So, when things go bad, you must SMILE. Here's to the late Don Meredith, may he rest in peace with a big ole' smile in heaven tonight. Light one up Dandy!
Fanatics
Showing posts with label Super Sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Sunday. Show all posts
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over!
SuperBowl - Now, we all know that crazy things happen, and event planning, staging, execution is a LOT harder than most people realize, But! It's only the biggest event on the planet and the frickin' lights went off?
So, when things go bad, you must SMILE. Here's to the late Don Meredith, may he rest in peace with a big ole' smile in heaven tonight. Light one up Dandy!
So, when things go bad, you must SMILE. Here's to the late Don Meredith, may he rest in peace with a big ole' smile in heaven tonight. Light one up Dandy!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Just Do Your Job
The New York Times tried to do a feature on one of the great 'behind the scenes' guys in pro football history, our man Berj. Once an entry-level, game night staffer at The Garden, Berj quickly proved he was one of the guys you could really depend on. No nonsense.
He's brought that talent to the NE Patriots to help coach Bill Belichick get the job done, quietly and thoroughly. Here's the story:
Blocking for the Patriots Coach So He Can Do His Job
By GREG BISHOP
INDIANAPOLIS — The man inside the coffee shop is Bill Belichick’s chief of staff, one of his most trusted confidants. Since Belichick became the coach of the New England Patriots in 2000, this man has spent more time with him than quarterback Tom Brady, Belichick’s family members or anyone else, really. Yet even Patriots fans have never heard of him.
As he politely but begrudgingly spoke on background in the coffee shop, a short walk from the Patriots’ hotel for Super Bowl XLVI, no one recognized the man, or how important he was — and is — to New England’s success. His name is Berj Najarian. By title, he is director of football/head coach administration.
On Sunday, the Patriots will play in their fifth Super Bowl since the 2001 season. That run, the best stretch in the N.F.L. in recent years, is defined by three championships and the aura of secrecy that surrounds the franchise, which is part of the Patriot Way. In a system in which injuries are guarded as state secrets and coaches conduct their business like C.I.A. operatives, the Patriots allow little understanding of what, exactly, they have done to reach such sustained success.
Najarian’s role exemplifies that paranoid mystique. He is the gatekeeper to Belichick, the monitor of the monotone.
“He is the consigliere of the New England Patriots,” the team’s offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien, said. “No question about it.”
All week, as Belichick conducted interviews, Najarian stood off to the side, close enough to hear and observe, but far enough not to attract attention. He wore no media credential, nor any identification. A few members of the Boston and national media recognized him. Otherwise, he went unnoticed.
Najarian was there from the beginning, before this Patriot Way existed, before Belichick became a Hall of Fame-caliber coach. Najarian was there when Belichick, never a master of public relations, scribbled, “I resign as HC of the NYJ,” shortly after the Jets promoted him to head coach.
The Patriots snagged Belichick instead. He drove to New England with part of his inner circle: Najarian, Eric Mangini and Scott Pioli. Mangini and Pioli eventually left for other jobs. Belichick and Najarian remain. Even their offices at 1 Patriot Place connect.
Earlier in his career, in Cleveland from 1991 to 1995, Belichick bombed at news conferences. His demeanor: surly. His personality: prickly. His image: tyrant.
Once in New England, Belichick sought to soften that image, to show his sense of humor, his human side, both of which, those close to him insist, actually exist. Najarian advised Belichick in this role, and while the coach infamous for his hoodie and his icy handshakes never came to resemble a teddy bear, he has been credited this week with appearing more comfortable and relaxed. If the Kraft family and Belichick created the Patriot Way, Najarian burnished it, especially as it related to all things Belichick.
At the same time, Najarian also handled Belichick’s major crisis, the so-called Spygate videotaping controversy, which engulfed the Patriots on their last run to the Super Bowl, four seasons ago. Belichick took his first Spygate-related question here Thursday. Count that as another win for Najarian.
“He’s one of our hidden weapons,” the team’s owner, Robert K. Kraft, said.
The retired quarterback Drew Bledsoe said that in the organizations he played for — New England, Buffalo, Dallas — he never encountered someone with a role similar to Najarian’s. Because Najarian stood between Belichick and the rest of the world, that role “gave him a ton of power,” Bledsoe said. He added: “With the Patriots, it’s an efficiency thing. Berj worried about stuff so Bill didn’t have to.”
Najarian, because of his proximity to Belichick, also took some ribbing. Bledsoe and some co-conspirators, whom he declined to name, once sent Najarian a dozen roses on Secretary’s Day. “From what I understand, he was a little offended,” Bledsoe said. “We thought it was hysterical.”
Najarian’s job description can be summarized in six words: help Belichick carry out his program.
Najarian does not coach players. He does everything else, deciding which issues are worthy of Belichick’s attention so the coach can focus on football, his staff, meetings, practices, strategy and film sessions.
Najarian handles the logistics of Belichick’s day: whom he meets and what interviews he conducts. If a corporate sponsor needs a Patriots coach to speak, Najarian determines which coach. When the rookies arrive, he helps indoctrinate them. When Brady creates a stir with a comment about fans getting “lubed up,” Najarian handles damage control and helps deliver the team’s strange response that Brady was referring to drinking water. At practices, he even selects the music, from Bruce Springsteen to Dr. Dre.
This affords Najarian a place in Belichick’s inner circle, which changes but remains relatively small. His other longtime confidants include Ernie Adams (director of football research), Nick Caserio (director of player personnel) and assistant coaches.
“Berj is really important,” a relaxed Belichick said this week, cracking a rare public smile. “There isn’t nearly enough time in this press conference to talk about him.”
Just as coaches around the N.F.L. have tried to emulate Belichick’s approach to football, his former assistants have also hired their own version of Najarian, including Mangini with the Jets and Josh McDaniels in Denver.
Najarian gave one quotation for this article. “One of our sayings is for everyone to ‘just do your job,’ ” he said. “Contributing to Bill Belichick doing his job and at the same time helping uphold the standard of excellence set by the Kraft family is a privilege. With that comes many responsibilities within the football operation and organization, and I appreciate the opportunity to fulfill them.”
Growing up on Long Island — his father was a child psychiatrist, his mother a housewife — Najarian never anticipated this career path. He graduated from Boston University and interned with the Knicks in 1994. John Cirillo, then the senior vice president for communications of Madison Square Garden, said Najarian possessed a quiet calm and tireless work ethic.
From there, Najarian worked in public relations with the Jets. Frank Ramos, who was a longtime public-relations director with the franchise, said Najarian “came to get along very well with the defensive coaches.” He added: “He got really close with Belichick. There aren’t that many who can get that close to Bill. I don’t know why he did.”
Often, Ramos noted, Najarian stayed late at the Jets’ complex, talking football, hanging around Belichick. The Belichick crew once took part in a weight-loss competition, with official weigh-ins and hefty penalties, and Belichick would hide slices of pizza in everyone else’s desks.
When he arrived in New England, Najarian joined Stacey James, now the Patriots’ vice president for media relations, in a potentially awkward situation. They divide their duties at Belichick (Najarian) and everything else (James). Reporters who cover the team regularly said they expect to hear from Najarian when they write critically of Belichick. Some said future access depended on what they wrote.
Not that Najarian wanted to address any of that. If Belichick is happy and the Krafts are happy, he prefers to stay in the shadows.
On the ESPN set, Tedy Bruschi, the retired Patriots linebacker turned analyst, raised both eyebrows when asked about Najarian. No longer affiliated with the team, he still declined to comment.
“How many people talk about the consigliere?” he said.
Very few, it turns out, just as the gatekeeper to Belichick, in line with the Patriot Way, prefers it.
He's brought that talent to the NE Patriots to help coach Bill Belichick get the job done, quietly and thoroughly. Here's the story:
Blocking for the Patriots Coach So He Can Do His Job
By GREG BISHOP
 |
| The Coach |
As he politely but begrudgingly spoke on background in the coffee shop, a short walk from the Patriots’ hotel for Super Bowl XLVI, no one recognized the man, or how important he was — and is — to New England’s success. His name is Berj Najarian. By title, he is director of football/head coach administration.
On Sunday, the Patriots will play in their fifth Super Bowl since the 2001 season. That run, the best stretch in the N.F.L. in recent years, is defined by three championships and the aura of secrecy that surrounds the franchise, which is part of the Patriot Way. In a system in which injuries are guarded as state secrets and coaches conduct their business like C.I.A. operatives, the Patriots allow little understanding of what, exactly, they have done to reach such sustained success.
Najarian’s role exemplifies that paranoid mystique. He is the gatekeeper to Belichick, the monitor of the monotone.
“He is the consigliere of the New England Patriots,” the team’s offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien, said. “No question about it.”
All week, as Belichick conducted interviews, Najarian stood off to the side, close enough to hear and observe, but far enough not to attract attention. He wore no media credential, nor any identification. A few members of the Boston and national media recognized him. Otherwise, he went unnoticed.
Najarian was there from the beginning, before this Patriot Way existed, before Belichick became a Hall of Fame-caliber coach. Najarian was there when Belichick, never a master of public relations, scribbled, “I resign as HC of the NYJ,” shortly after the Jets promoted him to head coach.
The Patriots snagged Belichick instead. He drove to New England with part of his inner circle: Najarian, Eric Mangini and Scott Pioli. Mangini and Pioli eventually left for other jobs. Belichick and Najarian remain. Even their offices at 1 Patriot Place connect.
Earlier in his career, in Cleveland from 1991 to 1995, Belichick bombed at news conferences. His demeanor: surly. His personality: prickly. His image: tyrant.
Once in New England, Belichick sought to soften that image, to show his sense of humor, his human side, both of which, those close to him insist, actually exist. Najarian advised Belichick in this role, and while the coach infamous for his hoodie and his icy handshakes never came to resemble a teddy bear, he has been credited this week with appearing more comfortable and relaxed. If the Kraft family and Belichick created the Patriot Way, Najarian burnished it, especially as it related to all things Belichick.
At the same time, Najarian also handled Belichick’s major crisis, the so-called Spygate videotaping controversy, which engulfed the Patriots on their last run to the Super Bowl, four seasons ago. Belichick took his first Spygate-related question here Thursday. Count that as another win for Najarian.
“He’s one of our hidden weapons,” the team’s owner, Robert K. Kraft, said.
The retired quarterback Drew Bledsoe said that in the organizations he played for — New England, Buffalo, Dallas — he never encountered someone with a role similar to Najarian’s. Because Najarian stood between Belichick and the rest of the world, that role “gave him a ton of power,” Bledsoe said. He added: “With the Patriots, it’s an efficiency thing. Berj worried about stuff so Bill didn’t have to.”
Najarian, because of his proximity to Belichick, also took some ribbing. Bledsoe and some co-conspirators, whom he declined to name, once sent Najarian a dozen roses on Secretary’s Day. “From what I understand, he was a little offended,” Bledsoe said. “We thought it was hysterical.”
Najarian’s job description can be summarized in six words: help Belichick carry out his program.
Najarian does not coach players. He does everything else, deciding which issues are worthy of Belichick’s attention so the coach can focus on football, his staff, meetings, practices, strategy and film sessions.
Najarian handles the logistics of Belichick’s day: whom he meets and what interviews he conducts. If a corporate sponsor needs a Patriots coach to speak, Najarian determines which coach. When the rookies arrive, he helps indoctrinate them. When Brady creates a stir with a comment about fans getting “lubed up,” Najarian handles damage control and helps deliver the team’s strange response that Brady was referring to drinking water. At practices, he even selects the music, from Bruce Springsteen to Dr. Dre.
This affords Najarian a place in Belichick’s inner circle, which changes but remains relatively small. His other longtime confidants include Ernie Adams (director of football research), Nick Caserio (director of player personnel) and assistant coaches.
“Berj is really important,” a relaxed Belichick said this week, cracking a rare public smile. “There isn’t nearly enough time in this press conference to talk about him.”
Just as coaches around the N.F.L. have tried to emulate Belichick’s approach to football, his former assistants have also hired their own version of Najarian, including Mangini with the Jets and Josh McDaniels in Denver.
Najarian gave one quotation for this article. “One of our sayings is for everyone to ‘just do your job,’ ” he said. “Contributing to Bill Belichick doing his job and at the same time helping uphold the standard of excellence set by the Kraft family is a privilege. With that comes many responsibilities within the football operation and organization, and I appreciate the opportunity to fulfill them.”
Growing up on Long Island — his father was a child psychiatrist, his mother a housewife — Najarian never anticipated this career path. He graduated from Boston University and interned with the Knicks in 1994. John Cirillo, then the senior vice president for communications of Madison Square Garden, said Najarian possessed a quiet calm and tireless work ethic.
From there, Najarian worked in public relations with the Jets. Frank Ramos, who was a longtime public-relations director with the franchise, said Najarian “came to get along very well with the defensive coaches.” He added: “He got really close with Belichick. There aren’t that many who can get that close to Bill. I don’t know why he did.”
Often, Ramos noted, Najarian stayed late at the Jets’ complex, talking football, hanging around Belichick. The Belichick crew once took part in a weight-loss competition, with official weigh-ins and hefty penalties, and Belichick would hide slices of pizza in everyone else’s desks.
When he arrived in New England, Najarian joined Stacey James, now the Patriots’ vice president for media relations, in a potentially awkward situation. They divide their duties at Belichick (Najarian) and everything else (James). Reporters who cover the team regularly said they expect to hear from Najarian when they write critically of Belichick. Some said future access depended on what they wrote.
Not that Najarian wanted to address any of that. If Belichick is happy and the Krafts are happy, he prefers to stay in the shadows.
On the ESPN set, Tedy Bruschi, the retired Patriots linebacker turned analyst, raised both eyebrows when asked about Najarian. No longer affiliated with the team, he still declined to comment.
“How many people talk about the consigliere?” he said.
Very few, it turns out, just as the gatekeeper to Belichick, in line with the Patriot Way, prefers it.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Super Sunday's Ramble On ... Happy 25th to David Stern
Happy 25th Anniversary to David Stern as he celebrates a quarter century as NBA Commissioner. He was named commissioner in November, 1983 but officially took office as the NBA concluded its celebration of the 1984 All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado. Stern took over the Commissioner's office on February 1, 1984.
I remember the weekend well. It was marked by Larry Nance's Slam-Dunk contest upset over Dr. J which I featured in The Blog on Saturday.
Anyhow, here's to David Stern and his amazing accomplishments over the years (43 and counting since Columbia Law and 31 and counting since becoming the NBA's first in-house General Counsel). I wish David and the NBA all the very best in the years to come.
“The good old days sometimes were not quite as good as people say they are, and these may be the good new days, and the richness of talent, the 75 international players that we didn’t have available to us in 1984, all of the young talent that’s coming in,” Stern said. “I’m a fan, and I think it’s as good as it’s ever been.”
- David J. Stern
My best,
TL
***
CBS Market Watch is launching a new online consumer site for the 'post crash' era. (Gotta love that phraseology?). See the trailer:
***
Super Bowl advertisers taking the plunge are looking for different ways to maximize exposure. That's certainly nothing new, but this story delves into some of the ways marketers are honing their deliveries:
Marketers Hone Digital Game
New Media Play Featured Role in Super Bowl Campaigns
By EMILY STEEL
Super Bowl advertisers have stepped up their digital game this year.
Interactive TV ads, sophisticated search strategies, Web-only outtakes, mobile-phone applications and social-networking campaigns are part of the game-day playbooks of major marketers, including Anheuser-Busch InBev, E*Trade Financial, CareerBuilder, PepsiCo and Pedigree, a dog-food brand owned by Mars.
"We're definitely trying to change our mind-set to use mass TV in a more efficient and effective way," says Matt Ramella, manager of media and digital marketing for Labatt Breweries of Canada, a unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev that also handles Canadian advertising for Budweiser. "Digital extensions pick up where mass media leaves off."
Labatt is among the marketers testing new technologies designed to make the most of the short exposure their ads will get on the Feb. 1 game broadcast. Drawing on technology from Canada's etc.tv, Labatt will give Quebec viewers who watch the game on sports network RDS the chance to use their remotes to click on links embedded in Budweiser ads. The links will take them to a channel where they can watch a longer versions of the ads, bookmark them to watch later or choose to return to the game.
The Budweiser ads will be the first Super Bowl commercials to use such interactive technologies. Labatt will pay for the interactive component of the ads based on the number of unique views. The brewer says the test is part of a broader effort to shift its traditional media spending to targeted digital ads.
Digital extensions for Super Bowl ads once were just an afterthought. The latest initiatives go beyond standard online display ads, sponsorships on Super Bowl-related Web sites and ensuring that the commercials aired during the big game appear on online hubs, such as YouTube's Super Bowl AdBlitz, where viewers vote for their favorites.
The shift comes as marketers strive to squeeze as much value as possible from their Super Bowl ad time, which this year costs as much as $3 million for a 30-second spot. They have also gotten savvier about incorporating digital-ad features in their campaigns from the outset, ad executives say.
"The economic climate has forced people to wake up and be more efficient with their marketing dollars. A couple of years ago, this kind of collaboration would never have happened," says Josh Stylman, managing partner at Reprise Media, a digital-ad agency owned by Interpublic Group that handled the Super Bowl search and social-media ad strategy for Castrol motor oil.
Among other things, Castrol, a brand owned by BP, is buying online ads tied to Web searches for Castrol Edge, a new eco-friendly product it is promoting in its Super Bowl TV ad.
Several advertisers have used the Web as a vehicle to drum up interest in their ads ahead of the game. Since October, PepsiCo has sponsored a contest offering $1 million to anyone who can create a Super Bowl commercial for its Doritos tortilla chips that scores No. 1 in USA Today's Super Bowl ad competition.
The contest has generated a significant amount of free publicity for Doritos. The ad videos have chalked up hundreds of thousands of views, and some contestants have launched their own Web sites to promote their entries.
Other advertisers, including Pedigree, E*Trade and Cars.com, are posting outtakes, "sneak peaks" or expanded versions of their commercials to the Web. The ad for PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater features original music that will be available on Apple's iTunes Store.
Some Super Bowl advertisers are attempting to use their 30-second TV spots to create a digital ripple effect. CareerBuilder, the jobs site jointly owned by Microsoft and newspaper publishers Gannett, Tribune and McClatchy, has created anonymoustipgiver.com, a Web site where visitors can send anonymous messages to annoying co-workers or others. The messages feature characters from CareerBuilder's TV ad and lets senders choose from texts like "One out of 10 people think your barking-dog ring tone is funny, that one person is you."
(TL note - Anonymous Tip giving is a cop-out. Own up to your tip-giving and face the person eye-to-eye. The anonymous, on-line, email, internet, non-communication, leave room for interpretation, lack of communication world is what has set us all back 100+ years. We call it progress? People don't talk to each other anymore.)
***
Sign of the 2009 Marketing and Financial Fallout Apocalypse? GM, Ford and Chrysler are all looking for bail-out money and laying off workers at new record marks, but Hyundai is sponsoring the Super Bowl pregame show.
Hyundai Motor America will be the presenting sponsor of NBC's Super Bowl XLIII pregame show. The deal includes three 30-second spots preceding the game. The program's full title will be the "Kick-Off Show Presented by the Hyundai Genesis, '2009 North American Car of the Year'" (Hyundai).
***
AZ Central.com made note of the following:
Keith Olbermann spent part of his 50th birthday on the field, admiring Larry Fitzgerald.
"We go through this whole routine," said Olbermann, a political and sports commentator for NBC and MSNBC. "You come here, there is no news, and now (teams) are sending in ringers. This kid's father is a sports writer. He's the guy everybody wants to hear from, and he's been practicing these answers since he was in the womb."
Though Olbermann mocked the nature of media day, he marveled at the Cardinals' presence in Tampa.
"The last time they played this late in a season, Truman was president, they were in Chicago and there was no television, really," Olbermann said. "It's kind of startling. It's kind of bizarre."
(TL Note: I enjoy watching Olbermann on his nightly Countdown show which was aired from Tampa last week. Of course, Countdown would rip the fact that shows airing from Tampa are selling out in the fact that they base from the site of the SuperBowl.)
***
Jane Gross of The New York Times is a tremendous writer. I enjoyed her prior work on sports and education. Now, check out her writing on a very tough topic to address; The New Old Age:
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/author/jane-gross/
***
Boys With Unpopular Names More Likely to Break Law
from http://www.LiveScience.com
Boys in the United States with common names like Michael and David are less likely to commit crimes than those named Ernest or Ivan.
David E. Kalist and Daniel Y. Lee of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania compared the first names of male juvenile delinquents to the first names of male juveniles in the population. The researchers constructed a popularity-name index (PNI) for each name. For example, the PNI for Michael is 100, the most frequently given name during the period. The PNI for David is 50, a name given half as frequently as Michael. The PNI is approximately 1 for names such as Alec, Ernest, Ivan, Kareem, and Malcolm.
Results show that, regardless of race, juveniles with unpopular names are more likely to engage in criminal activity. The least popular names were associated with juvenile delinquency among both blacks and whites.
The findings, announced January 28, are detailed in the journal Social Science Quarterly.
While the names are likely not the cause of crime, the researchers argue that "they are connected to factors that increase the tendency to commit crime, such as a disadvantaged home environment, residence in a county with low socioeconomic status, and households run by one parent."
"Also, adolescents with unpopular names may be more prone to crime because they are treated differently by their peers, making it more difficult for them to form relationships," according to a statement released by the journal's publisher. "Juveniles with unpopular names may also act out because they consciously or unconsciously dislike their names."
The findings could help officials " identify individuals at high risk of committing or recommitting crime, leading to more effective and targeted intervention programs," the authors conclude.
TL Note: For references to the veracity of this story, please consult with: Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
***
Spirit(s) in the Sky?
Should'a had a Bud Light?
The Spirit Air flight attendants do not necessarily agree. Read On:
MIRAMAR - Spirit Airlines flight attendants are fuming over the latest addition to their work wardrobe: Inflight aprons sporting a Bud Light beer logo.
"Turning flight attendants into walking billboards is unacceptable," Deborah Crowley, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Spirit president, said in a news release.
The group says the apron ads are not only "demeaning" but raise safety concerns, as flight attendants are obligated to enforce federal regulations regarding intoxicated passengers.
The Miramar-based airline says the new aprons are the latest revenue-generating tactic in its onboard advertising initiative, called Mile High Media, launched in September.
***
Headline Writing 101?
Check this out:
Man accused of drunken horse riding in snowstorm
CODY, Wyo. --A man has been cited for public intoxication while riding a white horse during a snowstorm in the northern Wyoming town of Cody.
Police say they cited 28-year-old Benjamin Daniels after they received a call Sunday afternoon from a motorist concerned that a man was creating a road hazard by riding his horse on a street in conditions with poor visibility.
Cody Assistant Police Chief George Menig says officers noticed Daniels was intoxicated after they stopped him to explain that drivers were having difficulty spotting his slow-moving white horse.
Menig said Thursday that Daniels was detained Sunday and released the following day. He will go before a municipal judge later.
A friend of Daniels picked up the horse. There was no telephone listing for Daniels.
TL wonders... Shouldn't it say "Drunken Man accused of horse riding in snowstorm. Or? was the horse drunk?
-30-
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