Be More Concerned With Your Character Than Your Reputation.
Where are you going?
In the past 36 hours I have had both US and Canadians flying everywhere. As part of my job, I need to sort of know where everyone is at.
Meghan Duggan - USA Hockey
wins world championship and flies from Sweden to the U.S. And then to Canada
Tony Azevedo - USA Water Polo
earns a bronze medal in FINA intercontinental cup and flies from LA to São Paulo, Brazil
Paige Selenski - USA Field Hockey
bus ride from Lancaster, PA to Newark, flies to SF and then to New Zealand and connects to another flight in NZ
Kaylyn Kyle and Melissa Tancredi - Canafa Soccer
flies from Vancouver to Paris, France
Jennifer Botterill - Rogers Hometown Hockey flies to/from Toronto to Ottawa for weekend assignment then returns and flies to San Francisco
Tessa Bonhomme - TSN
goes on vacation from Toronto to the Western U.S.
Keeping up with everyone is as important as knowing that Jennifer Jones - Curling Canada launches a new national campaign in the morning in Toronto.
its a part of your job as an agent and you just need to be aware as you can be.
Up, up and away for USA Field Hockey @PaigeSelenski
As the country's attention is primarily on College Football and MLB playoffs tonight where do athletes who are trying to make the 2016 Summer Olympics compete?
In the case of the U.S. National Field Hockey team they are flying from their home base outside of Philadelphia to New Zealand via LAX.
LAX view towards Tom Bradley International Airport
Thats a 13 + hours from Los Angeles on top of the 5 hours to LA. This is the type of stuff that the casual fan of the Olympic Games doesnt necessarily get. Our athletes are flying globally to play against the best.
This year, the U.S. Women finished 4th at the World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands and had a previous competition in Scotland. Obviously, they have logged a lot of miles.
But, if you have the dream this is what you have to do. At the same time, it may afford you the opportunity to see places around the globe that you might never see as well.
These athletes representing the U.S. are proudly wearing the colors and everyone that faces them always wants to knock off the red, white and blue. All you can do is try your best and play to the best of your abilities.
Be be safe and have a great trip Paige.
b
2022 Winter Olympics - does anyone want them? #SportsBiz #OlympicBiz
I say this with a tongue and cheek approach because their are still 2 bidders left that would like the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. They are Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China. Today, October 1, 2014, the ruling government in Norway withdrew their support of Oslo's attempt to bring the Games to their nation.
Winter Olympics: Oslo set to quit 2022 bidding race - BBCSport
Norwegian government rejects backing for Oslo 22 Winter Olympics - FoxNews.com
Oslo withdraws bid for 2022 Olympics, Citing High Costs of Games - NYTimes.com
Why is this? Basically, public support of the Olympic Games was 3 in 10 Norwegians as reported on by various local news outlets and the outcry that bringing the Olympic Games to Norway would leave to severe of a financial burden on their society.
At this point, the International Olympic Committee needs to look squarely at themselves and figure out how costs of their 4 year traveling carnival of sport must become economically more sustainable so that more countries might bid again as well as have a solid post-Olympic plan of what your going to do with the venues once you have built out the infrastructure (stadiums, media center, olympic village along with all of the road and airport improvements) to have the Olympics.
In North America, we have a lot of abilities to re-use our venues for collegiate purposes, public-private partnerships and/or new training facilities to be used by the National Governing Bodies of US and Canadian National Teams where in many of the nations in the past Olympiads in Sochi, Torino, Nagano and Albertville the venues that were built out have not seen the amount of usage that one might imagine would be great value on the investments that were built to put them up in the first place.
What will be the legacy of another Olympic Games in China less than 15 years after the Summer Games? You can see venues from 2008 that are not in use today or have fallen apart due to lack of maintenance and we are only 6 years past that competition.
With the Winter Olympics in 2018 being in South Korea and the Summer Olympics two years later in 2020 being held in Japan, would a third Olympic Games be held in Asia in Beijing? What does this say about how and why the Olympics are now suddenly in only part of the world?
What this says is that the Games have become too expensive to host in Europe with 3 areas that subsequently pulled out due to financial reasons in Norway, Poland, Sweden and additionally with the uncertainty of ongoing violence in Ukraine you are left with, Almaty, Kazakhstan which is Central Asia, but is near the borders of eastern China and southern Kyrgyzstan. Their other national borders in the region are Russia to the north, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also to the south. On their western side is the Caspian Sea. Almaty was the capital of the nation, but the capital was moved and is now in a more central location to the north called Astana.
Map of Kazakhstan
In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the United States, Denver 76 was awarded the Games in 1970 and gave them back to the IOC in 1972 due to concerns about rising economic costs and the environment impact.of the event.
All of which I can say is that 2022 unless something drastic changes will be a very unique situation that the IOC can only hope never happens again. But in a sense this has already happened again and that was 1976 when Denver had the Olympics as it had been awarded to them and the voters of the region, gave the Olympics back to the IOC when they vacated their obligation to host, thus why Innsbruck, Austria hosted the Games after having hosted in 1964.
History repeats itself, but lessons can sometimes be forgotten it seems.
International Retirement and New Careers @MeghanAgosta @TessaB25 @OchoCahow #Blog #WomensHockey
What a week this was in Canada and the United States for three tremendous ladies that I am fortunate to work for. These three are Meghan Agosta-Marciano, Tessa Bonhomme and Caitlin Cahow.
Let's start with Meghan.
Meghan has been a member of the past 3 Olympic Championships for Canada. She is a graduate of Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA and has a degree in Criminology. If you get a degree in Criminology, you would certainly like to use your degree at some point in your life.
This past summer on the heels of her victory in Sochi, Meghan made a career decision. I want to become a police officer and still play hockey. With the blessing of Hockey Canada, she was able to take interviews in different locales throughout the nation and felt at home enough to apply to the Vancouver Police Department.
On September 18, she was sworn in as one of 16 new recruits to become a member of VPD and to protect and to serve the people of Vancouver who only 5 years ago had the opportunity to cheer her and her teammates on to a home Olympic championship over the United States. During the Olympics, Meghan was the MVP and leading scorer of the 2010 Olympic Games.
Meghan will continue her journey to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea and will suit up for Hockey Canada again in international play and balance her policing responsibilities. She will most likely not though be playing in the Four Nations Cup in Kamloops, BC though because she will be at the police academy, but look for her return in time for the 2015 IIHF Women's World Ice Hockey Championship in Sweden.
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Caitlin Cahow
Caitlin had to retire in Spring 2013 due to Post Concussion Syndrome. She was able to make it back and even won her last competition in the CWHL with the Boston Blades, but she knew she was one hit away from a lengthy rehab just like her previous time and decided to make the prudent move and finish her law degree at Boston College.
Over the next 6 months, Caitlin made the decision to talk about her sexual orientation in public and embrace causes that were near and dear to her heart by her own choice. In November 2013, President Obama made his selections to be on the United States' Official Olympic delegation to represent the nation in Sochi. His selection of Caitlin was a clear message from the United States that as a nation we represent diversity as opposed to what the messaging was coming from the Russian Parliament, President and Prime Minister.
Caitlin handled herself as any ambassador of the United States should do and that was with class, not to duck any issues with the international media and be a proud American cheering on her fellow citizens in international play after the Opening Ceremonies.
Caitlin was offered the opportunity to serve the United States again this past Spring of 2014 and that was to use her knowledge as an athlete and join the President's Fitness, Nutrition and Health council. Honored, Caitlin accepted a 4 year term and was sworn in at the White House on September 15, 2014.
Additionally, now living in Chicago, Caitlin has now taken the Illinois Bar Exam awaiting her results and is a clerk for the United States Bankruptcy Court. A little over a year and a half removed from taking her USA jersey off, she is still representing her nation today.
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Tessa Bonhomme
When do you say goodbye. You say goodbye when you know you have done all that you needed to do and you know what exactly you want to do next.
On September 17, Tessa made her official retirement from international hockey and announced her Hockey Canada days were over, but not her days on the ice in a game she still loves. Playing on the national team though takes a long term commitment and Tessa has been able to find something that makes her enjoy and be as passionate about her time in hockey and that is being a broadcaster.
At the conclusion of her time on CBC's Battle of the Blades, she was offered the opportunity to take a chance and become a broadcaster with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment's Leafs TV and GOL Canada TV covering Toronto FC. Early on being on the other side of the camera had its challenges. Challenges though are things that every athlete knows that they can overcome with the right guidance, coaching and most importantly work ethic. When you make mistakes or you aren't quite comfortable after a game, you go back and look at the tape and figure out how to do better. This was never lost on Tessa and she progressively become a better broadcaster with thanks to caring producers like Frank Hayward amongst others at Leafs TV.
Putting her broadcast career on hold (which she was balancing between Hockey Canada + the Toronto Furies of the CWHL) and moving to Calgary for another opportunity to win another Gold medal at the Olympics for Canada, the Olympic dream was cut short when she was let go from the team in November 2013. Having moved back to Toronto, she began her job again with Leafs TV in January 2014 and was given the opportunity by TSN to work on national television during their rebroadcast of her 2014 Women's National team play at the Olympic Games in Sochi. While this might have been a sad note for some, a true broadcast professional could handle it.
After the Olympics and back on Leafs TV / GOL TV Canada, both TSN and Rogers gave her additional opportunities, but in the summer of 2014, TSN gave her an entirely different role and that was to take a shot at hosting a sport she had no connection to, tennis. Just as Canadian Eugenia Bouchard was taking the world by storm with a historic run at the French Open, Tessa got to cover it in-studio in Toronto. Following the French, she was given the opportunity to work on Wimbledon and TSN was sold.
With the launch of TSN's new channel offerings on August 25, 2014, they were give her the opportunity to become an anchor for SportsCentre. Officially, TSN named her as a full-time member of their SportsCentre staff on the day of her retirement from international competition and begin her new career.
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All three of these ladies are driven to be the best that they can be whether that be in court, in law enforcement or covering the latest in sports. They learned all of this in a team environment that came from ice hockey. A great game that distilled teamwork, leadership, adversity, championships, defeat and hard work to what is next. THE GAME OF LIFE.
This is one game that I know that the 3 of them will always have a leg up on their competition and am very proud to work for all of them.
b
Where is everybody this summer?
As the shift starts to change from the Winter to the Summer for the Olympics we will naturally start to see more and more about things closer to what we will see at Rio 2016.
In the meantime, where are all of the AGM athletes today. Winter or Summer.
Honestly, they are everywhere but for this blog, I just wanted to focus on a few of them because some are in competition right now and others are teaching kids who have a similar passion to learn more about the sports that want to achieve in.
CANADA
Let's start with the Great White North.
Meghan Agosta-Marciano
- Teaching 3 different camps in British Columbia. All of these camps are 2 days long and the kids are on the ice for 4 hours a day with an additional hour in dry land training.
- The event that she is at is called FUTURE STARS CANADA
- Locations are North Vancouver / Nanaimo and Kamloops in August 2014
- Previously she held her own camps in the Windsor, Ontario area earlier this summer under her own name.
Julie Chu
- Teaching kids at hockey camps in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec in July 2014
- Teaching kids additionally in Los Angeles and Alaska in June / July 2014
USA
Heading back into Southern California:
Tony Azevedo
- Tony enlisted the help of Olympic champion, Brenda Villa in teaching with him in Palos Verdes, CA for his 2 day camp in August 2014
- The camp itself was from 930 - 4 pm daily and works on the fundamentals of Water Polo for kids 9 - 16
- The camp makes sure that the kids and their parents can talk to Tony and Brenda about what they can do outside the pool deck to stay fit and try for collegiate opportunities
- Tony and Brenda give insights about what is important from their experiences to share and pass to the next generation
- Tony hosts events in California 3 or 4 times a year in the Northern, Central and Southern regions of the state
In the Northeast:
Meghan Duggan
- During the past 2 weeks, Meghan has worked at the CHE camp in Lake Placid, NY and this week at the Gotta Love Hockey camp in Connecticut - August 2014
- In both of these instances, Meghan is working in an All-Girls surrounding and is on the ice with kids in the 12-16 age range
- The kids have a mix of activities primarily on the ice, but have some dry land training as well
On the field of play right now:
Haley Anderson
- Won the 5k Open Water US National Championship in Lake Castaic, CA in July 2014
- Silver medal in the 10k Open Water at US National Championship
- Just competed in the Long Course Phillips 66 US National Championship in Irvine, CA in August 2014
- En route to the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in Australia (Australia / Japan / Canada / USA / Brazil / New Zealand and many more) - August 2014
Melissa Tancredi
- Playing in the National Women's Soccer League with the Chicago Red Stars
- Chicago is battling for a playoff spot in the last days of the NWSL regular season
- Exhibition games for the Canadian National Women's Soccer Team in the lead up to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada
Kaylyn Kyle
- Playing in the National Women's Soccer League with the Houston Dash
- Exhibition games for the Canadian National Women's Soccer Team in the lead up to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada
Corey Cogdell
- Got married in June 2014
- Won the USA Shooting National Championship in International Trap in August 2014 in Colorado Springs, CO
Paige Selenski
- Competed in the FIH World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands in June 2014
- The US had their best result in 20 years placing 4th in the tournament losing in sudden death shootout in the semi finals and 2-1 in the Bronze medal game
What a week for clients off the field of play
Right now, AGM clients have been on a roll as of late.
Julie Chu got to experience seeing the Stanley Cup being won in front of her in Los Angeles and followed up with her being able to merge in a visit to AT&T Park in San Francisco where she caught an afternoon game where she saw Tim Lincecum throw a no hitter.
Steven Holcomb is the Grand Marshall for the Six Hours at the Glen (Watkins Glen, NY).
Caitlin Cahow was named by the White House to the President's Fitness, Nutrition and Health Council.
Tessa Bonhomme is hosting TSN's Wimbledon coverage.
Meghan Agosta-Marciano received her Olympic champion ring from Hockey Canada and is applying to become a police officer in the same city of Vancouver.
Corey Cogdell got married to Denver Broncos ' Mitchell Urlein in Colorado.
Jennifer Botterill hosted the kickoff event for Hockey Canada's 100th anniversary in Toronto.
Tony Azevedo attended the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Meghan Duggan visited NYC and took a leap of faith in herself.
.@MDuggan10 / Where does social media responses cross the line?
Being that my role as an agent is to help guide, procure jobs and sometimes protect your clients, the world of social media has to be a world of restraint on what you can and can't do from time to time.
One of the many media tweets about what happened at Fenway Park with Meghan Duggan getting a little extra before she threw out the first pitch.
This week, one of my clients, Meghan Duggan of the US Olympic Women's Hockey Team was given the honor to throw out the first pitch at her beloved Boston Red Sox game with various members of the team out on the field behind her. Meghan was the 2014 Olympic Team Captain in Sochi and as everyone knows by now earned a Silver medal after a devastating loss in the Gold medal game to Canada.
We are now about 2 months past that and life moves on. If you play sports you have to have a thick skin because your not going to win every game unless you were the '73 Dolphins. Just ask the Patriots who were 1 defensive series away from being perfect, against the NY Giants in the Super Bowl. In sports, the incredible happens all the time and that is why it is the ultimate reality show, because it is not scripted and things that seem improbable happen every year. This past week during the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Columbus, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a 3-0 lead in the first period in Columbus and lost in OT, you have to move on or be consumed by it. As an athlete you know that, as a fan their is no playbook on that sort of thing honestly.
The perfect storm occurred this week. In an appearance that the Red Sox set up many weeks ago, April 24, 2014 was to be the night that Meghan and her teammates were to appear when the team hosted their hated rivals, the New York Yankees.
Meghan, a LIFE LONG Red Sox fan, a native of nearby Danvers, MA was on the mound to throw out the first pitch and Major League Baseball suspends NY Yankees Pitcher Michael Pineda for 10 games because of his use of pine tar that he had affixed to his neck at Fenway the night before. Pineda as embarrassed as he was didn't defend it nor did he or the Yankees try and appeal this because he was caught cheating. Pineda said on Yankees.com "I'll accept it because I know I make a mistake. That's it."
New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda being inspected by umpires at Fenway Park on April 23, 2014 in the 2nd inning. He was ejected from the game and on April 24, he was suspended by MLB for 10 games. The same night that the US Women's Olympic Hockey team members were to be honored by the Sox.
Any fan of a team once they are committed to them, is truly with them. Meghan decided to make fun of the situation by going to her neck simulating the Pine Tar Pitch of Pineda and then threw a strike to start the game. Did she flip the bird at the Yankees? No. Did she make light of something on topic that had been in the media that day? Yes.
This in itself could have just died right their but today, things like this can go viral and you really don't know what will or won't until it naturally happens on its own. This was not a selfie, this was not something her teammates were taking shots of ahead of time, this just was natural and happened.
As with any public figure who might be doing a first pitch or face-off drop at a hockey game, local and wire photographers will probably get a shot or two for the home team website and maybe will get some hometown local coverage out of it. Because it was the Yankees v Red Sox, the game had more photographers because of the significance with the suspension and 2 long time rivals. In this case, USA Today Images got the money shot and posted it first. Fans at the game whom might have been paying attention to it on the jumbotron or been low enough to see it posted about it.
4/24/14: Olympic hockey player Meghan Duggan throws out the first pitch for the Red Sox vs NY Yankees at Fenway Park.
It was not until the next day that this began to pickup legs and really start to move. Meghan began to retweet out some of the pictures that started to pop up, but the feeding frenzy was then on. It was picked up by Bleacher Report, NY Daily News, NY Post, NESN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Yardbarker, The Hockey News, SB Nation, Yahoo! Sports and it just keeps going.
At the same time, Yankee fans have come out in full force with some truly vulgar things directed towards Meghan that I will give you a sample of because it is so bad that they need to be called out in a similar manner to how you have seen Jimmy Kimmel LIVE read tweets of celebrities that are about them that are just pretty awful as well. These tweets by Yankee fans are across the board guys and gals and certainly not just in the geographic NY - BOS area.
Fans and fanatics are closely tied together. If your city or country does well in sports it can certainly change your mood and feeling, if your city or country does not do well it can change your mood as well. Without a hard count, I can tell you that in this situation the pro-comments finding humor with it has been probably 70%-30% / 80%-20%. At the same time, the ugliness of some of the comments has been outrageous. For those that have been highly negative with their use of colorful language and examples well here you go.
What Meghan did on the mound was meant to be funny. Honestly, I believe it was extremely funny and having humor in sports as in life is really important to be able to laugh at a situation. I am a Dodgers fan myself and don't have any skin in the NY v BOS battle but certainly understand the significance of it having grown up on the east coast myself. Meghan talked with NBC Olympics beat writer Nick Zaccardi and was very genuine about why she did it: “It was kind of a spur of the moment, funny thing to get the crowd going. I meant no harm by it. Certainly, I didn't think it would go viral”
Do we live in a politically correct world, no. I am not advocating fans not sharing their objections to it either. Banter is a part of sports. We hear it everyday on Sports Talk radio, but their is a level of taste that remains as well. Social media is the wild wild west and folks say things and don't really think about it. One AWFUL COMMENT, Meghan got was that someone wished that they were Boston Marathon'd referring to the bombing last year. Another Comment comes from the head of PR for the USTA that he brought up Olympic failure in Sochi. You would think a guy like this would get it, but apparently not.
WHERE DO YOU THINK SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES CROSS THE LINE ON BEING FUNNY OR JUST BEING VULGAR?
Here is a taste of this in the first 36 hours after the game on April 24:
@FAOSchwartzNYC: @MDuggan10 I'm glad now you and your pals gagged off gold in the Olympics mocking Pineda. You're an whore and a choker
@FAOSchwartzNYC: But the difference is the Yankees don't play for the country USA Girls hockey = choke jobs
@Ant95NY: @MDuggan10 please throw out more first pitches @ Fenway. you brought a lot of luck to your scrub team
@HomeOpt: @MDuggan10 @OPBluePride hope you get boston marathon'd, you bitch
@HomeOpt: @HaleyMoore9 @MDuggan10 dyke ass bitch
@HomeOpt: @AGMSports @MDuggan10 @MLBFanCave @MLB_PR Ugly bitch trying to be funny
@MarkZnidar: U.S. hockey Olympian Meghan Duggan had nerve to mock Pineda. Hey, your team choked in the big game, girl. Look for cover.
@Jaccen33: STUPID BITCH! U.S. Women's Hockey captain mocks Yankees' Michael Pineda before game via @forthewin
@MMCfor3: @MeghanDuggan is a stupid bitch
@ANOINTING_RADIO: @AGMSports @MDuggan10 @MLBFanCave @MLB_PR A member that CHOKED against Canada! Try winning Gold next time after all that trash talking!
@JackieDeLister: @MDuggan10 I would be more impressed if you didn't choke away the gold medal. #TypicalBostonCunt #BostonWeak @Deadspin
@NYCSuperBoricua: @MDuggan10 Yo! I read the New York Daily News. You mock Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda during Fenway Park first pitch. You bitch!!!
@GreatMonkeySuit: KrustySox: Meghan Duggan's first pitch pretty much sums up why Red Sox fans are dumb asses!
@AlonsoCrhs11: @mduggan10 what a cunt new york still beat the sox
@ProtectionJoe: @mduggan10 Maybe you should be concentrate on actually winning a medal for our country rather than being an ass-clown. no class
@IAmTimCurry: “US W hockey cpt mocked Pineda B4 the Red Sox-Yanks game: http://usat.ly/1ikHMEP pic.twitter.com/hyjBjaq1s3” classy as CAN-W after they won gold
Interesting point about Tim is his twitter profile that he is in charge of Communications for the US Tennis Association:
Tim Curry
@IamTimCurry
Not THAT Tim Curry * Husband * Father * Son * Proud Univ. of Tennessee alum #VFL * USTA Dir. of Communications * Love tennis, volleyball, Olympics & pop culture
Stamford, CT
@ShaneG02: @MDuggan10 you stupid bitch #Yankees #fuckboston
@WatchThaJones: @mduggan10 should probly stop making fun of other athletes and focus on how to not blow a 2 goal lead with 3 mins left in a gold medal game
@BoobyPuncher: @mduggan10 @kstack16 but isn't she the one that completely choked on the Olympics and embarrassed her country? @sirchadwick53
@MaulOfAmerica: If Meghan Duggan had used pine tar in Sochi, she might have held 2 goal lead against Canada with 4 mins left in 3rd. http://sbn.to/1pxON9g
@Colt_45F: Meghan Duggan, you still blew the gold medal game.
@ChrisThompsonNJ: @mduggan10 fuck you hoe! Yankees all day 14-5 who got the last laugh!
@TDAppel: @mduggan10 Forget about Pineda, you should have done a choking motion, in honor of your team's gold medal game performance
@ScottyHockey: Why is @mduggan10 getting press? She failed her country as a hockey player, so she tried to be a comedian, big deal.
@changyyyX: Wow Meghan Duggan #Classless #Masshole
Think About It.
b
No Rest For The Weary - Tessa Bonhomme / Caitlin Cahow
To say that I work for some really unique women is an understatement but for this blog, I want to single out two of them, one from Canada and the other from the United States.
The first is a young lady that is constantly on the move and this past week certainly highlighted what I mean, but while this week might seem busy, this is a microcosm of what I have seen her do on many, many occasions over the past 3 years since she was on a reality show called Battle of the Blades. Her name is Tessa Bonhomme and here is a small look at the week of March 17 - 24, 2014:
Monday - work at Maple Leafs TV / GOL TV Canada with an emphasis on Toronto FC (MLS)
Tuesday - work at Leafs TV / GOL TV Canada, head to Markham, ON for the CWHL Awards Banquet
Wednesday - play CWHL Clarkson Cup opening game, following game go to Toronto for Maple Leafs home game, Gate 5 show and post-game (Tampa Bay)
Thursday - work at Leafs TV; head to Markham for CWHL Clarkson Cup game
Friday - work at Leafs TV on their practice television show; head to Markham for CWHL Clarkson Cup game
Saturday - play CWHL Clarkson Cup Championship game, after clinching championship in OT and doing her player media obligations, head back to Toronto for Leafs TV Gate 5 show and post-game (Montreal), catch up with teammates and head to bed at 1 am
Sunday - fly to Ottawa in the morning for Scotiabank Girls HockeyFest at the Canadian Tire Centre (home of the Ottawa Senators) for an all-day sponsor commitment and then fly back to Toronto.
Monday - this morning, be right back at Leafs TV for their practice television show at the MasterCard Centre preparing for the Leafs next home game on Tuesday night vs St Louis
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Another young lady that I work for is Caitlin Cahow, who is retired as a hockey player and is a 3rd year law student at Boston College. In CC's case, her life changed dramatically on December 21, 2013 after being vetted for probably her life changing moment that will have a profound effect on her next 5 - 10 years. On this date, the White House named her as a member of the Presidential Delegation to the Winter Olympic Games.
Since then, her trip to the Olympics and after Sochi, CC has been inundated with media requests on top of her full class load, speaking engagements and as a member of the CWHL Board of Directors her capacity to juggle has been one to behold.
In her case, this past week included:
- A trip to Washington DC for a speech at the Human Rights Campaign
- Lunch at the White House and a possible new role in the future (I don't know what it is so please do not ask me and don't ask her either please)
- Her full class load to study for
- A speaking engagement at the NCAA Frozen Four at Quinnipiac College and a round trip drive from Boston to Hartford the same night
- A CWHL policy matter (she had to deal with as the only US board of director member) that affected one of my clients and much drama between the Boston member club and the League
- A drive from Boston to Toronto / Markham for the CWHL Championship Game
- And now back to reality with her full class load in Boston as well as another speaking engagement this week
Both ladies are driven to succeed just as they were on the ice for Hockey Canada and USA Hockey and their is no doubt in my mind that both of them will be the next generation of leaders that hold a high place in both nations over the next 2 decades. I can only hope that people listen to them, they have great ideas and outside of sports they were both are a product of a great piece of legislation in the United States called Title IX that I can honestly say has had a tremendous effect on North American society. Via Title IX, many female athletes have been given the opportunity to play collegiate sports, earn a college degree and pick up skills via competition that has translated off the field of play and into the board rooms.
The drive and passion that both Tessa and Caitlin have may have been fostered in their collegiate experiences at The Ohio State University and Harvard University respectively, but I can tell you this their not weary, their just getting started.
Paralympic Gold Medal Hockey - USA v Russia and Paralympic Commentary
After reading two stories one in the US from CNBC and another from CBC about the marketing of Paralympic athletes, I really wanted to make a point to watch the Gold Medal Game to see the skill and viability for this to be on all the time.
At the end of the day, that is what marketers are deciding upon is will people consume Paralympic sports, digest it and potentially buy their products if they advertise with it.
As I am writing this blog, it is the second period and a 1-0 lead by the Americans that is highly entertaining. Their is contact like you find in the National Hockey League, their are scoring chances with breakaways and incredible athleticism with these athletes using not only their arm strength to power their sleds down the ice but using those same sticks to then shoot the puck.
The Americans have a player who is lightning fast named Josh Sweeney that would compare with any of the fastest NHL players like Pavel Datsuyk has been really fun to watch.
From a movie we all have heard this line, "If you build it, they will come", I can tell you that watching this hockey game, I certainly would watch again for international play if it was put in front of me. It's a good product.
Outside of this hockey game, I have had the opportunity to meet many of these athletes like Amy Purdy, Tatyanna McFadden, Rico Roman, Heath Calhoun, Billy Bridges, April Holmes and what I know is that whatever country they might be competing for that they are doing it at full speed and maybe without a limb or two, but they are super skilled athletes and excelling at it. I think that corporations should recognize that on a more consistent basis.
Take a step back from your fear and DO THE RIGHT THING.
Here in Sochi here are the Paralympic Partners in the US who deserve credit for their current commitments (note their may be more but this is who I know because they activate really well):
The Hartford
BP
Citi
P&G
BMW USA
Nike
Ralph Lauren
Liberty Mutual
Global Partners
GE
Megafon - Russian Company
Panasonic
P6K - Russian Company