Monday, August 28, 2006

Ernesto

Sorry its been a while since I have posted but a lot is going on. Hurricane or Tropical Storm right now Ernesto is coming, hopefully giving me a day or two to sleep in and not go to work. But I will still be working from home.

Today we finally completed the Training Camp Guide. It was a tedious process, but its finally down. Now Im focusing on the Media Guide and the gameday program. I have to write some more player bios for the media guide as they are much more extensive in the media guide then they are in the training camp guide. For the game program or "Growl" as we call it, I have to write a feature story on our captains. I have to help design the thing and I am in charge of getting all the other stories from the people who are writing stories.

This past weekend we had two events, a Cats Cookout on Saturday and a Hockey House Call on Sunday. Both were events to promote ticket sales, but I had to go because players and coaches were there to sign autographs. I am basically a bouncer for the players if you can believe that.

One week from Wednesday our Rookie Camp starts in Toronto. I have to put together bios for our coach of all the rookies attending camp. I am not going, but my boss is. I have to complete the media guide so I will stay at home. Also next Wednesday we are filming all the jumbotron greetings for each player. I have to coordinate the player arrivals at this event and make sure it runs smoothly for the video people. It should be fun.

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On a different note, it looks like I might get the Phillies right with my Wild Card prediction from April. The Phillies are making all the right moves and are getting extremely hot at the right time. It also appears my bold predictions of the Red Sox winning the division will not come true. Oh well. The Angels too have a tough road ahead of them, but I think they can pull it off.

I had 4 fantasy drafts the past 3 days and I think I did ok in each. I love fantasy football. It is the best of all fantasy games because its one game a week so you dont have to check it everyday like I do with baseball fantasy. My draft with my boys from Pitt lasted 45 minutes. Fastest and best draft ever. We were all prepared and kept picking at a record pace.

Well, now its back to Hurricane preparations. Im heading the Pittsburgh Friday for the Pitt/UVa game. I'm write back in a few days.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Game Program

A couple of my boys from Pitt are coming down tomorrow for the weekend, so I probably wont be posting again for a week. So here are today's thoughts.......

First I just want to say to all of his critics, give Tony Kornheiser some time. Do Not judge him on one preseason games. #1 Preseason football games are the hardest to broadcast because of how few plays the stars actually play in. #2 For someone who has never even held a mic in his hand, it might take a few games to get in the flow. I think Tony will be great once he learns the ropes and he will be more then ready to go come Redskins/Vikings for Opening Monday Night.

OK Back to hockey for the moment. Today things really started to pick up at work. This Pre-Season Guide Ive been working on for weeks is in its final stages. It should be done by Friday and that means, that the real MEDIA GUIDE is next. We have most of those sections done already, thanks to planning ahead, but some changes need to be made. Like the Bruins President resigned so we have to change the Bruins Opponents Page in the Guide. We are 3 weeks away from the start of rookie camp when everything needs to be completed.

I was put in charge of the Game Programs, so I began building the thing today. Since it is impossible to print 41 programs for 41 home games, we are going to print just 4-5, and just add an insert for each game of each teams roster and scorecard. I had to put together a proposal of stories and I get to assign the stories. As expected, I am writing the Feature Story for each issue. I have until Sept. 1 to get all the stories in and then the actual printing process can begin. I'm real excited for this project.

Our coaches are slowly returning the South Florida from their summer vacation. They should all be in by the end of next week, and most of our players will return by then as well. Even though it isn't official, most of them are practicing together already. I can feel it, it's almost hockey time!!

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Weekend

I got called into the office Friday afternoon. I was supposed to have the day off. But supposidly we were about to make a move and I had to be in the office to send out a release when this move happened. Needless to say, 3 hours later, it didn't happen and I had missed my happy hour I was planning to attend in Miami. Oh well, thats the life of a PR person. You always have to be ready even if it doesn't happen.

Saturday was the Dancer Tryouts which went real well. ESPN Radio 760 from West Plam Beach spent all day there broadcasting live from inside the arena. I got the two Captains of our cheerleading squad and Olli Jokinen (our Captain) on the radio. I t was great. Then the ESPN anchors, Olli, and some other celebrities were judges for the 65 girls that tried out for 16 spots. As a male, it was very very awesome to be in a room surrounded by 64 beautiful girls, almost all of which were wearing a sports bra and spandex pants.

Now why did I say 64 and not 65, well thats because we had a guy actually try out. No, he didnt make it and not because he was a guy but because he couldn't dance. IM SERIOUS.

Finally today I got to sit down and watch some baseball and catch up on things. It looks like my NL West pick, the Giants, are not going to win that division. My NL Wild Card was the Phillies who are still in it, but Im not counting on them anymore. The Angels are picking up steam, taking 2 of 3 from the Yanks so I'm very excited that my World Series Champion pick seems to be getting ready for a run at this thing.

College football is around the corner and Im excited for Pitt football. I actually think Tyler Palko is my biggest concern. This guy seems to wear his emotions on his sleeve and overplay when he thinks he doesnt have the supporting cast. If Tyler could become a leader, not just verbally, and trust his receivers and backs, then I think Pitt can win 8 games this year. WVU and Louisville will be a test. Michigan State will be tough, but I truely believe we can beat everyone else and have a successful season. Dave Wannstedt is in year 2 and by year 4, I'm expecting a B.E. Championship. So in other words, he has two more years of freedom before he feels the pressure. Let's get 'er done Pornstatch!!

Friday, August 11, 2006

Dance Team Tryouts

Sorry I havent written in a while. I had family here last weekend and I've been playing lots of hockey myself so I'm never home anymore.

We had our Fifth Cats Cookout last night and I got to meet our captain Olli Jokinen and our newest player Eddie Belfour. Belfour was awesome. I talked to him for a good 20 minutes. You have to understand I was a huge Blackhawks fan back in the day with Belfour, Roenick, Goulet and Amonte. So me and Eddie talked about those teams and how he loves to fish, which I love to do also.

The Cookout was a success again. We sold more season ticket and almost all of our suites are sold out for the season. Tomorrow we have our Panthers Dance Team tryouts and of course I'm getting myself involved in that. The captains of the team we recruited from the Miami Heat (who won best NBA dancers last season). But anyway, sports radio stations are coming out to broadcast live from the tryouts and I expect hundreds of girls to try out for the 20 or so spots we have. I dont know what my role in the event will be besides taking care of any media that show up, but I requested to be the person that escorts the girl trying out from the dressing room to the dance floor.

We are now 8 weeks from Opening Night and more importantly 20 days away from the deadline to publish our preseason media guide. Holy Crap this is taking up a lot of time. I spend at least 6 hours a day, writting, revising, reviewing every players bio, making sure it looks great and has all the information correct. This to me, is the worst part of my job. This time in a seasongets real boring with all the paper work that must get done. We are judged all year on our media guide and we cant screw this up at all, not one bit. Once we actually send the media guide to the printer, the fun begins. I can't wait for that day.

Thats all for now. Check back for updates on the Dancer tryouts!!

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

The Media Guide

Time to relax. The Panthers roster is set for training camp. All signings are down, now I have a month to relax. WRONG!!

Holy Cow, did the media guide process pick up today. Since we have sooo many new players, we are getting bios on new players in all shapes, sizer, styles, languages, etc. I have to go through these word for word to make sure they aren't too long, too short, make sure they are all in AP style....and much more. And imagine doing that for someone like Ed Belfour who has been playing hockey since 1988. It's an insanely easy project that can be messed up way way way too easily. Not to mention we have a page limit, so everything must fit.

My other problem is finding stats and bios from last year for our players in the minors, overseas, in college, just drafted, etc. It's nearly impossible to get any information on a 21 year old kid who has only played Under-18 hockey for the majority of his life. But this is the task I have been handed.

I have until Friday to get it done. I will do it.

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On a different note, I want to talk about the MLB trade deadline. Everyone is saying how the Mets blew it by not making a move. Actually, the Mets had already made their move. They got El Duque in May. Forget what Pedro, Glavine and Duque are doing now. The Mets have all but clinched the NL East and should get home field in the NL. These three guys will step it up come October. El Duque is a made for October pitcher, Pedro is proven and Glavine, while he has been shaky in October, does have the experience. The Mets will ride these three arms to the World Series like I said they would back in March.

The big losers were the Red Sox. They did nothing, and to dig a deeper hole for themselves, Jason Varitek might be done for the season. He is their captain. Imagine the Yanks losing Jeter. Thats what this is like. I hate saying it, but it looks like the Yanks might pull out the division again. I hope I'm wrong.

I want to say thank you to a few teams also. Thank you to the Marlins for not trading Dontrelle, thanks to the Orioles for not trading Tejada, and thanks to Oakland for not trading Zito, and lastly very very very many thank yous to the Nats for not trading Soriano. It is ludacris to trade your best player just because you think you are out of the race. Keep those players there, build around them. Dont worry about the offseason, worry about now. Worry about putting butts in seats and these teams stuck to their guns and didnt trade their stars. Great Job.

I wish I could say the same about the Pirates who back-tracked another 5 years yet again.