Over the past few weeks, I’ve been running a poll to gather your opinion on whether or not you think an NFL team should sign Michael Vick.  Being that the Philadelphia Eagles went ahead and signed Vick last week, now is a good time to look at the results!

Just over 2/3 of the participants felt that an NFL team should sign Vick.  This seems pretty consistent with other articles I’ve read and discussions I’ve had with peers.  For the most part, a majority of people believe that he served his punishment for his crime, and as such, now deserves an opportunity to continue his life and his livelihood, which happens to be professional football. Multiple animal rights groups have even agreed with this sentiment, accepting Vick’s remorse and new efforts to prevent animal cruelty.

However, this also seems to be a case when the minority is very vocal, and often times, a vocal minority can have just as much impact as a majority.  People in and out of Philadelphia who disagree with the Eagles’ decision have found many outlets to voice their displeasure, including using different social media platforms to reach a larger audience. Many have also proactively contacted team sponsors to question their relationship with the team, threatening boycotts of the team and the sponsors’ products.

The first Eagles home preseason game that Vick could play in will be on Thursday, August 27. I think on that day we’ll be able to truly gauge the reaction of the fans and the community.

If you have an idea for a new poll, please use the Contact Us link at the top of the page to send me your suggestion!

There is a fun tradition among many NHL teams where the players do not shave at all during the playoffs.  Some players end up with very impressive facial hair, especially if their team makes a deep playoff run. 

Recognizing this tradition and the opportunity it presents, several NHL teams have partnered with the website www.Beardathon.com to help raise money for their team charity.  Their slogan is “Grow One for the Team” and the concept is very simple and fun.  Fans can sign up and volunteer to grow a beard during the playoffs.  Then they can encourage their friends and family (or anyone really) to pledge an amount per day that they grow their beard (the length of time corresponds to how long their team is in the playoffs), or simply make a flat donation.  The participating teams have gotten their own players to participate, so fans can pledge money on their favorite player beards as well.  Fans can also view the beard-of-the-day, vote on fan and player beards, or build a virtual beard that they can send to their friends.  Finally, Beard-a-thon is also using Facebook and Twitter to help promote the program.

This is a great initiative, connecting a fun tradition and the excitement of playoff hockey with a wonderful charitable program.  I couldn’t resist signing up myself, so you can click here to see my Beard-a-thon profile and make a pledge!  Thanks!

StadiaTech.com, a website/blog dedicated to topics in stadium technology, is trying to organize a global blood drive.  Their goal is to get 50 stadiums to participate, which when you think about it, is not a very large number.  But if they get 50 venues and 250 donors per venue, that ends up being 12,500 blood donors, which is a great number! 

You can read more about the details of StadiaTech’s efforts by visiting their website here.  They provide a lot of details on the merits of donating blood, as well as information on how you can get your venue to participate (you can also reach them directly by sending an email to blooddrive@stadiatech.com).  Many locations do events like this once in a while, but coordinating in a larger level is a great idea to generate participation, interest, and public exposure.  I hope StadiaTech can reach their goal and then some!

This post is courtesy of guest blogger Adam Sherlip:

The significance of the USA beating the USSR in 1980 isn’t as impactful today as it was in the 80s.  Many Russians are among the best and most popular players in the NHL.  Alex Ovechkin is a superstar that has singlehandedly made Washington, D.C. into a hockey-crazed town.  Think about that – a Russian athlete is THE star athlete in the capital of the USA.  Wow. 

The New York Times recently featured an article describing how a team that used to be in East Germany, is about to begin playing in an arena built where the Berlin Wall used to stand.  This team has been a source of unification of former adversaries. 

This type of cultural progress is happening all over the world with different initiatives to help connect people.  Non-profits have been established by people from all walks of life, interested in using sports to affect those in less privileged regions.  Roberto’s Kids (robertos-kids.org) is an organization using baseball and the inspiration of Roberto Clemente to positively affect children in third world countries.  Right to Play (rightoplay.com) is another organization using sports and play as a means towards improving health, teaching life skills, and fostering peace in disadvantaged areas of the world.  Sports, it seems, is the common ground we can all start from.

Some professional teams have also invested resources into this outreach.  I had the unique privilege to be heavily involved in Project Hope (nyiprojecthope.com), an initiative of the New York Islanders to develop youth hockey in northeastern China.  Working with Team USA star Angela Ruggiero, Project Hope was uniting children from China with kids from around the world.  In 2006, Project Hope hosted its first youth hockey tournament on Long Island, comprised of a team from Qiqihar, as well as three teams from the New York area.  The tournament was an incredible cultural experience, and a great success! 

A few weeks later, Angela and I went to China to visit each school affiliated with Project Hope.  We spent 45 minutes on the ice showing the players and the coaches the basics, reinforcing the foundation of the game, but more importantly, we preached the culture.

Hockey is a sport that thrives on teamwork, sportsmanship, trust, accountability, and fun.  What we found was that because of the distinct differences in Chinese culture as compared to the Western World, players were being worked too hard, too long, and without an understanding of those virtues that hockey is based upon.  We also noticed that coaches relied on the best players to assume dominance, but in hockey, the best players succeed by being the best teammates, whether it’s Gretzky, Lemieux or Crosby.  To fix this, we showed them drills to enhance creativity, worked on passing, and ran more scrimmages.  It helped!  They were much better the following year at the 2008 tournament!

This is the calling I have been waiting for…to share happiness around the world, one puck at a time, using the sport of ice hockey as the language and culture to bond over.  My first destination is Ladakh, a region in Kashmir, India running on solar energy and ecofriendly practices.  Phey is a rural, Buddhist village in the Himalayas, looking for volunteers to teach the kids hockey before the ice melts in early February.  More information can be found on my website, hockeyvolunteer.blogspot.com.

Adam Sherlip, formerly responsible for digital marketing and amateur hockey development for the New York Islanders, is now heeding his life’s calling.  An idealistic New Yorker, Adam is looking to travel around the world teaching kids hockey, as well as write a variety of books based on the culture of sports.  You can continue to follow Adam at his blog, hockeyvolunteer.blogspot.com.

One of the great things about the sports industry is how much everyone embraces the community and helps with charitable organizations. I want to take a second to help promote one of them. If you visit ESPN.com, you will see that it is Jimmy V Week. I’m sure you all know the story of Jim Valvano, his fight against cancer, and his emotional speech at the 1993 ESPYs – “Don’t give up…don’t ever give up.” When times are tough financially, charities tend to suffer, but every few dollars can help. If you have a chance, I’d encourage you to contribute by clicking here, even if its only a couple of dollars. It is a great organization with a great focus to support cancer research. If you need some motivation, take a few minutes and watch Jimmy’s speech. It is incredibly moving and inspirational.  All of us have had friends or family touched by cancer, so let’s try to help do something about it together.  Thanks.

For the second year in a row, the Arizona Diamondbacks are running their “Season Ticket Scholarship Program.” I think this is one of the best initiatives that I’ve seen a professional franchise run. The basic premise is that any fans (usually previous season ticket holders) who are experiencing a financial hardship can apply for this “scholarship” by telling the club about their current situation and their love of the Diamondbacks.  Then the team will go back and select a few winners who will received completely free lower-level season tickets for the upcoming season (winners may also receive parking passes and/or concessions vouchers).  Fans can be nominated by a friend, or they can send self-nominations and include references.

Last season’s scholarship winners included:

• A family of seven that hit rough times financially and asked for two tickets to share among the entire family…the Diamondbacks gave them seven season tickets.
• An older married couple who were charter season ticket holders (since ’98), but whose medical bills had risen too much for them to afford season tickets anymore.
• A grandmother who raised two grandchildren on her own and who used baseball to help teach math to her grandchildren.
• The family of one the victims from Arizona’s 2006 “Serial Shooter.”

The Diamondbacks are one of those teams that is truly committed to their fans, and this program is the perfect example of that dedication.  Derrick Hall has done an incredible job since he was named team president a couple of seasons ago.  I pay close attention to the team to see what new fan-friendly initiatives they come up with each season, and I would suggest that others do the same.