Green Wine

The League That Gives Back - New Football League Concept

2011-02-19T23:33:00.000-08:00

With the impending NFL lockout, what are us Fantasy Football addicts to do? Well, I think I have the most complex, yet amazing idea to cure our football and fantasy football withdrawals.

No other football league aside from NFL and NCAA have succeeded because they have never been able to capture an audience for the long term. Vince McMahon made a valiant effort years back with his outlandish rules and WWF marketing techniques when forming the XFL, but the league quickly fizzled.

So, what would it take to be able to successfully capture an audience for the long term? It’s easy! Give them a voice, give them power and give them money. I’ll explain.....

All the teams in this new league will not be owned by majority owners like Al Davis, Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban and Dan Snyder, but will instead be owned by their very own fans. Any tax paying citizen can register with the league as an owner of a team. Each individual will be granted one share of the team. Shares can NOT be sold or transferred to another party. This share gives them all the rights of a minority owner.

Attractive owner rights:

1. An equal shares vote to select coaches
This gives the fans of the team the opportunity to hire the head coach of their team on 2 year contract terms. Are you a Pittsburgh native and will most likely go after defensive minded coaches, or do you take the New Orleans philosophy and target a high powered offense. It’s your call as an owner to set the strategy of the team from the ground up.

2. Voice in draft pick selection -
Are you always flustered at your teams draft pick selection? Well, that no longer has to be the case, as owners have an equal shares vote on who to go after in certain rounds of the draft, designated as “public ownership rounds.” Every other round, starting with round 1 will be a public ownership round. If you feel your team has a gaping hole at WR, go after that local stud from UCLA, if your DB’s got lit up the past season, target a shutdown corner. Want to add a bigger name and attract a marketing buzz... go for it! The other rounds’ picks are selected by the Board Members and Coaches, who have in turn, also been selected by the owners / public fans.

3. Trade approval / declination vote
Trades must be approved by the public. All trades will take place during the off season and the public has an opportunity to put together presentations for various trade proposals and present them to the Coaches and Executives during a set time period.

4. Voice in who to go after in free agency
How do you want to handle your teams salary cap? Who do you want to go after in free agency? Do you want to add veteran leadership, or do you want to add youth. It’s up to the owners.

5. Revenue sharing
The Washington Redskins alone had operating income of 90 million in 2008. The NFL League revenue was 7.8 BILLION in 2010. By having revenue sharing, it creates an incentive to treat your team like a business and not only have fun running and watching it, but to also always be adding value and acting in the best interest of the team. Would you be offering Pujols that 10 year, 300 million? Or would that be too detrimental to the long term financial success of the team? Remember now, the more successful the team is, the more money you can put back in your wallet.

6. Vote in the board members and Executives
These board members and Executives will serve on a term by term basis and will hand the day to day decisions and overall operations of the team.

7. Year round football
Let’s be honest, who is frustrated right now that there is no football on TV. It stinks! By having the league’s season in March - July, you not only avoid bad weather, but you don’t have to compete with the NCAA or NFL. It also allows your to allocate 100% of your sports passion to your respective professional and collegiate football teams during their in-season. Consider this as more than a supplement, but definitely not a replacement.

8. Place teams in cities without football
The Hollywood Stars, Las Vegas Sin, Portland Vampires, and the Austin Outlaws are just a few location and name ideas for expansion teams. Oh yeah, and guess who gets to design the logo and create and vote on new uniform designs an an annual basis.. the owners / fans.

The cost of broadcasting the games can be greatly reduced by providing live coverage on all games through the Internet, and Internet tv devices. With Internet access on the TV becoming more mainstream through video game consoles, blu-ray players, Google TV, Apple TV, and new TV’s that support apps, it will be very easy and cost effective to broadcast through the Internet. This also allows for greater access to any consumer, even on the global level. Of course, this league WILL need it’s own Red Zone Channel, much like Directv’s Red Zone Channel. (Anyone who hasn’t watched Andrew Siciliano work his magic on Football Sunday’s, hasn’t lived life!)

Job creation opportunities are limitless. Newly created positions like: Senior Trade Consultant and Regional Talent Scout would arise.

While I know this idea is VERY far fetched, just think of this: The NFL is only as strong as it’s fans. It’s the fans that create the supply and demand for the products that are put in front of them. A financially motivated fan could be a dangerous thing. Of course I know that this league would by no means initially attempt to compete against the NFL. The NFL brand is arguably the strongest American brand. This would be a great supplement to the NFL.

**** I do want to give some credit to Chris Gray on this idea as he and I were brainstorming one drunken evening

Mark's Top 305 Movies - The Best Movie List!

2011-02-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

Still a work in progress, please let me know if I am missing a movie.... The only requirement is that I must have seen the movie (can't rank a movie I haven't seen). But as you can see below, I have a damn good taste in movies.

Shawshank Redemption
Goodwill Hunting
The Big Lewboski
Gladiator
Forrest Gump
The Hangover
Saving Private Ryan
Braveheart
Dumb and Dumber
The Social Network
Love Actually
Goonies
Seabiscuit
Old School
Animal House
Garden State
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Inglorious Basterds
Avatar
Up in the Air
Rounders
The Departed
Snatch
Boondock Saints
Anchorman
The Count of Monte Cristo
Goodfellas
Crash
Gran Torino
The Sting
American History X
Schindlers List
Dark Knight
Scent of a Woman
Grandmas Boy
Boyz N' The Hood
Rocky 4
Back to the Future
Star Wars Trilogy
8 Mile
Shakespeare in Love
Supertroopers
Tombstone
Top Gun
Kings Speech
Billy Madison
The Usual Suspects
Silence of the Lambs
Swingers
About a Boy
There's Something about Mary
40 Year Old Virgin
Office Space
Oceans 11
Clerks
Tropic Thunder
Tommy Boy
Chasing Amy
Indiana Jones (1-3)
Casino
Fight Club
Karate Kid
Field of Dreams
Wedding Crashers
Boiler Room
ET
Terminator 2
Rudy
Knocked Up
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Borat
Pineapple Express
High Fidelity
American Pie
Ghostbusters
Field of Dreams
Mallrats
Superbad
The Breakfast Club
To Kill a Mockingbird
American Beauty
Sideways
Boogie Nights
It's a Wonderful Life
Willy Wonky and the Choc Factory (Old School One)
Adventures in Babysitting
Risy Business
Bottle Shock
Body of Lies
Confidence
A Few Good Men
Wallstreet
Green Street Houligans
Stand By Me
King Pin
Notting Hill
Rainman
Role Models
Farris Buelers Day Off
When Harry Met Sally
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Point Break
Coming to America
Juno
Seven
One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest
Cinderalla Man
Big Trouble in Little China
I Love You, Man
Fast times at ridgemont high
Bad Santa
Blazzing Saddles
Saved
Batman Begins
Varsity Blues
The Natural
A Beautiful Mind
The Bourne Identity
Team America: World Police
Y Tu Mama, Tambien
O Brother Where Art Thou
Slumdog Millionaire
Jurrasic Park
Of Mice and Men
Gone Baby Gone
Blow
The Girl Next Door
Can't Hardly Wait
True Lies
Spy Game
Big
Pool Hall Junkies
My Cousin Vinny
Half Baked
October Sky
A River Runs Through It
Napolean Dynamite
A Christmas Story
Dances with Wolves
25th Hour
Dirty Harry
Harry Potter
Smiley Face
Sleepers
KIDS
Friday
Ruthless People
Finding Forrester
War Games
Die Hard 2
The Sixth Sense
The Neverending Story
Beverly Hills Cop
The Itallian Job
500 Days of Summer
Million Dollar Baby
Romeo and Juliet
Shrek
Hoosiers
Jaws
Leathal Weapon
Dodgeball
Dazed and Confused
Transformers
Zoolander
Romy and Michelles High School Reunion
I am Legend
Sandlot
A Knights Tale
The Blues Brothers
As Good as it Gets
Glen Gary Glenn Ross
Pianist
Titanic
Caddyshack
Spaceballs
8MM
Airplane
Batman - Keaton + Kidman
Bull Durham
School of Rock
Truman Show
V for Vendetta
Pirates of the Carribean
The Great Outdoors
The Blind Side
10 Things I Hate about you
Happy Gillmore
Ace Ventura
National Lampoons Xmas Vacation
Best in Show
Hot Tub Time Machine
Wedding Singer
The Program
Heat
Teen Wolf
The American President
The Green Mile
Tin Cup
Eyes Wide Shut
The Score
Men in Black
The Beach
The Hurt Locker
The Hustler
Sling Blade
LA Confidential
The Rainmaker
Roadtrip
Grumpy Old Men
Meet Joe Black
Jerry McGuire
Mystic River
All the Presidents Men
There Will Be Blood
A Time to Kill
Toy Story
The Deer Hunter
Brian's Song
Old Yeller
Ghost World
Glory
Shutter Island
Willow
Labrynth
Big Fish
Scream
Almost Famous
Iron Man
Lords of Dogtown
Cool Hand Luke
Airheads
Thomas Crown Affair
Rush Hour
Blood Sport
Police Academy
Red Dragon
Thank you for Smoking
Shallow Hal
Mean Girls
Sleepless in Seatle
The Fighter
Set It Off
Footloose
Young Guns II
The Insider
Gangs of New York
Last Samurai
Proof of Life
The Rock
City Slickers
The Ring
Erin Brockovich
Treasure Island
Hotel Rwanda
City of God
The Game
The Fugitive
Groundhog Day
Michael Clayton
Disturbia
Zach and Miri Make a Porno
Revenge of the Nerds
My Best Friends Wedding
My Girl
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wait Until Dark
Mothman Prophecy
The Recruit
Flight of the Navigator
Babe
The Burbs
Slapshot
Enemy at the Gates
Naked Gun
Hot Tub Time Machine
Butterfly Effect
Nothing to Lose
Kindergarten Cop
Harry and the Hendersons
The Devil Wears Prada
Burn After Reading
In Bruges
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Little Miss Sunshine
Twins
Marry Poppins
The Cider House Rules
Distinguished Gentleman
The Wizard
Howard the Duck
Step Up 2 - Takin' it to the streets
Fear
Gremlins
Life
Tremors
Con Air
Honey I Shrunk the Kids
Rambo
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves
Falling Down
Ernest Goes to Camp
Rad
Brat Patrol