MLB Opening Day

You've gotten our previews of playoff contenders and award front-runners, but you've yet to hear our take on how the business of baseball should fare in 2011. This afternoon at approximately 1:05, the Braves, Nationals, Tigers and Yankees will kick off what is certain to be a successful season in Major League Baseball. 

From a ticket sales perspective, a recent article in SportsBusiness Journal highlighted the league's projected increase in ticket sales. According to the article, "this year's (ticket sales) total will likely fall somewhere between 75 million and 78 million, an increase of 3 percent to 7 percent." How much of this can be attributed to a recovered economy, and how much can be chalked up to initiatives from teams to drive up interest? In addition, how will the prospect of an NFL lockout impact late season ticket sales?

One way teams are trying to increase the fan experience in 2011 is through technology. Fans at ballparks across the country, including Citizens Bank Park in South Philly, will be able to use their smartphones to order food right from their seat at the ballpark. The food will then be delivered directly to their seat. 

Teams that were forced to think outside the box to generate revenue during the recent down years seem to be continuing to do so as ticket sales and revenues rebound. The Chicago Cubs, for example, have launched a "Newborn Fan Club" that offers benefits and merchandise for the youngest of fans. 

The MLB is evolving in many different ways, and their CBA expires after this season. How do you see the MLB changing and where do you think it still needs to improve? Oh, and be sure to enjoy today's first set of ballgames!

-Written by Dan Mullin

Preparation

For a successful professional athlete, there is no such thing as being a “natural”. Everything they have accomplished is due to their training, hard work, and consistent desire to improve.

Ray Allen, who has had a slight form of OCD since he was a kid, goes through the same, meticulous routine before each game. He begins his preparation for a night game by taking a nap from 11:30 am to 1 pm. At 2:30, he enjoys a meal of chicken and rice. He then enters the gym at 3:45 to begin stretching. He shaves his head right before he walks out onto the court at precisely 4:30 pm, and then proceeds to take shots from the baseline, elbow, and top of the key. Although some of these tasks may seem silly or pointless, they have allowed him to become the all-time leader in 3-point field goals in the history of the NBA.

For a 5’7” 180 pound second basemen, Dustin Pedroia is used to being told he isn’t good enough. Throughout his life, and playing career he was typically much smaller than everybody else. However, he makes up for it with his tenacity and heart. He approaches every at bat, and every pitch with the mentality that he is going to hit the ball as hard as he possibly can. He puts all his weight and body into his swing to generate more power, and ultimately it pays off. On defense, he may not have the longest legs or arms to get to every ball, but he always dives to try to prevent even the hardest hit ball from getting through the infield. If you ever watch him play, you may notice his uniform doesn’t stay clean for very long.

You can’t become a four-time MVP, 11 time Pro Bowl Selection, Super Bowl champion and MVP, and all-time leader for your team in touchdowns, passing yards, completions, and wins overnight. Many fellow professional athletes, hall of famers, college students, and even pee wee football players dream of attaining just one of these feats, and yet Peyton Manning has them all (and many more). His rigorous off-season training plan is just one aspect of his preparation. He performs a daily schedule that balances work on his Core, Flexibility, Agility, and Strength. In addition to personal preparation, he also works with his receivers constantly. He performs repeated reps of different routes until they are performed perfectly, and the football doesn’t touch the ground. One of the most noticeable traits Manning has is his mental capacity. Even during a game, he is going over plays with coaches and receivers, and deciding what sequences to use for the next series.


Written by Hayley Zedeck

image via dgaphotoshop.com

2011 MLB Preview and Predictions: Division Champs Edition

National League East – Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are the favorite to win the National League East title in 2011. They have had their share of injuries already with starting right fielder Domonic Brown and All-Star second baseman Chase Utley both to miss Opening Day, but the ever-creative Ruben Amaro will likely find a way to fill those voids. The Phillies have a dominant pitching staff that could have a historic season. What the Phillies lack is depth off the bench. If the injury bug continues to bite, then a young and talented Atlanta Braves team could sneak in and steal the division. Expect the Philadelphia Phillies to win the NL East and contend for the National League pennant.

National League Central – Milwaukee Brewers

The National League Central is one of the toughest divisions to pick in 2011. The Milwaukee Brewers have had a good offense for a few years now, but now they have the pitching to go along with it. The addition of former American League standouts Zach Greinke and Shawn Marcum teaming up with Yovani Gallardo makes a talented 1-2-3 combination. The Brewers will likely fight it out with the St. Louis Cardinals until late September. Had I written this prior to Adam Wainwright’s Tommy John surgery, I would have taken the Cardinals. The Brewers and Cardinals will see some good competition from both the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds, but the Reds will have a tough time repeating last year’s magic and the Cubs don’t seem ready quite yet. The Milwaukee Brewers will take the NL Central in 2011.

National League West – San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are returning all their main pieces from their 2010 World Series championship and will win the National League West in 2011. The Giants have quite a mix of veteran leadership and young talent; their main question being whether all of the veterans will be able to make it through another full season. Both Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval had down years in 2010 according to their standards and will look to bounce back strong in 2011. The Giants will see stiff competition from both the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies have the best of challenging the Giants for the division with a strong offense and a likely Cy Young contending pitcher in Ubaldo Jimenez. The San Francisco Giants won’t be feeling the effects of the dreaded World Series hangover and will win the NL West in 2011.

National League Wildcard – St. Louis Cardinals

The National League Wildcard will be a race to watch coming down the stretch in 2011. Each division has multiple contenders, but not everyone can make it. From the NL East expect the Atlanta Braves to be in contention for the Wildcard led by a young offense and a good looking pitching staff. The NL Central will have the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago Cubs in the running. A strong Colorado Rockies team and a Los Angeles Dodgers team coming off a disappointing offseason will be in the running from the West. I think the NL Wildcard race will ultimately come down to the Braves, Cardinals, and Rockies. I believe in the magic that pitching coach Dave Duncan can work, so I expect the St. Louis Cardinals to win the National League Wildcard.

American League East – Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox will have one of, if not, the best offenses in Major League Baseball. The additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford add dangerous amounts of contact, power, and speed. The biggest question for the Red Sox is their starting rotation. Though filled with big names, Beckett, Dice-K, and Lackey all seem to have peaked and now are in their decline. The biggest competition the Red Sox will face is from the New York Yankees. If the Yankees can figure out the back end of their rotation, then they will be a dangerous team. Look for the Boston Red Sox to beat out the Yankees and the rest of the AL East to win the division in 2011.

American League Central – Detroit Tigers

Similar to the National League Central, the central division in the American League is up for grabs too. The Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota Twins all have legitimate chances to win the division. The Detroit Tigers have both a major Cy Young contender in Justin Verlander leading their rotation and an MVP front runner in Miguel Cabrera leading their offense. The Tigers have some young talent on offense which includes Austin Jackson. The key to winning the division may be starting pitcher Rick Porcello. If he can return to the pitcher we saw when he was a rookie in 2009, then their rotation could be very good. The Detroit Tigers will see big competition from the Chicago White Sox but should hold them off and win the American League Central in 2011.

American League West – Texas Rangers

The reigning World Series runner-up had an interesting offseason leading up to the 2011 season. The offseason included losing Cliff Lee in a bidding war, angering Michael Young, and overpaying Adrian Beltre to play third base. The Rangers are relying on a relatively young pitching staff, which may include sophomore sensation Neftali Feliz transitioning from the closer role to a full time starter. The offense is lead by Josh Hamilton, who looks to build on his impressive 2010 MVP campaign. The Rangers will see stiff competition from the Oakland A’s and the Los Angeles Angels. The Texas Rangers should be able to hold off the scrappy A’s team to win the American League West in 2011.

American League Wildcard – New York Yankees

The American League Wildcard is a bit jumbled with the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and possibly an up-and-coming Baltimore Orioles team from the east; Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins for the central; and the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels from the west. The Chicago White Sox will give the Yankees the hardest time with their big veteran presence. The New York Yankees are in the playoff picture year in and year out and will be a tough team to beat in the AL Wildcard this season, so look for them to win it in 2011.

-Written by Kevin Rossi

The Freakish Four

This is may be the craziest Final Four I’ve seen in my life.

In all honesty, I started following college basketball closely in 2005. As a kid, it was always on (thus the life of a child with two Kentucky Wildcats basketball fan parents), so I was always kind of aware. But in ’05, after attending the Wisconsin-North Carolina Elite Eight game at the Carrier Dome, then going back to my uncle’s house to see the drama of the Kentucky-Michigan State game unfold (Patrick Sparks shot was a 3 at the end of regulation. Refs got it right), I was hooked.

The next year, I can proudly say my 2006 DC Regional was perfect: the winner of the first round George Mason-Michigan State game went to the Final Four. I just had MSU the year Mason put the CAA on the map. Every other game was correct: don’t judge me.

This year, we have four teams few probably would have picked midseason to be here. My Kentucky Wildcats struggled on the road, and were lead by a bevy of freshmen. Kemba Walker and the UConn Huskies struggled through the Big (L)East. VCU was another anonymous CAA squad (not to this guy. Freaking Joey Rodriguez.), and NO ONE thought Butler could make it back.

We were wrong.

UConn and Kentucky got super hot late, going on to win their conference tournaments with a gusto. Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker have been monsters. Those two squads will face off for the second time this year—these teams faced off at the Maui Invitational Finals, where the names to know where Kemba Walker and Terrence Jones. Jones has settled back to a human level as the season has closed, while Kemba’s a likely Player of the Year recipient. This is a must-see game.

On the other side, two “mid-majors” will face off. People tell me Butler proved they belonged last year, when they went to the National Championship. I don’t remember this: last game of the season I remember was West Virginia making the Final Four. I didn’t think there was a championship game. In any case, no one expected this team to make it back to the Final Four with lottery pick Gordon Hayward off in the NBA. Somehow, they did, out-Old Dominioning the Monarchs as well as the Pitt Panthers.

Then you have VCU, a team I despise. Granted, working two Drexel-VCU games this year, and yelling at the officiating during the third can do that. No one thought they should have made it in the tournament: Many had them out in the First Four against USC. Joey Rodriguez, Jamie Skeen, and Brandon Rozzell thought differently. The VCU-Butler game will be another classic, with two of the games hottest young coaches. 

All in all, I can't wait for this Final Four to start. Sadly, looks like I might have to skip some stuff in hopes of catching the games.

Ryan Pratt is a sophomore Sport Management major who currently serves as the Secretary for Drexel’s Sport Management Student Union. After a year with the  Drexel Men’s Basketball team, he’ll be working this spring in UPenn’s Sport Information department. Originally from Columbus, OH, he’s a huge college basketball, college football, and hockey fan. To contact Ryan, you can follow him on Twitter (@ThePrattStrikes)

HIO: The NFL Labor Dispute and the Price of a Life

Shifting away from formatting HIO editions as letters, on the docket this week is the NFL labor dispute and current lockout.

If you are unfamiliar with the bitter dispute, remember the days of sitting in your boring high school history class when your teacher rambled incessantly about labor disputes during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the United States. You know, the Homestead Strike, the Pullman Strike, Terrance Powderly and the Knights of Labor, etc. Okay so none of those strikes or names probably ring-a-bell, but hopefully that made you reminisce about those old high school days.

Anyway, the NFL labor dispute is no different from any other labor scuffle. In this case, the NFL is the organization/business and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing the players themselves. Both the NFL and NFLPA have an agreement, called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which contracts the players to work in the league.

As of early March 2011, the CBA between the NFL and the NFLPA expired. Unable to come to an agreement on a new CBA, the NFL locked out the players and the NFLPA decertified as a union. At this point, the future of professional football and the league is in the hands of a judge.

Among the issues both parties are at arms over include expanding the regular season schedule from 16 games to 18 games, retired player medical coverage, and dividing a $9 billion chunk of revenue.

While NFL players make millions, at the end of the day they are people like you and me. If you had the ability to play professional football and make tons of money, you would certainly jump at the opportunity. According to a January 2011 Businessweek report, the median NFL player salary is $770,000. That is a NICE chunk of change.

While I understand the motives of both parties, the players are still human. Many of them have families to support. That said, why wouldn't the NFL and its teams agree to pay the players more if they would like to expand the regular season? Shouldn't they also increase the medical coverage for retired players as well?

Apart from being unable to divide $9 billion, the primary issue is player safety. With a current 16 game schedule, the number of concussions has risen dramatically over just the last few seasons. If the league wants to shorten the preseason and add two games to the regular season, common sense says you have to pay players more, yes?

So that brings me to the ultimate question: What is the price of a life? Football is a dangerous sport, serious injuries occur almost weekly.

In an article from The Notion, the wife of NFL linebacker Scott Fujita explains her family's struggles as the supporting cast of an NFL player in a letter titled "Wish of an NFL Wife." In exerts from her letter, Jaclyn Fujita first touches on her husband's brush with death from injury and the need for better medical coverage:

"And here [the NFL is], simply asking the men who profit from their work, to please look after their health, as they should have done throughout their career. They ask this so that someday, the young boy who chooses this path knows he will be protected the way he deserves. So his mother, wife, or child will know that even though that hit looks awful, there is someone on the sideline with his best interests at heart. So future NFL wives who watch their husbands unable to get out of a chair on a Tuesday, yet still strap it come Sunday, will be taken care of. So the man who is sacrificing his body and mind for the thrill of the game can be confident that his work will not go unnoticed. He will not be forgotten. He will not go unprotected. He will have earned the right to be taken care of for life. He will be kept safe from his damaged body and mind. For it was those bodies and minds of fifty-three men on thirty-two teams who every year generate billions of dollars for this industry. They deserve to be cared about."

"My husband could have lost his life to a staph infection. His NFL doctors and trainers were heating/icing/stemming his knee for a bursa-sac rupture and ignoring all the major signs of infection, while his body was screaming that something else must be wrong. He ended up in an emergency operation weeks after symptoms began. Following five nights in hospital isolation and many weeks beating back the infection, he was ready to play for the city we love and a team we built our life around. He would help them win the coveted Super Bowl Championship. Less than a month later he would be gone, feeling completely expendable and replaceable as if his blood, sweat and tears did not matter."

So, what is the price of a life? Think the NFL should give-in and provide more money to players and increase medical coverage? Should the players really be complaining about two more games of pay when they already make far more than any of us (almost 10 times that of the average household income)? Share your thoughts below.

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Kevin Giordano is a sophomore Sport Management major at Drexel University, with industry experience working in men's and women's professional soccer and collegiate athletics. To contact or connect with Kevin, you can follow him on Twitter (@KevinGiordano) or connect with him here on LinkedIn.

MLS Week 1- Great Success!

The 2011 MLS Season is underway, and what a start it was. Here are some snippets from what is already being called the best opening week in MLS history:

- Charlie Davies, the once-promising forward for the USA National Team, made his first-team debut since the car crash that killed the driver of his car and came close to doing the same for Charlie. In the emotional game, Charlie scored 2 goals for DC United. I don't care what team you root for in the MLS, we're all rooting for Charlie Davies. 

- The Philadelphia Union won their first game of the season 1-0, beating the Houston Dynamo by virtue of an early goal by their talisman Danny Califf. New 'keeper Faryd Mondragon posted his first of many shutouts to come.

- The Portland Timbers, one of two expansion teams this season, failed to make a big impression on the pitch, losing 4-1 to Colorado. However, I've already been impressed by their intense fan base, bitter rivalry with Seattle, and some clever marketing.

- The other expansion franchise, the Vancouver Whitecaps, opened up their MLS history by beating up on their Canadian rivals Toronto FC 4-2. 

- Oh yeah, and there's that guy on trial with Sporting KC, he goes by Ochocinco or something. Heard of him?

To think, there was that much action this weekend and I didn't even mention the Galaxy or Red Bull. Looks like this is turning into a league we're going to be able to rely on for some sweet rivalries and an ever-improving brand of soccer. I'm looking forward to the coming season, but I shouldn't look past this weekend's home opener at PPL Park. Come On, The U!

Image: Huffington Post

Rossi, Zedeck Join SMTSU Leadership




Kevin Rossi                        Hayley Zedeck
General Understudy            Director of Marketing


PHILADELPHIA, PA: The Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) at Drexel University announced today two new additions to organizational leadership. Joining the current group of student officers for spring term are Kevin Rossi, as General Understudy, and Hayley Zedeck, as Director of Marketing. Both are freshmen in the program with the drive and motivation the organization looks for when reviewing candidates for officer positions.

As General Understudy, Kevin Rossi is responsible for assisting other officers with their overall duties and responsibilities. In this role, Kevin will gain experience assisting each area and department within the organization. A Pennsylvania native, Kevin has industry experience working as a Sales Associate at Double Eagle Golf and as the Tee Ball Coordinator for Morrisville Little League in Morrisville, PA. 

As Director of Marketing, Hayley Zedeck is tasked with increasing membership, controlling the overall message and brand of the organization, and implementing innovative marketing programs and strategies. Originally from New Hampshire, Hayley has industry experience working in minor league baseball with the American Defenders. A former two-sport high school varsity athlete, she is also very involved on campus. Specifically, Hayley serves as the Assistant Athletic Chair for her sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha, and is a Team Manager for Drexel Women’s Softball.

SMTSU President, Kevin Giordano, took time to comment on the news. “As two of our most active members, both Kevin and Hayley have proven their dedication to the organization and it makes sense for them to join our team of officers. They possess outstanding leadership qualities and have real-world industry experience. I am excited to have them aboard and look forward to working closely with them in the time ahead.”

The General Understudy and Director of Marketing positions are new roles within organizational leadership. Kevin and Hayley join seven others at the officer level and will serve a 6-month term.  Their positions, like all officer positions, will be up for election again in the fall.

Established in early 2011, the Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) at Drexel University operates as the only student organization operating under the Sport Management Program at Drexel. For SMTSU inquiries, please email drexelSMTSU@gmail.com.

-SMTSU-