Footing the Bill

The Cleveland Browns essentially are renovating their stadium rather than using the $120 million to clean the streets or hire more of a police force.  The Mayor, Frank Jackson, assured that the money will go to good use as the city will only being paying some of that bill, where the general fund of Cleveland will get the rest.  The explanation for such expenses being taken is that stadiums and teams are usually obligated to. Teams don’t just secure public money for construction, they get promises for upgrades too, and those upgrades have to be substantial to meet terms of the lease.  So teams like the St. Louis Rams ask why don't we get a new stadium that we are in need of? If cities don’t hold their end of the deals, teams can opt out of leases, and opting out of leases means they can ask for new facilities or threaten to move elsewhere. 

All or Nothing

 

Is it financially worth it to add 5,000 seats to a stadium or are teams better off waiting until major changes are in the works?

 

 Stadium subsidies have good and bad implications on the city and the people of that city.  It creates jobs for the projects and infuses money locally, but the costs of the projects can also be costly as explained above.  Therefore the projects must be worth it or the teams are better off either saving  the money or they can opt out of unfavorable deals.  The use of public funds to construct and maintain facilities has been occurring more frequently for a number of years now and with organizations being pressured into constantly staying lavish and state of the art, major renovations or rebuilding are turning over venues sooner than ever before.

Didn't Miss a Tweet

Despite the lavish lives that athletes enjoy, many have come accustom to expressing their off-the-field personalities through their social media accounts.  Some have millions of followers, like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.  Others are fairly tech deficient to the whole social media buzz and choose not to have such accounts on Twitter or Facebook.  There are also players like Julian Edelman, wide receiver for the New England Patriots.  He is up and coming in the "Twittersphere", with some recent success in the NFL, he has acquired a wave of followers in the past few months.  A marketing class at Emerson College in Boston is challenged every fall by their professor, David Gerzof Richard, to get in direct contact through social media with a local athlete or celebrity.  One team of students decided to pursue Edelman after checking out his Twitter activity and seeing his interaction frequency.  After some back and forth they were able to get Edelman to come to their class (below).

Edelman is evidently a hamburger connoisseur.  He openly states that he asks about good places to get a burger from time to time, but people now directly associate him with burgers.  "Do I eat burgers every day? No. But everyone thinks I eat a burger every day. So, you’ve got to be careful what you put on there because people absorb it.”

Burger Time!

Athletes that may not be as publicly recognized as others can now use social media to create an  identity for themselves that was not available ten or more years ago.  Most athletes today are embracing this opportunity to directly interact with fans or even critics.  Social media is the interaction of the future as fans and players alike have taken positively to the technology.  It somewhat eliminates the middle man of marketing and advertising and fans now don't necessarily need to be sitting court side at the game to let the opinion be felt and weigh in on the sport world.  It helps propel athletes into the spotlight faster, sometimes in good or in bad ways.  This also impacts the team in some manner.  Many marketing agencies are now hired to monitor what players put on their social media accounts so as not to deface or embarrass the player or the company they play for. 

Cubs could get beer in plaza

The Chicago Cubs are proposing a new plan to unveil an outdoor plaza that will be connected to Wrigley Field that will allow them to sell alcohol (beer and wine) outside of the field itself.  This will add some competition to the local bars in the area of Wrigleyville. The proposal states that alcohol could be sold in the sports plaza directly adjacent to the stadium from 11:00am until midnight on weekends and until 11:00pm on weeknights. Sales would "be allowed during non game events like the concerts or ice skating programs the Cubs have talked about for the plaza to be built west of the park." The proposal also would "make it legal for fans to carry alcohol out of the ballpark and into the plaza, and into the park from the plaza.  Maybe this will help get some fans through some of those awful performances the Cubbies have. 

Iron Bowl Classic

As college football rivalry weekend came and went, many campuses around the country gathered up as much school colored gear as possible to clearly represent their side of choice.  The classic match up of maize and blue versus scarlet and grey.  Ohio State vs Michigan is always and will always be a classic must see, but this year the south's version, Alabama vs Auburn, took the nation's breath away.  The game was back and forth throughout the entire contest, with the score being tied with :01 remaining in regulation.  Most would think to play safe for a guaranteed full possession in overtime, but head coach for Alabama, Nick Saban, played for the win on the road.  That did not end well as the field goal, which was being attempted by an inexperienced kicker who had only kicked two previous field goals, missed short.  What happened next will live in Iron Bowl infamy. 

Home of the Brave(s)

The Atlanta Braves planned move to Cobb County Stadium outside of the city after the lease on Turner Field expires in 2016 is one of mixed emotions in the city of Atlanta.  Most folks in the urban areas surrounding the city feel the team is abandoning its area and such structures have been cornerstones to rebuilding urban areas in cities like Denver and Minneapolis.  Front office execs of the Braves agreed to keep all of the details fairly quiet and feel the area surrounding Turner, although with a few new lofts and renovations, is time for a newer look.  They never considered the field as a tool for revitalization.  Some places near the stadium are still among the poorest in the city.  The Atlanta Falcons also plan on leaving the Georgia Dome in the near future to relocate into a different home.

All eyes on you

Turner Sports and CBS will be producing three different telecasts for the 2014 Men's Final Four games in Texas.  Each channel, TBS, TNT and truTV will show the same game at the same time with different announcers and different camera angles customized for each specific team.  It is essentially considered 'teamcasts' that Turner Sports is innovating into the layout of the already highly watched NCAA Tournament. 

Hardware coming Home

For most of the Pittsburgh southwestern Pennsylvania area, a true superstar to lean on in baseball has been missing since the early 90's when the infamous Barry Bonds roamed the outfield grounds of Three Rivers Stadium.  Now, with the unveiling of the 2013 NL MVP honors going to Pirates outfielder, Andrew McCutchen, that warm and cozy feeling of security in the Buccos lineup is back.  This is the third year in a row McCutchen has been in the MVP picture and the second straight where his performance has warranted serious consideration.  This year's performance by the Pirates as a whole, reaching he playoffs for the first time since 1992, is what put him over the top of the voting.  McCutchen won by a comfortable margin as he received 28 of the 30 first place votes. 

The Pirates manager, Clint Hurdle, also received a prestigious honor for his efforts in the 2013 baseball season.  Hurdle was named manager of the year, receiving first place votes on 25 of the 30 ballots.  He wins the award for the first time in his career, becoming the only Pirate manager to win the award beside Jim Leyland who won it twice ('90 and '92).

 

 

And last but certainly not least, Pirates starting pitcher, and another candidate in my opinion for MVP of the Pirates clubhouse at least, Francisco Liriano, won NL Comeback player of the Year award for his efforts in the 2013 season.  His 16-8 record and an ERA just over three (3.02) gave the Pirates the ace performance they have been so desperately seeking for over a decade.  Liriano is the first Pirate to ever win the award, which was first implemented into baseball before the 2005 season.

 

 



Phantom on Ice

If you thought the title was a segway into a theatrical production on ice, you're not right, but not entirely wrong either.  The Phantom camera, which was a huge hit in the MLB World Series in 2012, is now being introduced into the NHL on FOX sports, with its first game being this week pitting the Anaheim Ducks at Florida Panthers.  Unlike the normal camera which captures 30 frames per second, the Phantom camera captures 5,000 frames per second.  The technology has been experimented with in the Florida region throughout the last year, with uses during the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins games.

 

 

 

Words hurt

 

In the latest scandal within the sports universe, the NFL finds itself at the forefront yet again in a not so good light. Richie Incognito, offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins, has been suspended indefinitely by the team because of accounts of bullying and harassment towards fellow offensive lineman, Jonathan Martin.  Incognito denies the allegations that his intent was to bully or intimidate and insists Martin is a close friend and that is simply part of the locker room culture.  Incognito has had a history with attitude and control issues that have made him a "loose cannon" by most people's opinion yet many teammates on the Dolphins stand by Incognito's ability and leadership skills in the Dolphins organization.  The video below depicts a pinker version of the Hulk...just kidding.  That's Incognito going crazy during what looks like a Sunday fun day gone wild.

The road to Jerryworld begins

The college basketball season is upon us and the road to North Texas is about to be paved as the NCAA will have its annual 24 hour hoops marathon run from November 11-12, concluding with the Champions Classic held at the United Center.  It will be quite the finale to the day long marathon, as four of the top five teams in the country will face off in a double header that could quite possibly preview the Final Four candidates.  Duke will take on Kansas and Kentucky will play Tom Izzo's perennial power, Michigan State Spartans.

The true highlight of the event comes in freshmen forms throughout the four showcased teams, as Kentucky brings in five of the top ten recruits in the country, with the heralded lefty, Julius Randle, headlining the class.  Duke also brings in a very highly touted recruiting class with arguably the best talent out of high school since Lebron James in Jabari Parker.  And the reason why I say arguably is because of the talent Parker will be up against with Andrew Wiggins of the Kansas Jayhawks.  Let us not forget about sensational sophomore of Michigan State, Gary Harris, who is another outstanding young talent that has the advantage of one more year of college and tournament experience on the freshman class this season.  Regardless of the outcomes on Tuesday night, look for this foursome of young and endlessly talented teams to be vying for their share of the Final Four puzzle come end of March.

He felt that one...didn't he?

A young Irish inventor, Mark Dillon, came up with a product to detect serious head injury to athlete's in contact sports through a mouth guard that he created. 

"A tiny accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, along with a wireless chip and battery, are all packed into the device, which Dillon calls "Mamori" (Japanese for "protect"). The inertial sensors constantly monitor for movement and relay that information in real time to a laptop on the sidelines. If a player takes a hit, the force involved is immediately known, and if the impact falls above the threshold where a concussion is likely, medical care can be given instantly," courtesy of NBC News technology describes in some detail what specifically it measures.

It all stemmed from the ongoing injuries being suffered in Gaelic football.  Despite the helmets, players were still continually sustaining head injuries.

Referees to Robots

Goal-line technology is being developed to help the already boring game of soccer become essentially more agonizing to watch...no cheap goals or off sided breakaways any more!!  Hawk-Eye is the company behind the creation and has already begun implementing it into the English Premier League games.  Some of these types of technologies are taking two dimensional images and turning them into three dimensional representations that can detect goals, offsides, and even handballs with the multiple slow motion cameras included in some of the technology packages.  They are essentially adapting to what many American sports have moved toward over the last ten years or so.  Not all fans are on board with this, nor are all team owners and personnel, feeling this could slow down the tempo and flow of the games.

The Hitting Knob

Baseball, just like all sports, are looking for new ways to develop the sport, from youth, all the way through the professionals on television.  One new item that is attempting to creep into the scene is The Hitting Knob.  It is a weighted device that fits on the knob of the baseball bat, metal or wood, that makes the bat heavier but does not change the path of the swing or the barrel like heavy donuts or devices at the end of the bat do. It allows for:

• live hitting practice
• fits all bats
• improves technique
• builds power
• increases speed

TWO STEPS BACK

After two consecutive victories, Pittsburgh Steeler fans began to show some optimism for the football season left to play.  However, a bad loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon may have sealed the fate of, at best, a mediocre season, for the black and gold.  An upcoming match up with the New England Patriots poses yet another road block for the Steelers that could put the team at 2-6 going into the second half of the season. 

Big Ben's protection is still an issue as the halfway point in the 2013 season is on the horizon.  Injuries to multiple offensive linemen have led to a carousel by committee of plug in players to try and fill the jobs.

In national sporting news, the Boston Red Sox are now only one victory away from capturing another World Series for Beantown.  They will have the luxury of playing the remainder of the series, however it may swing, in Boston.  David Ortiz has continued his legendary postseason tear, having reached base 9 consecutive plate appearances.  Maybe they should try throwing it underhand.....then again Big Papi may be a future softball legend and we don't even know it yet.

Big Papi, David Ortiz, all smiles with a World Series ring within grasps. 

Pittsburgh's Goin' to da Super Bowl

After a horrific start to the season, the Steelers have turned themselves around and are right back in the thick of the division and wild card race in the AFC.  A game winning field goal gave dem Stillers a victory over the rival Ravens on Sunday evening at Heinz Field. For whatever reason, the city has taken a liking to the inconsistent Steelers, not winning either of their games in impressive fashion, but ending on top, nonetheless.  However, a bit overzealous talk in the Steelers lockeroom of playoffs may be a bit premature to be noting to the local newspapers.

This should humble them moving forward....less talk, more action.

In other sports news, old Pirate head coach, Jim Leyland, announced his resignation from the Detroit Tigers on Monday which in effect likely announces his retirement without coming out and directly saying it.  There are only so many packs of smokes one man can inhale in a dugout tunnel in one lifetime.

Nothing like every conceivable form of tobacco in a clubhouse to keep the troops calm.

The Marijuana Movement

As marijuana is becoming more accepted legally and socially around our country, the NCAA is grappling with the idea of how to combat the increased use of it amongst its student athletes.  The chief medical officer, Brian Hainline, is concerned that synthetic marijuana, which contains synthetic chemicals along with the natural herb is dangerous and that version is becoming the most popular.  However, it is not considered a performance enhancing drug in all reality, with the only upside really being the ability to relax easier.  Still, action is being taken to avoid this steep climb in use within its student athletes.  To deter marijuana use, the NCAA is lowering the threshold, effective Aug. 1, for what determines a positive test. The threshold is being reduced from 15 to five nanograms per milliliter. The change will make it easier to detect marijuana usage based on urine testing.

Many schools do their own individual testing and hand out their own punishments, not necessarily trying to embarrass or dismiss the offenders, but to encourage deterrence and counseling for those that may have a problem stopping use of the drug.  A school like Purdue, depending on the circumstance of the student, they provide somewhat of a three strike approach before game time and real punishment is actually implemented.  At a school like Virginia Tech, first positive test of a prohibited substance enforces game time lost (one-tenth of the season).

Legal or Illegal?

 In the cases of college athletes, whose sole tasks are to simply attend class and practice, they more evidently display deviance by using such illegal drugs as marijuana simply to relay a special image of themselves towards others or to be purposefully different than the standard student.  In the case of states that have not allowed marijuana to be used legally, this one breaks the law, and two reflects poorly back towards their teammates and athletic program they are a part of. 

Sending more than one message

In a time where our watches can now make phone calls, take pictures and do just about everything a computer can, our younger society finds itself vulnerable to drowning with the tidal wave of technology.  The NFL, arguably the most recognized sport brand in the United States, has been making the push to combat childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles in youth with the NFL Play 60 campaign.  To further inspire the youngsters, many players  of area NFL teams visit local schools granted the Play 60 campaign to send a message straight from the role models' mouths.  The kids seem to absorb the message made by a filthy rich athlete much more easily than their loving parents.  However manipulative by the NFL, the campaign has proven very effective.  What could be better for the kids at these selected schools?  Obesity is a large issue (up 37% over the last 5 years) in our country. 

Who can forget this little guy from a Play 60 commercial?  Makes me laugh every time.  Probably could have started over Cam a few times last season from his performances.

Ravens visit play 60 school


The NFL, in my opinion, hit it on the head.  As video games and televisions become bigger and better, something must offset this in order to create a base for healthy lifestyles.  Start active, stay active.  Despite the link depicting a youth Crossfit session near the end, it does in fact send a great message that the players seemingly enjoy relaying and the children openly acknowledge.  Why couldn't we have had this in elementary school?  I would have loved to skip class for NFL sponsored pep rallies.

Stick n' move

To move away from the four major sport spotlight, particularly in the Pittsburgh area, because after all, there is human life and sports out side of federal street and the 10th street bridge, there is some good old fashioned boxing going down this weekend.  Timothy Bradley, undefeated and a titleholder and Juan Manuel Marquez, will go toe-to-toe this weekend in Vegas.  Marquez, according to the oddsmakers, is the favorite in the welterweight title bout.  The brief recent history behind both fights has them both associated with their recent success vs. the "best pound for pound fighter in the world" in Manny Pacquiao.  Bradley defeated Pac-man on a very questionable decision as the judges seemed to be asleep during the fight but nonetheless Bradley remained undefeated.  Marquez proved a little more worth as he knocked Pac-man out in his last fight, the trliogy of the fighters matchups which still hold questions as to who is the better boxer.

The time is not now...for now

So as the dejected faithful of the Pirates drudge to school and work today, the dreams of a World Series trophy enshrined in PNC Park will have to wait for another year.  It is a humbling time for a city and fan base that had built momentum over the past two seasons and the climax was last night's game in St. Louis.  The stage was set for a national upset and the birth of a new sheriff in Major League Baseball town.  Despite the efforts from Gerrit Cole, who pitched like anything but a rookie, Adam Wainwright was that much better in proving that experience and calculated coaching by the  Cardinals down the stretch, to set up the potential game 5 matchup with their ace at home, proved to be too much for the Pirates.

Let us rejoice for what has been accomplished, not what is yet to be achieved.  This is a huge leap that rapidly helped us forget, even just for a moment, the 21 years of anguish and failure that the franchise had endured. Now the scope focuses solely on football and hockey, at least in Pittsburgh, for the time being.  The hot, but not all that surprising start, from the Penguins, who will likely be a very real contender for Lord Stanley's Cup come May, and the Steelers, who look to break their worst start in fifty years by going 0-5. 

 

It is quite alright to let the image above fester for a while.  Look at it as motivation to avenge the feeling of disappointment the next time this opportunity presents itself to the organization (hopefully sooner than 21 more years from now).  For the front office and player personnel, this is an off season regiment in one image.  A division rival celebrating on their field, ending the Pirates plans of playing that lovable team of destiny.  Yes, we lost two straight to, in effect, blow the series.  But understand, the opponent has a crazy good elimination game record and jockeyed with the Pirates for the best record in baseball all season long.  So  they were no slouch, but they did persevere the way a champion should.  That is what we can learn from this.  That is how an experienced postseason team responds in the face of adversity. 

The time may be now

Even ESPN's Jayson Stark can smell what Pittsburgh is cookin' for the 2013 MLB playoffs....http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/9783114/mlb-pittsburgh-pirates-feeling-october-passion

Pittsburgh may be on a revolutionary path where the dormant Pirates are heading upward and the beloved Steelers are plummeting toward the first pick of the draft.

HOW BOUT DEM STILLERS?!?!

In the most exciting week of Pittsburgh baseball in the last 21 years, let's take a step back and see how those Steelers are doing.....ok that was long enough.  Back to the Buccos, who have captured national headlines and even been deemed the team of destiny by ESPN in latest discussions.  With all that is going right with the Pirates, what are the Steelers organization feeling about this?  Over two decades since Pirate talk has been crowding the lunch tables and radio waves this late into the year.  Some of the players on each respective team may not have even been born in 1992.  It is quite alright, the ship sails on to the gateway to the west in pursuit of a pennant.

I am more in awe of how normal Barry Bonds looks than the uniforms

Don't Hit the Head, Don't Use the Head

 

Our fearless leader, Mike Tomlin, sending a message on a poster up at my high school outside of the football locker room to not lead with the head like a rhino and encouraging players to tackle like a normal, thinking human.  Football head injuries are escalating at an alarming rate in recent years and the question has to be raised, "what are they doing differently now than twenty years ago?"  The game itself has not changed in its principles and if anything, the penalties of a cheap hit have become quite hefty for players.  As this article notes, if rugby can manage to get by with no helmets and very few head injuries, then the NFL has no excuse either.  Football without violence is a very achievable statement and the true problem is in the tradition of the game as a tough guy, clash of titans type bout that I feel the players and coaches have developed in the modern era of sports in our society.  They choose to send messages on their own accord or from coaches requests like bounty's, which by the way is disgusting to hear that players are treating each other's well being like video game's competitive advantage, or strategic advantage to win.  

 

This is our world today, however.  We are not easily entertained anymore and the bigger, stronger and faster the players are, the more interested we are to see them torpedo into each other each week in the Fall.  We keep track of knock downs and hurries and sacks and as the statistical categories become more elaborate, the team's will utilize them in their decision making on what player's they want on the field, and the cycle of violence may never end because those stats mean higher paychecks.

 

 

  

If you have a weak stomach, this may not be a video you make all the way through. OR...you may just cheer at the top of your lungs after each increasingly violent hit, much like an entire stadium does after a visiting player gets knocked stupid going across the middle.

TIS' THE (FALL) SEASON

The MLB season is winding down. The field is nearly set. Divisional titles are being crowned each day. Anticipation builds. No better time than the cooling temperatures of Fall collaborating with the rising stakes of a World Series on the horizon. Some things like this will never change, and for that I am grateful. Even more grateful for this video above......the forever young Terminator, still doing poorly scripted action flicks.  Be appreciative, Arnold, nor the current baseball playoff setup, will be around forever.....although a one game playoff does seem like a brief stay in the playoff frat house for one of the two teams that worked their tails off for 162 of 'em just to get there.  So I don't think a stand alone when I say that a one game playoff needs some ammending in its circumstances.  How 'bout a three game wild card series??  What's another day? the MLB playoffs only run until when, Thanksgiving, right?

Welcome to the world (not now kevin rudolph)

This should be evident without saying, but if you cannot tell, I am popping my blog cherry.  It is much easier on the other end to simply read and judge people's thoughts and opinions.  Now that the mic is in my hand, it feels like every word must fit perfectly into the text or the whole operation becomes a roast and the only thing missing is Jeff Ross.  Fortunately it is focused on sports and not politics or the economy, so I have a fighting chance.  I am Josh Hungerman and these are my thoughts, trust me they are right...I think.