Nets, Blues Both Try and Fill Seats By Reaching To Those Struggling With The Economy

While the Red Sox today announced a ticket freeze, both the Nets and the Blues have looked to those in job and financial difficulty this past week to try and find a promotion that gets buzz, puts butts in seats and maybe, just maybe, brightens the outlook of thos.casual fans struggling with the current times.?Dave Waldstein in the Newark Star-Ledger touches on both promos, with the Nets looking to exchange tickets for those supplying a resume to a job bank they have created,.while the Blues go one further by actually offering up financial assistance for those in home owner hell on select Saturday nights through a lottery. Both obviously got some buzz and show that the teams are reacting to th.needs of the fans and the econom.?(and they both have a need to fil.distressed inventory), but the Blues program really hits home for those who have trouble paying bills.Still, both teams got their brand closer to the casual fan, which may lead to both more social responsibility and fan loyalty going forward.

Some other good reads…ESPN.com's Scoop jackson has an interesting look at how hoops can lift itself up a level with the leadership of President-elect Obama… Brian Gainor on the cnbc blog has a good profile of Rotohog.com's Kelly Perdew…wsj.com's Darren Everson has a good q and a with NCAA president Miles Brand…the AP has a good piece on how the 2014 Sochi games plans are also moving along despite the economic crunch.