ESPN/ABC, MLB, MLS, Miami Herald, NBA teams, New York Post, Olympics, SI.com, Tennis

Taking Advantage of The Quietest Day In Sports…

The summer is traditionally slower for the sports industry, even in an Olympic year, but the day always the quietest (especially given Tuesday’s marathon All-Star game) is the Wednesday after the All-Star game.  The day usually offers up a chance for sports in their offseason to grab some headlines or those currently competing to update current plans with the media.  Some of the groups that took advantage of the quiet day included tennis (Venus Williams on Leno), the New Jersey Nets (making GM Rod Thorn available to spell out their plan going forward), Red Bull New York (who got great space in the dailies with Claudio Reyna’s retirement announcement)  and the NFL Network (which did a conference call with Steve Bornstein and new lead announcer Bob Papa).  All got more exposure than they would have gotten on even a slightly crowded day, and were great examples of advance planning.  Good strategic moves by all. 

Some other very good reads for today…the Miami Herald has a good followup with Dan Uggla following his nightmarish All-Star game…well handled and well messaged by a guy who is becoming a solid star on and off the field…the Daily Oklahoman has a good piece on the strategy the Oklahoma NBA team should use for looking for a nickname to identify with fans…Mike Downey has a very interesting piece in the Chicago Tribune on the potential of a foreign investor buying Wrigley Field…and si.com’s Frank Deford has a good column on the value of being lefthanded in sports.