Each week I am planning to look at some of the stories and news that I found most interesting.  This space will include some sports, but not all of the sports stories that I normally follow in the areas of sports philanthropy, sports law, sports business, Jewish sports, concussions and otherwise.  If you want to see more of what I am following in those areas, let me know and I can point you to the best spots on my blog or various websites.  You will see that I love to find some of life’s little absurdities and point those out as well as other interesting stories that I follow.

MOTIVATIONAL IMAGES OF WEEK:

OTHER TOP IMAGES OF THE WEEK:

ROY’S RAMBLE:

• Buffalo Wild Wings.  I went to watch the Michigan State-Texas Tech game at Buffalo Wild Wings.  One of the few places now that has the sound on for the games.  Apparently BWW created new menus that the waiter said are supposed to remind you of a coaches clipboard.  Horrible idea. Very awkward and clumsy.   D-minus to the marketing staff.  Waiter said everyone hates them.

• Golf.      A friend treated me to the first round of golf we have played together in a few years. Beautiful day on Saturday and nice to be out there. We used to get in about 25 rounds a year together, but family and work seemed to get in the way the last couple of decades.  I always find some good things to laugh at on the golf course.  This day’s prime item was the way many golfers overestimate how far they can hit the ball.  We had a twosome in front of us that was waiting to hit until the group ahead of them was 300+ yards away.  I am not sure we saw either of them hit any ball 200 yards in the air. Most of them were dribblers or shanks.  On two par fives, they waited for the group to clear the green when they were at their tee shots—about 200 yards off the tee.  Still it is always great being out on the course even with clueless golfers.  I managed to scrape out a few pars and even knocked in a birdie. 

• Neuroplasticity training.              .               Last weekend I got certified in neuroplasticity training and will have more details and information for you about that service soon.  This will be a great benefit to so many organizations and so many individuals that could use the help getting their brain to function more efficiently.

• Cancelled meetings.      Many of us have busy schedules. We all recognize meetings get cancelled, rescheduled or arrivals may be delayed.  But it amazes me when someone fails to let you know that they won’t make a meeting until you email to confirm, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OUT OF TOWN.   TWICE.  Hey, newsflash.  If you are out of town an hour before our meeting, you knew you were not going to make it that day.

• JT Foxx.  Until about a year ago, I had never heard of JT Foxx.  I attended one of his free events in Chicago last summer. He bills himself as The World’s #1 Wealth Coach.”  Though he comes across as cocky and though he can be hard on some of the attendees that he brings up for coaching, there can be no doubt about his work ethic.  He presents all around the world and opens up many of his events for free.  Having now attended my 4^th event of his, there can also be no doubt that he has some tremendous ideas and helps many people improve their lives.  He does it in a very different way to Tony Robbins, but the impact is very real.  You can read more details here.

• Fundraisers Forum.         Led by Rae Ringel, this was an outstanding event.  You read more details about it here, but if you work with non-profits or try to raise money, her presentations are fantastic and worth of a more detailed look.

• Vendor response. I am planning the Sports Philanthropy World Congress in August. As I was looking for venues for the event, I sent out emails inquiring about availability. It continues to amaze me how unresponsive many companies are, even when you are trying to give them business. One venue that was pitching me for business took over 10 days to provide any of the requested information via email (and even then, came back with only about half of what was requested). #VendorFail

• Final Four.           I hate seeing games decided by controversial endings.  The end of the Virginia/Auburn game was tremendous drama but the missed call on the double dribble will be questioned for a long time.  However, what about the missed grab before that?  Would that have cancelled the other missed call out?  The final call on the 3-point shot was the correct call and was explained very well by Gene Steratore.  He is one of the most articulate referees that we have seen on TV and continually provides great insight. This year’s tournament seems to have the largest collection of tight games that I have seen in many, many years.  It will be tough to top Virginia’s two improbably victories.

• Health Club Redux. You may have read my prior post about the 12 Most Absurd Things You See at the Health Club.” I may have to start a volume two. Today one elderly member kicked two teenagers out of the hot tub because they were not technically old enough, even though they were probably only a few months short of the age requirement. Mind you, plenty of space there. They were sitting quietly and talking.

Super Bowl weeks are always a very hectic time.  If you are associated with the business of sports, there are more events than you could possibly have time to attend in that period of time.  As you read through this summary, you will see the links embedded to the coverage of the various events provided by the Sports Philanthropy Network.

This past week in Atlanta, I was fortunate to participate in a whole variety of events giving me the opportunity to interact with a wide array of individuals from all across the country.

The weekend prior to the game, I was able to attend the NFL Experience at the Georgia World Congress with Kayla Bradham, who is joining the Sports Philanthropy Network as the VP of Community Relations.  We had the opportunity to go through the exhibits and explore the venue in a much less crowded environment than you would see later in the week.  One of the highlights was getting the chance to meet some of the team from RISE, Stephen Ross’ initiative getting its acronym from Ross Initiative for Sports Equality.  As the owner of the Miami Dolphins, Ross has put his name on many things, including the University of Michigan Business School, but this is one that could make an every longer lasting impact.

The first couple days of the week are quieter as the schedule ramps up in anticipation of the crowds heading into the weekend.  It was comical as the City of Atlanta prepared itself for a winter storm.”  The whole city was on high alert mode on Monday as it prepared for horrific conditions on Tuesday.  The TV weather broadcasts warned everyone of impending doom.  Schools were cancelled by Monday afternoon.  The end result?  A day with temperatures in the high 30’s and low 40’s.  A sunny afternoon.  Even the health club I managed to use to squeeze in a few workouts was telling me the facility might close because the weather could change.”

One of the most interesting parts of the week was the ability to get press credentials which gave me access to many of the official NFL events and the various summits and educational seminars around time.  It gave me some great insight into how the media work and the access they receive to all parts of the Super Bowl compound.

• WEDNESDAY: From my end, the week got kick started with a Women’s Empowerment Summit hosted by GladiatHers. Terrific messages from many powerful women. Well over 100 women attended and there were a surprising number of men also supporting the vision of GladiatHers.
• WEDNESDAY: From there, it was a quick run over to the Crucial Catch event held at the American Cancer Society HQ. A strong turnout of NFL representatives, team mascots, cheerleaders and former players led the way as the stations were set up to caution about various cancer risk factors and provide prevention suggestions.
• WEDNESDAY: The GladiatHers evening panel had some very frank conversations from leading women in the Atlanta sports community.
• THURSDAY: The Most Valuable Philanthropist event hosted by Champions for Philanthropy at the amazing venue called The Estate.” Honoring some terrific players who have made a great impact in their community, this event really set a strong standard for other philanthropic events to follow.
• THURSDAY: RISE held their Town Hall Meeting at the King Center with a star-studded and impressive lineup taking the stage to push for social justice and significant reforms in the criminal justice system.
• THURSDAY: Very impressive event at the Porsche Experience, sponsored by AWIS (Atlanta Women in Sports). A terrific turnout and many great women leaders took the stage to accept their awards and talk about their motivations and the impact they desired to make.
• FRIDAY: The NFL Man of the Year Community event was held at the Boys and Girls Club. Attended by almost all of the Man of the Year nominees, this event featured Roger Goodell working the shovel and wheelbarrow and setting the lead example of hard work.
• FRIDAY: George Washington University’s Sports Philanthropy program hosted a networking Happy Hour for the many professionals in town for the Super Bowl and received a strong turnout of people making their career in the sports philanthropy space.
• FRIDAY: A special treat was an invitation to dinner by NFL Hall of Fame LB Rickey Jackson and getting the opportunity speak to him and Eric Dickerson during a late dinner.
• SATURDAY: Leigh Steinberg, Nicole Fisher and the Brain Treatment Foundation hosted a Brain Health Summit as a prelude to Leigh Steinberg’s annual party. The Summit had an insightful panel discussion that examined the difficulties of addressing the concussion problems on a practical level.
• SATURDAY: Leigh Steinberg’s party hosted over 2000 people crammed into the venue and the highlight was Patrick Mahomes taking home some of the awards and showing off his strong presence and command of the audience. Later that night, he took home the Player of the Year.

Unfortunately, I did not get to stay for the game.  Aside from the ticket prices running well over $2,000, it was time to get back home after the two week trip for the Senior Bowl and the Super Bowl.

One thing that struck me as I walked around the streets of Atlanta during the week, was the dichotomy exhibited by homeless individuals asking for food or money, while literally a few yards away, party goers are entering into parties that whose tickets ranged in price from $200 to $1000+.   I haven’t seen any reports on the total amount spent on parties during the week, but you can bet it is a large number.