Moving the Merchandise

In America, it is sport that is the opiate of the masses. (Russell Baker) Ray and I hosted a sports theme party, and in decorating, I realized how much sports paraphenalia we own. It is brilliant merchandising, and I'm thinking authors need to apply the sport model to book marketing.

There is no business like show business - except sports business. (William J. Baker) In a recent WSJ article, it was noted that writers are using iPads and sex toys to bump up sales and generate buzz. Use of social media, contest drawings, and hustle are part of the author's job. "It's no longer a top down media culture," says Paul Bogaards from Knopf Doubleday. Instead skimpy advertising budgets, Borders bankruptcy, scaled back marketing and publicity departments, and more writing competition necessitate extra effort to get noticed.

Back to sports. It's no longer just the game. It's pre, post, and halftime entertainment. Athletes are celebrities, and authors need to do the same to get the spotlight on them.

"Freebies such as bookmarks or key chain logos generate reader goodwill and may provide an author with more Facebook friends, a larger email list, and can goose preorders, which gets attention of publishers." It's truly a juggling act with razzle dazzle.

One author, Christopher McDougall (Born to Run, 2009) throws cases of books in his car and drives to races, running clinics, and athletic retailer conventions. "I found that slapping the shoe leather is what works." Face to face contact, and one sale can spread the word to umpteen others.

Amidst the hoopla, there is one thing to keep in mind. Just like an athlete still must practice and play to remain in the public eye, an author still must write. Promotion is important, but you need the muscle (i.e.words, plot, character) to back it up.

Play ball!

UConn Women's Basketball Team Sets Record

Congratulations to the University of Conneticut's women's basketball team! For what, you might ask? Well, it's hard for the media to ignore a 89-game winning streak!

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma, never at a loss for words, was close Tuesday night.

"It's pretty amazing. It really is," he said.

No exaggeration there.

His No. 1-ranked Huskies topped the 88-game winning streak set by John Wooden's UCLA men's team from 1971-74, beating No. 22 Florida State 93-62. Playing with the relentlessness that has become its trademark - and would have made Wooden proud - UConn blew past the Seminoles as it has so many other teams in the last 2 1/2 years. [...]

It is one more chapter of history for UConn, and perhaps the grandest.

Asked what he would recall from the incredible run, Auriemma mentioned a pair of experienced stars on this team: ``I'll probably remember Maya Moore and Tiffany Hayes. And how incredibly difficult it is to play that many games in a row and win 'em all.''

Connecticut long ago established itself as the marquee program in the women's game, the benchmark by which all others are measured. The Huskies already own seven national titles and four perfect seasons under Auriemma, and they've produced a galaxy of stars that includes Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, Jennifer Rizzotti, Sue Bird and Tina Charles.

The streak, though, takes it to another level, certainly raising the profile of women's basketball and maybe all of women's athletics.

Two days after beating No. 11 Ohio State to tie UCLA, UConn toppled the mark in front of a sellout crowd of 16,294 at the XL Center that included Wooden's grandson, Greg, attending his first women's game.

"My grandfather would have been thrilled. He would have been absolutely thrilled to see his streak broken by a women's basketball team," the 47-year-old Wooden said.  "He thought, especially in the last 10 years, that the best basketball was played at the collegiate level - and it wasn't by the men."

John Wooden was 99 when he died on June 4. [...]

During his postgame news conference, Auriemma took a congratulatory phone call from President Barack Obama.

"Mr. President I really appreciate that. It's an incredible thing that these kids have done and we owe you a little bit of gratitude. That lesson you gave on the White House basketball court really paid off. I appreciate you doing that for them," Auriemma said. "We have not lost since you have been inaugurated and how 'bout we keep that streak going for a couple of more years, huh?"

This incredible team has now set the standard.

The excellence and confidence that defines great teams defines this one because Auriemma won't have it any other way. Perfection is expected, not simply a goal, and Auriemma goes to extraordinary lengths to get it.

He goads his players with criticisms of their games - sarcastic remarks that may strike outsiders as harsh but somehow trigger just the right response with gusto. He makes them play games of seven-on-five in practice. He rounds up bigger, stronger male students around campus to serve as practice players. He runs endless drills to hone skills the players thought they had mastered in junior high.

It hardly seems to matter who is on the floor because UConn players don't wear names on the back of their uniforms. The only one that counts is the one on the front.

When UConn - led by Taurasi - won 70 straight games from 2001-03, a record in the women's game, it seemed unfathomable that it would be toppled, like UCLA's 88. But what fans have learned over the years is that nothing this team does should be surprising.

Congratulations, and here's to 89 more!

Lingerie Football League ... good grief

The popularity of the WNBA tells us two things: 1) Women want to play team sports ... and are good at it! And, 2) Fans will pay to watch women playing team sports. WNBA players have become role models for little girls who want to be athletes. So the question I have is how does the LFL fit in?

The quick answer is, it doesn't!


What message is this sending to young women and girls?

During a report on the NBC station in DC tonight, one of the players said she didn't have a problem with the uniform. In her words, it's no different than beach volleyball or track and field. And she's right!

Men who play volleyball aren't asked to expose most of their bodies, and the shorts worn my male track and field athletes cover more than do the uniforms worn by women. So again, what message is this sending?

Is it too much to ask that women be judged on they ability to play the sport, and not on how they look in their underwear? What do you think?

12-year-old Girl Throws Perfect Game Against Boys

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

You go grrl! Let's start the weekend with some good news!

Mackenzie Brown is the first girl in Bayonne Little League history to throw a perfect game. She retired all 18 boys she faced on Tuesday.

There are no official records of how many perfect games are thrown per season. Little League Baseball in Williamsport, Pa., estimates only 50 to 60 occur each year. No one knows how many have been thrown by girls.

Brown says she knew she had something special going in the fourth inning and just tried not to mess up.

She'll get to throw out the first pitch at Citi Field on Saturday when the New York Mets host the Washington Nationals.

Play Ball!

This isn't exactly a new story, but it's one I wanted to give space to at Yikes.

A 16-year-old Japanese girl signed with a regional baseball team Tuesday, becoming the country's first female professional baseball player.

Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April 2009. The team selected her last month along with 31 male players in the league draft.

"I still don't feel like I've really become a pro baseball player, but I want to do my best," Yoshida said at a news conference after signing her contract. "My specialty is the knuckleball, so I really want to be able to get batters out using it effectively."

The Cruise are more like a farm team and a far cry from Japan's mainstream pro teams such as the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. But the 5-foot, 114-pound Yoshida has broken a barrier in baseball-crazy Japan, where women are normally relegated to amateur, company-sponsored teams or to softball.

Yoshida, who started playing baseball when she was in second grade, said she wants to emulate Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who has built a successful major league career as a knuckleballer.

The fledgling Japanese League, based in western Japan, is hoping to find enough success to eventually challenge the likes of the long-established Central and Pacific leagues. Those leagues, home to the best Japanese players, have become an increasingly fertile ground for talent headed to the U.S. major leagues.

Olympics Opening

If you missed the opening ceremony you missed a truly spectacular show. Click on the image above to view highlights of the opening on NBC's web site.

The New York Times reports:

First U.S. Gold of ’08 Games Comes in Fencing

Three American fencers swept the women's sabre finals on Saturday, winning the first three medals of the Olympics for the United States and at least temporarily investing this little-known sport, introduced to the Olympics in 2004, with some Errol Flynn-like glamour.

Mariel Zagunis, of Beaverton, Ore., defeated her teammate Sada Jacobson, of Dunwoody, Ga., to win the gold. And in the most thrilling bout of the evening, Becca Ward, from Portland, Ore., rallied to edge Russia's Sofia Velikaya for the bronze.

Zagunis, the daughter of two Olympic rowers, also won the sabre event in Athens in 2004. This time, she beat Ward, 15-11, in an emotional semifinal match that had each fencer yelling and punching the air after winning a point. Then, her momentum building, she was unstoppable in the final. Lunging and slashing, Zagunis never gave Jacobson a chance and defeated her, 15-8. [...]

Fencing is a small world. Zagunis and Ward belong to the same fencing club in Oregon. Jacobson took up the sport following the example of her father, who was a member of the 1974 United States national fencing team. That the women's sabre event was so new was an advantage, Zagunis said, because it meant that the team was able to get international experience right away.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck at the Olympics on Saturday, as a relative of a US Volleyball coach was stabbed to death it what appears to be a random act of violence.

A Chinese man wielding a knife attacked an American couple related to a United States Olympic volleyball coach on Saturday, killing the man and wounding his wife and their Chinese guide atop an ancient tower in central Beijing.

The attacker then killed himself by leaping from the tower, American and Chinese officials said.

The attack on the tourists occurred on the first day of competition at the Olympic Games in Beijing, after a dazzling opening ceremony the previous night in which China sought to project an image of power and strength while welcoming hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors. As news of the killing spread, it darkened the mood somewhat in the city, from the warrens of old alleyways where Chinese are eager to open their homes to foreigners, to the stadiums where visitors waited in line for events like swimming and gymnastics.

The dead American was Todd Bachman of Farmington, Minn., the 62-year-old father-in-law of Hugh McCutcheon, the head indoor men’s volleyball coach, American Olympic officials said. Bachman’s wife, Barbara, 62, was in serious condition.

The Chinese guide is a woman, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. She was not identified.

McCutcheon’s wife, Elisabeth, a member of the 2004 United States women’s Olympics volleyball team, was with her parents when they were attacked.

The family members are in our thoughts.

For additional information on the Olympics, check out the NBC link below:

Exclusive Summer Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!

Congratulations to Dara Torres!

Dara Torres makes Olympic history at 41, as the oldest U.S. swimmer to compete. Torres qualified for her fifth Olympics with a win in the 100 meters freestyle at the U.S. trials in Omaha.

"With my age I couldn't see the numbers on the board," said Torres, who won the first of her nine Olympic medals at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles ... They have to start making them bigger, I didn't know I had won at first ... I don't think it's hit me yet that I made my fifth Olympic team but I'm thrilled."

Last Year Torres was an ABC News "Person of the Week" for her amazing comeback:


Congratulations and good luck in Beijing!

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Let's talk about sex

... or how abstinence makes the heart grow fonder!

It's funny -- as in odd, not ha ha -- how religious right conservatives would have you believe that the answer to preventing teen sex is to simply teach kids about abstinence. Well guess what? It still doesn't work!

The Associated Press reports:

Programs that focus exclusively on abstinence have not been shown to affect teenager sexual behavior, although they are eligible for tens of millions of dollars in federal grants, according to a study released by a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce teen pregnancies.

"At present there does not exist any strong evidence that any abstinence program delays the initiation of sex, hastens the return to abstinence or reduces the number of sexual partners" among teenagers, the study concluded.

The report, which was based on a review of research into teenager sexual behavior, was being released Wednesday by the nonpartisan National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

The study found that while abstinence-only efforts appear to have little positive impact, more comprehensive sex education programs were having "positive outcomes" including teenagers "delaying the initiation of sex, reducing the frequency of sex, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing condom or contraceptive use."

"Two-thirds of the 48 comprehensive programs that supported both abstinence and the use of condoms and contraceptives for sexually active teens had positive behavior effect," said the report.

A spending bill before Congress for the Department of Health and Human Services would provide $141 million in assistance for community-based, abstinence-only sex education programs, $4 million more than what President Bush had requested.

Instead of wasting precious time, and tax-payer dollars, wouldn't it be better to simply provide comprehensive sex education to students?

Maybe a way to start would be to encourage teens to watch the Midwest Teen Sex Show! I'm sure it's more educational/beneficial than an abstinence-only program.

Or another idea would be to provide more sports programs for girls. Studies indicate that creating opportunities for girls to play sports can play a key role in reducing teen pregnancy.

We have the information needed to help prevent kids of engaging in sex before they are ready, or to protect themselves when they do. Too bad we don't have an administration, or Congress, willing to accept the truth.

"Ladies and Gentleman ... Start Your Engines!"

Those famous words, spoken by Mary Hulman George, mark the beginning of what has come to be know as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” -- the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Since the inaugural race in 1911, the Indianapolis 500 has become steeped in rich tradition. For decades only four words were needed to begin an Indy 500 -- "Gentleman, start your engines!"

In 1977, Janet Guthrie caused a stir by becoming the first women to qualify for the race. It took race officials days to decide how to start the day, and they finally settled on "Lady and gentlemen ... start your engines."

While I generally don't like the word "lady" (because of it's sexist connotation), I must admit that I applauded the inclusion of its plural version at the beginning of today's race because it marked the first time that three women have qualified for the same event.

The women in today's race, in the order in which they started, are:

Sarah Fisher

Sarah Fisher was born to win and is determined to compete against the very best in auto racing. At just 26 years old, she has already competed in five Indianapolis 500's within the IRL IndyCar Series. In May 2000, she became just the third woman and one of the youngest drivers ever to compete in the world's greatest race – the Indianapolis 500. Later in the season, Sarah made history yet again at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the youngest person to lead laps during an IRL IndyCar event and the youngest woman to ever stand on a podium with her third-place finish in that event.

In 2001, Sarah claimed a second-place finish at the IRL's inaugural race at Homestead Miami Speedway the best result ever by a woman in Indy-style racing.

Sarah made her NASCAR debut in October of 2004 with Bill McAnally Racing in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Sarah captured four top-ten finishes in her first full season in the NASCAR West Series in 2005. She finished the season running in 12th in the chase for the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series title which made her eligible to compete in the 3rd Annual NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway. She finished 11th in that race.

She was signed to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on January 30, 2007 and slated to return to the IRL IndyCar Series. For her first time, she participated in off-seaon open testing. She still has the best finish of any female in the IndyCar Series and will look for victory circle in 2007.

Milka Duno

Milka Duno, the newest driver and third female in the IndyCar Series, will start the 2007 Indianapolis 500 in the middle of the 10th row from the 29th starting position. The Venezuelan rookie makes history: first Latina and first time three women will race at Indy.

Talent, beauty and youth are just a few of the many adjectives that define the image of Milka Duno. By education and training a Naval Engineer with four master’s degrees – in Organizational Development, Naval Architecture, Maritime Business and Marine Biology – Milka earned the last three simultaneously.

Milka is the first Latin American women driver ever to be classified as an "expert," Milka's professional driving career reaches new heights each year. In 2000 Milka was named “Venezuelan Auto Racing Driver of the Year.”

In her first full Rolex Series season Milka won the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February of 2004 - which made her the first woman in history to win overall a major international sports car race in North America. She repeated that history-making win when she won at the same track seven months later - in September of 2004. During the 2005 season Milka achieved her third career Rolex Series in at Mont-Tremblant, Canada.

Remarkably, in only two Rolex Series seasons, Milka has earned three overall wins, six podium appearances, nine top-five finishes and seventeen top-ten finishes.

Danica Patrick

Heading into Sunday's Indianapolis 500, it seems there is only one place driver Danica Patrick hasn't made an appearance: a victory lane somewhere in the IRL IndyCar Series. Danica hopes her pairing with new team Andretti Green Racing pays dividends on the track. Danica's teammates are Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti and team co-owner Michael Andretti, Marco's father.

Danica, 25, had a breakthrough fourth-place finish as a rookie in the 2005 Indy 500, where she became the first woman to lead a lap at the world's most famous racetrack. Since then, her results haven't been as spellbinding as the attention she has drawn.

Danica has lived in a pressure cooker of expectations since making her IndyCar debut, with the Rahal Letterman team, and still is looking for her first win, the tension builds with each race that she doesn't get to Victory Lane.

She says facing all that pressure alone the past couple of years was not easy.

"I wasn't embraced by my teammates, and that made it kind of miserable," Patrick said. "I was very alone. I didn't talk to them. We just didn't talk and we didn't go through things and, not only that, I didn't necessarily think the things that worked for them were working for me.

"And it just so happened that I was faster more of the time, so it was just a sort of closed-off area that I was in."

Scott Roembke, general manager and chief operating officer for Rahal Letterman, said it was no secret that Patrick didn't get along with her former teammates, and 2004 Indy winner Buddy Rice in particular.

Noting how well Patrick has fit in with her new team, Roembke said, "The Andretti Green lovefest you see from the outside is a unique thing. I think it's good that she's got that relationship now. I'm happy for her."

Patrick's teammates, including 20-year-old Marco Andretti, already have won in the IndyCar Series and they expect her to become a member of that exclusive club soon. Could that first win come at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today? We will all know soon.