The MLS approved the so-called “Beckham Rule” that paves the way for the inidividual member clubs to attract international superstars (i.e. Beckham, Ronaldo, etc.) and pay the stars more than the typical league max $400k.
I see this as a very important move. This more legitimizes the league. If I’m the MLS, I know that a deal is soon to come after I approve this. I can’t imagine that they made this so public and pushed the agenda right now without knowing that the Galaxy or Red Bulls had a move coming. Also important is that Donovan et al are only grandfathered in and then count as one of the “superstars.”
Mets and Citigroup have completed a 20 yr naming rights deal to name the new stadium CitiField for an estimated $20 million PER YEAR.
This is about twice the previous record deal between Reliant and the Houston Texans. This is a staggering deal. I really can’t imagine how much the Giants/Jets stadium will get, if it is seen through to completion.
A look at J.P.J. Arena. This is the model of what Georgetown needs, although not as large. I think that this building may be too large for UVA Basketball (certainly will be for a few years). It’s a tough balance, because you want to build a building big enough to draw top flight shows and concerts, but the main purpose of the building is UVA basketball, and you can’t lose sight of that.
A round-up of articles:
Mike Wise (Wash. Post): Ewing-Thompson: The Sequel
A great column. Good stories about Pops, Ewing Sr (who the article says will be in the house for the game), PE2 and JTIII. A must-read. Well done Mr. Wise (but you still can’t shoot around during NCAA Tourney practice days. haha)
Camille Powell (Wash. Post): Questions in Hoyas’ Back Court
Camille examines the supposed backcourt weakness. We shall see.
Wash. Times (I assume Barker Davis but it isn’t attributed to an author): Guarded optimism
A season preview. Another examination of the guard situation. One take-away quote: ” ‘I don’t think Georgetown has major backcourt issues, because you have to defend Jeff Green as a guard,’ Marquette coach Tom Crean said of Georgetown’s perceived backcourt weakness.” We also learn that Jeff Green concentrated on working on guard skills in Kenner. Interesting.
Enjoy, and I hope that Hartford is ready for the Hoyas to bring the pain.
Image from Washington Times
Concluding it’s week-long college basketball preview, the Post published its Georgetown season preview today. Camille did a nice job. Nothing very new.
Observations and notes:
- If they don’t make the tourney this year it would be a great disappointment
- I’ve heard JTIII say that he doesn’t focus on intermediate goals (Elite 8, Final 4, etc.) but only focuses on winning the national championship.
“You look around this league, and making the Big East tournament is still, you have a checklist and it’s still number one,” Thompson said.
- JTIII has a great respect for the BET and thinks that each team should make it (although logistics make that near impossible). I think that’s partially because he feared not making it his first year.
- If Crawford is such the “heart and soul” why hasn’t he played more? He did greatly improve his 3 point stroke this summer.
- Green and Crawford (the captains) were vocal in practice during drills.
- Nice to have the environment where Green can tutor Summers and Roy can teach Vernon. I’m sure thats like it used to be with Pops, but there hasn’t been that level of talent while I’ve been on the Hilltop.
- Thinking back to the Florida game hurts. During his speech before the season, JTIII refused to answer if he thought the Hoyas would’ve won the National Championship if they had beat Florida. Roy was sitting in the row behind me, and unprompted gave a big thumbs up. I like that level of confidence, but that hurts to think about.
- I like Ewing saying that he wants to win more championships than his dad. Let’s hope he can contribute as much as some think.
Season starts in 35 hours from the time I finish writing this. Those hours can’t pass quick enough.
Image courtesy of GUHoyas.com
One of the best shows on TV has been renewed for 15 episodes. Sounds like it was very close to not coming back, so this is great news. Need this show to become a hit.
Page views on Facebook climbed 32% last month, according to UBS.
Thats massive.
via GigaOm
They are setting up temporary shops in Miami malls, preparing for the Super Bowl.
I still remember the mess that was the Super Bowl shop at the JAX Airport the day after the game. The store, which was fully stocked the Friday night when I arrived, was bombed out, with everything on sale. They must make tons of cash at these stores. Interesting stat: 75% of merchandise sold is items for the winning team after the game. I never thought that figure would be that high.
A great article about the Hoyas from the NY Daily News’ Hoops Weiss.
EA is predicting that Sony will miss its already decreased goals of shipping 1-1.2M PS3s to the US. Ohh boy. Start camping out now.
