Friday, August 14, 2009

Immature Coach = Immature Athletes?


Sports 101 is taking a unique perspective on the sex scandal at the University of Louisville which involves men's basketball coach Rick Pitino. It has been reported that Pitino cheated on his wife. Whether this is true or not, I don't know.

What I do know is that the reaction to a professor cheating on their spouse by an athlete goes unnoticed and unreported in the newspapers. College students are not children. The impact of a coach having extramarital relations with another person should dissapoint them, but this story is not going to affect how hard they play on the court.



Coach Pitino's image has always been suspect, but you don't play college basketball to learn life lessons from a coach. That is what your parents, religious organization, and friends are for.

Sports 101 memo: Coach, how can you look a recruit in the eye and give him an honest commitment to him and his family, when you aren't loyal to your own?

Friday, June 26, 2009

Some Lawn Sales Anybody?


With Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from Wimbledon and the economy being in the pits who would have thought that Wimbledon would be raking in record profits? Not only that, but people are betting on the matches with such ferocity as if a Brit is going to win the tournament....

Well, maybe that is the thinking. With Nadal out Andy Murray is poised to be a champ of the All England Club! But, oh there is the best player in the history in his way, Roddick and Djokovic. With such intrigue, scores of fans are flocking to each match. It is said that Murray's tickets in the second round will be worth thousands of dollars.

Brit's and Tennis fan's can only hope Murray isn't the next Henman!!!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Tiger's Back and Marketers Couldn't be Happier

Sports 101: He is a sports marketers dream!


Let's way the pro's and con's of Tiger Woods' return to the PGA Tour. With the exception that other golfers had a shot to win a tournament, there are no cons to Mr. Woods return.

Darren Rovell Reporting: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1040517578

According to today's Wall Street Journal's Suzanne Vranica Nielson ratings saw a 47 % drop in viewership of golf during Woods' rehab from knee surgery. Also, companies such as Nike, PepsiCo and General Electric are going to be using Woods' return to pioneer their reign atop the sports marketing world.








Gatorade is running a print ad in Sports Illustrated, Pepsi is relaunching its Tiger Focus drink, and NBC announced Tiger's return right before his return to the green.















Woods is certainly a sports marketers dream. He brings back the casual fan to his or her television set and his sponsors are licking their chops eager to launch their campaigns.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Effects of the Economy on the Sports World

Sports 101 knows we are all feeling the pain. Including the sports world.


So, everyone knows how bad our economy is. Nascar is suffering, and the Arena Football League even canceled its season this year. So does the economy only a hit the not as popular sports? The answer is unequivocally no!

The NBA, MLB and the NFL are also feeling its effects. The Los Angeles Lakers have unloaded two players to avoid two million in taxes. The league executives are frightened to take on new player's salaries as was apparent when the NBA trade deadline passed without much action.



With the acception of the New York Yankees, teams are reluctant to pay big money to free agents. Perhaps, Manny Ramirez and other Major League Baseball players will be sorry for not signing deals when the money was on the table. Merchandise sales are down and so are ticket sales at some stadiums. Yahoo! wrote a story about players needing to borrow money from teamates.....what? A million dollars doesn't pay your bills?

The NFL is also perplexed especially because of Al Davis's irrationality. Who pays over 60 million to a cornerback? Players can't expect to that kind of money in today's economy.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1045372898

Going to a football game for a few hours costs a lot of money. Will fans make up the cost of these insane expenditures by going to the games and buying merchandise? Sports 101 doesn't think so.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Angel's Need to Read the Memo


The "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" are sliding across a slippery slope. With the departure of Francisco Rodriguez and the release of Garrett Anderson, can one assume that they are still the favorites to win the West?



In the Los Angeles Times this morning, Garrett Anderson's departure, well perhaps, was brought center stage. The Angels did not agree to excersise his option so it looks as like he will departing the team with just about every Angel's offensive record in franchise history. Not only is Sports 101 dissapointed in the Angels, but we think they are stupid. Instead, of offering Anderson a deal for far less money than a lot of other players, they opted to say Garrett, you are out, and we choose an always injured, slower left fielder than you.


Not only is Anderson one of baseball's classiest guys, but he is a professional and absolute role model. This is one guy who you will never hear being discussed in the same sentence as steriods. Baseball players often say that they understand it's a business but that is a load of balogne. If it's a business decision, I bet the PR people and marketing executives with the Angel's are angry too. Unless the Angels replace Anderson with a star the top business managers in Angel land are, well, idiots!!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Super Bowl Sunday and I Have Nothing to Say



Sports 101
is sick of the so-called super bowl hype. How about the super bust? One team has winning history flowing through its veins, while the other has been a disappointment since its inception.

The media wants everything to be a big to-do, and rightfully so. Afterall, that's how they make their money. But, when the media mentioned how happy David Stern would be to see the Lakers play the Celtics in the NBA finals, the media isn't praising the NFL and Roger Goodell's last two teams. And, well that's because nobody cares about Arizona vs. Pittsburgh. Well, Sports 101 doesn't.






The Wall Street Journal carried a story on how the slow down in the US economy hurts the super bowl. Maybe, I don't have I care more about real issues like lay-offs and job cuts, or perhaps I just don't care this year. That said, I will watch the game...but I don't care for either team. Do you?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Who Gets Up for Tennis: Nadal and Federer




One epic tennis final deserves another! Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are by far the best in the mens game. The last time these two played in a Grand Slam Final was last year's Wimbledon. And, that was an instant classic!

Assuming Nadal can win his Semi Finals match versus a lesser apponent the two will meet in the final on Sunday.

Federer is one Grand Slam final away from tying Pete Sampras's record of 14. How great would it be to see Federer win on Sunday and then magically dethrone owner of clay in France to break the record?

Most likely, that won't happen! I see Federer losing to Nadal on Sunday and once again in France. I see "Fed" breaking the record where Pete did; at the US Open.




But can we crown him the best of all time if he can't win at the French?

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Who's Number 1

Who is the Best team from a BCS Bowl?

It certainly wasn't Virginia Tech, Cincinatti, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State or Alabama. So far, the two outright winners of the BCS Bowl games have been USC and Utah.

Which conference is the best this year? Which teams are the best? Let me know.

What do you think and why? The Sports Blog