Palin'sButtBoy
2010-09-18 17:04:21 UTC
Having been passed around many a locker room, I can tell you Danneigh
Schneider
worshippers that, er -- guys -- like me are turned off by the
continuing [and possibly expanding] use of banned performance-
enhancing drugs --
not just in the NFL -- but throughout the pro and big-college sports
communities.
The real problem is that we have no idea who is using and who's not.
Too much uncertainty. What's real and what's drugs?
Nowadays, we're almost compelled to assume the big play-makers game-in
and game-
out are suspect.
Okay.
But what about the player whose performance takes a BIG dip from a
string of all-star seasons to a sudden,dismally low level never seen
or expected from him? Did he quit steroids as more frequent and
unannounced testing got underway?
This "phenomenon" is particularly evident in this ML baseball season,
where
formerly consistently top hitters have seen their power and/or BA
numbers plummet. Jeter, A-Rod, Howard, Utley, Derek Lee, Carlos
Beltran, Todd Helton, Bobby Abreu, Mike Lowell, Teixeira, Berkman,
Aramis Ramirez, Chipper Jones, to name just some.
I doubt they all have gone the Gehrig route and contracted ALS.
Simultaneously?
Then we have the fewer guys who probably haven't stopped using or have
increased their 'roids -- and are having unheard-of monster years --
Josh Hamilton, Jose Bautista, Adrian Beltre, to name a few. And
ancient Jim Thome seems to be inexplicably re-energized this year.
Questionable? He's aiming for 600 HRs.
Finally, there's no question that illegal drugs are and will always be
the foundation of NBA and NHL play. No need to even wonder about
these folks.
Scoff if you like, but more fans than you realize have gotten turned
off by drugs-in-sports. The trouble is that once a fan gets a beer or
10 in him or her, thoughts of steroids are shoved to the reptilian
part of their brain and all is temporarily forgotten.
Of course the sports moguls like it that way.
=====
"The NFL's business conundrum"
By Mark Maske
The Washington Post
Saturday, September 18, 2010; D1
The NFL has spent decades working to make itself the nation's leading
television sport, an effort that has yielded billions of dollars in
network contracts and TV ratings that are the envy of every other pro
sports league.
But as ratings continue to soar early in the new season, the NFL is
facing a new business dilemma: declining attendance at the games
themselves. The NFL expects attendance to drop for a third straight
season and is projecting that as many as 20 percent of its regular
season games will be blacked out on TV in the home team's market when
stadiums fail to sell out 72 hours before kickoff.
League executives and franchise owners say they're concerned that the
sport has become so good to watch on television, especially in the age
of big screen, high-definition TV, that many fans are choosing in a
tough economy to avoid the traffic, crowds and costs of going to
stadiums in favor of watching in the comfort of their living rooms.
"We would have our heads in the sand if we ignored the trend," said
Eric Grubman, executive vice president of NFL ventures and business
operations. "We've spent 20 years building an at-home alternative that
we think is nothing short of awesome. But we don't want to do that at
the expense of our in-stadium experience. We still think a stadium is
the best place to watch a game."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at an offseason owners' meeting
that "the issue for us is we are our own competitor," noting that
features such as high-definition TV and the NFL Network's RedZone,
which allows viewers to monitor multiple games simultaneously "do make
it attractive to watch on television. . . . Our challenge is to
continue to make it exciting for people to come to our facility."
The number of blackouts is nowhere near the level of previous decades,
and the NFL remains television ratings gold. TV ratings last season
were up 15 percent over 2008 numbers. The trend continued in the
opening week of this season. The NFL's season-opening game Sept. 9
between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints drew 27.5 million
viewers on NBC, the most since the league began playing its opening
game on a Thursday night in 2002.
Last Sunday's late-afternoon game on Fox (mostly Packers-Eagles) drew
28 million viewers, the most ever for a Week 1 Sunday game. The
Washington Redskins' opening triumph over the Dallas Cowboys last
Sunday night on NBC had 25.3 million viewers, a record for a Sunday
night game.
Overall it was the NFL's most-watched opening weekend since 1987. The
Saints' and Redskins' victories were the two highest-rated prime-time
shows on television that week.
David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at
the University of Southern California, called the ratings more good
news for the NFL, an $8 billion-a-year enterprise that earns about $4
billion annually from its national TV deals with Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN
and DirecTV.
"If you're off a few percentage points in attendance but finding a way
to monetize consumption of the product in other ways, I think you're
okay," Carter said. "It would be different if attendance was down and
consumption was down. But that's not the case. Consumption is up."
Leah LaPlaca, ESPN's vice president of programming and acquisitions,
called the NFL "the ultimate reality television." She said the sport's
TV viewership and live attendance are "complementary" because fans
want a shared experience, whether it's watching a game in a stadium or
on TV in a group setting. A full stadium makes for good TV because it
conveys the excitement of the event, she said.
"There's no doubt from a television perspective, we love to see full
stadiums," LaPlaca said.
According to Grubman, the NFL expects ticket sales to decline 1 to 2
percent this season after being down about 2.2 percent last season.
Season ticket sales league-wide are down about 5 percent this season,
Grubman said.
"I think the economy is really hurting our fans," Grubman said in a
telephone interview. "We know it. We see it. We hear it. They tell us
they're not leaving for good. They're just staying at home."
League-wide attendance declined from a record 17.3 million in 2007 to
17.1 million in 2008 to 16.7 million last season. NFL officials are
projecting that this season's average attendance per game will be the
league's lowest since 1998.
In response, the NFL has taken steps to improve the stadium
experience. The league imposed a fan conduct policy in 2008 to try to
make stadiums more family-friendly by curbing abusive language,
obscene gestures, drunkenness and other forms of rude behavior in the
stands. Among this season's changes, according to the league, is a
modified noise policy that eases restrictions on video-board messages
used by home teams to urge fans to cheer at certain points during
games.
There also has been an effort to bring more technology into stadiums
that enables fans to track not only the game they're watching, but
other games and, potentially, the players on their fantasy football
teams. Three teams, including the Redskins, have new HD video boards.
The NFL RedZone Channel, with its live look-ins at games around the
league when an offensive team is in scoring position, is available in
all stadiums.
"If you're sitting there, it's a 10,000-inch plasma, much less a 50-
inch plasma," Grubman said. "There's no reason for you not to get your
tour around the NFL if you're in a stadium."
Teams are offering low-cost ticket options. The Super Bowl champion
New Orleans Saints increased some ticket prices this season, but still
offer a season ticket at $25 per game. The Buccaneers offer some
season tickets for $35 per game and $25 for children.
The average price of a general-seating ticket in the NFL last season
was $74.99, according to Team Marketing Report, an independent
newsletter that follows sports business issues.
Last season, Grella said, the Buccaneers and other organizations
helped prevent blackouts by purchasing unsold tickets, but can't do
that indefinitely. The NFL sometimes grants ticket-selling extensions
to teams that are close to sellouts and has eased reastrictions on the
17,000 free tickets each team is allowed to distribute to youth
groups, military personnel and others.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wrote to Goodell recently, urging the
commissioner to consider changing the NFL's blackout policy.
"While I understand the need for the league to sell tickets and
maintain an attractive television product, NFL blackout policies
should be revisited as our nation faces the worst economic crisis in
generations," Brown wrote.
Grubman said the league does not intend to change the policy.
"We think the blackout policy protects the league, our partners and
the long-term viability of the model," Grubman said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/18/AR201...
Schneider
worshippers that, er -- guys -- like me are turned off by the
continuing [and possibly expanding] use of banned performance-
enhancing drugs --
not just in the NFL -- but throughout the pro and big-college sports
communities.
The real problem is that we have no idea who is using and who's not.
Too much uncertainty. What's real and what's drugs?
Nowadays, we're almost compelled to assume the big play-makers game-in
and game-
out are suspect.
Okay.
But what about the player whose performance takes a BIG dip from a
string of all-star seasons to a sudden,dismally low level never seen
or expected from him? Did he quit steroids as more frequent and
unannounced testing got underway?
This "phenomenon" is particularly evident in this ML baseball season,
where
formerly consistently top hitters have seen their power and/or BA
numbers plummet. Jeter, A-Rod, Howard, Utley, Derek Lee, Carlos
Beltran, Todd Helton, Bobby Abreu, Mike Lowell, Teixeira, Berkman,
Aramis Ramirez, Chipper Jones, to name just some.
I doubt they all have gone the Gehrig route and contracted ALS.
Simultaneously?
Then we have the fewer guys who probably haven't stopped using or have
increased their 'roids -- and are having unheard-of monster years --
Josh Hamilton, Jose Bautista, Adrian Beltre, to name a few. And
ancient Jim Thome seems to be inexplicably re-energized this year.
Questionable? He's aiming for 600 HRs.
Finally, there's no question that illegal drugs are and will always be
the foundation of NBA and NHL play. No need to even wonder about
these folks.
Scoff if you like, but more fans than you realize have gotten turned
off by drugs-in-sports. The trouble is that once a fan gets a beer or
10 in him or her, thoughts of steroids are shoved to the reptilian
part of their brain and all is temporarily forgotten.
Of course the sports moguls like it that way.
=====
"The NFL's business conundrum"
By Mark Maske
The Washington Post
Saturday, September 18, 2010; D1
The NFL has spent decades working to make itself the nation's leading
television sport, an effort that has yielded billions of dollars in
network contracts and TV ratings that are the envy of every other pro
sports league.
But as ratings continue to soar early in the new season, the NFL is
facing a new business dilemma: declining attendance at the games
themselves. The NFL expects attendance to drop for a third straight
season and is projecting that as many as 20 percent of its regular
season games will be blacked out on TV in the home team's market when
stadiums fail to sell out 72 hours before kickoff.
League executives and franchise owners say they're concerned that the
sport has become so good to watch on television, especially in the age
of big screen, high-definition TV, that many fans are choosing in a
tough economy to avoid the traffic, crowds and costs of going to
stadiums in favor of watching in the comfort of their living rooms.
"We would have our heads in the sand if we ignored the trend," said
Eric Grubman, executive vice president of NFL ventures and business
operations. "We've spent 20 years building an at-home alternative that
we think is nothing short of awesome. But we don't want to do that at
the expense of our in-stadium experience. We still think a stadium is
the best place to watch a game."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at an offseason owners' meeting
that "the issue for us is we are our own competitor," noting that
features such as high-definition TV and the NFL Network's RedZone,
which allows viewers to monitor multiple games simultaneously "do make
it attractive to watch on television. . . . Our challenge is to
continue to make it exciting for people to come to our facility."
The number of blackouts is nowhere near the level of previous decades,
and the NFL remains television ratings gold. TV ratings last season
were up 15 percent over 2008 numbers. The trend continued in the
opening week of this season. The NFL's season-opening game Sept. 9
between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints drew 27.5 million
viewers on NBC, the most since the league began playing its opening
game on a Thursday night in 2002.
Last Sunday's late-afternoon game on Fox (mostly Packers-Eagles) drew
28 million viewers, the most ever for a Week 1 Sunday game. The
Washington Redskins' opening triumph over the Dallas Cowboys last
Sunday night on NBC had 25.3 million viewers, a record for a Sunday
night game.
Overall it was the NFL's most-watched opening weekend since 1987. The
Saints' and Redskins' victories were the two highest-rated prime-time
shows on television that week.
David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at
the University of Southern California, called the ratings more good
news for the NFL, an $8 billion-a-year enterprise that earns about $4
billion annually from its national TV deals with Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN
and DirecTV.
"If you're off a few percentage points in attendance but finding a way
to monetize consumption of the product in other ways, I think you're
okay," Carter said. "It would be different if attendance was down and
consumption was down. But that's not the case. Consumption is up."
Leah LaPlaca, ESPN's vice president of programming and acquisitions,
called the NFL "the ultimate reality television." She said the sport's
TV viewership and live attendance are "complementary" because fans
want a shared experience, whether it's watching a game in a stadium or
on TV in a group setting. A full stadium makes for good TV because it
conveys the excitement of the event, she said.
"There's no doubt from a television perspective, we love to see full
stadiums," LaPlaca said.
According to Grubman, the NFL expects ticket sales to decline 1 to 2
percent this season after being down about 2.2 percent last season.
Season ticket sales league-wide are down about 5 percent this season,
Grubman said.
"I think the economy is really hurting our fans," Grubman said in a
telephone interview. "We know it. We see it. We hear it. They tell us
they're not leaving for good. They're just staying at home."
League-wide attendance declined from a record 17.3 million in 2007 to
17.1 million in 2008 to 16.7 million last season. NFL officials are
projecting that this season's average attendance per game will be the
league's lowest since 1998.
In response, the NFL has taken steps to improve the stadium
experience. The league imposed a fan conduct policy in 2008 to try to
make stadiums more family-friendly by curbing abusive language,
obscene gestures, drunkenness and other forms of rude behavior in the
stands. Among this season's changes, according to the league, is a
modified noise policy that eases restrictions on video-board messages
used by home teams to urge fans to cheer at certain points during
games.
There also has been an effort to bring more technology into stadiums
that enables fans to track not only the game they're watching, but
other games and, potentially, the players on their fantasy football
teams. Three teams, including the Redskins, have new HD video boards.
The NFL RedZone Channel, with its live look-ins at games around the
league when an offensive team is in scoring position, is available in
all stadiums.
"If you're sitting there, it's a 10,000-inch plasma, much less a 50-
inch plasma," Grubman said. "There's no reason for you not to get your
tour around the NFL if you're in a stadium."
Teams are offering low-cost ticket options. The Super Bowl champion
New Orleans Saints increased some ticket prices this season, but still
offer a season ticket at $25 per game. The Buccaneers offer some
season tickets for $35 per game and $25 for children.
The average price of a general-seating ticket in the NFL last season
was $74.99, according to Team Marketing Report, an independent
newsletter that follows sports business issues.
Last season, Grella said, the Buccaneers and other organizations
helped prevent blackouts by purchasing unsold tickets, but can't do
that indefinitely. The NFL sometimes grants ticket-selling extensions
to teams that are close to sellouts and has eased reastrictions on the
17,000 free tickets each team is allowed to distribute to youth
groups, military personnel and others.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wrote to Goodell recently, urging the
commissioner to consider changing the NFL's blackout policy.
"While I understand the need for the league to sell tickets and
maintain an attractive television product, NFL blackout policies
should be revisited as our nation faces the worst economic crisis in
generations," Brown wrote.
Grubman said the league does not intend to change the policy.
"We think the blackout policy protects the league, our partners and
the long-term viability of the model," Grubman said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/18/AR201...