The Sport Of Mobile Technology? Sure!

 Everyone is using it and if they aren't they will be behind the marketing curve in a hurry. Mobile devices have become a driving force in the marketing world and sports business is no exception. Teams across multiple sports are engaging fans and driving their brand through mobile technology,  as well as adding the convenience of Wi-Fi to some stadiums for even more interaction

https://pixabay.com/en/technology-digital-digital-tablet-792175/

 Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga have their own mobile phone app, which is a portable version of their home site and in stadium Wi-Fi also. Major League Baseball has it's own app which can track your favorite team and many of the team ballparks have Wi-Fi available. At this point in the mobile media frenzy, even English Cricket has it's own app for scores, updates and highlights.
 As I mentioned before, if you aren't engaging your fans via mobile technology you are going to lose consumers and brand interest. It's a rapidly growing platform and people are already invested and engrossed in mobile devices.


~ The Bartender

Mobile Technology And Society

 In this ever changing world we live in you can't help but notice the effects of mobile technology. Look around literally anywhere and you will see someone with their head imbedded in a mobile platform. It's commonplace now, but which one of those devices has effected society the most?
 The obvious choice is the mobile phone, but I don't think they would be so mobile if the Internet hadn't become mobile and named Wi-FI.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/odonovan/3715717053

 It's the food that feeds social media and all of those mobile platforms but is somehow left out of the family photos. No, it in itself isn't a mobile device, but it's most assuredly a mobile technology and has without a doubt had the most effect on society up to this point.
 I could be mistaken, but it's just my opinion and I never disagree with myself!


 ~ The Bartender

The Bundesliga, China And Me

 After a year that saw the German national team win the World Cup, Bayern Munich make the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, and the Bundesliga being named the second best league in Europe, I still have very few opportunities to watch this amazing football league.
 As a young Chinese boy, I always wanted to play professional football but didn't see a open road into the sport. We have the Premier League on TV and some schools have teams, but it's not a big sport. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of some of my soccer heroes that went to the Bundesliga.
 I have read rumors on the Internet that the league may be coming to China in the near future and I'm very excited for this. Many of my friends are just as excited at the opportunity to actually see one of our favorite teams play live, here in China.
We talk amongst ourselves at times hoping that a soccer camp from the Bundesliga may come much like the Premier League has hosted in Beijing. Im sure tickets would be difficult to get for a Bundesliga camp. A friendly match with a Super League team would a dream come true for me and many of my school friends. I would have to plead with my parents to get tickets for that!
 These are hopeful things and I would actually be happy just being able to watch these teams play on TV. I still have some videos of old games I can watch and I can visit the website for updates, but I think many people would like to see the Bundesliga come to Chinese TV on a regular schedule.
 If I could attend a soccer camp somehow, maybe my dream of playing soccer wouldn't be so much a dream as it would be a possibility.






Addendum:
This is a school project, not an actual news release.

 It's been in the news a while now and has even provided a few official scapegoats being charged, but to what end is this investigation trying to reach? 

 For those not interested in actual football, the summation of this investigation lies in the corrupt FIFA organization and the bribery/racketeering involved with winning the bids for the next 2 World Cups. This first broke after December of 2014 when Qatar and Russia "won" bids for the 2022 and 2018 World Cups. The resulting investigation, led by the U.S., found 14 people indicted on corruption charges with 9 being senior FIFA officials. Interpol has stepped in with arrest warrants for 5 of these officials as well.

 Qatar and Russia are at the center of the investigation; however, it reaches as far back as the 1998 and 2010 World Cups in France and Africa. If Either Qatar or Russia is found guilty of bribery they could potentially lose their bids. What FIFA has going against is Chuck Blazer, a former FIFA executive official who has freely admitted they accepted bribes for the previously mentioned World Cup bids. The charges involve a total of $150 million in bribes for bids on multiple world Cups. Africa and Trinidad-Tobago were said to have given $10 million each for the 2010 World Cup.

 In my opinion there is no question of bribery from either country as it’s been an ongoing situation. Qatar has a GNP of $218 billion, while Russia has serious economic concerns and would benefit greatly from a World Cup.

  Will evidence be found? There have been wire transfers discovered from the 2008 bids showing $10 million going to CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) but nothing else has been released. If anything is found involving Qatar or Russia they need to lose the rights to their bids. A precedent needs to be set going forward, or nothing will change within the organization. In my opinion, much like corrupt politicians, people will be indicted and wrists will be slapped and it will be forgotten. The FIFA President (Sepp Blatter) will be stepping down after this year with a new one being voted on in February of 2016. With a new President comes new hope, but votes count and how easily can a vote be bought? Change always starts at the top but it also has to go through the rest of the committee and that may be a larger part of the problem. An actual solution to the issue is as large as the investigation itself. This is a 209-person committee involving multiple countries across the globe. You can’t exactly fire everyone and start from the ground up. Clearly self-policing hasn’t been an option, but an outsourced, privatized organization could be used to handle the bids and reviews of potential countries.

 There’s no clear timeline for this investigation so it could be well into next year before we found out anything solid. Regardless, Qatar and Russia continue to ready their countries for the international spectacle known as the World Cup, oddly, as we prepare for the spectacle known as the Presidential election.

 Irony at its very best if I must say.

~ The Bartender

UEFA Group Play And The Upset

 Much like college football, you never really know what the outcome of a match is going to be, regardless of the stats going into said match. This leads me to the upset of the day as Arsenal flew into Allianze Arena in Munich and proceeded to defeat the Bundesliga juggernaut Bayern Munich 2 to nil. For a little perspective, this is akin to Vanderbilt rolling into Tuscaloosa and beating Alabama. It just shouldn't happen, but that's why they play the games. It seems Jurgen Klopp is already paying dividends for Arsenal.
 The remaining matches played out as expected with the Roma and Bayer Leverkusen match proving to be the most entertaining of the day ending in a 4 - 4 draw. Barcelona, without Messi, continued their winning ways with a 2 - 0 victory over BATE Borisov. Substitute Ivan Rakitić scored both goals with assists by Neymar. One can only wonder how good will they be when Messi recovers.
 Chelsea managed a draw with Dynamo Kyiv and remain a solid third in their table. 

~ The Bartender

       

UEFA Cup Group Play Starts Tuesday And Wednesday

 Group play kicks off tomorrow with a few notable matches including Bayern Munich at the Jurgen Klopp helmed Arsenal. A Messi-less Barcelona play BATE Boris in Minsk and Chelsea travel to Kyiv, Ukraine to play Dynamo-Kiev. All these matches start at 2:45PM EST.
 The Bayern-Arsenal match is a bit intriguing with Jurgen Klopp taking over as manager of Arsenal. He is quite familiar with Bayern from his previous position with Borussia Dortmund.
 The Barcelona game may be closer than expected due to the absence of Messi, but Neymar has been lights out recently and I don't foresee that changing.
 Wednesday will see another solid group of matches highlighted by Real Madrid at Paris Saint-Germain. Other matches include Manchester United at CSKA Moscow, Manchester City hosting Sevilla FC, and the UEFA Cup Championship runner up Juventus hosting Borussia Monchengladbach. All of Wednesdays matches start at 2:45PM EST also.
 Several matches can be seen on the FOX Sports Network including the regional channels.
 Here is a complete UEFA Cup Group table courtesy of ESPNFC.


~ The Bartender

United States Drop Confederation Cup Playoff Match To Mexico

 Prevent defense. I think that sums up our United States Mens National Team. Rarely did you see many attacks from the US squad although they did manage to capitalize on two rare opportunities. Mexico on the other hand took the New England Patriots approach of constantly pressing forward. It was the difference in the match and will likely put pressure on Jurgen Klinsmann.
 The match did go into extra time, but this was also due to the reactive posture of the US. The winning goal came in the 118th minute through a rather porous defense.
 This was the first win against the US in six attempts by Mexico and keeps the USMNT sidelined for the 2017 Fifa Confederations Cup.
 There are plenty of articles to read on the subject but I think it boils down to a lack of talent for the US. We're not far off from being able to compete at  higher level on the international stage, but right now it's not going happen. Coach Klinsmann gets a lot of flack for the bizarre press conferences he holds, ( note to everyone, watch a few pro, or college football press conferences) but he works with what he has available. You won't find a Ronoldo, Messi, Lewandowski or even a Wayne Rooney. We do have some scrappy players, but the talent level just isn't quite there yet. I imagine Klinsmann would love to have an attacking team such as Bayern Munich, but the available player pool may not allow that. It's likely he is on the hot seat but even if he is let go, who will replace him? It's safe to say  prominent coaches the world over are not beating down the door to coach the USMNT.

The next few years leading up to World Cup 2018 should be interesting to watch.

~ The Bartender