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You are here: Home > How Dream Teams are Composed

How Dream Teams are Composed

Written by in Sports Business

We’ve all been admonished to notice the absence of “I” in teamwork. We hear it so often that we become numb to its meaning and significance. It’s never an individual effort.

Wikipedia describes teamwork as, “A joint action by two or more people or a group, in which each person contributes with different skills and expresses his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals.

It’s teamwork that’s made my favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, 5-time Super Bowl champions back in the day. I’m still waiting for number six but I’m not holding my breath. Sure, a team needs a great leader but the players really make or break the success of the team.

You are here: Home > Don’t Pull a Johnson…Follow the Rules!

Don’t Pull a Johnson…Follow the Rules!

Written by in Sports Business

Rules, rules, rules, why is it so hard for athletes to follow the rules!

On Sunday, for the second time in as many months, a ‘Johnson’ broke the rules in the world of sports.

First, way back on August 12th, Dustin Johnson grounded his club in a destroyed sand trap on 18th hole of the PGA Championship incurring him a 2-stroke penalty. The move cost him more than just 2 strokes as it knocked him out of a playoff for the major title. The entire world watched when Johnson first heard what he had unknowingly done.

Then it happened again, on September 12th. Seconds remained in the Detroit Lions-Chicago Bears game when Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and everybody else in the world thought he caught the game winning touchdown. The play was reviewed and overturned after it became clear that Johnson lost the ball while attempting to use it to help him get up from the ground.

You are here: Home > Hispanic Sports Marketing 101

Hispanic Sports Marketing 101

Written by in Sports Marketing

The Hispanic segment offers demonstrate opportunity due to size, growth and increasing spending/purchasing power. It’s expected that by 2050, 28% of the U.S. population will be Hispanic, thus opening up the doors for marketers. There are a few things to know about marketing to Hispanics:

Culture: You must first understand the culture and ensure that your marketing message is culturally relevant, otherwise it won’t work. For instance, when you think of Hispanics, you may think of the Spanish language used amongst the segment since there are different dialogues that are used within the culture. It’s as simple as understanding a word that may be used in Mexico doesn’t have the same meaning Puerto Rico or visa versa.

You are here: Home > How Fantasy Sports Unites Fans All Over the World

How Fantasy Sports Unites Fans All Over the World

Written by in Sports Business

While sitting in a New York bar watching the New Orleans Saints successfully open the football season last week, it struck me that there is one thing that unites sports fans all over the world. Whether it is the NFL here in the US, rugby league in Australia or the English Premier League (EPL) soccer, today’s sports fans want to be engaged and actively interact with their favorite sports. They satisfy that desire by playing fantasy sports or by getting involved in forecasting weekly results. In Australia we call that tipping. Technology, fast-speed internet access and our increasing use of social media is making this engagement even easier and more fun for the fan.

You are here: Home > Missed Opportunity for the NFL on Opening Weekend

Missed Opportunity for the NFL on Opening Weekend

Written by in Social Media in Sports

As I write this post on Monday afternoon, the day after Opening Sunday (and six hours before kickoff of Monday Night Football), the NFL is being mentioned on Twitter at an extraordinary rate. In the past hour, “NFL” has been tweeted 1,500+ times.

I want to take this as a chance to highlight a missed opportunity for the NFL. In the past four days (Thursday was the first game of the season and yesterday was Opening Sunday), the league has received thousands and thousands of mentions and @replies, yet they’ve failed to respond to a single fan. It’s about time for the league to stop using their account as a news feed. To be fair, the MLB doesn’t do much better, but the NBA and NHL both respond to fans all the time. And you can bet if it were opening day, their feeds would be full of @replies.

You are here: Home > Sponsorships Gear Up for New NFL Season

Sponsorships Gear Up for New NFL Season

Written by in Sports Sponsorship

Visa Kicks Off Another Season With NFL Sponsorship

Visa is going into its 15th year of sponsorship with the NFL and has new marketing plans including greater emphasis on local teams.

Visa has become the exclusive payment services sponsor of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans — adding to its roster that already includes the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.

Visa is the preferred card for ticket sales, concessions and merchandise and will have point-of-sale branding online and at all team payment terminals within the stadiums, including concession areas and team shops of 13 NFL teams.

You are here: Home > The Recipe for Post-NFL Broke Athletes

The Recipe for Post-NFL Broke Athletes

Written by in Sports Business

The ingredients are simple: Take one talented young athlete. Add one agent, one team owner, dozens of family members not heard from in decades, a few dashes of self-entitlement, several bushels of undisciplined spending habits, one unscrupulous financial advisor, a couple of shakes of bad business investments, and a handful of injuries. Yield: One post-NFL broke athlete.

You are here: Home > The Ultimate Sports Business Resources

The Ultimate Sports Business Resources

Written by in Sports Business

At Sports Networker, we pride ourselves on being one of the leading resources for covering the latest cutting edge topics in sports business, sponsorship, PR, and social media.

However, this post is not about us, but rather other resources that we have personally found to be useful and informational, in hopes of creating a great list of the ultimate sports business resources. We’re bound to have missed a few, so please let us know your favourites if they aren’t on the list!

You are here: Home > Networking with the Cleveland Indians

Networking with the Cleveland Indians

Written by in Sports Networking

I was recently invited to speak at Tribe Social Forum hosted by Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians on September 16th, 2010. It is an event focused on the increasing trend of social media usage in our society and networking with some of the finest folks in sports today.

Back when we did the Sports Business Survey, participants voiced that they wanted more networking opportunities and I believe this is a great chance to network with experts in the business. Attendees will learn how social media is changing the way we communicate, especially in the sports world.

You are here: Home > The Power of Social Media in Grass Roots Sports

The Power of Social Media in Grass Roots Sports

Written by in Social Media in Sports

The opportunities social media provides to pro sports teams and athletes are well documented, but I feel social media also provides massive opportunities for amateur and semi-pro teams.

A lot of the conversation around sports and social media focuses on the idea that teams already have a massive following they can just tap into This isn’t often the case for grass roots teams though, many teams need to build their followings up from scratch and social media is a great way to do this. However, in order for social media to be successful it must be approached in the right way.

You are here: Home > The Secret to Mastering Free Throw Shooting

The Secret to Mastering Free Throw Shooting

Written by in Sports Jobs

(This is a guest post by Ed Palubinskas)

The free throw shot is the most important skill to learn in basketball, and yet it is still the most inadequately taught. There is a huge lack or void of sophisticated shooting information out there. Just take a look at the national free throw shooting percentages in the pros, (75%) colleges (68%) and high schools about (65%). There is only a 10% difference between high-school and professional ranks.

We are all capable of shooting much better. However, we practice the wrong mechanics. Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Also, knowledge is not power. Applied knowledge is power. The common denominator that mediocre shooters share is an obvious lack of scientific information applied to mechanical application.

You are here: Home > Does Branding Through Social Media Work for Teams?

Does Branding Through Social Media Work for Teams?

Written by in Social Media in Sports

Sitting on a panel with some of the Bay areas leading social media professionals from teams like the San Francisco Giants and Sacramento Kings, a recurring discussion was the benefits that social media had as a branding tool. While we’ve seen plenty of examples on how athletes are using social media as a public relations and branding tool, many forget about the teams themselves. With nearly every professional sports team having some presence on Facebook and Twitter, sports teams are faced with the difficult decision of having to decide how their organization and brand will interact with fans.

Before moving forward though and discussing how sports teams are using social media to maximize their brand exposure, we need to take a step back to look at how sports teams first used social media.

In its’ earliest stages of adoption, sports teams used social media primarily as a news feed where they could post updates and articles. While there was nothing wrong with this, sports teams weren’t maximizing its potential. With minimal fan interaction, little direction as far as best practices and strategies, and their respective leagues trying to develop digital media rules, sports teams were essentially driving blindly through social networks.

You are here: Home > What We Can Learn About Branding from Stephen Strasburg’s Injury

What We Can Learn About Branding from Stephen Strasburg’s Injury

Written by in Sports Marketing

Did we just witness the entirety of Stephen Strasburg’s professional baseball career in the span of mere months? I doubt it, given that the success rate of Tommy John’s surgery is over 90%, but it is a possibility.

Strasburg is one of the most hyped players in professional sports in recent memory and he was living up to the buzz in his first season. Not only was he delivering on the mound, with 98-100 MPH fastballs and dirty curveballs, but he was generating more television viewers, ballpark visitors, and straight cash for the game of baseball, a sport which is still struggling somewhat from the Steroids Era.

Many have called Strasburg’s injury a “sad day for baseball.” And it is. But let’s forget about the game for a moment and think about the individual. What a potentially awful day for Stephen Strasburg.

Considering that significant injuries happen all the time in sports (St. Louis Rams’ wide receiver Donny Avery tore his ACL last week, for example, and is out for the season), and that we live in a time where personal branding has become so important, is it foolish for any professional athlete, Stephen Strasburg or not, to not be focusing on building their brand off the field? [More…]

You are here: Home > Lessons We Can Learn from the Dallas Cowboys

Lessons We Can Learn from the Dallas Cowboys

Written by in Sports Jobs

On August 26th, I drove over two hours in my 14-year old car with over 240,000 miles on it (yes, it’s a Honda) on my almost-yearly trek, to attend my beloved Dallas Cowboys training camp at River Ridge Field in Oxnard, CA. Except for the fans who stay at the Marriott Residence Inn next door, the rest of us park in a half dirt/half mud parking lot that really should only allow dune buggies and 4-wheelers.

We all pay $10.00 for a parking space and while we’re watching our Cowboys train, a big truck maneuvers through the “parking lot,” row by row, to water down the dirt and mud which sprays that same dirt and mud all over the cars and trucks. The water truck does not just give a mere sprinkling; it’s like the force escaping from a fire hydrant. But, it’s all part of the fan experience.

Anyway, for 9:15 a.m. practice, I stood at the 50-yard line, behind the fence that surrounds the entire field. Official-looking city volunteers with official-looking badges manage the crowd and exchange friendly banter. I was amidst hundreds of other fans, some highly annoying in their fan-like behavior. One fan screams over and over at the top of her lungs, “Miles, I love you Miles.” I overheard comments from those around her to the effect of, “maybe she’ll lose her voice…” Oh well, every fan exhibits their affection in their own personal style – she provided some laughs and entertainment along the way. For the most part, Cowboys fans are good-natured, friendly, non-violent fans.

As I watched the 3:15 p.m. practice drills from the end zone, I observed a few lessons we can all take to heart:

You are here: Home > Chinese Athletic Brand Makes Sponsorship Splash

Chinese Athletic Brand Makes Sponsorship Splash

Written by in Sports Sponsorship

We have teamed up with Ben Sturner and his extraordinary crew at Leverage Agency to bring you the top five movers and shakers each week in the world of sports sponsorships and marketing.

Top Chinese Athletic Brand Signs NBA’s Evan Turner

For years, we’ve been talking about the importance of American sports brands, including shoe companies like Nike, getting into China. We haven’t talked as much about Chinese shoe companies getting into this country.

That’s about to change. CNBC has exclusively learned that Li-Ning, China’s top athletic brand, has signed Evan Turner, the No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA Draft to a multi-year deal that will make him the face of the brand.

You are here: Home > Loyalty in the National Basketball Association

Loyalty in the National Basketball Association

Written by in Sports Jobs

NBA All-Star Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat recently made headlines being quoted for saying that loyalty has no place in free agency. Bosh mentions that at a store, you’d go to a store that has the cheaper price for your item, so how is basketball any different? You go where it makes sense for you.

I admit I was a bit shocked by Bosh’s comments because I am a fan of Chris Bosh and I respect everything he does on and off the court. While his new teammate LeBron James was busy rubbing it in Cleveland’s face, Bosh chose the high road and thanked all his Toronto fans for his time there. However, in this case – I have to disagree with Bosh. Just because sports are a business does not mean loyalty should be “an added bonus” as he puts it.

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