#(also specifically the next baseball game i attend as a fan and not an employee)

[miketownsends]

i think i’m gonna wear my Garages jersey to the next baseball game i go to. for Reasons

[crohnsdigest]

Coronavirus 2020 Outbreak: Latest Updates

The United States leads the world in cases of COVID-19. We'll provide the latest updates on coronavirus cases, government response, impacts to our daily life, and more.

What is the latest news?

Summer Camp Groups Release COVID-19 Guidance May 18, 6:45 p.m.  Two of the nation’s largest summer camp organizations — the YMCA of the USA and the American Camp Association — released a “field guide” on Monday to operate safely this summer amid coronavirus concerns. About 14 million people typically attend 8,400 overnight and 5,600 summer day camps, according to the guide. The 80-page document gives detailed advice for social distancing, transportation, and campers and staff with preexisting medical conditions. The guide also gives specific information about activities such as crafts, swimming and performing arts. The information is meant to supplement the one-page flowchart released by the CDC last week.EXPANDED COVERAGELatest News COVID-19 May Trigger Rare Complication In Children States Not Hitting Testing Goals; Feds Promise Aid 100 Days Into COVID-19, Where Do We Stand? As Society Reopens, Not Everyone is Ready Blood Clots Are Another Dangerous COVID-19 Mystery The Great Invader: How COVID Attacks Every OrganExpert Opinions Coronavirus in Context: New series with WebMD Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Whyte According to the guide, camps shouldn’t open if state and local officials don’t allow it. They should also be in areas that met the third phase of White House guidelines, which call for a two-week decline in COVID-19 cases and hospital capacity to care for new patients. First, camps should pre-screen all staff and campers for COVID-19 symptoms, according to the guide. During camp, directors and administrators may choose to take temperatures daily and isolate or send home people with symptoms. The guide suggests that overnight camps operate as a “bubble,” allowing only staff and campers who have tested negative. They may also follow shelter-in-place guidelines for the duration of the camp. In addition to the “bubble” concept, camps may incorporate “cohort” or “household” rules that keep staff and campers in small groups for daily activities, particularly ones that require close contact. This tactic could limit the spread of a potential outbreak and allow staff to trace contacts. Other recommendations include frequent disinfection, handwashing procedures and enough equipment, such as life preservers, so campers don’t have to share during the program. Some of the recommendations could make operating a camp more expensive, NPR reported. “I am aware of some Y camps that have made basically a business decision that it’s better to forego this summer, cut expenses way back and be prepared for next year,” Paul McEntire, chief operations officer of the YMCA, told NPR. Some summer camps are planning to reopen, even if delayed, the news outlet reported, including camps in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, New York and Texas. Other have canceled programs entirely. VA: More Than 1,000 Have Died From COVID-19 More than 1,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system, the agency reported on its tracking site. The official tally was 1,015 on Monday afternoon. Among those, 700 died at one of the agency’s veteran hospitals. The other deaths occurred elsewhere but were reported to the department. The VA has reported more than 12,300 positive cases, with 9,200 recovered and 2,100 still active, according to the tracking site. The total number of veterans who have died from COVID-19 is even higher, the Washington Post reported. About 550 veterans have died in state-run veterans homes as well, according to Vietnam Veterans of America, and 28 states aren’t reporting veteran deaths. The advocacy group is collecting data for an upcoming report, the newspaper said. “VA grieves for all of the Veterans and loved ones affected by this heartbreaking situation,” said agency spokeswoman Christina Noel. The agency’s death toll includes active duty service members, patients with military health care and civilians enrolled in VA care in humanitarian cases. Most cases are likely among the 9.5 million veterans enrolled in VA care, the newspaper reported. One active duty service member has died from the coronavirus. A sailor on the USS Theodore Roosevelt died in a Naval hospital in Guam in April, the newspaper reported previously. A National Guard soldier died in March before he was mobilized, the newspaper also reported. The coronavirus has affected VA staffers as well. More than 2,000 have tested positive, and 30 have died, the VA reported on a separate tracking page. Six employees who died were in New Jersey. The number of active COVID-19 cases in VA care has declined since the beginning of May, the Military Times reported Monday. The decrease could indicate a return to normal operations at some hospitals in coming weeks, the news outlet said. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie was invited to a House Appropriations Committee hearing to give an update on the agency’s coronavirus response. The hearing, which was scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed. Pro Sports Should Plan to Resume Play: NY Governor Professional sports teams should start planning to resume play without fans, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. "New York state will help those major sport franchises to do just that," Cuomo said, CBS News reported. "Hockey, basketball, baseball, football, whoever can reopen, we're a ready, willing, and able partner." Even if there are no fans at games, they could be televised, Cuomo said. He made the comments as the state continued to have declines in coronavirus-related hospitalizations, intubations, and deaths, CBS News reported. Major League Baseball is already making plans to start play. Texas Reports Biggest 1-Day Increase in New Cases As Texas moves forward with reopening, the state department of health reported 1,800 new coronavirus cases on Saturday -- the largest one-day increase in the state since the pandemic began. Many of those new cases were reported in counties with meat-packing plants. Gov. Greg Abbott said he's sending “surge response” teams to hot spots and that increased testing explains the rise in new cases.  "As Texas continues ramping up its testing capabilities, there will be an increase in positive cases as the state targets the most high-risk areas: nursing homes, meat packing plants and jails," Abbott said in a news release. "That is exactly why I established surge response teams. By immediately deploying resources and supplies to these high risk areas, we will identify the positive cases, isolate the individuals and ensure any outbreak is quickly contained.” Abbott also announced the Texas Division of Emergency Management will work with local fire departments to expand testing in nursing homes. Under relaxed state restrictions, gyms in Texas were allowed to reopen on Monday at 25% capacity, with proper spacing of equipment and gym users, TV station KHOU reported. Nonessential manufacturing and work offices can reopen with 25% capacity as well.      The state now has more than 47,000 reported cases, with 27,000 people who have recovered, the state department of health said. First COVID Vaccine Tested on Humans Shows Promise May 18, 11:20 a.m. The first coronavirus vaccine tested on humans has yielded positive results, with a small number of people who were tested showing an immunity against the virus, drugmaker Moderna said Monday in a news release. Moderna, a Massachusetts-based company, said the vaccine called mRNA-1273 ��was generally safe and well tolerated.” The company said it plans to move ahead with the next two phases, in which larger numbers of people will be tested this year. The news release said three different dosage levels -- 25, 100 and 250 micrograms -- were given to 45 participants, and all of them developed detectable antibodies.  But the eight people who received doses of 25 and 100 micrograms in March responded best, developing antibodies that were just as high or higher than the antibodies found in people who'd gotten the coronavirus and then recovered, the company said. The vaccine uses something called the messenger RNA approach. It does not require a virus to make the vaccine. "I think the totality of science tells us that this is the right antigen and it should be protective," Tal Zaks, Moderna's chief medical officer, said Monday on a call with journalists to discuss the results, according to Business Insider. The testing is being done in coordination with the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It has not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.  There currently is no vaccine against the coronavirus. Moderna and other companies are racing to develop a vaccine against the virus, which has killed 89,000 people in the United States alone. It's unclear how soon a vaccine might hit the market. Anthony Fauci, MD, of the White House coronavirus task force, has cited a 12- to 18-month timeline for development. At least 90 potential COVID-19 vaccines are under study, and six of those are already being tested on humans in clinical trials to determine if they're safe.  HHS Secretary: Reopening Requires 'Very Localized' Decisions May 17, 6:40 p.m.  Communities will ultimately decide whether places where people gather -- such as bars, restaurants, and schools -- are ready to reopen due to coronavirus concerns, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday. “These are very localized determinants. There should not be one-size-fits-all approaches to reopening,” he said on CNN's State of the Union. Azar said it is safe to reopen the country because half of U.S. counties reporting cases of the coronavirus “haven't had a single death," The Washington Post reported. He also mentioned other health consequences from extending shelter-in-place orders, such as suicides, and delayed heart procedures, cancer screenings, and childhood vaccines. At the same time, people in crowded bars aren't wearing masks or practicing social distancing, said CNN host Jake Tapper. “I think, in any individual instance, you're going to see people doing things that are irresponsible,” Azar said. “That's part of the freedom that we have here in America.” Under the first phase of reopening, the White House guidelines state that people should still physically distance themselves from others, stick to social settings with fewer than 10 people, and avoid places where “appropriate distancing may not be practical.” “We count on local leaders to implement and interpret that, according to the local situation,” Azar said. In states that are opening, cases haven't spiked so far, he said, though new case numbers could be delayed. Officials are using surveillance systems to track respiratory diseases to watch for an increase, he said. They're now testing for asymptomatic cases in places where people are in close quarters, such as nursing homes, prisons, and meatpacking plants. “We look for early indicators,” Azar said. “Then we use the traditional public health tools to surge in there” with testing, isolation, and contact tracing. Even still, some states are seeing an increase in cases. During its first weekend without statewide restrictions, Wisconsin received an influx of visitors from Illinois, where stay-at-home orders are still in place, according the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Hundreds of people traveled to Lake Geneva on Saturday, even as Wisconsin reported its highest one-day count of 502 new cases. And Texas reported its highest one-day count, according to The Texas Tribune. More than 1,800 new cases were recorded on Saturday, including more than 700 from Amarillo, where meatpacking plants have led to a cluster of infections. Disney: Shopping Area in Florida Reopens Wednesday Walt Disney Co. will reopen parts of the Disney Springs entertainment and shopping complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on Wednesday, the company announced on Saturday. The company and unions representing the workers reached an agreement about the safeguards to protect employees, according to Reuters, which has been one of the biggest questions in reopening theme parks. “While our theme parks and resort hotels remain temporarily closed, the phased reopening of Disney Springs is a welcome milestone as we navigate through this unprecedented time together as responsibly as we can,” Disney Springs Vice President Matt Simon said in the statement. Some third-party stores will reopen at Disney Springs this week, and on May 27, three venues operated by Disney -- World of Disney, D-Luxe Burger and the Marketplace Co-Op -- will reopen. “Rest assured, there is plenty of magic awaiting you at Disney Springs -- it just may feel a bit different than before,” Simon said. To reopen safely, Disney Springs will have several new changes. All guests over age 3, cast members, and third-party employees will be required to wear “appropriate” face coverings that cover the nose and mouth at all times, except when sitting at a dining table. Temperature screenings will be required at the entrances, and anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will be sent to another location for rescreening. People who measure 100.4 or higher again won't be allowed inside. Disney Springs will also maintain physical distancing during the reopening phase and limit the number of people allowed in each location. Markings on the ground will show proper distancing in lines. Cashless and contactless payment options will be available, too. The company also has increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, including high-traffic areas such as elevators, escalators, handrails, benches, tables, and restrooms. Handwashing and hand sanitizer stations will be available. Cast members are being trained to explain new procedures and answer questions. They'll also encourage guests to follow the new rules. “I understand this is a great deal of change to absorb,” Simon said in the statement. “Today's world is different, and it's going to require a shared responsibility, with everyone doing their part.” The latest information about shopping and dining locations, operating hours, and safety procedures will be posted at DisneySprings.com/reopening. More USS Roosevelt Sailors Test Positive Again May 17, 11:18 am.  Eight more sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt tested positive for the coronavirus again, according to The Associated Press. That means 13 now seem to have COVID-19 a second time while working on the ship. All of these sailors went through 2 weeks of quarantine and isolation and tested negative twice over a couple of days before working again. On Friday, the Navy said that five sailors tested positive a second time. On Saturday, a Navy official, who requested anonymity, said that eight more tested positive. Officials discovered the outbreak on the aircraft carrier in March and stopped in Guam. More than 1,000 crew tested positive, and 4,000 of the 4,800 crew members went to shore for quarantine and isolation. In late April, hundreds of sailors returned to the ship in waves to get ready to sail again. But some sailors began showing symptoms again in early May, such as a cough and fever, according to Politico. Others had body aches and headaches. The 13 sailors have left the ship and are back in isolation on the U.S. Naval Base Guam, officials told the news outlet. FDA Authorizes First at-Home COVID-19 Sample Kit May 16, 4:40 p.m. A new at-home coronavirus kit will be available to collect a sample and send it to a lab for analysis, the FDA announced on Saturday. The FDA issued an emergency use authorization to Everlywell Inc. for the Everlywell COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit. Under separate authorizations, the FDA also allowed two COVID-19 diagnostic tests to be used at the laboratories for the at-home samples. “The authorization of a COVID-19 at-home collection kit that can be used with multiple tests at multiple labs not only provides increased patient access to tests, but also protects others from potential exposure,” Jeffrey Shuren, MD, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in the news release. People can use the kit at home after completing an online questionnaire, which is reviewed by a doctor. The kit has nasal swabs to collect the sample. Then patients put the swab in a saline tube for transport, which they can ship overnight to a specific lab -- either Fulgent Therapeutics or Assurance Scientific Laboratories -- that is authorized to test the at-home samples. Once results are ready, patients can check them through Everlywell's online portal or the company's network of doctors. Although the FDA previously issued two emergency use authorizations for at-home diagnostic tests, the Everlywell collection kit is the first sample kit that can be used with multiple authorized labs, the FDA said. The kit is available by prescription only. “It is important to note that this is not a general authorization for at-home collection of patient samples using other collection kits, swabs, media, or tests, or for tests fully conducted at home,” according to the news release. UK Trial Tests Whether Dogs Can Sniff Out Coronavirus May 16, 3:47 p.m. A new trial in the United Kingdom will study whether dogs that are trained as medical sniffers can detect the coronavirus in infected humans. Dogs have been trained to detect malaria, Parkinson's disease, and some types of cancers, according to Medical Detection Dogs, the UK charity that runs the training program. “In principle, we're sure that dogs could detect COVID-19. We are now looking into how we can safely catch the odour of the virus from patients and present it to the dogs,” said Claire Guest, CEO and co-founder of the organization. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Durham University will work with Medical Detection Dogs to do the trial. Dogs would learn to distinguish the scent by sniffing samples during training, which would be collected from patients at London hospitals. The trial has received more than 500,000 pounds in funding, according to Durham University. Respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 change a human's body odor, so the researchers believe there is a “high chance” that dogs could detect it. Dogs could potentially detect differences in temperature that could indicate a fever, too. If successful, dogs could be ready after a 6-week training program, according to the organization. Within 6 months, trained dogs could be deployed to airports and borders to identify infected travelers. “The aim is that dogs will be able to screen anyone, including those who are asymptomatic, and tell us whether they need to be tested,” Guest said. The dogs could potentially screen up to 250 people per hour, the BBC reported. Called “bio-detection dogs” or “Covid dogs,” the group of six trial participants would include Labradors and cocker spaniels. CDC Warns Pediatricians About Rare Inflammatory Condition May 16, 12:08 p.m. The CDC has updated its coronavirus advisory to pediatricians to warn about a rare and sometimes deadly inflammatory condition that affects children and may be connected COVID-19. Called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, the condition has caused at least three deaths in the United States, health authorities say. “Healthcare providers who have cared or are caring for patients younger than 21 years of age meeting MIS-C criteria should report suspected cases to their local, state, or territorial health department,” the CDC advisory says. Symptoms include a fever, low blood pressure, rashes, red eyes, stomach upset, and inflammation of the heart and its arteries. Some of these symptoms overlap with toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, which is one of the leading causes of heart disease in children. Children don't appear to be as vulnerable to the coronavirus as adults. But in New York, the hot spot for MIS-C in the United States, the state health department said there appeared to be a connection between this new illness and COVID-19 because many of the young patients tested positive for the coronavirus or its antibodies. MIS-C cases have been reported in 15 states and some European nations. More than 100 cases have been reported in New York state, where three children, aged 5, 7, and 18, have died. Not many of the children have shown breathing problems, which is a common symptom of the coronavirus. Tests Show Vaccine Protects Monkeys Against COVID-19  May 16, 11:29 a.m. There's good news about a coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University in England. Tests show that the vaccine provided protection against the virus when given to rhesus macaque monkeys at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, MT, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a preprint paper posted on the server bioRxiv.  Six monkeys received the vaccine 28 days before being infected with the coronavirus. Three other animals served as the control group and did not receive the vaccine, the preprint paper said. The vaccinated animals didn't get sick or develop lung problems, the NIH said in a news release. Two of the three control animals developed some form of pneumonia. Rhesus monkeys are often used in tests because they share about 93% of their genes with humans, according to the National Primates Research Center.  Based on the research, testing on humans began April 23 in the United Kingdom, the NIH said. The information has not been peer-reviewed but is shared online to help other researchers in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The Oxford scientists are making the vaccine from a weakened version of a common cold viruscalled the adenovirus taken from chimpanzees. The vaccine is combined with genes to trigger antibodies that allow the immune system to destroy the virus Read the full article

[flauntpage]

Is Zack Hample Cool? Or is he a Weirdo?

Is Zack Hample a jabroni?

Or is he a cool dude?

I’m fascinated by this guy, a 41-year-old man who goes to baseball games with his glove, sits in the stands, and catches home runs and foul balls. He snagged Bryce Harper’s Sunday night dinger, which was the 67th career home run he’s been able to snare in the stands. That’s insane.

Here’s what Kyle wrote about Hample in today’s Morning Wood column:

Zack Hample is the moron who catches all those home run balls. You’ve probably heard of him. I interviewed him once because he got kicked out of Citizens Bank Park. He was back last night and, incredibly, got Harper’s home run.

Hample donates money to charity, but that’s a soft counter to a grown ass man who assails his way to wayward baseballs. This is his 67th home run ball, which is incredible. But when you dedicate your life to grabbing other men’s balls, you’re bound to get your hands on at least a few of them. Cool beans, bro.

As a general rule, I’m not sure how I feel about grown men bringing a glove to the ballpark. I think it’s a cool thing to do if you’re there with your son or daughter, assuming they also have their glove and you’re sitting in foul ball or home run territory. That’s a fun moment, and when you get home your kid can say, “hey mom, we caught a baseball!” But if you attend the game by yourself, is bringing the glove kind of a loser move? I’m leaning more towards “yes” than “no.”

That’s one layer.

The next layer is this:

“Should grown men, whether wearing a glove or not, keep home runs and foul balls for themselves?”

I’m in the camp of people who believe that all foul balls and home runs should be handed to your kid, and if you don’t have one, pick out the nearest kid and hand it to them instead. It’s a win-win, isn’t it? You can tell your buddies about how you caught a home run, then that kid gets to go home with Rhys Hoskins’ dinger ball and show their friends and bring it to show and tell (the school activity, not the strip club on Columbus Boulevard).

Gotta be honest, I’m not a big fan of adults who keep foul balls and home runs for themselves or sell them for profit.

Hample, as Kyle mentioned, does get involved with charity work. He’s partnered with “Pitch in for Baseball” over the years, a group that donates baseball and softball equipment to boys and girls.

On Hample’s website, his FAQ contains the following relevant passages about charity work:

Can I have a baseball? I’ve been asked this question quite a bit so I answered it in one of my Q&A videos. If you have a few minutes to spare, check this out. The short answer is that I give away lots of baseballs but only to kids at stadiums and to a certain charity.

What did you do with all of these famous home run balls? I gave the 3,000th hit ball to A-Rod in exchange for the Yankees making a $150,000 donation to my favorite children’s baseball charity and hooking me up with a whole bunch of stuff. I gave Trout his home run ball — no questions asked except to actually be the person to hand it to him after the game. (Security didn’t want to let me. They said it was get-away day and that the Angels had to catch a bus to the airport. I was like, “Okay, fine, in that case, I’ll just keep the ball,” and whaddaya know, the bus was somehow able to leave two minutes later.) I still have all the others. Despite what the Washington Nationals falsely accused me of, I’ve never sold a ball.

What did the Yankees give you for the A-Rod ball? When I first got it and met with the head of security, I was told that if I gave it back, I could meet A-Rod, have my own press conference, be interviewed on the YES Network during a game, receive all kinds of free tickets, and get lots of memorabilia including signed balls and bats and jerseys, but I wasn’t interested in any of that. After the game I met with Randy Levine (the president of the Yankees) and Lonn Trost (the team’s Chief Operating Officer) and they offered to make a “sizable donation” to the charity. As it turned out, in addition to the donation, they gave me all the things that had been offered to me in the first place, along with some other stuff I requested including tickets to the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game that season in Cincinnati and a behind-the-scenes tour of Yankee Stadium.

What’s the deal with the charity? Since 2009 I’ve been getting people to pledge money for the baseballs that I catch at major league games. The money goes to Pitch In For Baseball and Softball, a non-profit charity that provides equipment to underserved children and communities all over the world. Including the money that the Yankees donated for the A-Rod ball, I’ve raised more than $200,000. Here’s my 2019 fundraiser. I’d be thrilled if you’d make a donation or at least help spread the word.

That’s the charity stuff.

On the other side of the spectrum, Hample has also been kicked out of a few ballparks.

Kyle mentioned that he was booted from Citizens Bank Park, which took place in 2013 when a beer vendor heard him utter a cuss word to describe overzealous security guards.

Said Hample then:

For the record, the "offensive" word I used wasn't derogatory toward any culture or minority; it was an anatomical reference. And I'm sorry.

— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) August 4, 2013

Regarding the incident that got him kicked out of Nationals Park, Deadspin wrote this back in 2012:

It started when Zack tried to arrange the day’s bounty—11 baseballs in all—in a club-level hallway of the stadium so that he could pose for a photograph with his trophies.  At that point, a stadium employee must have noticed him and reached the conclusion that Zack was illegally selling baseballs like some sort of dirty huckster. At least, that’s what Zack thinks.

Hample said that seven security guards showed up and “simply insisted that I’d sold a baseball, and they ejected me from the stadium.”

In another incident, he somehow found his way into MLB’s Fort Bragg game back in 2016, which was organized specifically for American military members and their families. He created a Tinder profile as part of his attempt to gain admission, then issued a lengthy apology before making a charitable donation:

I am deeply sorry for going to Fort Bragg. There's lots of misinformation, so here's what really happened: pic.twitter.com/nld9YgGXAe

— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) July 4, 2016

On Hample’s website, he talks about a service he runs called “Watch with Zack,” where you can pay $1,000 plus travel expenses to, well, watch a baseball game with him. He guarantees a full refund if you don’t snag a ball.

Here’s his explanation for the cost:

…consider this: the average Major League Baseball game lasts three hours, and if we go early for batting practice, we’ll meet outside the stadium and spend a minimum of six hours together. If the game is slow or goes into extra innings, it’ll be more like seven or eight hours, and there’s a lot of planning that goes into setting this up in the first place. That said, it’s not just about the time. I’m an expert. Remember? And I’m pretty much the most fun person ever. (If you still think I’m crazy, try hiring a plumber for six hours. Or a wedding photographer. Or a personal trainer or a tutor or a psychologist or a lawyer — see how much THAT costs. Go get a six-hour massage and email me a copy of the receipt.)

Hample is based out of New York, so he talks a little bit about the time and expense needed to reach other cities. I honestly don’t see the big deal here. This is a private, multi-hour, pseudo-celebrity thing you’re paying for, and anything in this department is gonna cost you a decent chunk of change. Tom Brady was charging $1,200 for autographs not long ago, and you didn’t see get to meet the QB in person. He’d sign it in some room and the company running the gig would mail the item back to you.

Beyond all of this ball-catching stuff, Hample has written three books and has 355,000 Youtube subscribers. I went down a rabbit hole and some of his clips are pretty fascinating. There’s one where he explains why the security guards in Japan make you return baseballs that enter the stands.

So I’m finding it hard to pass judgment on Hample one way or another.

On one hand, the guy does involve himself with charity while also pulling off some pretty impressive feats. He’s carved out an interesting and profitable niche, so I can’t rip the guy for that. I’m cool with capitalism up until the point where you become one of those bloated asshole Wall Street executives, taking taxpayer bailout money.

On the other hand, I still think all home runs and foul balls should go to kids. And I can’t decide if bringing a glove to the game as a grown adult is okay, or kind of dorky.

So you tell me –

Is Zack Hample cool, or is he a weirdo?

The post Is Zack Hample Cool? Or is he a Weirdo? appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Is Zack Hample Cool? Or is he a Weirdo? published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[flauntpage]

Running Thread: 2018 Business of Sports Panel

Kyle is doing a panel this morning as part of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s “Business of Sports” conference in Center City. There are actually four total panels and his goes off last, so I figured I’d come down here for the other panels and put together a running thread with some of the more interesting notes from the event.

It started at 7:45 a.m. with a “teams” panel featuring the following folks:

Philadelphia Eagles: Don Smolenski, President Philadelphia 76ers: Lara Price, COO Philadelphia Flyers: Shawn Tilger, COO Philadelphia Phillies: Dave Buck, Executive Vice President Philadelphia Union: Tim McDermott, Chief Business Officer

Notes:

One of the first things that jumped out was a question to Buck, who was asked why Phillies attendance seems to be down. We are, after all, talking about a first place club that just took 2 of 3 games from the Dodgers. Buck explained that season ticket numbers are not what they used to be, currently around 9,500 STH vs. numbers that eclipsed 20,000 during the height of the Chase Utley and Ryan Howard era.

Ticket prices were another topic. Buck pointed out that the Phillies added fun activities for fans with the renovation of the ballpark, things that might not make much money, if any, such as the new climbing wall and mini baseball field. But he pointed out that those intiaitives help the overall gameday experience and give things fans to do. Buck also added that even though the best seats in the house might be expensive, you can still get that $15 to $17 dollar ticket in the upper levels that isn’t going to break the bank. He also mentioned adding a beer garden in a future renovation.

McDermott, who is Sean McDermott’s brother, has put a lot of time and effort into the Union’s ticketing department in recent years, adding numerous staff. He also talked about the purchase of Chester land that comprises a mile of waterfront property for future development. Previously, there had been a lot of issues with private lot managers who owned different chunks of land along route 291. The process of acquiring a single tract of land is moving forward slowly down there.

Tilger was asked specifically about the Wings NLL expansion franchise, and talked about the unique ability to start from scratch with a new team. He projects season ticket holders to number 4,500 by the end of the summer and mentioned that the team has brought in two founding sponsorship partners on three year deals that crest one million dollars each. He also spoke about the ability to analyze “pain points” other teams are currently dealing with – Flyers included – and strategize around that.

The final question was this – what would you change about your sport?

Buck – stop messing with it, not a fan of baseball’s designated hitter rule

Price – relax rules that determine how NBA teams can work internationally (I believe the league office controls this from the top down)

Smolenski – non-answer about continuing to evolve the game

McDermott – competitive balance, stadiums that hold 65,000 fans (Atlanta), others that hold 20,000 fans (Union), that creates economic imbalance, which gives high-end teams the ability to spend more on elite players

Tilger – no answer

Panel 2: eSports

John Fazio, CEO of N3rd Street Gamers Mike Prindiville, CEO of Team Dignitas Anthony Pizzo, PhD Candidate at Temple’s Fox School of Business

Notes:

The panel started out with a shout for your team, your town, your Philadelphia Fusion, which does not live or play in Philadelphia.

Anyway, the first topic was a discussion on how eSports has a lot of crossover opportunities. The Sixers (HBSE), for example, own Team Dignitas. The Flyers (Comcast) own the Fusion. So both of these entities exist under an umbrella corporation that comes with existing tools and resources and connections for business and marketing purposes. That’s different from, say, the Union, who are independently owned by a New York businessman with a small group of local investors.

Fazio and Prindiville both spoke of the city’s tech scene and sports fandom as the blend that created a natural interest in eSports. Prindiville said his players train from 8 to 15 hours per day, equating the amount of dedication and time they put into their craft to anything a professional basketball or football player would do. He also spoke about the opportunity provided by the release of new games, which creates a natural evolution for the sport. Whereas football has pretty much been the same sport for a long time, featuring minor rule tweaks each year, a gamer might go from playing Call of Duty to Overwatch to League of Legends, which features new characters, new abilities, and new mechanics. So the learning curve and necessity to adapt is much different in eSports than what traditional athletes and coaches go through.

They also spoke about the importance of the new Overwatch deal with ESPN and Disney. The Fusion will be on ESPN tomorrow night at 7 p.m. for game one of the league final:

The group also touched on the commercialization of the still-nascent sport, which really is just jumping into the waters of sponsorship and marketing. Coca Cola, Comcast, Red Bull, Mountain Dew, and Audi all put money into eSports. Team Dignitas has a partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings. eSports revenues are expected to crest $1.5 billion by 2020. 

Panel 3: The Sponsors 

Paul Muller,President of Toyota-Tri State Dealers Association Justin Samra, Director of Marketing at the Rothman Institute Paula Sunshine,Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Office at Independence Health Group David O’Malley, President & Chief Operating Officer of Penn Mutual

Notes:

This isn’t my area of expertise, so I’ll try to keep it simple.

Sunshine explained how sports teams are ideal partners because fans are loyal, passionate, informed, and engaged. When they’re “in,” they’re 100% in, so from a strategy standpoint, it makes a lot of sense to build relationships with those types of people.

Muller spoke about how sponsors used to just buy a radio or TV spot, and that was pretty much it. Now, social media and non-sports areas at stadiums and arenas can be used specifically for sponsorship opportunities. He specifically mentioned Talen’s “Toyota Plaza,” which is an area just outside of the stadium featuring kids’ activities and food trucks and tables. Clients can bring their children to play soccer or throw a football before the game, and there are also all sorts of previously non-traditional branding opportunities available. For instance, “Toyota” is scrawled in huge letters on an inflatable “bounce house” type of thing that actually serves as a barricade for a mini soccer field. That wasn’t the case back in the day.

Muller also spoke about how the evolution of broadcasting aids sponsors. Years ago, you maybe had 3-4 cameras shooting one game. Not anymore, so Toyota also has a deal that puts their name on the Phillies bullpen. Muller pointed to how filming of the game has changed to the point where the bullpen gets a lot of television time, which gets more eyeballs on the brand. There are different avenues to explore based on studies of consumer habits and the evolution of media. He also added that one third of his budget is now allocated to digital advertising, up from 0% in 2003.

O’Malley pointed out Penn Mutual’s involvement with rugby, explaining that he feels like the brand can grow along with the sport. In that regard, Sunshine added that she’s paying close attention to the eSports movement. Samra mentioned that he hired a former Flyers employee to specifically monitor their sports activities and make sure those sponsorships and campaigns were being executed fully and properly. It’s one thing to dump a bunch of money into something, but the other half of it is making sure you’re getting the appropriate amount of engagement in return, be it web page impressions, sales, phone calls, appointments, etc.

Samra also pointed out the fleeting nature of the sports business as presenting a challenge for sponsors. He told a story about a marketing plan that used Jeremiah Trotter as a featured personality, then they had to scramble and back track because Trotter left the Eagles a short time later. That’s not usually a problem when creating a non-sports campaign.

Panel 4: Sports Media 

Spike Eskin, Program Director for Sports Radio 94 WIP Brian Monihan, President of NBC Sports Philadelphia Kyle Scott, Founder & Editor of the website you’re currently reading Donald Hunt, Sportswriter at Philadelphia Tribune

Notes:

Spike says the Sixers are gonna win 48 games next year, which I think is low. I’ll say 53. But we’ll save those predictions for September.

RE: content and the news cycle, the entire panel agreed that success might not even the most important thing to determine what people are reading or talking about. Sure, the Eagles got most of the buzz last year as a Super Bowl winner, but Spike and Kyle both highlighted the Sixers getting a ton of attention during the Process era, simply for the fact that the team was doing something different and unique. So even though they were losing game-after-game, wins and losses weren’t the only determination of what was most interesting. Storylines still trump all.

As for labor and layoffs, moderator Jeff Blumenthal brought up the recent trim at the New York Daily News, which cut its staff from 35 sports people to 9. Hunt feels like the newspaper still does have a future in sports media, but spoke of the need to stay ahead of the curve in a changing world. Monihan says that the bottom line comes down to Philly always being a great sports town, which is enough to justify two newspapers and two radio stations and a robust market in general. Kyle feels like solid content can succeed on any platform. For instance, long-form investigations previously done by newspapers back in the day can be published now online in a digital format as well. The entire industry is merging into a sort of amalgam where the line becomes blurred between TV, radio, web, and print.

“Everybody looks for ways to be relevant on multiple platforms,” Monihan explains. “You’re always trying to help your employees grow in as many ways as possible, and they also have to embrace that change.”

Spike says it’s not necessarily an old talent vs. young talent thing for managers to consider, pointing out the mix of veterans and relative newcomers on WIP’s airwaves (for every Howard Eskin or Angelo Cataldi, there’s a Joe Giglio or Jon Marks). He explained that there are plenty of young people who have no clue what they’re doing, which is absolutely true.

Kyle also touched on the smaller windows that we now work with in the business, i.e., once Woj tweets something, that news is probably consumed and spit back out in 25 minutes. It then becomes old news. Everyone has it. But we have the opportunity to maybe write that story (Report: blah blah blah), in a different way than someone else. Hunt also adds that it’s important to have the “what next” angle ready to go, which I think we try to do at CB. For instance, we did a look at the Sixers’ depth chart after the trade that brought in Mike Muscala and shipped off Justin Anderson and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. If the Eagles add Mike Wallace, do a follow-up story on how he performed in Baltimore before coming to Philly. Use video clips and stuff.

Spike also spoke about the discrepancy in podcasting metrics and how different people use different numbers to justify performance in regard to sponsorship. The number of listeners doesn’t matter if people turn off the podcast halfway through and decide not to buy the sponsor’s product. In that instance, there’s no difference between 10,000 and 75,000 listeners, since there’s no activation or engagement. That’s a general thought that Kyle and Monihan both agree with. Hunt points out that he enjoys the “shelf life” of podcasts, which are easy to archive and come back to. You can listen on your own time and don’t have to be on a fixed schedule.

And no, there weren’t any arguments or uncomfortable moments. The whole thing was civil.

Time’s yours.

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