Thats a wrap

Hey guys just here to thank you all for taking the time to read and share my blogs for this class. Hopefully it didn't bog down your timeline to much. If you commented or shared or liked the blog it will all go into my review of the final project.

This project was apart of my Digital Advertising class at UNI and I was given 12 weeks to create a blog post every week, tweet 2 times a day on @iSportsBizi, and connect with as many people, and professional groups, as possible on Linkedin. The entire time tracking my "ability to connect" within my "Personal Brand" (persona I took on) within the time period given. BTW connect with me if you haven't already! I also learned how to, and attempted to, run a Google Ad Words campaign for a short period of time in order to earn more connections.

In the beginning we were challenged to realize our personal characteristics, interests, and what we wanted to be in the future to make our Personal Brand Statement. Mine is : "I am a dreaming retired athlete still dedicated to the passion of sports that helped construct who I am today, because even if I might not be participation in competition, getting involved and learning more about the business portion of sports teams still provides me with excitement and drive that I look forward to using."

From there I took it upon myself to research about the "behind the scenes" business aspects of sports themselves, the ones that are not always at the forefront of ESPN every day. Personally I enjoy all of the back stories, and things you haven't heard about in sports that ESPN does present, more than the every day talk about scores, and highlights. Taking the "30 for 30" kind of approach was my plan from the start and hopefully you learned a thing or two about sports that you didn't know yesterday.

Sometimes I found it difficult to write some of the blogs because I had yet to gain the professional insight or be in the position of having first hand knowledge of sports business. Eventually I found myself just regurgitating facts and figures that were already known and reported by others. I challenged myself to put myself into my readers position and attempted to relate to them as much as possible. I also discovered from watching others in class that it is much easier to write about topics you already know a lot about. I already knew a lot about sports being a former athlete, as well as being a current fan I knew most of the current events that were going on so I decided to redirect my angle and what kind of content I was rolling out.

Seeing as though I made a new twitter to retweet and connect with people within my personal brand, not alot of traffic came from that account, most of my audience were college aged people because I was able to tweet and post blogs the from my other personal accounts compiled with friends and family that I have connected with throughout my Twitter and Facebook existence. So relating to them "my real audience" contributed to more interaction, interest, and views of the blog on certain posts like "Last Few Moments" and "Cheering for Change" . 

Attempting to relate to my Business of Sports fans, and my personal fans at the same time became the real challenge. Finding something both subjects would be interested in and intertwining them was the most rewarding part when done correctly.

All in all this project was a fun yet challenging experience and I believe that I would get better at it each and every time if I were to do it over and over again. I now have experience in how to advertise a business, product, or person digitally, and that is something that I will be able to do in each and every job that I have in the future. I already have plans of helping family and friends advertise their professional persona's through the techniques I have learned in this class.

If you, the reader, have made it this far I applaud you and thank you for sticking with my while I learn and perfect this craft. If you have any advice for me, or comments about the project you would like to make be sure to leave a comment here or tweet me at @iSportsBizi of what you think. Most likely your feedback will be included in my summary due tomorrow night.

Thank you again for all who participated and don't forget to... 


KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Blow to the Head

In contact sports such as football, injuries are inevitable. Every single play involves full force impact from both teams and the play usually ends in taking the opponent down. Sprains, pulled muscles, and even broken bones can be easily identified, but when the injury is on the brain it is often passed over and forgotten about. Blows to the head resulting in concussions are happening more and more but are not always taken seriously. The brain is a vital organ allowing you to live and function controlling everything you do. So why are injuries to it taken so lightly? With lawsuits and rule changes, the NFL is stepping up and doing something to make a change.

A concussion occurs when the head takes a blow that makes it move rapidly, so rapidly that the brain actually rattles or twists in the skull. It is commonly thought to be a “bruise on the brain”, but that is not true. There is no bruising, but there is damage done to the cells in the brain. Not every hit in the head is concussion, and that is where the problem comes in. A concussion cannot be identified by seeing it or feeling it, not even an x-ray can show it. Common warning signs include dizziness, not being able to recall a play or the score of the game, and loss of balance. In the midst of a game a player that gets hit or injures his head just shakes it off , often wanting to get back in to the action. However if a concussion was the case, the brain is highly vulnerable to more damage, and needs the proper time to heal. Therefore, continuing to play and create stress for the brain is a very bad idea.

http://blog.fora.tv/2013/08/with-nfl-persuasion-espn-pulls-out-of-pbs-concussion-documentary/

The NFL has been making some changes to their protocol to help prevent athletes with concussions being hurried back in to the game. Last year they started providing teams with better care by having a neuro-trauma expert physician on the field to help assess injured players. If the head physician or team physician checks a player for concussion, that physician is the one who has final say on whether the athlete can go back in to the game. This means trainers or coaches cant make that decision. If a concussion is diagnosed, the athlete must pass through a 5-step process, put in place just this year, before being released to play again. 

The steps go as follows:

1. Rest and recovery
2. Light aerobic exercise
3. Continued aerobic exercise & strength training
4. Football specific activities
5. Full football activities/clearance

Players must be able to pass through all of these steps without the initial symptoms returning.

http://www.recorder.com/home/9635572-95/a-look-at-head-injuries-in-area-sports

With the new changes, and while everyone is still adjusting to the protocol, the 5 step process isn’t perfectly followed quite yet. Just a few weeks ago Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs took a hit the head and was assessed by a trainer. After passing the test he was allowed to keep playing, even though some of his symptoms were signs of a concussion. He was quoted in an interview (via ESPN.com) saying “A couple plays later, I just [saw] this light buzz around my eyes and I was trying to catch ‘em. But I was like, ‘let’s get the ball and run again.” This is a great example of how short term thinking, players just want to get back in the game and do their part. Fans also want to see the players in the game bouncing back from getting knocked down. The question becomes is a few more plays, or another quarter in one game worth the risk of the lasting effects a concussion can have? As an athlete, at the time of injury and in the moment it feels like you should do everything you can to get back out there because you want to do the best for the team, but in the long run it most certainly is not whats in your best interest.

Past players are now coming forward about the repercussions of their injuries. Perhaps if they had known about the reality and seriousness of concussion they would have treated their injuries differently. This past July 5 former NFL players filed a lawsuit suing the union for “for not providing accurate information about the risk of head injuries”. Lawsuits are happening at the college level as well. The NCAA has just settled a suit for $70 million to pay for current & former athletes to have testing done to determine brain trauma from injury during football or other contact sports. According to an article in TheHuffingtonPost.com NCAA figures that from 2004 to 2009 alone, 29,225 athletes suffered concussions. Basically this lawsuit makes it so that players can do the tests, and if they find damage done, they have a basis for suing.

To make a real change, NFL is turning to focus on players just starting the game, implementing a new program to help awareness about injuries to the head. The program is called “Heads Up” Football. It helps coaches and players to take safety precautions by using proper equipment, learning the right techniques for tackling, and being able to identify warning signs of a concussion. To see more about the program you can visit Heads up Football

http://www.ihigh.com/mfca/article_47736.html

They say knowledge is power. So starting by provide players with knowledge from the very start can hopefully influence how injuries to the head are viewed and taken care of in the future. Putting an end to the idea that mild concussion doesn’t need to take the same treatment steps as a serious concussion. A concussion is a concussion and should all be treated the same and be given the proper amount of time it needs to fully heal before getting back in the action.

Untill next time...

Keep moving forward!

Follow me on twitter: @iSportsBizi

Draft Day

And with the first pick of the draft the (your favorite team here) selects…

Draft day, a dream come true for most, and a nightmare for others. Excitement, hope, worry, confusion and disappointment all rolled into one event. The inductees of new talent presented to the league looking to prove themselves worthy of playing alongside legends and future hall of famers.

Acquiring a new player through the draft is different in every league. Whether it be the NFL, MLB, NBA, or even NHL, each draft has a specific set of rules and guidelines that teams must adhere too.

In the NFL the team’s draft in reverse order of how they finished the previous season while adhering to previous years trades and other acquisitions. In similar fashion the MLB picks “worst to best” as well as being awarded “compensatory” picks for free agents lost in the off season.

The NBA and the NHL are very similar in the way the draft order is picked, but is still a little different from both the NFL and MLB in where teams who missed the playoffs in the previous season, or teams who hold the draft rights of another team that missed the playoffs in the previous season, participate in a lottery process to determine the draft order. Teams in the NBA obtain the rights to amateur U.S. college, and other eligible basketball players, including international players during the draft. Where in the NHL any hockey player under the age of 20 is eligible to be drafted by a team. The term “Lottery pick” denotes a draft pick whose position is determined through the lottery, while the non-playoff teams involved in the process are often called “lottery teams”. The lottery is weighted so that the team with the worst record, or the team that holds the draft rights of the team with the worst record, has the best chance to obtain a higher draft pick.

Having the choice of picking a new player for your team comes with a lot of pressure that is put on your draft selection committee. The decision you make can either put your team in the best position to succeed, or leave your team with needs that long to be fulfilled.

The selection committee is usually made up of a group of team scouts and coaches along with the General Manager and Team Owner. These minds meet, and plan for draft day all year long watching the players in college and or minor leagues, seeing who can best fit into their system in order to find a winning formula.

Picking the correct player for your team is based off of needs of the current team as well as value of the players that are available, along with a multitude of other factors that one cannot even begin to account for. Whether its and obvious decision like filling a retiring players position, or a complicated one like picking someone with a high value in hopes of trading them to a team who needs them more in order to get someone from their team that you would like to have on yours. These and similar scenarios only scratch the surface when contemplating who or how to draft.

All drafts have their winners and losers that are evaluated and re-evaluated over time for what seems like forever. Some may write off a great player right away because they didn’t perform to the level they were expected to out of the gates, and some come as a surprise because of their ability to perform at a more rapid pace than anyone was able to foresee.

Sleepers and busts are all apart of the pressure of draft day, and are usually known as such for the rest of their days whether they go on to the hall of fame or quit the sport a year later.

Plenty of confident draft committees have ended up empty handed after what they assumed was a bright future star in the making. There has also been the 6^th rounder Division 3 standout hall of famer who just needed one shot to prove they were the best / better than everyone else picked before them.

Names like Tom Brady, James Harrison, and Terrell Davis all recognizable today, were all picked in later rounds of their respective drafts the NFL. Where names like Ryan Leaf, Greg Oden, and Greg Raynolds all not as familiar of names because they are known more for how big of a bust they were rather than how well the performed compared to what players their teams could have selected instead of them.

All in all draft day is a great time for teams to improve their working machine while making dreams come true in the process. Only time will tell if draft day is a success or a big old bust.

Until next time…

Keep moving forward!

Follow me on twitter:  @iSportsBizi