This is a headline I would love to read one day on the front page of The Enquirer. It's a long shot but not unrealistic. The NFL contract with Radio City Music Hall is up in the coming year and there are three major airports that can support the travel plans for Jets fans. Think about it...

Guests from all NFL teams begin to converge in Cincinnati, filling the downtown hotels, the weekend before the Flying Pig Marathon, which also fills these same hotels--two straight sold-out weekends! $$$$$

From Friday-Sunday, the NFL Experience opens at the Duke Energy Center, home of the live NFL Draft and a fan-friendly interactive area with games, NFL highlights, current and former player autographs and tons of merchandise. On Saturday night, Bearcat Bowl III is played at Paul Brown, bringing 65,000 fans together for some live football and fun commentary from Coach Kelly.

What a way for Cincinnati to bask in the national sports spotlight.

I just finished P&G CEO AG Lafley's new book Game Changer and highly recommend it. Normally, I stay up late reading mysteries but this good read kept me up late a few nights as well.

Creativity is all about making connections. This is one lesson I took away. I started thinking about sports teams making connections to drive creativity. How often does this happen?

How often does the entire team get together to brainstorm...by this I mean, the operations, coaches, managers, marketers, sales office, security and concessions staff. Is it once a year after the season is over? Is it once a month to review guest experience surveys? I presume it's probably the former.

Mr. Lafley talks extensively about how he brings together his colleagues from various areas of product development to discuss opportunities, challenges and revive certain products.

P&G also invests heavily in innovation and rewards those that present the new big idea. Risk is rewarded. How many teams reward those who take risks? Failure is a big part of being successful, he says. It's hard to take on a risky project with the possibility of tarnishing your reputation, but an innovative company will support such creativity as P&G does.

Make Five Connections Today:
1-Ask 25 of your season ticket holders if you can have 15 minutes of their time to get their thoughts on customer service, marketing
2-Ask the beat writers covering your team if there is anything else you can do better to help them cover the team
3-Pitch two new feature stories to non-traditional media
4-Visit the concession staff prep meeting to share new programs and marketing initiatives
5-Take your team to lunch and ask if they have any new ideas to improve customer service

It's NFL Draft Weekend next week. Last year, I watched the draft wall-to-wall on Saturday and will probably do so this year.

Will it be a Long Saturday? Looks like it.

I am always intrigued by the prospects who are invited to attend in person. This year looks like a safe bet but wasn't Brady Quinn a safe bet. (Nice pick Miami!)

So will these guys go in order, one through eight?

Jake Long, offensive tackle, Michigan; Chris Long, defensive end, Virginia; Matt Ryan, QB, BC; Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas; Glenn Dorsey, defensive tackle, LSU; and Vernon Gholston, DE, OSU have all been invited to NYC.

Last year, Quinn dropped to No. 22 from one of the top prospects. Let's hope the curse doesn't continue.

Just read the Sports Business Journal that features professional golf both PGA and LPGA.

Some interesting tidbits:
-Some $1.7 BILLION changes hands annually between companies and the professional golf industry with title sponsorships, league deals and endorsements.

-40 percent of the 44 PGA title events are up in 2010 leaving the sales staff to re-sign about $125 million in deals this summer. A big ouch in this economy.

-The Tiger effect: when he plays in a tournament, ratings increase 59 percent. Sponsors pay the same amount for title sponsorship regardless.

There is also a nice feature on Carolyn Bivens, the LPGA commissioner, who I have met and have been very impressed with her vision.

TV deals and sponsorship sales are her biggest opportunities. A healthy Annika and sharp shotting Lorena will help her cause. She also has a top notch marketing team led by Bill Susetka, former Avon and Clairol marketing exec.

Do you like the JTM TV spots with Reds pitcher and crooner Bronson Arroyo and broadcaster Chris Welch? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCUZlQA_zhQ

I have met both and they are great guys but am not so sure they are ready for prime time. Do you like the JTM TV spots with Reds pitcher and crooner Bronson Arroyo and broadcaster Chris Welch? Link here.

I have met both and they are great guys but am not so sure they are ready for prime time.

But I have to admit that I can't get that song out of my head after it airs.

Your thoughts?

Here is a link to ESPN's annual analysis of minor league teams and their promotions. It's always a fun column with a shout out to my Toledo Mud Hens!

http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/news/story?id=3314264

Check out Twitter. Warning, it's get a tad addicting.

Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the
simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends
doing—right now? With Twitter, you may answer this question over SMS, IM, or
the Web and the responses are shared between contacts.

I will use Twitter to provide updates on sports marketing and/or media and any urgent situations...sales on Gucci loafers or cheap flights to Florida.

Cincinnati sports teams or sports figures are also using Twitter. I just signed up to follow Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Cyclones, UC Bearcats and John Thornton.

Speaking of a good guy Bengal, check out John's web site: www.bengalscentral.com as it is very well done. This guy is smart, web savvy and fun to watch on the field.

what would it be and why?

Here's the deal: you get two airline tickets with hotel, two tickets at a VIP level with free food/bev, free parking and are in a hospitality suite.

The catch: you cannot guarantee the teams in the competition

After careful thought, I would have to say that mine would be: Wimbledon on Championship Sunday.

You're up next...

Did you know that Bootsy Collins, the funkmaster of funk music, has performed with Dee-Lite ("Groove is in the Heart"), Talking Heads ("Five Minutes"), Hank Williams Jr. (Monday Night Football opening), not to mention James Brown. He has produced 18 albums over his career and now will open a restaurant and nightclub in downtown Cincinnati with restaurateur Jeff Ruby. (FULL DISCLOSURE: Jeff Ruby is a client.)

Bootsy is all ours, and he loves Cincinnati!

Talk about butts in seats. I can't wait until this place opens. The joint will be jumping.

It will be a destination for people around the country to enjoy and explore. We held the press conference to announce the fall opening and offer the renderings of the space, located across the street from the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts (the theatre that hosts all of the big productions, concerts in town). The press conference was filled with energy, celebs and civic and corporate leaders. I could feel the Chamber and Tourism reps getting giddy with delight.

Bootsy's produced by Jeff Ruby, as it will be called, will be a catalyst for cool. I can't wait for the opening of this restaurant. I imagine Bootsy at the corner table with Kid Rock and Slash while Beyonce and Jay Z are at the next table with Ruby sitting beside Russell Simmons and Madonna.

It's Bootsy, baby! And it's in Cincinnati.

Can Cincinnati become a hockey town?

The Redhawks were on fire this year, just falling short of making it to the Frozen Four, while the Cyclones drew the highest attendance in the history of hockey in our town and qualified for the ECHL playoffs.

I think we should give hockey a go and our sports fan should rally around the cause similiar to UC football. But I do think hockey needs to be played at the Cincinnati Gardens to be successful and more fan-friendly (but that's another blog over a beer as my good friend, Tom, would say).

I read an interesting story in the sports section of the New York Times about how the NHL is reaching out to their avid with a new seven-channel digital network. Brilliant! The NHL has already been using youtube.com to post highlights and this should prove to be very successful. In another brilliant move, the NHL kept their on-line rights so this will be an extremely lucrative revenue stream.

Here are some interesting fan numbers: NBC's NHL games average 1.5 million viewers up 11 percent over last year; and the New Year's Day snow bowl between the Pens and the Sabres drew 3.75 million.

Most impressive, the NHL knows they have 53 million avid fans. Just think if each of these fans sent 20 emails with the new NHL network info. I wonder how many of those fans live in Cincinnati?

Here are some quick links to read more:
http://www.nhl.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/sports/hockey/06sandomir.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin