Many Folks

Many folks have emailed me about the Comcast SportsNet “My Life 365″ show that focused on me and our ownership of the Washington Capitals. They weren’t able to watch the show because they were in attendance at the game against the Montreal Canadiens.

I have asked Comcast if the show will be re-aired and have learned that the show will be broadcast as follows:

3/4 at 7:30 pm

3/9 at 7:30 pm

3/16 at 9:00 pm

3/30 at 9:00 pm

I am flattered that you have asked. I have not seen the show myself so will tune in on one of these dates as well.

Our National Anthem at Games

We are now asking and encouraging our fans to SING the National Anthem at Capitals games.

That is a great touch. I have started to sing it and it feels really great.

I think it is moving to hear our fans sing in unison. It shows pride and love of our country.

How about joining me in singing on Sunday?!

Here is the worst version ever of the National Anthem at a game. Check this one out…gulp.

IndieWIRE on New Distribution

Here is an insightful article on film festivals and new distribution methodologies.

In case anyone hadn’t noticed, more films were made and submitted to Sundance this year and less were bought for distribution than ever before.

The bottleneck is worse than ever.

TV acquisition budgets are being cut at a quickening pace.

The boutique studios are running for the hills.

Angel investors have a lot less money to experiment and invest in indie films.

We had all better work and hope that new distribution channels work. What is the plan B if they don’t?

I will update everyone on SnagFilms later next week but we are seeing steep function growth, a doubling of our base over a 90 day period. We are on to something. We will step on the accelerator to keep it growing to help. IndieWIRE, a part of SnagFilms, is growing like a weed too as we have less competition and the new redesign has great consumer appeal.

Instead of whining and hand-wringing, let us all get back to work to figure out the model and figure out how to connect filmmakers and their work to the biggest audience out there and find new ways to generate dollars as well for filmmakers, investors, charities and causes.

We are at a gut check period for the industry. The good old days are gone forever. Wash your mind and clear your head. Reset your expectations and reboot. It is a new day. Many people will long for the old days but they are long gone. Onward to a new way. We are in it together so let’s get back to work.

Didn’t Come to Play

We deserved to have the fans boo us last night.The team didn’t play with any energy or urgency.

We are the team that is hunted now. When a team below us in the standings beats us, it is a feather in their cap.

We can’t rely on our talent to win games; we must put forth effort as well.

It is a long season and there will be games such as this one.

We now get ready to face a desperate team in the Penguins. If we put forth the same level of effort as Friday’s game, we will get blown out on national TV.

I am hopeful we internalize our issues and come out fired up and ready to protect home ice.

It is a long season filled with ups and downs but it is time to reclaim our composure and get back to work.

Time Flies When You are Having Fun

It is hard to believe that I have been publishing my personal blog for more than three years now.

I have updated it for more than 1,000 days and have done more than 5,000 posts.

I have a pretty diverse readership: hockey, basketball and sports fans; people in the film business; people from the Internet business; friends and family; neighbors; and folks that just stumble upon this humble little bit of personal expression. I have had visitors from all over the globe come and hang out.

Thank you for caring about what I have to say and what I am thinking and for spending time here. Thank you for your comments and emails as well.

My blog as been ranked high in terms of visits; in terms of popularity; and in terms of quality.

But I don’t blog as a business. I blog here for personal reasons. I believe “self expression” is one of the keys to happiness and self contentment.

I encourage everyone to create their own blog. Join the party and chime in. Talk amongst yourselves. Have some fun! Thank you.

We are Marketing More and More to Baltimore

We hosted a bus load of fans last week. We embrace and work closely with Nestor and his radio station. We activate with promotions, PR and with targeted online campaigns.

I am hopeful that we can be a regional team that is embraced by everyone in our DMA. Our TV ratings are very strong in Baltimore on Comcast SportsNet and our team is the buzz in all three areas: Maryland, Virginia and DC.

Come on out and enjoy a game. Buy some season tickets. Go Caps!

Standings

Good to see us with the  fourth best record in the NHL; with the second best record in the East; with the second most goals scored in the East; and the third most goals scored in the entire NHL. See details here. We have allowed a few more goals than we would all like and we have played 58 games to date. We have a lot of room for improvement in the last 24 games of the season. I have to say that I am pretty satisfied with where we are as of today but we all want to do better and keep on improving. We have 79 points but there are 48 more points for the taking. If we play .500 level hockey from here on out, we can finish with more than 100 standings points which is a great feat.

All About Team

We shouldn’t be talking about individual stats or awards. All that matters to us all is to qualify for the playoffs; win a series; and take it from there. We must win a Stanley Cup during “our time”. Alex is our leader and he “gets it”. He is a high character and an intrinsic leader. The awards will come but all of our eyes are focused on one prize, a championship.

As an aside, it was a pleasant surprise to hear on ESPN yesterday the discussion about Alex and his MVP credentials. They also showed the “goal redux” about a million times as well. :-)  That is great for the game and for the fans.

We get the respect we deserve now. Alex is recognized as the best of the best and the league’s MVP. We sell out every game. We have only one aspiration now that is shared by all: Win it all. If not now, when? If not us, who?