When a Brig. General says you're a great American... you don't argue

"I told Bob, 'You are a great American' — it's so refreshing, because he relates to the soldiers so well, it's like a championship coach relating to his players," said Brig. Gen. Bob Brown, deputy commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, speaking by phone from his base in Mosul.

"He just gets it. And the soldiers were mesmerized. They listened and they learned a ton."

On Friday, August 7, I had "one of those days."

It was a busy day. I had a full schedule of work and a writing assignment with a fast approaching deadline. The day before, August 6th obviously, I had a fascinating day, working with the Harlem Globetrotters PR team on a promotion for the Basketball Hall of Fame and - at about 7pm - I landed a late-breaking ticket to see Paul McCartney at Fenway.. Pretty good August 6th, wouldn't you say?

Then, along came Friday.

Up at six, catching up on a ton of work for my blue-chip clients. Juggling some favors (booking Al Vega for a gig at the House of Blues), while juggling some family visits (the Lyons/Martin gang all doing our best to get a few days together in Boston and -- hopefully -- the Cape this coming week.

Writing, writing and more writing. Some editing.

Then, at about 1pm, we held a conference call about COVERT and its future on the silver screen. Appledown Films and Scott-Burns Productions have been shifting "four on the floor" to lay the foundation for the motion picture adaptation of COVERT and things are progressing at "warp-speed" rate. (I choose not to elaborate too much in this area as it is not my place to 'break news' nor use my personal blog to delve deeply into the inner workings of a client's business).

But, to say the least, very positive vibes continue to surround the COVERT project. Just as fate lent a hand in introducing me to the project, it continued throughout the promotional tour for the hardcover and segued into the outreach for the new paperback version of the book. Lately, I've been shaking my head alot and even pinching myself now and then to be sure that I am not dreaming. COVERT's future continues on an uphill climb in ways that we only imagined in August of 2007.

I can say this: Throughout the entire project, I enjoyed bringing energy to the group - we call the COVERT team and I like to call "CAMP COVERT" The story is SO good, that it fuels some creative juices and ideas that flow like a river of dreams. Time and resources are the only limit, of course, as so many people involved with TEAM COVERT have other priorities in terms of work and family. COVERT, after its initial launch by Sterling Publishing/Union Square Press had a great run and the publisher has to move on to promote other titles. That's life. That's publishing.

However, the launch of the paperback together with the fact COVERT was optioned for a motion picture in early June, brought new life to the project and it brought some fresh faces and SERIOUS ENERGY. Judy Goldstein and Larry Spiegel of Appledown are the equal of a lifetime portion of the 5-hour energy drink. They are simply amazing. Let me count the ways:

1. Professional

2. Smart

3. No nonsense

4. Great Drama on the screen = good; Any Drama off the screen = not good

5. Open

6. Selfless

7. Fans of the game

8. Respectful of the game and its officiating staff as a whole

9. Respectful to people and the support groups of the folks they work alongside

10. Inclusive

11. Inspiring

12. Thorough

13. Entertaining and funny

14. The kind of people that you want to be around

15. People you enjoy working with and for

16. Honest and straight-forward

I could go on.

The work day clocke in from 6am to about 7:30pm and I took a break to do a 45-minute (easy) bike ride in Newton. Upon return, I had a few dozen messages and one stood out. Bob Delaney and Dave Scheiber had worked together on a news piece that was scheduled to appear in the St. Pete Times (Fla) on Sunday. The editors liked the story so much that they decided to run it 1-A and move it to the World section. They also decided to run it as a tease on Friday night to encourage people to go out and BUY the paper on Sunday. The story was that powerful.

The link came in and it fueled a flurry of calls, emails, forwarding of messages and an all-out social networking/communication blitz to help creat some buzz behind the artcile adn to get the story and its Tampa/St. Pete Times URL to places where it could make a global impact.

Mission accomplished: Read this message which came in overnight from a person working on the other side of the globe:

"Great article. We are so proud! We've been passing around the e-mail
and hard copy so everyone can read it! I've also forwarded it to the units we visited so they can enjoy the great article and the great shots. Just awesome! Thanks again for your visit - we sent all the notes from BG Brown to the NBA folks and the publisher.

That message came from someone who is helping the United States of America try to win a war against cowardly terrorists.

Please read THIS. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/article1025531.ece

Springfield Republican/MassLive says Globie's Ride from Space: "Nothing but net."

"The hall isn't all about artifacts," said Scott F. Zuffelato, vice president of advancement. "It's about entertainment. Here, we have fun."

The ball will become part of the Harlem Globetrotters' exhibit at the museum. The entire team was inducted into the hall in 2002.

Paul E. Lambert, vice president of guest experience and programming, said the Globetrotters have carried basketball all over the planet. "It makes sense they would be the first to bring basketball to space, too," Lambert said.

The hall of fame is gearing up to enshrine NBA legends Michael Jordan, David Robinson and John Stockton, and coaches Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer in ceremonies on Sept. 11.

More information on the Hall of Fame is available online at www.hoophall.com

Basketball Hall of Fame gets special delivery

"Springfield, we Have a Globie"

Check this out:

GLOBIE IS OUT OF THIS WORLD......

(Photo by T. Peter Lyons)
FROM SPACE to the HALL: (L-R) Springfield (MA) Mayor Domenic Sarno, Harlem Globetrotters mascot Globie, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Vice Presidents Paul Lambert and Scott Zuffelato pose with the Globetrotters team basketball that flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis mission to the Hubble Telescope in June, along with a commemorative plaque from the Atlantis crew, outside the Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA on Thursday. Globie parachuted from 3,000 feet onto the Hall of Fame grounds to make the official presentation to the Hall of Fame, where the Globetrotters are one of only six teams ever to be inducted.

THE RIGHT STUFF? The INSIDE STUFF? ... HOW ABOUT - GREAT STUFF!

Harlem Globetrotters basketball set for space Two basketballs included aboard space shuttle on Hubble repair mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Harlem Globetrotters will soon have a presence in space.

On board shuttle Atlantis when it lifts off Monday on a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope will be a pair of basketballs. One belongs to the Globetrotters. The other, on loan from the University of Chicago, was once handled by Edwin Hubble, the astronomer for whom the telescope is named. Astronaut John Grunsfeld, an alumnus, is taking it up.

Hubble tossed the ball around in a 1909 victory against Indiana University. Hubble was a star forward on the University of Chicago's Big Ten champion teams of 1907-1908 and 1908-1909.

The Globetrotters also have ties to Chicago. That's where they were founded in 1926.

After traveling to 120 countries and six continents, the Globetrotters wanted to expand into space.

The Globetrotters will put their ball on display at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The Hubble ball will go back to the University of Chicago.

TL Viewpoint: I love the last graph of this story! My cohorts in PR on this, Chris B and Brett M, did a masterful job with this story. We're hoping to knock it home after the brave crew of Atlantis returns home safely.

"The ball will go to Springfield and the Hubble will go back to Chicago, made me laugh out loud, and makes me think we should send the ball to Chicago and the Hubble to Springfield and the great Basketball Hall of Fame!" Call me crazy?

Seriously, this is the FUN part of PR that we should all LOVE! It makes the job rewarding as we take good care of our respective clients. Fans love this stuff and media east it up (quick search research showed 4,387 stories/print/electronic/online/blog/social media/etc).

See the cool launch with our ball safely tucked and all deflated inside!

TL

Cool Promo of the Day ... And, I hope we passed the audition

The Harlem Globetrotters are breaking some serious ground with their promotional efforts. From a steller NBA All-Star Weekend and cross-promos with the League, to this great idea in Phila... they are "Getting it done."

GLOBETROTTERS TO PLAY ON SPECTRUM ROOF-TOP TO HONOR VENUE

The Harlem Globetrotters will pay tribute to Philadelphia's soon-to-close venue, known to all in the Philly area as "The Spectrum" by playing a game against the Washington Generals on the roof of the building. The performance will begin at 1:30pm ET and will last 19 minutes and 67 seconds to commemorate the Spectrum’s first year in 1967.

And, for anyone who is wondering what The Globetrotters are doing? See this:

The Real General ...

The nickname of "The General" in the basketball world is usually associated with the one and only Bobby Knight. There is no question, the nickname fits the person. Knight won the nickname for all the wrong reasons. He bullied his way to the name and tarnished his career as a coach and mentor at the NCAA level. Knight made Patton look like a choir boy.

In my mind, Knight is no general. He lacks the character and has lost the respect of all sports fans outside of the state of Indiana.

The real "General" in sports is a Washington General. While Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach might be the winningest sports team executive to ever hail from Washington, the real "General" might be the losingest. Red applied his trade and winning ways in Boston and the NBA cities he visited as a coach, general manager and team president. The real "General" has lost more games than any coach or player and he's lost them everywhere in the world.

Check out today's NYT and this story on Red Klotz, the real Washington General:

When the Generals Lose to the Globetrotters, Everyone Wins

By JOHN BRANCH

MARGATE CITY, N.J. — Red Klotz was not at the game in White Plains the night before, so he did not see his Washington Generals make another spirited comeback against the Harlem Globetrotters, only to fall short for something like the 10,000th time in a row.

Klotz was here, at his beachside brick house of 47 years, the true home of the wayfaring Washington Generals, a team he founded in 1952 and named in honor of Dwight Eisenhower. Someone surely would have called if his team had won.

“It’s not a matter of winning and losing,” Klotz, 88, said on Wednesday.

Good thing. Klotz stood in an upstairs room filled with the mementos of a globe-trotter, if not a Globetrotter. There were posters and photographs of Klotz with famous basketball players, politicians, even popes. There were framed magazine and newspaper articles about him on the walls. Clippings filled notebooks on the shelves.

Outside, the waves fell against the shore, one after another, each quickly forgotten and left uncounted, like so many Generals losses.

Klotz long ago came to grips with his basketball legacy: that of the victim, the foil, the loser. He is the founder, owner and longtime player (until the late 1980s) and coach (until 1995) of a team that must have the worst record of any in history.

As the Globetrotters prepared for a weekend of performances in and around New York, including two on Friday at Madison Square Garden (the Globetrotters and the Generals simultaneously have a West Coast tour going, too), Klotz was just happy to see his Generals in their familiar green-and-yellow uniforms again.

When Kurt Schneider became chief executive of the Globetrotters in 2007, he immediately asked Klotz to change the name of his team back to the Washington Generals, not the New York Nationals, the New Jersey Reds, the Boston Shamrocks or any of the other monikers that Klotz had created, at the Globetrotters’ behest, over the years.

“I brought back the Washington Generals because, first of all, the Globetrotters have to play the Washington Generals,” Schneider said on Tuesday evening as the Westchester County Center in White Plains filled with fans. “This is the team that has been playing against them since the early ’50s and ’60s and ’70s. They are almost as big in pop culture as the Globetrotters are, albeit for different reasons. One wins and one loses.”

The Globetrotters and the Generals have a long and often misunderstood relationship. They are separately owned and operated, bound together as opponents through a contract. Klotz’s son-in-law, John Ferrari, is the general manager of the Generals, collecting unsung former college players willing to play the straight men for the Globetrotters’ time-tested bag of tricks.

The teams do not travel together. Behind the arena on Tuesday night, two buses idled: one an intricately painted tour bus for the Globetrotters, the other a standard-issue charter bus for the Generals.

And never, Klotz said, has his team been asked to lose.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “Not with anybody. None of these owners have told me to lose. Whatever obstacles they’re going to do, that’s their business. I’ve been against the Harlem Globetrotters for 50-some years, and I know nothing about their business. I don’t ever bother about their business. That’s their business. I have my own team.”

Klotz, a 5-foot-7 sharpshooting guard at South Philadelphia High School and Villanova, won an N.B.A. championship with the Baltimore Bullets in 1948. (A fit and ebullient great-grandfather, he still plays halfcourt pickup games several times a week, draining two-handed set shots, but he is temporarily sidelined because he threw out his shoulder throwing a baseball.)

The first time he played the Globetrotters, as a member of the American Basketball League’s Philadelphia Sphas in the 1940s, his team won.

“I dribbled out the clock, like Marques Haynes,” Klotz recalled.

He led teams over the Globetrotters a couple more times. Abe Saperstein, the owner of the Globetrotters, eventually called.

“He said, ‘I want you to get a good team together to play us every night,’ ” Klotz said. “I said: ‘I’m going to beat you.’ And he said, ‘You’re going to try.’ ”

It happened once, officially, and twice, in Klotz’s mind. The controversial one was in 1962, when the scorer’s book said the Generals had won but the scoreboard disagreed, and no one was in the mood to set things straight.

In 1971, in Martin, Tenn., the Generals — playing as the New Jersey Reds — won in overtime. Klotz made a shot, Meadowlark Lemon missed one. The Generals celebrated in the locker room by spraying soda on one another. To fans, though, Klotz said it was as if his team “killed Santa Claus.”

“It’s the worst thing in the world that can happen, to beat them,” Klotz said.

He walks a fuzzy line. On one side is the desire to win, to earn an audience’s respect, to allow his players a chance to exhibit their skills so that they may find other basketball jobs, maybe even with the Globetrotters, which is not uncommon. On the other is the recognition for why fans come: to watch the Globetrotters, not the Generals.

The teams get nervous when asked about the legitimacy of their games. The biggest trick has been to make the Globetrotters look invincible while the competition appears formidable.

The Generals know their place. They play a utilitarian, under-the-rim style, all layups and jump shots. They play man-to-man defense, following their men through the renowned weave (“If they slip up and make a mistake, they’re going to lose the ball,” Klotz said) and falling for the backdoor alley-oop every time.

When the Globetrotters go into one of their many routines, where the rules of the game are suspended (along with the clock, sometimes), the Generals never upstage the stars. Night after night, they have their shorts pulled down or the ball stuck into the back of their jerseys, which do not have their names on them. They patiently watch the confetti-in-the-bucket trick and gamely play defense during the Globetrotters’ football sketch. When the game ends, they slip from the court practically unnoticed.

Antoine Maddox is in his second season with the Generals. He played at LaGrange College in Georgia, and hoped to land a professional basketball job. From December to April, he plays more games than he would anywhere else (about 120 in 115 days), travels the world (100 cities), and is paid about what he would make in the Continental Basketball Association or the N.B.A.’s Development League.

“I love being part of this,” Maddox said. “But my hoop dreams do go beyond this — hopefully, one day. But right now this is just a blessing, and I love it.”

The Generals have become more of the shtick than ever, rebranded as the Globetrotters’ rival and painted as the rare unlovable underdog. The crotchety coach taunted the fans, eliciting boos. Several routines involved him cheating, which would seem to contradict Klotz’s hope that the legacy of the Generals is that of “good sports.”

One bit involved a bet between the coach and a Globetrotters star, Special K Daley. If the Generals won, the Globetrotter showman had to switch teams and become “a dreaded Washington General,” the announcer explained.

The idea was to build suspense in a game where there really is none.

“Can we win again?” Klotz said. “If they turn around instead of doing some of the routines, we’d have a chance. You know what I mean. But those routines are what people want to see. They’re giving the audience what they want to see.”

His team has been good for the Globetrotters, and the Globetrotters have been awfully good to him. There is no doubt which side of the won-lost column Klotz sees himself on.

“It turned out to be the greatest experience of my life,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Out the window, the waves pounded the shore, over and over, and over again.