Last updated by Lewis Howes at September 29 2010.

Tag Archives | american football

Will Michael Vick’s Road to Redemption Ever End?

54 for 89 (60% completions). 6 passing touchdowns. 1 rushing touchdown. 0 interceptions. And a QB rating of 110.2. Those are Michael Vick’s numbers three weeks into the 2010 NFL season. Vick started the season as backup to Kevin Kolb. But after a Week 1 Kolb concussion and a dominant Week 2 performance by Vick in his place, head coach Andy Reid made the decision to give Vick the chance he’d been waiting several years for, to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League once again.

But this post is not about Michael Vick the football player, it is about Michael Vick the person.

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Don’t Pull a Johnson…Follow the Rules!

Written by Lewis Howes 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.

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The Rooney Rule

Written by Michelle Hill in Sports Marketing

According to Wikipedia, “The Rooney Rule, established in 2003, requires National Football league teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities. The rule is named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the league’s diversity committee, and indirectly the Rooney family in general, due to the Steelers’ long history of giving African Americans opportunities to serve in team leadership roles. It is often cited as an example of affirmative action.”

Those are the facts in a nutshell. The opinions and results, however, are steeped in controversy and conjecture. Any potential NFL coach is groomed and prepared with years of hands-on training and development, progressing from a supporting role to head coach. Coaches are chosen based on character, commitment, work ethic, leadership and motivational skills, and of course the ability to create winning football teams.

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The Off-Season Businesses of Pro Football Players

Written by Michelle Hill in Sports Business

Just because a pro player has on-field success does not mean he’ll have automatic off-field business success. He often struggles with identity crisis issues when his name and face doesn’t bring immediate recognition. The NFLPA works hard to provide players and retired players with the tools and resources to be successful during post-football life. The…

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Build a Brand Like Apple in Sports

Written by Gail Sideman in Sports Marketing

When you think of brand positioning for Apple Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:AAPL) a few words come to mind: creative, quality, dynamic design and secretive. In light of the last definition, most all information that has any hint of a new product, design or circuitry hits every mode of media within minutes. Apple’s PR department has one…

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How Technology is Affecting Sports

Written by Lewis Howes in Sports Technology

(This is a guest article by Michael Coco) We all know that technology plays a major role in sports. If it weren’t for new inventions and innovative ideas half the sports we know of wouldn’t exists. If it weren’t for technology we wouldn’t have the instant replay, the headset for coaches to throw, or even…

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Using the PR Power of March Madness

Written by Tyler Johnson in Sports Marketing

In reading Gail Sideman’s recent article about March Madness being the NCAA‘s best PR campagin, I began to think of the other PR benefits provided by this tournament. I grew accustomed to watching the Iowa Hawkeyes. Guys like Ricky Davis, Acie Earl, Reggie Evans, Russ Millard and BJ Armstrong (who I met again as he…

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Women’s Pro Football: Not a Powder Puff League

Written by Michelle Hill in Sports Marketing

Do any of these teams sound familiar? War Angels, Fighting Fillies, Sting, Shreveport Aftershock, Carolina Queens, Connecticut Crushers, Tampa Bay Pirates, or Bay Area Bandits? If you follow sports of all kinds, you’ll realize these team names belong to women’s pro football teams. Yes, Virginia, they exist. Female athletes in every sport have struggled to…

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5 Proactive PR Tips for Sports Figures

Written by Gail Sideman in Sports Marketing

It’s official. Tiger Woods announced on his website that he will begin his comeback from the personal mega-bogey that derailed his professional career for four months. Ben Roethlisberger is still fighting a sexual assault charge, his second such fumble in three years. Four University of Oregon football players have been in trouble with the law…

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Show Me the Money: Business of Football