Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
Can Long Island Still Afford the Islanders?
Over at NHL FanHouse this morning, Chris Botta is reporting that six different municipalities, including both Kansas City and the New York City borough of Queens, are interested in becoming the new home of the New York Islanders.
I don't doubt Botta's sources and I don't doubt his enthusiasm for the Lighthouse Project, the redevelopment plan that Islanders owner Charles Wang believes is necessary for the team to stay on Long Island.
I don't doubt that keeping the Islanders where they are is what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman wants too. After all, despite the team's woes on the ice -- they haven't won a playoff series since 1993 -- this is a franchise that won four Stanley Cups, won 19 straight playoff series and put five players, a head coach and a team executive in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Moving a franchise with that sort of pedigree is not a headache Bettman wants, especially if he wants to avoid larger questions about the financial viability of the NHL and other franchises.
And, finally, I don't doubt that losing the Islanders would be a tremendous blow to Long Island's civic pride. I should know, as I grew up about a 10-minute car ride from the Nassau Coliseum and rooted for that team as a child. When it comes to big media in New York City, they had little reason to report on anything going on in the suburbs on Long Island, but even the big shots in Manhattan had to pay attention to the region when the Isles were piling up Stanley Cups while the Rangers were well into their fourth decade of playoff futility.
But the question I haven't seen too many people ask is whether or not the Lighthouse deal is a good one for the taxpayers of Nassau County, the Town of Hempstead and New York state. Yes, I've read plenty about how the project will create construction jobs and become a magnet for ancillary economic development. But as Will Leitch pointed out in his excellent piece over at New York about how there isn't any reason to get rid of the Meadowlands, we always hear those arguments:
Giants Stadium cost just over $70 million (financed by bonds backed by state racetrack proceeds) in 1976. Many new stadiums are publicly financed by selling the myth—and it is a myth—of utility and profitability down the line.
The reality, on the other hand, is that building arenas and stadiums to support sports franchises are a luxury -- and it isn't obstructionist to ask whether or not it's a luxury that municipalities can afford, especially in light of competing priorities during a serious economic downturn that has pushed government budgets at all levels to the absolute limit.
That's not an idle question for me, as my entire immediate family still lives in my hometown on Long Island. While I was growing up there, it was impossible to go a few weeks without hearing my parents, neighbors and parents of my friends complain about the tax burden there, one that's always been among the highest in the nation.
I'll admit one thing: I don't know the answer to that question, which is properly up to the local officials and taxpayers on Long Island. In my heart, I hope they can get a deal done. Unfortunately, my head suspects that paying the price to keep the NHL on Long Island might come at the expense of other public priorities. Keep your fingers crossed.
Danica Patrick to NASCAR?
Danica Patrick is eyeing her future. Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty.
We've all heard the rumors for a couple of years, and not it looks like Tony Stewart let the cat out the bag on Saturday in Atlanta: Sooner rather than later, Danica Patrick is going to be behind the wheel of one or more cars on the NASCAR circuit, more than likely in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series.
And when that does happen, Patrick will more than likely be on the fast track to becoming one of the most well-compensated athletes in the world. Everybody knows that in NASCAR the ability to attract and hold sponsors can be as important as winning races. Patrick, despite the fact that she's only won a single race in her IRL career, is already the most high profile driver in American open wheel racing. There are few new worlds left to conquer, and NASCAR is all that's really left in North America.
According to the published reports, Patrick wouldn't leave her ride with Andretti Green Racing, but would rather run a limited number of races on NASCAR's two junior circuits as part of Stewart's team in addition to her IRL duties. If/when she makes that first appearance, it's going to be a category five media frenzy, and companies are going to kill each other to sponsor her ride.
Once again, keep in mind that Patrick isn't actually leaving IRL just yet. While she might not have anything left to do in IRL off the track, there is a little bit of unfinished business she would probably like to take care of in Indianapolis next May. I don't think she'll bolt to NASCAR full time until she's had a few more kicks at that can.
POSTCRIPT: For those of you who came looking for Danica Patrick pics, click here. And when you speak of me, speak well.
What Makes a Throwback Jersey Authentic?
Not a Tom Seaver Jersey
A couple of minutes ago, Bryan Berg, one of my Facebook friends, posted a link to the above jersey that's for sale over at Jersey Mall. Being a long-time New York Mets fan, it wasn't hard to tell that this supposed "authentic" Mitchell and News throwback 1969 Tom Seaver home Mets jersey was an obvious fraud.
The first alarm bell: the shoulder patch on this jersey was featured during the 1986 Mets season, Seaver's last year in baseball when he split time between the White Sox and the Red Sox. By that time, the Mets had long switched to stitching player names on the reverse of the jersey, where this example only sports #41 on the reverse.
What's funny is that Seaver did wear a jersey very similar to this one when he returned to the Mets in 1983 for a single season before getting snagged by the White Sox in the waiver draft in the following offseason. Of course, again, by that time, the Mets had long since started stitching player names on the reverse of all of their jerseys, something this fraud lacks.
So what did Seaver's actual 1969 uniform look like? Here's an example from Dressed to the Nines:
The actual 1969 New York Mets uniform.
As it turns out, you can actually buy a 1969 Tom Seaver throwback from Mitchell and Ness, and here it is. But when you look closely, while it might be an official "throwback" that doesn't make it authentic:
A real Mitchell and Ness Tom Seaver throwback.
As you can see from this Sports Illustrated cover from 1969, the actual 1969 Mets jersey featured the MLB logo on the left sleeve, not the right, as shown above. The team has generally featured the team's alternate logo on its left sleeve more or less since the team's inception in 1962, with a few exceptions (1964-65 and 1969).
So what's the lesson? Caveat emptor, my friend. Caveat emptor.
The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
Over at On Frozen Blog, my friend Mike Rucki is annoyed over the whole Versus/DirecTV conflict, a feeling that's been fueled by the less than impressive performance that the two companies have been turning in via Twitter.
As for me, I have to admit I'm a pretty happy DirecTV subscriber, and I mark the day I turned in my Comcast (the parent company of Versus) cable box as one of the happier days of my adult life. But given that a total of seven Caps games are going to be on Versus this season, I'd hope that DirecTV would give serious consideration to coming to an agreement sooner rather than later.
Of course, this is money we're talking about, so we shouldn't expect this dispute to get resolved until a few minutes before the puck drops on the Versus NHL season premier on October 1.
Could Steelers and Penguins Coverage End Up Behind a Pay Wall?
That's not an idle question. With newspapers all over the country scrambling for ways to generate new sources of revenue in an ad market that seems to be crashing, I guess it isn't a surprise that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is thinking about experimenting with a pay wall:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said "PG+" would be a "members-only website with interactive features and exclusive content" available to subscribers for 36 dollars a year or for 3.99 dollars a month.
It said "PG+" would not replace Post-Gazette.com, the newspaper's current website, but would feature "a new stream of exclusive blogs, videos, live chats and behind-the-scenes insights into the news of the day."
If there's any newspaper in the U.S. that could get away with this, it would have to be the Gazette. Think about it for a moment: thanks to several waves of migration of natives who are incredibly loyal to the city of their birth, the Post-Gazette probably draws a massive amount of traffic from outside its circulation area -- with much of those eyeballs desperate for news about the Steelers and the Penguins.
With that in mind, I could easily see the Post-Gazette keeping their basic game night coverage on the free side, while moving supplementary coverage behind a pay wall. If you want an example of how it could work without much disruption, just take a look at ESPN.com, where the WWL provides a ton of free content with a significant portion of content inside a pay wall for their subscribers.
I wonder if we're going to have to pay to read Seth Rorabaugh?
Some Quick Thoughts On Paul Kelly’s Firing
Ex-NHLPA Executive Director, Paul Kelly
Like a lot of folks, I couldn't help but be stunned by the news this morning of Paul Kelly's abrupt dismissal as Executive Director of the NHLPA*. While I don't have time for a detailed deconstruction of events, here are some quick observations that ought to be discussed further:
- With Kelly's firing, the NHLPA is now working on its fourth Executive Director since the resolution of the lockout (Bob Goodenow, Ted Saskin and Kelly) that put the league in a deep freeze for an entire season.
- Given Kelly's generally conciliatory stance toward ownership -- he actually afforded NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman the opportunity to address to NHLPA not long ago -- one would think that this move would signal a more aggressive stance on the part of the players association ...
- ... And if that's the case, the shift is coming at a rather percarious time for the global economy. While some folks think that the world is coming out of the latest economic shock rather nicely, there are others who believe just as strongly that there's a real risk we're headed into a double-dip recession, something that could very well make a more aggressive approach by the NHLPA all the more problematic.
Put it all together, and I don't think I'm probably the only one asking the following question: Is the NHLPA sufficiently united to choose a path forward and stick to it even when the going gets tough?
___________________________
* Major props to TSN's Darren Dreger, who tweeted details of last night's NHLPA meeting deep into the night.
Leonsis Boosts DC United
Over the past few weeks, DC United has been running short videos from Washington-area sports figures urging folks to come out to RFK for the US Open Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders on September 2. The latest personality to appear: Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis:
I have to admit I'm taken by this campaign, and how many of the local teams are actively working to establish a sense of community between their fan bases. Of course, not only does it feel good, but as we've seen from more than a few appearances by Barra Brava at the Verizon Center, it helps to sell tickets too.
Fellowship aside, we need to realize that United has more on the line than just a championship. Out in Seattle, the MLS ownership group lobbied to host the Open Cup Final at Qwest Field, home ground of the Sounders. Safe to say, with the way the franchise has been drawing in its inaugural season, I have to admit they made a great case.
After they lost out to DCU, some Sounders fans complained long and hard, and if the crowd at RFK next week is disappointing, US Soccer and DC United are going to have some explaining to do.
UPDATE: The folks at GoSounders.com are spreading FUD about the whole process.
When Is Your Picture Not Yours
Well, if you live in Arkansas and take a picture of your son in this weekend's state championship game, then none of your pictures will be yours by Monday. For that matter none of the video or audio you took will be yours either.
That is what the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) is claiming. The AAA is the sponsoring organization of championship games for public and private schools in the state of Arkansas. This isn't just happening in Arkansas, similar organizations are making the same claim in Illinois.
For more info check out OffWing Photo where we started tracking this issue several days ago. This issue affects traditional press, online press, spectators, friends, and the families of the participants in state championships.....oh BTW it might be unconstitutional.
Check out the latest photos from OffWing photographers by visiting our Photoshelter gallery.
Also stop by our new sister website OffWing Photo where we focus on photography, especially sports photography.
Interview With Michael McCann
My old friend Michael McCann sat down for an interview recently with SportsAgentBlog.com. Give it a read.
Is Partnering With Pro Athletes Too Risky?
Jon Hickey of Mullen Advertising says maybe so.
Why ESPN Doesn’t Matter To The NHL Anymore
In looking at the NHL's relationship with ESPN, Alanah Downie asks an interesting question:
Is ESPN
Want To Work For Reebok On NHL And NFL Merchandise?
If so, this might be your shot. Reebok is looking to hire a designer to work at its Canton, Massachusetts location:
DescriptionThe Sports Licensed division of adidas Group is looking for a designer that has the ability to style and design entire product, technically addressing, fit, patterns, fabrics and graphic designs. A designer that has a global outlook towards fashion and lifestyle trends, combined with the ability to translate color, graphics and material to the products; and can effectively interact with a variety of cross functional groups.
Responsibilities:
Provide market research and present future trends based on seasonal concepts.
Research and development of all on-going fabric, construction details and trim research.
Create design boards and manage transfer of information to development and product management teams.
Design category collections within cost, style, performance and consumer objectives integrating freelance design and inspiration.
Maintain all files and transfer of correct information to cross business functional units.
Work in partnership with development team for handoff of all Proto-Requests.
Attend fit and prototype review sessions.
Work parallel with Production management teams.
Strong communication, organizational, and presentation skills.
Able to respond quickly to multiple projects with strong time management skills.
International and domestic travel required.
So, if you're looking to kill that whole pink jersey thing, this might be your shot.
The Fantasy Sports Arbitrator
Meet the Sports Judge:
Are you striving for a higher degree of professionalism for your fantasy sports league? Would you like an impartial and effective method for resolving disputes with other teams? Do you need a comprehensive league constitution? Or, might you be looking for that extra degree of scouting intelligence that can make all the difference during the season?Professor Marc Edelman's "SportsJudge
Versus Extends NHL Contract
"Amid flat national ratings and sliding regional numbers, Comcast will remain in the rink with the National Hockey League into the next decade.
Comcast
Johnstown Chiefs (.com) For Sale
Johnstown Chiefs website.
Talk about incompetent ownership. Not only does Anita McCambridge refuse to sell the Chiefs, but it seems that her web producer has forgotten to renew the team's domain name. Wither Reggie.
Ed. note: Network Solutions is closed for a meeting today. Let the bidding war begin.
Ed. note #2: With apologies to Chiefs' web producer Steve Hanson, the site is now registered and is back up and running.
Ken Berard can be reached at
The 50 Most Influential People in Sports
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has been named the 11th most influential person in sports according to Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, the industry's leading trade publication.
From the article,
"Sustaining current interest and increasing the popularity of the sport remain Bettman
Mascot Wanted
Looking at the NHL's job message board, it appears that the Washington Capitals are looking to hire a new mascot. This begs two questions: will the Caps be Slapshot-less against the Flyers Saturday night? And will Jeremy Roenick be applying for the job?
Ken Berard can be reached at
When Your Ticket Isn’t Exactly Your Ticket
Interesting piece from Richard Sandomir from today's New York Times on how teams are starting to revoke season tickets from fans who attempt to re-sell their tickets on services like eBay and StubHub.
As someone who is an NFL season ticket holder, I can't say I'm happy about the development. Once I buy a ticket, I feel like I've got a right to re-sell that ticket to anyone that I like. Then again, as one New York Yankees executive told the Times, if customers don't like the terms of the sale, they don't have to buy the tickets.
While it would be easy to react with knee-jerk anger at the teams, there are a number of different things going on here. With the rise of the Internet, scalping has evolved from a shadowy specialty skill into a broad-based business. Time was you only had two choices when it came to getting tickets to the big game: Call a ticket broker or show up at the stadium and take a chance on a game day scalper -- and that's the case whether you're looking for WNBA tickets or two seats to the Super Bowl.
But first with eBay and now with StubHub and a number of other services -- many of which are proud advertisers here at Off Wing -- anybody can unload seats they either don't want to use or just can't, and do it for a very reasonable service fee.
Teams who have been reluctant for years to dabble in tiered pricing are undestandably concerned that they have no way of capturing additional revenue when demand drives up the after market price of a ticket. They want a piece of that action, and they're looking to set up their own private markets to do it.
While I believe teams are perfectly within their rights to demand this, and may even be able to improve the market for ticket re-sale by competing on price or quality of service, things are sure to run off the rails at some point if fans get the impression that teams want to create a monopoly marketplace where they make money on every transaction, and teams leverage that monopoly to extract a profit that fans percieve to be excessive and unfair.
In that case, we'll simply see a significant portion of the ticket re-sale marketplace driven underground again. It will probably be good news for the game day scalper. If teams attempt to track the identity of online sellers (something the Yankees already do), individual ticket holders will be forced to work with brokers who will either filter tickets to game day scalpers or put processes in place to thwart teams who attempt to determine the identity of season ticket holders participating in the re-sale marketplace.
For example, the Times article revealed that the Yankees regularly question fans who arrive at the game with envelopes bearing the StubHub logo. Something tells me that StubHub will make sure that those envelopes are blank from now on.
Teams are playing a very dangerous game here, which is why you're probably only seeing teams with outsized market power -- like the Yankees -- act in such a heavy handed manner. Season ticket holders are the backbone of many team's revenue streams. They're generally well-off, better educated, and a lot more likely to be able to fight back. Like the music industry, professional sports may eventually discover that playing hardball with your best customers isn't always the right move.
Caps Owner To Cut Back AOL Duties
This morning's edition of the Washington Post reports that Caps owner Ted Leonsis is going to be pulling away from his day-to-day responsibilities at AOL to concentrate on his sports and entertainment projects as well as his outside philanthropical interests:
"I'm still going to come in every day and if I want to leave at 5:30 to watch the drop of the puck, I will do that without guilt," he said. "I think I've earned that right."
The man wants to watch more hockey, and how can anyone argue with that?
My Whole World Is Blue…
I'm with Stupid Evil Bastard, I can't get enough of this Fruit of the Loom commercial satirizing Coldplay.
I've seen bits and snatches of the commercial for a couple of weeks, and was always disappointed that I couldn't listen to the whole song. That was until a few minutes ago, until TiVo delivered a pop-up balloon asking if I wanted to watch the whole video.
Brilliant stuff, from the video itself (very ingenious), to the song, and finally the marketing and advertising. In a way, I feel like I ought to go out and buy a pair of boxers just to call it even.
Here We Go Again…
With another miscretant hijacking my RSS feed. This guy is a little more sly, as the domain name he's using apparently isn't registered to anyone.
Just Quenching Your Thirst…
After getting a good chuckle, just know this isn't the first time something like this has happened. But it doesn't make it any less funny.
Something tells me shameless sports marketing shill Darren Rovell (watch him turn press releases into news!) won't take notice.
Thanks to Chris Lynch, who earned a couple of centuries in Purgatory today, for the pointer.
UPDATE: Color me wrong on Rovell.
Life Imitates The Onion
Our favorite online satirists knew what Gillete had to do before they even knew it.
The Gillete Fusion Razor
I just saw that Glenn Reynolds posted a review of the new Gillette Fusion Razor
I've been using Gillete razors since I got out of college and ditched electrics forever. Most recently, I've been using the Gillete Sensor Excel, but only because I left my Mach III handle in a Santa Fe hotel over the Summer. Lucky for me I had a Sensor handle and a stash of blades in reserve. I've been using them ever since.
About a week ago I got a Fusion handle with one catridge in the mail along with a bunch of coupons. This isn't the first time, as I got my Mach III handle the same way a couple of years back.
I've been using the Fusion for about a week now, and I have to concur with Glenn -- the shave is noticably closer than with the old Sensor, and better than I remember it with the Mach III.
However, it was only a few weeks ago listening to Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, that Curry read an email from one of his listeners claiming that razor companies use a higher grade of steel in blades that ship with the handle than the replacement blades. That's something I'll keep in mind over the next few weeks and months.
I've got one other quibble with Gillete: As the surface area of blade catridges has increased, it's gotten tougher to get the blade into some tight spots -- most notably above my lip. Thankfully, Gillete has included a sixth blade for trimming on the reverse of the cartridge. It worked very well at first, but seems to have dulled pretty quickly over the last 2-3 days.
So, a qualified thumbs up for the Fusion. Anybody else?
Budwieser And The SI Swimsuit Issue: Perfect Together
Boy, I may have to start reading Adrants every day:
In a perfect alignment, Budweiser has signed on as exclusive promotional sponsor of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue and will also team with SI supermodel Molly Sims who will appear in the brewer's point of sale material.
The Ticket Options Market
Over at the Sports Economist, Brad Humphreys takes a look at an interesting development -- an options market for tickets to high profile sporting events:
After opening an account, members can buy options to purchase tickets to a number of specific championship sporting events - NFL postseason games, BCS bowl games, NCAA Men's basketball Regional Finals and Final Four, etc. - at face value for a given team.For example, I could currently purchase the option to a ticket to the Final Four to see my alma mater, West Virginia University, for $27. If the Mountaineers make the final four, I would pay the face value of the ticket ($140, according to the web site), plus my $27 option. If the Mountaineers didn't make the Final Four, my option would be worthless and I would be out $27.
The service is called The Ticket Reserve. Currently, they're offering options on both the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. To get the price for the option to see the Ottawa Senators play their first home game of the Stanley Cup Finals, click here.
Scalping Goes Legit?
Well, now that America Online is working with resellers StubHub and TicketsNow, it certainly looks that way.
As always, please support Off Wing by patronizing many of our fine advertisers operating in the same marketspace.
UPDATE: Thanks to reader Beau Dure for pointing out that USA Today has been doing business with TicketsNow as well.
Davy Crockett Bites The Dust At UT
In favor of another silly animal mascot. What a joke.
Link via Instapundit.
Time To Regulate Scalpers?
Mark Cuban says he doesn't mind scalpers, but more than a few of them have been giving him heartburn lately:
There have been far too many times when I have gotten emails from upset customer who have purchased tickets online or on the phone expecting their
