Column

There I was minding my own business on facebook (well, not really) when I saw this photo Deron Williams posted of Team USA Basketball 2012. We all know that Kevin Durant is AT LEAST 6’10 or 6’11. But is he taller than a 7’1 Tyson Chandler? Is Tyson leaning? Is Kevin’s hat really tall?  Is Kevin wearing stilettos? *rubs eyes* I swear Kevin looks taller than Tyson. 

You be the judge. 

[Update: My followers on twitter believe Tyson is leaning and has his legs open wider than Kevin's. Listen...they are comparable heights. That's all I can say I guess.]

I had to read the NY Times’ virtual take down of track and field star Lolo Jones twice and I think I’ve gathered my thoughts. Maybe.  Jere Longman, an NY Times reporter took on Lolo Jones’ image and the reasons she is a bigger celebrity than fellow track and field stars with more accomplishments/talent.  He even compares Jones to former tennis player Anna Kournikova who, a decade ago,  was the poster girl of attention without wins. 

Longman’s piece was an unfiltered assessment…the kind of thing you’d see in a marketer’s email box. It’s startling in that way and I’d like to see more pieces that take that approach. Where Longman fails, in my opinion, is at separating branding strategies from things a person does that happen to help their brand. He essentially assigned motives to Jones which makes the tone of the piece feel unfair-especially given the timing. Jones has not finished competing though if you listen to Longman she might as well just stay in her room in Olympic Village cause she’s toast. 

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I honestly do not mean to be condescending. But I really am confused as to why large swaths of people would believe Kellogg gave Gabby Douglas 90 million dollars to be on a cereal box? NBA players barely get those kinds of endorsement deals and when they do they’re 1. superstars in a sport that is popular all year round globally 2. Longterm deals that bank on the sales of many NEW products. Gabby Douglas doesn’t fit 1 or 2. Not that cereal brands are passing out dough like that anyway.

A few business sites have posted that Gabby’s deal with Kellogg is somewhere between 1 and 2 million. Industry “experts” have guessed that Gabby has the POTENTIAL to earn 90 million over 10 years and/or to sign 30+ deals worth 2 million + each (mind you, other experts put the figure at much less). Either way, how much Gabby earns will depend on a lot of factors.

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All week long I’ve been meaning to blog about Holley Mangold but let myself get distracted by less important things. Shame on me. I have tweeted about Mangold quite a bit so I haven’t ignored her completely. 

Mangold is somewhat of a phenom. In making it to the Olympics to represent the U.S. she has done something in 3-4 years that people typically take much longer to accomplish. Mangold started off in athletics by playing offensive lineman in high school along side her brother NY Jets OL Nick Mangold. Once that ended she took up weightlifting and quickly got serious. 

I’m curious to see how Mangold will perform tomorrow morning (8/5 10:30am EST). The biggest knock on Mangold (according to folks who know way more than me AND also Mangold herself) is that she has been over reliant on natural talent and abilities and needs to work even more on technique and conditioning. Down the road, that may result in a need for Mangold to drop some of her 350lbs. You’ll notice that even at the highest weight class (+75kg) the other competitors, such as fellow American Sarah Robles, are 100lbs  lighter than Mangold.

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For more photos like this (not with these ugly ass outfits on, sorry no likey), follow Kevin Durant on instagram. @trey5

Thanks to the folks at Examiner also known as the site I stole this lineup from. I tweeted the link before but figured I’d post it here as well. 

• Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - Tunisia vs. USA - 5:15 p.m - NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Thursday, August 2, 2012 - USA vs. Nigeria - 5:15 p.m - NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Saturday, August 4, 2012 - Lithuania vs. USA - 9:30 a.m - NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Monday, August 6, 2012 - USA vs. Argentina - 5:15 p.m - NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel

Quarterfinal Round - Wednesday, August 8, 2012:

• Game 1 – 9:00 a.m. – NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Game 2 – 11:15 a.m. – NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Game 3 – 2:45 p.m. – NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Game 4 – 5:15 p.m. – NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel

Semifinal Round - Friday, August 10, 2012:

• Game 1 - 12:00 p.m. - NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Game 2 - 3:45 p.m. - NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel

Final Round - Sunday, August 12, 2012:

• Bronze Medal Game - 6:00 a.m. - NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel
• Gold Medal Game - 10:00 a.m. - LIVE on NBC, NBC Sports Network, NBC Basketball Channel