Life After Football: What comes next?

by Michelle Hill | February 24th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

toniluca Super Bowl XLIV is a mere memory now. Faint echoes of “Who Dat” ring in our ears. We’ve seen a Brees blow through and we’ve seen the burning Bush. For fans, the season is over and we’re wondering what to do on Sunday afternoons. We could relive the season by watching games of our favorite teams on DVD but it just doesn’t hold the same magic. We could spend our days anticipating the draft or go on a hot wing fast in defiance of another season ending. We could turn our attention to other sports but football is football.

Baseball’s Diamond in the Rough: The Florida Marlins

by Lewis Howes | January 21st, 2010 | 1 Comment »

(This is a guest article by Stephen Lombardo) SD Dirk

It is unlikely for the Marlins to make news in January. Usually they handle their in-house business around this time of year. Trying to keep guys like Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson are priority number one for this so called small market team. However, this past week, the players union and the Florida Marlins have reached an agreement for this cellar dweller franchise to up their payroll. I guess the one big question can now be asked; did baseball just wake a sleeping giant?

For as far back as we can remember, the Marlins are a draft and trade team built on their pitching and a few scattered all stars in the lineup. Just look at their championship teams. The 1997 team had up and coming stars like Gary Sheffield, Edgar Renteria, Moises Alou and a few others, but they won because of their pitching. With the likes of Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, and Livan Hernandez anchoring their rotation they were obviously good enough to go all the way. The same argument can be made for their 2003 campaign. This team supposedly won by accident. Or did they? Once again they did it with budding stars on the field like Juan Pierre, Derek Lee, Mike Lowell, and Luis Castillo who was there for both titles. Yes they had the leadership of Ivan Rodriguez, but that wasn’t why they won. They won again with a rotation that when healthy went five deep. Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny, mid-season call up and phenom Dontrelle Willis, and yes Carl Pavano, were the biggest reasons why the 2003 Marlins won the World Series.

Well, This is Awkward. Tiger is Decade’s Top Athlete.

by Sam Taggart | December 17th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

tiger woods 001 Three weeks ago, Tiger Woods had it all. He was the world’s best golfer, a superstar athlete with a beautiful wife and kids, millions of dollars, sound endorsements from big brands, and an untarnished image. Then, in the very early hours of Black Friday, Tiger Woods was involved in a single-car accident on his neighbor’s front lawn, and not because he was trying to get a jump on his holiday shopping. Allegations came out that Woods was cheating on his wife with a number (10+) of women. He eventually admitted to some “transgressions.” Woods then lost several of his endorsements and recently took an indefinite leave from the game of golf, presumably in an attempt to stay out of the public eye for a while.

Then, just when you thought you’d heard the last of Tiger for a bit, the Associated Press went and named Woods the decade’s top athlete. What timing! Only weeks after one of the darkest moments of Tiger’s life, he’s given a ridiculously awesome award. And here I thought I’d missed the window to talk about Tiger Woods.

Tiger Tales…This is No Children’s PR Story

by Gail Sideman | December 1st, 2009 | 2 Comments »

tiger 01 Have you read and heard more than your share about Tiger Woods’ unfortunate meeting with a fire hydrant and a tree last Friday morning?

I think I have. But one last thing…and only because it’s the main, if not the biggest sports PR story this year, and is already leading Jay Leno’s monologue.

The quickie recap: World-famous professional golfer, Tiger Woods, decides to take a joy ride in his Cadillac Escalade at 2:30 Friday morning and upon leaving his driveway, tips a fire hydrant and makes contact with a neighbor’s tree. Upon hearing the ruckus, Woods’ wife Elin rushes out of the house and reportedly helps her husband. A neighbor calls 911 and tells the dispatcher that the victim is lying on the ground.

India’s Top Sports Tweeps: Part 1, We The People

by Lewis Howes | November 3rd, 2009 | 3 Comments »

(This is a guest article by Anita Lobo)

Sports & social media have received a lot of attention worldwide, particularly over the opportunity or threat twitter represents. However, the adoption of twitter by the athletes has been considerably slower in India.

This list presents top sports tweeps i.e. the ‘early adopters’ who actively reach out to fans and foster a community of interest and dialogue. A cross-section of athletes from varied disciplines, sports journalists, and one notable sports administrator are here – all of whom share a remarkable view from the front lines of sport in India.

1. @chillyrathore/Rajyavardhan Rathore/ Shooting/ Olympian & multiple world-record holder:

Silver medalist, Men’s Double Trap at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Chilly’s win at the 2004 Silver Olympics is widely regarded as a turning point in India’s performance at the Olympic & Commonwealth Games. He is an inspiration to peers as well as young sportsmen, across disciplines.

How Athletes are Emotionally Abusing Children

by Lewis Howes | October 12th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

(This is another funny guest post by The Virtual Biographer™, Brad Williamson.)

Let’s look back – ooooooooooh – 20 years ago when I was a fresh-faced nine year old cutie patootie…

I liked:

And most of all…

Nolan Ryan

That dude was my personal Jesus. On the mound at the old Arlington Stadium, he’d wind-up and knee himself in the nose one hundred times a night (damn, he had a high leg-kick!) in an effort to make my nine year old mind ooze with amazement. And at the end of each game – which inevitably produced some sort of record-breaking moment – I’d be left with a heart that was hungry for more of his heat; but, unfortunately, I had nowhere to turn for additional insight into the life of my favorite living legend. So instead of firing up a pubecent Prodigy Online, I’d reach for my “Nolan Ryan – Throwing Heat” book or my “Nolan Ryan – Feel The Heat” VHS. After all, that’s all I had to enjoy when I needed a ‘lil more of The Ryan Express in my life. Blogs weren’t born yet and Twitter was still a lame application awaiting its debut into the mindless mainstream.

Between starts, I needed me some more Nolan, but where was I to go to find my fix?

Today, there are digital ways for giddy kids, or giddy grown-ups, to gain additional insight into the lives of those they have man-love towards. Sure, there’s a googillion sports sites out there that deliver an incredible amount of insight about player’s performances, but none of them provide content about what fans really want: details into their days as a person who’s living the dream of being idolized as a sports star.

How can this be? How can we have an Internet that’s full of both brilliance and idiocy not have much Soulful content from public figures about the lives they lead? Sure, they’re busy being bad asses, but would it really be that much of a burden for them to reach out to their fans and fancy them with a little Web-love every once in a while?

I know that back in ‘89, if Nolan was on the Net, I’d gladly wait the ten minutes it would take to load a single page of his blog, because I was fanatical about the guy. Now, in ‘09, I can instantly load 73 tabs of individual athlete blogs and be in hero-heaven for hours on end, gaining insight into the lives I love to live vicariously through.

…Actually, scratch that. Because, now that I really think about it, I can’t do that AT ALL.

I’m not aware of any personal blogs by athletes that are worth following on a daily basis. And, in my personal opinion, that’s just pathetic and lazy. There are millions of nine year olds out there who so desperately want a role model in the world of sports to look up to, but, for some crazy reason I can’t begin to comprehend, they can’t be found on the Net, because taking fifteen minutes to satisfy an impressionable youngster’s hunger for insight into an idol’s life is just too much to ask from someone who plays a child’s game for only a few hours a night.

I’m sorry to sound so irritated by the lack of communication between athletes and their fans, but it just irks me that there are thousands of highly paid professional athletes out there who are only taking care of half the responsibilities they have as a potentially influential public figure.

Click here to stalk Brad Williamson on the Cyberscapes!

Like this article? Read Brad’s last article: Athlete Twitterers are Inconsiderate Social Media Amateurs

Tiger Wood$: The Billion Dollar Man

by Sam Taggart | October 2nd, 2009 | 1 Comment »

One billion dollars. $1,000,000,000. Can you say, “Tiger, Tiger Woods, y’all?”

That’s a lot of zeros for a guy who gets paid to play a game for a living. Heck, that’s a lot of zeros for a guy who gets paid to do anything for a living! According to Forbes Magazine, Tiger Woods became the first professional athlete to pass one billion dollars in career earnings, after winning the Fed Ex Cup this year.

What’s even crazier: the man is just 33 years old, which means he still has 17 years until he is even eligible for the Champions tour (where the old guys play). Most people expect Woods to have a solid ten more years before he starts to fade, and even Tiger has said that the older he gets, the better player he becomes. Just imagine how much more money Tiger Woods will have earned when he finally decides to call it quits.

Athletes probably get paid too much money (that’s a debate for another time), but in my opinion, if there is just one athlete who deserves that kind of money, it’s Tiger Woods. Why? Because, Tiger Woods is golf. In the last fifteen years, he has revolutionized the sport. More and more kids, especially in urban areas, are playing. Courses routinely set attendance records when he is playing. And when Tiger is in contention on any given Sunday, that tournament is bound to attract a nice television audience. In fact, attendance and ratings drop noticeably when Tiger is not involved. Every week on Wednesday nights, PGA executives should be on their knees praying for a good showing from Mr. Woods.

Let’s face it; there is no athlete who is as overwhelmingly and single-handedly responsible for the success of his or her sport as Tiger Woods. It’s not even close. Sure, if Lebron or Kobe weren’t around, the NBA might not be as exciting. If Albert Pujols or Manny Ramirez weren’t around, the MLB might not be as entertaining. If Crosby or Ovechkin weren’t around, the NHL would lose a great storyline. What all these hypotheticals have in common is that others would step into their places. But if Tiger Woods weren’t around, the PGA would not have anywhere near the popularity it has now. He is irreplaceable.

So, congratulations Tiger Woods for your achievement. One billion dollars, a hot babe to call your wife, two beautiful kids, and the oh-so-impossible (and you know what I’m talking about if you’re a golfer) ability to hit a ball 300+ yards down the center of the fairway, or stick it three feet from the pin from 200 yards out! You have changed the game forever. Golf is not just a game for rich white kids from the suburbs anymore. You’ve legitimized golf as a sport. And most importantly, you’ve single-handedly turned the PGA into a successful organization and brand. You deserve every one of those billion dollars. Just try not to spend it all in one place.

8 Ways Agents Should Research Athletes Before They Sign Them

by Darren Heitner | September 28th, 2009 | 7 Comments »

Sports agents who take any and every athlete who contacts them on their website will not last very long in this industry. Representing athletes is much like playing the stock market; you have to make a rather large initial investment in order to have a chance to make any significant profit.

You could load up with a bunch of penny stocks that are high risk, do not cost much. One or two of those athletes break through and you could be generating a solid profit. On the other hand, you could invest big money into a guy with proven skill and high ratings from scouts. Unfortunately, the main difference between stocks and athletes is that stocks are not going to leave you mid-investment. An athlete can.