"I just went out there and gave a 110%"

Is anyone as tired of hearing that as I am? Anyone seen the Brenden Fraiser movie Bedazzled where he is turned into a pro-athlete that is stupid and doesn't know more than three sentences about how he played? While I think that was a good idea at one point, I honestly believe that athletes are more intelligent and educated these days and could really speak eloquently in interviews if they just knew what to say. 

Thanks to PJ (little shoutout) I read an article on athletes taking PR classes to help them deal with the media. Brilliant! (I hope you heard the Guinness commercial... finally my beer reference!) Why not just put a little bug into an athletes ear that says, "This is ok. That is not. Stand up. Speak clearly. Be sure you want to say that before you make the ESPN top 10 stupid list." 

Take Terrell Owens (more commonly known as T.O.), the cowboys biggest PR mistake. I remember the day he made the switch my texas-native coach fell to her knees and cursed the Dallas franchise. He is now talking to the media about how if the ball was in his hands more often the Cowboys would win more games. OK, cocky and confident are two things talked about in sports often... but rude and completely vain are what T.O. is coming across as. How does that look on the Cowboys? I'm sure you have a few fans that agree and think it's cool that he talks like that, but then there are the lifetime fans who can't even remember why they like the Cowboys that are embarrassed with this behavior. I'm a Jags fan and I'm upset about it! 

What if he had taken a couple suggestions from someone who knew that tact is important. He could still say what he feels but maybe more like, "I wish I had a more constant role in our games. I feel like I do make good things happen and I'll work hard to make good things happen." What's so wrong with that? Honesty without pomposity. The media will do the rest of the work for him. When I was watching SportsCenter and this topic came up they created a graphic of possessions, yardage, total points, and other things comparing T.O. and his other teammates combined. That could and should be enough to open eyes but he had to be rude about it. 

Some athletes won't change, I understand this. The article said maybe Mike Vick would have thought more about the dog fighting participation; I doubt that. I think they are going to do what they want but maybe a PR look on things could polish some players enough to make a difference. I think that the power of PR is misunderstood and I hope that we can someday spread tact and it's importance. 

These thing-a-ma-jiggers are handy!

We're all opening our eyes to how technology is changing not only the world in general but our world, the PR world. We have been MySpacing and Facebooking for years now, but now we're blogging, linking, tweeting and who knows what else as a requirement in class and really in our profession. So are these tools just helping us keep up with the Jones's, or are they making us lazy and no longer personal?

Our favorite Gluten-free professor attended a conference this weekend that spoke on the importance of knowing all these new technologies and correctly using them. Conferences on Facebookish things? Crazy. This article on Bad Pitch Blog talks about all the different tools for PR like press release graders, online news wires that send out those releases, and of course the several networking sites. 

I agree with this blog that these tools are absolutely amazing for their luxury assets, but I believe when it comes to meeting people a little hard work and effort to actually get out there is important. What would happen if Congress no longer met, they just opened a chat room? Ha ha how would someone create a filibuster? That could be interesting. Now I know that is a little extreme, however, who knows how far this technology is going to take us? I still think a smile, good eye contact, and a firm handshake is the best way to make a connection and I hope this isn't something of the past. 

The blog does discuss the importance of taking out a second to at least personalize the messages sent around sites. I believe this is crucial. How would you make a good first impression if you can't electronically crack a joke or throw out your best professional pick-up line? 

I hope that all these sites keep up professionalism too. It's hard for me not to type this blog 'n not use contractions 'cuz it isn't formal 'n they're my words. 

Instant replay?! You have got to be kidding me.

Baseball, America's favorite pastime and one of the only games that has truly stuck to it's origins. Unlike the NFL or the NBA, baseball hasn't added a two point conversion, three point line, or media time outs that alter the length and flow of the game. MLB still uses wooden bats, simple leather gloves, a 60'6" distance to the mound, and a methodical game. 

I'm sorry to announce that I can't move to beer yet because my heart was broken by the MLB. 

This weekend my dad dropped the bomb on me: MLB on 8/20/08 announced that the implementation of the instant-replay will begin before the end of this season. Luckily, they are restricting this second-look to three types of controversial home run calls: fair/foul, clearing the fence, and fan interference. Why would you take the fun out of giving a scowl to a fan that thinks they're Willie Mays? 

The MLB has now joined the band-wagon and is the last of the four major North American professionals sports to let technology mess with their game. In  the article the PR senior vice president's only quote was about how all the stadiums hadn't been finished. Is that all he has to say for himself? I need some expansion!

Why would they do this? Are they going to start using metal bats like the colleges do and let a bunt amount to a home run? I thought it was a good idea to put mics on players that would allow them, put cameras in front of home plate so fans can get a different look, or even the programs they have to break down a swing and explain every element. But none of that messed with the game. In sports marketing we discussed that "changes to the core product" should only be made to help the competition or help the players and excite the fans. Who is excited about this? What true hardballer thinks that it's ok to not wan to get in the umps face and scream or try and point out the ball mark on a padded wall?

Instead of charging the mound, or having a bench clear, I hope players come with spray cans and cover the lenses. Also, ironic how the headquaters for these replays are in Chelsea (Manhattan)... is this a personal stab?

Hoo needs a title? (haha...yeah.)

So not many need an introduction for the lovely logo to the left. Wings, beer, short shorts, big boobs, but who ever thought about men?

I was just sitting around chatting with my roommate yesterday and she brought up that once upon a time (sorry this is nowhere near a new release it was settled in 1997) Hooters had been sued for denying men serving jobs. It had never occured to me! The Hooters Girl has been so ingrained I had never even thought about dudes wanting to serve. I tried looking up the story behind all this and find out a little more and unfortunately the only decent thing I could find was this http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E6DA1E3AF932A35753C1A961958260 and it really wasn't all that great.

However, my interest really isn't in all that happened with that case; I think it is AMAZING that Hooters hasn't skipped a beat since! How can such an equality-driven society in which women are shooting up the power ladder with ease and jobs are readily interchangable between the sexes not let all that affect this company? It's nuts. It's also awesome.

What kind of PR would something like that normally have? My google responded with a lot about Wal-Mart having gender issues but only one decent response about this issue. That says something about the power Hooters has over people, men and women. I think that the company really held their stance well by paying the $3.75 million settlement and going on their merry way. They did have to include a bona fide occupation qualification (informs my brilliant roomie) that is basically, "Hey, bro, you don't fit what we need. If we were looking for a nursing mother we wouldn't pick you either. Here's a couple bucks 'cuz we can't lose the ladies."

So, readers, do we think that Hooters handled this right? Or do we think it's demeaning to one sex or the other that sex appeal is really a basis of their business? In the PR sense, was it a good idea to pay the settlement and carry on? Yes. No. Yes.

Incredible. I'm going to have to giggle now at the guys who dress up as Hooters waitresses on Halloween because that's the closest their going to get.

Side note- now that I have blogged about baseball and boobs... should I hit beer next? Let's see what I can find.

Party like a Rockstar, eh?

So after watching Palin speak this Wednesday my interest in this presidential race sky-rocketed. She was just a wow VP nominee and a fire-ball that I even went back and watched the Obama and Biden speeches. I looked for the supposed over-the-top flashy things that Obama was doing and really I didn't think it was all too much. So, as I was poking around looking for something to blog I went to my comfort news site The Florida Times-Union and saw the headline "Rocker Bon Jovi hosts Obama fundraiser." Interesting. The comedic mud-slinging by firery Palin didn't really change his rock-star mentality. The article also included, "He vowed to fight Republican attacks on his character," but it doesn't really seem like it.

Left: I think that the Obama-Biden PR team has done a really good job with their campaign and the spunk they have brought to the race. I do wonder, though, why they would continue on their rockstar path with someone like Bon Jovi and not take a counter-step and maybe harden their appeal a bit. I know mud-slinging is just that, mud-slinging, but for the serious political aspect I would think they would take the smallest chance to send a "boo-ya we're serious too" message to those people in the middle that may have perked their ears to Palin's tease. Does that make sense? Or should Obama stay true to his so-called rockstar mentality and keep the speakers cranked up in the Democratic Party?

Right: In terms of public relations I really think that the Republican party stepping outside of its' traditional male-only ticket and throwing a curve-ball with Palin was an awesome idea. She is smart, witty, motivated, and yeah... a woman. She's something this party hasn't really had and I'm interested to see where it goes. She is going to connect to those hockey-mom's and their lipstick as well as have an edge that men can stand behind. I just hope all the serious right-wingers can stand behind her too.

http://wire.jacksonville.com/pstories/entertainment/20080905/329050250.shtml

MLB again

So since I have some out-of-class followers apparently interested in the MLB like I am I decided to look a little more into it. This time I just did a google search for "MLB blogs" and came across http://octobergonzo.mlblogs.com/. Even though it is still the same site, this blogger is a fan and not a player this time. He gives his opinions as the season progresses and even attaches video of plays that catch his eye. One of my commentors noticed that Frenchy hadn't updated his post in a while so I checked this one and it looks like OG fairly regularly updates his. This looks like a blog I could easily follow and get the quick updates on the post season from a different eye. I ironically think my favorite part of his blog though is that beside the MLB.com logo it says "Official Affiliate/ Unofficial Opinons." It's cool to know that the MLB would allow this to legally attach to their site and fans can openly comment. I do wonder, however, how much Gonzo's blog is regulated. Hm.