Dirty Suh, Facing Yet Another Fine

More Dirty Play By NFL's Dirtiest Player 

Known for his dirty on field play, the Detoit Lions' defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, received yet another fine after being suspended for stomping on Aaron Rodgers this past weekend. Although this time, Suh was able to get his one game suspension overturned by the NFL appeals officer Ted Cottrell. 

With this case, Ndamukong Suh was be given a fine of $70,000. Many believe this was yet another dirty play by Suh. He's been known for his incidents ranging from dirty hits, ripping off helmets, kicking guys in the men's section and stomping on defenseless players. 

Over the course of Ndamukong Suh's career, he has been fined 8 different times, racking up a sum of $216,875 and leaving him to be known as the National Football League's dirtiest and least liked player. 

Suh, in an interview with XM Radio last year said, "I think I’ve definitely grown up quite a bit just understanding that if you’re not growing up, you’re just moving backward. I’m a person that always wants to move forward, always want to grow and learn and not be the smartest person in the room, because when you’re not the smartest person in the room, you’re always learning things. I’m a learner." These kinds of statements mixed with his recent actions, don't leave the sports world feeling that Suh has changed or will ever. 

After this suspension, a few of Suh's teammates came to his backing. They claimed that Suh, "was a changed man, he hadn't caused any trouble this season and that he had been abiding by the leagues rules this season up until this point." -Washington Post

As the NFL's two time dirtiest player, Suh must learn to channel his anger and frustration from his personal life into good clean legal play. Actions like slamming a lineman's head to the group repeatedly and stomping a quarterback's ankle who's known to have lower leg injuries prior to the game, won't cut it if he wants people to opinions to change. 

LS

Harbaugh Taking His Talents to Ann Arbor

Harbaugh to be Named as Michigan Football Head Coach 

After spending a number of years bouncing from college football to the NFL, Coach Jim Harbaugh found himself in San Fransico. Harbaugh coached his 49ers to  playoff wins for the first 3 seasons.  The Harbaugh brothers would become the first brothers in the National Football League to become head coaches. 

Coach Harbaugh known for his success as a  coach, came in a restored yet another football program. Harbaugh built his team around his second round draft pick Colin Kapernick in 2011. At first, the 49ers head office and coach Harbaugh believed they had a gold mine in their quarterback position. After drafting Kapernick in 2011, the 49ers would go on to finish 13-3, after Kapernick took over for a seriously concussed, Alex Smith. 

All expectations for the 2012 season were at an all time high. With a mastermind of a coach in Jim Harbaugh and a gun slinger in that of Colin Kapernick at the quarterback position, the 49ers organization were excited for what the future would be. The 49ers would finish 11-4 in the regular season and play the Ravens, but ultimately lost in a 34-30 thriller to the Baltimore Ravens. 

The following season would end in the same dramatic fashion. The 49ers, again would lose in the NFC Championship game to a phenomenal play by none other than that of the ferocious Richard Sherman.

With mixed emotions about the past seasons' short comings, Colin Kapernick's media controversies , and a slow start to a mediocre 2014 season, 49ers owner Jed York came to the conclusion that they should go in a different route with who should be head coach in San Fransico. 

After the team's win this past weekend vs the Arizona Cardinals,  Harbaugh received a traditional gatorade bath and game ball  but this would be his last celebration as a 49er. 

Soon headed to the struggling University of Michigan, Harbaugh will again be faced with the challenge of establishing a winning culture to a football program that has had a rough 3 years of losing seasons. With the agreement and signing of a reported 6-yr/ $48 million contract, the monumental contract will make Jim Harbaugh the highest paid coach in college football history. 

For those who know Harbaugh, describe him to be a great competitor, mentor, and father figure who has nothing but the upmost faith in his team, who deserves every penny. 

In his post game interviews, a saddened and overwhelmed Jim Harbaugh, described his coaching career with the 49ers to be "the time of his life and that he can count only the 49 wins over the years as relevant."-ESPN Sources 

Now as the sports world awaits the 2015-16 season, the Wolverine football program will also await and have high hopes as to what the future holds for the once power house in that of the University of Michigan. 

LS

No Jail Time for Vikings RB Adrian Peterson

No Jail for All Day Adrian Peterson!

In  this past week, Adrian Peterson plead no contest to charges of assault to his 4 year old son. The terms of his deal was a plead to a no jail time, $4000 fine, and 80 hours of community service. In all honesty, Peterson got very lucky for the deal he was able to receive. According to ESPN sources, AP could have faced up two years of prison and fined over $10,000 dollars. 

Earlier this season, Peterson was indicted in September on a felony charge of injury to a child. This charge was  for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son. Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back says he never meant to harm his son and was disciplining him in the same way he had been as a child growing up in East Texas. His son suffered some serve bruising, and cuts on his back, thighs and lower regions of his body. 

Peterson's Attorney, Rusty Hardin, issued a couple of statements to the media saying, "He loves his son. He wants to reestablish a relationship with him," Hardin said. "He obviously hates what has happened to him and his reputation and the public perception. Also saying that, AP would like to rehabilitate his image within the public, and people's perception, because he and everybody close to him knows that it's a wrong perception. He's a caring and loving father. He loves kids, and he hates that this happened."

What many people are wondering is if Adrian Peterson will be reinstated or face further sanctions by the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell must make the decision to allow Peterson back into the league or cut his career short. Once reinstated, the Minnesota Vikings could either reactive AP or release him. Peterson must also talk with the players union and regain their permission as well. On a good note, a good handful of Vikings Players and other players on the board of the players union were said they "would welcome Adrian with open hands."

I feel the Vikings would be more complete with their All Pro Running back and team captain , regardless if he was playing or suspended for the remainder of the 14-15 season. 

Vikings' All Pro Tight End, Kyle Rudolph, addressed the topic this week after practice saying, "We all know the kind of person he is, We've stood behind him this whole time. You'd be crazy not to welcome him back into that locker room. It would be a big pickup for this locker room being we have so many young guys. Any time you can have a veteran back in that locker room, the leader that he is in the locker room, out on the practice field, would be huge for us, Guys have chatted amongst each other, and I don't think there's anyone in that locker room that would need to hear from him. We all know the kind of person Adrian is, and I feel like he's proven that over his time here."

Others to speak and touch on Peterson's return to the Vikings, was Fullback Jerome Felton. Felton stated that, "He's one of the best players in the world, and he's obviously somebody who's meant a lot to this community, meant a lot for the team, He's one of our leaders. He was up here in the off-season. People follow his lead because of how hard he works. So it'd be pretty nice to add that back into the team."

As the regular season games are beginning to become fewer in number, the Vikings who are only a few games behind division leaders the Detroit Lions, Peterson would add a great presence in the backfield to compliment his counterpart Matt Aisata, whom is having the season of his career with over 270 yards on the ground, reaching the end zone 6 times this season. 

In all many fans would love to see Adrian Peterson return to the Vikings organization, but many would also appreciate his suspension to be continued through this season as a punishment for his actions and to also be an example for other players in the league to properly discipline their children. 

LS

UNC Free for All

UNC Sham Class Scandal 

Just in this past week, a source of ESPN came forward with the story that a large portion of the students at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were involved In a class scandal. Over half of the 3000 students that were in on the scandal, were of course athletes. The big issue is that they got away with this for close to 18 years. 

When the case was looked into recently and brought to the media this past week, the details of these classes were that students didn't even have to show up to a class, only turn in one paper for the whole class and the student's paper would get an A or B solely based on the review of an office assistant. 

There were two retired administrators that were the head honchos. Retired Administrator, Deborah Crowder and the former chairman of the department of Afro Studies , Julius Nyang'oro. Their department of African American Studies, supposedly escaped external reviews required every five years because it lacked a graduate program. Nyang'oro was also exempt from peer reviews for tenured faculty because he was a department chairman.

After this investigation took place, The  university has since overhauled the department and implemented new policies, but it must wait to find out whether the damaging new details lead to more problems with the agency that accredits the school. Too add to the fire, The NCAA, has reopened its investigation into academic misconduct, also could have concerns over lack of institutional control.

The NCAA is looking deeper into the case because the agency's core requirements for accrediting a degree-granting university include clear control over "all aspects of its educational program," including athletics. And the issue of institutional control could affect the NCAA probe, raise questions about what coaches knew, and ultimately lead to possible wins and championships being vacated.

One example of this that comes to mind was the case of Pro Bowl wide out Hakeem Nicks. He was investigated for academic fraud. Just four years after he graduated, he was guilty on academic fraud charges. The worst part of his case was that , his record setting season will remain in the media guide, but the school said they will place an asterisk by his records; meaning it really didn't even take place. Nicks, was also found to have received some jewelry and money during his years at Carolina.

This is just crazy, because one must imagine what other institutions are getting away with...murder. 

In my option, The other hundreds of schools represented and part of the NCAA, will now be even more under the microscopic lens. 

LS

Minnesota Vikings Crush the Atlanta Falcons

Vikings Push for what may be the biggest win of the year

Coming into the game Sunday, spirits were high because the Minnesota Viking's first round draft pick, Teddy Bridgewater was set to start and could turn the whole season around and hopefully show he could be a franchise player.

There's no doubt that the Vikings were saddened and embarrassed about the Adrian Peterson child abuse scandal but Head Coach Mike Zimmer made it apparent that they weren't going to let that be a team focus anymore and that the Vikings organization still has a lot to play for. 

Mike Zimmer also made it known that he still has nothing but love for their future Hall of Fame running back, in that of Adrian Peterson. He said, "have no doubt I still love Adrian, I feel for him that he's going through this, because I think he's one of my guys. I believe in this situation, where everything is, this is the right way to go. 

As for the game this past weekend vs a potent Atlanta Falcons, the Vikings exploded with offense led by rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater. He went 19/30 in the air for 317 yards. He was accompanied by Peterson's backup Matt Asiata who played a phenomenal game rushing for 80 yards with 3 touchdowns. For the receiving core, Jarius Wright led the way with 132 yards on 8 catches but didn't find the end-zone. 

The Vikings just rallied together and played their tails off to a team that has just put a whooping on Tampa Bay, routing them 56-14 on Monday Night Football. 

Zimmer believes that the sharing of Adrian Peterson's pregame text message with the team helped boost their confidence and outlook to the game they were about to play. In the post-game interviews Zimmer expressed that, "the words that Adrian texted were very deep, One thing the players took away from that message was, play each down like it's your last, because you never know when it's going to be your last opportunity." Mike Zimmer  I think the guys got that message pretty well, with the 41-28 victory of the Atlanta Falcons.

LS 

Fordham Football Retails All Cups

Fordham University Football traveled to Worester, Massachusetts this weekend to take on a good Holy Cross team that gave a dog fight last year. 

Last year, Holy Cross went up early on the Rams leading them 17-0 going into halftime. But Fordham Head coach , Joe Moorhead always preaches when the tough gets going , real players show what they're made of and rely on their fundamentals and effort. 

Fordham came out of the lockeroom with high energy and brought the score within a touchdown. The defense made a couple of great stops, that including a crucial interception by Senior Levon Williams. 

Fordham's offense came out and took the team home, lead by Senior Qb Mike Nebrich. 

September 27th 2014, the Rams came out with lots of energy driving the ball, but had to settle for a field goal. 

The defense made back to back three and outs and help the office create some buzz and begin to run up the score board going in to halftime with the lead 17-3. 

Coming out of the half, Fordham's high powered offense scored 14, and the defense throttled Holy Cross only allowing a score. Fordham's offense led by freshman sensation Chase Edmonds and sophomore workhorse Kendall Pearcy they pounded the ball and would help set up two more Nebrich touchdowns to Sr Brian Wetzel, Sr Marcus Jones who stepped in for Senior All American WR Sam Ajala , Sr Dan Light and Nebrich taking one in himself. 

This wasn't the Rams best game on an execution level, but it was a great way to open league play and earn the first Patriot League game since 2009, due to conference sanctions. They were given sanctions because Fordham was the first to award full scholarships to their athletes which came with a huge price. Fordham was ineligible for a Patriot League title until this season. 

Consequently, Fordham had to battle tough non-conference games for 4 years and try to win out year after year before reaching the quarter finals of the FCS Playoffs this past year. 

With the win this past weekend, Fordham Football has now retained all rivalry cup games, that being "The Liberty  & Ram -Crusader Cup"

LS

Farewell to Captain

Its beyond redundant to address how good of a player Derek Jeter is and was at his prime era throughout Major League Baseball. 

Derek Jeter, drafted straight out of high school as a young stud, making his debut in 1995 , now 40 years old, announced earlier this year via Facebook, that this would be his final season and sent Yankees' fans and the sports world into a media frenzy and a bit of a whirlwind. For the Yankees Organization, Derek Jeter has been one of their most consistent and most influential players to ever set foot on the diamond. In his 20 MLB seasons, Jeter is the all-time leader in hits, stolen bases, at bats and the number of total games played. 

In the majority public opinion, the word accolade is a small way to describe his lifetime career achievements. His honors include  five Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, 14 All Star Selections and a Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter is also the all-time MLB leader in hits by a shortstop, and the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits. 

With the mixture of a bunch of injuries and off the field personal reasons, Jeter has decided to call it quits. After resigning for a 1-yr $12-million dollar contract and recording his 1,000 multiple hit game, which only 3 others have done, also becoming the oldest player to have two or more hits in an All-Star Game. 

Tonight marks the finale to a great and extremely successful career from an individual that made it his goal to greatly effect an organization. Jeter, is a man embarked on character and integrity on and off the field; he's a great performer on the field and an even bigger one on off. 

In an interview done with Mens Health , the future Hall of Famer, expressed that "Obviously, you're known for what you do," says Jeter. "But you still want to be known as a good person. You're a person a lot longer before and after you're a professional athlete. People always say to me, 'Your image is this, your image is that.' Your image isn't your character. Character is what you are as a person. That's what I worry about."--

The farewell to "Captain" will take place tonight and will have a guaranteed standing ovation, with some smiles, tears and waves of emotion to a great player in that of Derek Jeter. 

LS

Fordham Football Honors With Another Win

NY, it's not really a state known for football, besides large powerhouses like Syracuse, Buffalo, and Hofstra but there's a couple of collegiate local teams that have had a great standing tradition to honor and commemorate a great cause, not only for the sake of a cross-city rivalry but on a national level. 

Despite the proximity and long football histories, Fordham and Columbia only met three times in the 100 years from 1890 until 1991 (1890, 1902, and a Division III Fordham team was fielded in 1972), with Columbia shutting out Fordham each time. However, for 35 of those years the Rams did not have a Division 1 team to field against the Lions. 

Fordham withdrew its football program in 1954 citing financial issues, until 1970 when it was re-introduced at the Division III level. Fordham didnt play D1 football again until 1989. Fordham won the fourth meeting, in 1991, 20-16.

"The Liberty Cup"

The origin of the "Liberty Cup" was established by Columbia University and Fordham University after the 10th meeting of the teams. The game followed the devastating attacks of September 11th in New York City. 

Multiple schools cancelled their games that weekend, but Fordham and Columbia wanted to express a great American feeling of resilience and toughness. The schools decided against playing on Sept. 15, but later in the season agreed to meet on Thanksgiving Day (November 22, 2001). Fordham thumped Columbia 41-10 before a sold out  crowd of 7,000 fans. 

Fordham and Columbia have played yearly since 2000. The Liberty Cup game now opens Columbia's season; it's usually the third game on Fordham's schedule. As of the 2014 meeting, Fordham leads the series 9-4.

September 20th 2014, Fordham got after Columbia again with a dominate 49-7 victory, which handed Columbia its first loss of its 2014-15 season. 

For Fordham, the offense usually creates headlines in the past matches but this time defense showed what it's really capable of. Fordham's defense stoned Columbia, holding them  to just 165 yards of total offense, which 82 of those coming in the fourth quarter, and nine total first downs. Columbia made it past the 50 yard line once  in the first 57:30 before going on a late scoring drive to prevent the shutout by Fordham. 

LS

Ray Rice Exposed

During the off season of this past year, Baltimore Ravens All-Pro Running back Ray Rice was reportedly arrested for domestic abuse of his fiance, now wife, Janay Palmer during an altercation in Atlantic City. 

 After the Ravens and Rice addressed the matter it seemed like Ray Rice got off a little too easy. Rice was only suspended for the first two games of the 2014 season. To some, two games seems very light for the serious issue of domestic battery. NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, has admitted he messed up and didn't handle the issue properly. He felt that he didn't have too much to go off of besides the police reports. 

So he did what he thought was reasonable at the time by only giving a Rice a suspension. Goodell didn't undo the damage he did to himself and his brand with his original and weak sanctions for Rice, but he did admit to making a mistake like this in front of his sport, and in front of the country. 

With the media and fans demanding more punishment for Ray Rice's actions, it seems like the releasing of the TMZ video was perfectly timed in some sense. It leaves many people to wonder why we just were exposed to video today? This whole Rice case is a media frenzy and nightmare for the NFL because they had no other option than to cut an All-Pro, Superbowl Champion Ray Rice. 

Rice, 27, whom just reached terms with the Ravens for a 5-yr/$40 million contract is out of a job, out of the NFL and stuck at a cross roads. Just after the Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell decided that he was suspending Ray Rice indefinitely. 

To make matters worse, for most players stricken from the NFL or out of a job, they tend to turn to the Canadian Football League. Although, for Ray Rice, he is out of luck. CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon, released a statement saying,"he informed CFL teams that they will be honoring the NFL's suspension of Ray Rice." 

LS

Next Artist to Take Off!

It seems as if your from Toronto or any city in Canada your one hell of an musical artist. Over the last couple of years, there has been some extremely talented artist from the country of Canada. 

Stemming from the musical genius Drake, a keen mixture of rapping and singing ability, his music has become the pure identity of Hip-Hop/ R& B. With the help of rap giants like Lil Wayne and Birdman, Drake has had 4 EP albums, sold over 5 million records, and earned numerous accolades including a Grammy. Seeing with his genius and great ear for talent he has created his own music label OVO Sound branched from the famous Cash Money Records. 

OVO Sound has some very gifted artist signed the up and rising "The Weeknd, the new face for modern R&B, Majid Jordan, OG Ron C , OB O'Brien, I LoveMakonnen and the person I believe is next to take off! PARTYNEXTDOOR.

Jahron Anthony Brathwaite,  AKA "PARTYNEXTDOOR" from Ontario,Canada is a artist who has been around but wasn't in the spotlight because of his similar sound to other artist of this era but after his debut album, " PARTYNEXTDOOR Two" a mixture of soulful vocals, dope electronic beats, infused with R&B and deep quotable lyrics and the incorporation of a story to tell. PARTYNEXTDOOR's album is filled with a track list of songs that will be radio hits and songs that will indeed top the charts. 

PARTYNEXTDOOR also appeared on several of  Drake's tracks, "Own It" & "Come Thru" on his third EP album and Billboard Chart topping album, "Nothing Was The Same"

In my opinion, I believe he's done a great job of distorting the line between singing and rapping, which has allowed him to create his own sound and possibly a new genre of music. He waited for the perfect time to release some great artwork to am era of music lovers looking for a new sound to get away from the same old same old Chris Brown's and Trey Songs. 

He's on his way to a breakout in the music industry and social spotlight. If you don't already believe the hype, I'd advise you to download his mix tapes and purchase his debut album, "PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO" He's a very impressive artist from the OVO Sound Label, whom will soon take over the music charts. The hit radio single, "Recognize ft Drake" has created his buzz and put his music all out on the platform of success. Check him out!

 LS

Leadership Skills from CEO of SKA Management Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal

Keys to Being a Great Leader

Any person can learn from the practices that the best leaders use to make their companies great, but it's also important to look at what they don't do.

"Slowly but surely, getting bogged down in the wrong tasks will bring down even the strongest executives," says Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal, CEO of SKA Management, a NY based business management, event marketing, event production, SEO & SEM marketing, entrepreneurship and lifestyle management company that works with big time clients like Stubhub, Ticketmaster, American Express, and World Concierge.

In his 10 years working with leaders in businesses of all sizes, he's found that the most successful are those who capitalize on efficiency and waste as little time as possible.

According to Aggarwal, the best CEOs do not:

Take on too many responsibilities
Any great CEO doesn’t involve themselves in the nitty-gritty of their companies, but rather groom employees for leadership positions in every department.
"The smart CEOs do not build their companies around any one person," Aggarwal says.
Make great choices
"The key to real success is taking action and not changing it until the perfect answer or complete consensus is achieved," Aggarwal says. An executive scared of risk, criticism or making mistakes will only hold the company back.

CEO’s must answer all questions
CEO’s are responsible for setting the direction of their company and hiring and retaining the best individuals to see that vision implemented throughout the entire staff. They are not, however, responsible for decisions that don't have a significant effect on the company.
"As an executive in any company, if you allow your staff to ask you questions every time they don’t know the answer, you'll end up spending a large majority of your day doing your employees' occupation for them," Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal says. "The good thing is, having your employees find the answers themselves allows them to grow and become leaders themselves."

Attend the majority of meetings
"One would definitely be stunned by how a lot of meetings some executives attend that result in low-level content," Aggarwal says. The effective executives usually prefer briefings before longer meetings. With that said, understanding which meetings to be present at for the sake of the company's overall direction is a essential skill to learn.

A good CEO must limit communication
CEO’s must avoid long meetings and a low-level question does not mean efficient CEOs shut themselves off from employees. Instead, CEO’s should make sure they make an effort to drive home everything they'd like to correspond to their staff.  

The true key and most import thing is, "providing the same information through different channels which increases the chances that employees will actually commit to and remember exactly what you tell them," Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal says. 

LS

Brown's Rookie CB Justin Gilbert's Seeing Dollar Signs!

Brown's Rookie CB Justin Gilbert

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy, is one hell of an athlete and a steal for the Browns organization. At OSU, a 2013 Unanimous All-American, Jim Thorpe Finalist, was one of the most experienced and talented defensive players out of the Big XII Conference. 

As a freshman to his senior year, OSU fans and the sports world watched Gilbert transform into an elusive, power and explosive footballer on defensive and specials teams as an elite returner and defensive back. As a kick returner, Gilbert owns the OSU record and is tied for the Big 12 record with five career kickoff returns for touchdowns . Gilbert is second all-time at OSU and in the Big 12 Conference's top 10 with 2,228 kickoff return yards. At OSU, he trails only Big 12 record holder Perrish Cox, who had 2,804 yards in four seasons. Justin Gilbert recieved Honorable mention All-Big 12 in the return game in 2011. He entered the 2013 season second among all active NCAA players with his five kickoff returns for scores . Gilbert had a career return average of 26.5 yards. 

In 51 career games at Oklahoma State, Gilbert registered 182 total tackles, 157 of which were solo stops, broke up 27 passes and intercepted 12 others. He comes into the NFL after a career year with seven interceptions in 2013.

Gilbert generated a lot of buzz leading up to the draft due to his impressive combination of size, speed and athleticism.

Right away, the Brown's look for their 1st round draft pick to have a great impact on defensive and be a great contributor on special teams as well. ESPN sources say, "Gilbert is showing the flashes and reasons why he was drafted 8th overall in the 2014 draft."

The Rookie CB, Gilbert has agreed to and signed a hefty rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns. Gilbert signed later this month, to a pretty 4-yr/$12.8 million!! The 4-yr contract also includes a nice $7.65 million signing bonus. 

Gilbert will learn from the best, with his counterpart All Pro, Defensive Back Joe Haden.
Haden believes that the two will be an unbelievable duo when he develops into a great NFL caliber defensive back and contribute greatly in the Brown's secondary. 

All Pro Defensive back, Joe Haden said, "He's a really, really talented player, he turns the ball over. He's able to get the ball back to the offense, very, very athletic. With his return skills, when he gets the ball in his hands, he's automatically ready to get to the end zone. I'm really glad that we got him. He's just got to learn, come out here and work hard, and he could definitely be a big part to help the team."

LS

The Goldmine of Secondary Ticketing

Secondary Ticketing

Secondary ticketing, the practice many favor to call ticket scalping, is hardly new.

According to Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal; SKA Management CEO and Founder, says "the ticket resale was already profitable in the Roman Empire and tickets were regularly resold or bartered for a better view of the emperor". These days, 2000 years later, the secondary ticket market is valued at nearly $4 billion annually.

Misstickets has now devised a way to tap the market and take on its biggest champion, StubHub. Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal believes his companies, Misstickets and VIP Broadway will continue in the ranks and in the future surpass.

This past couple of year Misstickets and VIP Broadway began initially starting with only a handful of shows, and early adopters like Black Sabbath, has now been used for over three hundred events. Two-dozen professional sports teams have signed up, including NFL teams.

Misstickets & VIP Broadway

Misstickets and VIP Broadway concert industry have long been at odds with secondary ticketing. At the first sale of tickets, the money paid goes towards the artist, the promoter; ticket fees go towards the ticketing company. When tickets are resold on websites such as VIP Broadway, the prices are marked up with the bulk of the profit going to whoever is selling the ticket. In many cases the person reselling the ticket has bought batches of prime tickets with the intent to make a profit. This makes it harder for real fans to get the tickets that they want at the price intended for them. In short, when scalpers make money it is not good for the industry.

Misstickets and VIP Broadway have a checkered past. VIP Broadway and Misstickets are currently one of the biggest secondary ticket market players with over 25% market share. Misstickets has the exclusive right to sell tickets to the general public for most of its events.

The Misstickets and VIP Broadway Touch

To fight the threat of StubHub and the secondary ticket market, Misstickets started pushing paperless ticketing in 2012. Paperless tickets aren't meant to be exchanged outside of Stubhub's site and require the customer's credit card or cell phone for admission. This hurt brokers trying to resell large amounts of tickets. For instance, between a New York Bruce Springsteen show that used traditional ticketing and a New Jersey paperless ticketing show on the same tour, StubHub listed 60% less tickets at the New Jersey show.

 The conflict between the companies will likely escalate as a result of Missticket's open competition. Misstickets and StubHub services are similar in several ways.

Misstickets does have certain factors that are unique to Stubhub. First, tickets will not be able to be sold for less than face value on Misstickets, Ticket brokers worry that Misstickets will have an unprecedented control over pricing in the live events industry. Also, Misstickets will allow customers to see the price of tickets being resold next to the face value price. This way, customers will be aware of the price difference, the exact seat position, and whether there are also unsold tickets in the same areas - all features that are not available on Stubhub.

Misstickets will soon also make it possible to resell paperless tickets. This would make a big difference for ticket brokers that had trouble selling Stubhub's paperless tickets. Additionally, Misstickets can verify the tickets being resold on its website, effectively taking the risk out of customers looking to buy resold tickets.

Knowledge for Event Planning

Knowledge for Event Planning

It's chilling how little the average planner knows about anything technical. It's really not that planners need to understand how to operate a musical sound board, or install gear, create software or anything.

Event planners, "however, must know how to bridge the gap between the people who speak on stage or prepare presentations to be publicized, and the audio visual technicians who make that happen. The unfortunate item is that the event planners are the weak link in that chain," says Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal; CEO of SKA Management.

Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal Explains the Double Standard

Even more disappointing, is how little planners even care about this lack of knowledge. Event planners take great pride in almost every other aspect of event planning, including site variety, food and beverage, transportation, entertainment, decoration, logistics, risk management, sustainability - anything you name it.

Somehow it's perceived that it's acceptable to play dumb on audio visual. Aggarwal stresses that, "Event planners would be angry if the menu for their open bar had low grade Popov Vodka instead of Grey Goose or Kettle One, but they take it on blind faith that the microphones, projectors and lighting instruments on the AV proposals are appropriate for their event."

Again, this doesn't seem to bother them, because it's par for the course in the industry, and event planners know most other planners simply aren't expected to master this area either.

Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal Explains Just Exactly Why It Matters!

This stuff is all learnable, and it should be learned. Event Planners need to know what they're doing when it comes to technical production:
1. Fear of the event being ruined. There's a bunch of ways that any event can go wrong because the event planner didn't ask the right questions or communicate the proper information to the presenters or the vendors.
2. Legitimacy for clients. If your entire image is a middleman between the lighting, a/v or production vendor and the speakers, you might as refrain. Instead one should be providing the value-added information to the client and taking complete control of managing their entire event, especially including backstage dealings.

 For an instance, Any time an individual looks up at a screen at the event and see black bars above and below the slide content (or on the sides), that's the sign of an average planner. This simply means the individual responsible for planning the event never bothered to make sure that the aspect ratios of the visual content and the screen were in synch.

In Ending

Sandeep Kumar Aggarwal, is firm in believing that meetings and event business has made great strides in the past couple years in terms of general professionalism and quickly improved the knowledge standards. The consideration of how many events involve somebody speaking at a podium or some other element requiring lighting, sound or projection, it's high time event planer's knowledge in this area caught up to the rest and become a much higher standard.

The Heisman Trophy, A Fraternity of Trouble Makers?

2014 Heisman Trophy Winner Jameis Winston

Another contreversial story has emerged to the sports world about this past years Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. According to ESPN sources, two years ago a fellow FSU teammate Chris Casher and Winston were spotted on campus using a pellet gun to hunt squirrels. The two were spotted on a campus bike trail with a long barreled hand gun that appeared to be a real handgun, which startled other students going along the path and the campus authorities were notified.

Two campus police officers were called onto the scene, the officers drew their weapons and held at gunpoint and yelled at to drop what appeared to be a weapon and hit the ground. The officers kept their gun drawn until, one of the officers handcuffed and sub-dewed both of the players. The gun was confiscated and the two players were taken into custody but further released with no charges filed. 

To make matters worse, hours after Winston and Casher were confronted by campus police, they were involved in a BB gun fight at the apartment complex the quarterback was living in at the time. The two were later investigated that week for the damage, which cost $4,200, but apartment manager Dave Sudekum later said he did not want to pursue charges against the two FSU athletes. 

This type behavior by the Heisman Winner Jameis Winston has become so occurrent. Just Earlier this year, Winston was issued a civil citation after the sheriff's deputies said he 
walked out of a supermarket without paying for $32 worth of crab legs and crawfish.

The shocking event was this past year when he was investigated for allegations that he had raped a woman in December 2012. The prosecutor on the case then declined to charge him, citing a lack of evidence and gaps in the accuser's story

The Heisman Trophy, an award for college football's elite and best player of the year. The trophy is supposed to represent an individual who displays handwork, excellence and integrity. But it seems like a list of bad boys who get the ultimate spotlight.

1956 Heisman winner, Paul Hornung running back for Green Bay, was fined and suspended from the NFL indefinitely in 1963 for betting on games. According to ESPN Classic, he admitted to gambling, but said he never bet against the Packers. His suspension was lifted before the 1964 season.

1959 Heisman winner, Billy Cannon,  was involved in a counterfeiting scheme in the 1980s. According to ESPN's "Outside the Lines," he and a gang of friends turned amateurish crooks manufactured more than $6 million in $100 bills, and Cannon buried some of the fake money in Igloo coolers. Cannon served more than two years in a Texas federal prison.

The most controversial, 1968 Heisman Trophy winner, O. J. Simpson, made headlines in 1995 when he was tried for and acquitted in the 1994 murders of wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. In 1997, Simpson was found liable in their deaths by a civil court, and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages. Half a dozen miscellaneous accusations later, Simpson was convicted in 2008 for an armed robbery in a Las Vegas hotel room and sentenced to 33 years.

1972 Winner Johnny Rodgers,  the only convicted felon to win a Heisman. According to LostLettermen.com, Rodgers and several others decided to rob a gas station during Rodgers' freshman season, after which Rodgers pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years probation.

1979 Winner Charles White, admitted in a 1997 interview with Sports Illustrated that he was battling a cocaine addiction while playing for the Cleveland Browns in the early 1980s, and suspended from the Los Angeles Rams in 1988 for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. He retired at the end of that season.

1990 Winner Ty Detmer & 2000 Trophy Winner Chris Weinke, were both employed as executives in the athlete services division of Triton Financial, an Austin-based investment firm. The Austin American-Statesman reported in 2009 that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Triton Financial and its founder and CEO, Kurt Barton, who was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for a litany of charges in 2011. 

Marijuana connoisseur, 1998 Winner Ricky Williams,  received numerous punishments for substance abuse during his NFL career. After his fourth violation of the NFL's drug policy, he was suspended for the 2006 season. In July 2013, the Express-News reported that Williams in talks for a coaching position at San Antonio's University of the Incarnate Word.

 Another, Heisman trouble maker 2005 Heisman winner, Reggie Bush NCAA ruled that Bush had received gifts and USC was given four years probation and forced to vacate its wins from 2005, Bush's Heisman season, among other sanctions. Later that year, Bush forfeited his Heisman title.

2010 Heisman Trophy Winner, Cam Newton, was suspended by Florida after he was arrested for stealing a laptop in 2008, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The charges were in a controversy regarding allegations that his father, Cecil Newton, had sought substantial sums of money in return for his son playing for a major college football team, dropped. 

One of the most talked about and scrutinized for his off field manor, 2012 Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Manziel,  Manziel was arrested in June 2012 in the College Station's Northgate bar district on charges of fighting, failure to identify himself and carrying two fake licenses, according to San Antonio Express-News archives. In July 2013, Manziel pled guilty to failing to identify himself to police, receiving a fine of $2,000, two days in jail and $232 in court costs, Brazos County attorney Rod Anderson told the Express-News, adding that Manziel won't spend any time in jail, since he was behind bars after his arrest. The other charges against the quarterback were dropped. 

Manziel was investigated by the NCAA for whether Manziel accepted payments from autographs that he had signed in January 2013. The NCAA did not find any evidence that Manziel accepted money for the autographs, but reached an agreement with Texas A&M to suspend him for the first half of the season opener against Rice University, due to an "inadvertent violation" of NCAA rules.

Although this list of individuals have all displayed the wrong image for a winner of such a prestige award in the Heisman, there are a lot of men in the fraternity that were actual very decent individuals with an great off the field demeanor, outstanding on-field athletic performance and integrity for the game of football.

But this list of individuals also goes to say that the fraternity of Heisman Trophy winners does include a large majority of trouble makers.

LS


  

Kardashian? Simpson ? What's Khloe ?

Keeping Up With The Kardashians

The TV Show that aired on E! in 2007. The show began as just another reality TV series like similar family shows like the Hogans, John & Kate Plus 8 and other family reality TV series. 

Keeping Up With The Kardashians quickly grew from a nice show to catch before you went to bed on Sunday nights, into one of America's most popular television series. The show follows the family's day to life, especially Kim's social and love affairs. Which actually turns out to be one of the main factors and reasons why the show producer, Ryan Seacrest created and produced the show. 

The rest of the time, the show display's the family's true dynamics, social life , business ventures, the history behind their well-known father Robert Kardashian, and other aspects of what being a "Kardashian" entails.

Like the other millions of people watching the show, KUWTK became a favorite show and group of individuals I began to follow. Ever since watching the show after it aired, there has always been the discussion of is Khloe, Kris Jenner's last daughter really a Kardashian or someone else's child. Some people say she's none other than long time family friend O. J. Simpson. Many have always wondered, is she really a part of the Kardashian family? On the show, Khloe has been said to joke about her appearance not to be similar of her other siblings; Rob, Kim and Kourtney.  In my opinion, I thought it was weird how the other siblings had the similar facial attributes, skin tone and relatively the same heights. 

On the contrary, speaking for Khloe, she has a fuller face, rounder nose, fairer completion and much taller than her other siblings. 

 When rumors of Khloe not actually being a Kardashian began to spread a few years ago, I always thought it was another headliner that made the front page of popular celebrity tabloids you would see at a the checkout aisle of a grocery store, next to newspapers on the street vendor carts or just good reading material while visiting the restroom. But after recent stories began to surface and come about, a few ambiguities began to stand out.

1. On one episode of KUWTK, Kris Jenner hints at and urges for Khloe to receive a DNA test to kill rumors of her legitimacy but she declined and stated, "Seriously, my dad is Robert Kardashian. My other dad is Bruce Jenner. If you f---ed other people during the same time and you do not know, go on 'Maury'!" I know for a fact if my parent ever hinted at me to receive a DNA Test, that would be a definite red flag.

2. In Kris Jenner's Book, All Things Kardashian, she openingly admitted to slipping up in her marriage, and having an affair with a younger man during her marriage with late Robert Kardashian. But she denounced O. J. as her undercover lover and named an individual Ryan aka Todd Waterman. Both families were known to have partied together frequently and even took their family vacations together every year. Also, as part of O. J. Simpson’s “Dream Team,” Robert Kardashian helped defend O. J. during his murder trial.  To add to that fire, Several sources say O. J. frequently bragged about his sex life and his many female conquests, which he said included some of his best friends' wives. Other sources confirm that O. J. had a fling with Kris Jenner who was the wife of his-best friend Robert Kardashian at the time. There are just too many items that many would piece the puzzle together that Khloe is in fact O. J. Simpson's child. 

3. Robert Kardashian explained to many people that, at the time of Khloe's birth, Kris Jenner and him wern't intimate due to suspicions of infidelity.

4. The issue that really put the nail in the coffin is Khole being added to O. J. Simpson's will! O.J. Simpson, facing a jail sentence recently added Khloe Kardashian to his will, because he felt it was "doing right by her." O. J. Simpson receives a $300,000-a-year NFL pension, which is being held for him until he’s released from out of jail. He informed his four legitimate children, Arnelle, Jason, Sydney and Justin , that he was changing his will to give a portion of that fortune to Khloe. Who would add an  individual to their will, if the person wasn't important to them, or their child or loved one?

With all of this in mind and brought to the surface, we're left to question and wonder if in fact Khloe is really a Simpson? But ill let you be the judge.

LS