Ibrahimovic to West Ham?

When it comes to soccer rumors, the first thing you have to do is not believe it until it happens. At the end of this season the Swedish Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is done with his current contract. He is one of the worlds best, and he still shows it even at 34 years old. He currently plays for Parish Saint-Germain. He says he will be leaving France, and may be going to the Barclays Premier League in England. There are many teams trying to convince him to com, but the most shocking one is West Ham United. The past couple of years they have been a mid table team, but this year they are fighting for a Champions League spot. This rumor is very enticing, and seems that it may actually happen.

 

http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/west-ham-co-owner-reveal-the-club-want-to-sign-ibrahimovic-032916

Syracuse does the Unthinkable

The Syracuse Orange are headed to the Final Four for the first time since 2013. A lot of people thought they should of been left out of the tournament, as did I.  But they weren't and they got a 10 seed. You would think they would win maybe just their first game and then lose there second game to Michigan State. Michigan State ended up being upset by Middle Tennessee State in the opening round. So, Syracuse got another free pass.  The following round you would of thought they would be playing Utah, but Gonzaga ended up upsetting the Utes. Despite Syracuse being down late in the game against the Zags, they somehow pulled it off.  Syracuse's next game was against the 1 seed Virginia Cavaliers, and you thought there was no way the Orange win this one. It looked that way when Syracuse was down 16 in the 2nd half, but somehow they came all the way back and won. Now they are the first 10 seed to advance to the Final Four. Will their luck run out against North Carolina, or will they have a couple more tricks up their sleeve. We will have to wait until Saturday to find out.

 

TuneIn Adds NBA to Live Audio Package by: Eric Fisher

The NBA and the fast growing company TuneIn have agreed to a multi year deal to have live audio streams of games. TuneIn debuted last summer. This will also include streams of WNBA games starting in May, and NBA Developmental League games starting in the fall. NBA games will be included in the premium package starting in the 2016-17 season. The premium package is $7.99 per month and includes MLB, NFL, and English Premier League games. TuneIn also streams NHL and has play by play in its free package. They usually have 60 million users per month from all over the world. This may be the best thing to do if you are a sports fan, listen to as many games as you want from basically any major sports league for only $7.99 a month.

NBC to Carry Games from English Rugby League by: John Ourand

English rugby may not be as popular as the English Premier League (soccer) is in the United States, but NBC plans to change that. NBC signed a  multi year deal to have at least 25 games on the NBC Sports Network starting in the fall. There will be another 50 games on the NBC Sports Live Extra App.  The rugby games will come on after the Premier League games on the weekend. Weekends that no soccer is on, rugby will fill in. Sometime this year the London Irish will play the Saracens at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. I think rugby will become popular n the United States by doing this, but not as popular as the English Premier League is. This also helps rugby because of its return to the Olympics this coming Summer.

Central Florida to Manage its Rights In-House by: Michael Smith

The University of Central Florida has told its rights holder, IMG college that it will not be renewing its contract. IMG was in charge of  managing UCF's media, corporate sponsorships, and marketing. UCF is taking all of that upon themselves. Matt Difebo, who is a senior associate athletics director, and the department's chief financial officer, will be looking over this. They feel they can generate more net revenue from this. I think this may be good for more small colleges to generate more revenue.

Blazers, Heat Renew Season Tickets Via App by: John Lombardo

Earlier this year the Portland Trail Blazers became the first team in the NBA to have a season ticket renewal option on their app. More recently the Miami Heat did the same thing. The Trail Blazers had a 95 percent renewal rate on season tickets last year.  More than 200,000 fans have downloaded their app too.  This was a no brainer then for the Trail Blazers to give the option to renew season tickets on their app.  I think more teams will start to have this option on their apps. I think so because it is more convenient for the fans.



Networks Target Peyton Manning for On-Air Role by: John Ourand

If Peyton Manning plans to retire, networks that have sports are looking to have him be a broadcaster.  I think that would be a great thing to do.  Peyton has a great personality, and he always takes the time to speak to reporters.  He is one of the best to ever play the game.  He could analyze the quarterback matchups for the day, and how they could improve their play.  He would be a great addition to any broadcasting team, just because of his knowledge of the game, and how he can lighten the mood.



A Virtual Approach to Fan Experience by: Eric Fisher

At Madison Square Garden for New York Rangers games fans can pretend they are a goalie in a simulator.  They get two minutes of trying to stop shots from shooters.  I like that idea a whole lot, because who would not want to pretend they are a professional athlete.  At Super Bowl 50 they had a quarterback simulator.  I feel like sports simulators are the future of technology.  A lot of people now no longer have the chance of playing for a professional team, but they still want to be as close to the game as possible.  These simulators can do that for them.