The Hochuli-90X Workout Program

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Ed Hochuli's biceps and interesting background have made him into a vertically-striped icon on and off the field in recent years. But with the recent replacement referee fiasco, he has undoubtedly become the face of NFL referees everywhere.

For Hochuli, his popularity in the eye of the public is at an all-time high and this is the time for him to capitalize. Per the inspiration for this post by my good pal JT, I am going to help out the NFL's most famous referee with the business idea of the century: Hochuli-90X**

Pump it big dog.

Of course you can read Hochuli's ACTUAL workout routine right here, but that is boring and (considering it is from 2006) outdated. From my experience with Insanity and the basic knowledge of NFL referee hand signals, I have created the following exercises for Hochuli-90X:

The move: Arm flexibility and stretching

What it means on the field: Completion

What you think is a "completion" signal is actually a key warmup in the Hochuli-90X workout. We want to gain muscle and girth on the arms, but not sacrifice flexibility. It is extremely important that all athletes adequately stretch their arms and obliques before any Hochuli-90X activity.

The move: Self arm wrestling

What it means on the field: Holding

We all know that any Hochuli-90X athlete does not lose to anyone in a feat of strength, except to himself. This arm wrestling exercise allows you to put your muscle mass up against the only other person as strong as you are. This way, the muscle is constantly being tested by someone in the Hochuli-90X program and not other weaklings with inadequate biceps.

The move: Lat size check and evaluation

What it means on the field: Timeout

This is a daily self-esteem builder and progress check. Every day after doing Hochuli-90X, your lats grow approximately 1" in size. You are able to track your progress and make sure you are headed in the right direction by checking the size of your lats every day and make sure you are up to Hochuli-90X standards.

The move: Wingspan lengthening

What it means on the field: Unsportsmanlike conduct

A little known fact about extreme bodybuilding, is once muscles get big enough, you can actually stretch them out to other parts of your body. In this instance, the biceps got so huge from Hochuli-90X, by doing this move, the muscle stretched out to the forearms and allowed the wingspan to increase to approximately 10' by the end of the program.

The move: The "TD"

 

 What it means on the field: Touchdown

The final Hochuli-90X move is The "TD," which is a mentally stimulating exercise. After completing all other parts of the daily workout, you must go out to your front lawn and hold this pose for three hours (preferably in the pouring rain) to build character and mental strength.

That wraps up the five basic moves of Hochuli-90X, so take on the program if you dare!

**Ed Hochuli is the only known graduate of the Hochuli-90X workout, and for good reason. This workout program is not for mere mortals, so you must consult Hochuli himself before beginning. There is no set timetable for this program, Hochuli will tell you when you have completed the workout. While the "90X" in "P90X" means 90 days of extreme exercise, the "90X" in "Hochuli-90X" just reminds you that Hochuli is 90 times better than you will ever be.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

How (NOT) to Build an NBA Keeper League Juggernaut

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...

The following is based on a true story...

Phase 1: Gee, an NBA Keeper league sure sounds swell.

Step 1.1: Join an NBA Keeper league in 2007 with 11 strangers you met on the internet at age 16.

Step 1.2: Create a team and call it "El Supersonics" because it is a hysterically funny Spanish add-on to the nickname of your favorite NBA team.

Step 1.3: Receive 12th overall pick in a snaking draft and watch NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki get swept off the board before you can itch your ass.

Step 1.4: Decide to go with value youth picks and embrace the "keeper" mindset.

Step 1.5: Pick year-before-his-breakout-season Chris Paul in the first round and Josh Smith right after. Round out your roster with rookie Kevin Durant, Emeka Okafor, Danny Granger, Monta Ellis, Al Harrington, Jameer Nelson, Rudy Gay, Devin Harris and others.

Phase 2: Trash the "keeper" mindset and make as many trades as possible, while thinking as little about the future as possible.

Step 2.1: Inexplicably drop Devin Harris (24), just because he missed three of the first six games, for Chris Duhon.

Step 2.2: Trade Josh Smith (22) and Emeka Okafor (25) for Marcus Camby (33).

Step 2.3: Trade Chris Paul (22) and Monta Ellis (22) for Allen Iverson (32) and Lamar Odom (28).

Step 2.4: Trade Kevin Durant (19) and Al Harrington (27) for Mo Williams (25) and Marvin Williams (21).

Step 2.5: Trade [the artist formerly known as] Ron Artest (28) for Andris Biedrins (21)

Step 2.6: Rudy Gay (21) for Richard Hamilton (29) and Andre Miller (31)

Step 2.7: Thaddeus Young (19) and Richard Hamilton (29) for Vince Carter (30)

Step 2.8: Jameer Nelson (25) for Monta Ellis (22)

Step 2.9: Finish in 4th place. Name Granger, Iverson, Carter, Camby, Ellis, Williams, Odom and Biedrins as keepers. Could have been Paul, Smith, Durant, Granger, Ellis, Nelson, Gay and Harris without any moves whatsoever.

Phase 3: Allen Iverson, Vince Carter and Marcus Camby are three of your keepers in 2008, but do not worry about it.

Step 3.1: Rename your team "Oakland Zoo" because Pitt basketball is the shit.

Step 3.2: Draft Kevin Love and Jameer Nelson in the first two rounds of the 2008 waiver draft.

Step 3.3: Trade Kevin Love (20) and Allen Iverson (33) for Ray Allen (33).

Step 3.4: Trade Lamar Odom (29) and Mo Williams (25) for Zydrunas Ilgauskas (33) and Ramon Sessions (22).

Step 3.5: Finish in 7th place. Name Granger, Carter, Ellis, Camby, Allen, Biedrins, Nelson and Nate Robinson as keepers. Could have had Kevin Love in the mix.

Phase 4: Make more boneheaded trades to make up for the lack of player movement from last season.

Step 4.1: Choose Tyrus Thomas and Stephen Curry in the first two rounds of the 2009 waiver draft.

Step 4.2: Trade Nate Robinson (25) and Courtney Lee (24) for Russell Westbrook (21).

Step 4.3: Trade Jameer Nelson (27) and Vince Carter (32) for Tony Parker (27) and Wilson Chandler (22).

Step 4.4: Trade Stephen Curry (21) and Ray Allen (34) for OJ Mayo (22).

Step 4.5: Trade Tony Parker (27) for Brandon Jennings (20).

Step 4.6: Trade Brandon Jennings (20) for Manu Ginobili (32).

Step 4.7: Trade Monta Ellis (24), Marcus Camby (35) and Manu Ginobili (32) for Rudy Gay (23), Roy Hibbert (23) and Steve Nash (35).

Step 4.8: Finish in 7th place. Name Granger, Nash, Gay, Westbrook and Mayo as keepers.

Phase 5: What you have been doing has been horrible, try building an actual damn team.

Step 5.1: Have a nearly perfect 2010 waiver draft, including drafting Roy Hibbert, Eric Gordon, Luol Deng, Lamar Odom, Beno Udrih, Spencer Hawes, Mike Dunleavy and Marvin Williams in the first eight rounds.

Step 5.2: Trade Luol Deng (25) for Tyrus Thomas (24).

Step 5.3: Trade Danny Granger (27) and Marvin Williams (24) for Monta Ellis (25).

Step 5.4: Trade Roy Hibbert (24) for Marcus Camby (36) and Nicolas Batum (22).

Step 5.5: Finish in 6th place. Name Ellis, Westbrook, Gay, Gordon and Nash as keepers.

Phase 6: Systematically build a team that can compete, like you should have done five years ago, you freaking idiot.

Step 6.1: Choose Marc Gasol in the first round of the 2011 waiver draft. Also pick good value guys like Tony Allen, Emeka Okafor, Thaddeus Young, Trevor Ariza and Jarret Jack in later rounds.

Step 6.2: Trade Russell Westbrook (23) for Spencer Hawes (23), DJ Augustin (24) and Danny Granger (28).

Step 6.3: Trade DJ Augustin (24), Eric Gordon (23) and Monta Ellis (26) for Paul Pierce (34), Gerald Wallace (29) and Jeff Teague (23).

Step 6.4: Finish in 2nd place. Name Granger, Gasol, Gay, Pierce, Nash, Wallace, Teague and Young as keepers.

Phase 7: Win (maybe).

Step 7.1: Draft Lou Williams, DeAndre Jordan, Nikola Pekovic, Rodney Stuckey and Ed Davis in the first five rounds of the 2012 waiver draft.

Step 7.2: Line up a well-rounded roster.

Phase 8: Profit...

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

Pittsburgh's Bloke and Gold

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




Next season will mark the first time since the NFL International Series debuted in 2005 that two regular season games will be played in the UK. On a more interesting note, it will be the first time Big Ben will be playing a football game in the shadow of Big Ben.

HA HA.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will "host" the San Francisco 49ers Oct. 29 as the Minnesota Vikings "host" the Pittsburgh Steelers Sept. 29. Both games will be at Wembley Stadium, the most prominent American football-capable venue in London.

The St. Louis Rams, who were supposed to play one home game per year in the UK from 2012-14, opted out of their plans to play there the next two years after they make an appearance in London this season Oct. 28 against the New England Patriots.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan has been shoving his team into the face of the English blokes like George Washington shoved his rifle into the butt of his English overlords**. Just recently, the NFL granted the Jaguars permission to market in the UK. Per this SBJ article, the Jaguars want the opportunity the expand their brand within a country they will be visiting at least once per year through 2016.

You better not move our precious Jaguars... YOU PROMISED!

As a Steelers' fan, I cannot say this means anything to me because it is just another game that I will be watching on television. But the atmosphere for the Vikings' "home" game could be tilted in the other direction. One of the calling cards to the Steelers' fan base is the team "travels well," meaning they fill up opposing teams' stadium on away games.

Whether it is a Terrible Towel or a Heath Miller jersey, Steeler fans know how to make themselves visible even when they are away from Heinz Field. However, I attribute this less to "traveling well" and more to the wide spread of black and gold history.

Stillers.

The Steelers won four Super Bowls during the 1970's, right when the NFL was beginning to see a rise in fan population. Of course Pittsburghers supported the team, but in a more industrious (literally) time in American society, people scattered all over the country would adopt the team as their own because of the physical nature of the team and the blue-collar attitude.

From what I have heard, there is nothing like Steeler Nation compared to the rest of the NFL. There are Steeler bars in every city in the US, such as Fox & Hound on the corner of 15th and Spruce in Philadelphia (YOU'RE WELCOME), and even some around the world.

Some say that the Steelers are going to London next year because Dan Rooney is the US Ambassador to Ireland, which may have had a little influence. But I think the Steeler organization agreed because they want to treat their own fans to a game they would not have had the opportunity to see otherwise, as Art Rooney II says in this article.

Boss. The end.

So regardless of the Steelers' old defense and Mike Wallace's questionable future with the team, it will be a unique experience for international fans to see their team play in person. Who knows how many will show up, but if I had to guess, the crowd will be more gold than purple at Wembley Stadium that day.

**Historical facts not supported by evidence of any kind.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

My First Monster Mile

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




I attended my first NASCAR race this past Sunday (Sept. 30, 2012); the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. Since I began to "follow" the sport a few years ago, my interest, knowledge and curiosity in it has grown tremendously. When my roommate, a rare (or so I thought) northern NASCAR fan, had an extra ticket for me, I jumped at the opportunity to join him.

When he told me he wanted to get to the track around 10am for the 2:15pm race, I was not necessarily in favor because it meant we would have to leave Philadelphia at 8am on a Sunday morning. When we arrived, however, I realized I was in for a very unique and fun experience.

Outside of DIS, which was probably the most gargantuan sporting venue I have ever seen, there was a carnival-esque setup that stretched for about a mile. If you want to see a clinic on sponsorship activation, I suggest you attend the next available NASCAR race.

First of all, DIS has a huge structure of the Monster Mile mascot outside of the entrance with past winners' names etched into plaques that are placed around the bottom. A few hours before the race, Brian Dawkins, who was serving as the grand marshal (guy who says: "Gentlemen, start your engines!"), did an interview right below the statue.

The SPEED channel set up a stage with the four analysts around a desk with the crazed fans in the background waving their arms and their own signs. The signs had big Sunoco (the Official Fuel of NASCAR) logos on them and could be created at a booth just across the way.

Chevrolet had a big area with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s #88 National Guard car and Kevin Harvick's #29 Budweiser car. They had a new Challenger and a square table with computers set up to input your name and contact information to receive a free t-shirt.

Sprint set up an area where you could take a picture with the Sprint Cup and have it sent to your email. Meanwhile, there was an emcee on stage with the Miss Sprint Cup girls, throwing free caps to the fans who screamed the loudest.

AAA has to overcome people referring to the race just as the "Sprint Cup Series at Dover" and attempt to leave their footprint on an event for which they actually have the naming rights. AAA had a setup with the winner's trophy of the Monster Mile guy holding a Sprint Cup car in his hand. At one point, the people at the boot held a water balloon toss, where the winning pair received a hat and the losing participants got earplugs (which were absolutely necessary, by the way).

3M, sponsor of Greg Biffle's #16 Ford Fusion, set up an area and fans were lining up to receive free home supplies such as sponges, tape and post-it notes. 5-hour Energy, sponsor of Clint Bowyer's #15 Toyota Camry, was giving out free samples of their product and throwing them into a large crowd in front of their setup.

US Army, sponsor of Ryan Newman's #39 Chevrolet Impala, posted up with a hummer, a table with unloaded firearms and a man dressed up in mossy camouflage. Then, one of the soldiers began pumping up the crowd and asking his bud to shoot t-shirts out of his launcher at the loudest section of fans.

 
National Guard had an area where fans could see who could do the most push-ups as service men and women cheered them on. Anyone who did at least 20 got their choice of a water bottle or t-shirt, while other service men and women gave out #88 stickers, magnets and lanyards. My roommate did the push-ups while my fat ass got in line for the free stuff.

Drive to End Hunger, sponsor of Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevrolet Impala, set up a spot where they held a hourly trivia contest where five fans would answer questions about Gordon and senior hunger in the United States. The winner of the trivia would receive an autographed Gordon item while the losers would received Drive to End Hunger wristbands and drink koozies.

Not to mention, each driver worth rooting for (excluding guys like Dave Blaney, JJ Yeley, etc.) have their own truck in which their employees sell merchandise with their name and sponsor on them. Although drivers like Earnhardt, Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have the most crowds around their trucks, I found the most interesting tidbit from my visit to Brad Keselowski mobile headquarters.

Keselowski drives the (Blue Two) #2 Dodge Charger, sponsored by Miller Lite. While purchasing a t-shirt from his team's truck before the race (which Keselowski would ultimately win and jump to the front of the Sprint Cup standings in the process) I was asked to show my ID to the worker in the truck so I could buy a shirt with a Miller Lite logo.

NASCAR is a unique sport because a fan does not actually see his or her favorite driver during a race. The only thing a fan has to associate with a driver is the number of the car and its sponsor. Even with this huge obstacle, NASCAR drivers connect with their fans as well as any other sport, probably even better.

I witnessed this firsthand at Dover, where some drivers would actually come out to their sponsor's tents and have interviews just a few hours before the green flag. Juan Pablo Montoya came out to the Chevrolet area, Denny Hamlin had a brief interview in the FedEx tent, Mark Martin answered questions near the AAA setup and many more.

Since there are no timeouts, halftimes or breaks in the action during NASCAR races, sponsors have to be more creative with their activation during pre-race and post-race events. It is a highly sponsor-driven (no pun intended) business, but unlike any other sport.

 
As I said before, if you intend to be a sport professional and have never been to a NASCAR race, I highly suggest going at some point. You will get a one-of-a-kind experience you cannot get anywhere else.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

Eye Black and Blue Jays

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




I know the basics about Yunel Escobar. He had a few good seasons with the Atlanta Braves and is currently an average shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays. He was on my keeper league fantasy team for a while. He was featured in a Sports Illustrated article a few years ago that I never read. I know the basics about Escobar, but unfortunately he does not know the basics of how his actions affect others, and that there are consequences for everything he does as a professional athlete.

A picture take by a fan during a game last week shows an up-close view of the writing on Escobar's eye black strips with the words "TU ERE" under his right eye and "MARICON" below his left. As the amateur photographer explained, the phrase, written in Spanish, can be translated to English as "You are a faggot" or "You are a pussy."

The phrase written on the eye black caught on camera.

The picture and explanation was released late Sunday night and by Monday had come to the attention of many bloggers and online sources. Upon the picture spreading across the internet like jelly on toast, the Blue Jays ensured the general public that actions would surely be taken via this statement by the team. On Tuesday, the Blue Jays met with MLB commissioner Bud Selig and decided to suspend Escobar three games without pay, which will end up costing him around $81,000. The money will be donated to You Can Play, a charity in Toronto that combats homophobia in sports. In addition, Escobar will have to complete a sensitivity program and participate in public outreach initiatives to promote tolerance. The MLB then released this statement in response to the suspension handed down by the team.

At 3:30, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, manager John Farrell and bench coach Luis Rivera joined Escobar and his translator at a press conference. On a side note, I am not sure who the translator was, nor do I care to look it up, but he had to be the worst translator in the history of translators. Back to the focus... The main message that Escobar projected was that he did not mean to offend anyone and the writing was not meant to be directed at anyone in particular, and did not mean for it to be misinterpreted by the gay community. He claimed the phrase is said all the time and is not meant to be offensive, and it surprised him when people took offense to it on the internet because he did not think it would cause any problems.

Apologetic Escobar on the left and bumbling translator on the left.

Escobar sincerely apologized to anybody who was offended by the writing on his eye black, and I believed him. Farrell said that it seemed out of character for Escobar compared to the way he acts normally, and I believed him. Escobar said he has gay friends who were not offended it, and I believed him. A problem that I had with Escobar and his reasoning, was that he had no reasoning. A few reporters asked why he wrote the phrase on his eye black and he gave ambiguous answers. He did not expect it to be interpreted the way it did, but he never specified the way he intended for it to be interpreted. Escobar said the word can be interpreted in different ways depending on how it is said.

Escobar was aware of the possible connotations of this phrase, and the thought never crossed his mind that it could offend anybody. If anything, Escobar seemed perturbed that it was interpreted the way it was and it was causing him some kind of harm. Escobar has been a professional baseball player for eight years and has been in the MLB for six, he must realize by now that his actions reflect on the general public and fans through the organization, athletes, coaches and everybody else involved. When Escobar does something, good or bad, it not only represents himself, but also those around him. In this case, he was completely unaware of his responsibility as a professional athlete and human being in society, which is very disappointing. Everything he does on and off the field is magnified.

This lies not only on the shoulders of Escobar, but also on his teammates and coaches that day who allowed him to take the field with that phrase on his eye black. When asked about the day of the writing in question, Farrell claimed that it was written very small and no one could tell what it said unless you looked him in the eye. Later on in the press conference, Farrell referenced other times when Escobar had written something such as "Let's go today" on his eye black that was uplifting for the team. Therefore, there was no reason to suspect the player would write something hurtful this particular time. So let me get this straight, when Escobar wrote something inspirational on his eye black, he was aware of it. But when he wrote something homophobic, it went completely ignored by the clubhouse. That is simply hard to believe. Escobar was asked about the reason why he would put words on his eye black if no one saw them and he dodged the question by giving a regurgitated answer.

However, nothing encompassed the entire situation better than the final words of the press conference, filtered through the translator "It's just a word." As a heterosexual, it did not offend me personally, but there is nothing Escobar or anyone could say to explain why what he did was acceptable. I feel for homosexual athletes who are afraid to be themselves among teammates because of a general acceptance of homophobia in the sporting world.

 Openly gay former NBA player John Amaechi.

Anthopoulos made a good point that something good can come out of this situation, such as greater awareness of a the problem. But it is still sad that an action such as this was the cause of the exploration for a better environment. Should Escobar have been suspended for more than three games? Possibly, but that is not necessarily the issue. Farrell denied that homophobia is a problem in MLB clubhouses, but I cannot be so sure. I can imagine that since sports is a reflection of society, it is an issue it will continue to be one as long as it remains an issue within society.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

License-TWC, Run-DNC

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




Thus far, the most breathtaking part of the 2012 Democratic National Convention has actually not been Bill Clinton's speech. It is that fact that the Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the Charlotte Bobcats, can be filled to more than 77.4% of its capacity.

But in all reality, TWC Arena has served as a great venue for the DNC and a great venue for the City of Charlotte, NC since 2005. You may be wondering, "How did a basketball arena transform into a political event hotbed in such a short amount of time?" However, the DNC has been over 19 months in the making.

By taking a look at the Arena License Agreement of the DNC that was signed on February 1, 2011, we can see how this event materialized and what actually goes into holding a non-traditional event at a traditional sports venue. Of course the Agreement is 36 pages long, so I will simply just go over a few things that stuck out to me...

1.1: The Arena Company grants the Host Committee limited license for use of any of the properties it owns within the area, including TWC Arena, surrounding buildings, parking lots, etc.

4.4: The Arena Company has all rights to sell concessions, but must keep them at prices no higher than they were at opening day of the 2011-12 sports season. The Host Committee may close any concession stands that interfere and may limit menu items.

4.7: The Host Committee can ask the Arena Company to cover any signage that does not include Time Warner Cable and may use the video scoreboard at their discretion. In addition, the Host Committee can place its own signage on the inside and outside of TWC Arena with the approval of The Arena Company.

4.9: The air conditioning in TWC Arena cannot be higher than 72 degrees Fahrenheit with indoor humidity not to exceed 50%. (SO WEIRD!)

5.1: The Host Committee pays the Arena Company a licensing fee of $5 million. 10% paid by June 30, 2011, 40% wired by July 13, 2012 and the remaining 50% by August 29, 2012. (The final fee had to be paid three days before the beginning of the DNC!)

5.2: Additional cost include: Arena Company Relocation Costs, Costs of Seating, Multimedia Facilities, Arena Company Signage and Electrical.

6.1: There are 8-9 pages of consisting of Facilities/Amenities to be Provided by the Host Committee, including: Directional Signage, Photocopy Room, Security Offices, Merchandising Space, etc. (Pages 11-19)

12.1: The Host Committee can terminate the Agreement if they report a material breach and the Arena Company does not remedy it within 30 days. If terminated, the two sides have the option of any remedy applicable by law, including injunctive relief and specific performance.

...Well, skimming through a 36-page document is not always interesting, but sports venue contracts occasionally tickle my interest. Do you notice anything in the Agreement that stands out? Let us know in the comments below, or take it up with your local Democratic representative!

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

Stinging the Rebuilding Process

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




The NBA Draft Lottery is always an exciting event. Not for the entertainment value, mind you, but the fact that opportunity is in the air. On May 30, 2012, just before the Miami Heat would take on the Boston Celtics in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Draft Lottery was held in New York City.

As the competitive NBA teams play towards a championship, the bottom feeders look to receive a high draft pick to build their team for the future. Representatives from the 14 non-playoff NBA teams attend the event, like Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's son, Nick Gilbert, who always looks hip in his nerdy garb.

 Ugh.

One of those bottom feeders was the New Orleans Hornets who, at the time, were owned by the NBA and finished the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season with a 21-45 record, tied for the third-worst in the league. Although the Hornets had only a the fourth-best chance (13.7%) of getting the top pick, the ping pong balls came up in their favor.

Aside from conspiracy theories and other concerns about an NBA-owned team winning the Draft Lottery, it was the beginning of a very busy summer for the Hornets. On June 15, the NBA completed the sale of the Hornets to New Orleans Saints' owner Tom Benson for the price of $338 million, a sale that had been in process for two months.

During the 2012 NBA Draft on June 28, in addition to first-overall pick Anthony Davis, the Hornets drafted Austin Rivers in the tenth slot and Darius Miller in the second round. Rivers was taken with a draft pick the Hornets got in return for Chris Paul, who they traded to the Los Angeles Clippers before the season began.

 Note: That is NOT Darius Miller in the center.

In July, the Hornets completed two trades that drastically improved their front court. Putting out a lineup last season that included Emeka Okafor and Chris Kaman was not getting it done, so the Hornets went out and traded for Ryan Anderson from the Orlando Magic, and Robin Lopez and Hakim Warrick from the Phoenix Suns.

These moves allowed the Hornets to dump Okafor and Kaman, while getting solid depth to take some weight off of the Davis' 19-year-old shoulders. The acquisition of Lopez will allow Davis to play his natural position of power forward when matched up with a over sized center, such as Dwight Howard or Marc Gasol. Meanwhile, Warrick has been a valuable bench player since he has come into the league.

Threes on threes on threes on threes on threes...

Anderson agreed to a four-year, $36-million sign-and-trade to the Hornets, which will allow the 24-year-old breakout star to provide some continuity in the lineup. To add even more stability in the lineup, the Hornets matched a four-year, $59-million maximum offer sheet that the Suns gave to restricted free agent Eric Gordon.

Gordon was the key piece that the Hornets got in return for Paul. He is a 23-year-old star guard, but his career effectiveness on the court has taken a hit due to his continual visits to the IR. Although Gordon said he wanted to go to Phoenix and start anew, matching the offer sheet was absolutely the right thing to do for the Hornets.

 

Unfortunately a very common sight.

With a manageable roster on paper, the Hornets now needed to lock up one of the most promising young coaches in the league. Monty Williams came from the Nate McMillan coaching tree, having served as assistant coach under him for five seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Williams was offered the head coaching job with the Hornets for the 2010-11 season and did not disappoint, leading the team to the seventh seed in the Western Conference with a 46-36 record and an eventual 4-2 loss in the first round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kobe absolutely torches the team that originally drafted him.

Even after a disappointing 2011-12 season, in which the Hornets went 21-45, new ownership still has confidence in Williams, and they proved it by locking him up with a four-year extension on August 19, which will run through 2015-16. This was absolutely the right thing to do as Williams has the confidence and coaching ability to lead this group of young players to become a competitive team for years to come.

As Kevin Rossi touched upon in his I-95 article last week, NBA teams who are not the Lakers or the Heat need to find ways to rebuild and become competitive again. While the Magic have just begun the rebuilding process, the Hornets endured one terrible season and come come through the other end of the tunnel.

You got traded, can you shut up now please?

With young talent such as Davis, Rivers, Anderson and Gordon locked up for the next four seasons expect the Hornets to be in the playoff hunt during that time. This team is young, but supremely talented, which is all you can ask for when building the nucleus of a roster.

Sprinkle in some solid role players, such as Miller and Warrick, and some viable bench options, such as Greivis Vasquez and Al-Farouq Aminu, and that builds a legitimate contender. Plus, Williams is only 40-years-old and is likely to emerge as a great coach and leader for many years.

YOU DA MAN!

Things like the draft and the salary cap exist so that teams have a chance to pick themselves up from the dumps and become relevant again. Franchises hurt themselves by not taking full advantage of these things while the team is not championship caliber, and that is why they struggle for many years.

It is always difficult to face the fact of rebuilding as a professional sports franchise, but the Hornets are an excellent example of what can happen if you swallow your pride and accept that things have to get worse in order for them to get better.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

Chipper Jones and Twittagate

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




The Grand Hyatt New York is a four-star hotel in a prime location right next to Grand Central Station and just minutes away from Times Square. Most reviews are positive, but about one out of every five is not, such as this brief, yet telling, account from online hotel reviewer MPavlov on TripAdvisor.com:

No offense to MPavlov, but when I want hotel recommendations, I go right to Chipper Jones. That's right, as of Friday night, this 40-year-old switch-hitting third baseman is a qualified, trustworthy hotel connoisseur. First of all, let me explain how Chipper has emerged as a Twitter sensation.

Using the handle @RealCJ10, Chipper has burst on the "twitta" scene with his funny Southern charm and his nightly announcements of who went "yicketty," "jimmyjack," "mammo" or "yaya." He has become as entertaining as any ballplayer in 140 characters or fewer in just a matter of days.

Feeling pretty confident from the positive feedback of his first 27 tweets, Chipper felt as if he could share anything with over 100,000 of his closest fans. The Grand Hyatt New York would serve as the Atlanta Braves' hotel during the team's weekend series against the Mets, but the future Hall-of-Famer was not impressed.

In a series of three tweets, Chipper alienated himself from the chic hotel community while sounding like a grumpy old online reviewer. His first was to complain about the heat setting in the room: "If anyone was thinkin about stayin at the Grand Hyatt in NY,dont! My AC is set on 65 and its north of 80 in here. Like a freaken sauna!"

On a hot summer day, an air conditioned hotel room should be the least of your worries, so it is easy to understand Chipper's beef. His next complaint explained a bit of the back story: "The movie channels dont work and the beds make my back spasm up! Am i complaining too much? Im sorry, gotta vent to someone. Love yall!!!"

Oh, so now we have figured out these are issues that have arisen more than once. Remember his back spasm issue, because that will come up later. Last but not least, Chipper weighs in on the ramifications of his previous comments: "Ahh the power of social media. TV guy just showed up at my door. Didnt even have to call the front desk. See what happens when u vent a tad?"

The next day, David O'Brien, Braves beat writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, tweeted the starting lineup from @ajcbraves and Chipper was starting at third base and batting fourth against the New York Mets. Just hours later, O'Brien announced that Chipper was scratched from the lineup due to back tightness because of the hotel accommodations.

O'Brien elaborated: "Not the first time the beds in this NYC hotel have left #Braves Chipper Jones with sore back or spasms. Seems almost annual thing."

Then O'Brien continued where Chipper left off the night before: "#Braves Chipper hopes to play tomorrow. By the way, he said he didn't let hotel employee in his room who came up after he tweeted yesterday."

Finally, O'Brien provided a solution to any future Grand Hyatt back problems, and other issues that had arisen in the past 24 hours: "#Braves Chipper said might be time for him to stay someplace else in NYC, saying he couldn't order room service here now anyway after tweets."

From the AJC Blog, Chipper has missed several other games against the Mets over the years due to back tightness or spasms, but he could only remember it happening after he slept on beds at the Grand Hyatt New York.

Chipper has had many back problems towards the tail end of his career, but this is too common of a circumstance to be a coincidence. During this recent Twitter complaint, not only have we found out the reasoning for some of Chipper's missed games, but the Grand Hyatt New York got negative publicity that is arguably more detrimental than a bad review on a travel magazine.

Although a large number of Chipper's followers on Twitter are probably from the south, many national outlets such as the The Wall Street Journal and the New York Daily News have covered "Twittagate." With nearly 500 properties all over the world, Hyatt should be able to survive, but Thursday was definitely a day that will negatively affect the Grand Hyatt New York to some degree.

Do you recall any instances of an athlete or celebrity using social media to express their negative feelings about something? We would love to hear them! Please share it below in the comments section.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

Dodge Gets Out of Dodge

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




Have you heard the name "Penske Racing" in sports news a lot recently? If you have, it has been for a handful of reasons. Right before the Coke Zero 400 on July 7, AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 22 car for Penske, was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for failing a drug test. The results have been disputed because Allmendinger claims the positive test for amphetamines was due to a prescription Aderall that he had taken one time.

Good call on this being illegal in sports.

Over the past few years, Penske has been the most dynamic of all NASCAR teams in trying to decide what is best for its product the track. Kurt Busch was the premier driver for Penske from 2005-10 with moderate success. He was replaced in the No. 2 car by up-and-comer Brad Keselowski before the 2011 season, when Busch drove the secondary No. 22 car before he was fired from Penske due to his hotheadedness on and off the track.

"HOLD ME BACK. HOLD ME BACK."

Allmendinger replaced Busch in the No. 22 car in 2012, but with his positive drug test he is now participating in NASCAR's Road to Recovery program. Meanwhile, Keselowski used a caution at the Daytona 500 to completely revolutionize Twitter for the entire sport. Most importantly, there have been fundamental changes to the very core of the team that will force Penske to adjust to a new brand of car beginning in 2013.

For the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season, NASCAR devised a plan to redesign the cars so that they look more like what the manufacturers would sell on the lot. The primary goal of this change is to make the manufacturers' sponsorships with NASCAR more realistic and connectable to the fans. Just this past week, the new designs of the Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry and Dodge Charger were approved by NASCAR.

Just a shame that beautiful Charger won't be on the track in 2013.

However, with the news in March that Penske would switch from Dodge to Ford in 2013, Dodge would be left without a Sprint Cup Series team in 2013. Dodge had returned to NASCAR in 2001 after a 24-year hiatus from the sport, but as of 2012 their only affiliation with a team was Penske. The two sides' 10-year contract expires after the 2012 season and, as Roger Penske claimed, the team's best business decision was to switch to Ford beginning in 2013.

There were rumors that Andretti Autosports, a premier racing team in the Izod IndyCar Series, was considering fielding a NASCAR team in 2013, but nothing has materialized to this point. It was probably Dodge's only chance to stay alive in NASCAR and on August 8, the car manufacturer announced it would depart from NASCAR completely at the end of the 2012 season.

Where did all the cars go?

ESPN's Marty Smith broke the story on Tuesday from head of the Dodge Motorsports program, Ralph Gilles. Smith had some very interesting quotes from Gilles and that it was a very difficult decision based not only on money. Gilles told Smith that it was not primarily about ROI and hinted that Dodge's reputation might take a hit if it fielded cars with drivers that raced below par.

He probably just wanted to keep them all to himself.

Since Penske's announcement that it would not retain Dodge as its manufacturer after the 2012 season, the company could not find any suitable drivers or teams to put in one of its cars. ESPN NASCAR analyst Ray Everham made an outstanding point, saying that if a manufacturer is not competitive, it can do as much damage to the brand as not being involved at all. This is a spot-on realization for sponsorships of all sports because not all companies realize this before they throw money at a property.

Since its return in 2001, drivers in Dodge cars won a total of 55 races, including two Daytona 500s and a NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship by Keselowski in 2010. Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch won 12, 11 and 10 races, respectively, in Dodges in the past 12 years. Although their return to NASCAR has hardly been a failure, the future looked bleak for Dodge and they made a tough, yet correct, decision to get out before they did any real damage to the brand.

Not physical damage, you dingus.

In an official statement by NASCAR Chairman and CEO, Brian France, he said that he hopes Dodge "again will choose to return to NASCAR at a later date." It is unfortunate that Dodge is leaving before the new car designs of 2013, but it will be sure to breed even greater competition between Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota on and off the track.

Yeah, try to keep it on the track.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!

Once Upon a Box Score

Welcome to the Route 30 Detour! US Route 30 intersects at I-95 in Philadelphia and goes from coast to coast, including passing through Pittsburgh and the home of Drexel University SMT student and blog contributor, Bryan Fyalkowski (@fyalkowski)...




Sometimes I miss the simplicity of sports before the emergence of the internet, most notably the newspaper. There are many reasons why newspapers are dying, and the traditional box score is dying with them.

Do not get me wrong, watching an in-depth online box score update every thirty seconds has its benefits, but the classic look of a newspaper box score has always been very appealing to me. In fact, I learned how to do basic math by adding up the stats in the MLB box scores.

There is something so innocent about knowing only the basics of a box score, while being able to piece the stats together to use your imagination to create your own specifics of the game. There is no play-by-play, just a grid of stats and list of happenings.

AB, R, H, RBI, BB, K and AVG for hitters. IP, H, R, ER, BB, K, NP and ERA for pitchers. The stats our forefathers created and nothing more. A list of the extra-base hits, not separated by team. Letters next to players in association with notes at the bottom to signify when they pinch-hit and who they pinch-hit for. It is utter brilliance in simplicity.

The Philadelphia Inquirer sports section from July 8, 2012.

On the other hand, a typical ESPN box score is a perfect example of getting all the information you could possibly want out of a two-dimensional game story. In addition to the stats in the newspaper box score, this has added intricate numbers such as OBP, SLG, NP (for hitters), GB/FB (for pitchers) and a play-by-play of the scoring.

It really is the age of basics vs. the age of the all-knowing. To be honest I have not been reading newspapers at all since I came to college because of some of the reasons expressed in the first link of this post. Newspapers cost money, the internet is on my computer and iPhone and I want the immediacy of information.

But from time to time, I think back to the time when I walked down my front steps every morning to grab the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and peel it open to the sports section. It was a simpler time but a restricting time, which has since evolved. Sadly, because it had no other choice.

Enjoy your trip back to I-95 and I'll see you next week!