NHL - New Statistical Design

Last week the NHL announced that they have a five-year partnership with SAP, which is now the official cloud software provider for the league. SAP is going to try and make NHL.com the only site that fans need to use. They are going to now offer 35 additional statistical metrics on NHL.com. They also redesigned the presentation of their website to feature more player head shots and visual cues on their statistical page. Along with making the website more attractive the league also plans to change some of the names of the stats. An example of this is the statistic know as "Corsi" will now read "shot attempts for."

I think that this plan is a great one. If SAP can make NHL.com the only site that fans need to use then it will create a better environment at games and make it easier for fans to follow the team on the road. I think that changing the stats name is a good idea. Even if you know hockey you may not know the technical names for the statistical recording. This again will make it easier for fans to follow the athletes.

James Harrison - No Longer a Steeler?

James Harrison is going to return to the NFL for the 2015 season but not necessarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The five-time Pro Bowl player has an ongoing loyal relationship with Dick LeBeau, the former Steelers defensive coordinator. Dick recently stepped down as the Steelers defensive coordinator and is now the Tennessee Titans assistant head coach/defense. What does Dick LeBeau have to do with James Harrison staying for another season? Harrison is more likely to follow LeBeau to Tennessee then sign another contract with the Steelers.

This may be a good thing for both, the Steelers and Harrison. The Steelers need to commit to their new young defensive players and begin molding them into the players that they need. While Harrison needs to enjoy his final seasons within the NFL. Although, there is no way to tell how many more seasons Harrison plans to stay in the league but chances are this may be his last. He would be able to finish his career with LeBeau.

The Not So Famous NBA Teams Take the Ratings

When you think of the best NBA teams you do not think of the Milwaukee Bucks or the Atlanta Hawks but these two teams are surprisingly leading the league with the largest local TV ratings. The strange thing is that neither the Bucks or the Hawks have appeared on TNT this season. So if these teams are not being broadcasted how are they leading in local TV ratings? 

 The Milwaukee Bucks have a new owner and a new coach this season and it seems to be doing the team well. The Bucks have finished below .500 nine out of the last ten seasons but this season the team is having a winning season. Now that the Bucks have a winning season local fans are beginning to follow the team more then they did before, which is boosting their local TV ratings. 

Unlike the Milwaukee Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks have appeared on ESPN twice this season. They also have the best record in the Eastern Conference but they have had some issues with their co-owner, Bruce Levenson, with making racial comments. Levenson self-reported himself to the NBA about an email that he sent, he said that he is going to sell his controlling stake in the club. The fans did not let this change their minds because they still saw how the team played on the court. 

These two teams are not the top teams in the NBA, many people may not even know these teams but they are still leading the NBA in local TV ratings. Many people think that only big networks like TNT or ESPN broadcast the NBA games but it is the local networks that keep teams like the Bucks and the Hawks alive. 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/02/16/Media/NBA-RSNs.aspx

New World Record Is Set for Women's Half Marathon Time!

Florence Jebet Kiplagat of Kenyan participated in the Barcelona Half Marathon on Sunday, February 15, 2015. Kiplagat set a new world record when she crossed the finish line with the clock stopped at 1:05:09. She cut three seconds off of the previous record, which she set in the Spanish City Half Marathon in 2014. Kiplagat did not have much competition from other female runners, Elizabeth Lee of Ireland was the runner-up with a time of 1:14:06, nearly nine minutes behind Kiplagat. Kiplagat actually paced herself with two of the male runners for the first 10K of the race, Marc Roig and Ezekiel, they were seven seconds ahead of the world record at 31:02. After she distanced from her pacesetters she still kept her world record time up wit splits of 46:14 at the 15K and 1:01:54 at the 20K. Kiplagat will headline the London Marathon on Sunday, April 26. 

I think that it is amazing that these long-distance runners are able to continuously break these world records. I have ran two half marathons and my best time was 2:08:06. Kiplagat won the Berlin Marathon in 2011 with a time of 2:19:44, she ran twice as far in the same amount of time. I get frustrated when people say that cross country runners are not athletes. They certainly are athletes! They put just as much time in to their sport as any other professional athletes. These runners who are winning the Boston Marathon, the New York Marathon, and the London Marathon, running is their job and they get paid to do it. 

Khan - Wants To Extend Jaguars' London Deal

Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, wants to continue their annual game in London. The last scheduled game to be played in London as of right now is in 2016, after that the four-year term expires. Khan has just recently made his opinion about continuing playing in London public, his exact words were, "It's been really great for us, our goal is to extend it."

The NFL executive vice president, Mark Walker, expressed support in Khan's goals but also said that the league has not taken up extending the annual game in London past 2016.

The annual London game has had a positive influence on the Jacksonville Jaguars and has made big contributions in the improvements that the Jaguars have made. The game has been beneficial because of the higher ticket prices and additional seating at Wembley Stadium compared to EverBank Field.

The NFL has lead on multiple times that there may be a team based in London within the next several years, possibly the Jaguars. When Khan was asked about this he said that there is no plan in place for moving the Jaguars to London. 

I think that keeping the annual game in London is a good idea, not only because it is beneficial but because it is something different. Even if the NFL is considering placing a team in London I think that they should continue with this annual game until that happens. It would help keep American football popular over in London as well as draw more fans. If the NFL does place a team in London I don't think that they should move the Jaguars there because then that would leave Jacksonville without a team. I feel that it would be better to create a new team for London, it would give more athletes the chance to make it to the league as well as create another team for fans to follow. I think that having a NFL team in London would be beneficial for the league because it would expand exposure of the sport and league but expand the fan base as well.


http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/02/09/Franchises/Jaguars-Khan.aspx

The Oakland A's Video Boards

The Oakland A's are finally upgrading their video boards at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for the first time in 20 years. They are getting two new high definition LED Daktronics screens in the outfield, the two boards both measure 36 feet high and 145 feet wide. The A's plan to pay for the $10 million project as part of their 10 year contract lease extension at the stadium.

The Oakland A's are not the only team who play at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Oakland Raiders also play here. This gives both teams the opportunity for the sponsors to have the ability to create singular images between two video boards.

I think that this creates a great opportunity for both the Oakland A's as well as the Oakland Raiders. Investing in new video boards that can have a singular image on two boards creates something new for sponsors to look for.


http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/02/09/Facilities/Oakland-video-board.aspx