The Social Sport Network

We all know that sport is a social phenomena but now it has ties with social networks. In class on January 20th and 25th we talked about why we should study sport. The fact is simple that sport is leaking into our everyday lives. We are beginning to live sport here in the U.S. According to Coakley and class discussion 1/10 of the worlds almanacs is devoted to sports, 15% of major network TV is devoted to sport, and 1/4 of space in The USA Today is occupied by sports. In a recent report by ESPN (link at bottom) Action Sports have signed an contract with social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Skateboarder Tony Hawk leads all action sport athletes with 2.3 million followers on Twitter. Sport Marketers figure that with the growing popularity of social networks that they can get across messages of products and broaden their sales.It has been said that over 1 billion people per day are logged into Facebook and Twitter. Sport companies are using a growing social phenomena to expand its market. They can generate triple the money that was spent on paying the social networking sites for advertisements fees.

http://sports.espn.go.com/action/news/story?id=6175659

For Barry, Politics and Sport Dont Bond

In class on February 24 and March 1st we focused on Sport and Politics. The main question was should politics be involved in sports. MLB Home run record holder Barry Bonds has recently plead not guilty for a fourth time for perjury charges. Bonds is set to go on trail for lying to a Federal Grand Jury about his steroid use. Bonds steroid use came into light in the 2003 BALCO steroids case. Bonds competed many years after that case and retired from the MLB at the end of his 21st year in 2007. Bonds case was just one of many that lead to the Mitchell Report released in 2007 by Senator George J. Mitchell after he conducted a 21-month investigation on performance enhancing drug use in baseball. Many current and former players had the same issues of admitting to using steroid just as Bond has. Some have confessed after initially denying it but have eventually admitted it. Coakley says that Politics safeguards the public order on sports and also promotes the prestige and power of a community or nation. using steroids is illegal in all major U.S. sports and is a sign of cheating and destroys the image of sports all across the world. While it seems as if politics are beginning to abuse to its power in sports, it is also the same thing that keep sport together. The article below highlights Bonds recent case of pleading not guilty to perjury.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6171845

Blackhawks Take Flight In Disney

On February 10th and 15th we focused on youth sport and the effect it has on the youth in our country. According to Coakley football is one of the most popular youth sports with 8.9 million competing in tackle football annually. In December of 2010, The North Philadelphia Blackhawks captured the 2010 120lb Pop Warner title after advancing to the title game as the 105lb squad a year before. Their ticket was punched to Disney but there was just one problem... How would they get there? One of the major problems in youth sport is the cost. In Pop Warner there are bases expenses that get the kids through city and regional play because the travel expenses aren't much but there is nothing that covers a trip to Disney if they make it. Philadelphia Mayor, Michael Nutter, worked up $26,500 to send both the Blackhawks and 150lb Frankford Chargers to Disney. Organizations all over the country donate or sponsor many different youth sport teams. Sponsorships from organizations is what keeps most youth sport organizations running because it cost a lot to maintain the expenses of travell, venues and food and drinks for the athletes. The links below highlight the Blackhawks win and the sponsorships that sent them to Disney.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/North_Philly_Blackhawks_Win_Pop_Warner_Super_Bowl_Philadelphia-111760344.html



http://cityofphiladelphia.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/mayor-nutter-announces-funding-for-local-pop-warner-football-league-teams/

Bullseye Buckeye

On February 22nd we discussed Intercollegiate Sport. We talked about the history and the issues facing intercollegiate athletics. In December 2010, five Ohio State football players were suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season by the NCAA for violating NCAA rules. The five players are star QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Dan Herron, WR Devir Posey, OT Mike Adams, and DL Solomon Thomas. All but Thomas are starters. The players sold items such as their Big Ten championship rings and OSU Sport Apparel that are only given to players in exchange for tattoos. Student-athletes are not allowed to benefit from their status to receive things that require money or direct money from anyone. However, the universities benefit from what these athletes bring to the table every time they step on their respective playing fields. This article below is from the NY TImes and relates to the things we discussed in class and the things discussed in Coakley because according to Coakley universities with Division 1-A football teams generate $35,400,000 in media revenue in 2006. Universities also benefit form Bowl money $230 million is to be divided by 68 teams. However, 75% of that goes to only ten teams and leaves 58 teams to split the rest. Universities are allowed to generate millions of dollars off athletes but it is against the rules for athletes to generate money off a university.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/sports/ncaafootball/24buckeyes.html