I am extremely honored to be amongst the highly intelligent and motivated contributors to Jason Peck’s 2010 Sports and Social Media Predictions, and I really wanted to publish a post about it earlier in the week when the predictions first came out, but I also wanted to thoroughly read through the entire docket before writing about it, and I could not do that until now.  I was very quiet about it, but this week were Final Exams, and in law school, studying and taking those exams consumes quite a bit of time.  Anyway, the tests are beyond me, and I can now return to focusing on my business and the business of sports.

So about Peck’s compilation of sports and social media predictions (an embedded downloadable copy may be found at the bottom of this post)…first of all, I love the cover page.  It is creative and aesthetically pleasing.  A few notes based on my readings are below:

• Brian Gainor mentions that 2010 will be defined by the rise of online video and photo sharing.  I personally believe that online video is going to expand tremendously.  From video calls on your phone, to video conferences on the computer, and especially the eventual ease of recording a video and instantly uploading it to social services.  He mentions Flip Video cameras.  I am actually about to unwrap one that I just received in order to do a special Holiday Product Review of it on the blog.  I have a feeling I am going to get good usage out of that little “toy”.
• Dan Beeman says that teams and leagues will attempt to build their own online communities.  I think they need to tread this water carefully.  If they do create unique communities, they will need to be heavily integrated with the big boys (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube).  The key is not trying to defeat them, but instead, how to work with them.
• I won’t comment on my own piece.  Instead, I ask that you leave your comments on this post.
• The Blogs With Balls guys see a consolidation of independent voices in the blogosphere.  I sure hope not.  This site has never become a part of a larger entity, even though there have been some pretty lucrative offers on the table.  Independent voices are needed…isn’t that the main reason why blogs started and became popular in the first place?
• I just really like this passage from Espree Devora: “Surf brand means you’re a surfer right? No, not necessarily. You must establish your brand to stand for something. A cause. Something bigger and selflLESS than selling a pair of board shorts.”
• Joe Favorito sees a shift to localization from the shotgun approach being applied today.  Perhaps that is the route for the lesser known public figures, but not the case for a LeBron James.
• J.W. Cannon sees more red tape coming in the future.  Athletes will be limited to what they can say and do by regulations and PR entities.  How does that affect what I said in my piece?
• Lewis Howes makes a good point: sports entities do not only need to be involved in social media in 2010, they need to find new, creative ways to be involved.
• Pat Coyle says there will be more buying and selling of inventory on social media by teams in 2010, but no crazy boy band money just yet.
• I like Peter Robert Casey’s note that social media will be integrated into athletes’ marketing and sponsorship campaigns.  We are already seeing it done with entities like Danica Patrick.  I think it will only expand in the next year.
• Rob Katz makes a great reference to Geoffrey Moore’s argument in Crossing the Chasm.  The mainstream adopters have joined the early adopters on these social media networks.  Now it’s time to figure out how to make it a successful venture for all involved.
• Russell Scibetti notes that social media engagement is time consuming.  Thus, measurement is necessary to make sure that there is value behind that engagement.
• Ryan Stephens is brilliant when he says that strategies must include more than just slapping a sponsor’s logo on a Twitter page.  It’s all about creativity and integration.  What does the brand specifically like about the athlete it wants to sponsor?  How can that athlete use that particular “likeness” to benefit the brand?  Another good point – it’s not only about the number of Twitter followers you have.
• Steve Cobb discusses the power of contests.  Here is a good way to make an athlete sponsorship more fun than just slapping that logo on his page.  And the athletes can then promote the contest to their followings as well.  I disagree about Ustream’s growth among athletes, though.  This is one area where I think sports agents will wise up and tell their clients to stay away.  It takes a very particular athlete to be able to handle live streaming effectively.  Most athletes aren’t suited for it.
• Trevor Turnbull turns the discussion away from ROI and talks about people, relationships, and trust.  Maybe social media is not how you make the money, it’s how you develop the relationships that will make you money.
• Ty Ahman-Taylor talks about how tweets fall short of capturing the full experience of a game, but at least those updates are better than nothing (if you are not at the game or in front of a TV).

Football

• Largest increase in 3 years. And I predict a new CBA will be signed before the start of next season [Final adjustment increases salary cap].
• Sheldon Brown deserves more money, but who told him to sign a 9-year deal when he was 25-years-old? [The Early Extension of Young Players' Contracts].
• The guy has made a lot of money for his clients.. [Drew Rosenhaus, good or evil for the NFL??].
• My man, Kevin Sullivan, gives his advice to the Vick Camp [The PR campaign: A four-point plan for Vick].
• And Adam Ostrow of Mashable.com has some ideas of his own [Can Social Media Help Repair Michael Vick’s Image?].

Basketball

• King James makes roughly $25 million a year from endorsements alone (including a nice deal with Bubblicious) [NBA AM: LeBron James Staying Put].
• Shaq is serious about a career in broadcasting [IT'S ALL SHAQ-ADEMIC].

Sports Business

• What do you think about Danica Patrick’s new Twitter campaign? [Danica Patrick, Twitter, and Sponorships].

While NASCAR has led the way in US motorsports over the last decade or two, open wheel racing has always maintained a passionate following. The Indianapolis 500, the highlight of the Indy Racing League (IRL) season, is still the highest attended single day sporting event in the world, and open wheel racing has a long history and tradition in the US. Additionally, outside of North America, open wheel racing and the Formula One circuit dominate the racing arena with over 50 million live television viewers worldwide for every race.

As the IRL season officially came to a close last week with the league’s Championship Celebration in Las Vegas, league officials were already preparing for the 2009 season. And the league looks poised to make a jump forward on the racing scene. The emergence of star driver Danica Patrick has brought substantial media coverage to IRL events and IRL viewer ratings were up in 2008. The league has forged several significant new sponsorship relationships with Coca-Cola and Philips-Van Heusen (PVH)-the PVH IZOD brand has been named the official apparel line for the IRL. IRL Vice President of Sales, Greg Gruning, suggested that sponsorship relationships like these are “what is going to generate our sport to another level.”

Additionally, the league has executed a new television rights contract with the upstart Versus network. While some critics have suggested that this move will diminish the overall exposure for the IRL by taking races off of the more publicly recognized ESPN network, proponents of the deal contend that ESPN coverage was often relegated to the networks secondary channels and provided very little in the way of IRL specialized coverage. The Versus network, on the other hand, has agreed to provide substantial pre and post race coverage as well as a number of hours of specialized IRL coverage devoted to the drivers and the sport of open wheel racing. Jamie Davis, the new Versus president, has pledged to showcase the IRL on the network, to attract a younger demographic and to help the IRL grow. All promising indicators for open wheel racing.

Combine that with the merger between the IRL and the Champ Car circuit along with the IRL’s increased funding of its steppingstone Indy Lights series, and one can see increased growth on the horizon. As economic times look bleak, and some pundits are predicting challenging times for NASCAR ahead, the IRL, while not immune to the effects of the economic downturn, looks to be in a position to gain ground in the racing arena.

And finally, the IRL has one additional advantage in the fight for racing dominance-speed. The cars are just faster and more technically sophisticated. At top speeds of over 230 mph, open wheel racing arguably provides a product that is more exhilarating, more technically demanding and more cerebrally challenging than stock car racing. While no one is arguing that the IRL is going to supplant NASCAR as America’s racing darling anytime soon, the future looks bright for open wheel racing and its proponents.

Guest contribution by Michael C. Frilling, Esq.; General Counsel; www.fksportsmanagement.com

• I think it’s safe to say that basketball agent, Jeff Schwartz, is no longer invited to dinner at Lute Olson’s house [Blame agents and everyone else].
• Chances are you have never heard of this guy, but he just became the third highest paid offensive tackle in the NFL [Roos Gets $43 Million Extension From Titans].
• He must be a true sportsman, he’s the only player to win the award twice [Suns’ Hill Wins 2007-08 NBA Sportsmanship Award].
• The ladies are looking for some top notch endorsements too [Payback time for Danica Patrick and women's sports?].
• The 11th annual University of Kentucky Sports Marketing Academy is right around the corner. Too bad you can’t buy a ticket to it [Sports Marketing Academy Begins Second Decade].
• Taj Gibson stays, Davon Jefferson goes…to Arn Tellem…surprise…[Mixed News for USC Hoops Fans].
• Greece or United States? Kosta Koufos chooses red, white, and blue [Koufos to sign with agent, stay in draft].
• Okay forget about the individual announcements…here is your official 2008 Early Entry list. I hope the Miami Heat select Dnipro Maksym Vilkhovetskyi, who hails from the Ukraine. [2008 Official NBA Draft Early Entry List].

I am pretty much obligated to put the interview with Leigh Steinberg as the featured post of this past week. It was a great experience for me and hopefully a good read for all of you. Check it out by clicking on Featured, which is hanging around on the right sidebar.