The Sports Info Business

Today, I’d like to address a bit of college football that went on yesterday.  It would be too easy to speak about the UCLA vs USC game last night, a 50-0 debacle that was solopsided, I was glad I taped it on the DVR instead of watching it live.  I normally watch sporting events live but gave into the post thanksgiving/ get out of the house for a few hourstheory on a Saturday night.  I knew something was amiss when a friend of mine, who was at the game, texted me early on and said “Are you watching this?”

Most of the other news sites, sports blogs and USC fans have already pointed out the the obvious.

** The Trojans beat the Bruins for the 12th time in the last 13 meetings.

** UCLA head coach, specifically Rick Neuheisel’s head, appears to be on the chopping block after going 0-4 to USC since taking over the program.

** Will Matt Barkeley, the USC quarterback who tossed six, yes six touchdowns and threw for 423 yards last night go pro?

What I’d rather talk about is football on television.  With the remote in hand, and well before the Trojans slaughtered the Bruins, I was looking for a game to watch around noon, west coast time.

Here is what was on TV, at the same time.

Preview of the #2 Alabama vs #24 Auburn, Iron Bowl game (KCBS, Channel 2)

Grambling State vs Southern (KNBC, Channel 4)

#15 Michigan vs Ohio State (KABC, Channel 7)

Tennessee vs Kentucky (KDOC, Channel 12)

Maryland vs North Carolina State (Channel 13)

#23 Georgia Tech vs Georgia (ESPN, Channel 15)

UConn vs Rutgers (ESPN 2, (Channel 16)

Iowa State vs, #9 Oklahoma (FX, Channel 17)

and I did manage to bump into the Rice vs SMU contest on Fox Sports West, which was not even close to the other stations on the dial.

Nine, count ‘em nine different football games at the same time.  ….And that is just what I found on the dial.

The question is, at what point is so much too much?  I am not one to curtail football games on television.  I am a sport guy and love the options.

That said, can the industry survive this level of saturation?  Deals are done for exposure and the markets are so fragmented that at some point, there will have to be some sort of fall out.  Until then, get ready for the 2011 college football Bowl Season.

When the phone is ringing and you know who it is, do you pick it up? …Even when you know the news might be bad news?  It’s a great question and the following story is certainly a lesson we can all take something away from, as I did.

Let me explain.

On February 2nd, I found myself speaking with the Bruins head football coach Rick Neuheisel on the UCLA campus.  I had travelled there with three other members of a non-profit broad I sit on:  Tom Johnson, the Publisher of the Newport Beach Independent, restaurateur and UCLA alum John Ursini and wealth manager  Greg Whelan (you can read Tom’s account of our visit here).  We were on campus to speak with AD Dan Guerrero and other sports management folks at UCLA about a banquet honoring Neuseisel, but more about that tomorrow.

Neuheisel was in sound-bite mode as it was also national signing day for college football programs and he had an up and down day to say the least.

I am going to paraphrase the conversation a bit, but this is the story that Rick told us.

A nationally ranked high school recruit had committed to going to UCLA a while ago.  The head coach thought this was a done deal, although nothing is really ‘done’ until the athlete signs the national letter of intent and faxes it back to the school.

National signing day is here and then Rick turns on the TV that morning only to see the same recruit wearing a UCS baseball cap on television.  The same recruit said he was going to sign with the Trojans.

Stunned, Neuheisel was beside himself.  He was beyond disappointed, as he told the four of us during an informal chat session before the coach was set to address more media.

“This is just not possible,” he said.  ”It is just not happening.  I needed a moment of silence.”

Now mind you, at this point, this young recruit is not the only player Neuheisel is counting on to help bring back a UCLA football program that went 4-8 last year.  He had others he is also waiting on.  This particular student athlete, however, was seen as already coming to UCLA until he appeared on TV.

Then Rick’s phone rings and it appears to be the student’s father calling the coach.  He sees the name on the caller ID.  He knows who it is and he doesn’t want to answer the cell phone.

It would have been easy to ignore the call.  Let it go to voice mail.  Deal with the ‘I’m sorrys’ later.

However, he answers it.  This is what he learned.

The student athlete he saw on the TV earlier talking up USC and their football program had since changed his mind.

“Here is a guy who thought he was doing the right thing,” said Neuheisel.  ”But in his heart of hearts he could not do it.  I thanked him for coming to his senses (laughs by the group) and he faxed in his letter of intent to attend UCLA in the fall.”

By answering the phone, even when he didn’t want to UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel received the good news he thought was gone.

Lesson learned.

You always have to pick up the phone.  You never know who or what awaits you on the other end of the line.

————-

The conversation reinforced how college coaches must jump through hoops to sign prospective athletes and nothing ever seems like it is done. I told Rick during the conversation that he needed a stomach of steel to deal with things like this and he just laughed.

I thought about others who are in similar situations and quickly came to sports agents.  Players hop from one agent another all the time, often seeking bigger and better deals, more attention or other intangibles.

Last thought on UCLA:  The football coach announced during a meet the boosters session before UCLA and USC squared off for basketball later that day, that 81,000 people had applied to UCLA for the fall, one of the largest totals for any college in the nation.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Self Portrait of Charles Harris. I took this on the Pier overlooking Newport Beach this last weekend.

I have taken a few days off from blogging for several reasons.

First, the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us and with that, there is so much to do.

Family friends, cooking and the possibility of planning a day hike or two.

Second, based on the terrific response from the poll last week (see previous post), I have been finalizing a 2010 sports calendar that will fit your needs.

Look for the debut of this next week.  This has taken a lot of time and research.

Third, I admit it.  I needed a short break.  The blog takes a lot to provide what I think is interesting information for this space.  For the millions of people that write about subjects that interest them,it takes a lot of energy, time and creativity.

This weekend has football games galore to take in, both college and pro.

The NFL kicks off football action on Thursday with three games.  The Detroit Lions, who always play on Thanksgiving take on Green Bay.  Other games include the Cowboys vs the Raiders and the New York Giants vs the Denver Broncos.  See below for information on all three games.

On the college side:

Florida State vs. Florida (Tim Tebow’s final game at the Swamp).

Alabama vs. Auburn

USC vs. UCLA

Texas vs. Texas A&M

ESPN has a nice briefing on some of these games this weekend in a segment called College Football Live Extra

I thank you to those that continue to come back to this blog.  You help continue to set record numbers each month and I appreciate the loyalty and interest.  I will continue to search and provide interesting content for you to digest.

I wish all of you a happy and healthy extended weekend.

Charles