Tag Archives: Sports Illustrated

Healthy

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I think it is healthy to get called out like this.

I call out SI all of the time for NOT getting new media and losing its preeminence in sports journalism to EPSN.

I understand both sides of the equation. Communicate and be transparent vs. be solitary and in the background and never seen and never heard.

There is no right answer here. To thine own self be true.

I grew up in the new media world.

I like to blog.

I enjoy it. It is self expression. It is like oxygen. We had all better get used to it.

I will keep doing it but I understand this point of view.

Thank you.

Some link love to SI. They need the traffic. Check it out.

Gulp: SI the Magazine

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I received in the mail yesterday my Sports Illustrated magazine. I am a long term subscriber. The cover date is October 11.

On the cover was Oktoberfest and a story about the MLB playoffs with predictions.

Of course, the playoffs are already completed with Texas just beating Tampa last night. I won’t read that big set of articles now. Old, old news.

There is the obligatory Mickey Mantle story within with sepia-tinged pages and black and white photos. People who know of Mickey Mantle – like me - are all old and dying off! He was a star when I was born. I loved Mantle. I won’t read this article which is a take off on a new book.
There were by my count 20 pages of ads in a 72 page format. That isn’t a healthy ratio.

Can this magazine make it?

I will continue to subscribe out of loyalty and muscle memory.

But the magazine is mispositioned. It can’t break news. Thank goodness for SI.com. It writes long stories that are nostalgia-tinged to a smaller and smaller group of people.

Take note: More photos; more short stories; more integrated pieces from print to video to web – craft and produce; and work on more iPad and iPhone apps that are local and resident on my screen when I am watching games via Slingbox or other means.

Do something. Save this magazine. It is important to so many of us! :-)

As a Fan – As a Partner

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I believe in this year’s team. I think the Washington Wizards have a very good mix of vets, size, skill and talent with a new world class coaching staff and a big ole chip on the collective shoulders of the team.

The key for this team is cohesion and health. End of story.

There are many new players to be integrated into the lineup.

There is the overcoming of rust and and injuries and learning a new system from a new demanding coach.

But the pieces are here for an exciting playoff team and who knows how deep the run can be if the team stays healthy? Sports Illustrated in this most recent issue was very positive on the team’s potential.

I am a Gilbert Arenas fan. I believe that Gil has world class talent, drive and skills. He is now at that point in his career that wins are more important than personal stats and that he understands the benefits of team accomplishments. He loves the game and his teammates and the fans. He wants to come back and help the team win. End of story.

As many of you know, my sports partnership owns 100 percent of the Washington Capitals and 100 percent of the Washington Mystics. We also own 44 percent of the Verizon Center, the local Ticketmaster franchise and the Washington Wizards with an exclusive right to buy the rest when Mr. Pollin decides to sell the basketball team and related assets. We are Mr. Pollin’s minority partner in the team. We believe in what he has done to re-craft this team to be a world class attraction to the fans and to be a very competitive team that at minimum makes the playoffs again. Here’s to hoping for a healthy team and a great season. I know Mr. Pollin’s competitiveness burns bright and his fondest desire is to bring a championship to the fans of the Wizards.

It would be so great for our city to have playoff basketball in the district again. My belief is that both the Caps and Wizards make the playoffs and we are both utilizing the great facility that Mr. Pollin built for the fans come April and then later in the Fall. The Mystics are playing in the playoffs as well. Wouldn’t that be great?

Thanks Sports Illustrated

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We need ongoing motivation and a chip on our shoulder. Thanks for our preseason ranking of 11th in the NHL for next season. We need to work hard and get results to prove to you that we are better than this ranking. Time will tell but we love flying under the radar and being ranked low. It is motivational to us. Click here to read these rankings.

Print’s Role

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It is good that HBO and Bob Costas are exploring the state of sports media. It is good that print’s role will be discussed as well. I just received my Sports Illustrated in the mail. I got it on Thursday night. In it, it has a pull out on SI’s expert picks on who will get taken in the NFL draft. Their #1 pick prediction for the Miami Dolphins was wrong. Long of Michigan was taken and signed already. Hence, I stopped looking at that piece. Then I went to a 5,000 word article on the Giants vs. the Colts in 1956 filled with sepia-tinged photos, an article I can swear I have read in the magazine three times before. What are the editors thinking at SI? Is this how they plan to stay relevant to a younger, always on, always connected audience?