Archives for 2011

A Fluffy Friday Roundup

August 26, 2011 by Paul Kapustka

Big Changes at Apple with Jobs out

As by now every geek in the Western world knows, Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder, chairman and CEO has stepped down as CEO due to health reasons. Many are praising him as possibly one of the greatest CEOs of modern times and say that he has performed the greatest corporate turnaround in history. Hard to argue with this and in any case I am not well enough informed on overall corporate history in America to dispute or support the claim. But to play a game of what if- what if John Sculley had not relieved Jobs of his position as head of the Macintosh division in 1985? I believe that Jobs learned a great deal about focus and proper product development in his years at NeXT Computer and Pixar.
Jobs returned to Apple when it purchased NeXT and he began running the company after the ouster of then-CEO Gil Amelio in 1996. At the time Apple’s stock was stuck trading below $10. He quickly killed a number of products and honed the company’s focus. One of the complaints about Jobs prior to his ousting at Apple had been that he was unpredictable and chaotic managing the Macintosh division. Those traits were now gone. Now it remains to be seen if Tim Cook, his hand picked successor, can successfully follow in his footsteps.

An athlete who does not go to the highest bidder?

I think that Jered Weaver is my new favorite baseball player. No I have not started rooting for American league teams but his reasoning for signing his latest contract really struck a chord with me. Rather than wait until next season ended and let his agent, Scott Boras get the Yankees and Red Sox engage in a bidding war for his services, he instead signed an $85 million extension with the Angels. Now of course $85 million is a lot of money, but how many of us would leave additional millions on the table when it could be ours for the taking? He said “If 85’s not enough to take care of my family and generations to come then I’m pretty stupid.” A refreshingly honest comment IMHO.

Do you really need an HP Touchpad, even at $100?

The Samsung Galaxy

A funny thing happened on the way to leaving consumer electronics for Hewlett-Packard, its Touchpad became an overnight sensation. Stores are posting signs proclaiming they have no more, people are following HP execs on Twitter to find out when and if more will be available. There are lines at some stores and people are purchasing extras in the hopes of reselling them for expected profits. Still why buy a poorly reviewed product with a now obsolete OS, even if it is at the sale price of $99? A friend of mine who is self employed admitted to me that if he had spent the time working and gaining billable hours rather than fruitlessly waiting in line, he could have purchased a Samsung Galaxy or Apple iPad rather than a tablet that he had not even considered purchasing a week ago.

Can NBC Sports Challenge ESPN? NBC has Sports?

Is NBC Sports trying to go head to head with ESPN? That is the topic of an interesting piece at Sports Business Daily. The idea seems to be establishing a honed, professional approach to the sports it has, Major League Soccer and the NHL. I had not realized that the Versus channel was part of the NBC sports empire. The network has worked hard in the last few months to rid itself of the junk sports programming it had and has lured, if that is the word, MLS from Fox. Still it has quite an uphill battle and I wish it the best. I think that ESPN would really benefit from some stiff competition in sports broadcasting, and maybe force it to deliver a more focused, professional product rather than simply running its talking heads by us at every conceivable moment. I believe that the MLB and NFL networks are also putting pressure on the World Wide Leader.

Filed Under: Baseball, ESPN, FoxSoccer, iPad, Major League Baseball, NBC Sports, Soccer, Sports Business Daily Tagged With: Apple, ESPN, MLB, MLS, NBC Sports, NHL

Bleacher gets $22 million cushion

August 25, 2011 by Paul Kapustka

Bleacher Report continues its onslaught on the traditional Internet sports domains, winning on Thursday Aug. 25, a $22 million cash infusion from Oak Investment Partners, Crosslink Capital and Hillsven Capital. The money will be used to expand Bleacher’s production and distribution of sports videos and mobile applications.

The move is significant because Bleacher is already a leader in user-generated sports content, but it has established itself from the ground up. Using a content farm approach, where people submit articles, photos and commentary, Bleacher Report has become a go-to source for sports information about high school and obscure college athletes. Much of the information is impossible to find anywhere else. Where ESPN and others concentrate editorial efforts on the Andrew Lucks, LeMichael Jameses and Peyton Mannings of the world, Bleacher Report can provide you with information about your third cousin who plays right tackle for a rural high school in Indiana. That’s been a powerful formula that ESPN and others will be hard-pressed to duplicate.

At the same time, Bleacher is now chasing the big boys. It recently hired marquee sports writers Dan Levy, Matt Miller, Dan Rubenstein, Josh Zerkle and Bethlehem Shoals, and has stated that it sees no reason why it can’t compete on the national stage.

Led by CEO Brian Grey, a veteran of online sports information, Bleacher now has total funding of $40.5 million.

According to a report in TechCrunch, investors see online sports information as a big opportunity that has yet to be fully exploited. Here is what Oak general partner Fred Harman said to TechCrunch:

“Sports is a big opportunity and no one has gotten it right yet,” Harman says. “People are clearly as passionate and opinionated as they are in politics, and they are less inhibited to express their opinions. I’d argue Bleacher Report has done a far better job of embracing the capabilities of the online medium than the big sports brands have.”

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Journal notes sports bar transformation

August 25, 2011 by Paul Kapustka

Geeks are taking over sports bars, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

It says live Internet broadcasts of professional science-fiction war games are proving a key revenue stream for sports bar owners, edging out traditionalists who prefer football, baseball, basketball and hockey games when they tilt back a few brews.

WSJ said “Starcraft III” is the latest game drawing geeks to sportsbars, where multiple television sets normally dedicated to sports are used to cater to gamers. The game is part of the Activision Blizzard Inc. arsenal of games, and “Starcraft III” is specifically designed to appeal as a spectator sport, Activision publicist Bob Colayco told the Journal.

The Journal said the popularity of such games as “Starcraft III” leads some traditionalists begging. At a Washington, D.C. sports bar, the manager finally switched one of 26 televisions to a baseball game after one customer asked for “anything but this videogame,” according to the Journal. The “Starcraft” trend is of interest to mobile sports viewers because, if the geeks continue to take over pubs across the country, your smartphone or tablet may be your only option for catching professional sports.

Filed Under: Sports Bars, StarCraft, Uncategorized

Is 49ers vrs Raiders Fan Fight a Sign of the Times?

August 24, 2011 by Paul Kapustka

By now everybody that watches pro football is aware of the debacle that occurred at last weekend’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders; two shootings and a beating, with fan fights continually breaking out all over the stadium.

Sad to say I am not surprised. This is not an indictment on the fans of either team, but rather for one of the rare moments I am in agreement with 49er team president Jed York, who said that these are not our regular fans. The sad thing is that they may well soon become his regular fans, and the same with many other teams across the nation. ( I think KissingSuzyKolber was wrong on this one)

I was a 49er season ticket holder for 25 years starting with the first year of Bill Walsh’s head coaching career there. We eagerly went to our first preseason game as ticket holders only to find a huge fight in the section below our seats. A friend claimed that at a Rams game in the early 70’s a Ram’s fan, after constant harassment, pulled a gun and threatened the people around him.

Preseason games were always nightmares. A much ruder, coarser, drunker group of fans tended to go. I think that Friday and Saturday games, particularly when it is warm, encourages drinking. For most fans there is no work the next day. We always gave our tickets away and so did all of our friends that had season tickets, and in the teams great years everybody wanted them, but as they continued their slide to mediocrity, at best, it was hard to give them away.

Many I have talked to have simply blamed the Raider fans but while 49er fans had developed a reputation as “chardonnay drinks’, as labeled by former offensive lineman Randy Cross- who incidentally the fans took a dislike to due to his movement penalty in the Superbowl that almost cost the game- but prior to that were considered some of the worst.

Former quarterback John Brodie once wrote about warning Colt’s great Johnny Unitas about the need to wear a helmet when leaving the field due to fans throwing bottles. After the team erected chicken wire around the field entrance fans started heating coins to drop through, he said. That was at Kezar Stadium, a place literally surrounded by bars.

However I see this in some aspects as the new generation of fans. People my age now preferred top buy a big screen and a broadcast package that allows you watch games in the comfort of your home. No $12 beers, $35 parking and all of the other expenses that you get at games. At least one city last year charged to tailgate. It is younger fans that are starting to fill the parks, and they seem to have a rougher edge. NFL owners are to blame, for the most part, in my humble opinion.

Three years ago Bill Simmons wrote at ESPN a very good piece on how teams destroy the tailgating experience for their most loyal fans. As you realize how badly the team treats you, viewing you as simply an ATM there for them to tap, it just makes sense to enjoy the game elsewhere.

So while teams build new palaces with which to play the games, attendance has been declining overall in the NFL. Certainly there are a number of factors, poor economy, high ticket prices, a number of teams being perennial doormats etc.. but it is becoming clearer to the average fan that the sightlines and cost are much better at home. Last year it was estimated that attendance was at its lowest level since 1998.

However no need to worry about fights at future 49er/Raiders games- it looks like that series has been canceled for the time being.

Filed Under: NFL, Uncategorized Tagged With: 49ers, NFL, Raiders

Smartphones and a lotta’ Luck

August 23, 2011 by Paul Kapustka

Stanford Cardinal QB Andrew Luck

It is one of the most compelling stories in the history of college football. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, a mortal lock for the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft, instead decides to complete his senior year as the Cardinal signal caller. He is considered by some primed to have one of the 10 greatest seasons in the history of alma mater gridiron, and is the first really phenomenol story since the dawn of Twitter.

But what if he gets hurt? Or something strange happens in his personal life, like his recently revealed beard is really precursor to a move to Utah to start his own religious cult. And the most likely scenario, a single mental error or physical mistake costs Stanford an undefeated record and damages an otherwise perfect season. Wouldn’t you want to be the first to know?

Mobile Sports Report thought so, which is why we think following every Luck snap in 2011 is a must for every college football fan. Here are three good ways to wire in to Luck, and be the first to know if Luck will continue his rise to college immortal unabated:

KNBR is the official station for Stanford Cardinal football, and is as active as any radio station in the country on Twitter. Every snap Luck takes carries with it NCAA Championship implications, and KNBR is a way to stay wired wherever you are.

The official line for information is Stanford Athletics, and it is worth a follow for anyone able to recognize the magnitude of the Luck story.

Stanford gymnist Nicole Pechanec is Luck’s No. 1 girlfriend. Although she’s not active on Twitter, she’s registered. And she’s worth a follow in case something heats up in Luck’s life and she has something to say.

Filed Under: NCAA Football, Twitter, Uncategorized

Three College Football Tweets U Don’t Want to See

August 22, 2011 by Paul Kapustka

College football fans often use Mobile Sports Report to improve game experiences by setting up their smart phones with the twitter accounts of recommended athletes, announcers and other information sources in advance of a game. The live updates you can get from Mobile Sports Report’s top Twitter follows bring fans closer to the game-day preparations and on-field experience than ever before. But there’s a downside to everything, even too much information

Here, then, are three imagined tweets you should hope you will never see about your team during the 2011 college football season:

Sid's Tattoo Parlor in Santa Ana, Calif. uses this image on its Twitter profile

“Check out No. 34’s new tattoo. It is on his right tricep. I did it. Come on in. I’ll do you too.” Local ink artists may be proud of their new work, and cannot be faulted for doing a little promotion, but judging from the off season’s Ohio State debacle, it is a sure sign your program is headed for scandal. Most likely tattoo parlor to send this tweet: Sid’s Tattoo Parlor, Santa Ana, Calif., about talented University of Southern California tailback D.J. Morgan.

“The unsettled quarterback situation adds a lot of intrigue.” Your team’s columnist is paid to be endlessly enthusiastic and optimistic, but this tweet tells the starter sucks and you are going to be looking at a jittery freshman by the time you get into the conference schedule. Most likely columnist to send this tweet: Columbia Missourian football beat writer Harry Plumer, speaking of the Blaine Gabbert-less Missouri Tigers, who are depending on sophomore James Franklin to call signals and have redshirt freshman Tyler Gabbert No. 2 on the depth chart.

“My privates hurt and I want a pony.” – If you see this tweet from one of your team’s defensive lineman at any time during practice week, or on game day before kickoff, you can be sure he will be neutralized for 60 minutes. Most likely player to send this tweet: Mike Golic Jr., Notre Dame, who tweets like the rich kid he is.

Filed Under: Twitter