we had been waffling on exactly what our strategy going forward would be. The ACBJ studies showed that what readers liked about us was that we catered to the hardcore sports fan and that we covered only seven sports. Refocusing our brand toward these seven sports in the magazine--we do go outside them in SN Today--and honing our coverage to attract those hardcore fans helped us launch the products we have today. As for communication with readers, we included several notifications to our magazine readers of the changes that were coming. And we got the word out about SN Today mostly through our ACBJ sister publications. Even today, though--nine months after the launch of SN Today and eight months after the magazine relaunch--we're still working hard to show folks our new look. This spring, we sent 300,000 free copies of the magazine to potential subscribers and got tremendous feedback in terms of new subscriptions. We find that when people see us, they like us.
Jerome: Has it been a challenge deciding which content to include in the bi-weekly print edition? How has the content of the print publication changed?
Dan: Actually, it has been less of a challenge to make content decisions on the magazine than it was in the past. As a weekly, we straddled the line between news coverage and stories with a more timeless tone, and that's an awkward place to be. I think you'll see other printed publications make the same choice we did--realizing that most readers now look for their traditional news on the internet. What we give them in our printed product needs to be different from what they can get anywhere else. The biggest change on the surface, and the one readers reacted to most at first--is that we moved all of our team notes from the magazine to SN Today. We've replaced nuts-and-bolts information like that with stories that focus more on the athlete experience of sports. We used to portray our writers as the experts. We've moved away from that and started portraying athletes as the experts they are. It's not unusual for us to talk to 200 or more athletes in an edition now. Many of them write short pieces for us. There were times when we might talk to only 20 or 30 athletes in the past.
Jerome: What other plans does Sporting News have in the future for the daily online newspaper? Dan: It's tough to say right now what the future will be because the product is so new. The nice thing about it is there always is room to expand to meet readers' needs without adding the additional cost usually associated with adding more pages. We are working right now to make SN Today more accessible on mobile devices, and there will be more multimedia features included in the product going forward.
Jerome: How has Sporting News' advertising revenue been affected by these strategic changes? What is SN's strategy regarding the mix of online and print advertising? Dan: I'm not a business guy, but positioning ourselves as a high-end printed product--we now print on better paper and on bigger pages and make much better use of photography--has been well-received by advertisers in a tough economic market. We need to be different than the competition right now, and we are. The goal going forward with all of our platforms--the magazine, SN Today, SN Online and SN Radio--is to give advertisers a wide variety of choices across multiple platforms. We believe we're doing that better than we ever have.
Jerome: Has Sporting News positioned itself as a leader in online media?
Dan: We're certainly a leader in terms of producing a daily digital newspaper. If and when you see newspapers turn to this type of a product, you'll know--and our readers will know--that we were out there first. But SN Today is about more than being first--it's about being best. We offer a more comprehensive national daily sports report than anyone else out there right now--printed or online. Our readers love us, and we'll continue to grow.
Until about a month ago, like my friend Grego, I wasn't down with the whole Twitter phenomenon. As it was, I already had Facebook and didn't see the need to be micro-blogging about my daily activities. I saw Twitter as a little creepy, narcissistic, and annoying -- people sharing mundane details about their daily lives and fiending for the next Tweet from their friend or even a stranger perhaps.
But I see it differently now. When I started my sports business blog, RecklessAbandonSports.com, in February, I was looking for ways to promote the blog and network with other people in sports business.
The response I kept hearing from other bloggers, including Jason Peck (@JasonPeck) who writes about sports and social media on jasonfpeck.com, was "use Twitter!" So I took their advice and have since found it to be an excellent tool for both attracting visitors to the blog and networking with sports business professionals (and in this case one of my favorite Green Bay Packers).
When Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote last week that Packers linebacker Nick Barnett uses Twitter, I added him as a "follow" on my @JeromeHarrison account. @Greg_A_Bedard confirmed that @NickBarnett was indeed the real Nick Barnett, so I thought why not send him a line and see if he responds?
Most Wisconsin sports fans are familiar with Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva's (@CV31) famous halftime tweet that brought on a scolding by Coach Scott Skiles. Nick Barnett is. "I heard about what happened to him," Barnett said. "Maybe we can chat about that."
I think we need one more solid d-line man I think we have some pretty good options for olb but knowing ted I think he wants to sure it up 5:29 PM Mar 31stfrom txt
GM Ted Thompson has not been transparent with Packers fans, and by all accounts, strictly controls most information related to personnel and draft issues.
As more professional athletes jump on the Twitter bandwagon (see a list of athletes using Twitter here), some teams may decide to implement guidelines preventing their players from talking about management or certain team issues. The leagues themselves may soon create a new rule book for social media. The NBA is already on to this.
After a recent game against the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban dropped this tweet on a missed call by the refs:
That's right. The NBA fined Cuban for tweeting about the refs. They'll getcha! Based on Ted Thompson's locus of control, if more Packers join Twitter, I will bet that Thompson imposes some rules for players using social media sites.
Cuban also brought up a good point about Twitter and free agency:
The more NBA Players tweet, the better the Free Agent recruiting process will be ! 1:55 PM Apr 3rdfrom web
In addition to professional and personal networking, Twitter has opened up a new door in sports marketing. Most professional sports teams now have their own Twitter accounts (the Packers are @PackersNFL), and teams are using their Twitter to promote ticket giveaways and other marketing efforts. More and more athletes, like Nick Barnett, are also tweeting with fans.
As news continues to shift away from traditional outlets (newspapers!), Twitter will continue to gain popularity in the marketing and delivery of news for companies in a variety of different sectors, including the sports industry. It's free. And easy. And who better to hear the news from than the players themselves?!
I know if I can have a small role in seeing one more Samurai celebration from Nick Barnett, then Twitter is well worth it for me!
This is from a post by Mike Kent at BleacherReport. He believes baseball fans make better managers because of their patience, critical thinking, and humility -- all valid points. Here are his top 10 reasons why baseball fans make better managers:
10. Appreciation of history and tradition
9. Resilience, and acceptance of defeat
8. How individuals work in teams
7. Critical thinking
6. Love of stats—and the skills to use them and detect when others abuse them
5. Appreciation of randomness, and of our instinct to read patterns into such randomness
4. Acceptance of the unknowable
3. Patience
2. Humility
1. Love of excellence
Great points! I certainly believe that sports fans and athletes generally possess many qualities necessary for success in business, especially as a leader.
From what once represented a $1 billion business, the market for sports trading cards has shrunk to around $200 million in yearly revenue today, according to Major League Baseball Properties. The internet age has significantly affected the demand for trading cards, which has companies such as Topps and Upper Deck experimenting with new technologies to help gain popularity for their cards once again.
Topps has introduced a new baseball card, the Topps 3D Live, which uses 3D technology. Collectors who hold a special Topps 3D Live baseball card in front of a webcam will see a three-dimensional avatar of the player on the computer screen. When the card is rotated, the figure rotates in full perspective on the screen. Collectors can also play elementary pitching, batting, and catching games with their 3D avatar using the computer keyboard. Total Immersion, a French company, brought Topps the technology which it calls "augmented reality," a combination of a real image with a virtual one.
Michael Eisner, former CEO of Walt Disney, bought Topps for $385 million in 2007, with grand plans of reshaping the trading card industry. Eisner has said that he sees Topps as much more than a trading card company. "I see it as a cultural, iconic institution not that different from Disney -- it conjures up an emotional response that has a feel good kind of uplift," he told the New York Times.
Eisner has also created Back on Topps, a 17-episode Internet comedy that spoofs his acquisition of the company and is currently developing a movie based on Bazooka Joe bubble gum, another of Topps' products (Disclaimer: Back on Topps features Randy & Jason Sklar, the twin brothers from "Cheap Seats" -- if, like me, you find yourself clenching your teeth when you listen to them speak, take a pass on the link).
Topps and Upper Deck already drive collectors to their websites by inserting special cards with unique codes in the packs. Collectors can create avatars, trade virtual cards, and enter virtual worlds to interact with other collectors by simply entering the codes at Toppstown.com or UpperDeckU.com.
Louise Curcio, VP of Marketing at Upper Deck, says virtual cards that "come alive and contain video" are the next step in repositioning trading cards in the Internet age. It will be interesting to keep an eye on the trading card business as new technologies are introduced to the market. Eisner has brought a ray of hope to Topps, the current leading baseball card company.
Clearly, if sports trading cards are to survive in today's market, they must expand their business models to make use of new media and internet technology. This seems like a great start!
The struggling economy has hit sports franchises from several different angles: sponsorships, advertising, merchandise sales, and not least of all, ticket sales. Many teams have decided not to raise ticket prices this season and are finding creative ways to bring in fans.
I came across this hilarious promotion that the Madison Mallards, a summer collegiate baseball team in the Northwoods League, put on last August. As the team got ready for the late season playoff push, they signed actor Gary Coleman to a one-day contract as a designated hitter and slotted him as the lead off batter.
“As the Mallards prepare for the playoffs we feel that we need a special player to help put us over the top,” GM Vern Stenman said at the time. “Gary brings a lot of intangibles to the field and I feel like his presence would help invigorate our club as they get ready for a run at a championship. You can’t coacha strike zone like Gary has and I anticipate him being a force at the top of our lineup.”
He makes a good point about the strike zone! Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to see Gary swing for the fences. Watch as he gets ejected for corking his bat with bouncy balls....
If you haven't seen or heard of HBO's new comedy Eastbound and Down, then it is time we change that. Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder) stars as Kenny Powers -- a washed-up Major League pitcher working as a middle-school gym teacher. Check out the trailer:
After throwing 101 MPH heat and striking out the last batter to win the World Series in his rookie year, Powers' career went downhill fast. Amid steroid allegations, increasingly obnoxious behavior, and slow pitch speeds, his time in the Majors was over after only a couple of years. See his baseball trading cards here (these come from a brilliant promotion by HBO in which the 5 cards appeared as inserts in various sports magazines).
With Will Ferrell as co-executive producer and playing a cameo role as car salesman Ashley Schaeffer, he has quite an imprint on the show. More than just outrageous comedy, the show takes on the task of portraying the selfish, egomaniac star athlete who we find on the front page so often nowadays (wait, didn't he just sign with the Buffalo Bills?).
Many teams are using Twitter and other social media to stay in touch with their fans. Twitter allows teams to advertise, promote and provide news to fans for no price -- an increasingly effective tool in sports marketing.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, for example, have made good use of Twitter. For a recent home game, they used Twitter for a special ticket giveaway. The Phoenix Suns are another team that has used Twitter to its advantage. Led by Director of Digital Media & Research, @PhoenixSunsGirl, the Suns have established quite the Twitter presence.
Shaquille O'Neal and Steve Nash both have Twitter accounts, which they use to update fans about their lives and have real one-on-one connections with them. While Nash may or may not be the one updating his Twitter account, Shaq is no doubt a Twitter fanatic who Tweets consistently throughout the day:
"To all twitterers , if u c me n public come say hi, we r not the same we r from twitteronia, we connect"
"I feel twitterers around me, r there any twitterers in 5 n diner wit me, say somethin"
This Tweet by Shaq prompted two lucky fans at the same 5 n diner to say hi to the Diesel. If anyone is skeptical whether it is The_Real_Shaq, rest assured it is. One skeptical fan became a believer when Shaq called him on the phone to prove his point. While Twitter began as a simple tool to update friends on "what you are doing," it has evolved into something much greater and significant than that. It has become a legitimate news outlet and marketing tool. Twitter also allows for third-party applications, and there is no shortage of useful applications out there. One application which I find particularly useful is Twackle, an aggregator of sports news. Twackle allows you to choose your favorite team or league and receive all that has been said about it on Twitter, from ESPN and the local newspaper to your blog-obsessed friend Greg.
It is important for sports teams and companies in general to establish a presence on Twitter, as the technology will only continue gaining popularity. In addition to providing its fans with news updates and connecting with them on a more personal level (oh, the irony), Twitter allows teams to more easily receive feedback from fans. Using an aggregator like Twackle can help teams keep up with what fans are saying about them -- both good and bad.
You can find me on Twitter @JeromeHarrison. I just created my account recently but am appreciating its usefulness more and more every day. Sign up, it can only help!
Minnesota Gophers basketball player Travis Busch and Minnesota Daily team reporter Zach Eisendrath host an internet talk show called "The What Else? Show" that has become quite a hit on the University of Minnesota campus. Described as a mix between Wayne's World and Seinfeld (the show about nothing), "The What Else? Show" discusses a wide range of topics mostly unrelated to basketball.
The Big Ten Network recently aired a special feature on the show:
Gophers coach and demigod Tubby Smith approved as long as the co-hosts did not discuss Gophers basketball. The show, which touches on a variety of random topics and includes interviews and audience participation, continues to gain popularity on -- and off -- the U campus. The witty co-hosts and entertaining segments equal guaranteed laughs every episode. Be sure to check out the show at whatelsemedia.com.
News broke on Saturday that QB Matt Cassel, who had been slapped with the Patriots' Franchise Tag, was traded, along with LB Mike Vrabel, to the Kansas City Chiefs for one second-round draft pick. It is hard to deny the interesting circumstances that surround this trade.
Bill Belichick's Co-Genius for eight years (and 3 Super Bowl Championships), Scott Pioli, just happens to be Kansas City's first-year General Manager. After the Patriots designated Cassel as their franchise player, the price tag for another team to sign him as a free agent was two first-round picks and his hefty salary. Of course, it was unlikely that a team would sign a one-year starter with a price tag that steep, especially knowing the Patriots were eager to rid themselves of Cassel's outrageous cap number and were open to a trade for less compensation.
The low compensation that the Patriots received is especially interesting considering that on the same day of the trade, the Patriots were close to a three-team deal with the Bucs and Broncos that would have netted them at least a first-round pick for Cassel. Also discussed in the potential three-team trade was Broncos QB Jay Cutler, who is apparently quite upset upon hearing the news (or is he?).
Entering this offseason, the Patriots were as close to the salary cap limit (about $128 million) as a team could be after they franchised Cassel. Now, after getting rid of Cassel and Vrabel's considerable contracts, they have somewhere around $15 million in free cap space. Problem solved.
But why didn't the Patriots get more for Cassel?!
I believe that, for one, Mariotti could very well be right that Belichick gave Pioli a "parting gift" of sorts. After all, the two won three Super Bowls together, went to four, and basically built the most dominant franchise since the Steelers of the '70's (and in an era of free agency and salary cap!). A nice way to give your buddy an immediate boost in his first gig as General Manager.
But while Belichick may have favored Pioli in trade discussions, he isn't that nice of a guy! I believe Belichick wanted only a second-round pick in exchange for Cassel for the very same reason he wanted to trade him -- the salary cap. A first-round pick (the Chiefs' #3 overall, for example, which wouldn't be unreasonable for Cassel and Vrabel) would require a significantly higher contract than a second-round pick. In addition, the opportunity cost of waiting a few extra days for the better deal -- while potentially missing out on signing desired free agents -- was not worth it to Belichick. So he took the sure thing.
Voilà! Belichick clears massive cap space and puts the Patriots in position to make a splash in free agency. The Chiefs, and Belichick's buddy, get a franchise quarterback for cheap. Both sides happy.
Less than two months after firing two-time Super Bowl winning Head Coach Mike Shanahan and hiring his replacement, 32-year old and first-time Head Coach Josh McDaniels, the Denver Broncos find themselves in quite a predicament.
It was reported last Saturday that the Broncos were actively shopping QB Jay Cutler, at one point almost agreeing to a three-team trade with the Patriots and Bucs that would have made Matt Cassel the Broncos new starting quarterback. When the trade did not go down, and Cassel was traded to the Chiefs instead, Jay Cutler caught wind of the trade talks and expressed his discontent.
First of all, Josh McDaniels is crazy to even consider trading Cutler. Sure, he was the Patriots Offensive Coordinator until this season and knows the great things Cassel can do in his offensive system. But Cassel had one productive year in perhaps the most stable franchise in all of sports. Cutler, with a rifle arm that could legitimately be compared to Brett Favre's, has blossomed into a superstar that most any team would kill to be able to build a team around.
By all accounts, Cutler is loved by his Denver fans and teammates. Definitely not the way McDaniels wanted to start his tenure in Denver -- with a seat already as hot as an industrial furnace. McDaniels should immediately begin mending his relationship with Cutler. If he ends up trading Cutler and his successor doesn't fill Cutler's big shoes, then McDaniels will be run out of town. If Cutler plays poorly for the Broncos this year and the bitter relationship between quarterback and head coach continues, McDaniels could be run out of town as well. Either way, it seems he has set himself up for failure.
But, while McDaniels may be crazy for considering trading Cutler, the superstar QB has proven to be quite the prima dona. The NFL is a business, and no matter how important you are to your team, you also carry around a number. No player should ever be exempt in trade talks, if a trade can help the team. Carmelo Anthony, who the Denver Nuggets recently considered trading, has some advice for Cutler in the Denver Post. C'mon Jay, get over it. You're not the first player a team ever CONSIDERED trading.
What adds intrigue to this story, however, is Peter King's recent discovery that Cutler asked for a trade soon after the season ended. Supposedly, Cutler was upset when Offensive Coordinator Jeremy Bates (who Cutler openly supported as the Broncos next head coach), left to coach for USC. So perhaps Cutler's game of crybaby is part of a bigger plan to get traded. If this is the case, then Cutler can only be described as one thing. Either way, this adds an interesting dimension to the Cutler saga, and it will be interesting to monitor as the offseason moves forward.
The Milwaukee Brewers reached a deal last week that will allow the operator of Milwaukee's Summerfest to book major concerts at the 41,900-seat Miller Park. The venue has hosted very few concerts since its opening in 2001. The George Strait Country Music Festival and the supposed "band" N'Sync played at Miller Park in its opening year. Since then, only Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Bon Jovi have played the venue.
Summerfest is run by Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. and has an average of more than 75,000 people attend each of its 11 days of entertainment. Summerfest bills itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival."
President and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. Don Smiley said in a statement, "This agreement provides an opportunity to leverage our proven resources and expertise in targeting and securing world-class entertainment, while working cohesively with Brewers Enterprises to help maximize Miller Park for our community."
This deal clearly benefits both the Milwaukee Brewers and Summerfest. In these trying economic times, in which sports teams across the spectrum are needing to find creative ways to sell tickets, the option of holding major concerts at Miller Park sounds like a homerun. All four major concerts held at Miller Park have each drew more than 34,000 people. The current "main stage" of Summerfest, the Marcus Ampitheater, only holds a capacity of 23,000. The option of holding major Summerfest concerts at Miller Park will greatly increase Milwaukee World Festival's revenue from Summerfest and revenue for the Milwaukee Brewers, since the Brewers do not have to share any revenue from concerts with other MLB teams.
Charles Barkley, the outspoken NBA Hall-of-Famer, commentator, and famously TERRible golfer, will star in a new reality show on The Golf Channel with Tiger Woods' coach, Hank Haney. The new reality show, The Haney Project, which premieres tonight at 8 p.m. CT, will put Haney up to the task of fixing Barkley's hilariously ugly golf swing.
Sir Charles, who at one point was a 10-handicap golfer, has not broken 100 in several years. He most recently finished last at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship in July. Barkley said the idea for the show came after he was bombarded with an unusually large number of "golf tips" from anonymous passer-by's after the Celebrity Championship. "It's kind of funny, but it's kind of like, 'Wow, I must really suck,'" Barkley said after the tournament.
There are seven episodes scheduled for The Haney Project, five of which have already been shot. The premiere begins just two months after Barkley's most recent run-in with the law. On New Years Eve, Barkley was arrested for a DUI in Scottsdale, Arizona, after registering a .149 BAC. The details of the arrest created quite a stir in the blogosphere for weeks to come.
According to the police report, Barkley was in a hurry to receive oral sex from a female friend when he ran a stop sign. He said the woman had performed the sex act for him a week earlier and "it was the best one he had ever had."
Sir Charles can be criticized for many things. Lack of honesty, however, is not one of those. It is reasonable to assume that production of The Haney Project had already begun when the New Years incident occurred, but I am curious as to whether or not it would have even mattered. No matter what controversy Sir Charles surrounds himself with, people continue to be drawn to his affable personality (Take a look at Frank Caliendo's Barkley impression, which is almost spot-on).
Personally, I will be tuning into The Haney Project for no other reason than to watch Barkley act like a complete clown. In a marketing and sponsorship environment that often has little tolerance for legal mishaps (See Michael Phelps and Kellog's), Barkley's seemingly unfazed celebrity can be attributed to the public's attraction to honest and compelling sports personalities. People are generally willing to forgive mistakes made by celebrities if they are honest, apologetic, and able to acknowledge their faults.
Whether or not Haney can actually fix Barkley's awful swing remains to be seen. Five bucks says Barkley improves his game by three strokes or less. Any takers?
In an interview with Sporting News Today, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold discusses issues around the NHL and says he expects Marian Gaborik back in time for a playoff run. Check out the interview
By now, most people have either seen or heard of Gatorade's new "What's G" campaign. We're familiar with the Lil' Wayne spots that feature famous athletes lined up one after another. The commercials make no mention of Gatorade at all. Many people, including myself, had to Google "What's G" during the BCS National Championship game or the Super Bowl to find out what company was running the commercial.
What I didn't know until today, is that Gatorade has given its "What's G" campaign a life of its own. They are featuring a mini-series of sorts explaining the medieval Quest for the G. Check out this hilarious video featuring King Garnett:
Is this the same Gatorade? Wow! While the G commercials do contain some of the same underlying themes as the "Is It In You?" campaign, Gatorade has certainly transformed the style and direction of its advertising strategy. For more tasty G spots, visit MissionG.com or check out Gatorade's YouTube Channel.
After two long seasons at ESPN, Emmitt Smith is out as NFL analyst. ESPN decided not to renew his contract for a third year and is not planning a formal announcement. The quiet parting of ways is a classy move by ESPN, as Emmitt has been subject to more than enough ridicule and criticism over the past two years. Just one more round wouldn't hurt....
I personally took the news with mixed reactions. On one hand, Emmitt was a legit source of comedy during NFL pregame. He turned out to be ESPN's answer to Jimmy Kimmel and Frank Caliendo. At times, he had me in stitches. His football analysis seemed like it was coming from the kitchen manager at Wendy's, not the NFL's all-time leading rusher. But while his bunk analysis, grammatical errors, and flat-out making up words could be funny at times, it also created a sense of discomfort and awkwardness for the viewer. It was almost painful watching one of the NFL's greats look like a fool every Sunday. But still, we'll miss you Emmitt.
