The IronDog Chronicles Has Moved to www.bretdougherty.com

You've been wondering where the posts have been here...?

Well, I've redesigned the front page of http://www.bretdougherty.com, and the "IronDog Chronicles" may now be reached along with my information site in full swoop at www.bretdougherty.com.

I've been posting a few writings on hoops, UNC Basketball, marketing, advertising, branding, fantasy sports, wi-fi, and the whole nine yards of what you're used to here. The new site will allow comments and better navigation.

I think you'll enjoy the design, and I want to give a major thanks to Blogger for the ease of use over the past four years.

So now, grab the new feed at www.bretdougherty.com in the right-hand corner of the page, and cue up your feedreaders.

In the meantime, feel free to send me your thoughts at bret.dougherty@gmail.com.

Do the switch now, and use the feed...It's easy.

Cotton,
BD

Got Him - UNC Lands Kendall Marshall

Not blaring, breaking news, but I just heard from a very close contact, who is a very solid source, that the Coach Roy Williams and UNC Tar Heel Basketball landed Kendall Marshall, who is a 6'3"...sophomore point guard.

Yes, a sophomore point guard for the Heels...Who would have thought that the Heels would reach down to underclassmen ranks of a sophomore class in order to secure a point guard. Yet, this move proves that this point guard must be pretty special.

Is he stronger than Tywon Lawson, who committed before his junior year at Oak Hill. We shall see...

However, the view from this keyboard says for Tar Heel fans to be fairly amped after hearing...and reading all of the gushing reports that have stemmed from summer camp and AAU circuit.

The initial reaction is to be nervous on a sophomore committal. However, you can sure bet that the "Master Recruiter", Coach Roy Williams, wouldn't take a risk on a point guard who could not only have the potential to be the best point guard in the class, but also can at least reach the class of a 25-35 ranked guard, which the Tar Heels have landed in the past with Marcus Ginyard or early 2008 signee, Larry Drew Jr.

In order to soothe your Tar Heel tummies, if Marshall doesn't pan out to be the top point guard in the class, you could sure bet that the Heels would go for another guy. Yet, that relief may lost only so long...With early committals emerging in this class, will any elite level point guards be left?

From the looks of the past there should be...Yet, looking at the case of Brandon Jennings, who is the best point guard of the class of 2008, you can't be so sure. Jennings committed to USC last season. Yet, he bolted for the greener pastures of Arizona later in the year. So, from the looks of things, the trend of locking-up the top point guard in the class may be emerging.

Following most reports, Marhsall is the real deal. He may not be at a Kenny Anderson level, which would be considered the top, ethereal, Zeus, level of high school talent that few people other than Allen Iverson or LeBron James should be considered. However, if Marshall finishes at the high-school talent level of Chauncey Billups, Randy Livingston, or Raymond Felton, Tar Heel fans should be thrilled.

Yet, why does the early signee case of JamesOn Curry dance among the Tar Heel visions...According to my sources, believe me, this kid is far different in terms of a socially adaptable recruit to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

Supposedly, Marshall has been a Carolina fan all along the route of his development, and his decision to go to UNC was expected.

On the Tar Heel front, be glad that you have the PG slot secured for the next four seasons. Take a peek into the future...

'07-'08 - Tywon Lawson/Quentin Thomas/Bobby Frasor
'08-'09 - Tywon Lawson/Bobby Frasor/Larry Drew Jr.
'09-'10 - Tywon Lawson/Larry Drew Jr.
'10-'11 - Larry Drew/Kendall Marshall

Wow, talk about long-term talent...And all locked-in...Very impressive.

I-95 South,
BD

Nike Football: Mann-Up

A while back, I posted on my Top 20 Nike commercials of all-time, and I had to post on the new Nike Football commercial today...

This post resulted after I caught this post on AdRants, which by the way, is one helluva blog for ad insights and job leads. AdRants bagged on the new Nike commercial, which is directed by famed director, Michael Mann, who creates work that is nothing short than masterful.

The suggestion from AdRants was to turn down the sound, and then evaluate the work.

Well, I turned down the sound, and I'm still moved by Shawne Merriman running into the backfield and creaming the QB. When the ball switches over to Stephen Jackson, watch him run through the Falcons and into Lambeau Field...That blizzard sequence is incredible.



I like the reality commercials better with cool downtempo beats. Again, Nike creates the myth and breathes life into the myth. I give the Michael Mann/Nike team mad credit for building authenticity and maintaining the feel of the game.My two cents is that this commercial is as strong as the MJ/Nike "Frozen Moment" commercial when he worked out on Corey Blount and the Lakers...Still is and always will be a classic for me. Check it out below...Always exhilarating.



My dime ruling on the Nike commercial. Great video...Great shots...Great commercial.

Yet, I still wish the Bears could have received their payback from the print ads with LaDainian Tomilnson running over them...C'mon now, LT only grabbed 25 yards...You know you can't stop the bum rush of the Monsters of the Midway. Don't try to trick the people.

On the 1-2,
BD

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Rise of the McCauley St. Mongols

Here's the first week update from this year's McCauley Street Mongols in my fantasy football league this season...

RB - Larry Johnson RB - I landed the third pick with my first-rounder...I'm not thrilled with this pick. LJ's holdout, the Chiefs offensive line upheaval, and how LJ is already being conserved for second halves makes me very leery of his performances this season. Over the past five years, I have never seen a first round that has as much questionable talent within the top tier rankings. God, Stephen Jackson was so close.
WR - Reggie Wayne - Destroyed the Saints on Thursday night...'Nuff said.
WR - Torry Holt - I'm leery of the knee problems. Yet, he's still 31 and he's the number one option for Bulger. I stretched on him in the second round because of the dome, turf, and the fact that he's stable and they have no one else...Greensboro/Eastern Guilford love. Give it to me...
QB Matt Leinart - Going tonight against the 49ers...In this league, we're allowed two keepers who are drafted after the sixth round.
TE - Jeremy Shockey - Solid performer...The guy brings it every game. I was hoping Vernon Davis would be around with my 7th Round pick, but Shockey brings the stability. Other than injury, I don't have to worry about this position.
K - Matt Stover - Second to last pick...I grabbed him because of their low scoring offense warrants bail-out field goal attempts. Let's see...

Flex Positions
WR/RB - Adrian Peterson RB - After 103 yards rushing and a 60 yard receiving TD, my fourth round pick made me look like Bill Polian. What a pick-up...His shoulder is recovered, and he is harkening back to the days of his freshman and sophomore years at Oklahoma that yielded so much potential.
WR/RB - Ladell Betts - Sat on the side and watched Portis run 17 attempts for 98 yards...When will Portis crack? If so, Betts is my boy...Go Hawkeyes.
WR/TE - Andre Johnson - Great pick-up in the 5th Round...There's something about "U" guys in the NFL who played under Butch Davis and the early days of Larry Coker. You just can't go wrong. He brought me 22 points on the first week. My main man.

Defense: (Based on IVP Rankings)
DL - Lofa Tatupu
DL - Derrick Burgess - Tough game against the Lions. He'll be dumped on Tuesday. I already have my pick-up choice.
DL - London Fletcher - 'Beast'
DL - Karlos Dansby - 'Freak of nature'...Let's see how he handles his switch to ILB. I dumped TE 'sleeper' pick Greg Olsen for him.
DB - Troy Polamalu - The Samoan beast brings a solid mojo. Tough week on tackles. Let's see how he develops after his big-time contract.
DB (Bench) - Sean Jones - I'm looking for a bust-out year. Should be able to pick-up some INTs. Go Dawgs.

By the way, here are my selections after the 6th round. (Remember, I get to keep 2 players at the end of the year):

6th Round - Matt Leinart QB
7th Round - Jeremy Shockey TE - How he fell to me in the 7th, I do not know.
8th Round - Ladell Betts - If Clinton Portis goes down, this could be my pick-up of the year after drafting Erik Bedard in the 9th round of my fantasy baseball draft.
9th Round - Devery Henderson WR - Great end to the year last year...Dismal week against the Cowboys. What to do?
10th Round - Ben Roethlisberger QB - I think 'Big Ben' is going to have a great year not only because the Steelers will throw the ball more, but also because the guy has rebounded from a devastating motorcycle crash and an appendectomy. Great back-up option and could become my starter very quickly. Maybe a keeper?
11th Round - Brian Leonard RB - I learned from watching this guy at Rutgers that he's a major 'sleeper' player. Swiss Army-knife capabilities in terms of receiving and rushing could make him a great player.

"Sleeper" Pick - Matt Jones WR - Gone...I thought that he would be a great pick, but I dropped him after he pulled a complete bagel with yesterday's performance.

My new pick-up is Antawn Raandle-El...I love his upside. He had a tough adjustment time last season, and he is making the money that demands throws. Great pick-up. He could be my Rueben Droughns of '04.

Let's see how I do this season. If you're not in a Fantasy League, follow my squad. I'll post adjustments and week previews throughout the season.

Dealin',
IronDog

Go-Go Wi-Fi

Are city wi-fi plans on or off these days?...

Over the past couple of years, the advant-garde discussion for econ developers and tech futurists is to develop city-wide wi-fi programs and areas consisting of public networks, clouds, and hotspots. Yet, the plans for cities seem to be crumbling while here in Chapel Hill public wireless access nodes are emerging.

Well, what happened? Smart Mobs has a great collection of articles on the whys and hows of the drop-off rate with municipal wi-fi programs. With Earthlink's mass layoffs, San Francisco alliance with Google has cooled off considerably. Chicago is out with their plan that was planned to revolve around an ad-driven network. The good news is that the plan could be revisited in '09 when more bandwidth becomes available.

To establish a solid wi-fi plan, you not only need the right people pushing the effort, but also you need the right culture to demand free wi-fi services. People living in Chapel Hill and Carrboro have been craving hotspots for quite some time.

For example, Brian Russell has been promoting Chapel Hill wireless hotspots through his site, yesh.com since the beginning of 2006.

Russell has done a much-needed service for people who are local to the area and in search of wireless hot-spots. (Especially, when you consider the numb-headed moves of certain institutions who lock access points to the general public.) Be sure to check out his mash-up of wireless hotspots and accessible locations.

With the amount of new construction and fast hopes pinned upon Chapel Hill development projects in the downtown area, the good news for certain areas of Franklin Street and Chapel Hill is that the knowledge-based workers in the area will have public places to work through the town's Internet pilot project....Especially, when you consider the amount of cities who have backed out of their deals because public officials are viewing public wireless as a business opportunity instead of public service.

With that said, here is the list of hotspots that have been activated by the Town of Chapel Hill on Franklin Street....I hope you enjoy by pre-season scouting report.

If you try the service and have a great luck, by all means, send a note to wifi@townofchapelhill.org.

New Wireless Hot Spot List

U.S. Post Office on East Franklin Street - Great spot! Especially, when you consider the long wait for traffic tickets. The overflow from the court at Hillsborough is absolutely ridiculous, and this is a perfect spot for allowing people to get work done in this line. As an added bonus, the service will hopefully mesh with the hotspot at Four Corners and there will be constant activity for sporting event madness on weekends. Major Thumbs-up!

Inter-Faith Council, 100 West Rosemary Street - Great spot...And badly needed. Now, who will use the spots...? By the way, is there a recycled laptop program going there?

Hargraves Center - Badly needed...And very valuable for the Northside community. Thank you. On my end, I now have a spot to check my mail while I'm shooting buckets. Now, can we change the rims on the playground? The rims are like cement blocks.

Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau - Nice, nice...Let's see where this stretches.

411 West Italian Cafe- I would have liked to have seen the West End Wine Bar get the nod. Yet, my boys were way ahead of the game with their node. And that is why the West End remains the number one place to congregate for any activity.

With that said, 411 is a great move...Still remains one of the top places to be seen in the state of North Carolina. Why...Hit that place up on a Saturday night after gameday.

I was always impressed with the wireless cloud network installed in Athens, Georgia. I'm glad to see that Chapel Hill has stepped up to the plate to promote more activity for creative and knowledge workers in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area.

Reactivated,
IronDog

Under Construction

My bust on the lack of posts over the past month...

I'm constructing a new blog page, and I'll give you the details when the finishing touches are in place on the site. Until then, I'm not going to leave you hanging. I'll feed you insights on the switch, and I'll guarantee some golden nuggets before the jump-off.

Hard-Hat Area Only,
IronDog

Expanding the Vision

I'm always up for alternative training methods...Any way that gets you to be a 'raw dog', push it.

However, after reading this article from Nathaniel Vinton of the NYTimes on Steve Nash and how he's working out on the soccer fields in Central Park, I'm saying that Steve Nash is the coolest and one of the more intelligent athletes on the planet right now.

Now that his famed soccer workouts have been documented, I'm placing his off-season workouts up there with Wilt Chamberlain and his famed beach volleyball workouts, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his extensive martial arts and yoga workouts, Bill Walton and his bicycle rides, and "Pearl" Monroe's use of the tennis court throughout the '70s to improve his footwork...Too dope.

The cool thing is that the quote from Nash's boy, Claudio Reyna, shows he recognizes how passing his correlates in soccer and basketball through vision. “When you have vision in soccer, you can connect the pass. It’s the same idea. You can see that from playing basketball, and also from growing up playing soccer, he understands the game.”

With that said, check out the article. I'm placing Nash as one of my all-time favorite athletes. He's a beast.



P.S. I'm with the Conservancy on their booting...Fellas, you'll tear the turf up. That's a primo eye candy spot as well. What's the problem with not using the cleats?...Go to the indoor shoes that Nash uses, meatheads.

Visionaries,
IronDog

Go Slide Go..

I'm a big fan of Slide...

So, when I saw this BusinessWeek article from Jessi Hempel about how Slide, a site that lets users post snapshots of friends, say, or vacations in slide-show format, is developing strategies for generating revenue, I'm up for it.

Slide has fast become the most trafficked widget maker on the web. I'm a big user and proponent of what they do. Plenty of people who are connected through social networks are utilizing the widget. Yet, the question that I have is how the hell are they going to generate cash?

Do you use subscription service? Do you create pay-for-service models through a Flickr model? I don't know about this one...

Slidin',
IronDog

Bud is Back

Solid move by ESPN to bring back Bud Collins...

I was brokenhearted at the news that NBC was letting the longtime tennis analyst go. How would Sunday at Roland Garros and 'Breakfast at Wimbledon' be the same?!

What's even more solid news for tennis fans is that Bud will be paired with Dick Enberg again.

Collins worked with Enberg for 20 years at NBC, including the "Breakfast at Wimbledon" broadcasts starting in 1979. Enberg has been calling matches on ESPN's Grand Slam coverage since 2004.

From this Boston Globe report by Susan Bickelhaup, Collins will also be paired with Cliff Drysdale. I'm up for it...Bring back the insider, descriptions, pants, and that shiny dome.

From the Queen's Box,
IronDog

No More Select

Thank you NYTimes...

Thanks for freeing up the op-ed pieces and the archived articles of your great writers.

Although the announcement has not been issued, Holly Sanders of the NYPost has reported that the Times will be removing the restrictions established from their TimesSelect service.

On the media sales front, yes, you may not the same segments of highly targetable users. Yet, this move should be solid for more targeted page views and larger ad inventory. On the subscription front, I thought this statistic was interesting.

"The number of Web-only subscribers who pay $7.95 a month or $49.95 a year fell to just over 221,000 in June, down from more than 224,000 in April."

That stat may prove that there are still solid sources of online journalism available, and the decreases in readership from offering subscriptions may not be worth it in the long run.

The next question is when the WSJ will open up?

On my end, you'll see more links to the Times again.

Feed that Head,
IronDog

WUNC "Respect Yourself"

How did I miss this one...?!




Yes, how did I miss the PBS documentary, "Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story"?

I should be banned from a DVR for two weeks on this one. I pulled an airball with my selector, and I missed the show. I'm praying that WUNC will pull me a huge favor and air the show in the near future.

In the meantime, check out this Ginia Belafonte's review from the NYTimes. She's right on with not only how important the Stax sound was to music, but also how tumultuous the times were for R&B and Soul musicians performing and publishing their music in the '60s.

If you really are looking for a way to amp yourself up for this weekend, catch this snippet of Booker T. & The MGs performing "Time is Tight."

Steve Cropper strumming on electric guitar, Booker T. Jones banging on the organ, Donald 'Duck' Dunn thumping on bass, and Al Jackson keeping the tone. God damn this is hot! So, damn hot that Al Jackson even has to cool himself down.

Keep your game tight! WUNC play this one again!

Memphis '65,
IronDog

Farewell to General Walsh

Innovative leaders come in very small doses these days...

Which is why I became intrigued with the innovations and life of Bill Walsh, who passed this past week at the age of 75 from leukemia.

Growing up a Chicago Bears fan, I have to admit that I had a major bias against his legacy until after his retirement in 1989 when I discovered how much of an impact he had made upon the game of football. After reading Michael Lewis's 'Blind Side' this past winter, my memories were rekindled about how intricate Walsh's innovations were upon the offensive game of football and the development of the passing game.

SFGate has provided an excellent chronicle of his life over the past few days. Check out the articles here. This one from Scott Ostler from the San Francisco Chronicle is a great one describing Walsh's quirky ways.

I'm more impressed at his work with Stanford University. As a sports fan, I've always been amazed at his move to become Stanford's head football coach in '92 in order to work with the student athlete and how he regarded education and the development of the game. (Here's another great SFGate article on his Stanford days.)

In terms of memorials, I'm glad to see that a movement is occurring to remember Coach Walsh and his work through a public place. Although there is a buzz to name a portion of El Camino Real as Bill Walsh Way in Palo Alto, the best legacy may be for naming a campus practice facility, or better yet...Bill Walsh Field at the newly renovated Stanford Stadium.

Al Davis has another great idea from his state of the address yesterday. Name the award for the best college quarterback each and every year for him as well.

Since Ken Anderson is my original idol from the Cincinnati Bengals, I was familiar with Walsh's work when he left Paul Brown for the Chargers. Oh what could have been in Cincinnati...Check out Dr. Z's (Paul Zimmerman) take from SI. As usual, the good 'Doctor' provided some solid insights and memories, and I love these two quotes that he unveiled.

"My offense is the Cincinnati Offense," he said. "I wouldn't even mind if they called it the Walsh Offense. But the West Coast offense is that Sid Gillman, Don Coryell, Ernie Zampese thing. Why do they keep making that mistake?"

"Genius ... wouldn't you say that's term usually associated with some figment of crackpot?"

Walsh always seemed to be comfortable as someone in the background while his players were pushed into the spotlight. I've always respected that about him.

In terms of style, I enjoyed this description from former Walsh aide, Fred VonAppen, in Tom Fitzgerald's SFGate article listed in the link above.

"He's a complex man, somewhat of an enigma. I gave up trying to understand him a long time ago. In a way he has the kind of personality that creates a love-hate relationship. He's not always the distinguished, patriarchal guy television viewers are used to seeing on the sidelines. He's a very competitive guy, and he can be scathing, especially in the heat of battle. There have been times when I would have gladly split his skull with an ax. Then again, he's the greatest."

I enjoyed that description...

Like Al McGuire's death, I wish that we could have received more memories and thoughts from a great leader at the end of his life. Although he wrote an autobiography with Glenn Dickey called "Building of a Champion", I felt that he could have provided more insights upon the sport of football is evolving around education, university life, and front office management with his work at Stanford and his latter days with the 49ers.

To a class individual who led his life in the pursuit of education and innovation. Thank you for instilling new methods for bringing individuals together to perform as a collective.



Fare Thee Well,
IronDog

Back on the Air

If you were listening in on Sunday night, you heard right...

Yes, I returned to WXYC's SportsRap, and I'll be back for the next couple of months on Sunday nights.

Feel free to tune-in at WXYC.org or via the 'Eclectic' section on iTunes. 'Sports Rap' is back.

This year we'll try to get as many interviews and in-station appearances as possible for your Chapel Hill and North Carolina fix.

Special kudos to my brother, Ryan Dougherty, for a bang-up show...If you didn't tune in, you missed it. We unveiled some historical Chapel Hill nuggets.

Stay tuned.

Happy Listening,
IronDog

KG to the Celts

Kudos to Danny Ainge...Cut that...Major kudos...

I have to give the guy credit. Every critic in the world including me was wondering where the hell the Celtics were heading before the draft. Well, the Celts are now strong contenders for the NBA Eastern Conference title after landing Kevin Garnett today.

What a great trade for the Celts...Not only have they landed arguably one of the greatest power forwards of all-time with plenty of treadwear left on the tires, but also they have landed an inside presence that will combine with sharpshooting seasoned veterans, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, without giving up a lot in return.

Yes, people are enthralled with Al Jefferson, but was he going to take a team to a title? Especially with Sebastian Telfair? They also have rearranged their role players with Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes gone, and freed up room for much needed veteran help who may want to play for an immediate winner.

What is needed now...A point guard and an enforcer for inside protection.

Tip: Yes, they're in trouble with their luxury tax, but hit free agency hard and work the deals. Get Brevin Knight to support Rajon Rondo at the point and pick-up Austin Croshere and Dale Davis on the cheap. Mix them in with Glen Davis and Leon Powe for veteran experience. Not a bad mix...

Great moves. They're a couple of steps away.

Bring back the black shoes...They deserve them.

ChessMakin',
IronDog

The Saucony Comeback

I've been wondering about whatever happened to these guys...

Saucony used to be an off-shoot brand of Spot-Bilt back in the day. In terms of running shoe quality, they dropped off the scene. Yet, from the words in this Brandweek article from Eric Newman, the brand is making a comeback.

They're re-positioning their brand. According to their company president, Richie Woodsworth, Saucony is working upon bringing back their focus. “Saucony was inconsistent in its story and approach to marketing, with multiple identities, brand images and logos that ran across our product categories and didn’t make a whole lot of sense to the consumers,”

In the '80s, Saucony made a comfortable shoe. I'm glad to see that they're making a comeback.

What will be interesting to see are the in-store experiences that Saucony is planning for running specialty shops. From the Brandweek article, the compnay is planning on a stadium-inspired display program that features aluminum bleachers, branded shelving units, tower displays, fitting stools and welcome mats. The brand seems to be stepping toward similar in-store programs at larger retailers, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and The Sports Authority.

Let's see how the product fares...

Now, if Etonic can get back on track...Hmmm?

Runnin',
IronDog