The Sports Info Business

Yesterday, we tackled the NFL and today we feature the National Basketball Association and how its teams use social media.

Let me just begin by saying, if you did not see yesterday’s article on the NFL, you can easily click on it here. Overall, I applaud teams for entering into the next stage of sports marketing and that is using social media to listen, brand and communicate with fans via different platforms.  However, just because they develop a site does not mean the team is using best practices.

Today, we begin with Twitter.  I put together a brief chart on the top five teams using Twitter. based on the number of followers each organization has listed over the weekend.

A new year.  January 2010 marks one year that I have been writing this blog.

The expereince has been an adventure for me in many different ways.  It has given me the opportunity to share information on the sports business.  I have shared some of my personal stories from my experiences of working with the Dodgers, Angels, UC Irvine, The Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks and more…..

I have showcased leading sports executives, talked about sports management programs, covered technology in sports as well as breaking news.

According to WordPress, which is the platform I use to publish the blog, this is officially the 219th blog posted on the web with 24 more listed in various draft forms.  Some of the ideas will come to light and several more will be deleted and never be read by a single person.

I started the blog with the premise that I could create a brand and to drive traffic from a starting point of zero, nada, nothing — clume.  During this process I have learned quite a few things.

* I learned that people from all over the world are interested in sports management and sports management issues.

*I learned that Blog posts related to breaking news stories often draws the most attention from visitors to the web site.

* I now know that Saturday’s are usually the slowest for you folks coming here since I rarely post on that day and Mondays are usually the busiest.

* After doing this for a year, I can appreciate the journalist even more.  One that writes on a regular basis needs topics and news to speak about.  It is easy to write about Peter Caroll possibly leaving USC for the Seattle Seahawks, the NFL playoffs or even Allen Iverson’s return to Philadelphia.

What is not so easy is to turn out thought provoking content when it is a slow news day and you have writers block.

Last night, I returned to my alma mater, UC Irvine, to watch the Anteaters take on the Pepperdine Waves in a non-conference basketball game at the Bren Center.

It was as if I had never left.

Nearly 20 years ago, I left the University for a position with the Los Angeles Dodgers.   I left with a heavy heart since I loved my student days at UCI and always enjoyed working there after graduation.

For all of those years, first as an intern, then assistant sports information director and finally as the school’s first Director of Sports Marketing and Promotions, I tried to create an atmosphere where people wanted to be.

College basketball has always showed the most potential.  Make no mistake, UCI has blossomed in sports over the years.  In 2008-09, the school had two number one ranked teams in the country,  at the same time no less in  Baseball and Volleyball.  Volleyball has won a national championship and baseball has come close.

Basketball is still looking for its first trip to the NCAA tournament.  That is a long wait since the school started playing basketball in the 1960’s.  Oh, they have come close, three times if my memory serves me correctly and I was there for two of the three times.

In 1988, a Bill Mulligan coached team reached the conference finals, after shocking UNLV in the conference tournament , but came up short against Utah State.

In 1994, right after I moved to Israel, the Anteaters again reached the finals even though they were seeded last in the tournament but New Mexico State would not cooperate and the team was shutout again.

Finally, in 2008, against Cal State Fullerton, the total local teams battled for an automatic NCAA bid and as I sat watching, I went home disappointed yet again.

I was hoping to see more fans in the house, for last night’s game vs. Pepperdine but my return to college basketball felt as I had never left.  Maybe 1,200 people dotted the Bren center for this game played so close to Christmas.

The students were missing, the fans sat on their hands for the most part and you could clearly hear the coaches yelling at their places.

Still, it was good to be home.  And, get a win.

December is here and the holiday rush to buy presents is on.  In a related move, I recently posted a one question poll and asked, would you consider purchasing a comprehensive 2010 event schedule with a focus on sports?  The overwhelming majority, 66% said, yes, there is an interest in this solution.

Since then, I have been hard at work creating something that would fit everyone’s need.  You can visit it here at SportsCalendarPro.com

First, I created a master sports calendar.  It has every major sports event in the United States.  What did I include?  In no particular order, here is a listing of just SOME of the events.  The Super Bowl, The 2010 Winter Olympics, the 2010 World Cup, College Bowl Games, The Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500, the men’s and women’s college basketball NCAA tournament and Final Four, sports conferences for sports related events like the IEG Sponsorship Summit and the 2010 World Sports Congress.  There are about 100 sports events in all.

As a sports executive and dedicated sports fan, I want and need to know what is happening and when it is happening.  It would be nice to find everything in one place for the enter year.  I am tired of searching for the Next event.  It is also great for planning events.  Not a sports fan, but you may be involved in major life events like getting married or you are just planning major events like fundraising dinners?  Then this is ideal for you as well.  I cannot remember how many times a major golf event or fundraising dinner collided with a major sports event and either a TV was wheeled in an event or continuous updates were given to keep people informed.

Belowis a snap shot of the calendar for two weeks in April.  If you click on the image you can see it in a full screen view.

If you want additional details of the event itself, you can click on say The NCAA Frozen Four dates and you will see this

At SportsCalendarPro.com, I created the site where you can view it online via a gmail account and from there, you can easily download this or sync it with Outlook and iphone.  I did it and it now runs as event dates on my master calendar.

The second option is to purchase the 2010 Master Calendar.  This includes not only al of the sporting events, but also includes the 2010 Entertainment Calendar, the 2010 Technology Calendar and major U.S. holidays.  For example, want to know when the 2010 Academy Awards take place or the ESPYs?  Maybe you want to visit the Sundance Film Festival, CES in Las Vegas or Macworld?  Then, this option is for you.

Last, which you won’t find on the home page but you will find on the ordering page, is the 2010 Custom Calendar.  It includes all of the above and allows you to add four (total) sports team schedules to the mix. For example, say you live in New York or the Boston area.  You can add the 2010 schedule for the Yankees, Mets, Nicks and Islanders in one place.  Hate NY teams but love Boston sports?  Then you can choose the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics schedules.

You write a sports related blog?  This allows you to preview the event since you know what is coming up.

Okay, it is the first time I have blatently plugged a product in the year I have been writing this sports business blog, but it is my product and I really believe in it.

Please, visit the site, Re-Tweet and Post this onto facebook or Digg for others to see.

Consider purchasing this unique holiday gift for the sports fan or event planner in your life.

I was a bit surprised today that the New Orleans Hornets fired coach Bryon Scott nine games into the 2009-10 NBA basketball season.

I first heard this via ESPN.com and have attached the video of the report.  The interview includes a chat with ESPN.com senior writer Marc Stein who broke the story for the sports network.

*** Note, since posting this video, it is no longer available online and has been taken down. ***

A quick visit to the Hornets web site produced a news release confirming the move in a press release.

Scott will be replaced by General Manager Jeff Bower.

Byron Scott

“I want to thank Byron for the hard work he has put in during his time with the Hornets,” said Hornets Owner George Shinn in the press release. “I’ve hired Jeff Bower to take over the coaching reign. He knows this team better than anyone, has the respect of the players and in basketball circles, is regarded as one of the best basketball minds in the business. This is our best opportunity to reach our goals this season.”

Bower, who has spent his 14-plus seasons with the club, began his tenure with the Hornets as an advance scout from 1995 to 1997 before earning a promotion as the team’s director of scouting. In addition to his scouting duties during the 1998-99 season, Bower joined the coaching ranks as an assistant after Paul Silas was named interim head coach on March 7, 1999 (and helped him lead the Hornets to a 22-13 record).

After serving as the assistant general manager for the 2000-01 season, Bower was promoted to general manager in June of 2001 and has since held that position. He returned to the bench as an assistant coach under Floyd in 2003-04. Bower’s years of experience working at all levels in the Hornets’ basketball operations department culminated with his appointment to the current post of general manager just prior to the start of the team’s 2005-06 training camp.

Tim Floyd, the former Chicago Bulls and USC Trojans head coach, was also named to the coaching staff today.  Floyd served as head coach of the Hornets for the 2003-04 season, leading the team to a 41-41 record. Most recently, Floyd served as the head coach at USC from 2005-2009, leading the Trojans to a 85-49 mark and three NCAA appearances during his tenure. In the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Floyd led USC to a Sweet 16 appearance. The team’s 25-12 record that season set a record for most wins in school history. The Trojans advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual runner-up Michigan State. Floyd also coached for the Chicago Bulls, Iowa State, the University of Idaho and Texas-El Paso. Floyd is a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., and a 1977 graduate of Louisiana Tech.

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That is the news section of the blog.

Since posting this, I went back to check out the team’s web site to see if the changes had been made to the roster.  Not yet.  A tough move timing wise for sure but all of a team’s front office must work together.

Look at the photo I took from the web site. Scott was still listed as the head man and the changes to the assistants had not been made after the announcement went up, which might cause some confusion.

There are always great plays made in a game.  TV is almost always there to capture the moment.  Sometimes we just have to post for the fun of sport.  Don’t misunderstand me, the listing of conferences posted earlier today is a great resource.  Everyone like a Top 10 Plays of the Year

Here is a nice video clip for your viewing pleasure of the Top 10 most spectacular basketball shots –

Enjoy.

This week, we had our monthly board meeting at the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation (OCYSF).  I have been apart of this 501c-3, non-profit group since my time with the (then) Mighty Ducks and I am proud to say the group has had a positive impact on on the lives of many.

First, some brief history…..OCYSF is a non-profit organization based in Southern California.  The board is comprised of businessmen who are devoted to athletics and our county’s youth.  The Foundation distributes scholarships and grants to young athletes in Orange County and provides assistance to tax-exempt, sports related organizations.  The Foundation also assists individuals who have medical needs related to or associated with athletics.

It is a great group of folks that have fun and make an impact in the local community.  Some of the members include former USC star and NFLer Mike Salmon, gold medal Olympic Swimmers Janet Evans and Brian Goodell, basketball coach Danny Rogers, former Major Leaguer and Angel Tom Murphy and of course one of the organization’s founders Paul Salata (USC , San Francisco 49ers but also well known for Irrelevant Week)

There are three areas where the group concentrates its time.

1) Youth Scholarships — Each year, we hand out scholarships to worthy high school student athletes that have excelled on and off the field.  The awards include a scholarship dinner with parents and a check that helps, in a small way, to pay the growing expenses of college education.

2) Grants — OCYSF also provides dollars to local youth sports related organizations.  For example, a Santa Ana Little League had no funds to replace threadbare uniforms and was seeing its dispirited participants prepare to disband. The struggling league was left out of the Southern California-wide disbursement of the surplus funds of the 1984 Olympic Games, funds earmarked to aid youth sports. Consequently, the league was losing its battle to remain self-sufficient.  OCYSF stepped in to help bridge the gap.

3) Annual Banquet – This is where it all started.  The history of the group began with an annual banquet in 1971 by honoring race car driver Dan Gurney.  In those days no one was raising money, just having lots of fun.  Today, it is all about making an impact for children.  The list of past honorees is impressive:  Peter Ueberroth, Tommy Lasorda, Jim Nance, Pete Carroll, Carson Palmer…. It goes on and on.  The event is a smash hit which roasts the honoree.  The banquet draws 500 during a tough economy and as many as 800 when times are good.

I got involved with this group because I always believed that senior sports management professionals needed to be attached to their community.  With the Anaheim (then Mighty) Ducks, I always encouraged each leader to adopt one organization and sit on its board, serve as an honorary chairman or some sort of involvement that matched with our overall business and community goals.

The weekend allows me time to post some light and fun items.

Here is one I discovered this morning.  It is a video of Chris Paul’s basketball antics from the gym.  Some look entirely staged but this looks real.  This is called Chris Paul’s Off The Ceiling Trick Shot.

Understanding when to contact executives about sports management jobs is as important as how you contact management about specific positions.

Let’s take The National Football League as an example.  The NFL is two weeks into its 2009-10 campaign.  It is highly unlikely that there are many open positions during the actual regular season.  That is not to say there are not jobs that need filled.  I recently heard about a CMO position with an NFL team, though it is not currently being advertised to a wide audience.

On the same note, Major League Baseball has all but two weeks left in the regular season.  Contacting the front office during a heated divisional race will not get any real attention much less a response.

Here are five basic tips for contacting Sports People about Jobs

1) Unless there is an advertised open position, wait until the sport is two to three weeks into their off-season before you think about making in contact.  People often change jobs once a season ends and front office personnel will have more time to visit with viable candidates.

2) Find an insider within the organization you are targeting.  It helps to know someone or a few people who are working for the team.  If you do and are friendly with them, chances are they might go to bat for you and get your resume up or near the top of the interview pile.

3) If you are hoping to speak with someone within the organization, call first thing in the morning or at the end of the day.  These are the times most people are likely to answer the telephone.  Trying to call around 10, 11 or 1 in the afternoon?  People are not sitting around and waiting for your call.  Pick a quiet time to make contact.

4) If no one answers, do NOT use up the voice mail system.  I advise folks rarely to leave a voicemail.  Better to try again when you can actually make contact with the targeted person.

5) Write a person thank you note for each and every person you meet or that is helpful.  That does not mean to scribble something in an email.  Take the time and buy a stamp.  Few people do it these days and it will help you stand out.  You can read more about this last point from a previous entry earlier this year, entitled email vs thank you notes

I tried to limit it to five but here is one last one.  Do your homework.  Understand the history of the team, key players, on and off the field(ice, turf, pitch, court etc).  Find out the history of key people you might speak with to find common ground during an interview.

I desperately needed a new cell phone.  The old Verizon phone worked okay but had been abused by years of bad hands and visiting the asphalt up close and personal.  While I was happy with the reception I got from Verizon, it was tough to respond to text messages.  I think each short message I responded to took about five minutes to complete.

My wife once again took matters into her own hands and surprised me with an Apple iPhone.  Like everything else I have come to expect from Apple, I was surprised by its functionality, light weight and plethora of gadgets.

Ah, yes, the gadgets.

It did not take long to get hooked on all of the gadgets that have been created for this mobile device.  Here I will review some of the free and paid sports applications.

Top 10 Paid Sports Apps according to Apple

According to statistics on the iPhone, Madden NFL 2010 is the top grossing app currently listed.  It costs $9.99 but fans rated it 4/5 stars out of five so they must know what they are talking about.  If you click on the photo to the left, iPhone provides the top 10 paid sports apps.  It is not a surprise that the leader in this category is Fantasy Football 2009.  A related app, ESPN Fantasy Football, at $4.99, is rated fourth on the list of top 25 top grossing apps (there is a difference in categories) and Golf shot GPS, with a $29.99 price tag is listed in the number nine slot.

I have not tried any of these applications nor been invited to test or write about them so I cannot tell you how good they are.  If you look down to the right, I have also provided a picture of the top 10 free apps which again is a Fantasy Football app from Yahoo!

I have started to download a few items, both sports and non sports related, so I can review and speak to these a bit.  The ESPN app is a cool and allows you to find the scores of major sports very fast.  The value of apps is that information is pushed directly to you, extremely fast.  The need for visiting a web site to receive specific information like sports scores is over.  I have loaded the ESPN app MLB scores, NFL scores, NBA scores, men’s and women’s tesnnis singles scores and NHL scores as well as PGA tour updates.

Top 10 Free Sports Apps according to Apple

MLB.com has a free app called At Bat Lite. It willl give you the line score of the games and you can easily move to the standings and the latest baseball video.

Nike teamed with iPod to offer a great application for anyone that likes to work out.  The app will sync with selected music you have and play the exact song you need when the time is right.  The program offers categoeis which include a basic mode (open ended workout), timed, distance and a calorie counter.  I am ashamed to say I have not tried it out yet.

This review is just trying to give you a taste of what is out there.  When I went to iTunes and then to the sports section of the apps available, there more 109 pages of apps.  Each NFL team for example, has a free app which lists the 2009-10 regular season football schedule.  The apps are endless and I must say a bit mind boggling.

While these apps are sports related, I have also reviewed other non sports related applications on my business blog.  It includes things you would expect like facebook, LinkedIn and Skpye but also some that you may or may not know about like Bump and Shazam.

You can see this review by going to www.coast2coastexperts.com and clicking on the link to the blog section, which is located at the top of the page.  These apps are more practical for every day life.  If you don’t have an Apple iPhone, some of this might seem a bit foreign to you.  Just to give you a taste, here is a link to a video on one of the Bump app.  Enjoy.