Sports Archives - Page 5 of 11

Digital Advertising and Nike

Posted on August 28, 2009August 28, 2009

There’s a good article about digital advertising and Nike and how they are approaching the shifting landscape. Some key points to the article:

TV and traditional ad spending for Nike is down 80% over the past 4 years where as digital spend is up 200%. They want to go where the consumers are and more and more that is online
Nike Marketing Director Simon Pestridge says: “We don’t do advertising any more. We just do cool stuff. It sounds a bit wanky, but that’s just the way it is. Advertising is all about achieving awareness, and we no longer need awareness. We need to become part of people’s lives and digital allows us to do that.”
For brands there’s a fundamental need to engage consumers rather than bombard them with ads
Another good point in the article is that the days of interrupt-driven advertising is over. The article claims, “Pestridge insists there will always be a place for traditional advertising, he acknowledges that the days of ‘interruptive marketing’ are over. ‘Now it’s all about deciding what you want to say and how you’re going to say it.'” In my opinion, sites that integrate a sponsors message into the content, whether paid or facilitated, is much more effective
They spend more time making content that they put on the web than making taglines. Content like Ronaldinho ‘Touch of Gold’ viral video has over 30 million views (see below)

I think this shows that the content is the ad now. Advertisers increasingly don’t want to interrupt the user. They don’t want to just inform – they want the user to engage with them. This is the where the future is. It’s not in banners, but rather in, as Nike says, “cool stuff.”

Jonny Flynn and the Timberwolves

Posted on July 24, 2009

There’s been lots of talk about Ricky Rubio and all the he could potentially bring to the twolves. And while i think he’s pretty special, I’m also very excited about Johnny Flynn. What happened on draft day is that the the Timberwolves had ranked Flynn as #1 on their board of people they thought they could get (above Curry). Somehow Rubio dropped to the number 5 spot so they felt they had to choose him. Then with the number 6 they were faced with the option of choosing someone they believed was worse to fill the shooting guard spot or choose the best guy remaining which was Jonny Flynn. At least that is the explanation that the GM provided.

I was skeptical but i just watched this video (below) of Flynn’s summer league play and he looks fan-fricking-tastic. I’m very excited to see what he can do with KLove, Big Al and rest of the squad.

Also, i want to touch on the fact that Mad Dog Madsen was traded to the Clippers. While not the best player in the league i think he’s done a great job of communicating with the public. His blog is good read and he’s clearly a very smart dude (from Stanford). He’s missing Minnesota and I’ll miss him too.

Check this out:

Basketball, David & Goliath, and Underdogs

Posted on June 16, 2009March 27, 2010

I read a great article by Malcolm Gladwell last week called How David Beats Goliath. It talks about a Silicon Valley CEO who has never coached basketball before and how he takes a novel approach towards basketball strategy when coaching his 12-year-old girl’s team.

Realizing his girl’s team is lacking the talent needed to compete, he decides to change the rules. Instead of falling back into their half to play defense, they do a full-court press each time. Their number 1 goal is to steal the opening pass. After that, they try to keep the team from crossing the halfway line. This approach is never used and its unconventional nature results in great success. He also pulls in the former San Francisco 49er, Roger Craig, as his assistant coach which makes the story that much more entertaining.

If that was the end of the story, it’d be an interesting piece but he overlays into the piece other stories of underdogs. He talks about the battle of David vs. Goliath and Lawrence of Arabia’s revolt against the Ottoman Army near the end of the First World War. In both cases, changing the nature of the game was the difference. Gladwell remarks:

David’s victory over Goliath, in the Biblical account, is held to be an anomaly. It was not. Davids win all the time. The political scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft recently looked at every war fought in the past two hundred years between strong and weak combatants. The Goliaths, he found, won in 71.5 per cent of the cases.

He always jumps back to the basketball example and has interviews with amazingly successful NCAA basketball coach Rick Pitino who talks about the press and overachieving.

Great article, check it out

Recipe for an Underdog (myespn.go.com)
Malcolm Gladwell Wants To Know Why Your Team Doesn’t Press More [Basketball] (deadspin.com)
How underdogs win (kottke.org)

Joe Mauer is Awesome

Posted on May 22, 2009

: Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Let me just repost what Aaron Gleeman wrote yesterday. It should be no surprise to anyone that Joe Mauer is my favorite player in baseball. The guy is a total stud:

Mauer is such a great hitter that batting .417 or getting on base at a .500 clip during a 19-game stretch shouldn’t surprise anyone, but eight homers and five doubles in 72 at-bats is totally unexpected even without considering that he missed April with an injury. He hasn’t abandoned his patient approach at the plate and isn’t suddenly pulling the ball consistently. He’s still taking tons of pitches and going the the other way with most of the balls he hits, but the fly balls just seem to be traveling a little further.

I’m not sure how to explain it and have no idea whether it’ll last, but holy shit has Mauer been amazing. At .417/.500/.819 he’d be leading all of baseball in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage with enough plate appearances to qualify and he has one homer per 9.0 at-bats after going deep once every 46.8 at-bats coming into the season. Plus, Ron Gardenhire may even leave him in the No. 2 spot that I’ve been advocating for years now after the 20-run outburst with Mauer there yesterday.

Music and Basketball

Posted on May 13, 2009

Another good quote from The Sports Guy. He had an email exchange with Macolm Gladwell and the subject of music and basketball came up. The Sports Guys responds:

We had lunch a few weeks ago and discussed the parallels between music and basketball. The structure is fundamentally the same: You have a lead singer (the NBA alpha dog, like LeBron or Kobe), the lead guitarist (the sidekick, like Pippen or McHale), the drummer (an unsung third wheel, like Parish or Worthy), the bassist (a solid, reliable and ultimately disposable role player: like Byron Scott or Anderson Varejao); and then everyone else (the other rotation guys). Bands can go different ways just like successful basketball teams. McCartney and Lennon were two geniuses who ultimately needed one another (like Young Magic and Older Kareem, or Shaq and Young Kobe), whereas MJ and LeBron were more like Sting or Springsteen (someone who could carry the band by themselves). And if you want to drag hip-hop or rap into it, the best parallel would obviously be Jordan’s post-baseball Bulls: MJ was Chuck D, Pippen was Terminator X, and there is no effing doubt that Rodman was Flavor Flav.

It’s a great read if you’re into the NBA and what’s happening right now. I like The Sports Guy’s take about Lebron. This is a great time to be a viewer as Lebron is doing what Michael Jordan did in the early 90’s. He’s just destroying people and making it great to watch. Plus, there’s a Spinal Tap refernce in there. How could it be a bad article then. It reads:

As the 2009 postseason rolls on, the King has become its most compelling story, not just because of his insane numbers, that Jordan-like hunger in his eyes, even the fact that he’s still on cruise control to some degree. (Note: I would compare

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

him to Nigel Tufnel’s amp. He alternated between “9” and “10” in the regular season, and he’s been at 10 in the playoffs, but I can’t shake the feeling that he has an “11” in store for Kobe and the Finals. An extra decibel level, if you will. In my lifetime, Jordan could go to 11. So could Bird. Shaq and Kobe could get there together, but not apart. And really, that’s it. Even Magic could get to 10 3/4 but never quite 11. It’s a whole other ball game: You aren’t just beating teams, you’re destroying their will. You never know when you’ll see another 11. I’m just glad we’re here. End of tangent.) But his relationship with his teammates continues to fascinate me; because of his character and the spirit of the players that surround him, it’s like watching a more animated/funny/bombastic version of Duncan’s Spurs, or even last season’s Boston team. I really get a kick out of them. Only LeBron and Magic could foster a climate like that just by being themselves.

Any other insight from my readers?

Bill Simmons to be Timberwolves GM?

Posted on May 6, 2009June 3, 2013

Two of my favorite things are intersecting today. My love for The Sports Guy and for the Timberwolves could turn into a marraige as he’s launching a campaign to be the Twolves GM. The Star Tribune did an interview (via email) with him here.

I personally think he knows the intricacies of the league, the contracts the budgets and the trades to do the job rather well. Plus he has good NBA common sense. He knows how it works – arguably more than any other journalist. Here are some thoughts he has:

I would think outside the box, and really, that’s what a team like Minnesota needs from their GM. I would go out to dinner with every [original] Minny season ticket holder — and there can’t be many — in groups of eight or 10 just to let them know that someone appreciates that they stuck with the franchise for this long. I would make a vow that, if we are ever eliminated from the playoffs in any season, from that point on, every home game is half-price and all season ticket holders get a half-price refund on the remaining games so they aren’t paying for crappy tank jobs. I would make myself accountable at every game and via email. I would make a rule that any T-Wolves fan could trade in a jersey of a player no longer on the team and get 40% off a new one. I would have a contest to find two T-Wolves fans to announce all our home games on Timberwolves.com, kinda like Mystery Science Theater but with diehard fans of the team. Etc etc etc. I have a million ideas. Really, you have to be an idea guy to be an NBA GM – you deal with a lot of stuff beyond “Which players should I pick?” And anyone who reads my column knows that I never, ever, EVER run out of ideas.

I would LOVE for this to happen. One can only hope

Celebrity Voicemails

Posted on April 7, 2009

While reading the highly entertaining mailbag by Bill Simmons, i read this from one of his readers:

Recently, Morgan Freeman came to my town to help celebrate the opening of one of his restaurants, Pig ‘N Whistle BBQ. He came around and greeted every table and talked with each guest, and everyone was getting their picture taken with him. I had a stroke of genius, though, and had my phone out. When Mr. Freeman reached our table, I asked if he would be so kind as to record a message for me. He said yes. Now I have this on my cell: “This is actor Morgan Freeman, Barnz is away from his phone right now but leave a message and he will call you back, I hope … I hope.” Is there a better choice for voicemail and a specific person to leave it?
— Barnz, Fayettesville, Ark.

That’s truly amazing. Of course Bill provided a few that he’d rather see:

2. Jack Nicholson: “This is Jack Nicholson. Bill isn’t home right now. You’re entitled to leave a message for him. Just know that I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain where he is, especially to someone who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said ‘thank you’ and went on your way. Either way, I don’t give a DAMN what you think you’re entitled to!!!”

3. Al Pacino: “Hi, this is Al Pacino. I don’t know where Bill is right now. But I do know this. Life is just a game of inches. I am still willing to fight and die for that inch because that is what LIVING is!!! The six inches in front of your face!!!!! Now I can’t make you leave a message. You gotta do it. So wait for the beep.”

4. Buffalo Bill (from Silence of the Lambs): “This is Jame Gumb answering Bill’s cell phone. Bill’s not here. (Long pause.) Is this a great big fat person?”

It’s pretty funny – can you think of anything better?

Edina Hockey

Posted on March 19, 2009

Growing up in Edina, MN is a great experience. One of the highlights of the year is the state hockey tournament. If Edina made (which we always did) we’d get the days of school off and everyone would go to the Xcel Center dressed up like maniacs and cheer like mad for the Hornet players. Hockey there is huge and it doesn’t get any bigger than the state tourney. You can imagine how happy i was to see Sports Illustrated do an article about this year’s team.

THE BOYS made a pledge, like many 13-year-olds do. No contract. No blood oath. Just a promise. In 2004, five eighth-graders from Edina, Minn., teammates in the youth hockey program, committed to the same dream. They would not merely win the state high school hockey championship someday. They would win it together, for Edina High.

It might not have been an extraordinary pledge in other sports, but in hockey, star players have the opportunity to leave high school for prep schools, junior leagues or the national development program in Ann Arbor, Mich. The idea of playing against better competition, developing more rapidly and enhancing their value to Division I schools or NHL scouts is too seductive for many boys to resist. Stay at your high school and you’ll go to your prom—but you might not go to the pros.

No matter: For kids steeped in Minnesota’s puck culture some things are more important. “My heroes [growing up] weren’t guys who played for the [NHL’s Minnesota] Wild,” says Edina’s Baker, 17, a defenseman who will play for Holy Cross next year. “They were guys who played at the high school.”

Damn straight. High school hockey is ridiculously awesome. Go Hornets

Shane Battier and NBA stats

Posted on February 16, 2009

There’s a good article in the NYTimes today by my alter-ego (Michael Lewis) the author who wrote Moneyball, the influential book about stats and baseball. In the article he talks instead about the NBA and how the statistics are often misleading don’t tell the whole story. It’s also a case study of the Rockets forward Shane Battier and how while his stats are often horrible he’s an extremely valuable player, saying,

Battier’s game is a weird combination of obvious weaknesses and nearly invisible strengths. When he is on the court, his teammates get better, often a lot better, and his opponents get worse — often a lot worse.

He may not grab huge numbers of rebounds, but he has an uncanny ability to improve his teammates’ rebounding. He doesn’t shoot much, but when he does, he takes only the most efficient shots. He also ha

s a knack for getting the ball to teammates who are in a position to do the same, and he commits few turnovers. On defense, although he routinely guards the N.B.A.’s most prolific scorers, he significantly reduces their shooting percentages. At the same time he somehow improves the defensive efficiency of his teammates

Shane is an interesting case because almost everyone in the NBA, players and owners and GM’s, think Shane is overrated and not overly talented.

It was, and is, far easier to spot what Battier doesn’t do than what he does. His conventional statistics are unremarkable: he doesn’t score many points, snag many rebounds, block many shots, steal many balls or dish out many assists. On top of that, it is easy to see what he can never do: what points he scores tend to come from jump shots taken immediately after receiving a pass. “That’s the telltale sign of someone who can’t ramp up his offense,”

Going further about Shane,:

“I call him Lego,” Morey says. “When he’s on the court, all the pieces start to fit together. And everything that leads to winning that you can get to through intellect instead of innate ability, Shane excels in. I’ll bet he’s in the hundredth percentile of every category.”

The article is great and discusses how the traditional box score is extremely outdated and there’s new, better thinking about statistics that are much more relevant. For example, if you want to know a player’s value as a rebounder, you need to know not whether he got a rebound but the likelihood of the team getting the rebound when a missed shot enters that player’s zone.

Basketball is unique in this way as the stats are more intermingled with the play than baseball and football where it’s easier to seperate the indivudal from the team. Either way, it’s a good article and worth a read. it’s here:

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