It's rainy and cold in the Northeast and it's been a long two weeks with the Red Sox win and Patriots' exploits. Toss in K.G. and the Celtics and it's a great time to be a sports fan.
So, why not a little venom?
The sale of NHIS - I was saddened to hear of the impending $340 million sale of New Hampshire International Speedway from the Bahre family to Speedway Motorsports Inc. for several reasons. Being based in NH, I care a lot about what happens in this state and as its largest employer, so should NHIS. I have no doubt that the Bahres had the right intentions in mind when deciding who to sell their speedway to. After building an incredible attraction in little ol' Loudon, NH, that attracts over 100,000 people twice a year for NASCAR races, they ought to. I'm not a race fan, but I understand in the pride that it brings this region. For two days a year, we matter to a percentage of the country and the financial implications of those races matter to the state.
But when I read pieces like this that have new owner Bruton Smith saying he has "no plans" to move one of the races to Vegas, I'm concerned. When I read quotes like this ("I don't think he's going to, personally. But that's only my thought.") from Bob Bahre regarding the potential move of a race from Loudon to Las Vegas, I'm concerned. Considering he had many suitors for the track (including Boston Red Sox owner John Henry's group, who have obvious New England ties), you would think Bahre would have included some sort of guarantee clause that both races remain in New Hampshire for a certain amount of time.
However, he didn't and past 2008, the possiblity of a race moving looms large. The economic impact will be felt here and not in a city like Vegas who has more money flowing through it hourly than most of New Hampshire does daily. To me, It is an inevitability that Smith will wave a checkered flag to both races eventually leaving the Granite State and we'll be left feeling like we just spun out in Turn 2 and hit the wall.
Aves at it again - Former Los Angeles King and Mike Longver favorite Sean Avery was back in the news today. This time, it seems Aves has been seen out in public with paparazzi favorite Mary Kate Olsen, according to several media outlets. Maybe she's trying to keep pace with her sister Ashley who is now hooked up with Lance Armstrong. Stick figure girls are in again?
Come on, ESPN - After Super Bowl 41.5 last Sunday between the Colts and Pats, I was stunned (or maybe I shouldn't be) at the level of media coverage the ensuring New England victory result got. After weeks and weeks of hearing about every angle, it seemed like ESPN dropped the story when the ending didn't turn out as they expected. The conspiracy theorist in me says that had the Colts won, we would be hearing a lot more about this game. To me, there is no doubt that the NFL is taking offense to the way the Patriots are simply destroying teams this season. Make no mistake that Bill Belichick is on a mission, a quiet one, but one that is geared toward destruction. And yes, this is all thanks to the Spygate media hurricane sham that was based more on opinion than on fact. As a result, there are more detractors than there are objective media types. Since the Pats won, I think the media silence that occurred afterward was quite telling (unless you were talking about the Belichick/Dungy handshake after the game).
One of the more disappointing results was on the Mike and Mike radio show on ESPN, a staple for yours truly in the office. I was anxious to get their thoughts, but instead was depressed to hear little talk of New England's big win. Instead, the focus was on the "impressive" Colts defense, how the result really didn't matter since these two teams will meet again and how irritated they were with Belichick's post-game reaction. Ugh. Guys: get over it. Belichick doesn't have to give you anything for quotes. It's not his obilgation to give the media anything they can use. He does his job and answers questions how he prefers to, in a stoic fashion that doesn't lead to bulletin board material. It's simple: he wins games, he wins championships. Stop hating on the fact he doesn't talk and appreciate how he does his job which is what he ultimately should be judged on. With the amount of coaching turnover current in pro sports, you'd think someone doing their job right would actually be revered. Much like the San Antonio Spurs, doing your job in a non-flashy way isn't cool.
And how everyone focused on the post-game handshake more than the officiating still befuddles me. I heard one national commentator (Colin Cowherd) mention the major disparity in penalites, but none of the other programs happened to pick up on it. Really? Two officials stare at a Colts player stepping out-of-bounds on a catch and call it fair and it's not brought up? Mutliple pass interference calls that didn't fit the rules and not a mention? There needs to be more ombudsmen out there to call ESPN out, similar to what Le Ann Schreiber does for them. For a $30 billion media company to only have one doesn't make sense.
Josh Nason is the Director of Marketing for Pro Sports Media and writes on various topics for Small White Ball, NasonBlog and Notes From The Lab. His views do not reflect the views of PSM, its employees or corporate views as a whole.
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