Full Court Press: The Best Moments in Sports in 2013

The Year 2013 was one riddled with both ups and downs in the sports world. We saw 365 days of overcoming adversity, broken records, hard work, pride, drama, disappointments, victories, and defeats. The following pictures and videos depict 10 of the most influential and shocking moments in sports during the last year. 

Full Court Press: Announcing the Center for Hospitality and Sport Management

An email announcing the creation of “The Center for Hospitality and Sport Management” last week may have come as a surprise and left some of us scratching our heads in confusion. After hearing from the new Center’s Program Director Jonathan Deutsch and Senior Vice Provost John DiNardo, many of those concerns can be put to rest.

Full Court Press: The Eagles Conundrum

Throughout my internship at Comcast SportsNet, I’ve had opportunities to see more of the behind-the-scenes fireworks in the sports industry than I ever imagined. From prepping for the pre-game show to the post-game press conferences and interviews, it has been a rewarding and exciting internship thus far. However, nothing quite compares to the view on the sidelines of the Philadelphia Eagles training camp as they prepare for a media-frenzy and the new Chip Kelly era of football to officially begin in just a few weeks against the Redskins.

Full Court Press: Who to Follow on Twitter

To follow up my previous post expressing the importance of intelligent Twitter-use, I’ve decided to include some suggestions for the best people to follow in the sports business community. These are just a few of the many smart, entertaining, and informative industry professionals that are very active on Twitter (in no particular order).

Full Court Press: Professionalism on Twitter

Since Twitter emerged into our lives in July 2006 and became a staple in the mobile device landscape, it has developed into much more than a way to communicate with our friends. It’s a source of information and breaking news. It replaces the need to look at a variety of sources for local and national news because it’s all housed in one convenient location. For sports enthusiasts, you don’t have to find the box score or log onto ESPN.com when you want updates. If you follow the “right” people on Twitter, you can access interviews, scoring updates, video replays, and post-game recaps all in one central location on your smartphone.

Full Court Press: Big East Makin' Big Moves

The update on the Big East Conference situation stands as follows:

Full Court Press: Four Long Years

As we look back on the 16 glorious days of the 2012 London Olympic Games, it’s hard not to wonder what the future holds for Rio 2016. The U.S reclaimed their control over the total and gold medal counts, after a brief hiatus in Beijing. Here’s to hoping we can repeat that in Rio with the influx of promising young athletes in this country.

There will be a few major changes to the schedule come 2016, as Rugby Sevens and Golf have been added to the list of competitions, which brings the total to 28 different sports and 42 medal events. A few other sports were in contention, but eventually lost through presentations and a voting majority (baseball, softball, squash, karate, wake boarding, roller sports). 

What to look forward to - the beautiful venues and attractions of Rio de Janeiro:

Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, home to the rowing and canoeing competitions of the Olympic Games

A bird's eye view of the main Olympic Village and downtown area.

The Olympic Village beach and volleyball courts.

Copacabana Beach, which will host marathon swimming, triathlon events, and beach volleyball.

It's hard not to get excited for the the first South American country to host the Summer Olympic Games, and these next four years can't possibly move any slower. I'm hoping I can make the journey down to Brazil and enjoy the experience in person. Either way, it's sure to be an opportunity for more life-changing accomplishments, world record shattering performances, and inspiring displays of athleticism for athletes around the world. 

@hzedeck