Penguins score in 3rd to win Game 2 against Capitals

Fear with the game winning goal and to even the series at 1-1.

As the Penguins were just about to start Game 2 of this series, their goal was to bounce back from a thrilling overtime loss in Game 1, steal home ice advantage and even the series at 1-1. They accomplished their goal by getting help from a former Capitals player who scored the game winning goal. That former Washington Capitals player would be Eric Fehr.

Fear waiting to pressure the Montreal Canadians

Eric Fehr has scored in Verizon Center before, but this one was a little more special. Fear's goal with 4:28 remaining in the third period gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second round at Verizon Center on Saturday. The best-of-7-series is tied 1-1 with Game 3 at Consol Energy Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports). Malkin and Kunitz were created with the assist on the gaol. "It does feel a little bit different," said Fehr, a forward who played nine seasons for the Capitals before joining the Penguins as a free agent this offseason. "Obviously I had a lot of years here, and to be able to get that one to tie up the series and bring it back home with a split is enormous for us. You don't want to come out of here down 2-0 against the Presidents' Trophy winners. That would be a tough battle. Now we gave ourselves a chance and we're excited to get back home." He also stated "That was a big game for us. After they tied it up on the power play we could have folded and said it was a good try, but our team didn't give up. You gotta go hats off to [goalie Matt] Murray; he made some huge saves for us when the game was tied and gave us the opportunity to get the win." Murray made 23 saves on 24 shots during the Penguins 2-1 victory while Braden Holtby made 24 saves on 26 shots. 

Carl Hagelin with the goal and his teammates coming over to celebrate.

Pittsburgh led 14-5 in shots on goal after the first period. T.J. Oshie's shot with 1:03 left in the period was the last one for the Capitals until Alex Ovechkin put one on net with 5:12 to go in the second.  Hagelin scored at 7:08 of second period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. From behind the net, Nick Bonino connected with Hagelin in the slot, where he beat Holtby glove side for his second of the postseason. "I thought we managed the puck through the neutral zone the right way," Sullivan said. "We tried not to feed their transition game. We tried to make the right decisions. When we do that we're a team that can be hard to play against, we can control territory. I thought for long stretches in the first two periods that's exactly what we did." Johansson tied the game 1-1 at 4:08 of the third period with a power-play goal. He tapped in a rebound that trickled off Murray in the paint for his second of the playoffs. Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta was injured 4:13 into the first period after a hit from Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik and did not return. Orpik, who played for the Penguins from 2002-14, was penalized for interference. He will have a in person hearing from the Player Safety Department on Sunday. He will be suspended for Game 3 for sure but the Department is thinking of adding a longer suspension and a big fine he must pay to the league. The Penguins look to win a decisive Game 3 tomorrow in front of the home crowd and to take a commanding 2-1 seres lead. Lets Go Penguins!!!

Brooks Orpik laying the body on  Oli Maatta during the second period.

https://www.nhl.com/news/fehr-leads-penguins-past-capitals/c-280529516?tid=280530190

Oshie completes hat trick in OT, Capitals win Game 1

For T.J. Oshie, scoring a hat trick in overtime in a Stanley CUp Playoff game was something he'd only dreamed about as a young boy. Oshie turned that dream into reality when he scored the game-winning goal at 9:33 into overtime to complete the hat trick and to give the Capitals a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at The Verizon Center yesterday. "I haven't won too many championships in my lifetime," Oshie said. "Maybe through the youth years. That's kind of the stuff you dream about when you're a kid playing in the backyard by yourself is scoring the OT winner and getting a hat trick. It was awesome." Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is on Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports) as the Capitals look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead while the Pittsburgh Penguins look to even the series at 1-1 before they head to Pittsburgh for games 3&4 at the Consol Energy Center. 

Game 1 was a very close tight game as both teams traded chances in the first period but couldn't capitalize until Andre Burakovsky scored at 10:13 of the first to give Washington the 1-0 lead. As the second period started, the Pittsburgh Penguins began to the pressure on the Capitals and at 10:40 of the second, Ben Lovejoy tied the game up at one when tipped in the rebound off of Nick Bonino's shot after Bonino stick handled through Capitals Defensemen Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov and put a shot on net. That was Lovejoy's first goal of the playoffs this year. 57 seconds later, Evgeni Malkin scored to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. Oshie tied it up at 2-2 at 12:10 with a breakaway goal after he picked up a turnover by Penguins Defenseman Olli Maatta in the neutral zone, skated down the wing with speed, and beat Murray glove side for his second goal of the playoffs. But he wasn't done yet, Oshie scored again at 3:23 of the second period to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead and that was his second goal of the game. But the Penguins would not give up and they would tie this game up at 3-3 when Nick Bonino< sitting in the right circle, received a pass from Carl Hagelin from behind the net for his first goal of the postseason. The remained tied after three periods of play and the Oshie would end the game in overtime with his third goal of the game to complete the hat trick. The Pittsburgh Penguins look to steal home ice advantage tomorrow and carry the moment back to Pittsburgh. Go Penguins!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.nhl.com/news/t-j-oshie-captials-defeat-penguins-in-game-1/c-280509418

Penguins eliminate Rangers with Dominant Game 5

The Pittsburgh Penguins kept history from repeating itself as a second-period surge gave the Penguins a 6-3, Game 5 win against the New York Rangers that ended their Eastern Conference First Round series at Consol Energy Center on Saturday. After losing to New York in each of the past two Stanley Cup  Playoffs, the Penguins won three straight games eliminate the Rangers 4-1.  Coach Mike Sullivan stated that, "We certainly didn't want to have to go back to New York for Game 6, I think when you have teams at that elimination point, you want to do your best to take care of business right then and there. We did speak about that with our group." And they'd just that by scoring five unanswered goals after they were trailing 2-1 with less than ten minutes left in the first period. Their first goal was scored by former Ranger Carl Hagelin who tied the game up at 1-1 when he drove the crease to receive a pass from Phil Kessel and past Lundqvist's left pad with 10:10 remaining in the first. After the Rangers scored 45 seconds later to make it 2-1, the penguins answered right back when Phil Kessel took a snap shot from the right circle over Lundqvist's blocker for his third goal of the series and a 2-2 tie with 8:21. As the second period began, the Penguins got right back to where they left off. Forward Bryan Rust gave the Penguins their first lead, 3-2, 5:21into the second period when defenseman Trevor Daley sent a slap pass to him on the right of the New York net, allowing him to shoot past goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Matt Cullen extended the lead to 4-2 when he gathered a loose puck in the high slot and shot it by Lundqvist's glove 9:26 into the second period. Rookie forward Conor Sheary scored the Penguins' third goal (assisted by Rust) as well as the fourth goal of the period to push their lead to 6-2. As the third period begins, Rangers goalie Antti Raanta replaced Lundqvist and the Rangers managed to get one more goal, but it wasn't enough to extend the series. Pittsburgh will face either the Washington Capitals or  the Philadelphia Flyers in the Second Round. Washington leads that best-of-7 series 3-2 with Game 6 on Sunday.

https://www.nhl.com/news/penguins-eliminate-rangers-in-game-5/c-280447060

Shaw: 'That's not the type of guy I am'

As the Chicago Blackhawks face elimination tonight against the St. Louis Blues they look to steal a victory to keep this series alive, but they will be missing one of their star players due to suspension he received from game 4. The player that the Blackhawks will be missing is forward Andrew Shaw. Shaw was suspended one game by the NHL for the slur, fined $5,00 for directing an obscene gesture toward on-ice officials in the same game, and is required to undergo sensitivity training. Shaw said yesterday at a conference at O'Hare International Airport, "I want to apologize for my actions. I have no excuses for anything. I want to apologize to the gay and lesbian community. That's not the type of guy I am." He watched the video of the incident when he got home Tuesday and didn't like what he saw. He said, "It was hard to see. Emotions got the best of me and I didn't get any sleep last night. It was tough on me> You know, I'm upset with myself, obviously. I want to apologize to the organization, the NHL, my teammates, my family and my friends. I don't know; obviously I'm sorry. It's a tough time for me right now." The media asked him if he would ever use the slur again and he said, "I'll never use that word again, that's for sure. I do [understand]. I mean, I get it. It's a hurtful word.  It's 2016 now. It's time that everyone is treated equally. It's a hurtful word, I know that. I'm serenade I want to apologize."Shaw has two goals and two assists in the series. His absence will leave a void on the Chicago forecheck and in front of the net during power plays."We're in a really tough spot," coach Joel Quenneville said about Shaw missing Game 5. "But I think that there's been some learning situations as we've progressed here [this season] and I think our group's had situations comparable in the past that we've had to learn from that make us better players and better people as well."Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said he hopes the situation will be used as an educational tool going forward."I think it's a moment to bring more attention to this sort of thing, especially pro sports," Toews said. "At the end of the day, I think it is a teachable moment for us to realize that going forward it has to be something that is scrutinized much more, something we think about much more and something that we're much more critical of ourselves, when it comes to these matters." The good thing is that he learned his lesson and he will become better hockey player role model both on and off the ice.

https://www.nhl.com/news/shaw-apologizes-for-slur/c-280399342

https://www.nhl.com/video/c-43629703

Second-period surge leads Rangers by Penguins

Going into today's game the Penguins were looking to put the Rangers in a 2-0 hole in the series but the Rangers decided to turn the tables on the Penguins. The Rangers won today by a score of 4-2 to make the series tied up at one all. Lot of people thought that Henrik Lundqvist wouldn't play today but they were wrong. Lundqvist had a great game stopping 29 shots out of 31 while Jeff Zatkoff stopped 24 shots out of 28. The game remained scoreless until they got into the second period and that's when the Rangers started lighting up the scoresheet. The first goal of the game didn't go to the Rangers but to the Penguins instead, Phil Kessel scored at 3:21 of the second period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead, Daley and Bonino were created with the assists.  But the Rangers would storm back and score three unanswered goals to make it 3-1 Rangers. The goals were scored by Keith Yandle, Derick Brassard, and Mats Zuccarello. When the third period got underway, the Rangers put the pressure on and added another goal to extend their lead curtsy of Chris Kreider. Five minutes later the Penguins would respond to make it 4-2 on a goal by Phil Kessel and that was his second goal of the game. Bonino and Malkin got the assists on the goal. The Penguins kept putting the pressure on but the Rangers held their ground and came away with the victory. Game 3 is on Tuesday and this time the series shifts to New York at Madison Square Garden. Can the Penguins regroup from their loss and get back on the right track or will the Rangers take that victory as momentum for the next game. Let's cheer on your Penguins to victory on Tuesday. Go Pens!!!!!!!!!

https://www.nhl.com/news/rangers-defeat-penguins-game-2/c-280339934

Penguins' secondary players key to victory

Before game 1 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs started for the Pittsburgh Penguins, there were a lot of questions asked on how the team would do with out there star goalie Fleury and star forward Evgeni Malkin. Well they got a little help from their secondary players that help the Penguins to win 5-2 over the New York Rangers in game 1.This series between the Penguins and Rangers marks the third year in a row that these two faced each other with the Rangers winning the first two. The Penguins started goalie Jeff Zatkoff in net on Wednesday and this marked the first career start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He went up against "The King" Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Lundqvist had to leave during the game because he got poked in the right eye by his teammate Marc Staal. There wasn't any scoring until Patric Hornqvist scored at 19:42 of the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. When the second period got underway the Penguins kept the surge going by adding another goal by Sidney Crosby to make it 2-0. As the final period got underway the Rangers put the pressure on the Penguins and finally got on the board curtsy of Derek Staphan to cut the lead in half. But the Penguins would anwser back with two more goals curtsy of  Kuhnhackl and Hornqvist for his second goal of the night. The Rangers would answer back with Stephan getting his second goal to make it 4-2. Hornqvist would seal the deal with an empty netter to make it 5-2 and to complete a hat trick for him. That game marked the first victory for Zatkoff in the playoffs. Can the Penguins pull off another victory to take a 2-0 series lead or will the Rangers steal the win to make the series even? Come on out tomorrow and cheer the Penguins to victory.

Flyers defeat Penguins to make Playoffs and end the Penguins eight game-winning streak

As the NHL regular season draws to a close, the 16 teams that made the playoffs are ready for a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The Philadelphia were hanging on to the second wild card position and they needed a win within the next two games to make the playoffs and they punched their ticket in today with a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins started off strong by scoring the first goal of the game by Nick Bonino. Hagelin and Kessel were credited with assists on the goal. The Flyers would answer back by getting a goal from Wayne Simmonds and then he would later score again to give the flyers the lead and his second goal of the game was the game winner. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored an empty net goal to seal the deal for the game and for the Flyers to make the playoffs. With that lost, the Pittsburgh Penguins ended their eight game winning streak. Pittsburgh will face either the New York Rangers or New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs, while the Philadelphia faces the regular season champions Washington Capitals. The playoffs begin on April 13th and it's time to cheer on the Pittsburgh Penguins as they look to capture their fourth Stanley Cup. Lets Go Penguins!!!!!!!!!

https://www.nhl.com/news/flyers-in-playoffs-after-defeating-penguins/c-280221478?tid=280201936

Penguins have no worries with Murray

As the season draws to a close, the Penguins are debating on who should be the starting goalie for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As Marc-Andre Fleury is sidelined with a concussion, the Penguins had no problem with going to Matt Murray in goal for them. The Penguins are currently riding a eight game winning streak and in those eight games Murray has played in five of them including a 4-3 overtime win over the President Trophy champion Washington Capitals. In that game Matt Murray made a total of 27 saves. He got help with goals from Matt Cullen twice, Connor Sheary and Sidney Crosby who scored the game-winning goal with one minute left in overtime. That goal makes Crosby have a total of 36 goals and 49 assists in 81 games. The Penguins look to close the regular season on a high note with a victory tomorrow over their cross state rival the Philadelphia Flyers. Go Penguins!!!

Penguins rookie goaltender Matt Murray waiting for the puck to drop.

https://www.nhl.com/news/pittsburgh-penguins-matt-murray-not-feeling-pressure/c-280203516

Penguins shut out Islanders, clinch playoff berth

As the Penguins were heading into today's game they needed a victory to clinch a playoff spot. With the help of there goaltender and top scorers their mission was accomplished. The penguins beat the New York Islanders by a score of 5-0. This marks their tenth straight season where they clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Penguins started rookie goalie Matt Murray today because Marc-Andre Fluery was out with a concussion after taking a shot to the head by Nashville Predators forward and former Penguin James Neal on Thursday. This marks Murray's first career shutout in the NHL. Penguins started off the game strong and got on the board very quick when Oskar Sunqvist picked up a turnover from the Islander's goalie and beat him on the glove side for a short-handed goal to make it 1-0 after one period. This marked his first career NHL goal but the Penguins were not done yet. They scored four more goals in the next two periods from Patric Hornqvist, Matt Cullen, Phil Kessel and Tom Kuhnhackl. With this victory it marked their fifth straight win and 11 of its past 12 games. Besides clinching a playoff spot today, there was a milestone set today as well. Sidney Crosby recorded his 600th NHL when he feed a one-timer to Hornqvist. That victory pushed the Penguins three points ahead of the New York Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The next game for the Pittsburgh Penguins is tomorrow as they take on their cross state rival the Philadelphia Flyers at their last home game of the regular season. Come out to the game tomorrow and support your Penguins to victory. Lets Go Penguins!!!

https://www.nhl.com/news/pittsburgh-penguins-clinch-playoff-berth/c-280082322

NCAA finding new growth in digital, content

For visitors to Houston this week, the Final Four and its ancillary events will largely look and feel like they did last year in Indianapolis. In this year's Final Four we have Oklahoma going up against Villanova while University of North Carolina will be facing Syracuse. My prediction is going to be North Carolina verses Oklahoma i the Championship game. The NCAA and its partners, Turner Sports and CBS Sports, have created a on-site formula that works for them and what the on-site formula is that they will have three days of concerts, a mega fan fest and a Texas-size tailgate on the day of the championship game. What this mean is that there will be little that qualifies as new or different on the ground. But that doesn’t mean things aren’t going to be bigger this year. Much of the growth in March Madness sponsor activation is coming from the digital and content side, where concerts are being simulcast and new sponsorship inventory is being created via the March Madness Live app and its new forms of distribution. For example, AT&T sponsors the Friday night concert at the Final Four (Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco), and for the first time the NCAA corporate champion plans to telecast it live across dedicated channels on DirecTV and U-verse. Also on the digital and social front, Allstate joined LG as a presenting sponsor of the NCAA’s Snapchat stories, which are new this year. This is big for many companies to be sponsors for the Final Four for March Madness. 

The Penguins roll past the Detroit Red Wings

Pittsburgh was coming off a tough lost to the New Jersey Devils a couple days ago and when they came to hockey town they should Detroit who was the boss. The Penguins steam rolled past the Red Wings by a score of 7-2. It was a big day for both Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, they both each registered a career-high five points (one goal and four assists) against the Red Wings. The Penguins also received goals from Kunitz, Fehr, Letang and Hagelin twice. Speaking of the Penguins and the Red Wings, these two teams met each other in back to back Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2008 four games to two over the Penguins. The next year however, the Penguins got their revenge and won the Stanley Cup four games to three and making Sidney Crosby the youngest captain to ever hoist the Stanley Cup. Ever since the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, these two teams have become bitter rivals. I would love to see these two face each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. The Penguins fly into New York to face the New York Rangers tomorrow, the team that eliminated them in the playoffs two years in a row. Lets Go Pens.

  

 






https://www.nhl.com/news/c-279912022?tid=279843212

Crosby and the Penguins streak comes to a grinding halt

Last night it seemed that the Penguins were going to easily win but they underestimated the Hew Jersey Devils and lost by a score of 3-0. With that lost it ended their six game winning streak and Crosby's 11 game point streak as well. The New Jersey Devils goals were scored by Kyle Palmieri twice and Adam Henrique. Rookie goalie Scott Wedgwood of the Devils picked his first career shutout by stopping all 39 shots that the Penguins fired. Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves on 24 shots and picked up the lost for the Penguins. The Penguins look to regroup and get back on a winning role as they face the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow afternoon. Lets Go Penguins!!

Crosby's point streak keeps on rolling

In today's hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers, Sidney Crosby had a 10 game point streak on the line. With 1:35 left in the second period he extended his point streak to 11 games with a assist on Chris Kunitz's goal to make it a 3-1 lead. He would later add another assist near the end of the game on Kris Letang's empty netter goal and the Penguins went on to win by the score of 4-1. With the two assists he now has a total of 31 goals and 43 assists in 70 games this year. Sidney Crosby is from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada and the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is his eleventh NHL season and he already has a Stanley Cup ring. He's my hockey idol and I want to play with him someday. The NHL said that he's supposed to be the next Wayne Gretzky. With that win it moves the Penguins into third place of the Metropolitan Division and one step closer to clinching a playoff spot. I would love to catch a playoff game before I head home for the summer. Let's come out and cheer for our Penguins tomorrow as they take on the league leading Washington Capitals.

Penguins check out U.S. Open golf Trophy

Before yesterday's 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes they had a little special guest show up after their morning skate. That little friend would be the United States Golf Association's U.S. Open Championship Trophy. This trophy goes to the winner of the U.S. Open for golf. Some of the famous people that won this trophy would be Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and etc. This tournament will be held June 13-19 at the Oakmont Country Club, which is located 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Oakmont is a notoriously challenging course and it will be hosting its ninth U.S. Open and 12th major Championship. Many of the Penguins players got a chance to get a closer look at the trophy and even take their picture with it. I would love to get my picture taken or win the U.S. Open Trophy in the near future. Like the Stanley Cup, a USGA representative had to wear surgical gloves so they could keep the trophy nice and clean. If the Penguins make the Playoffs and have a deep run and potentially play in the Stanley Cup Finals, they could have a chance to watch a couple rounds of golf. Go Penguins!!!!!!!

Sports getting involved with snapchat

Snapchat is becoming one of the biggest apps that has been downloaded from the app store. Snapchat was invented back in 2011 and has a valuation of $10-20 billion dollars. As of May of 2015 the app users were sending 2 billion photos and videos per day with the stories content being viewed 500 million times a day and six months later it reached to 6 billion sent videos per day. Most professional and college sport teams have created a snapchat account where the fans can follow them and see what's going on. Some example of teams using snapchat would be the Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Seahawks, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Galaxy, University of Oregon and much more. As the years go on more and more teams in sports will be using snapchat and more fans are going to follow their favorite teams. I think it was a great app invention and I believe that it should be on tablets, laptops and phones automatically without having to download it from the app store.

Technology Advancement in the NHL for the past 100 years

As the NHL approaches its centennial year next year, the advancement in technology has gone out of this world. One, some teams have tv shows where you can watch and listen to each player whether it is at practice, during a game or when they are not at the rink but everyday life. For example, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a tv show called Inside the Pens Locker Room. It's where the cameras follow the team around throughout the season and get to listen to what the players, coaches and staff are saying. Another example of a tv show is when NBCSN did a short mini series called NHL 36. This series is about where the cameras follow one specific player for 36 hours to see what he does in preparation before a hockey game and what he does off the ice. Second, the NHL has been making lots of rule changes now and some rules are very helpful during a game. An example would be a review to determine whether its a goal or no goal. What it does is help the refs make choices whether puck crossed the line or whether the puck was knocked in by the players body or a high stick. This year the NHL has allowed the coaches to challenge goals to determine whether the play was offsides or was there goalie interference. Another example would be instant replay. What it has done is allow the fans to be able to look back at highlights of the previous play.  Third, the scoreboards and jumbotron screens have made a big difference at the ice arenas. Back then the scoreboards run on regular battery clocks and now the scoreboards are bigger and run on electricity and light bulbs. Jumbotron screens now can show highlights, follow the game for fans that are sitting way up high, promote commercials, make big announcements and even have fun activities to get the fans involved in. Fourth is the way how cameras can film at very different angles so fans that are not at the game can have an up close experience of a hockey game. Back then there was Without these technologies and advancement the NHL wouldn't probably be around today. As we move on into the future the technology will keep advancing and pretty soon you could be watching  the game from a players view.

Blazers, Heat renew season tickets via app

As technology keeps advancing so do ways of renewal of season tickets. NBA teams now have started making the renewal of season tickets as easy as a couple of keystrokes on your phone. This year so far two NBA teams have begun selling renewals through their mobile app. The first team to do this was the Portland Trailblazers then followed by the Miami Heat. Dewayne Hankins whose the senior vice president of brand and strategy for the Blazers said "Our biggest fans and ticket holders are comfortable with the app, and it made a lot of sense to make it about renewals as well." As of last year, Portland had a 95 percent full-season-ticket renewal rate and 80 percent of the renewals were sold through Blazers.com. It marked a notable jump from the year before when only just 20 percent of the team's season-ticket holders renewed online and the rest were sold through more traditional ways, such as mailing and phone calls. Portland Blazers senior vice president of business operations said "One of the reasons we wanted to do it was that the integration of our mobile device and traffic has far outpaced any expectations," and "we wanted to do it because we have a savvy digital fan base and it makes it more functional for fans while driving engagement. There is a convenience factor.” About 200,000 fans have downloaded the Blazers' mobile app and the app is sponsored by Les Schwab Tires. Along with the new season-ticket renewal offering, the app offers team statistics, game tracker information, and video highlights. In Miami, the new Heat offering takes fans from the app to a proprietary customized payment center. As as result, fans in Miami will be able to complete their renewals fully through their phones but there's also something that’s lost in the process, and that could in part explain why app-based season-ticket renewals have been uncharted territory until now. Bill Sutton, principal of Bill Sutton & Associates and a consultant who has worked with the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers said "Taking renewals through the app is convenient, but you are missing a fan touch point, and if a fan is positive on what they want, it is a no-brainer, but you are missing a chance to up-sell or to add on seats.” I think all teams in the NBA and in other professional sports should have a mobile app to renew full season tickets and this will produce a lot of revenue. 

Colleges working with Google on ticket strategies

Michigan State doesn't have a hard time selling tickets for their popular hockey team but as the team is going through a tough season this year they turned to Google to help push tickets. Michigan saw a 14 to 1 return through Google's search-engine marketing. Michigan State's assistant director of sales and marketing Jim Donatelli said that the money the school spent with Google helped push Spartans' official website higher on the search page when fans are searching for tickets. Pro teams have been working with Google over the last five years to strengthen their online presence through search-engine marketing. Michael Lorenc whose a 14-year veteran at Google has spent the last four years as the company's head of industry for live events that are held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. What his division does is create campaigns with teams and leagues so that they have a higher-profile position on the search page. For the last several months, this movement to help primary ticket sellers reach their customers has moved into the college ranks and now more than 20 schools have begun advertising with Google to improve their search position. The 20 plus schools spending money with Google they're spending anywhere from $1,000 dollars into the five figures and Donatelli says that Michigan State has spent $12,000 dollars with Google during its football, basketball and hockey seasons with an overall 9 to 1 return. Craig Ricks whose the vice president of marketing at Spectra Ticketing says that "its the next big trend for our schools and in the next three years or so, every college is going to invest in this heavily." I believe this will become very popular in the future and I think all the professional and college sports teams will use this trend to create revenue. 

Sponsorship: Naming-rights market

In 2010, New Jersey built a football stadium that house both the New York Jets and Giants and the stadium has no corporate nameplate just like the $1.3 billion dollar stadium in Arlington, Texas where the Dallas Cowboys play. Today there are many deals going on between professional sport teams and naming-right sponsors. For example, JPMorgan Chase’s naming-rights deal with the Golden State Warriors’ future arena and U.S. Bank naming the Minnesota Vikings’ new $1.1 billion home field, opening in July. The naming-rights market is now heated enough that in August, Mercedes-Benz said it was putting its name on its second NFL stadium, the $1.4 billion Atlanta Falcons facility opening in 2017. This came a year after the Atlanta Braves announced SunTrust as a naming-rights partner for their $672 million ballpark and SunTrust Park will be open in the year 2017. Mike Belcher, vice president of media and consumer engagement at T-Mobile, said that “Naming rights are a brand association that cuts through the media clutter and can’t be DVR’d." He was basically referring to his company’s recent naming deal with the $375 million T-Mobile Arena, opening on the Las Vegas Strip in April. Even though T-Mobile can't compete with competitors like Verizon and AT&T, an arena naming-rights deal increased the brands share of voice. This chart below shows the number of naming-rights deals that have been announced since January 2015.

NAMING-RIGHTS DEALS ANNOUNCED SINCE JANUARY 2015

VENUE (CITY)	TENANT(S)	TERMS
Mercedes-Benz Stadium(a) (Atlanta)	Atlanta Falcons; Atlanta United FC(b); Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl	27 years / $324.0 million
Chase Center(a) (San Francisco)	Golden State Warriors	20 years / $300.0 million-$400.0 million
Videotron Centre (Quebec City)	QMJHL Quebec Remparts	25 years / $237.5 million(c)
U.S. Bank Stadium(a) (Minneapolis)	Minnesota Vikings	25 years / $220.0 million
Nissan Stadium (Nashville)	Tennessee Titans	NA
National Car Rental Stadium(d) (St. Louis)	St. Louis Rams	20 years / $158.0 million
Golden 1 Center(a) (Sacramento)	Sacramento Kings	20 years / $120.0 million
Spirit Communications Park(a) (Columbia, S.C.)	Class A Columbia Fireflies	10 years / $3.5 million
Silverstein Eye Centers Arena (Independence, Mo.)	ECHL Missouri Mavericks; MISL Missouri Comets	10 years / $2.75 million
MUSC Health Stadium (Charleston, S.C.)	USL Charleston Battery	5 years / $925,000
T-Mobile Arena(a) (Las Vegas)	TBD	Just under 15 years(e)
Vivint Smart Home Arena (Salt Lake City)	Utah Jazz	10 years/NA
SNHU Arena(f) (Manchester, N.H.)	ECHL Manchester Monarchs	10 years/NA
Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center (Flint, Mich.)	OHL Flint Firebirds; MASL Waza Flo	NA
Jimmy Johns Field(a) (Utica, Mich.)	United Shore Professional Baseball League (Independent) Utica Unicorns	NA
Mapfre Stadium (Columbus)	Columbus Crew	NA
Target Center(g) (Minneapolis)	Minnesota Timberwolves; Minnesota Lynx	NA

(a): Under construction
(b): Expansion team scheduled to begin playing in 2017
(c): Converted Feb. 16 at a rate of $1 Canadian = $0.719657 U.S., per XE.com.
(d): Announced as an incentive to keep the team in St. Louis. However, the Rams will begin play in Los Angeles this fall.
(e): According to a SportsBusiness Journal source familiar with the deal
(f): Begins Sept. 1, after the current 15-year naming-rights contract with Verizon Wireless expires.
(g): Extension
NA: Not available
Source: SportsBusiness Journal research