I had so much fun going through the Sports Illustrated hockey covers yesterday, I thought I would post some more.
Again, here’s the link to all of Sports Illustrated’s NHL covers.
Super Mario and Mike Bossy; Guy Lafleur and Bobby Clarke; Henri Richard broke Chicago’s and my heart in 1971. The brothers Esposito.
No surprise here. It’s all LeBron, all the time now through June.
From Bloomberg:
If 2010 gave us “The Decision,” 2012 brought “The Redemption.” In a year in which he claimed his third NBA Most Valuable Player award, his first NBA championship, his second Olympic gold medal, and two multimillion-dollar endorsement deals, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James can add another accolade to his ever-growing list: the top spot in the Bloomberg “Sportfolio”/Horrow Sports Ventures 2013 Power 100.
Three former Power 100 No. 1’s follow James in this year’s rankings: golfer Tiger Woods (No. 2); Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (No. 3); and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (No. 4). Tennis star Roger Federer rounds out the top five.
And more on LeBron:
With a first NBA title under his belt and in the hunt for a second, the sky is the limit for James. He’s in the midst of arguably the best season of his basketball career, and is backed by a blue-chip endorsement portfolio that includes Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Samsung, and State Farm. All this basketball and business bounty came after James’ Nielsen/E-Poll N-Score, a measure of marketability used for this study, reached the lowest point in his career following the Heat’s loss to the Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
James can also claim another distinction from his Top Five Power 100 peers: he’s the only one in that grouping who’s younger than 30.
“Longevity is the key to this year’s top grouping. From Peyton to Federer to Kobe to Brady, these athletes are on the backside of their historic careers yet still command on and off field attention and respect,” notes Gerry Philpott, CEO of E-Poll Market Research. “It will be interesting to see if the young stars of today can hold up over the years like these pros.”
And here’s a link to the entire list.
Earlier this week, I bemoaned the fact that hockey rarely gets featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated these days.
That wasn’t the case way back when. Hockey used to be front and center during the early years and even beyond for the magazine.
SI has a site that features all of its NHL covers. Here are a few from the collection.
The first NHL cover was in 1956 with the great Jean Beliveau; an artist’s rendition of Gordie Howe; Bobby Hull without his teeth; Sportsman of the Year Bobby Orr; hello and good-bye for Wayne Gretzky.
Reunited: Jay Mariotti and ESPN. At least for one story.
This morning, ESPN.com posted a lengthy piece from Mariotti on Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
In an email, Mariotti said, “Found Kobe to be a refreshingly candid interview subject–so reminds me of MJ. I’m thrilled to work with the pros at ESPN, and I clearly have the itch to produce sports pieces.”
Whether Mariotti does more for ESPN remains to be seen. While praising Mariotti’s story, ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said, “Nothing else is currently planned.”
It is highly unlikely Mariotti will have a regular presence at ESPN. At best, he might do a periodic piece such as he did with Bryant. Then again, this could be a one-shot deal.
Besides getting me to fork over a bunch of money to sit in the 300 level of the United Center with my kids?
The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein points out the game rarely has an impact on seeding for the NCAA tournament. Greenstein writes:
We begin the reporting for this story with a premise: The Big Ten tournament title game is an afterthought. Or more accurately, a before-thought.
It’s the amuse bouche before a 12-course meal, the mixed greens stalling the delivery of your porterhouse.
It has no influence on NCAA tournament seeding, and those watching at home are screaming at the TV: “Just give us the brackets!”
Ah yes, there’s this issue of ratings:
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany: “I don’t feel that (it lacks importance). What the data would show is that as people get ready for Selection Sunday, it’s a different kind of program. If we were going against the show, that would be madness — early March Madness. But leading into the show, we view it as a good thing, and I think CBS views it as a good thing.”
Roger that. The 2011 championship game (Ohio State 71, Penn State 60) drew 3.7 million viewers. Last year’s game (Michigan State 68, Ohio State 64) hit the same mark. The last two Big East championship games (Connecticut-Louisville and Louisville-Cincinnati), played Saturday night on ESPN, drew 2.2 million in 2011 and 3.3 million last year.
CBS analyst Clark Kellogg, who will call Sunday’s final at the United Center with Jim Nantz and Steve Kerr: “Perception is not always reality. There are pockets of folks more interested in the brackets. But because of the quality of the Big Ten and the magnitude of the league, that adds more juice to what is taking place.”
I don’t know of a place where an employee gets away with ripping other people or enterprises within the same company on social media.
I know the two places where I worked the bulk of my career, the Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business, wouldn’t have allowed it. I believe that holds true for countless newspapers, magazines, and networks throughout the media business.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that ESPN disciplined the franchise, Bill Simmons, for ripping First Take last week via his Twitter account. Kudos to Deadspin’s John Koblin for breaking the story yesterday.
ESPN has a highly defined policy for its employees in regards to social media. It includes this edict:
“At all times, exercise discretion, thoughtfulness and respect for colleagues, business associates and fans.”
Indeed, in a place with several thousand people, virtually all of whom are highly opinionated, it would be chaos if ESPN allowed rampant criticism of the brand on social media from within. Gripe all you want within the walls of Bristol, but don’t air it in public.
In athletic terms, keep it in the locker room.
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first time ESPN had a discussion with Simmons about its social media policy. Usually, there is more than one instance before action is taken.
How would Simmons feel if fellow ESPNers started knocking NBA Countdown? I expect ESPN president John Skipper would get an angry knock on his door.
When I heard about the suspension last night, I immediately thought of my interview with ESPN head of news Vince Doria last year. He called Twitter “a headache.”
Asked why he doesn’t tweet, Doria said: “It provides a great risk in terms to entities in terms of putting their foot in their mouth. I’ve seen plenty of examples. That’s the reason why I’ve resisted.”
I’m fairly sure the latest incident only reinforced Doria’s sentiments.
No, you might get an argument from the folks in New York, North Carolina and elsewhere about that one. However, it is hard to deny the legacy of the Kentucky Wildcats.
A new documentary, Bluegrass Kingdom, airs Sunday on truTV at 8 p.m. ET. If nothing else, it will serve as a good primer for finding truTV next week during the tournament.
Here some of the notables in the documentary. Of course, it includes Ashley Judd:
Pat Riley on Adolph Rupp’s recruiting trip to his home in Schenectady, NY: “When he came up to our house, it was really like royalty. I remember him saying to my mother: ‘Don’t worry we’re going to take care of your son.’ Then he looked at my father and said: ‘Don’t worry we’re going to make him an All-American.’ When he left, my mother told me: ‘That’s where you’re going to go to school.”
Riley on Rupp’s legacy: “Adolph Rupp started this whole tradition – this culture – about what Kentucky basketball is all about. He came to that school in the late 40s to the 60s. It was about Kentucky basketball. It was about the Kentucky Derby. It was about the whiskey. But basketball trumped everything.”
Riley on the 1966 NCAA championship game vs. Texas Western College: “They were playing for a lot more than just a trophy or being a NCAA champion. We were beaten handily.”
Riley retelling a story of meeting up with Coach Rupp in an elevator following the 1966 NCAA Championship game vs. Texas Western College: “Adolph Rupp got on the elevator with us alone…[when] he got off he sorta turned to us and said: ‘This game is going to be really significant in the future. You have no idea what you were a part of tonight.’ He knew. I’m proud to be a part of that loss because I know what that loss meant to a lot of players.”
UK alumna and potential future Kentucky politician Ashley Judd: “Bringing Jamal Mashburn to the University of Kentucky absolutely changed the trajectory of our program.”
Jamal Mashburn on facing Duke in the 1992 NCAA Tournament’s Elite 8 (“Game for the Ages): “Facing Duke…they were bigger than life. That game in itself, and that season, was the bridge to helping revive this program.”
Judd on the 1996 team: “The 1996 team was truly one-of-a-kind. There was just a feeling from the very beginning that they were absolutely destined. And, it would shatter our collective heart if this team didn’t win it all.”
Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari on his temperament: “I’m very protective of my family of people – players and coaches. I don’t think I walk on water. I don’t think I’m the devil either.
Enough with this soccer stuff.
Gus Johnson is back in his element. At least for a couple of days.
Johnson was on the call for the opener of the Big Ten tournament today. It was vintage Gus, yelling and hyperbolizing down the stretch of a tight Illinois-Minnesota game.
And when Illinois’ Brandon Paul hit the game-winner, Gus kicked in as only he can:
OOOHHOHOHHOH!!!!! AT THE BUZZER!!!! Welcome to the Big Ten!!!!!
It didn’t take long for BTN to post the video.
The game was the first of four Johnson will call for the Big Ten Network; one more this afternoon and then two more Friday night.
And then unfortunately for us, Johnson’s March is over as far as college basketball is concerned. Johnson gave up the NCAA tournament when he moved to Fox.
Johnson has been in the spotlight this winter, as Fox is grooming him to be its voice for soccer and the 2018 World Cup. But as Thursday’s basketball game showed, there’s only one Gus when it comes to capturing the Madness of March.
Selena Roberts’ site has been up since the fall, but now it is kicking into full gear. I’ll have more from Roberts on the site soon. Here’s the PR version of what it is all about.
Roopstigo is a revolutionary website and free app founded by Selena Roberts, best-selling author and award-winning sports journalist for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and The New York Times, and advised by former president of HBO Sports and Madison Square Garden, Seth Abraham. Roopstigo is shifting the paradigm in how fans consume sports content by offering free, long-form journalism with interactive features, documentaries, web series, video shorts, and animation created by some of sports media’s most renowned figures on a mobile platform across 8 distinct channels. During Roopstigo’s recent launch month, it accumulated over 103,000 unique visitors, surpassing the launch figures of other successful digital sports properties such as Time Warner’s Bleacher Report, ESPN’s Grantland, and Vox Media’s SB Nation. Roopstigo/”Healing Agent” was recently featured on Good Morning America, MSNBC, Forbes.com, NYTimes.com and BusinessWeek.com.
Here are the details and link to the new reality series. It looks promising:
Roopstigo Mobile Sports Network (roopstigo.com) will debut a new reality sports TV series, “Healing Agent,” directed by multiple Emmy Award winner, Frank Belmont, and scored by nationally recognized vocalist and X-Factor contestant, Jeff Gutt. In each episode, former powerhouse NFL and boxing agent Greg Marotta will work one-on-one with an ex-professional athlete who achieved greatness but has fallen on hard times. Marotta will help each pro-athlete to understand, combat, and heal their life and wellness problems. In the pilot, Greg works with former NBA first-round draft pick Luther Wright who overcame drug addiction but is now over 500 pounds and battling life-threatening obesity.
Marotta’s long history in the sports world gives him unique insight into what it’s really like to be a pro-athlete, the inner workings of the guts and glory, and the incredible challenges players face living in and then leaving the world of professional sports.
Marotta founded Select Sports, a firm representing professional athletes in 1980. Beginning in 1999, Marotta worked closely with Don King, CEO of Don King Productions, and was responsible for all of DKP’s marketing and sponsorship business. Among the partnerships developed by Marotta was the groundbreaking sponsorship agreement between NBC-Universal and DKP to promote the movie “Cinderella Man,” the first time a Hollywood studio used boxing events as a promotional vehicle. In 2008 Marotta premiered “The Natural,” a critically acclaimed approach to sports and entertainment radio on WVNJ.
“Healing Agent” will premiere both on roopstigo.com and in its free application. The show, and all future episodes, will remain live on all platforms and can be watched for free at any time over the next six months. Roopstigo is currently fielding offers from various prominent TV networks for the rights to air the series after its initial debut.
It’s the big finale for the big year for the Big Ten.
“This is our Super Bowl,” said Dave Revsine of the Big Ten tournament, which begins Thursday in Chicago.
It’s all been BIG, with a capital B-I-G for the the Big Ten Network. The network will televise two games Thursday afternoon and two more games Friday night.
It will be one last chance for Commissioner Jim Delany’s brainchild to haul in some more huge ratings. If anyone has cashed in on the conference’s big (there’s that word again) year in basketball, it is the BTN.
Ratings for games on the BTN from January through mid-March are up 27 percent; at .91 from .72 in the network’s top 8 metered markets, according network president Mark Silverman. Ratings for its signature show, The Journey, have increased 20 percent.
It all translates into the BTN having its best January and February ever.
Little wonderful why Silverman appears to be almost giddy. He notes in Detroit, there were nights where Michigan basketball on BTN did better ratings than the Redwings and Pistons.
“This is significant, huge,” Silverman said. “We have had 7 different teams in the top 15 at one point during the season. And the next level of games showed the depth of the conference. It’s not just Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.”
However, there’s little question the revival of the sleeping giant in Indiana and strong run by the Wolverines have helped fuel this surge.
“You’re only as good as you’re marquee teams,” Revsine said.
It drove viewers to the BTN, which is what it is all about.
“If you look at where we were six years ago (the BTN started in 2007) to where we are now, it’s hard to believe,” Silverman said. “People now know if it’s Wednesday night, we’re going to have a doubleheader. They know where to find the Sunday night shows. They’re coming to us.”
As for the future, the next challenge will be for Silverman to get the BTN into the local markets of the conference’s two new schools, Maryland and Rutgers. It will be a huge endeavor, especially in the New York/New Jersey area where Cablevision and Time Warner are known to play hardball. Time Warner waited until last year to add the NFL Network.
Silverman said he hopes to have “proactive talks” with representatives in those areas within the next 6 to 12 months. Translated, he should be wearing full armor to deal with cable companies who are getting increasingly reluctant to raise subscriber fees to add more sports programming.
Then again, Silverman has been through this exercise before. The BTN encountered considerable resistance when it launched, especially from Comcast. Yet it prevailed and now is in 50 million homes.
The idea, Silverman said, is to continue to grow the network. That’s one of the reasons why it goes by the short version of BTN instead of the Big Ten Network. It wants to be viewed as more than just a regional network of a mostly Midwest-based conference.
“I watch a lot of ESPNU and the other networks that cover college sports,” Silverman said. “Our goal is to be the best network for college sports, not just the best conference sports network.”