Miami Dolphins vs. San Diego Chargers

The Miami Dolphins head to San Diego to take on the Chargers on Sunday, October 2^nd, 2011.  While the San Diego Chargers are looking at finding ways to being more consistent throughout the season, the Dolphins are trying to find a way to win.  While San Diego has been playing good football in the first three weeks, quarterback Phillip Rivers has been questioned for his decision making when in the pocket.  The Chargers will be looking for improvement this week in the passing game as they take on the Dolphins 30^th rank pass defense.  The Dolphins defense has been underperforming since the start of the season as last week versus the Cleveland Browns the Dolphins in the final minutes to play allowed the Browns to drive the ball down the field and score the game winning touchdown with less than a minute to play. 

Coaches Norv Turner for the San Diego Chargers is looking to separate themselves from the Oakland Raiders who they are tied with in the AFC West right now as each team is 2 and 1 to start the season.  With a victory against the Dolphins this Sunday, the Chargers have a good chance to take the lead in the division race as the Raiders play the New England Patriots.  While the Dolphins are 0-3 they may have a long season ahead of them if they are unable to get a win this coming Sunday.  The Dolphins are playing in a tough division that is led by the 3 and 0 Buffalo Bills who have had an amazing start to the season, as the Bills have won some very tough games.  If the Dolphins are unable to get a win this week they will be on a seven game losing streak which includes the final three games from last year.

The San Diego Chargers, will look towards Phillip Rivers to get them the victory this week as he has the opportunity to throw all over the place if the Dolphins secondary is unable to stop them.  Rivers will look to getting the ball to Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson, and others on offense to lead them to victory.  Chad Henne for the Dolphins has shown progression this season however, he needs to improve his playing performance in the 4^th quarter.  To do this Henne and the Dolphins offense will need to get some help from the struggling defense.  Henne this week will look towards Brandon Marshall to help get the Dolphins their first victory of the season.

Before 2009 the Miami Dolphins, won seven consecutive games against the San Diego Chargers.  The last time they lost to them was in 2009 when the Dolphins started the season 0 and 3.  While the Chargers are looking to improve on consistency throughout the whole team, the Dolphins are looking for an identity.  With star power on both teams this will be an exciting game this Sunday, at Qualcomm Stadium.

Media Kit for Miami Dolphins vs. San Diego Chargers

1. Media Release
1. View Media Release Above
2. Significant Statistics
1. Miami Dolphins had won seven straight games against the San Diego Chargers before their matchup in 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium
3. Fact Sheets
1. Phillip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) fourth-quarter passer rating 136.4
2. Chad Henne (Miami Dolphins) fourth-quarter passer rating 48.7
3. Ryan Matthews (San Diego Chargers) 207 rushing yards, and 3 TDs
4. Reggie Bush (Miami Dolphins) 69 rushing yards, and 0 TDs
5. Vincent Jackson (San Diego Chargers) 17 receptions, and 2 TDs
6. Brandon Marshall (Miami Dolphins) 17 receptions, and 1 TD
4. Frequently Asked Questions
1. Questions will be asked about the team, the game, and so forth about practice leading up to the game.
5. Feature Story
1. Chargers work at improving overall game
2. Dolphins looking for 1^st win
6. Biographical Sketches of Key Figures
1. Tony Sparano – Miami Dolphins Head Coach
2. Norv Turner – San Diego Chargers Head Coach
3. Chad Henne – Miami Dolphins Starting Quarterback
4. Phillip Rivers – San Diego Chargers Starting Quarterback
7. Photos
1. Photos will be available on practices, game, and individual players

Recruiting & Fund-Raising

Recruiting & Fundraising do have similarities as a recruiter or the head individual for a fund raising event has to get people involved with what they are trying to sell.  Each takes a different approach to each consumer of the product or service.  The recruiter and head fund-raising individual has to be able to adjust and answer any questions thrown their way.  With recruiting and fund-raising everyone has the ability in being selected to make a proposal to.  The standards on how they are selected is where a recruit and a donor differentiate, as the recruit is graded on their physical attributes while a donor is graded on what they can bring to the fund-raising group.

Recruits and donors will be evaluated on their possibility of joining the team or if the donor will be able to donate a certain amount.  Each recruit and donor is receiving information on the possibility of joining the group or team.  The recruiter and the head fund-raising individual will do research on the individual to find ways in approaching them and finding ways to persuade the m to join them.  Depending on the value of the recruit different coaches will be in contact with the recruit to attract them to play for the school.  A donor will be contacted in person as it could raise the changes to get a good personal feeling on how well the donor will fit with the fund-raising group.  Finding individuals who are close to the recruit and donor are important.  The reason to do this is because those individuals become influential in the recruiting and fund-raising aspect of the individual.  When visiting the recruit and donor an offer will be made and hopefully the response will be in favor of the team or fund-raising group.  Once the recruit and donor have agreed the next thing to do is to get a signature on documents to make it final.  After the final decisions have been made sending information on the team and group will be important as the recruit and donor can learn more about the team and the group and what they stand for.

These two aspects do have very similar attributes as everything is based on the selling pitch.  The pitch to the recruiter and the donor is important because if the recruit and donor do not at first want what the recruiter is selling they then will have to change and adjust.  Being flexible as a recruiter and head fund-raiser will be important to get individual’s interested.

References:  Delisio. C.D., & Fleming. S., (August 2005).  Recruiting & Fund-Raising. Retrieved from:  http://tiffinonline.org/pub/content/ac21c4ad-24dd-43e5-8da1-d428a0c72c5a/Recruiting_and_Fundraising.pdf?eclg_res=1156538&eclg_resver=2150639

Sports Endorsements

Advertising has always been an important aspect to sports.  It is a way fans can associate to a message that a company is endorsing.  A sports promotion can be associated with a team or to an individual player.  Teams that are successful can create a positive image for a certain product or service.  College teams use this type of advertising to attract recruits, think of the Oregon Ducks and what Nike does for them.  Nike is an influential factor in the sports world as it has had a long list of superstar power when it comes to athletes promoting their brand.  Athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Adrian Peterson, and another long list of high profile athletes.  This is a good marketing tool for Nike as they are able to use these promotional methods to get brand association.  Younger generations see these professional athletes wearing a certain brand and the thought process is they can be just as good wearing the same gear.  In the movie Friday Night Lights, in one scene there was product placement with Nike as player Boobie Miles makes the statement “Bobbie’s gonna knock’em out with black Nikes on his feet! (IMDB, 2011).  It is a key example how influential professional athletes are when it comes to branding.

After helping New Orleans win a Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts, Drew Brees has become more of a marketing tool than ever before.  As everyone knows that Peyton Manning holds himself to high standards and is regarded as one of the most influential people in the world.  Drew Brees after the Super Bowl has started to make his own image as a standup individual who has a comedic side to himself also.  After Hurricane Katrina, Drew Brees and others associated with the Saints worked at trying to build back a city.  Drew Brees has graced the cover of EA Sports Madden football game, he has been a Super Bowl MVP, Dove For Men, and other endorsements.  Drew Brees has been involved with a long list of fund-raising and charitable events.  Drew Brees was part of the “Let’s Move” campaign which focused on childhood obesity (Sports Business Journal, 2010).  Drew Brees marketability is only going to grow as the New Orleans Saints are one of the best teams in the league and has improved his status with his charitable foundations.  Brees may take over Manning as the most marketable National Football League Player this year as Peyton Manning is sidelined with a neck injury.  Drew Brees is working in a wide variety of endorsements and charitable events that make if very flexible on what he is able to do.  With staying out of the media for bad publicity Drew Brees can continue to bring in large endorsement deals.

References:  IMDB.  (2011). Friday Night Lights Retrieved From: http://www.imdb.com/

Pedersen, P.M., Miloch, K.S., & Laucella, P.C. (2007) Strategic Sport Communication. Champaign Illinois: Human Kenetics

Olympic Media Coverage

The Olympic Games is one of the best examples of globalization in any sport.  It is a time when different athletes across the world can represent their countries and the possibility of bringing back a medal.  Not all countries are represented in every Olympic Event, as some smaller countries do not have the resources or technology to train for all the different games involved.  Over time, the Olympic Games have become one of the most prestigious sporting events to occur, as those nations hosting the Olympic Games want to showcase their city and what growth of their country.  During the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games the host city tries to bring a sense of culture, integrity, and technology that they have to offer.  During the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece the Olympic athletes who won various events were crowned with olive wreaths (Gillentine & Crow, 2005).  This was interesting to see as they were bringing back some things from the original Olympics and ancient Olympia.  While the Olympic Games have brought countries together for a wide array of sporting events it has not ended wars, although it has seen an increase in attendance from fans, and also an increase in political support from all countries.

                                 

With the increase in Olympic support and technology those able to view the Olympic Games is only going to increase as they have not maxed out on viewership possibilities (Rivenburgh, 2002).  “While global audience size for the Olympics is routinely overstated in the popular press, the 2000 Sydney Olympics was still broadcast to 220 countries and territories, making it the most watched television sports event in history” (Rivenburgh, 2002, p. 32).  As the number of channels have increased for individuals, the Olympic Games have had a problem in some countries as viewers do not get the same choices as other nations when it comes to watching a certain sporting event.  Olympic sporting events run day and night with the less popular events normally occurring during primetime hours.  This is beneficial to those with broadcasting rights for the Olympics as the viewership for those main events would be expected to increase. 

As more countries get involved in the Olympic Games the number of athletic sporting events has also increased overtime.  In the early 1980’s there were only 234 events held at the Olympic Games, and during the 1990’s the Olympic Games events increased to 502 events.  This is a tough situation with the Olympic Games as they have to find ways with scheduling and which events will get the primetime scheduling for events.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has helped with the increase in television and sponsorship rights as now there is a harder chance for a financial loss for having the Olympic Games. 

Television has been influential on when certain events happen and when certain sponsors will get airtime for being sponsors for the Olympic Games.  When it comes to the Olympic events themselves NBC officials have proclaimed that viewers do not worry about if they are able to view a live event, and that those viewers would rather hear about the storyline (Rivenburgh, 2002).  This could serve as a problem for the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games in London, as with the increase in coverage and the time differences those on the London Olympic Committee will have to schedule accordingly so viewers will get the best opportunity to watch the popular sporting events.  On the US network they created the ‘plausibly live’ broadcasting which added in some live and certain tape-delayed events (Rivenburgh, 2002).  This type of broadcasting was not successful during the 2000 Sydney Games, due to the time difference between Australia and the United States.  While viewers watched this ‘plausibly live’ broadcasting most of the events were not live and some viewers new the results and outcome before being able to watch it on the delayed system.  With the increase in technology for individuals’ televisions with TiVo, DVR, and other recording systems, those individuals with those appliances are able to watch a movie or go to work and record a certain Olympic event without really viewing it while live.  This could alter the number of viewers for the Olympic Games.

References: 

Gillentine, A., & Crow, R. B. (2005). Foundations of sport management. Morgantown: Sport Management Library.

Rivenburgh, N. K. (2002). The Olympic Games: Twenty-First Century Challenges as a Global Media Event. EBSCO Publishing

Recruiting Changes with Technology

While growing up with two channels and if it rained we got three, none of those channels however gave my siblings and I the opportunity to see some type of sport on a 24/7 basis.  The only way I got my sports information was either through school the next day or in the daily newspaper.  I seemed to be always a day behind everyone when it came to current events in sports.  If it was not for the weekly Sports Illustrated prescription I got as a kid, I would have little knowledge of any athletes.  As  I got older things started to change, by the time I got into junior high I had DIRECTV at my fingertips and over 50 channels thus giving me the opportunity to watch sports on a consistent 24/7 basis.  This changed things for me as I was able to keep up with transactions and a variety of different other sporting events going on around the country and sometimes the world. 

Ever since the new millennium technology has just seemed to be improving at a rapid pace for individuals within a society.  From the start of sports communication sports fans had to what days sometimes to get the paper to find out what was going on in the sports world, now individuals have the opportunity at their fingertips.  The internet changed everything as now everyone with a smartphone can get up to the minute updates on what is going on around various leagues around the world.  Twitter has also changed the way individuals view sports, as now athletes and other celebrities are given the opportunity to interact with fans on a second to second basis.  Anyone can really have a Twitter account to update whatever it is they are doing or if they want to promote anything they have that capability.  An example of this is Terrell Owens he has promoted a variety of his television appearances to try and get fans to view the show.  Other applications have been beneficial to everyone as ESPN, and other sports networks have their own smartphone applications which gives followers the opportunity to learn about the team or a league itself. 

While in high school each year there was a high school football magazine that came out ranking each high school team and some of the top athletes in the state and country and where they were heading after high school.  Now with the internet college recruiting has changed entirely as high school student-athletes are able to post their highlights on the internet and colleges themselves can keep track of potential recruits (Harlan, 2011).  There are a variety of recruiting sites that help with colleges recruiting athletes and it also is beneficial for the athletes to get their names out there to potential colleges who are interested in the athlete.  Coaches and college athletic staff no longer have to make long trips to watch a high school game now that they can just get on the internet to find out what type of athlete they are looking into.  High school student athletes would post various things on their blogs, twitter, or facebook accounts about how their college visits went.  This information becomes public and various recruiting websites use this to post the student-athletes college rankings after this.  Even after the season some high school student-athletes are seen as small time celebrities as now there are a variety of national all-star games on ESPN and other channels.  This does add more pressure on the high school student themselves as some are unsure on where they want to go and they have thousands of individuals who join their personal webpage to try and persuade them to attend a certain college.

References:  Haran, C. (2011, January 31). New technology changes high school football

            recruiting. Retrieved from http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/New-

            technology-changes-high-school-football-recruiting-02977085

            http://www.espn.com/
            http://www.facebook.com/
            http://www.ncsasports.org/
           http://football.uaallamerica.com/

International Website Comparison

The international newspaper that I choose to talk about is the Irish Independent News.  This newspaper is based in Dublin, Ireland.  I chose this paper as I am part Irish and was interested to see what a main stream newspaper in Ireland would cover.  The American paper that I choose to talk about was The Columbus Dispatch.  This paper is a medium to large market paper that can be purchased all across the state of Ohio.  I chose two different types of papers as the Irish Independent News is a national paper for those living in Ireland and The Columbus Dispatch is a state wide paper.  I am interested to see what the main topics of each newspaper is and see if they have any similarities between them when it comes to covering various national news.

When visiting these two websites on the main page was news about September 11, and ground zero.  This was not surprising when it came to The Columbus Dispatch as it is an American based newspaper.  I was surprised though that on the Irish Independent News website, the main page read “World falls silent as Ground Zero remembers its dead” (Independent. ie, 2011).  As I was expecting some type of coverage from the attacks on September 11 to be on the web page somewhere, I was not really expecting it to be on the main page.  This was good to see as it showed that even overseas September 11^th had an impact on them, and that it is a day of remembrance not only for Americans it is also a day of remembrance for others. 

Each newspaper website had its various tabs of world news, sports, local news, classifieds, entertainment, and some others.  The Irish Independent News did have a jobs tab, property, cars, and a directory tabs on home page that was different than The Columbus Dispatch.  This was interesting to see as for The Columbus Dispatch in their classifieds has the property, cars, and directory tabs once you get directed to the classifieds page.  This was one of the differences on how each website had their tabs differently.

On the main page of The Columbus Dispatch, the sports that were talked about were the local sports and other sports around Ohio.  Irish Independent News was talking about the World Cup and rugby mainly.  This was interesting as I learned the USA is playing Ireland today in the Rugby World Cup.  When looking at The Columbus Dispatch there was no news on the game at all.  Most of the coverage for The Columbus Dispatch was this weekend’s sporting events going on around Ohio.  The main sports talked about in The Columbus Dispatch, were soccer, baseball, and football.  This was different from the Irish Independent News website as futbol, hurling, golf, gaelic football, and horse racing.  These sports are a different from the mainstream sports that American play.

Reference: http://www.independent.ie/

http://www.dispatch.com/content/index.html

Don Meredith

            Don Meredith was a star on the field and in the booth.  Mr. Meredith played at Southern Mehodist University, and from there he went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys.  During his time playing in the National Football League he was named player of the year in 1966 (Squadron, 2011).  He retired at the age of 31, and from there the Dallas Cowboys were being led by the great Roger Staubach.

Meredith was the leader of the Dallas Cowboys football team and when his career came to an end he moved up into the booth to announce the game.  Mr. Meredith knew the game inside and out each game he announced he had intrinsic explanations on how the game is played and how it should be played.  Mr. Meredith was always had a good sense of humor in the booth bringing comedy to the announcers position. Mr. Meredith was known as “Dandy Don,” to many who watched the Monday Night Football games he announced.  To announcement booth Meredith provided his Texas charm and mindset to bring great entertainment to those watching.  Dandy Don brought a good sense of entertainment to the booth that allowed fans watching the opportunity to have a little comedy while watching the game with family and friends.

As I personally never able to watch Dandy Don, broadcast a live Monday Night Football game there are a variety of YouTube videos announcing and talking at various events.  Mr. Meredith had an interesting leadership style that everyone seemed to attract to.  His personality was amazing as he always was able to bring humor to any situation.  Plenty of fans have been in disbelief as many who were able to watch him live saw how he worked the booth when talking about the game going on.

While I have seen Chris Collinsworth, John Madden, John Gruden, and a variety of other Monday Night Football announcers they all seemed to have interesting traits to bring to the commentary booth.  When the late Don Meredith passed away those announcers had lots of memories about him through watching him when they were younger or meeting him personally.  After reading a variety of news reports and post on Dandy Don, fans had gotten the opportunity to talk about their experiences of watching him broadcast and different moments during the game where he seemed to say the right thing to ease the mood of fans watching.  Mr. Meredith brought entertainment to the sports booth and helped the progression of Monday Night Football.

References: Squadron, M. (2011). Monday night football legend 'dandy don' meredith dies. CNN, Retrieved from http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/06/monday-night-football-legend-dandy-don-meredith-dies/

Autobiography

            Growing up and being the youngest of eight children, there was always something to do.  As a family we would split up and form teams for various games of baseball, and a variety of other sports.  This is where my interest in sports truly came about.  While watching my older siblings playing sports, it made me want to do the same.  As I got older I learned about a wide variety of sports and found my own interest when it came to sports compared to my siblings.  While most of my siblings growing up were involved in baseball and volleyball, my passion was in football.  This sport as a child intrigued me and as I got older I just wanted to learn more about the game. 

            When I became a high school student, I was not looking at football the same way other kids were.  I was interested in the business aspect of the game.  I enjoyed reading about the salaries of athletes and how the National Football League had their financial situation set up compared to other professional sports systems.  In high school is where I learned about the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).  Then came Jerry Maguire, this movie was famous for the statements “Show Me The Money,” and this movie portrayed an NFL sports agent.  As I knew of sports agents I really never knew what exactly it entailed.  I knew that they worked for players on contracts however, I did not know too much more.  So I started doing more and more research on agents and who have been successful at the business.  This is where Drew Rosenhaus came in, to me this man is a genius, on how he is able to wheel and deal with owners of NFL franchises.  Over a few short years and in college, I worked on staying updated on what deals he made and who his clients are.  I have read both of his books that he has published and they have given me an idea of what it takes to be successful in the business.

           While the end of my high school career was coming to an end I started researching undergraduate programs that had majors in sport administration.  That is when I ultimately decided to attend Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  The university was the first to ever have a sport administration program and it has a lot of alumni involved in sports.  I talked to professors on a weekly basis and they got me into contact with all different alumni, who have been involved with being agents, sports marketing, athletic directors, and other positions in the sports field.  This was beneficial as I started working on a network while in undergraduate school.  Also during my time at Ohio University, I got involved with a variety of sports business clubs.  In these clubs I was surrounded by fellow classmates who had the same interest as me.  After my undergraduate degree I knew I wanted to continue my education with a focus in sports and that is what led me to Tiffin University.

Reference:  http://www.ohio.edu/