Monthly Archives: August 2010

A Thrill – The Keys To The City!

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I went back to Lowell, Massachusetts yesterday evening to attend a very genuine charitable event centered around an extension to the Hellenic American Academy. Many friends and family members attended and it was so great to see so many relatives that I love and respect.

The Greek school is one of the oldest in the county, more than 100 years old. The ceremonies were very low key and respectful combining our religion, heritage and a celebration of the American Dream. Guests included His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston (who is a hockey fan and a big Alex Ovechkin fan as well); Steven C. Panagiotakos - a lifelong friend and a State Senator; and other dignitaries.

I am proud to say that the school just expanded to include the 7th and 8th grades and through grants from the Niarchos Foundation and my family, the school was able to expand and take on additional students. A plaque in my mom and dad’s honor is now in the lobby of the school’s junior high school area. They would be proud.

I was also thrilled that the mayor of Lowell, Mass. attended the dedication and he awarded me the keys to the city. I am serious. I actually received a key as a memento, as a nice thank you. I am displaying it proudly. You can go home again. :-)  Thank you Mayor James L. Milinazzo. Lowell has a long and proud tradition and I am honored to be so well received by this great city and my parents’ hometown.

Thud

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The Mystics were blown out in Game 2 of our playoff series against Atlanta. The better team won and a team such as ours can’t go ten minutes with zero points scored in a playoff game and expect to win.

Atlanta played a zone. Atlanta went to a run and gun style and, frankly, we struggled to adapt to it and we seemed drained and tired. It seems that in this series, we missed having another key player who could contribute minutes, points and stops a la Alana Beard.

The series is over so we go home.

A very disappointing end to this playoff series, we lose 2-0.

As our coach says though in this article, we are very proud of the team.

We improved dramatically this season. We proved many skeptics wrong by winning the East despite missing a very important player on our team due to injury.

We will continue to improve the team. We will continue to have upside. We will continue to invest in the team.

Thank you Mystics fans for all of your support.

We apologize for the quick exit. We will catch our breath and work hard in the off season to improve the team.

What We Were Looking For…

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A viewer and fan of SnagFilms spoke to me yesterday and told me how moved she was about our film A Fighting Chance.

She said ”Sometimes little day-to-day things get me down and I get depressed. I watched your film and I must admit that Kyle Maynard was so positive and so on-the-go and so genuine - it was uplifting. I promise that whenever little things get me down from here on out I will flash back to the film and to Kyle’s ‘No Excuses’ mantra. Thank you.”

Isn’t that terrific?

Watch this weekend if you haven’t had a chance. Kyle is a one-of-a-kind human being. I consider him a friend and an inspiration. He is a true American hero. Thank you ESPN for helping us and supporting us with this film. Kyle is one of our great athletes and “No Excuses” should become the mantra for all of our teams!

It Is Good To Be Skeptical

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It is good to be reserved.

We have to earn people’s confidence. We have to earn their excitement and passion. We get it.

We have to get results. We have to win. We have to have a crisply articulated plan and we have to stick with it.

It is good to be a cynic. It is easy to be a cynic even though I am an evangelist for being in the business of happiness, as you know. Know many happy and successful cynics?

It is good to hold us accountable.

All I ask in return is that if we do improve – win and start to see a brighter day - that we get acknowledged in a positive light and our franchise gets treated with respect. Our players, too. If we win - the fans will come – and in a big way.

That seems like a fair set of asks and transactions as to value exchange.

Vote away. See poll here. Let Mike know what you think, me too! I listen. I care but I am not a cynic.

Drives Me Crazy

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Sometimes being first isn’t the best right answer. I know - I once worked at AOL!

Google is making BIG NEWS. They have integrated phone calling from email and messaging that is called “convergence.” Text and audio. Together. Hooray.

Aol did this eight years ago!

AIM with VoIP and don’t forget AOLbyPhone.

What will be next - video conferencing integrated into mail and messaging? Been there and done that, too! I wish Aol could be reinvigorated again around “communications and content with commerce” relevantly baked in via presence. What is old is new again!

There Is Talent And Then There Is Chemistry

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And great infrastructure and culture.

Mash ‘em all up and you get a winner!

I read this article and I agreed.

Having talent is just the first step in a process of creating a very good and then a great TEAM. Health matters as well. No one player gets a team over the top. All for one and one for all.

I believe many teams in the NBA have enormous talent but they lack cohesion; an “all for one” mentality; and the infrastructure to capitalize on the blending of talent and chemistry to win.

Sometimes veteran-laden teams bond and sacrifice for each other all in the name of attainment of a championship. That is magical. The team is coachable. It exhibits upside. It is tight. The fans can sense it. Players get paid for winning not just for pure talent and potential.

Sometimes veteran-laden teams fall apart. Familiarity breeds contempt. Talent doesn’t win out. The team becomes uncoachable and angst is everywhere. You are what your record says you are. The disease of “me” is everywhere.

I have experienced that with the Washington Capitals. It was why I blew up our team and went hard after a rebuild. I learned that talent, reputation and ”brand name recognized” players will only take you so far.

Continue reading →

Let The Bloggers In

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There are more than 150 million daily active bloggers around the world.

Blogging makes people happy. It is a big part of their self-expression.

I blog every single day.

Tens of thousands of people hear what is on my mind via my blog.

Bloggers deserve our respect and our gratitude.

They work hard. They generate pixels. Pixels generate interest and higher rankings on Google and other search engines. Higher rankings generate more click though. More click through means more relevance with today’s citizens. And it is good business, too!

Bloggers tell more stories. Bloggers reach every nook and cranny of fan interest. Bloggers are passionate and talented. They care about your franchise.

As long as they abide by published and official guidelines I will always support the blogosphere as well as the mainstream media.

As an aside, if there are 150 million plus bloggers today, ISN’T IT TIME WE RECOGNIZE THEM as MAINSTREAM MEDIA?! Can’t get more mainstream than 150 million people.

Bloggers covering sports teams is like oxygen - get used to it!

Bloggers always welcome here. Thank you. Read this blog story.