Where are the Wings?

Game one was taken by Phoenix, but the Wings stepped up in game two, winning 7-4. This gave fans the hope that the Wings they knew were in it for the cup. Then game three happened. The Coyotes out skated, out played, and out enthused a seemingly washed out Wings team. Howard let in goals that should not have been let in, including an easy short sided goal. The team could not keep possession of the puck, and eventually a poor turnover turned into a Coyote goal. The Wings need to look like the experienced team that they are, and pull themselves together for an important game four.

Tiger's Masters?

The Masters have come and gone, and it seems that Tiger Woods winning the green jacket went out the door. However, there was much hype over numerous incidents based around Tiger. One of the more outstanding events was the air planes flying over Tiger, revealing signs that said "TIGER: DID YOU MEAN BOOTYSIM" and "SEX ADDICT? YEAH. RIGHT. SURE. ME TOO". Though Woods claims that he did not see the planes until the news, it is hard to miss.
Another event, in which a reporter asked Tiger why he was not smiling at times during the game. He replied, as any normal person would reply, that he was not happy with how he was playing, and therefore showed that he was not happy. I understand that he did some morally questionable things, however, let him still be a person. The media has put him on a high pedestal themselves, and then turn around and ask why Tigers thinks of himself above the rest. It is a round circle, and in about a few months when another celebrity scandal occurs, Tiger Woods will be old news.

Olympic Hockey: A Marketer's Dream?

Sunday's game, though sorely disappointing to USA fans was certainly an exciting event. According to various reports, there were 27.6 million viewers tuned in to the edge of your seat action. Brian Tuohy of the bleacher report stated that this is the third highest viewing of a hockey game, to the "Miracle On Ice" and the consequential gold medal game of the 1980's. What does this mean for the NHL though?

The NHL is hopeful that the buzz and hype around the Sunday's game and the hockey portion of the winter Olympics will draw more attention to the NHL and the rest of the season. With stars such as Sid the Kid making the winning shot, and becoming a nationally celebrated hero, more viewers will tune in on a regular basis to see what he can do. The Olympics also brought to attention more minor names in the NHL; Ryan Miller's fantastic saves, Zach Parise's goal to tie the game within the last thirty seconds, and even Bryan Rafalski stepping up to the plate for team USA created a buzz and a new fan following.

Honestly, it's a great campaign that is done for free. The league takes off 2-3 weeks for the Olympics, and get national appraise and exposure to nations all around the world. They also appeal to people that may not regularly watch NHL games, but choose to watch the Olympics. Games such as Sunday's only intrigues and excites. Both the USA and Canada teams had a whole roster of NHL players, so on each pass, shot and save, a name representing the NHL was out there.
The NHL is considering a pass on the 2014 Olympics since games will be played in the middle of the night/early morning and not get as much exposure to U.S. audiences. I think they will be losing out on a huge marketing opportunity and there will be some not so happy players and fans. I know I will be up in the middle of the night rooting for team USA!

Who Dat?

The Saints won the Superbowl over a highly supported Colts team. The streets of New Orleans echoed with cheers of "Who Dat" on Sunday night. But now, the NFL is demanding a cease and desist of t-shirts with the saying on it. According to an Associated Press article on ESPN: "In an e-mail, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said the NFL has sent a handful of letters in the past year asking vendors to stop selling 'Who Dat' merchandise. The unlicensed shirts led fans to believe the Saints endorsed the product, he said." The NFL argues that "Who Dat" is a trademark of the Saints, and therefore the NFL's trademark property.

Local Vendors in New Orleans vehemently oppose the trademarking, stating that the phrase is public property and can be marketed without having to pay royalties. There are other people, such as WhoDatInc., that claim the phrase is theirs. Regardless, the NFL continues to purport that a strong affiliation of "Who Dat" with the Saints gives them trademark rights, and petition the marketers to stop.

What is public property and what is the property of the NFL? Can they truly have a monopoly over every thing affiliated with a team? This seems unreasonable to me. What is considered NFL property then? Is the cheese head a property of the NFL?

I will leave this post with a quote from Louisiana Senator David Vitter discussing his response to the NFL's petition: Vitter said he will print and sell T-shirts with "WHO DAT say we can't print Who Dat!" on them. "Please either drop your present ridiculous position or sue me," Vitter wrote. (AP)

Read the story here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4871697

Why I do what I do

It's my senior year at Grand Valley and the idea of graduation is daunting. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree in Communication Studies until very recently. The world of sports marketing is intriguing to me because it has such a broad range of career opportunities.

I'm very interested in media and the impact that it has on today's society. I think that media is an essential part of our world and that it will only continue its impact upon the population. Along with my interest in media is the interest I have in sports and the marketing of sports. This multimillion dollar industry is rife with media impact and opportunities.

In accordance with how I feel about these topics, my feeds reflect my interests. I chose MLive for the information on local sports because everything starts at home. On the other end of that spectrum, I chose BBC Sports for information on sports all around the world.I also chose to follow feeds such as Advertising Age and Sports Marketing because it is important to stay up on the current news coming out of both of those venues. I am also following mashable to stay atop of new and recent progressions in the world of social media.