this is a message board. you are joking, right? Go Press! we've to find the guy that wrote this on the photo, so the photographer can get his compensation.
newsouth, Yes, this is a message board, but if your are going to use someone elses work and paraphrase, you need to give them the credit for it and/or point out where you got this information from. Also, it's a good idea to CYA. Especially in today's world.
Yes, we were living high on the hog....it was a DOUBLEwide trailer....needed the extra room for the "army" of staff members The staff had nine people, more than half of which were in sales. i suppose compared to Dan's one man band, it was an army.
Peter, don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. As season ticket holder I got nothing but top notch service and support from the Red Stars staff. My game experience in the two years that I was season ticket holder was more fun then most Fire games. I also enjoyed the professional surroundings of Toyota Park. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you yourself mentioned on one of these threads that you should have cut cost early. Could the CRS organization done anything early the first year to limit cost, once you saw what your losses were going to be to stave off what happened in December of last year? All I was doing was throwing out some comparisons as to what Borislow is doing and what the CRS did. Is his business model going to succeed? Is the only thing that matters is the product on the field at this stage and everything else is secondary? Is he right in getting top notch players and outsourcing everything else? Do fans really not mind watching a pro soccer game on a mid-level college stadium that doesn't even have a media booth? It seems to me other then players, he's not spending a dime on anything else he deems unneccesary. We'll see if his business model works.
Nice observation. I'd add. Since he can't seat 3k or whatever, does he continue down this patch until he gets a commitment from the university for the stadium. obviously he gets the students because they want the venue. and yes, outside of salaries and condos, where is he spending money? i'm not sure about the web site. really, his whole company is web based, so he should have the designers in house. as far as a playoff game, he can play at miami FC's venue.
Excellent Miami Ultras Alive podcast tonight. The first half hour was discussion about magicJack with Jeff Rusnak, the Sun Sentinel reporter that Dan threatened to call the police on. The weekly podcast is broadcast live online Mondays at 10pm ET and is available on-demand afterward.
This was great - thanks for posting. I'm going to repost in the general forum, as I think others will be interested.
There's an old saying about not making enemies with folks who buy ink by the barrel. Ol' Dan is going to go through a learning process here, cause this reporter is DEFINITELY an enemy now. Interesting to note that the sports media, often described as "a half way house for half-wits" seems to have a LOT less tolerance for bologna than the business press, which pretty much cheerleads for Danny B. Calling Borislow a dictator, a tyrant, and an organized crime boss in the first 15 minutes . . . sheesh, they deserve each other.
Sure, this reporter has clearly had his fill - why should he bother trying to cover it anymore? But it's Dan's loss (and the league's), not his. I don't think Dan is capable of learning from this - he's just not interested. Second, he did not call Borislow a dictator or an organized crime boss. He did reference those words, but you must not have been paying attention to how he used them.
As I heard the pod cast, the reporter was quoting Borislow as saying the the league was acting like organized crime. As I hear all of this it certainly sounds to me as though this guy Borislow has a serious screw loose and is acting in a manner that will likely take the league down. He seems out of touch with reality and is doing a tremendous disservice to women's soccer.
I think you're both right. Journo in that Miami Ultras podcast did say that even dictators get people to support them and that Borislow hadn't even done that. There were other very unflattering things said about Borislow by the journo. On the other hand, the organized crime references and liar name calling, etc were references to the words that Borislow used to describe the WPS league office personnel and league as a whole. eta: I also think it is terrible for Rusnak to tell a fan caller to stay away from magicJack.
Thanks to everybody that listened to Miami Ultras Alive. It was definitely an interesting show. We will continue to cover magicJack, but it will get less and less if Dan B. doesn't reach out to us in some way. He doesn't make it easy to cover the team, but we will continue to try.
That part pissed me off as well. I do not doubt that magicjack's owner has lost his mind, and his conduct is disturbing. But some of the things Rusnak said about how people shouldn't go out to games in support team team and it is an insult to women did not sit well with me . Regardless of how much of a prick Borislow may be, we cannot afford to blow of wps. And what was with his off the cuff remark about how of course the players are happy..they are living in a beachside condo on palm beach? How the hell can you generalize about people like that? I did think it was good he kept talking about the quality of the actual play. Maybe that will bring more people out. He did also making the comment about Abby's only post game interview when she said she was proud to play for magicjack and dan borislow is a very smart man, and no comment about the coach mike lyons.
I think you already know that Borislow probably won't "reach out" to you. I would hope, though, that you still give the team coverage. The players shouldn't be punished for the behavior of the owner. Also, I think that just because the players aren't speaking out publicly about what's going on, doesn't mean that they aren't unhappy about it. Sure, they might like their accommodations, but many of them are bright, perceptive people. Rusnak shouldn't have been surprised by their silence, considering the position the league is in. I too was bothered that Rusnak told someone not to go to the games. If I lived down there, I would go in spite of Dan for the players and for the league. Also, some who have attended games have written accounts that they really enjoyed their experience. And it's not like you have to interact with Borislow if you go.
Then you're no friend to women's soccer. I mean, Dan Snyder is SUING a guy who covers the 'Skins, but NOWHERE has he or any other journo/fan/blogger suggested not supporting the team. If you're looking for an excuse not to support something, you'll always find one. Why not just be honest about it?
So, this time I agree with you! (see previous post) While I don't agree with Borislow's actions, it's really a dick move to take it out on the team/league just because you feel burned by one owner. I can understand why Rusnak won't go back, but telling others not to bother is the wrong thing to do.
And given Borislow's public behavior, I think the players would be fired if they said anything "against" him. The power differential btwn owner & player in that situation is too great. pb9000, Borislow did comment at Beau Dure's place and did give Jenna Pel an emailed response to questions. But I doubt he'd come on your show. What might be more likely is that someone like Rob Penner (PR consultant for WPS) or someone else from WPS would respond either to emailed questions you sent or even agree to come on the show. The ATL Beat come to FL on May 28 -- Beat owner/GM Fitz Johnson has been relatively open in some statements to the press. Could be a good interview if he's got time/willing to talk. But then again, I'm a unreasonable/naive enough to hope that the WPS folks want to get more info out there about the good things they're doing and yet play some hardball w/ Borislow.
Responding specifically to the point of scaling back coverage (which was pb9000's point) rather than suggesting others avoid the team (which was Rusnak's point): The problem is access. If you can't interview the players or the (since-reassigned) coach, what do you do on a podcast? Interview Borislow each week? Interview someone who went to the game?
Wouldn't figuring that out be the practice of journalism?? Of course they should be providing access and selling . . . but what response to you get if you want to interview Sir Alex at a specific time on your schedule?? Maybe journos just need suggestions: 1. Interview Brian Dooley about MagicJack's tactics and approach to the game. 2. Interview opposing players and owners about the challenge of playing such a strong team (or playing in a low-rent stadium if you like). 3. Interview the league office about what a db Borislow is (this has the advantage of not requiring any attendance at a game or knowledge of soccer, so it could help a lot of sports reporters). 4. Interview business reporters about DB's business model and the effect of owning the team on its profitability (just bring a bib, those guys slobber a lot). You want more, I'll hook you up after you do half.
(Phone rings) EILERAAS: Hi, thanks for calling about Women's Professional Soccer. PODCASTER: Hi, could you come on our podcast and talk about what a db Borislow is? Not gonna work. Dooley and others at FAU didn't seem particularly forthcoming, either. #2 and #4 aren't bad ideas, though maybe a little far afield for a South Florida podcast.
Maybe it'd be better to couch it as "what is WPS' plan to support MJSC and the growth of women's soccer in south florida? how are they going to make sure MJSC is successful?" It's the same question . . . and Dooley would be happy to talk MJSC tactics, he's just not going to dish on his tenant - and why would he?
doesn't necessarily mean they are happy....why do youthink he doesn't let them talk to the media.....its so obvious he doens't want them to say something...