To understand the battle raging inside the NHL Players' Association, you must recognize what's happening outside its walls.
Here's an example:
Last season, two players got into a heated debate about a collective bargaining agreement issue. Player A is an elite star who took a "hometown discount" to stay with his current team. Player B - very good, but not on the same level - was heading into free agency.
Every summer, the union has the right to bump the salary cap by five per cent via something called the escalator clause. It seems like a no-brainer, except there's a catch: it increases the amount players lose in escrow. So, Player A was arguing against it. For him, the discount cost even more. In addition to the money he left on the table, he was losing a larger chunk of what he signed for.
Player B argued the opposite. He was approaching his best chance to sign a huge free-agent contract. Never again, he felt, would he get this kind of an opportunity to hit the jackpot. He ferociously argued in favour of the escalator, wanting every dollar possible.
In the end, the rest of the team sided with Player B. But, there were angry exchanges and hard feelings.
On the surface, the fight inside the NHLPA is all about Paul Kelly's firing. But, it goes deeper than that. Right now, the union finds itself at a crossroads, in the middle of its most important decisions since the overthrow of Alan Eagleson. It's not only about who will lead - it's also about where to go with the next CBA, how to motivate a disinterested majority and how to rebuild an organization rife with distrust.
"I don't know how it got this bad," one player, active within the union, said this week. "We have a lot of work to do."
MARKETERS have been playing a new, more cautious game when it comes to signing athletes as endorsers, winnowing their rosters of jocks peddling products to proven performers with national — or international — profiles like LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Serena Williams and Derek Jeter.
The rising costs of signing athletic talent to build brands — not to mention deals gone sour because of shortcomings in the professional or personal arena — have made advertisers wary of rookies, single-game sensations, one-season stars or even talents with local appeal.
So what is a player like Drew Brees, the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, to do? He is no slacker, to be sure, but neither is his surname Manning.
Mr. Brees and his representative, Chris Stuart of Encore Sports and Entertainment, have signed with a company called Brand Affinity Technologies, which offers a Web site (brandaffinity.net) as a one-stop-shopping opportunity for advertisers seeking star power in more efficient, and affordable, forms.
... a book published Monday by former National Hockey League player Bob Sirois, examining four decades of professional drafts, comes to the explosive conclusion that francophone Quebecers are systematically thwarted by an "anti-francophone virus" plaguing the NHL.
Francophone Quebecers are wrongly disparaged as too small, too lax on defence and not suited to the robust "Canadian" style of play, Mr. Sirois writes in the book, published in French and titled Le Québec mis en échec (Quebec Bodychecked). "Myths, prejudices, stereotypes and favoritism make up an integral part of every draft session in the National Hockey League."
He concludes that francophones who are not first-line forwards, starting goalies or top defencemen are rarely drafted, and if they are picked, they do not last long. Looking at francophone Quebecers who played three or more seasons in the NHL, he found they were extraordinarily successful. Of the 176 players in this category, 42% won an NHL trophy or were named to the all-star team during their careers. "Only francophones of the highest level were able to have lasting careers; the other Québécois hockey players were quickly eliminated from the NHL," he writes.
The overall remedy he prescribes is twofold. He believes a return of professional hockey to Quebec City, as the city's mayor Régis Labeaume has been promoting, would increase the pressure on the Canadiens to be more representative of their province. He also proposes that Quebec field its own team at the World Junior Hockey Championship, saying the Canadian team regularly overlooks Quebec talent. A Quebec team would allow "our young elite hockey players to measure themselves against their peers from the other nations of the world," he concludes.
At an average price of about $20 (U.S.) a head and a free white T-shirt for everyone, you can fill a rink in Phoenix for an NHL game. That's about half the revenue the Alouettes get for a home game at tiny McGill Stadium. So if the Coyotes can find a league with the CFL's $4.2 million per team salary cap, they'll be in great shape.
As British sport enters the fall and the Premier League season kicks off into full swing, we leave behind a turbulent and controversial summer, which called into question the success and stability of football finances, and integrity and honour of English rugby, and the future transfer dealings throughout Europe regarding young players. Further questions surrounding the future of Formula One motor racing and the downfall of sports broadcaster Setanta made for an uncertain summer season, and an interesting one for the sport management world.
To begin, the rugby world was rocked by scandal over the summer, following the incident since labelled ‘Bloodgate’ emerged in late April. During a Heineken Cup match between London-based club Harlequins and Irish rivals Leinster, substitute Tom Williams feigned serious injury by using an exploding fake blood capsule, allowing a substituted player to return to the field. Fall-out from the event led to Williams and Harlequins manager both being suspended and fined, with the manager, Dean Richards, resigning his post in shame, as well as sweeping rule changes throughout European rugby regarding blood injuries. While the incident has succeeded in casting light over a dubious yet acknowledged and common practice, the English rugby world has been left reeling by Bloodgate, undermining the typically gentlemanly and honourable sport’s ethics and reputation.
Clubs introduce blood injury code
Elsewhere, English football endured a difficult summer in transfer dealings, losing a number of high-profile star players to other leagues, not least of which the £80 million transfer of Ronaldo to Real Madrid, and the £30 million agreement between Real and Liverpool over Xabi Alonso. Following years of staggering spending by English clubs, and dominance in Europe over the past 5 years, the economic downturn, uncertain revenues, and the growth of the Euro as compared to the Pound left Premier League clubs little choice but to reduce spending. Estimates of total transfer spending decreased approximately 10% on the 2008 summer window, with Manchester City accounting for nearly one quarter of league spending. Moreover, 2009 saw considerable spending between English clubs, rather than purchasing high-priced talent from outside the Premier League, making net spending in England a pale shadow of previous years.
Transfers down as austerity closes window
Finally, following the close of the summer’s transfer dealings, English football was shocked by the news of Chelsea Football Club’s ban from registering new players by FIFA until January 2011. The two window ban on transfer dealings for the club come after the London side allegedly incited young French player Gaël Kakuta to breach his contract with Lens in order to sign professionally with Chelsea. The controversy and ruling have thus far had serious ramifications through English football, as other big spending clubs have equally been called into question over the influx of young European, South American, and African players being brought to England on professional contracts. Reports have emerged suggesting that European regulations over the signing of players under the age of 18 may be required to govern such transfers, however the success and feasibility of such legislation has yet to be seriously studied.
Chelsea banned by Fifa from signing players till 2011 over Gaël Kakuta
Last week, the sprinter Usain Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.58 seconds, shattering the existing world record. For his feat, Bolt may just be named athlete of the year.
In some ways, what is more remarkable than Bolt’s feat is how slow the improvement has been in the 100-meter dash.
Back in 1968, Jim Hines became the first person to break the 10-second barrier, finishing the race in 9.95 seconds. In 1991, Carl Lewis got the world record down to 9.86 seconds. In 1999, Maurice Green ran 9.79 seconds. Asafa Powell ran 9.72 in 2008.
Thus, between 1968 and today, the world record time had improved by 3.7 percent, or less than 0.1 percent per year.
This is in spite of the fact that there have surely been technological advances in tracks and shoes, as well as expanding knowledge of weight training and fitness. The world’s population has increased substantially, as have nutrition levels, especially in developing countries.
The biggest puzzle to me is not how remarkable Usain Bolt is, but rather why it’s been so hard to get people to sprint faster.
"Getting in on the ground floor of a project of this size and scope is a tremendous opportunity, and I look forward to helping shape the US F1 vision and corporate strategy for years to come," Hurley tells Autosport.com.
"I see tremendous potential for all sports to integrate more media, more social connections, connect with the fans and build a fan base. And that's exactly what I hope to bring to US F1, bringing my experience and perhaps my opinions of how we could go about that."
Where the Premier League's players come from
By Ollie Williams
In the past two decades, the composition of England's top-flight teams has changed dramatically.
At the start of the 1989-90 season, leading clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United boasted just one or two regular first-team players who were born outside the United Kingdom.
Now, Premier League teams have, on average, 13 foreign-born stars within their ranks.
Use the interactive world map above to explore the birthplaces of players in all the current Premier League squads, and compare them with the same teams' players from the start of the 1989-90 season - then find out more about each team below.
Twenty years ago, defending champions Arsenal had just two players born outside the UK on their books: Icelandic midfielder Sigurdur Jonsson and Irish forward Niall Quinn.
Jonsson made barely a handful of appearances before leaving Highbury in 1992, while Quinn was soon to sign for Manchester City.
Liverpool, eventual title-winners that season, had an unusually large number of foreign-born players in their 1989-90 squad.
Kenny Dalglish's side featured five players born outside the UK: John Barnes (Jamaica), Bruce Grobbelaar (South Africa), Glenn Hysen (Sweden), Jan Molby (Denmark) and Steve Staunton (Republic of Ireland).
But they were the exception. Teams were far more likely to boast just one or two players born outside the UK and, in many cases (such as Manchester City's David Oldfield and Chelsea's Tony Dorigo), those players were British nationals who happened to have been born abroad.
Two decades ago, the teams making up this year's Premier League could only boast 12 players born outside the Commonwealth between them.
Twenty years later, more than half of the Premier League's clubs could field an entire starting line-up of foreign-born players.
Liverpool now have just three UK-born first-team stars in Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson, with other British talents like Jay Spearing making only occasional European appearances to date.
Anfield is home to 20 foreign-born players with a strong first-team claim, while Arsenal can boast 23, as opposed to four Brits, all aged under 21.
Teams recently promoted to the top flight have the fewest foreign-born players in their first-team squads - Burnley have seven, Wolves have eight, as do Stoke, who gained promotion a year earlier, while Birmingham have nine.
West Ham are also at the lower end of the spectrum, with nine foreign-born players, but at the time of writing this still comprised almost half of the 21 first-team players at Gianfranco Zola's disposal.
The International Olympic Committee executive board will meet in Berlin on Thursday to consider a range of changes put forward by the 26 summer Olympic sports federations.
The board will also recommend two sports for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics, with golf and rugby sevens the favourites in a group that also includes baseball, softball, karate, squash and roller sports.
The 15-member board must weigh the demands against its stated goals of gender equality and universality - the opportunity for all nations to compete with a realistic chance of winning medals - while keeping within a limit of 10,500 athletes.
The most dramatic change for 2012 would be the introduction of women's classes in boxing, currently the only summer Olympic sport exclusively for men.
In a sense, he's the first soccer megastar who seems born of America's celebrity culture.
I mean, he vacations in Los Angeles, people. Los Angeles is a parking lot with a mayor. Leaving Portugal for Los Angeles sounds like probation, not recreation.
It wasn't always like this. Any mental picture of Pele or Eusebio or Bobby Charlton includes not only their play, but their ability to engage the world away from the pitch.
The two great icons preceding Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham, were chalk and cheese in most ways. But they shared that gentlemanly streak, that sense of stewardship over the game. People cared about them and they made efforts to show that they cared back.
Despite being the most hounded athlete alive, Beckham still talks directly to people when addressing them. He seems incapable of walking by a kid holding out a jersey without stopping. Say what you like, but the guy is pure class.
A Calgary business envisioned a Canadian-themed running shoe that would appeal to Canada's patriotic athletes and sports fans. With an Olympic Games coming to Vancouver and Whistler in 2010, it was time to kick the business plan into action.
Calgary triathlon store Tri it Multisport learned of an Australian-themed shoe that quickly sold out in that nation, and thought perhaps the same could be done in Canada. Their research showed no company had ever produced a Canadian-themed running shoe.
Zoot, the maker of that Australian shoe, and a popular name in triathlon sporting goods, designed and manufactured the special Canadian shoe. Tri it Multisport calls it the Zoonie, and is now marketing it with the slogan "the new Canadian currency in speed."
Jordan Brydon, Canada's top Canadian tri-athlete under 23 and a hopeful for the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, works at the store and helped Zoot design the shoe. The challenge was making it appeal to not just elite runners, but athletes from many sports who want a dry-land training shoe or a comfortable walking shoe.
"We wanted to do something cool and patriotic to support them in their training," said Brydon, who has already worn the shoe on race day. "Myself, I travel to different countries all the time, and wearing a shoe like that is like wearing a Canadian jersey."
But the Calgary business faced a challenge with their strategy since there are strict rules against using any Olympic branding or "ambush marketing". So Tri it Multisport went big on the simply Canadian motif.
The Zoonie is a sleek, white runner adorned with bold, red maple leaves. Weighing just seven ounces, compared to the regular 13 ounces of an average running shoe, Brydon calls it ideal for speed and agility training since lighter shoes allow more reps of an exercise. They put holes in the bottom for drainage - for athletes who pour water over themselves during workouts.
Canadian Olympic hockey gold-medallist Gillian Ferrari and teammate Tessa Bonhomme are among a handful of 2010 Olympic hopefuls who are wearing the Zoonies. They were shopping for heart rate monitors at Tri it Multisport when the store's owner, Brian Del Castilho, showed them the shoes.
"He said 'we're so proud of our Canadian athletes'," said Ferrari who wore the shoes to a recent photo shoot in Calgary with CTVOlympics.ca. "He was like 'I want you guys to wear these with pride and, you know, your feet carry the heart and pride of Canada.'"
Tri it Multisport is strategizing to get the limited-edition shoe on more high-profile Canadian athletes, a task that has proven tough for a company that typically specializes in serving runners and triathletes.
"Most of our circle is triathlon and summer sports Olympians," said Brydon. "We want to get into the winter sport circle too."
So far, the company has sold about 150 pairs of Zoonies. Showing off the shoes at Ironman Canada in Penticton, B.C. in August kicks off the efforts they plan to promote the shoes to Canada's circles of athletes.
"We wanted to put our name on the market as being the only store in Canada where you can get this shoe," said Del Castilho. "We're marketing to two groups: athletes and people who just want to show they're Canadian. Ideally speaking, to me, this would be one of those things people would want to wear at the Olympics."
The shoe retails for $184.99 (triathlon racing shoes typically range from between $150 - $220, says Del Castilho) at Tri It Multisport in Calgary or on their website, www.tri-it.ca.
Ferrari said Wednesday in a statement that the German had agreed to get back in the cockpit until Massa is fit to return. The next race is the European Grand Prix on Aug. 21-23 in Valencia, Spain.
"Though it is true that the Formula One chapter has long been closed for me, it is also true that for team loyalty reasons I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation," the 40-year-old Schumacher said. "But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge."
The 28-year-old Massa was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier at 190 kilometres per hour during qualifying Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian receieved multiple skull fractures in the accident and doctors say he will not race again this season.
Safa wins ambush marketing cases
Posted: 2009-07-27 15:19
Safa has stepped up its efforts to protect their sponsorship rights from ambush marketing.
Safa has won two cases at the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA). This after two companies, MTN and Hyundai, were found to be at fault following their usage of Safa and Bafana Bafana brands while they are not sponsors or suppliers to the association and the senior men’s national team.
In the first case, Hyundai made an advertisement that depicted a Bafana player wearing an official national team jersey – which was viewed as a clear case of ambush marketing. The company has since withdrawn the advertisement and has vowed not to produce another one in future without Safa’s consent.
In the second matter, ASA ruled that MTN has implied in their advertisement that there is a connection between the company and Bafana. MTN had an advertisement which was headed ‘Turning young men into Bafana Bafana’, and was only referring to a competition which they sponsor and had nothing to do with the national team.
By the use of the words Bafana Bafana, MTN implied that they are an official sponsor of the national team, which is not the case.
Safa CEO Raymond Hack is content with both rulings, saying: “Our commercial department is closely monitoring ambush marketing practices, and we won’t hesitate to institute legal proceedings against anyone who embark on such unethical practices.
“Our national team is sponsored by Absa and Castle, and as a responsible association we will protect the rights of all our sponsors. Companies that want any association with Safa must do it procedurally by contacting us.”
Team – the team(s) that a player plays for or has played for; the associations a player has with a particular team; the profile, reputation and success of the team; the player’s role within the team;
Off-field – where the player lives; who the player socialises with and where; who the player is married to or is dating; the type of house the player lives in, the car they drive, the clothes they wear;
Physical characteristics, mentality and values – the facial appearance and physique of the player; other distinguishing features such as hairstyle, tattoos etc.; the way a players thinks and the views they hold;
Success – the player’s on-field record; the number of trophies, medals and prizes the player has won; the winning teams and games in which the player has been involved;
Transferability – the extent to which the player appeals to males and females, young and old, followers and non-followers of football; the extent to which the player and their image are culturally and geographically transferable; language(s) spoken;
Age – the stage at which a player is in their career; viewed in product life-cycle terms, this will have an impact on the profile, characteristics and longevity of the brand as well as influencing how the brand is managed;
Reputation - the player’s reputation as footballer; style of play; disciplinary record; the player’s reputation outside of football; way the player deals with public and media attention.
