Sports PR 101 - A Public Relations Sports Blog

I love baseball, I really do. I love the history, the action, the tradition and the die-hard passion of those who play and watch the sport.

But sometimes, those very same things make it very difficult to follow.

Take last night, for example. Last night was an exciting night in baseball. It featured a race for the batting title, two wild-card races and a pair of teams battling to the wire for home field advantage in the Divisional Series. It ended up being a twisted tale of scandal, lament and self-loathing that only come from the mires of East Coast Fandom.

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Former Patriots Linebacker and current ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi has always been the guy who held other people to a higher standard and the kept his teams accountable for their actions. Apparently, he’s not quite ready to give that up. In a series of interviews with WEEI, the former Pat – along with alum Rodney Harrison – continued to dole out their special brand of advice to the newest member of the New England Patriots, Chad Ochocinco.

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College football is bringing a strange legacy to bear in the early part of this decade.

Amid a slew of scandals regarding improper benefits and athlete compensation, the discussion around students athletes, coaches and institutions is beginning to boil over – and the punishments aren’t being left at the gates of the schools.

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In a case that many local news organizations were watching with interest, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association has won the right to sign exclusive contracts for streaming live games online.

It is a case that took nearly two years and flew far under the radar, but the judge’s decision in a Chicago Court of Appeals will undoubtedly have lasting and sweeping effects over the coverage of Prep Sports in the future.

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Last night was, by all rights, a spectacle the likes of which we haven’t seen up to this point in the NFL Labor Stoppage drama. Today, members of the media, players, and owners alike are picking up the pieces and trying to piece together a Collective Bargaining Agreement that will bring NFL football back for a 2011 season.

The words “PR Play” were thrown around a lot, and the term wasn’t without merit. It’s not a lie to say that getting the lockout resolved is a move based upon positive Public Relations, but the picture painted last night is not as complete and black-and-white as you would probably like to believe.

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This post will serve as an ongoing resource for those interested in NFL Lockout news from today’s meetings of players and owners

From the last post:

The Owners have approved a new CBA to end the NFL labor stoppage. It is a ten-year deal with no ability (as of yet) to opt-out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Because of time constraints, however, the Hall of Fame Game on August 7th has been cancelled due to scheduling restrictions.

Players will receive up to 47% of the league’s revenue from the first year, with terms improving throughout the course of the CBA. the deal also allows for a lower Rookie salary cap and four-year contracts for first-year players, with team options for he fifth year. There are also mandates about team activities and pre-season workouts as well.

(UPDATE: here are the updated terms and conditions, via NFL.com)

If the deal was passed by the players, player facilities would open as early as Saturday, and the new League Year would begin as early as next Wednesday.

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Very recently media sources have reported that the NFL Owners have agreed to the new, 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association. NFL.com has reported that the vote was passed 31-0, with Oakland abstaining from the vote. In a press conference, Roger Goodell has noted that the lockout has caused the cancellation of the Hall of Fame Game on August 7th.

The vote now lies with the 32 player reps, who are set to vote in a little under an hour, or 8pm EST. When over 50 percent agree to the new unprecedented CBA, the NFLPA can re-constitute as a union, they must settle the current lawsuits, and then the lockout will be lifted by the owners.

The new CBA features the following provisions (among others):

• Four year Rookie Contracts, with the fifth year allowing for free agency
• No More full-contact two-a-day practices
• a reduction to nine OTA’s from fourteen

Right now, it appears the earliest the League Year would open would be by July 27th.

Roger Goodell is currently speaking to the media, and more details will follow.

Sports PR Round Up is a (somewhat) weekly venture on this site. Every week, we come across dozens of stories around the world of Sports and Sports PR. Though we would love to expound and comment on every one of these stories, the information we can find does not allow it, or we simply don’t have the time.

Those stories inevitably find there way here, where we can bring them to you in short, easy-to-read doses with a minimum of opinion, allowing our audience to use them for information, entertainment and to further your own discussions.

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