Here is an interview with Robert Wuhl, writer, comedian, and actor who starred as a sports agent in the HBO show Arliss. Wuhl shares with us his thoughts with the current state of sports and how media has changed the presentation of players. Wuhl is an Emmy Award winner and also starred in Cobb, a story based on the life of baseball’s great Ty Cobb. See who he think is huge in sports.
If you don’t know about Stephen Strasburg, let me introduce you. Strasburg is a starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals. He was the number one pick in the MLB Draft last year and made his major league debut earlier this week: 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 earned runs… and 14 strikeouts! Quite the impressive entry into Major League Baseball. Strasburg is a budding superstar. He’s been talked about for the last several years in baseball’s inner circles. His fastball approaches 100 miles-per-hour and moves dramatically. His curveball is about twenty miles per hour slower than his fastball and has been known to defy gravity. Strasburg is the real deal.
Strasburg & Social Media
I see a great opportunity for Strasburg to really change the game for Major League Baseball when it comes to social media. None of the league’s superstars have truly embraced Facebook or Twitter (the league’s best social media user is Nick Swisher, but hard to call him a superstar). Other leagues have big-time players using social media, but the MLB does not.
Some call it a sign of the times or the new “Revenue Era” in baseball. All major sports teams are in search of revenue streams or new ways to maximize current ones. Without a salary cap, Major League Baseball teams have been thriving with activity.
One piece to the new revenue is puzzle has been the obvious recent economic woes. Some markets have been harder hit due to more significant local job loss and some due to their increased dependence on corporate revenue streams that soon became rougher waters.
No matter the team or the market everyone is in need of additional revenue. In the last few years another large piece in new era revenue puzzle is current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
(This is a guest article by Chris Rufle)
Putting on a networking event at your venue can be beneficial for you in a few different ways. It can give you the opportunity to sell a weak night, draw in new quality leads, and help other business executives further their businesses all at the same time. As long as you follow a few steps to make sure you plan your event properly it can be a success.
First, pick a night. Since people are primarily coming for the networking event instead of the game, you have the opportunity to pick the date you prefer. This gives you the ability to take one of your weaker nights and sell it while hosting a successful group outing with great potential for future leads.
Leverage, Top Rank partner for boxing upfront presentation
(This is a guest article by Stephen Lombardo)
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.
Ah, baseball. America’s past time. The game has been around, and flourished, for a long, long time. In recent years (since the mid 90′s), baseball has hit a rough patch, with the Steroids Era. However, baseball is trying to change its image, and social media is part of that effort. Social media makes sense for a game that is inherently social for its audience. Going to the ballpark is as much about the hot dogs, peanuts, beer, and conversation with friends, as it is about the action on the field. Let’s see how the MLB does in my final edition of “Social Media Report Card.”
Visibility: B
As expected, the MLB is taking advantage of the Internet’s two biggest social media platforms, and has just about 750,000 followers on Twitter and 45,000 fans on Facebook. The league has also integrated Twitter chat into its MLB.tv streams. Even Minor League Baseball has an account on Twitter, with several hundred followers. However, the MLB does not have an account on YouTube and they are aggressive about removing any of their content that is posted by fans. The MLB has also failed to utilize emerging platforms (e.g. DailyBooth, Ustream). So far, none of the four leagues have taken advantage of those platforms. The first to do so will not regret it.
Let me start by saying this: The MLB not taking advantage of social media is like a slugger with home run power who refuses to swing the bat. It just doesn’t make sense.
In the heat of this past NBA season, Twitter exploded and Facebook pages were redesigned for businesses. The NBA was smart, saw the opportunity, and has never looked back. The NFL season was ending as social media was becoming relevant for brands, and they’ve done a nice job attracting a large following. By the numbers, it’s obvious that the NHL has failed to this point.
To be fair, the MLB is taking advantage of social media to some extent. They operate a Twitter account with
