Tag Archives | lebron james

The Most Engaging Athletes on Twitter

By on April 5, 2012 in Social Media in Sports

Which athletes do you like to follow and interact with on Twitter?  Who catches your attention with their comments on hot button topics in the sports world?  Sometimes the athlete wants to draw attention to their charity or hold a contest on Twitter to give away a signed jersey or pair of shoes. Other times,Read more →

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Athletes on Twitter: Which are Getting Beat by Tweets and Who’s a Winner?

By on April 2, 2012 in Social Media in Sports

Athletes on Twitter: A Popular Pastime off the Field There was a time we admired athletes for their physical prowess and feats of heroic strength, but we didn’t really know their true colors. It’s awfully difficult to get to know someone from the five words they say in the locker room during the post-game interview.Read more →

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Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz – 12.1.3

By on January 2, 2012 in Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz

The Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards  Sports Business From Albert Pujols to LeBron James – Are Top Athletes Overpaid? “But what, exactly, is the assertion behind “overpaid?” Most who say it simply mean that “athletes make too much money,” an understandable opinion.Read more →

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Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz – 11.12.20

By on December 19, 2011 in Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz

The Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards Sports Business You Say Potato, Idaho Says Cha-Ching  “Companies that sponsor these games are hoping you’ll be thinking about them when you turn on the TV or walk into the stadium. From pizza and fried chickenRead more →

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A New Era at the NBA

By on April 3, 2011 in Sports Jobs

Watching live NBA games this week there is one game that really stood out and drew media and online attention for all the wrong reasons:  The Cleveland Cavaliers V Miami Heat game on March 29. Superstarter Lebron James didn’t feature in the pre-game announcements -apparently he was in the restroom – instead ‘appearing’ on theRead more →

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Sports and Social Media in 2010

By on December 31, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

2010 was a big year in the world of sports and social media, as leagues, teams, individual athletes, and sports fans alike began to truly understand and harness the power of social platforms. For me, 2010 was the year when social media went mainstream in the world of sports. There were many highlights, too manyRead more →

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Top Twitter Athlete of 2010

By on December 21, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

In 2010, we’ve seen professional athletes come a long way in social media, and perhaps there’s no better platform as evidence of this than Twitter. The amount of engagement in the last year going on in the space has been phenomenal but after doing polls on the top sports professionals and top sports resources of 2010,Read more →

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Kobe Bryant’s Social Media Enigma

By on December 14, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

When we think of social media in basketball, a lot of names come to mind. Shaq was the pioneer. Steve Nash engages with fans with the same smoothness he does orchestrating the basketball court. Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh make announcements on Facebook. LeBron makes notes of his haters. The list goes on, but Kobe Bryant isn’tRead more →

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LeBron James Is Coming To Town

By on December 2, 2010 in Sports Marketing

On July 8, 2010, LeBron James announced a decision – a decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent and join the Miami Heat for the next six seasons. Lebron has never made it a secret that he wants to win and win badly. Aren’t we all granted the freedom of choice toRead more →

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The Overtime Post

By on October 31, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

Recently, when we talked to you how we can improve Sports Networker, a lot of you gave us (essentially) one word: more!

Now, we have been bringing you posts Monday through Friday, give or take a sick day ever since our inception. This is about to change.

Welcome to The Overtime Post, where each weekend I will give you a casual highlight of our week’s posts, along with some of the hottest news in social media and sports business. The posts will be more fun and relaxed, as most of us have traded in our weekday suits for sports jerseys and foam fingers anyway.

Think of it as a weekly Sportscenter – something you can read between downs or during timeouts. I know a lot of you have a lot of trick-or-treating to do, so without further ado, this week’s posts:

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LeBron James Shares New Image Through Nike Ad

By on October 29, 2010 in Sports Marketing

Before you read further, watch Nike’s latest commercial, “Rise,” featuring LeBron James.

The Background

Since most of you already know the story, I’ll make this as quick as I can. Feel free to skip through if you know the background. The last four or five months have been interesting for the King. After seven years in Cleveland and no championship rings, LeBron James decided it was time to leave.

In a prime time ESPN event called The Decision, LeBron announced to the world that he would be “taking [his] talents to South Beach” to play for the Miami Heat. Cavs fans were furious, their hometown hero (LBJ is from Akron, Ohio) was leaving them, having never delivered the championship he promised.

Basketball fans from all over were upset as well, mainly with how LeBron decided to handle the announcement. Even though the money raised during the show was then donated to the Boys & Girls Club of America, most thought it was a pretentious and selfish way to announce his decision.

Throughout the offseason, LeBron has come under a lot of fire. He’s been called out for quitting on his team in the playoffs, for leaving Cleveland, for The Decision. Dan Gilbert, the Cavs’ owner, publicized a nasty letter about LeBron.

Recently, LBJ came out and said he thought that all of the backlash from The Decision was partially a race issue, and that if he were of a different skin color, none of this would have been a big deal. Also, in the past few weeks, LeBron has retweeted several hateful and derogatory tweets, examples of messages he says he receives every day.

In the end, LeBron’s image has changed from a beloved NBA superstar, a hometown hero, and possibly the one-day greatest basketball player of all time to the biggest villain in the league (yes, above Kobe, he’s going to get booed everywhere he goes), a selfish superstar who betrayed his city for more money (smaller contract, bigger endorsements), more fame, and an easier championship ring.

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Loyalty in the National Basketball Association

By on August 27, 2010 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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