There have been a few items of interest, mainly Robert Ayres being drafted at No. 18 by the Denver Broncos, along with Ramon Foster, Josh Briscoe, Lucas Taylor, Arian Foster, Britton Colquitt, and DeAngelo Willingham who were all picked up in free agency.  A dutiful blogger would have something insightful to say about all of this, but I have not been particularly dutiful of late and Hooper has already said pretty much everything worth saying over at RockyTopTalk.  Thus, I’ll just ride his coattails for the moment (sigh…).

On another front, apparently the powers that be in World soccer have decided that Neyland Stadium is worthy of hosting World Cup (Soccer) competition, and everyone’s favorite stadium has made the cut in the most recent round of machinations pertaining to site selection for the United States’ bid to host the 2018 / 2022 World Cup.  While I am hardly the world’s biggest soccer fan (despite spending an inordinate amount of time watching 9-year-olds compete in it), it was nice to note that Neyland Stadium qualified, while Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama Crimson Tide), Tiger Stadium (LSU Tigers), Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn Tigers), and  Beaver Stadium (Penn State Nittany Lions), among others did not.  I guess that new jumbotron was just too good a thing to turn down.

Heh…

Finally, as a resident of the RDU area of North Carolina, my “other” team is fighting for a chance to advance toward claiming Lord Stanley’s Cup.  Yes, that is hockey for those of you who do not realize it.  No, I wasn’t born in Canada.  Yes, I grew up in the South.  Yes, you should really consider giving the NHL a try—hockey is pretty cool (especially when there is no football).  For both of you out there who care, you can read all there is to be known about my othe team, the Carolina Hurricanes, over at Canes Country, which is part of the SBN family of blogs, (i.e. a lot better than this joint).

In the meantime, I will continue to work diligently to find ways to waste time on meaningless things and thus avoid wasting time writing meaningless articles…

– So it goes…

Image(s) Courtesy of:   Carolina Hurricanes ||  Statement on Fair Use

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This post is part of a continuing series — “The Cost of Sports” — examining the impact of current economic changes on the world of major sports.    To see the other posts in this series, click here.

As I discussed in Part 1 of this series on the cost of sports, at Tennessee, the price can be high when it comes to paying your way into Neyland Stadium — a truth of which Nashville’s Thomas Luck is all too aware.  I discussed the issue purely in terms of the experience at Tennessee mainly because it is what I am familiar with.  Tennessee was but a lens — the reality is largely the same at all schools with a major athletics presence.

The world of professional sports, however, makes the college ranks look like small potatoes in the way it is wed to the almighty dollar.  Given the current uncertain economic times, however, I question whether professional sports in particular can continue in the way it has for so long.

I suppose that sports fans should not be surprised at the notion that professional teams would necessarily focus on money, after all that is what professional athletics are all about: getting paid to play.  I suppose Rod Tidwell (from the movie “Jerry Maguire”) summed it up best with the oft quoted line “Show me the money!“  What I think is a bit surprising is how willingly and uncomplainingly professional sports fans have accepted the “money first” approach of all the teams in all the major leagues.  The increases in costs passed along to professional sports fans over the last generation is really quite staggering.

Video: Show me the Money!!

But don’t take my word for it…

Fan Costs in Professional Sports

Sports marketing consultants Team Marketing Report (TMR) is a leading publisher of sports marketing and sponsorship analysis for both collegiate and professional sports.  Since 1988, TMR has been tracking major indicators in the world of sports.  One of the key components of their analysis is an analytical model called the “Fan Cost Index” which is used as a measuring stick for the cost to an actual fan attending a game for various franchises.

More specifically, TMR’s exclusive Fan Cost Index (TM) survey,  tracks the cost of attendance for a family of four.

The FCI includes:

• Two adult average price tickets
• Two child average price tickets
• Four small soft drinks
• Two small beers
• Four hot dogs
• Two programs
• Parking
• Two adult-size caps.

Taking all of these factors into account, the analysts at TMR calculate the costs for fans attending games for teams across the country.  The data that TMR has assembled is telling.

For example, let’s look at the NFL’s presence in my home state: the Carolina Panthers.  The Panthers played their first season in Charlotte in 1996 (they played the 1995 inaugural season in the Clemson Tigers’ stadium).  Thus, for Carolina we can see the change over the entire history of the franchise.  Since their first season in their permanent home, Bank of America (formerly Ericsson) Stadium, the Panthers have played in one Super Bowl.

Fan Cost Index: Carolina Panthers

Then there’s the just-crowned Super Bowl XLIII Champions: the Pittsburgh Steelers.  During the 10 years covered below, the Steelers have won two Super Bowls and moved into a new stadium, Heinz Field.

Fan Cost Index: Pittsburgh Steelers

On the other hand, there’s one of the biggest disappointments of the 2008 season: the New England Patriots.  During the 10 years covered below, the Patriots have won three Super Bowls and moved into a new stadium,  Gillette Stadium.

Fan Cost Index: New England Patriots

Key to notes on preceding Tables: b=14oz  c=16oz  e=20oz  g=22oz

• Source data for 1996, 1998, 2008 ( PDF), courtesy of: TMR.

These numbers show that, even in the smaller markets (which definitely includes Carolina and most would say includes Pittsburgh) there have been substantial increases in the cost of attending a game for the average fan.  What these statistics ignore, however, is the increasing impact of Personal Seat Licenses or PSLs on the cost of attending a game for individual fans.  Essentially, a PSL is the professional football equivalent of season ticket rights in college football.  The Average Ticket Price shown above reflects the average cost of a single game ticket available to the public for each team.  The fact is, however, in many of the NFL stadiums the number of generally available seats is wholly insignificant when compared to the number of seats licensed via PSLs.  In many cases, fans are left with only two choices: scalpers or buying a PSL.

PSLs are where the “Premium Ticket” costs referenced above come into play.

Again, let’s look at the Carolina Panthers, this time focusing on the Panther’s PSL program which, according to their website,  includes the following options:

Panthers PSL Options (Click to Enlarge)

Again, when compared to what you see with some major college sports venues, Panthers PSLs are not that expensive.  The Dallas Cowboys, who are preparing to open a grand new $1.3 billion stadium for the 2009 season, however, will charge as much as $150,000 for seat licenses.  As a point of reference, according to Zillow.com, the median home value for Knoxville, Tennessee is approximately $148,000.  In the modern era, there can be little question, in most markets, that professional sports tickets are aimed less and less at individual fans (or the “Common Fan” as Basilio calls them) and more toward businesses and corporations.  As a result, on gamedays many professional sporting venues are primarily peopled by business people engaged in the schmooze game than it is by fans actively pulling for their teams.

The Flip-side of a Very Big Coin

The cost of gate admissions, however, barely scratches the surface of the cost of operating a professional sports franchise.  In that sense, professional sports depend far less on the ticket-buying fan and more on other streams of revenue than do college athletics.  None of this, however, means that the costs of running professional franchises are not passed on to fans.  It just occurs indirectly.  The “real” money for professional sports lies in corporate affiliations, naming rights, licensing and marketing, government subsidies, and the end-all and be-all: television broadcast rights.

Make no mistake, without these key components, professional sports as we know them do not survive.  The irony is, however, that without the common fan, these components of the professional sports balance sheet evaporate.

Of course, some — most notably the NFL — contend that professional sports always have and will continue to be recession-proof. In a recent interview with CNBC’s Mark Koba, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy commented on the effects of the recession by stating: “If we could build a stadium for 300,000 people we would sell out the game. The Super Bowl has always lifted the spirits of America and this year is no different.“  Others are far less sanguine.

As the Money Players blog notes, there are already strong indications that “the long-held notion that sports is ‘recession proof’ is being shattered.“  The first signs of this change have already begun to become apparent.  Some minor professional franchises folded early in the onset of the current recession, but now the list of the affected is growing.  For instance:

• In December, the WNBA’s most successful franchise, the Houston Comets, officially folded;
• The barely solvent to begin with Arena Football League canceled the 2009 season;
• The PGA publicly acknowledged it could face tough times given the current economic crisis, and the LPGA cut three tour stops and $5 million in prize money from its 2009 tour;
• The NHL officially dropped its revenue projections for 2008-09;
• Neither the New York Giants nor the Dallas Cowboys have managed to find a suitor sufficiently willing to pay for naming rights on their new stadiums;
• The New York Yankees have yet to sell out the luxury boxes in the singularly lavish  New Yankee Stadium, while the secondary market prices of opening day tickets in the new facility have plummeted (most recently selling on the secondary market for $ 534, down from $ 1,101);
• The Washington Redskins recently laid off 20 front-office employees while Roger Goodell laid off 150 of the 1,000 employees at the NFL league offices;
• Both the NBA and NFL have recently offered cuts in ticket prices to bolster flagging attendance;
• Both the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals had difficulties selling out their playoff games this season;
• NASCAR Racing is facing the bleakest season outlook in years due to sponsorship issues; and
• Most notably, the cost of tickets to Super Bowl XLIII on the secondary market was $500 – $800 lower than last year.

These are but a few examples.

These sorts of “adjustments” on the part of major professional sports demonstrate that professional sports are not immune to recession.  That realization has gotten the attention of many sports-business watchers and has started a new conversation about the state of professional sports.

Said Andrew Zimbalist, a noted sports economist and professor of economics at Smith College:

… fans tend to give up other consumption before they cut back their consumption of sports. The present downturn is, however, both much more severe and likely to last considerably longer than the typical post-WWII recession. Moreover, the revenue-generating model in pro sports has been gentrified over the last 20 years, becoming more dependent on the sale of premium seating, corporate sponsorships, and catering — all expenditures likely to be more sensitive to economic conditions.

… What we do know is that the sports industry will reflect, perhaps with some moderation, the vicissitudes of the overall economy.

• via: Freakonomics

Steve Czaban, a syndicated host with Fox Sports Radio (which, along with Sports Illustrated and others, is itself currently clawing to remain solvent) believes that the market for sports will diminish substantially, unless major corporations are able to save themselves from collapse.   In a recent article by Wall Street Journal columnist Jonathan Last, Czaban noted, “The worst-case scenario, for example, for the NFL, is there’s a dozen teams that can no longer sell out their home games.“  The article notes that such a loss would create broadcast issues due to the NFL blackout rules for non-sold-out games. Said Czaban, “The U.S. government is buying banks, major retailers are going under, and a half-a-dozen newspapers are folding up shop.  Why is it we think this could never happen to sports?“

As Andrew Zimbalist and others note, however, there is no real historical benchmark aside from the experience of Major League Baseball during the Great Depression.  During the early 1930’s fan attendance dropped by as much as 40%, but no teams failed.  That begs two questions: 1) Is it possible that the same attendance drops could be on the horizon for major professional sports in the near future, and 2) if so, can they bear the financial strain of a reduced fanbase?

Of course, in the 1930’s there was only one major sports league, college athletics were in their infancy and were largely localized, more importantly there was no television.

Television, in the minds of many, will be the savior of major sports in the current crunch, but there are those who question whether that is true.  In fact some assert that television might actually add to the erosion of revenues for sports — professional and college alike.

The thought that television could add fuel to the already raging fire is a scary one, especially for professional franchises whose “help me, help you” relationship with television has been a dependable source of revenue during even the most trying times.

Video: Help Me, Help You…

That is what I will look at in the next installment of this series…

– So it goes …

Images Courtesy of: Panthers.com • Steelers.com • Patriots.com • Wikipedia

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In the meantime, I offer up a few announcements, observations, and rude remarks to close out 2008.

• First, in case you haven’t noticed, I added a page about our “Ushers” (calling me a writer is simply going a bit too far) which finally recognizes and gives HSH his due as a major contributor here at the Gate.  Along with that came his new badges, signatures, and other goodies which will hopefully make it more obvious (as if the quality of his writing wasn’t enough to make it clear that it wasn’t yours truly) who is saying what around this joint.
• Second, it is nice to hear that Wayne Chism has survived his battle with the Rajin’ Cajuns.  The last thing the BasketVols need is the loss of one the most productive players on the squad before facing Kansas.  Let’s not do that again…

Ouch!

• Meanwhile, the Full Monte is in Knoxville and raring to go.  Apparently he has already come to appreciates the fact that Tennessee fans are essentially crazed maniacs, and is cool with that.  I’m liking it!
• Speaking of the new football staff, in case you haven’t heard, the Vols also have an Offensive Coordinator in the form of (soon-to-be) former St. Louis Rams assistant coach Jim Chaney.  It’s looking more and more like the Blackjack General is assembling a staff with a decidedly NFL-esque feel.

Oh my!  Things is a gettin’ excitin’!

• But don’t get too excited because, even though it is the new year, it seems like the KPD is out to spoil some of the fun at games next fall.  (Nossir, Ossifuhr!  I waddn’t drinkin’ … hic.)
• Finally, just by happenstance, I learned of a new Facebook group which is dedicated to the memory of one of my favorite places from the past:  Sam & Andy’s.  If you’re a Facebook member, be sure and check out “The Friends of the Roman Room”—I’m a member!

With all of this going on, it looks like 2009 could really be something special.  So everyone have a Happy New Year, and be safe.

See you in 2009!

– Go Figure …

Images Courtesy of: Knoxville Radio History

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A List of Reminiscing…

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of 2008. Yes, I know, I’m asking “Already?!?” just you like may be doing. It seems like last month I was standing in Times Square in NYC for nine hours (without any food, drinks, or bathroom breaks) with five of my friends ringing in 2008. But here it is, the start of another year is less than 24 hours away.

My new logo

Now hopefully you have yet to bail on me because of that terribly mushy opening, and if you have I thank you. I’ll get to my little list of what I’ll most remember from the past year in sports in a minute, but first I need to say that I began this whole blogging thing back in June, when the looming monster of summer school was at my doorstep. When I started, I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I wasn’t sure how long I’d be blogging or any of that. I really enjoyed it at first, mostly the posts following the NBA Finals games and my amateur, yet rather extensive, coverage of the Rocky Top Summer League (yes, I skipped studying for tests and doing schoolwork to do those). However, at first I underestimated how much work blogging actually can be.

So when lawvol approached me (figuratively) about joining forces with him, it was a no-brainer. I have enjoyed writing here at the Gate and I just want to give some props to lawvol for having me on here and for helping me when I bug him about the simplest of issues. And of course thank you to yourselves, the readers (if you’re still actually reading this). Who knows if my blogging will actually help the journalism career I’m hoping for/working towards/trying to gain experience for, but I’ve certainly enjoyed it and I’m glad I decided to begin with it.

OK, enough of those little bits of business, now onto this little list. This will be a little different than the other two I’ve done, as in I’m writing this, I’m not limiting myself to what pops into my mind when I think back of the past year in sports. I was able to narrow my hatred for Alabama down to five and the hope of the Vols’ hoops season to 10, but this is a whole year we’re talking here. I’ll try to keep it as short as I can. Anyways, here goes…

Thanks Coach

1) Good-bye and thank you Coach Fulmer: Well duh. The only Tennessee football coach I’ve pretty much ever known fell victim to a failed replacement of David Cutcliffe and the second losing season in the last four years. It’s been the toughest year as a Tennessee fan I have been a part of by far, but it ended very sweet with the home win over Kentucky.

CLK

2) Hello, Lane Kiffin: Fulmer’s replacement has me excited, and I know I ain’t the only one. Some are skeptical, but the Blackjack General (kudos, lawvol) has the fire that I think this program needs. He and his staff have plenty of work to do to return to the level of competing with Florida and the growing empire in Tuscaloosa, but so far, so good…

Champs

3) Being #1 for less than two days is still better than never being #1…: This goes way back to February, and the 66-62 #2-over-#1 win by Tennessee at Memphis. I had to cover/get audio for this game for the radio station sports show I was involved in last spring, and it was just fun to watch and see in person. That, and being in the middle of the aftermath right outside the locker room and on the FedEx Forum floor trying to be “professional” is undoubtedly a highlight of this past year.

4) 2008 SEC basketball champs: Need anything else be said? And to do it in Gainesville after getting blitzed in the first half was icing. I also covered that last home game against Carolina, so watching the whole net-cutting and t-shirt deal was a highlight.

5) Fan apathy: Honestly, this was probably the biggest factor to Fulmer’s firing. I have made my thoughts on the student attendance and the whole paying for tickets well known through this site (try this). This video (I wouldn’t dare actually post it) was the lowest point for me as a Tennessee fan in my life. I must admit, I left well before it, but I didn’t want to be a apart of that. I commend you if you did…

Thanks Chris and JaJuan

6) Chris Lofton: Seeing this guy get to play in person for two years was a treat. Talk about a role model, he had cancer, didn’t tell anyone for completely unselfish purposes, and still had a pretty good season and was an integral part of the SEC Title run for the Vols. I have his #5 jersey on my wall of my room in my apartment, and it will be hanging in TBA’s rafters soon enough.

7) JaJuan Smith, too: Walk-on to nearly making the Mavericks. The best part of watching Juanny the past two years of college was that he made it look so fun. From his rainbow threes to pestering defense and occasionaly bonehead turnover, I’ll never forget this guy and what he was to the Tennessee program.

Championship #8: I have to give Pat Summit and the Lady Vols some love. I never go to any of their games, but I do know they exist. That senior class dominated and Candace Parker, well, she’s just awesome.

9) Eric Berry: The dude is just a BAMF. My four years of college may be four of the worst in Tennessee history, but at least I got to see this guy play. Seriously, he was reason enough to watch as the awful 2008 season went down the toilet. His pick-six against Mississippi State might have been the craziest moment of the student section this past year (yeah, indicating how bad the season truly was…). List of guys he almost killed in 2008: Tyler Donovan, Taylor Embree, Knowshon Moreno, Marquis Maze, and that’s off the top of my head. If a team had 22 Eric Berrys, they would never lose. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll like playing in Monte Kiffin’s defense enough to stay for his senior year…

Monte!

10) Monte Kiffin: Sweet! Most respected defensive coordinator in the NFL? Yes please.

11) The Streak: Tennessee has now won 37 straight home games in Thompson-Boling Arena. A couple of teams nearly broke it (Ole Miss, Kentucky, Belmont), but it’s still going strong. I still have never left that arena having seen Tennessee lose. It was empty four years ago, now this streak. Could Gonzaga end it a week from tonight?

12) Construction: If you visited Knoxville this past year, you know what I mean. The stadium. Glocker. The Baker Center. Neyland. The TBA facelift. Lindsay Nelson. Heck, even I-40 has been closed since May…

13) Losses I witnessed in person: Louisville (Sweet 16 game in Charlotte), Florida, Auburn (nearly fell asleep in the third quarter), Alabama, Wyoming…

14) My love for the NBA: It gets a bad rap for the most part, but you can’t tell me you’re a true fan of the game of basketball and not like the NBA. Before this past season, I never really followed it other than the playoffs and the handful of Grizzlies games I saw in my high school days. Now, I just plain love it. These guys are ridiculous. I could watch LeBron James play every night. The Lakers-Celtics finals capped off an amazing playoffs and it’s shaking up to be a great season this year too.

15) Wyoming: I saw them beat Tennessee 13-7 in Knoxville. They were 1-7 in the Mountain West and fired their coach. Ouch…

16) UCLA: Kevin Craft is worse than me for Heisman! really wasn’t as good as we made him look. The beginning of the end…

17) This play:

Click here to view the embedded video.

18) These dunks:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

19) Redeem Team Wins Gold: The highlight of the Beijing Olympics for me. Yes, I watched every minute of every one of their games. They were not going to be denied and watching these guys play together and with a serious sense of urgency was well worth it. Thank you, LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe, CP3, Bosh, Howard, Boozer, D-Will, Melo, Redd, Tayshaun, Coach K and staff.

Monte!

20) The tornado that almost killed me: I’m getting lazy, so just click here. If you’re too lazy to do that, you’re worse than me I was in the Georgia Dome for the SEC Tournament when that tornado owned downtown Atlanta.

21) Michael Phelps: Second best part of the Olympics. The relay the U.S. stole from the trash-talking French and the race he won from nowhere had me up and yelling at the TV.

22) Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze, Emmanuel Negedu, Renaldo Woolridge: They’re only going to get better…

23) This NFL season: I don’t get too pumped about pro football other than for fantasy purposes, but this was a fun season to watch. It came down to the end and I can honestly justify about six teams going all the way. Miami went from 1-15 to the playoffs and nobody’s laughing at the Falcons now. And those drama queens in Dallas are watching it all…

24) Jerod Mayo: Any time a Vol gets drafted in the Top 10…and then dominates as a rookie, I’m pumped…

25) Shaun Ellis: This was just plain funny…

Click here to view the embedded video.

26) Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince: Two transfers are huge parts of Tennessee hoops in 2008 and going forward. Thanks to Tyler for his clutch makes against Ole Miss and Memphis State. This year’s team is his team, and it took Prince hurting himself to make us see how important he is to this team.

27) The Olympics: Yeah, they were about all I watched for that two week stretch this summer.

28) VolQuest/Rivals: I can’t lie, I have spent countless hours procrastinating and wasting time on the message boards. If you have done it too, you know their addictive powers…

29) Jonathan Crompton: Well, there’s not much to say, but most of the Tennessee fanbase thinks he’s the worst QB to ever wear orange. Hell, he couldn’t even hand the ball off against Florida and Auburn. The Auburn game might have been the worst game ever played by a QB – my goodness was it ugly. When he entered the South Carolina after Nick Stephens threw an awful pick-six, ESPN showed his stats for the year – he had thrown for 666 yards. Yikes. Yet, that pass to Denarius Moore against Kentucky…reason for hope? I mean, he’s got an equal chance of starting next year as the other QBs Tennessee has. I’m just saying…

30) And finally, Mario Chalmers: Tiger High/John Calipari = EPIC FAIL…

Click here to view the embedded video.

HAPPY 2009 TO YOU FROM US HERE AT GATE 21!!!

Images Courtesy of: Michael Patrick / KNS • Michael Patrick / KNS • volnation.com • coachsoffice.com • interbasket.net

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Sweet…

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The more I look at things the more the Tennessee Athletic Department mirrors the Soprano family…

Thus far, Coach Kiffin has been more than happy to keep it “inside the family,” hiring both his father, Monte Kiffin (longtime defensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) as well as his brother-in-law David Reaves (Steve Spurrier’s quarterbacks’ coach / recruiting coordinator at South Carolina).  On top of this, last week he added an additional hire off the South Carolina Gamecocks’ staff in the form of new strength and conditioning coach Mark Smith, along with new offensive line coach James Cregg, who served under the Blackjack General when Kiffin was coaching the Los Angeles Oakland Raiders, and was currently working under Raiders’ coach Tom Cable.

So, is all of this a good thing, or a bad thing?

Well, I am honestly not sure.  That said, I like the fact that Kiffin seems to have a plan about what it is he is trying to accomplish—he’s not just randomly selecting coaches that are “available.”  In fact, with the exception of the few members of Coach Fulmer’s staff that Kiffin has retained, none of the coaches he has added to his first staff have been “available,” as Tom Cable plainly noted.  It is nice to be back in the position as a program to be able to pull people away from other programs, instead of the opposite.

Furthermore, thus far the choices that Kiffin has made to assist him in his first campaign at Tennessee appear to be quality hires.  First of all there is the Full Monte, who is the “Godfather” of the Tampa 2 defense and arguably the best defensive coordinator in the toughest football league in the world.  The venerable patriarch.

Okay, I think that can work…

Then, there is Mark Smith, who was thought by many to be one of Spurrier’s indispensable aides at both Florida and with the Thunder Chickens.  In the past, it was thought that Smith would never leave Spurrier due to the fact he rejected overtures from, among others, the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Smith has been at the heart of every successful team that Spurrier has fielded.

Apparently, Smith decided that loyalty to Spurrier could not overcome the pull of “the family”…

Then there is Reaves, who was been surprisingly successful as the Head Ball Coach’s recruiting coordinator, a fact that Tennessee fans had been acutely aware of over the last few years.  Obviously, as Lane Kiffin’s brother-in-law it is hardly surprising that Reaves decided to head to more orange-tinted pastures.  Still, Spurrier has never been one to let his coaches or recruits go to others quietly.  Thus, it also appears that there is about to be a second-round of the Tennessee vs. Spurrier battles that marked the early-to-mid 1990’s—the rumblings are already out there.

Ahh, just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in…

If (and that is a big “if”) you trust the rumors, the oft maligned Ed Orgeron (currently serving as defensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints) is next up for Kiffin as he works toward filling out his staff.  Coach “O” did not exactly wow the world with his performance as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels, but continues to be thought of as one of the premier defensive line coaches and a crackerjack recruiter.  Given that all of the rumors of Monte Kiffin joining “Kiffin the Younger,” proved accurate, it appears that the chances are good that “O” will be “hnaw-hnawing” on the sidelines in Neyland Stadium this fall.

Now whether ticking off NFL owners and other SEC coaches is a bad thing, I cannot say.  I will say that it is nice to see Lane Kiffin out using his credibility and Tennessee’s tradition to get the people he needs.  While I realize there is something to be said for extending certain courtesies to other coaches and teams, sometimes you have to simply make folks an “offer they can’t refuse” and let the chips fall where they may.  This is especially true when it comes to re-tooling a program that has bottomed-out of late.  Kiffin, responding to questions regarding his tactics, summed it quite matter-of-factly:

“I got a job to do in our athletic department and that’s to put together the best staff we can put together and the best players we can put together.  I’m not really concerned about that stuff.”

• via: GoVolsXtra

Kiffin’s coaching-coups, appear to be making a difference as well, as Tennessee has now sewn-up several choice recruits, and appears to be getting the inside track on several more.

So far, so good.  Is Kiffin going in the right direction?  I think so.  Is he destined for greatness?  Only time will tell.  Is there plenty more to be done to cement Tennessee’s position as a contender once again for the SEC?  You better believe it.  Is Kiffin done mixing it up with the other coaches across the country yet?

Fuhgeddaboutit!

– Go Figure …

Images Courtesy of: Raiders.com • GameCocksOnline.com

Information contained in this post courtesy of: Volquest.com • GoVolsXtra

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“This is our world. If I can speak freely here, it’s about pride, it’s about commitment, it’s about trusting everybody next to you.  So, to walk your ass out of here is about as bad a deal as you could possibly do to that group of guys.“

Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable on Lane Kiffin hiring staff away from the Raiders

• via Raiders Blog and Q&A: Kiffin raids the staff

• HT to the Right Honorable Senator Blutarsky of Get the Picture

Now, I guess Tom Cable not only has to coach the Raiders, but also has to do Davis’ laundry.  Oh well…

I suppose a new tradition is beginning.

Heh…

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In case you haven’t noticed (and given the fact most of my readers live in the south, and the fact that the Cincinnati Bengals … well … suck hard, you probably haven’t), there is a major showdown between blogosphere and the NFL brewing. This battle pits the Cincinnati Bengals against the Fan-Sided Blog Network and its StripeHype blog covering the Cincinnati Stripes.

Apparently, the Cincinnati “Football” Bengals — without warning — sent StripeHype (via its network parent Fan-Sided Blog Network) the proverbial lawyerly “nastygram” informing StripeHype and Fan-Sided that if they didn’t cease and desist use of the Bengals identity a lawsuit would be filed. This led to a blow-out between the powers that be at the Fan-Sided Network and the lead writer at StripeHype.

In the end, Fan-Sided backed down at the threat from the Bengals, and the lead writer at StripeHype, quit the blog and has decided to start pulling for the Cleveland Browns (“Hold on, wait a minute, put a little Dog in it! Woof, Woof Woof, Woof Woof…”).

The Bengals — apparently in partnership with the NFL — decided that StripeHype was appropriating the identity of the Bengals and were causing the Bengals and the NFL “serious and irreparable harm.” Ultimately, lawyers for the Bengals and the NFL demanded that StripeHype and Fan-Sided:

See Nastygram, p. 2. <Click to download in PDF Format>

I still just don’t get the position that some institutions take with regard to blogs…

On the first point, I’ll give the Bengals their due, if it’s their trademarked logo, then they have the right to control it. Be that as it may, under the Fair Use Doctrine (See below), I’m not sure that the use of the logo is an infringement in the context it was used (reporting on the Bengals). Newspapers often print team logos next to stories about that team — simply to hel identify the subject matter.

On the third point … well … I understand what they are saying, but wouldn’t Axl Rose and the other members of Guns & Roses also have a claim here as well? While I appreciate they may have trademarked the phrase, the fact remains that the English language is not subject to being trademarked. All that said, I do understand what the Bengals are saying with respect to the use of the phrase within the context of a blog about football, the Cincinnati Bengals, etc.

The second point — at least in part — however, is pretty laughable. Ignoring the issues of helmet designs and uniform designs, telling someone they cannot use a certain color scheme — whether the team uses it or not — is about as absurd a notion as I have ever heard.

Bearing all of this in mind, the larger issue is one going to the heart of the blogosphere — where is the line between “promoting” a team as opposed to “appropriating the likeness” of a team? On one level, this is a question of law and fact, and one which is not always that clear — that’s the stuff that lawyers argue about till they are blue in the face.

On a more practical level – removed from the absurdity of legal arguments made by shysters, degenerates, and lawyers (I can say that, I am one) — is reality. In day-to-day life, what is okay and what is not?

As a general rule, the Fair Use Doctrine is embodied by a series of of defenses laid out at 17 U.S.C.A. 107-118. The most important being the ones found in section 107 which reads:

17 U.S.C.A. 107 (2008) (emphasis added). Also see e.g. Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539, 105 S. Ct. 2218 85 L. Ed.2d 588 (1985).

This, along with the caselaw construing it, is what protects writers, reporters, teachers, editors and — yes — even bloggers in their reports, analysis, commentary, and other “publications” about whatever subject they choose. While the concepts and court opinions emanating from this doctrine are extremely powerful in terms of the protections they grant, they are defenses (i.e. they are only useful after you are already in court). Thus, they are more academic concepts for most folks, than they are guiding principles.

First of all, I am not going to say that the folks at StripeHype did not cross the line of Fair Use and infringe on the likenesses (copyrighted or otherwise) of the Bengals and the NFL. The reason for this is that — until this story started developing — I had never read StripeHype, and all of the “offending” content has been taken down.

What I will say is this, I think that the powers that be with various teams, schools, institutions, and so forth misunderstand the goal and purpose of the blogger. Today’s blogger was the penny-press writer, pamphleteer, or street corner barker of the late 19th Century. True, the medium and potential reach of the blogger is quite different from those early raiders of the Fourth Estate, but the concept remains the same:

“I have something I want to say publicly, and I’m going to say it…”

Now it does not follow that anyone will actually want to hear what is said (especially in the case of Gate 21) but that is the driving force for most bloggers. Some have an axe to grind, some have a “cause” they seek to promote, some simply want the satisfaction of seeing their thoughts on public display, there are numerous motivations. In the case of sports-related blogs, however, the typical motivation arises from a fan’s dedication to “their team” and their desire to support it more publicly.

In other words, most sports-bloggers — at their basic level — are fans first and writers second.

Thus the question of why a team, league, or player would go after a blog seeking to promote them arises. Now, make no mistake, part of supporting your team often includes bashing your rival — I’m as guilty of that as anyone. There is also a fair amount of satire involved with sports-blogging, which — I suppose — could be taken the wrong way. As best I can tell, none of this was at play in the case of StripeHype — the writers there were fans (stress “were”) of the Bengals. So why go after them?

Well, first of all, the Bengals are hardly new to this. In 2000, they sent a similar cease and desist letter to the anti-Mike Brown site: MikeBrownSucks.com — apparently to no avail since the site is still up and running, and has publicly posted their “Legal Documents Library” which includes their absolutely priceless response to the demand.

Even though I am a lawyer, it seems to me that a quick email asking nicely if StripeHype would remove the logos that the Bengals felt were being infringed upon might have been sufficient. I got such an email from a really nice guy at the Knoxville News-Sentinel asking me to attribute or remove a photograph that I posted which I never realized they owned. I called him, we had a very friendly conversation, I apologized, and I took it down. No harm, no fight, no conflict. He won, I won — and I still read the paper. That, however, just isn’t the way some folks think.

Ignoring what the Bengals “could have done,” however, the only thing that ever really matters when it comes to big-time sports any more is, of course, money. This once again seems to be an issue in the case of StripeHype. The above-referenced nastygram unabashedly keys the fact that they felt StripeHype used these images to make money stating:

See Nastygram, p. 1.

It is true that some bloggers do little more than try and use their “platform” for making money on ads, click-thrus, etc. I have ads here on Gate 21, but — to date — I believe that I have made a total of, maybe, $30.00 — and due to minimum payments on revenues, I have yet to get a single check. The ads are there to try and defray some of the costs associated with the operation of this site, not to line my pockets. This is the case for most bloggers.

Ignoring all of this, at the end of the day, the question remains do teams really want to go after fans who are — at least by most standards — promoting them?

Of course, this question is completely rhetorical — there is no answer. Fortunately for me, Mike Hamilton, the Tennessee Volunteers, and the University of Tennessee have — essentially — adopted the “just ignore them” mentality. Thus, I haven’t gotten any nastygrams (Although, in the interest of disclosure, I have sent quite a few in my day, but never as a result of a copyright issue. Damn lawyers!) and Gate 21, my temple of wasted time, continues on.

In the end, I have a feeling that teams and franchises will eventually have to face the issue of bloggers directly. Purely speculating, I would imagine that collegiate athletic programs will — in the end — be far more willing to embrace bloggers than professional sports teams. Bloggers, however, cannot be ignored indefinitely, simply due to their growing popularity. Whether that face-to-face takes the form of cooperation or legal attacks is yet to be determined.

In the meantime, the Bengals appear to have won this battle — on little more than a threat from a young associate at a big law firm in New York. It is a shame that a team feels the need to attack fans like that, but I suppose they felt it was what they had to do.

In completely turning his back on the Bengals as a result, I’m sure the lead writer at StripeHype felt exactly the same way…

– Go Figure …

For More Information on Copyright and Blogging, Check out the Following:

• Copyright Law for Bloggers – MoonDog
• Citizen Media Law Project
• Legal Guide for Bloggers – Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

*Disclaimer: While the writer of this post is an attorney licensed to practice law in the state in which he resides, this post is not intended to give or offer legal advice, or otherwise render a legal opinion on the matters discussed herein. Furthermore, the author does not actively practice in matters pertaining to media law, copyright, trademarking, or intellectual property, and makes no claims as to the accuracy or correctness of any statements regarding the law(s) herein. Should you have questions regarding such legal matters you should consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdicition.

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