Event Recap: Marcia Harding, ILR Office of Career Services

The ILR Sports Business Society was fortunate enough to be visited by Ms. Marcia Harding of the ILR Career Services Office on February 19th, as she spoke to the club about how to initiate an internship and job search in the sports field, as well as how to most effectively use LinkedIn as a professional networking tool.

Read some of her best tips after the jump!

  -Update your resume frequently, and have it critiqued regularly. Additionally, create multiple resumes in order to tailor them to specific opportunities.

 -When writing your cover letter, be sure to avoid being generic. Employers can spot this! Employers generally spend more time reading a cover letter than looking over a resume.

-Many jobs and internships can be procured through referrals, so you must always be ready to network and inform employers who you are and what you are interested in. You always need to be ready to network, whether you’re on the streets, a bus, or at a conference.

-When networking, don’t ask for a job or internship, even though the connection might know that’s your end goal. However, be sure to let them know what you are interested in, what your aspirations are, or ask them if they would be willing to participate in an informational interview to share their experiences with you.

-Use the “Groups” function on LinkedIn to find areas that interest you and connect with professionals who share similar interests.

-Use keywords to search for professionals with similar interests, or find Cornell alumni. Make sure to join the ILR Sports Business Society’s LinkedIn group, too!

Also be on the lookout for an email from Marcia that will include the Internet links she presented during her visit, and some additional resources she referenced. If you do not receive this email, contact Dan DeFlumeri at dad326@cornell.edu to receive the information.

Thank you to all of the ILR Sports Business Society members who were able to come, and we hope all of the members continue to use their school’s Career Services Office as they continue to navigate the professional world of sports.

Sochi 2014: The NHL's Return?

Will Sidney Crosby and Team Canada get to celebrate in Sochi?

It is now less than 365 days until the Olympic flame is lit and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games begin. While many questions of the game are unknown and will not be answered until right before the games, (will there be enough snow on the slopes? Or will they have to bring snow in like Vancouver in 2010?) The biggest question to hockey fans, though, should be answered soon. Will the NHL players be allowed to participate in the next winter games?

Since the 1998 Nagano Winter games, the NHL has taken a mid-season break to allow NHL players to participate in the games. The reason why the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) want NHL players is quite obvious: they want the premier talent in hockey to part take in the Olympics. The reasons why the NHL is not sure about allowing its players back also make sense: they assume all the injury risks to stop stars and get no reward in direct revenue or anything else. 

Both the IIHF and the NHL realize the need to keep the players going to the Games, especially after the success of the NHL players at the 2010 Vancouver Games. The gold medal game between the USA and Canada was an instant classic with Sidney Crosby, the NHL’s biggest star, cementing his legacy by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. The gold medal game was watched by 32.8 million Americans, making it the most watched game since the famed “Miracle on Ice” game at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Despite the success of the Vancouver Games, why is the NHL still so skeptical about sending its players to the Sochi Games?

The NHL gets no revenues from any of the advertising the Olympics receives for the use of the NHL players participating. The NHL cannot even use the highlights or photos of the Olympics for their own marketing. The NHL would like to get use to the images and highlights from these Olympics in exchange for the NHL players participation. IOC rules, though, only allow the images from the Olympics to be used by their sponsors, which the NHL is not. But why is the NHL not considered a sponsor of the game? They provide the athletes, rather than the money, to support one of the larger winter events. Baseball was never successful at the summer games because the MLB never was willing to allow the best major leaguers to go to the Olympics. I understand the IOC's and IIHF's hesitation. After all, if they let the NHL have access to images from these Winter Games, when does the NBA start asking for the same from the Summer Game? Will FIFA ask for the same for soccer?

The NHL also wants access for its general managers and other team personal to interact with its players while in Sochi, as well. The IOC has generally been reluctant to give leagues these rights, but is it worth it for the IOC to lose top quality athletes in a major sport at the Sochi Olympics? The NHL is giving up two and half weeks of its season. It is reasonable to understand their desire to receive some sort of compensation. 

In the end, I think everyone will be shocked if the NHL, IIHF, and IOC do not agree to do a deal that allows the NHL players to return to these Olympic Games. It is something the NHL needs if it is to completely recover from its last lockout and the IIHF and IOC needs to make the ice hockey competition at the Olympics seen as a truly legitimate with the world’s best hockey players competing. 

Mo Money, Joe Problems

Pictured: A man who is about to get paid

Turn on ESPN. What will you see? Besides hearing Spike Lee ask, “Is it the shoes?” or what seems like thousands of NFL analysts debating which CFL team Tim Tebow will play for next season, you’ll likely hear about NFL free-agency, and more specifically, that Baltimore Ravens QB and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco is about to be one rich man.

And then you continue on with you day — realizing how much class bores you and how you have read every article on ESPN at least once today and need something else to do — without realizing deep down how uncomfortable you are with the news you just heard. You question your uncertainty about the news. Is Joe Flacco really about to become the highest paid QB in the NFL, approximately in the ballpark of 20 million?

If you are one of these people, congratulations, you are not crazy. It makes completely no sense that Joe Flacco should ever be the highest-paid QB because, statistically, he is just not close to being the best QB.

Joe Flacco played out of his mind during the postseason. However, just as we can see with Sabermetrics and baseball, it is misguided to look at the small sample size that is the postseason and confidently declare that Joe Flacco is an elite QB. Taking a look at his career stats, through his five seasons in the league, it becomes clear that Flacco is only an average QB. 

In Joe Flacco’s best season, 2010, he threw for 25 TDs. Back then, his 25 TDs were only good for 10^th best among QBs. This year, 2012, Flacco threw for 22 TDs, and in the passing-dominated league today, his 22 TDs only placed him 17^th in total passing TDs — the bottom half of QBs in the National Football League. In addition, Flacco was 14^th in total passing yards, with 3,817, 19^th in completion percentage, completing only 59.7% of his passes, and 16^thin passing yards per game, having thrown for 239 yds/game. 

You can’t even argue that Joe Flacco threw for so few yards per game and TDs because the Ravens only needed him to be a game-manager, a complement to the Ray Rice’s pinball-type runs. Flacco threw 531 passes, good for 14^th among QBs, while also managing to throw for 10 interceptions. While his interception/thrown passes ratio is certainly impressive, if you compare his stats with elite QBs such as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, you see that each QB threw fewer interceptions than Flacco while throwing more passes — 637 passes for Brady and 552 for Rodgers respectively.

Let’s take a look at Joe Flacco’s best friend in the entire world and forever his go-to comparison, Matt Ryan. We see that Ryan had significantly more attempts than Flacco with 615, and he also ended up besting Flacco with the highest completion percentage in the league and 5^th in yards and TDs.  Accounting for more of his team’s offense than Flacco, still, Matty Ice only ended up with four more interceptions. While both QBs are good, despite Flacco's recent playoff run, I would rather have Ryan than Flacco.

Furthermore, let's not forget that football is the ultimate team game; you are only as good as your  teammates and your perception of greatness unfairly gets inflated or downsized depending on if you are lucky enough to come away with a victory. Here’s a question: who do you think would have had a better season, the Falcons with Joe Flacco at the helm or the Ravens with Ryan? I think the Ravens with Ryan, no? 

And that leads us to the consequences of giving Joe Flacco an outrageous pay raise. Paying Flacco $20 million, results in the Ravens likely having to let go WR Anquan Boldin and possibly S Ed Reed and LB/DE Paul Krueger, too. Without Boldin, do the Ravens even win the Super Bowl? Do they win if fantasy-zombie Anquan Boldin doesn't completely  burn New England CB replacement Marquise Cole (he was on the Jets for crying out loud) in the 2^nd half of AFC championship game to get to the Super Bowl? Do they win if Boldin doesn't grab Joe Flacco’s prayer jump ball or draw defensive pass interference on final drive of the big game, forcing San Francisco to score a TD instead of a FG? And this is not even including the potential devasting impact on the Ravens’ secondary if Ed Reed departs, and the drop in their run defense without Ray Lewis.

After all I have said in this article about why Joe doesn’t deserve a giant payday, in reality, Smokin Joe is going to be a Raven next year, and he is going to get paid like a king.  Flacco holds all the leverage in the situation. 

Baltimore could have, and should have, extended Flacco during the regular season while he was performing like the quarterback he really is: an average – more like an above-average QB. I would rather have the QB he played against, Colin Kaepernick, over him. And even the three rookie QBs — Wilson, Griffin III, and Luck — too.

Flacco held up the Lombardi Trophy, went to Disney World, and now is about to strike it big time. But does he deserve it?

No, he does not. 

A Letter to Falcons Fans: The Los Angeles Card

Moving to Los Angeles? A pipe dream. 

Dear Atlanta Falcons Fan,

Congratulations. Not only are you going to keep your Falcons in Atlanta, but also gain that new stadium you've long coveted. While the talks between the team, the city of Atlanta, and the state of Georgia have not yet technically produced that new stadium, I am now sure it is going to happen. How can I be so sure? After all, both the city and the state seem hesitant to commit public money to the project and the Falcons do not want to completely fund the project. Follow the logic after the jump.

Well, I’m from Los Angeles, and as soon as LA's name becomes affiliated with your team, it almost always works out in your favor. Since the Rams and Raiders left in 1994 and 1995 respectively, there have been now 14 teams who have played the "Los Angeles card" in their quest to improve their stadium. Yet Los Angeles still has no football team. Baltimore can thank Los Angeles for its Ravens; Houston can thank Los Angeles for the Texans. For fans of Seattle, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, Minnesota (soon) and San Francisco, it seems only right that they “thank” Los Angeles for their new stadiums. The threat of moving to Los Angeles helped each team secure the funding for a new stadium in their own city. New Orleans, Carolina and Buffalo used the threat of Los Angeles to improve the condition of their current stadiums. The only teams that have not been able to leverage Los Angeles to their own success are San Diego and Oakland. Those two has to do with California state law banning the use of tax dollars for public stadiums as much as anything else.

See, Atlanta? It almost always works out when Los Angeles gets involved. It doesn’t matter that your governor says that Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank has never once threatened the Los Angeles card because Los Angeles has come to you. We want your team because we have not one, but two NFL stadiums ready to break ground as soon as a team is ready to move. We are America’s second largest television market, yet we are missing America’s number one sport. Now it is only a matter of time until the state of Georgia and the Falcons reach an agreement on how to fund the current 100 million dollar difference that currently exists. Despite the fact 75% of Georgians oppose public funding towards a new stadium, no politician wants to be the person who let the NFL leave the city. I know it seems stupid that your billionaire owner only wants to pay for 70% of the new stadium when both potential Los Angeles stadiums are being 100% financed privately, but Arthur Blank knows that the city and state won’t let the Falcons leave.

The closer 2017 gets, when the Falcons current lease ends, the louder the Los Angeles rumors will be. By then, the politicians, who currently do not want to deal, will sign a deal to build the Falcons a new stadium. Just ask the Minnesota legislature, who for years did not want to build a new stadium on public money until suddenly the threat of the Los Angeles Vikings became too great and a deal was reached almost immediately to keep the team in Minnesota.

So congratulations, Atlanta. I’m excited for your new stadium, and hopefully it will keep the team in Georgia for the foreseeable future.



Sincerely,

The NFL fans of Los Angeles

End the Pro Bowl?

The Pro Bowl: Looks intense to me! 

Football has become America’s number one sport. Yet its all-star game, also known as the Pro Bowl, still lags behind those of other major sports. The NFL recognizes its problem and is trying to find a solution. The issue, however, is how to fix it. The complaints range from a lack of effort to to too many players sitting out of the game due to “injury." The NFL started their quest to fix the Pro Bowl in 2010 when they moved the Pro Bowl from Honolulu, Hawaii to the site of the Super Bowl in Miami, Florida. The game was also moved to the week before the Super Bowl. The results have been mixed. The attendance was nearly 70,000 (compared to Honolulu’s 50,000), but players complained, as they wanted the trip to Hawaii as part of the tradition of the game. The Pro Bowl returned to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012, yet player effort continued to deteriorate.
The NFL openly debated canceling the game before this past Pro Bowl. The NFL is skeptical of getting rid of the game because its TV ratings are still high. The 2012 Pro Bowl had a 7.7 Nielsen rating, which, in comparison, is higher than the four game average for the 2012 World Series at 7.6. The NFL does not want to be the only major sport without an All Star game, but the quality of the game has become a laughing point in recent seasons. In the past four years, the lowest combined point total of any game was 75 points. Compared to the 266 NFL games already played this year, just nine, or 3.3%, of the games have had a total score of 75 points or more. The last three Pro Bowls were all higher scoring than any game regular season or post-season game this year. This just speaks to the lack of effort put in on defense for fear of injury.

The NFL also suffers from so many players sitting out the game. Unlike baseball or basketball, sports with a midseason all-star break, (where it is much harder to sit out the game for injury) the NFL suffers from this problem greatly. This year, all three of the NFC’s quarterbacks sat out the game, which  lead to the sixth ranked quarterback in the NFC playing in the game. The NFC quarterbacks were just three of 32 players who played in the game despite not being named to the initial rosters. It appears many players would rather collect their bonuses for being a Pro Bowler in their contract, skip the game, and not risk further injury.

The solution gaining the most ground for the NFL’s problem is a skills competition much like the NBA’s Saturday Night of the All Star Weekend. The idea is to have the top players in the league competing in events like obstacle courses or longest throw. The biggest issue with is that it completely eliminates the game, and when the NFL used to have a skill competition at the Pro Bowl, no one cared.



Recently there have been people who have suggested that the NFL bring back the 3rd place game that existed from 1960 to 1969 with the losing teams from the championship games playing each other. The issue with this solution is the fear that no team would play their top players. Anyone who thinks Bill Belichick would have played Tom Brady or Vince Wilfork against the Falcons if they played for 3rd place one week after the AFC Championship game is crazy.

Some of the most interesting suggestions to fix the game include increasing the compensation of the players for playing. If players were making an actual game check or got a fully guaranteed contract for the next year season regardless of them getting injured in the game would more players care? It is an unanswerable question unless the NFL commits that type of money to pay all those players.

I think the NFL needs to get rid of the game and save players the embarrassment of lack of effort. The NFL needs to make it a non-contact event with a skills competition and maybe a flag football game, too. The NFL cannot completely get rid of having Pro Bowlers, but trying to increase the effort in the game is a losing cause when players have way more to lose and nothing to gain from playing hard.