Phelps Scandal

Phelps wearing his Olympic medals

We all remember the, well most of us remember, 2008 Olympics in Beijing.  The U.S kicked royal booty in aquatics.  Super stud Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals and now currently holds the record for most Olympic medals in history with 16.  This one of a kind all star athlete can do no wrong, or can he? Phelps was caught smoking  marijuana at a college party.  After his poor actions not even months after the hype of the Olympics, his endorser Kellogg dropped him from their contract, however Speedo decided to keep them as their representative. 


According to Kellogg Phelps had broken the morals clause they had held him to.  A morals clause is a provision in a contract or official document that prohibits certain behavior in a person's private life. They deal with behavior such as sexual acts and drug use. They were commonly used in the contract between actors/actresses and film studios to uphold the public image sought to be portrayed by the studio. Morals clauses are included today in certain contracts of public figures, such as athletes, actors/actresses, and others.  In other words Kellogg saw pot smoking as bad publicity for their comany and did't want to be affiliated with Phelps.  Why is it however Speedo remained faithful to their beloved star?    

Phelps Speedo advertisement

My assumption is Speedo is a premier swimming brand.  Phelps is an outstanding swimmer.  Kelloggs target market is usually associate with kids.  They make childrens cereals and other snack like products and having a pot smoker as a representative would reflect badly on their company, not to mention the message it would send to kids.  Speedo doesn't just cater to youth, they make products for adults as well.  I believe this is why they held onto Phelps.  They wanted to still be perceived as the best in the swimsuit market and at the time Phelps was the best swimmer.  There was no one else people would recognize other than his face so Speedo took the risk.  I am sure Speedo didnt just brush off the incident, they had probably fined Phelps heavily for breaching contract or didn't pay him in the full he was originally awarded.  

8 Losses and Counting (FB)

What may be the longest losing streak this team has ever seen, the Lady Dragons are still keeping their heads up.  “It’s not the fact that we don’t have the skills, because we have the skills and talent we need to win, we are just lacking that want and power within us to want to win.  We aren’t confidant,” Coach Colleen Dixon stated after the 8^th loss at Edinboro.  Being a senior on this team and practicing with my girl’s every day, I know what we are missing and it is confidence.  We have so many talented players and we will be up at half thinking that we have the big W, then one person makes a simple mistake and our momentum is shot and we crawl into a hole that is too deep to get out of.  We have shifted gears and with eight more games left and a week to recoup after this long streak of disaster, we are expecting to bounce back.  The captains have helped changed the tone of practices by helping to boost the confidence of the freshmen and underclassmen who have become discouraged, along with coach Dixon is spending ample amounts of time on the areas we need the most improvement.  The team is finally coming together as one and we are all on the same page and hungry for a win.  We will see the fire unleashed from the Dragons this Wednesday April 4^th away at Indiana Tec.      

Is Mike Veeck Crazy or Genius?

Mike Veeck

Minor league owner and consultant to a number of professional baseball teams, Mike Veeck is considered a legend in his promotional tactics of getting fans to the ball park.  He hired a dog & pig to deliver baseballs to the umpire, a Roman Catholic nun to give massages, and locked fans out of the stadium to set an all-time attendance record for fewest people at a game.  Hands down one of my favorite ideas that came out of Veeck’s brain was hiring mimes to reenact the instant replays.  This didn’t go over well at all with the baseball fans.  They were so heated at the lack of instant replays on the big screen, they began to throw hot dogs at the mimes.  Though this “promotion” drove fans nuts and even cause so agitation, the ball park sold out of hot dogs.  So it poses this question, is Mike Veeck crazy or a genius?  Not all of his schemes have been successful, but I find that his creativeness is brilliant.  Veeck is trying to sell the fan experience by thinking out side of the box.  He is purposefully trying to get under the fans skin, get them out of their comfort zone.  Though some may not react to this in a positive manner (throwing hot dogs), I bet everyone who was at that game will remember it for the rest of their lives and that is what sells tickets.  Creating memories that people can attach on to and that will get them back in those seats for more “bizarre” moments/entertainment.  

Spring Break Down South (FB)

While most college students spend their spring break at a beach relaxing, getting tan and partying, TU Lady LAX was working hard in Savannah Georgia.  With 6:00am conditioning and late night practices in bug infested swamps, these ladies were determined to reap havoc on the south.  Unfortunately, the hard work did not pay off and the dragons fell short against SCAD and St. Michaels College on Tuesday and Thursday evening.  Though both games were a close match, the team took some valuable lessons from the losses and hopes to implement new strategies for the next four games on the road. 

Half the team in a shop at the river walk

Despite the upset of loosing during spring break, TU LAX still managed to have fun in the beautiful city of Savannah.  With bright sunny weather and clear sky's it was hard to stay disappointed about the looses for too long.   The team got to explore the river walk and shops, eat some fine sea food and managed to go to the beach for a day.  The long 12 hour bus ride brought the team together and hopefully it can be used to their advantage on the field in upcoming games.  

First Victory of the Season! (FB)

Freshmen goalie Jessica Bombard making a save

Tiffin University picked up its first win of the season, defeating Tennessee Wesleyan 12-11 on a chilly night at Frost Kalnow Stadium.  Tiffin showed improvement from its first game of the season, cutting down its turnovers and battling back from a narrow halftime deficit to get the win. TU had a rough first 10 minutes, falling behind 4-1 before ripping off five consecutive goals to take a 6-4 lead with 9:09 to play.

“In the locker room prior to warming up, coach [Colleen Dixon] really emphasized the importance of trying to cut our mistakes in half.  Those caused turnovers really hurt us in the first game. So as a team we held one another accountable to eliminate the little errors,” defensive player Heather Denaro was quoted saying after the game.   

The Dragons certainly prevailed and were able to run the clock out over the final 2:54 while maintaining a one goal lead.  Lady TU LAX looks forward to playing the competitively ranked Mercyhurst College at home in two days.

Home Opener (FB)

Tiffin University picked up right where they left off last year on a fiery streak with new coach Colleen Dixon.  Dixon joined the Dragons last year and brought a new team structure and dynamics that proved successful in her first season with a 7 and 9 record, just shy of .500.   

Starting mid fielder Alexandria Quast was the Division II leader in goals per game in 2011 and scored 8 goals in the Dragons' season opener with Shepherd University. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as TU fell 19-14 to the Rams to open the 2012 women's lacrosse season 0-1.

The turnovers gave Shepherd a big shot differential, as they held a 45-25 shot advantage. Shepherd also won the ground ball battle 36-29 in the physical contest which saw 91 total foul calls.

Tiffin held a 5-3 lead midway through the first half, but the turnovers led to a 7-2 Rams run over the next 15:00 as Shepherd held a 10-7 lead at the half. TU cut down the turnovers in the second half and kept the game close, cutting the score to 16-14 with 4:35 to play, but could get no closer as the Rams tacked on three more goals to put the game away in the closing minutes.

Strategies for Ticket Sales

So you’ve finally reached the big time and are working for a pro sports team. Your only objective/job is to sell tickets (marketing) and make you’re franchise the green stuff.  In the textbook “Developing Successful Sport Marketing Plans, “  it poses this question, “would you rather sell 10,000 tickets at $2 each or 1,000 at $20 each?”  This is a tricky question in the fact most pro sports franchises, I would imagine, shoot for sold out home games every time.  I think what it boils down to is who that team is playing.  If it is rival games say the Heat Vs. Calvs or Dallas Vs. Houston, obviously a lot of people would be looking to attend those games so the demand would be high.  When demand is high for any service or product it is an indication that that company can and should raise the prices.   If the game is lower key and hasn’t had a great turn out in the past, then one can gage that and perhaps sell tickets at a lower price to give more of an incentive to customers to attend that game.