nbaldwin75.bsky.social
Creating & cultivating great youth and adult sports programs since 2002. Culture builder. Entrepreneur. Writer. Speaker. Dad. Coach.
Milwaukee, WI -> Denver, CO -> Appleton, WI -> Eugene, OR
51 posts
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68 following
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TBH, outside of gambling, what interest does anyone actually have watching the 1’s & 2’s march through the tourney? People tune in for the MADNESS & without the upsets & chaos, who actually cares? This is also a glimpse into the future of NIL. Fewer contenders = less opportunity, interest & money.
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Taking what they can get… 💯…(and what affluent, insecure adults are willing to give them.)
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While side hustles are maybe a little bit about money, they’re also about sanity.. a reminder that there’s more to you and more to the world than a primary gig that drains your soul. They offer a glimpse of what’s possible. The mental health benefits alone are worth it.
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Very conflicted re: the sports betting explosion. In some ways, I think we try to make the "best of it" by diverting some of that rev to youth sports, where it's needed. But it's so harmful & dehumanizing, both to athletes & gamblers. Trying to build "good" upon "bad" seems like a misguided idea.
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The players and names change… the fandom doesn’t. I could be wrong, of course, but outside of fantasy sports, I don’t believe anyone is carving out time to watch their favorite player each night… briefly checking stats & score, maybe. Watching a 2-3 hour game with real interest? No way.
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I think the struggles of the PLL 🥍 and Unrivaled (just to name a couple) to gain meaningful viewership bears that hunch out. Sports, at is core, is driven by community, and that community is bonded by the city name on the front of the jersey, not the back, no matter the age of the fan.
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For as old and worn out as they looked on this road trip, the thought of getting even older seems like a poor strategy. Hoping they don’t chase nostalgia with PJ…
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Great news! This family of Bucks fans from Eugene will be excited to see the Big 3 play in person tonight! Figured we’d be lucky just to get Giannis & Dame. About to hit the road to make the drive up! 🦌🏀
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Just cuz he was awarded free throws doesn’t mean he deserved them. 🤷♂️. I can think of 8 he was given where it should have been either no call, or an offensive foul on him. He’s been rewarded for his nonsense for years.
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Zero from Khris…. ZERO. Yikes.
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The park is still there, but the sign, perhaps not? Urban legend was that it was the most frequently stolen road sign in the state of WI! 😆
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For NBA, MLB and NHL, 💯. White at home, color / grey on the road… the way god intended! 😆 Further… team name should be on home jerseys, city name on road jerseys. Never the other way around…
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Competitive outcomes are entirely determined by a rare combination of an athlete's skill, internal drive, natural ability / genetics, and good old fashioned luck. Any organization who tells you they can alter that equation is lying to you for money.
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I admire Luka's research and effort to try to influence/change the industry. But the issue his group will face is the same that every other reform minded effort in the US has faced: the powerful in youth sport have no incentive to change or prioritize ethics & healthy development over money & power.
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The "anti" approach to youth sports is more likely to lead to lifelong participation and sustained competitive success than the "select/elite" approach. Recreational, local, low-pressure, affordable, inclusive, developmentally age appropriate... by gut and by data, this is the way.
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I agree with that assessment. Will be interesting to see how the dust settles... both on college sports as a whole, and on college football in particular, as the primary driver of the NIL "limits".
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Interestingly, it’s the coaches themselves who acknowledge how unsustainable it all is… they didn’t sign up for the job of managing 100+ player contracts per year, yet that’s the role they find themselves in. Pressure, stress, conflict, burnout is the natural byproduct.
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It’s the “unrestrained” part that I think is a key driver of the stress. Pro sports have important guardrails that allow teams fair opportunity to manage resources. And as far as I know, other NIL sports aren’t yet offering individual athletes 10.5M like college football. It’s all so unsustainable.