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.