NFL news dominates the Top 5

Every Monday through Thursday, Buzz Manager Blog reports the Top 5 Topics discussed by the most influential sports blogs, as rated by  Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index.

Over the past 24 hours, the NFL accounted for all of the top five topics among the top sports blogs. The most popular topic was last night’s Monday Night Football game between the Bears and the Packers, with bloggers discussing the frigid weather conditions and the Bears’ overtime win. Video of Jets DE Shaun Ellis throwing a snowball at some Seattle fans Sunday quickly made the rounds of the blogs. Bloggers cheered on Ellis for retaliating against the fans throwing snowballs at Jets players as they left the field. The conflict between Lions coach Rod Marinelli and Detroit News columnist Rob Parker remained highly discussed, with the majority of bloggers taking Marinelli’s side. The NFL playoffs were a hot topic as bloggers analyzed and predicted various playoff scenarios. Rounding out the top five was a rumor about Browns DE Shaun Smith punching teammate QB Brady Quinn during an argument in the locker room.

NFL most discussed topic

Every Monday through Thursday, Buzz Manager Blog reports the Top 5 Topics discussed by the most influential sports blogs, as rated by  Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index.

Over the weekend, the NFL was the most popular topic among the top sports blogs, in particular the Giants’ overtime win over the Panthers to secure home-field advantage in the playoffs, losses by the Jets, Cardinals, and Lions, and the Chargers still having a chance at the playoffs. Also highly discussed was Detroit News columnist Rob Parker asking Lions head coach Rod Marinelli what many perceived to be an inappropriate question during a postgame news conference. Pictures and video from the demolition of the RCA Dome in Indianapolis were also popular. A Vancouver Courier column written by Mark Hasiuk raised eyebrows in the blog world due to some of its criticism towards the NBA. Rounding out the Top 5 was speculation surrounding a Chinese government document that allegedly shows Nets F Yi Jianlian as being 24 years old, not 21 as he supposedly led the NBA to believe.

Contract extension for JoePa tops the blogs. Don’t forget his birthday!

Every Monday through Thursday, Buzz Manager Blog reports the Top 5 Topics discussed by the most influential sports blogs, as rated by  Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index.

Over the past 24 hours, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno signing a three year contract extension was the most popular topic among the top sports blogs. Debate about the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl selections also fueled blog conversation. Controversy surround Auburn University’s hiring of Gene Chizik as the next football coach continued to be highly discussed. Rounding out the top five was gossip about Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo and TE Jason Witten not attending WR Terrell Owens’ birthday party on Monday, increasing speculation that the trio do not get along. Rounding out the top five was the Knicks’ highly-paid point guard that is now banned from participating with the team, Stephon Marbury, purchasing a courtside ticket and attending the Knicks-Lakers game in Los Angeles as a spectator.

You’re Invited! Joe Pa Virtual Birthday Party

 So I’m a diehard fan of college football and of social media. The convergence is very cool and in my opinion extremely appropriate considering the masses of displaced fans. In that vein, we at Sports Media Challenge came up with a test of whether or not we were in a different orbit than the rest of the sports world.

 Shaq’s emergence on twitter has been a monumental success which just set our imaginations loose here in Charlotte, NC. Twitter seems to shine around events. I actually tracked twitter conversations prior to, during and after the Longhorns Thanksgiving day game to determine if the conversation escalated during the live game or not. It clearly did.

So we thought  we would combine the mass power of twitter and other social media platforms to reach out to Penn State and college football fans to create a surprise virtual birthday party for the legendary Coach Joe Paterno as he turns 82 on Sunday.  It’s not in Joe Pa’s nature to intentionally draw attention to himself especially as he’s readying his team to play in the Rose Bowl on Jan.1st. But we can do it for him and show the sports world and frankly world in general, the power of what we  call fan-generated media.

 

An aside here. My new found twitter friends have been invaluable @meglyn, @publiside, @lisahoffmann in this effort as have the SMC staff  Brittany, Hannah, Ryan and Jackie-a hardworking intern. They’ve generated ideas and implemented them at all hours of the day and night. This social media stuff may be “free” or low cost, but certainly not low maintenance.

So for the sake of those trying to figure this social media thing out like we are, here are a few points to keep in mind – challenges and fun involved in this worthwhile project of creating the sports world’s  first ever virtual birthday party.

• Short lead time. Through social media & with twitter you can launch a major project like this in a week’s time but if you can get more time ,do.
• Hash tags for critical tracking. It took us a couple of days to remember to put #JoePa82 at the end of our tweets to make it easier for us to see what kind of traction we are getting and make necessary adjustments. Buzz Manager will track and analyze conversations across all social media.
• Priorities.  It’s definitely a bad time to try to enlist any help for a project like this outside of bowl preparations.
• Digital Natives & Digital Immigrants. Inviting people to a virtual birthday party is one thing, making it easy for them to understand what that means and how to participate is something different , especially if they don’t spend much if any time in the social media space.
• Community Relevance. The larger a twitter community “followers” the better,  however, all the followers in the world won’t help you if your interests in the project don’t intersect. You can’t rally the  fans around football if they’re more interested in baking cookies.  

 There are obviously many more lessons learned which we can talk about later but hopefully this will start you thinking about the possibilities of word of mouth marketing and the many routes to get you there. So if you’re inclined to celebrate Coach Paterno’s 82^nd birthday “virtually” or are simply willing to be a part of this social media experiment, check out the birthday blog http://JoePaBirthday.blogspot.com   and…

1.      Spread the word to those who might be interested

2.      Post links to videos, audios, or add your text  best wishes to Joe Pa in comments

3.      Check back to see the lead up to the big day on Sunday (watch for other big name coaches to send their bests to Joe Pa on the blog)

We don’t expect Joe pa to be checking the internet so we’re pretty sure it’ll stay a surprise for at least a couple more days.  More to come tomorrow …

 

 

 

Cool twitter community growing every day

Dallas Cowboys take center stage

Every Monday through Thursday, Buzz Manager Blog reports the Top 5 Topics discussed by the most influential sports blogs, as rated by  Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index.

Over the weekend, the Dallas Cowboys took center stage on the top sports blogs due to a combination of discussion on their win over the NY Giants as well as backlash from fans and Terrell Owens against ESPN’s Ed Werder for his report about conflict within the Dallas team. Also highly discussed was the Heisman Trophy, awarded over the weekend to Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, with many bloggers also amused that FoxSports.com initially mistakenly published a story stating that Florida QB Tim Tebow had won the award. Bloggers were perplexed by Auburn’s hire of former Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik as the Tigers’ new head football coach and entertained by Auburn fans’ negative reactions to the hiring. The N.Y. Yankees signing pitcher A.J. Burnett was also popular, with discussion about the amount of money the Yankees are spending on free agent signings continuing following last week’s signing of pitcher CC Sabathia to a record contract.  Rounding out the top five was the Philadelphia 76ers firing head coach Maurice Cheeks.

Open Question to the Blogosphere…

There are clearly a plethora of ways to acquire photos, video and audio items on the web. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any real research done about best or most common practices within the blogosphere.

When getting photos/video/audio online what source do you go to first? Do you search Google Images for pictures, YouTube for videos and so on? Do you go for higher resolution images from Getty Images or Corbis’ websites? Do you search for media in a search engine or do you go directly to the original source of that media?

If you were forced to rank the following characteristics what would be most important to you? Would you rather the media be free, easily accessible, or high resolution?

The status of the AFL’s ‘09 season intrigues bloggers

Every Monday through Thursday, Buzz Manager Blog reports the Top 5 Topics discussed by the most influential sports blogs, as rated by  Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index.

Over the past 24 hours, speculation surrounding whether or not the Arena Football League would have to cancel its 2009 season was the most popular topic among the top sports blogs. A big trade between the Phoenix Suns and the Charlotte Bobcats was also highly discussed, with many focusing on how the addition of Jason Richardson would benefit the Suns. Pitcher CC Sabathia reportedly signing with the New York Yankees remained in the top five. Discussion about the three Heisman Trophy finalists, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, Florida QB Tim Tebow, and Texas QB Colt McCoy, was popular, with many surprised that Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell was left out. Rounding out the top five was praise for Denver Nuggets F Carmelo Anthony tying an NBA record with 33 points in a single quarter en route to a win over the Timberwolves.

DON’T LET ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS SEVER THE BOND BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM

Recession forces fans to find new ways to keep in touch with their favorite athlete

Initially when reading about the economic downfall, the term “recession proof” was synonymous with professional sports. Now the headlines are reading that the pro leagues will indeed be affected by the recession. Brandweek recently reported that Ad sales were down 15 percent. The NFL has said that they are lowering the cost of playoff tickets this year by 10 percent. According to the SportsBusiness Journal, the Cowboys, recently looked to borrow $350 million during the worst credit environment in history, this after a $126 million loan that they acquired last year.

The NFL, MLB, and NBA are not going to see any real drastic changes- they are still doing really well. Sports players make some of the largest salaries in the country-without a doubt. (The average MLB player’s salary was $3 million in 2007.) But from the consumer end, it is nice to see that something is being done to ease the blow of soaring ticket prices. To pawn a phrase from Sarah Palin, “The Joe Six Packs” are having a hard time keeping up with their favorite teams.

Us regular Joes welcome the big whigs down to our level. League executives are beginning to understand that times are tough, and keeping their products affordable is going to help out everyone. They are learning that if they don’t become flexible during this hardship they could potentially risk severing bonds between their fans and teams. Ending relationships that have taken years to build.

While we are waiting on all of the team execs to jump on the bandwagon, here is what I suggest… take advantage of social media. There is a whole world of interactivity at your fingertips. Relationships are waiting to be made and strengthened. Not just for fans like you and me, but for everyone.

Have you heard? Shaq is on twitter? The big Aristotle is out there building relationships that will long surpass that of his tenure with the Suns. This is the perfect time to take advantage of  what is an opportunity to interact with your team, favorite athlete, or fellow fans without any direct involvement of an organization. Just you and whomever you choose to communicate with. What an awesome opportunity! Share information, opinions, statistics all in a matter of seconds- and it is free. Chances are someone will talk back, which would be way sweeter than an autograph. If you are like one lucky Shaq fan, you could even land a phone call call from your favorite athlete.

Shaq greets Pheonix Suns fans

Carolina Panthers MNF win at top of the blogs

Every Monday through Thursday, Buzz Manager Blog reports the Top 5 Topics discussed by the most influential sports blogs, as rated by  Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index.

Over the past 24 hours, the Carolina Panthers’ Monday Night Football win over the Buccaneers to take first place in the NFC South division was the most popular topic among top sports blogs. Bloggers were impressed by the Panthers’ running game and Bucs WR Antonio Bryant’s one-handed TD catch. The Minnesota Timberwolves firing head coach Randy Wittman and tabbing T-wolves VP of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale as a replacement was also highly discussed. An accidental injury to Chicago Bulls PG Derrick Rose, related to Rose leaving a knife on his bed after cutting an apple, was a source of amusement for bloggers. Conversation about the BCS and various bowl selections remained in the top five. Rounding out the top five was an apology from FOX after post-game footage in the Minnesota Vikings locker room showed Vikings TE Visanthe Shianco nude, with many bloggers wondering if FOX will be fined as CBS was following Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl.

Bloggers hate BCS, but like OU vs Florida match-up

Every Monday through Thursday, Buzz Manager Blog reports the Top 5 Topics discussed by the most influential sports blogs, as rated by  Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index.

Over the weekend, the most popular topic among the top sports blogs was discussion about college football bowl selections, particularly the BCS bowl selections. Though many bloggers still dislike the BCS system, given the circumstances they felt that Oklahoma and Florida were the correct choices for the title game. Saturday’s SEC Championship game between Alabama and Florida was also highly discussed. As with most weekends, the NFL was a hot topic, specifically the Ravens’ win over the Redskins, the Lions remaining winless, and the Cowboys’ loss to the Steelers. The sentencing of former NFL-er O.J. Simpson to 15 years in prison also grabbed the attention of bloggers. Rounding out the top 5 was talk of Manny Pacquiao’s TKO win over Oscar De La Hoya on Saturday.