Sports, Business, Media

NY Times-Three Found Guilty in NCAA Basketball Recruiting Scheme:

-A jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts against 2 former Adidas employees (James Gatto and Merl Code Jr.) and an aspiring sports agent (Christian Dawkins) for fraud in funneling money to the families of basketball recruits in exchange for their commitment to schools sponsored by Adidas (primarily Louisville, Kansas, and North Carolina) -Leads to a question regarding whether or not these verdicts will change this seemingly normal behavior that exists in college basketball recruiting -These men will face multiple years in jail -Gatto, Code, and Dawkins sent $100,000 in installments to the father of Brian Dawkins Jr. who committed to Louisville in spring of 2017 (who left and now is playing professionally in Australia)

LA Times-Anaheim Strikes out Against Angels:

-A yearlong dispute was finally ended when an Orange County judge sided with the Angels, allowing them to keep their city name change -Basis for this verdict (the key words): since the team still kept the name Anaheim in their team name, they obeyed the provision previously set up by the city (however it is quite obvious that the Angels exploited this provision by making their team name still have Anaheim in it but the actual city of the team be LA)

Strategy Business-NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Has a Game Plan:

-Adam Silver has one of the greatest insights into strategy and business than Silver -Hoping to engage fans who are already on their phones through mobile engagements (primarily social media) during the game -Greater fan interaction through social media helps drive the league's increasing TV ratings -Players have become more personable through their ability to speak their minds in terms of politics, social issues, and fashion/music tastes -The league has built a massive social media community across the globe, 1.4 billion people are connecting with the NBA in some way -Silver has long supported the idea of having regulated sports betting, instead of illegal betting occurring since legalized sports betting would hugely increase league revenues and fan engagement -The best way to increase viewership is to have the average fan who watches a game for 50 minutes and increase it to 55 minutes

Week 4 Readings to know: Sports Illustrated-Stakes and Stakeholders in Alston vs NCAA, the latest College Sports Antitrust Case

-Alston (and Hartman) are going to court and asserting that the NCAA's system of capping scholarships unlawfully prevents conferences and individual colleges from competing with each other -The NCAA responds by saying that if scholarships become de facto employment contracts, then college sports would morph into minor league sports, college athletes would be disassociated from their classmates/university and college fans would tune out -Most schools are required to offer the same financial packages in their scholarships: tuition, fees, room and board, course related books and other expenses up to the value of the full cost of attendance (usually top players well exceed this amount of money in the revenue they bring to the school→ becomes profit for the school)

NY Times-Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting (written by Adam Silver):

-Article in 2014 that talked about how even though sports betting was then illegal, it was still a thriving underground business -Silver compared American sports betting to England, where bets can be placed from a smartphone, a stadium kiosk, and even from a TV remote -Even in 2014: Silver a firm proponent of betting being brought back from underground where it will be legalized, so it can be effectively monitored and regulated

Washington Post-NCAA colleges should consider offering sports as an academic major:

-Aspiring athletes should be able to pursue their real interest -Schools should design rigorous Performance of Sports major that include: Introduction to Sports Law, the Origins of Sports, Making up the Rules (regarding ethics in sports), Sports and Public Policy -Should be approached theater/art where aspiring actors have the opportunity to study drama or aspiring artists have the opportunity to study art -Athletes dedicate such a large time to sports-should get some credit academically for doing so -Athletics need to be acknowledged as something legitimate and serious -College sports are salvageable but the notion that they don't have value and only should be exploited for money needs to be removed

Week 6 Readings to know: Monica and Karen's keys to success who are they?

-Be someone you'd want to work with -Pick up the trash -Build your network -Know how to adapt and wear multiple hats -Keep healthy boundaries -Be confident -Develop a thick skin -Never burn bridges

Fred Claire's Keys to Building a Winning Sports Franchise:

-Begins with strong, committed ownership—with the Dodgers, the O'Malleys (former owners) set a great example by usually being the first to arrive every morning; it was a family business -Produce a good product; have success on the field -Create the proper image -Cater to your key customers: season-ticket holders and the general public -Establish credibility and trust with the fans and media -Don't overreact to events or the media -Always ask yourself this question: How can we improve our product? -Delegate responsibility to your management team, and then let them do their jobs; there should always be open lines of communication -Always treat your employees well; examples: 401K program, job security, promotions from within, good working conditions, show appreciation for a job well done (example: ice cream served to employees at Dodger Stadium on those days when the team was in first place)

Bleacher Report-8 people who changed the Business of Winning in Sports:

-Billy Beane: used advanced analytics to allow the A's to compete at a high level with the big spending, big name teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc.), despite consistently having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball -LeBron James: has made his mark in terms of his game but also market himself, as he's inked various deals across many industries (Nike, Beats, McDonald's, Sprite, Kia, etc.) -Scott Boras: prominent sports agent who negotiated Alex Rodriguez's historic $250 million contract -Pat Riley: savvy GM and NBA coach, known for his ability to recruit big name free agents (Lebron, Chris Bosh, Shaq--even though it was technically by trade, etc.) -George Steinbrenner: was unafraid to use large amounts of cash to turn the Yankees franchise around, was very particular/controlling but was able to pay to bring the best players to New York and turn the Yankees into the prominent franchise in the MLB -Michael Jordan: aside from his talent as arguably the greatest basketball player ever, he did a great job building his Jordan brand and popularizing his shoes, as well as becoming one of the first players to buy their own NBA team -Mark McCormack: Arnold Palmer's sports agent, helped grow Palmer's income from $50,000 to $500,000 after he signed with him -Phil Knight: Co-founder of Nike, found the way to turn athletes into marketing machines which allowed Nike's brand to explode

LA Times-Lakers' signing of LeBron James began with a Jerry Buss dream:

-Buss initially made the call to James in the summer of 2010 even though the Lakers were not looking for FAs as they had just won their 16th championship and had no salary cap space -Buss, who passed away 2 years later, never was able to secure the meeting with James in 2010 -However 8 years after this initial suggestion, James signed with the Lakers -Feels like the first move the team has made since he passed away that seems like something he would've done -Initially after his death, the Lakers became horrible and they lacked the presence in their front office to attract free agents -This presence was eventually filled when the team hired Magic Johnson, who has finally led the charge to close a key free agent

Week 3 Readings to know: Austin Chronicle-The Touchdowns That Changed Texas:

-CR Roberts story -UT told USC that the black players could come but could not play -He played and went off and caused UT's team and fans to recognize the greatness of these black athletes (also gave confidence to the few black people at UT/in the crowd/residing in Texas)

NY Times-Court Strikes Down Payments to College Athletes:

-Court made a decision to expand the amounts that some college athletes receive in their scholarships (cover full cost of attendance which is more than traditional scholarship-covers stuff like traveling home and back, cell phone bills) -Upheld a federal judge's decision from last year that the NCAA is too restrictive in maintaining athlete's amateurism -However the fact that the court's decision stopped there, still allows the school to compensate the players with much less than they actually bring in to the school→ actually a win for the NCAA (still has affirmed the fact that NCAA athletes have amateur status)

Broadcasting Cable-Chicago Cubs Plan to Start Television Venture:

-Cubs are currently broadcasted by NBC Sports Group, but are hoping to start their own venture once this contract with NBC expires at the end of next season -Hope to emulate the Yankees by using their television rights to establish their own sports regional network

Week 10 Readings: SportsTechie-DAZN Signs Boxing Star Canelo Alvarez in Huge $365 Millon Deal:

-DAZN, a sports streaming company that just launched in the US last month, announced a huge year deal with Canelo Alvarez -They believe this deal with Alvarez can help "usher a new era in the sport" -Make the sport more global since the company has markets in the U.S, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Japan

Sports Business Journal-Analysis: MLB Evolution Baseball:

-Deal amongst MLB owners that: → addressed a lack of competitive balance in the minds of the owners → increased the revenue share (which is divided by national deals and local deals) National deals National TV teams, media rights, sponsored by national companies, advertisements Local deals Sponsored by local companies, ticket sales, luxury suites/club boxes, advertisements on the video boards/fences in the stadium 34% of the local deals would go into a pool that would only be available to the smaller market teams Since baseball does not have a salary cap; just a luxury tax if you go over a set amount (could theoretically sign every big name player, if the owners are willing to pay an expensive tax)

Sports Business Journal-Naming Rights Market Finds More Takers:

-During the recession naming-rights deals were extremely unpopular (the Jets/Giants stadium and the Cowboys stadiums opened without corporate nameplates) -However now naming rights deals are centering around $1.1 billion for stadiums like the Warriors or Vikings new stadiums -Mercedes-Benz putting its name on the Falcons stadium for $1.4 billion -Rebirth of the market, the most robust it has ever been -Naming-rights deals increase companies' brand share -Financial service and car companies remain the top buyers for these stadiums' naming-rights -The time before the stadium actually opens up is most valuable to the company--only one brand leveraging the facility

Sports Business Journal-For rivals, it was unite or lose:

-ESPN and Fox (typically programming rivals) made a joint deal to split Pac-10 (now Pac-12) TV rights and pay $3 billion over 12 years, deal that would oubid Comcast -This resulted in a massive boost in the Pac-12's game national exposure

ESPN Business's model and the changes to it:

-ESPN's dual revenue streams: subscribers (80%) and advertising (20%) -ESPN has lost a substantial amount of customers over the last 2-3 years due to an increase in the demand for on-the-go technology (Cord-Cutting) (no longer as much of a demand for people gathering behind a TV to watch the game). The emergence of companies like Netflix, Amazon prime, Hulu made watching TV easier from your phone easier than ever which has seriously cut into the revenue ESPN receives from subscribers. Examples: MNF hit an all time low of 10.8 million average viewers last season (primetime ratings were all down), Lost 621,000 subscribers in October 2016 alone -However, ESPN is hoping to evolve to keep up with the changing times through the implementation the ESPN+ app and their watchESPN alternative, which makes their game streams and talk shows much more accessible to fit the changing market. -ESPN has recently locked up large sums of money on TV rights deals ($1.9 billion a year for only Monday Night Football, MLB for $700 million per year (their deal only gives them 1 playoff game too), paying NBA $1.4 billion a year, a joint deal with FOX to split Pac-12 rights and pay $3 billion over 12 years), so this change to make their product more accessible and is absolutely necessary to continue to turn their company around TV deals (in pro leagues, college conferences, with individual pro teams and with individual schools); -Regional sports networks are money-printing operations that heavily promote the team they carry/televise and rely on the loyalties/wallets of the local fans to drive revenues, networks go to great lengths to keep a team's TV rights since these deals have been extremely profitable for both the team and the network Examples: CSN Bay Area was willing to pay $100 million in advance and offer the team one-third ownership of the network just to retain the team's TV rights once the current contract expired, and the fact that the Yankees TV deals with YES, allows YES to see around $430 million in revenue each year -These deals have changed the landscape of business for these sports teams, as the larger contracts they are able to land, the more the perceived value of the team is, and the more payroll they are able to afford in players' salaries. Example: An auction that the Dodgers held for their TV rights, that was eventually won by Time Warner Cable for about $8.5 billion over 25 years, was what allowed their team (which at the time had little money to spending on big name players) to acquire Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto in a monster deal with the Red Sox. -Colleges have begun to get in the act as well, as the University of Texas created the Longhorn Network (which is owned by ESPN for the school's football games, who pays about $11 million annually to broadcast the team's games.

The Athletic-The #MeToo movement comes to sports, a reckoning long overdue:

-Famous line every female hears when they enter the sports business: check your dignity at the door -However, this is starting to change with the #MeToo movement spreading throughout sports teams, companies, agencies, etc. -Women in sports fear speaking up about harassments or assault by their bosses or athletes because they fear for their jobs or being blacklisted in the business -Women are told they are in a man's job and they need to toughen up and handle the harassment -Examples have shown that women in sports who have spoken up are not able to land the same level positions they previously held -Large amount of examples from a variety of prominent women in sports (clear that this industry needs to be changed and the author hopes this movement can bring the change)

Coliseum-Alabama announces $600M upgrade for athletic facilities:

-Huge renovations for Bryant-Denny Stadium and Coleman Coliseum -Proves how much money these universities are getting through the NCAA athletes and how they can spend it so freely while the athletes get none of the actual money

LA Times-Turning the Tide: USC's Convincing Victory at 'Bama in '70 With Integrated Team Changed Complexion of Football in South:

-In 1970 USC was the first fully integrated team to play in als -Against legendary coach Bear Bryant and an all white Alabama team (still did not accept black students) -Coach Bryant wanted to integrate the football team but the state/governor wouldn't let him -USC beat Alabama 42-21 behind their 3 black running backs (including Sam Cunningham who came to class last week)

How sports can act as a change agent in our society (themes: making sacrifices for greater good of your sport/of society, leaving a legacy for the athletes who come after you, using your platform to inflict change, an enduring adversity to achieve a goal)

-Jackie Robinson: Jackie Robinson was a baseball player who grew up in the Pasadena area, before attending UCLA and then eventually becoming signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. He has an important place in our country's history because he was able to persevere through serious racism and hatred and open the door for African-Americans to participate in the 4 major sports leagues in the U.S. At UCLA, Robinson was a talented athlete and participated in 4 different sports: football, track, basketball, and baseball. Although Robinson went on to play in the Major Leagues, baseball was actually his worst sports in college, as he excelled in the other sports he played (particularly track and football) but batted under .100 during his junior year at UCLA (the lone year he was able to play baseball), and primarily appeared in the lineup due to his speed on the bases and ability in the field. Robinson's courage pioneered change not just in sports, since he made it acceptable for black players to showcase their talent against white people in the primary league for the respective sports, but in society as well, since he embodied a determination to never give up on your dreams so that you can leave a legacy for yourself and allow millions of kids after you to live out their dreams as well. -Curt Flood: Curt Flood, also changed the baseball landscape but in a very different way. Flood fought against the reserve clause that existed in baseball, which bound players to one team until the team they traded them. Flood was traded and his salary was going to be paid as $90,000 but instead of going to the team he was traded to, he decided to sit out, famously proclaiming that "a well-paid slave is still a slave." He ended up taking the MLB to court, fighting for the players' rights to control where they played, just like any other citizen can control where they work. Although he lost his lawsuit, his battle opened the door to what we now know as free agency, that exists in all major sports leagues. Flood embodied the ideal of making the necessary sacrifices (both career-wise and financially) so that he could leave a legacy for MLB players and all sports players that came after him. -Colin Kaepernick: Kaepernick was willing to sacrifice his professional NFL career (ended up being forced out of the league) because his desire to protest the inequality that black people face in our society particularly from the police. Kaepernick kneeled during the anthem as a sign of protest for these violate, unnecessary actions taken by police officers. Even after his playing career is over Kaepernick has embraced his opportunity to become an icon for social change. Kaepernick has signed a multiyear deal with that makes him the face of Nike's 30th annual Just Do It campaign and starred in the powerful commercial that the company released with Kaepernick narrating historical achievements by African-American athletes facing adversity. The tagline of the commercial is "believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. Kaepernick has also won his grievance against the NFL where he's accusing the league of conspiring to keep him off of a team due to his activism

NY Times-Unlikely Partners: Rookie Agents and Gay Player

-Joe Barkett and Cameron Weiss started a company together as sports agents and they were struggling to succeed until they were able to sign Michael Sam -Got their brand very much more widely recognized given all the hype surrounding Sam -Sports agency business is very difficult→ 806 registered agents by the NFLPA -For most companies it is not profitable and they are out of the business in 3-4 years -Both of them have always had an uncanny ability to empathize -Originally Sam signed with Jeff Sperbeck but realized he had made a mistake and signed with Barkett and Weiss -Sam informed them that he was gay and they worked on deciding when was the best time to make the announcement and how to go about doing so

Week 9 Readings: NY Times-Lousiana State's $2.5 Million Man Isn't Even the Head Coach:

-LSU's linebacker coach, Dave Aranda, is the highest paid assistant coach in college football, making $10 million over 4 years -College coaches continue to see their values become more and more inflated (Nick Saban makes $8.3 million per year, without performance bonuses) -Evidence for how much sports teams bring in to the univerisities (the football program at LSU has an operating surplus of $56 million) -Aranda is recognized by his players as a genius and has rapidly risen from coaching low level DII college football to coaching at LSU, and most believe that he will be a head coach somewhere within the next year

Business Insider-ESPN's business model may be in trouble:

-Lost 621,000 subscribers in October 2016 alone -Monday Night Football ratings have dropped 2% -League sponsored channels (NBA TV, MLB Network, NFL Network, NBA League Pass) are starting to take many viewers from ESPN -Also a shift away from live TV to online TV like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon.com

LA Times-MLB becomes third major sports league to form partnership with MGM:

-MGM is now "the official gaming partner of the MLB" -Shows the league new initiative to embrace this change towards legalized betting and use it as a major source of revenue -In the past, stars players like Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Pete Rose received harsh punishments for aligning themselves with casinos or betting on games (Rose), and these players received worse punishments than PED users, but this deal shows how much the league has changed -The league could potentially bring in $154 million per year in gaming company partnerships -Also another $952 million per year can be brought in from legal, widely available betting broadening the baseball audience, increasing ticket sales, merchandise sales, and broadcast rights fees

Sports Business Journal-Media, Gambling, new stadiums to push North American sports market by $80 billion by 2022:

-Media overtook ticket sales as sports' largest slice of revenue in 2017 -It is also forecasted that media rights sales, sponsorships, merchandise, and sales at new stadiums will cause the sports market to reach $80 billion by 2022 -Although ticket sales have been overtaken by media revenue, ticket sales are still steady, projected to be $19.3 billion in 2018 → ticket sales and game attendance could also receive a jolt by the legalization of sports betting -Gaming companies could partner with sports teams to create apps for fans in attendance to wager on hundreds of outcomes that could occur during the game -Individual teams and leagues have already signed marketing partnerships with casinos as well to boost revenue

Forbes-the NFL's Most Valuable Teams: The Yardage Gets Tougher on Prices:

-NFL team values have plateaued, values increased by 2% during the past year (the smallest increase since 2011) and adjusted for inflation the values fell by 0.7% -Main contributor: the strict ownership requirements in the NFL -In a team's sale, the general partner must own at least 30% so a great deal of liquid wealth is required that is very hard to come by -Also, the main contributor to liquidity is the stock market, which much slower than the value of the teams -Although their rules are strict, they have been effective as no team has been in financial trouble for having too much debt since 1999 (when Art Modell sold the Ravens to Stephen Bisciotti) → no fiascos like the Dodgers or the Hornets in the NFL -The league is also scheduled to get richer, as it can opt-out of its current Sunday ticket contract with DirectTV next year, when the deal was 50% more than the previous deal (ESPN, Amazon likely to be interested) -Also, legalized betting will also cause the league's viewership to grow and revenue to increase -These factors will just cause the difference between the revenue of the league and the market value of the actual teams to grow

LA Times-USC Trojans Home is Now Officially the United Airlines Memorial Coliseum

-Naming rights deal for the Coliseum→ the United Airlines Memorial Coliseum -First time the naming rights have actually been sold, will become official in August 2019 -The deal has allowed them to afford the renovations that are currently being made

Effects of the O'Bannon and Alston/Hartman case:

-O'Bannon Summary: O'Bannon realized that the NCAA and the specific conferences were consistently profiting off these athletes whether it was through the licensing of NCAA athletes in video games, players' merchandise, TV deals and that the athletes, who were responsible for making the NCAA so widely popular, were receiving none of this profit. In his lawsuit he hoped to remove the amateur-status label that these NCAA athletes are viewed with, which has consistently been the reason that the NCAA's sole form of compensation to these athletes is just their scholarships. O'Bannon cites how the amount that the athletes are compensated via their scholarships pales in comparison to the huge amounts of revenue that their teams (especially the basketball and football teams) bring to the university. Outcome: In his lawsuit he demanded that each NCAA athlete be compensated $5000 because the current status regarding NCAA athletes is a violation of antitrust laws. EA, which was the initial source of O'Bannon's lawsuit, actually was willing to compensate these college athletes for using them in their games but the NCAA blocked this transaction. EA did end up paying some former college athletes who appeared in their games, but was unable to compensate more recent college athletes which forced them to cease their production of NCAA video games. In district court, O'Bannon actually won his case as Judge Wilken agreed that the NCAA was violating antitrust laws in the way they used these college athletes as money-making machines, while preventing them from seeing any of this revenue. However, the verdict was appealed and brought to the Supreme Court where the lawsuit was rejected because of the fact that these college-athletes were still considered amateurs and that they could not be compensated monetarily in a form aside from the scholarships that they receive. It is important to note though that the scholarships now cover the full-cost of attendance (including the players' traveling fees from home and phone bills), when previously they only covered a basic scholarship (education, room/board, food, textbooks, etc.) However, it is clear to see that the NCAA is still winning from this verdict and continues to be able to exploit these athletes to land monster contracts -Alston/Hartman Summary: Alston and Hartman are two former NCAA athletes (at West Virginia and UCLA respectively) who are suing the NCAA to remove the cap that currently exists on scholarships, citing that the current rules prevent competition amongst conferences and that the cap that is in place is significantly lower than the actual amount that most of these athletes are bringing to the school in revenues. The NCAA has argued that removing these athletes amateur status will make them de-facto minor league professional athletes, further distancing them from the other students that are at their universities and that they currently being compensated in the form of the education that they receive, which will open doors for them if these athletes are not able to make a living playing professionally. Outcome: The case is still ongoing but the outcome seems much more favorable for Alston/Hartman, with one NCAA executive on record stating that "I think we are going to lose." One effective strategy that Alston/Hartman have used is to ask NCAA executive regarding their salaries (ex. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott makes $4.5 million annually) and then compare those large salaries to the amount players are compensated -Connection to current NCAA basketball scandal for illegally paying players: The exposure of the fact that so many NCAA basketball players are actually getting paid regardless strengthens Alston/Hartman's argument, that these players currently are the subject of illegal bidding wars, why not just make it legal so each scholarship player is paid the same amount and this under the table illegal activity can be discontinued.

Sports Illustrated-How College Sports Video Games Could Return to Your Console.

-O'Bannon's response to critics of his lawsuit who are upset that EA stopped making college sports games after his lawsuit -EA actually wants to compensate the players in the game but the NCAA blocked it from happening→ so actually the NCAA is to blame -EA had a deal in place to pay for proper licensing rights where the players would be paid -EA could say to hell with the NCAA and go back to making this game and striking this licensing deal (they don't the NCAA to do it) - O bannon sued NCAA and EA Sports because they thought there was a monopoly and violation of antitrust law, ruled that the NCAA was not above the antitrust law -NCAA wanted to keep the amatuer model at any case necessary, O bannon didn't want them to use their image and likeness -Big ten schools are estimated to go from 35 million to 50 million per year from tv affiliates who hold the rights to their division games (just for media rights) -RESULTED IN ADDING COST OF ATTENDANCE, judge wanted to add 5000 per athlete but got struck down

Importance of strong ownership (#1 key to a building a winning sports franchise success)

-O'Malley: Dodgers owned from 1950-1979. Has established the Dodgers for having a precedent to push the envelope and challenge stereotypes (ex. The signing of Jackie Robinson). That precedent has continued with the Dodgers decision to hire Billie Jean King to their ownership group earlier this year. Dodgers and King have had a history of challenging stereotypes and confronting injustices that existed in their respective sports. King and her partner will join the Guggenheim Baseball Management Group, who now own the Dodgers. Mark Walter, head of the group, believes that King will allow them to expand how they promote inclusion and empowerment in the Dodgers (and Sparks) franchises. Dodgers have already put an emphasis on having a diverse group of opinions on their ownership team and in high positions.

Week 8 Readings: Sports Business Journal-Clothes Make the Brand:

-Oregon has made a football brand out of nothing (with the help of Phil Knight), becoming known for its more than 300 uniform combinations -Created a cool factor that is very attractive to recruits -Although other programs have adopted Oregon's approach, there are schools like Penn St, Ohio St, Alabama, Auburn who have kept their traditional uniforms (following their traditions of success) -The Ducks built an identity based on innovation and fun, constantly pushing the envelope

NY Times-Naomi Osaka Beats Serena Williams in a Final Marred by Boos and Tears:

-Osaka became the first Japanese born player to win a Grand Slam against her hero growing up, Serena Williams -However the match is going to be remembered because of the confrontations that occurred between Williams and the ref, Carlos Ramos -Williams receive violations for coaching (got her a warning), racket abuse (point penalty), and then verbal abuse for calling the ref a thief (a game penalty) -Williams accused the ref of being sexist, saying that men would not have gotten violations like this -The trophy presentation was tarnished by boos from Serena fans with both women crying, preventing Osaka from enjoying her big accomplishment

Week 12 Readings: George Raveling powerpoint-"The Relationship Culture":

-Primary relationships are with yourself or with others -Relationship domains: 1) humans 2) machines -Relationship objectives: capture minds, earn trust, develop, win hearts, maintain, and build a reputation -In a relationship, everyone just wants to be trusted, appreciated, respected and loved -Relationship goals: to be the most informed, connected, influential, trusted, respected, innovative, copied, daring, intelligent, strategic -86,400 seconds of opportunities daily -Always remember "what can I do for you?" -The most important relationship is always the one with yourself -His tips for relationships: -Add value to everything you do -Don't be a taker; be a giver

NY Times-NFL Moves Game Out of Mexico City Over Field Conditions:

-Rams/Chiefs game was scheduled to be played in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca, however if it was moved to the Coliseum due to poor field conditions -NFL Players Union was worried that players would get injured playing on this torn-up hybrid turf-grass field

Sports Illustrated-The Coach and the Preacher:

-Raveling owns many interesting items from his action-filled life as one of the first African-American basketball coaches, Nike's director of international basketball, and civil rights advocate -However his most prized possession is Martin Luther King's I have a Dream Speech, which he took from MLK shortly after the speech -Raveling came from an unstable childhood, eventually attending St. Michael's boarding school, becoming a prominent basketball player and receiving a scholarship to Villanova -Raveling and his friend Warren Wilson were asked to be security for King's speech, eventually finding themselves on the Lincoln Memorial Steps during the famous speech -King's speech never actually included the words "I have a dream," he felt that his speech was not having its powerful effect so he decided to improvise -Raveling asked for the speech after King finished and quickly put it in his pocket -Raveling went back to his life as an assistant coach at Villanova and a shoe representative for Converse -Then became the first black coach in the ACC when he was hired by Maryland -Became the first black coach at Iowa as well, but still had not "grown comfortable speaking out on social issues," since "he had no established platform to do so" -In an interview after he became the Iowa coach, he admitted to having King's speech, which quickly led to him being offered huge amounts of money for it (which he all declined since he thinks the speech is greater than any monetary value) -Had it hung up in his office but became worried that people would try to break in and steal it so he moved it to a bank vault

NY Times-Regional Sports Networks Show the Money:

-Regional sports networks are money-printing operations that heavily promote the team they carry/televise and rely on the loyalties/wallets of the local fans to drive revenues -Yankees YES Networks makes $435.2 million in revenue -Profitable opportunity for these networks so they go to great lengths (pay large sums of money) to keep a team's TV rights -A massive auction for the Dodgers' TV rights was won by Time Warner Cable for $8.35 billion for 25 years

UCLABruins-UCLA's Jackie Robinson to be Honored Nationwide:

-Robinson first 4 (track,basketball,baseball, and football) sport letterman in UCLA history -Won championships in basketball, football, and track. Struggled in baseball at UCLA -Worst sport was baseball but still started due to his baserunning and fielding skills -Brother, Mack, earned a silver medal in the 200m behind Jesse Owens in 1936 -Enlisted in the army and faced severe discrimination -Later, signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers farm system in 1945 -Refused to let racist threats derail his professional career, even winning NL MVP in 1949

LA Times-Best seats at new football stadium will come with $100K licensing bill for Rams tickets and $75k for Chargers tickets

-Roughly 25% of the stadium's seats are classified as "premium" and beginning Tuesday, season-ticket holders from both teams will be invited to view details about the project and purchase premium seats for the stadium -The team's licensing program will be an NFL first, essentially functioning as a 50-year deposit to help fund the $2.6 billion stadium's construction -Season-ticket holders will be required to pay the one-time license cost as well as ticket prices -The most expensive seats will attempt to combine luxury, exclusivity, and convenience (split into 3 classifications: all access, VIP, and club) -The stadium is scheduled to open in 2020

NY Times-NBA G League to Offer Prospects $125,000 as an alternative to "One and Done":

-Select 18 year olds will have the opportunity to play for a year in the G League and make $125,000 instead of playing a year in college before entering the draft -The NBA has stated that this program will allow these athletes to receive further basketball training as well as many "life skills" -Only for a select group "of high level players" -Not yet known how these athletes would be assigned to G League teams -The 18 year olds in the G League would be ineligible to be called up to the NBA team affiliated with the G league team

LA Times-Disneyland 'demand pricing $5 less on slow days and $20 more when it's busy:

-Similar strategy to what is being employed at baseball games -This would also address their issue of overcrowding at the park

Sports Business Journal-The moves that forced ESPN's cuts:

-Skyrocketing rights fees and deep distribution cuts put ESPN in position where it had to shed 4% of its workforce -They overpaid significantly for NFL rights renewal ($1.9 billion a year for only Monday Night Football) -They paid MLB $700 million per year (their deal only gives them 1 playoff game too) -They are paying NBA $1.4 billion a year -Also their subscriber numbers are down 8% which has forced them to give up various sporting events' rights (World Cup, most Golf events, etc.)

Social media in sports:

-Social media engagement has been rapidly growing in sports, allowing fans to gain in depth understanding of team's decision-making and athletes opinions (much greater fan interaction between players and fans, especially in terms of politics and cultural choices) -Some leagues and conferences are understanding how to use this trend to their benefit, for example Adam Silver understand hows greater fan interaction through social media helps drive the league's increasing TV ratings and the league has used this emphasis to build a massive social media community across the globe, 1.4 billion people are connecting with the NBA in some way. -Area for growth: Silver is hoping to engage fans who are already on their phones during game that they attend through mobile engagements (primarily social media) → through betting: Gaming companies could partner with sports teams to create apps for fans in attendance to wager on hundreds of outcomes that could occur during the game (Even in 2014: Silver a firm proponent of betting being brought back from underground where it will be legalized, so it can be effectively monitored and regulated)

Sports Business Journal-Ticket Challenge: Getting the Price Right:

-Sports should not set ticket prices 9 months in advance because how the season goes governs how valuable the ticket prices are -MLB teams (with the Giants being the first one) solved this issue by changing to dynamic pricing (demand based pricing) -Now 17 of 30 MLB teams have adopted this strategy -Studies of the elasticities of the ticket for specific games, then changing prices accordingly (accepting that not all games are treated equally by fans) -"Changing your habits is not easy, but you have to trust the data."

Week 13 Readings: A Few Broadcasting Keys by Jeff Fellenzer:

-The 4 P's: Passion, Preparation, Performance, Persistence 1) Develop your OWN voice and style 2) Do your homework! 3) WORSHIP ACCURACY 4) ASK QUESTIONS...don't just make lazy statements to your interviewees! Only YOU can help stamp out "Talk about...."

Bloomberg-Average NBA Salary Hits $8.5 Million in New Labor Deal:

-The NBA and its players have tentatively to a new 7 year labor agreement, which will cause the NBA's average salary to hit $8.5 million -This deal continues to give power to the players, who already saw significantly larger major contracts because of the new TV deals in the NBA and from the negotiations from the previous CBA deal that occurred during the lockout -Average NFL player makes $2.1 million a year -Many of the stars in the league represent the NBA in the players' committee during these negotiations (including LeBron, Chris Paul, Steph Curry, and Carmelo Anthony)

Arizona Daily Star-Pac-12 Football: Utah moving to the Big Leagues:

-The University of Utah switching to the Pac-12 in 2011 has caused the school's overall revenue to increase as a whole. Being in the Pac-12 has caused them to see some of the revenue from the Pac-12 agreeing to the $3 billion with ESPN and Fox for the rights to Pac-12 football and basketball games. -Also, just being in a power-5 conference has allowed the team to have much more ticket sales, merchandise, and viewers for their games, which also increase the school's overall revenue. -What Professor Fellenzer means by sports being the "front porch" of a university is that the sports team have become one of the most essential representers of the school as a whole, and most universities are now associated with the success/stories of their sport teams. He also means that sports is one of the primary revenue contributors to a school's revenue, and given the fact that the NCAA disallows these schools from compensating these players past the values of their scholarships, they are able to see this revenue in the school's profits.

The Atlantic-The Easy Economics of Most Expensive Trade in Baseball History:

-Trade between the Dodgers and the Red Sox in 2012 where the Red Sox dumped $250 million in salary money while the Dodgers acquired big name players: Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto -Example of how unconcerned the Dodgers were about money/their salary cap because of the richest TV deal in MLB history that they were about to strike (now already struck)

Week 15 Readings: Todd Lieman PowerPoint presentation:

-Two most important days of your life: The day you are born and the day you find out why -How to create the life you've imagined/are meant to have: -Do what you love, you'll work because you care, not because you have to -Be authentic to yourself, act in accordance to what drives/defines/inspires you -Go confidently in the direction of your dreams (do more of what brings you joy) -Social media: it changes everything completely; provides more opportunity but also more judgement. Avoid the trap of being anti-social media, since everyone's a critic, take the moment to be a champion. Celebrate, don't hate

Week 11 Readings: LA Times-Louis Zamperini dies at 97; Olympic track star and WWII hero:

-USC standout who ran for the U.S in the Berlin Olympics in 1936 and roomed with Jesse Owens -He fought in WWII and supposedly died during a mission in the Pacific off the coast of Japan -His parents were notified by President Roosevelt that their son had died during battle, when actually he had been picked up by a Japanese patrol boat with one other survivor, and beaten, tortured and humiliated for over 2 years -He finally returned and became an inspirational speaker in the U.S about his times during war in Japan, and now has passed away at the age of 97, a full 70 years after his original reported death -He has a film based on his life coming out in December, produced by Universal Studios -By the time Zamperini was captured (/rescued?) by the Japanese he weighed less than 100 lbs -"Got the 10 years of his life back that the war took from him"

Changes to ticket prices/pricing strategies:

-Variable pricing: charging different prices for the same seat depending on certain condition of the game. Like buying a more expensive ticket for USC-UCLA game. Prices set in advance for a season, does not factor in how a team's season went since the prices are set before the season -Example of pro sports following college sports. -Dynamic Pricing: ability to change the force for a game after the season has started. Ticket industry in sports catching up with hotels, airlines, rental cars. Tickets fluctuate as the season continues. Prices for a team that has been losing will drop as the season goes on. -Aligning themselves with the Disneyland article pricing scheme: more for games that become, Giants were the first one to do this (as popularity gained for the game in which Barry Bonds would break the home run record) and now 17 out of 30 MLB teams have adopted this strategy

Week 2 Readings to know: Sports Business Journal-Passion that can't be counted puts billions of dollars in play:

-You can't calculate passion -Sports is a cultural hold because it's a common thread that everyone can relate to -Passions is what sells tickets, drivers viewership, and plays in sponsorship -A consumer must feel passionate enough about the sports to spend money to watch it in person or devote time to watch it on TV -The sports industry is fully reliant on passion

Two Sets of Threes:

About honesty: Never lie Never cheat Never steal About dealing with adversity: Don't whine Don't complain Don't make excuse Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Character is what you really are. Reputation is what people say you are.

-The most valuable teams in order:

Cowboys $4.8-5 billion, Patriots, Giants, Rams, Redskins

Week 7 Readings: Sports Business Journal-Book brings Flood's contribution to game out of the shadows:

Curt Flood, not recognized like Jackie Robinson for bring change to baseball/society -The book A Well-Paid Slave by Brad Snyder is finally giving Flood the attention he deserves -Flood fought against the reserve clause, which bounded a player to his team for his entire career, while allowing him to be traded or sold without his approval (made it impossible for a player to establish his value on the free market) -Flood compared the reserve clause to slavery, and after the Cardinals traded him to the Phillies, he decided that he would refuse to go and forsake his $90,000 salary -He responded to an interview question regarding his decision by saying "a well paid slave is nonetheless a slave" -Flood believed that players shouldn't be traded like property and they deserved the right to choose where they worked and lived (like other citizens) -Flood took on the MLB in court in the Flood vs. Kuhn (commissioner of the MLB) and although the supreme court sided with the MLB, Flood's lawsuit paved the way for professional sports' free agency as we now know it -Flood needs to be recognized for all he did for the game and his accomplishments on and off the field should have made him a lock for baseball's hall of fame (he was snubbed though)

Greatest joy

I believe the greatest joy one can have is doing something for someone else without any thought of getting something in return (week 7)

Definitions of Leadership and Success

Leadership: "Leadership is the ability to get individuals to work together for the common good and the best possible results, while at the same time letting them know they did it themselves" (week 13) Success: "Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming" (week 3)

Two Favorite Words

Love is the greatest of all words in our language. Coach Wooden's other favorite word: Balance (week 5)

Jeff Fellenzer's Keys to Success in Sports Business-see below

Make yourself invaluable. Identify and visualize your goals. Build solid relationships. Be prepared to wear a lot of hats (perform multiple tasks). Don't be afraid to admit that you don't have all the answers—it's not a sign of weakness. Be a good listener...you'll learn more and earn more that way. Be patient, don't get discouraged; allow plenty of time to nurture your idea and help it grow. Surround yourself with solid, capable, experienced people—it's the key to building a winning team. Work hard, stay focused on the details and ask yourself this question often: Am I doing as much as I can to reach my goals? Take time to have fun along the way; what you'll remember most, and what is most rewarding, is the journey

Overachievers

NO ONE is an overachiever. How can you rise above your level of competency? We're all underachievers to different degrees. You may hear someone say that a certain individual "gave 110%." How can that be? You can only give what you have, and you have only 100%. From Professor Fellenzer: Never let anyone call you an overachiever. If anyone calls you an overachiever, tell them: "There's no such thing as an overachiever. If you achieve something, then you were obviously capable of achieving it! Apparently YOUR expectations for me weren't high enough. That's on you, not me" (week 2)

Examples of the connections between Sports and Business:

One example is naming rights deals, where companies pay large amounts of money to attach their names to stadiums. This allows them to market and brand their company's name more and is a industry that is being revamped in terms of how much these companies are willing to pay so that their names can be attached to these stadiums. Another example is sports apparel companies paying universities to have their logos on teams' shoes, jerseys, etc. which then allows their product to be on the cover of magazines (ex. Nike sponsoring Duke basketball and benefitting from the fact that Sports Illustrated put Coach K and Jabari Parker on the cover in Duke basketball gear with Nike logos). A third example is when networks like ESPN choose to make the feature Sunday Night Baseball game Yankees-Red Sox instead of Dodgers-Giants because 80% of the US lives in the Eastern/Central time zone so that game will allow them to maximize viewers. This is a part of what Ilan Ben-Hasan was talking to us about earlier, where ESPN does not have an east coast bias, but they interested in featuring the games/topics that they know will attract the highest number of viewers (they have a major story bias). A fourth example is when the owner of sports teams like the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Diamondbacks (and Cardinals), Colorado Rockies, etc. decide to name their team after the whole state. They make this decision because they understand that this will allow them to attract the a wider area of fans, allowing them to have viewers who tune, fans who buy their merchandise, and fans who buy their tickets in from all around the state. A last example are Media Rights, which are a huge part of the business of sports. Networks are realizing how profitable having a team on their network is, and are going to great lengths to make sure that happens. In one example CSN Bay Area, who was already signed as the network for the San Francisco Giants, paid the team an advance of $100 million and offered the team one-third ownership of the network, just if they agreed to keep the Giants games on their network. These deals are becoming incredibly profitable for both the team and the network. Title sponsorships- putting a companies name into an event (Valero Alamo Bowl) Companies sponsoring of athletes Advertisements at games in the stadiums Gambling legalized

Views on persistence

Persistence Is Stronger Than Failure (uses example of all of Abraham Lincoln's failures and how he refused to allow them to define him and defied naysayers in accomplishing his goals of becoming president and then abolishing slavery) And what is most wondrous of all is that persistence is a quality that we ourselves control. You, and only you, can decide whether you will "stay the course (week 12)

The Final Score

The "final score" is not the final score. My final score is how prepared you were to execute near your own particular level of competence, both individually and as a team. There is nothing wrong with that other fellow being better than you are, as long as you did everything you possibly could to prepare yourself for the competition. That is all you have control over. That is all you should concern yourself with (week 10)

Jeff Fellenzer's Keys to Success in Sports Business-see below

The 4 P's: Passion...Preparation...Performance...Persistence

-Arte Moreno:

The Angels changing their name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005 to associate their team with LA and its brand/ability to drive revenues: The two key factors that caused this move: They had a television contract coming up and they wanted to make more money on it (ended up improving the TV contract by more than double). Attracted national advertisers, who are more interested in advertising a LA team than an Anaheim team. Received commissioner approval from then commissioner Bud Selig. -When there was poor ownership during Ned Colletti's time as the GM of the Dodgers, he was unable to change the culture of the team in the manner that he felt was best (his biggest failure as as a GM), attributes that to lack of support from the ownership group (Frank McCourt at the time)

Example of the arms race in college sports (particularly in college football)

The University of Oregon has played such a large role in the "arms race" because of their ability to create such a unique brand that promotes their sense of innovation and a "fun/cool" factor that does not exist at other programs. They are able to do this through the help of one to their most famous alums, Phil Knight, who has helped them facilitate the design of 300 different uniform combinations which are available to their football team. They understand that this brand is hugely appealing to high school students trying to decide where they want to play college football and it has allowed them to separate themselves from other college football programs. The University of Alabama spending $600 million on renovations to Bryant-Denny Stadium and Coleman Coliseum Make a connection between large amount of money that these schools receive from the team's revenue streams (massive TV deals that these college conferences are striking, the ticket sales from the sporting events, the merchandise they are selling, and the foods and beverages they sell at these games) tthat they have the ability to continually upgrade their facilities, fire and hire coaches, and design these expensive uniforms and the fact that the people who are actually bringing in the money (the athletes) are receiving none of it. Front porch of a school- The front porch refers to the fact that generally the public thinks of a university's athletic program first, or universities are known for their athletic programs first and then academics.

LA Times-Angels to be a Team of Two Cities/LA Times:

They had a television contract coming up and they wanted to make more money on it (ended up improving the TV contract by more than double) Attracted national advertisers, who are more interested in advertising a LA team than an Anaheim team -Received commissioner approval from then commissioner Bud Selig -The city of Anaheim suing the team and owner Arte Moreno over this decision, hoping to return the name back to just the Anaheim Angels