Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
The answer, as always, is money. Former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott bet on creating the Pac-12 cable network. That failed, which left the Pac-12 in a bad position when it came to TV rights. In addition, with the existing TV rights expiring after this season, there was no penalty to leaving the conference. Seeing the … Continue reading What The Hell Is Happening With The Pac-12?
Once upon a time, swagger was considered a negative. Think of the phrase, “swaggering bully.” Now, however, swagger has become a quality that many view as a major positive, and try to adopt for themselves. Swagger-philia has proliferated across numerous industries and fields. No longer just the province of entertainers and professional athletes, now even … Continue reading Ditch The Swagger
The internet is abuzz with the rumor that Google is about to acquire Twitch, the videogame-focused spinoff of Justin.tv. The price? $1 billion. http://bit.ly/1sNODH9 A lot of the coverage has focused on Twitch’s monthly audience of 45 million unique viewers, which is certainly impressive. Just about the only TV program that exceeds that level of … Continue reading Live Video Is About The Broadcasters
One of the advantages of money that people fail to appreciate is the value of being able to take risks. Because risk and reward are typically intertwined, the rich do get richer. This year’s March Madness tournament provides a particularly striking example. Quicken Loans and Yahoo Sports are running a “billion dollar bracket“: Pick the … Continue reading The Value Of Being Able To Take Risks
With the presidential election in 2012 just around the corner, the media frenzy will soon be in full swing. If it’s anything like 2008, the media will cover the election like a sporting event. In a lot of ways, this makes sense. Sports may very well be the world’s most successful form of entertainment, and … Continue reading Why Politics Isn’t Sports
Here’s a great paragraph. It carries the reader along one cliche, only to upend it with a splash of cold truth: “Sports fans are like bad lovers, jealous and infatuated at the same time. I’d play professional football for free, they say. I would sleep in the parking lot to be the first guy at … Continue reading Paragraph of the Day: “Sports fans are like bad lovers”
Spectator* sports is meaningless, but fandom gives it meaning. We all want to be part of something bigger. When we find something that connects and uplifts us, does it matter how trivial it might be when reduced to essentials? Singing in a choir. Worshipping in a church. Partaking in a LAN party. In the end, … Continue reading Sport is meaningless; Fandom is meaningful
I’ve noticed that fewer and fewer young people are sports fans these days, which is a shame, because the world of sports is rich with useful metaphors. For example, last week during my regular basketball game, I was having trouble scoring against my friend Mon. I used to be able to bully him in the … Continue reading Take What The Defense Gives You
From Rick Reilly’s column for ESPN, on naked athletes:One afternoon, Jenny Kellner, then of the New York Daily News, was covering the Jets. She entered the locker room only to find one of the team’s stars buck naked. He walked up to her, pointed to his babymaker and said, “Hey, Jenny, do you know what … Continue reading Line of the Decade: On Naked Athletes
After reading SI’s profile of Kobe Bryant’s incredible drive, Ben asks, “Are the big time CEOs freakishly competitive, mind-blowingly arrogant, and singularly focused on their business goals even at the cost of “balance”? In a word, yes. History is pretty clear on the fact that most great men (and women) are bastards. Even Gandhi was … Continue reading Do You Need A Killer Instinct To Kick Ass?