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In 2020, Love The Marlins and Loathe The Astros

“The Dodgers are World Series favorites, two divisional series are hatefests, and Fernando Tatis Jr. is a one-man electric factory — but baseball’s best story remains a COVID-surviving, historically mocked team.”

Jay Mariotti

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What we wouldn’t do for one gonzo story, one what-the-hell moment that forges a redeeming 2020 memory, one breakout to offset the outbreaks. It would be something we never saw coming, like the coronavirus itself, and the crackpot absurdity of it all would make us laugh and shriek and emote in ways we haven’t in sports since February.     

Well, the Miami Marlins are that crazy phenomenon, the revelation that silhouettes the surreal. And if they somehow win the World Series late this month, perhaps we all can just die before Election Night — particularly if they beat the cheatin’ Houston Asterisks, who are alive and (disgustingly) well thus far in the American League playoffs. Any year can be defined by LeBron James in the NBA Finals and Tom Brady throwing five touchdown passes in a game. But the rise of the Marlins from COVID-19 hell? Their escape from numerous self-inflicted ailments through time? It’s another indication that the world never will be normal again, which is exactly what 2020 had in mind.     

The consensus says Major League Baseball, straining for eyeballs more than ever this October, needs traditional powers and neon stars to carry the postseason. Some even relish a chance to embrace hatred and brawls — the Astros against the A’s and the former teammate who ratted them out, Mike Fiers; the Yankees and Rays regenerating mutual contempt. But why promote animosity during a pandemic when we can embrace long, lost joy?     

When the year we want to forget has the tale we’d always remember?     

In July, the Marlins were the first North American sports team to be attacked and shuttered by COVID-19. Eighteen players were isolated, leaving manager Don Mattingly with scraps and oddities he barely knew, including a former Olympic short-track speed skater named Eddy Alvarez. I remember demanding they be exorcised from the regular season, not just because of virus implications but because they were THE MARLINS — 105 defeats the previous year, no winning season since 2009, the franchise gallingly known for either breaking up rosters after winning championships or shipping away great players before their prime so they didn’t have to be paid market value. This is the organization that dumped Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, J.T. Realmuto and Marcell Ozuna in a single swoop. What was the point of competing?     

“Bottom feeders,’’ Phillies TV analyst Ricky Bottalico called the Marlins on Opening Day. That was one of the kinder descriptions.     

Yet here they are, a youthful rebuild arriving way ahead of schedule, one of eight teams remaining while awaiting a National League divisional series against the Braves. The Marlins probably won’t win, but then, that’s what was said last week, when they swept the Cubs in Wrigley FIeld without needing Steve Bartman’s help. They won the World Series during that fall of 2003, for the second time in seven seasons, but the reviled owner, Jeffrey Loria, drove away the fan base and took substantial public money to build a ballpark/art gallery that sat mostly empty even before the pandemic. Would the new leadership hierarchy — Derek Jeter as the baseball boss, Bruce Sherman as the money man — somehow be worse?     

If such an award exists in 2020, Jeter would be Executive of the Year, which surprises some but shouldn’t — wasn’t he an all-time champion and leader with the Yankees? Making the right calls on talent acquired in those painful trades, Jeter assembled a baby rotation featuring Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sanchez and Pablo Lopez. Does it matter that we just recently grew familiar with them? The bullpen is loaded with hot kids and cool veterans. And if the offense is thin, castoffs Jesus Aguilar and Corey Dickerson dinged the Cubs when necessary, which is more than Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo can say in Chicago.     

The Marlins, more than any team in sports, have persevered this year. The Cardinals were eliminated after their COVID breakout. The Tennessee Titans have been derailed after starting 3-0 in the NFL. The Bottom Feeders keep eating — and wearing the slogan on their t-shirts — after a regular season of quarantines, postponements, seven doubleheaders, mad travel and no days off between Sept. 3 and this past Saturday.     

“I don’t think we’re going to be satisfied. We’re going to be looking to win,’’ said Mattingly, whose managerial career looked dead before this miracle. “The one thing we talked about all year was, `Why not us?’ These guys believed in each other and never quit.’’     

“We know that everybody just thinks we’re `the Marlins.’ It’s kind of like a stigma,” Dickerson said. “We know how much talent we have. The depth is crazy, and people will start to realize it.”     

What people will fall in love with is their resolve. “We’ve been screwed around all year,” closer Brandon Kintzler said. “With scheduling, fake rain delays and fake postponements, it’s just been a frickin’ whirlwind. Everyone tried to screw with us — we’re still here. You can’t get rid of us. I don’t care if we’re bottom-feeders. I want to thank Ricky Bottalico for that inspiration by the way.’’    

It’s understandable why the Asterisks are getting attention. They are the villains every postseason needs and still potent — Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa — despite their disgraceful sign-stealing scandal. They aren’t showing much remorse, with Correa riling the haters with this recent morsel: “I know a lot of people are mad. I know a lot of people don’t want to see us here. But what are they going to say now?” Josh Reddick followed with this doozy: “It’s all about silencing the haters. That’s what this year was about.’’     

But there they were Monday, rallying to beat the A’s at, of course, Dodger Stadium — home field of the Astros’ 2017 World Series heist victims — behind two home runs by Correa, who raised an index finger that might as well have been the middle digit during one trot. When MLB commissioner Rob Manfred failed to vacate the Houston’s title or punish players for their roles in the scheme, he assured that Astros Hate never would dissipate. Now they lead an American League divisional series against the A’s and Fiers, who didn’t start a game against the Astros in the regular season but surely will be used in this series. The A’s insist they are keeping their focus on the prize: the World Series always cherished by architect Billy Beane, going back to “Moneyball,’’ but never attained.     

“it’s about not being petty and letting our emotions get the better of us by trying to be over the top and vengeful and everything,” closer Liam Hendriks said. “We’ve played them enough times this year. I believe in this team, and we’re going to try to stick it to ’em as much as we can and prove that we’re the best team.’’     

But the Astros do have an unfair advantage created by the pandemic: No fans in the stands to harass them. In the regular season, they dealt with retaliation from other teams — such as the purpose pitches and infamous pouty face of the Dodgers’ Joe Kelly. But even in Los Angeles, they have no distractions, unless you’re counting the cardboard cutouts of Dodgers fans in the seats or the Dodgers’ front office making known their pleasure that the Astros wouldn’t be in the home clubhouse. That didn’t stop Correa from cupping his ear as he rounded third base.     

Just thinking aloud: What if the Astros meet the Dodgers in the World Series … in Texas? “I love October baseball,’’ said Correa, rubbing it in after the 10-5 victory. “The energy is just different. I know there’s no fans this year, but the energy to know you win or go home is what drives me.”     

“The way people want to perceive us is fine,’’ pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. said. “People are allowed to feel any way about the Houston Astros. We have a good team. We may not have the big names and big bank accounts, but we’ve got guys with balls.’’     

And guys who beat trash cans to alert hitters to pitches, though in an empty stadium, I suppose the Astros are showing they don’t need to cheat to win — the gist of their shame. “The role of villain was given to us,’’ said manager Dusty Baker, hired this year for what was presumably a thankless job. “It’s not something I took on, even though some of it — or most of it — was warranted.’’     

Baker has been the right medicine man in steadying the cause. After general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were fired, the 71-year-old skipper has urged players to have fun and ditch the past, including the so-called snitch. “Nobody has mentioned his name,” Baker said. “I haven’t heard Mike Fiers’ name all year, until you just said it right now, you know what I mean? It’s like he’s not even present.” Baker might want to have a talk with the Astros’ social-media staffers.     

“Stay mad. We’ll stay winning,’’ they tweeted.     

Baseball’s business purists will love Yankees-Rays. By the way, is MLB still testing for steroids? Are the balls juiced again? Both California-based series are hosting home-run derby, with the Yankees getting to Blake Snell and Stanton smacking a grand slam in their Game 1 victory. Once again, the algorithmic wizards of small-revenue Tampa Bay are threatening to shame the slugging, uber-market behemoths. This series has the best chance of combustibility, with memories fresh of a September purpose-pitch war that included Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman throwing a wicked heater at Mike Brosseau’s scalp. Said Rays manager Kevin Cash, aiming his wrath at rival skipper Aaron Boone: “We’re talking about a 100 mph fastball over a young man’s head. It’s poor judgment, poor coaching, it’s just poor teaching what they’re doing and what they’re allowing to do, the chirping from the dugout. Somebody’s got to be accountable. And the last thing I’ll say on this is I got a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph. Period.”     

Said Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier: “With all the history we’ve had the last couple of years, it is what it is. I’ve said many times they don’t like us and we don’t like them. It’s going to continue to stay that way.’’      

By comparison, the Dodgers-Padres series — in Arlington, Texas, of course, while the AL plays in Los Angeles and San Diego — is all about starpower. If Clayton Kershaw can dominate October with his renewed killer slider, it’s hard to imagine anyone beating Mookie Betts and the Dodgers … unless closer Kenley Jansen beats himself again. It will be a hoot watching the bat-flipping Tatis and those disruption-minded Padres.     

“I feel like we’re back,’’ Tatis said of a traditionally sadsack franchise. “We’re back to Slam Diego.’’     

Imagine a Padres-Marlins NL championship series. Imagine a Yankees-Astros AL championship series. Imagine a Marlins-Astros World Series. Imagine anything you want.     

It’s 2020.

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How to Help Your Clients with Low Website Conversions

Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Jeff Caves

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Graphic for how to increase website conversions
Credit: WPDesigner.Biz

Are your clients dealing with low website conversions? Whenever a marketing campaign is run, and the goal is to convert website visitors into leads, the temptation is to blame low traffic, amongst other issues, for low form fills or appointments being generated.  Just spend more money, you may think! Sometimes, you must look at at least four other potential issues to tackle poor conversion rates. Here are some actionable steps using the IT services industry to increase website conversions.

IT Solutions specializes in providing products, services, or solutions related to technology, particularly in areas such as software development, hardware sales, IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, and digital transformations. They faced challenges with their website conversions. Despite driving substantial traffic through Google Ads and other SEO tactics, they struggled to convert website visitors into form fills for appointment requests. A 2% to 5% conversion rate could be considered reasonable. Of course, conversion rates can vary based on various factors, such as the competitiveness of the local market, the quality of the website (and radio stations help most to fix that) and its user experience, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and the reputation and offerings of the IT solutions business. Focusing on improving the quality of leads and providing exceptional customer service can be just as crucial as achieving high conversion rates. Don’t blame EVERYTHING on the marketing tactics! 

The Diagnosis

Upon thorough analysis, several critical issues were identified with IT Solutions’ website:

1. High Bounce Rate: Nobody was checking out the business. If 70% or more of website visitors only visit the landing page, that is an issue.  It could be slow loading times, irrelevant content, poor user experience, or unclear calls-to-action that prevent them from wanting to know more about IT Solutions. You can check the bounce rate on the Google Analytics page for the website in the left-hand sidebar, click on “Behavior” to expand the menu, then click on “Site Content,” and finally, click on “Landing Pages.” You’ll see a list of landing pages and their respective bounce rates.

2. Complex Navigation: It was hard to move around the website to find relevant information about IT services, and it was unclear who they were initiating contact with and for what purpose.

3. Unclear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): The website lacked clear and compelling CTAs guiding visitors toward requesting an appointment. Simply stating “click here for an appointment” is like asking for a meeting whenever or without establishing value. Here are 28 CTAs for free.

4. Lengthy Forms: The appointment forms were long, without qualifying information, and requested excessive information upfront, deterring potential leads from completing them.

Action Plan

1. Optimize Landing Pages:

   – Redo high-traffic landing pages with clear messaging and compelling CTAs.

   – Showcase IT Solutions’ services as benefits, making it easier for users to request appointments, thereby increasing user engagement and conversions.

2. Simplify Navigation:

   – Reorganize the menu and add more action-oriented links.

   – Provide additional options for users to access relevant information, such as “Get a free IT Solutions 15-point checkup NOW” and “Take this 5-question survey to diagnose your IT issues,” motivating them to book appointments.

3. Enhance CTAs:

   – Utilize concise and persuasive messaging throughout the website.

   – Encourage visitors to take action, whether requesting a free download about “5 things you can do to solve your IT issues on your own” or “get a free pizza for booking an appointment.”

4. Improve the Form Fill:

   – Add a further line about the number of employees who qualify for incoming leads.

   – Highlight the value of leads based on company size, prioritizing forms with higher potential impact.

Review landing pages, navigation, CTAs, and form experience to address website conversion issues. Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

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‘NHL on TNT’ Gives Hockey Fans the ‘NBA on TNT’ Treatment

Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

John Molori

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NHL on TNT studio

Let’s play a little word association, sports media style. If I say TNT, what is your response? Chances are it will be a three-letter abbreviation of your own, namely, NBA. Over the years, TNT has built a reputation as arguably the premiere network to telecast the National Basketball Association.

The NBA on TNT pregame and halftime shows have become the gold standard with stars like Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it’s not just this quartet of roundball royalty that has fortified TNT’s hoops coverage.

The rep was also built on tremendous play-by-play announcers like Bob Neal and Kevin Harlan, color analysts like Doug Collins and Reggie Miller, and courtside reporters like the late Craig Sager and current sideline star Allie LaForce.

Indeed, TNT and the NBA have become synonymous, but I have some news for you. This network is not just about professional basketball. This past week I went off the grid with TNT looking at their in-game and studio coverage of the NHL.

On March 24, the NHL on TNT provided coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche matchup. Kenny Albert did play-by-play with Eddie Olczyk on color. Albert is not as noted as his legendary broadcasting father Marv Albert, but he has certainly staked his claim as one of the best in the business – able to cross over to multiple sports with equal aplomb.

Hockey is a strong suit for Albert. His rat-tat-tat, drama-building style draws viewers in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Similarly, Olczyk is one of the top four or five NHL game analysts in the business. His style is understated, providing calm and clear analysis of key plays. They work really well together.

Albert eschews any kind of hackneyed and trite catch phrases for his goal calls. An emphatic, “He shoots and scores!” is plenty enough.

Hockey is a different beast when it comes to play-by-play. Unlike basketball, baseball, football, or even soccer and tennis, there is a minimum of breaks in the action. With hockey, a play-by-play announcer has to know the names of the players like he or she knows her kids’ names.

To me, it is the hardest sport for play-by-play and equally difficult for a color analyst. In basketball, after a team scores, the play-by-play announcer will keep silent and give the color analyst time to talk until the play crosses center court. In baseball and football, there is ample room for commentary.

Hockey does not offer such space, but Olczyk gets the most out of the minimal amount of time. Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

Coming back from a break in the game, Albert and Olczyk provided on air commentary and then tossed to ice level reporter Brian Boucher who has grown into a tremendous asset to the TNT broadcasts. Boucher provided real talk about Colorado’s objectives of staying on top of their division and vying for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Penguins, squarely in a rebuilding year having dumped talent at the NHL trade deadline, surprisingly jumped out to a 2–0 lead in this game, and the TNT between periods studio crew was all over it. The excellent Liam McHugh hosted alongside Colby Armstrong, Anson Carter, and Keith Yandle.

Armstrong was especially entertaining. With Pittsburgh outshooting the Avs 16-4, Armstrong noted that it’s the best he’s seen Pittsburgh play in a long time. His reasoning was that teams get geared up for playing Colorado even if it’s out of fear. Great stuff.

Both teams tallied two goals in the second period giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame. When Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon set up Jonathan Drouin for a goal to make it 4-3, Albert and Olczyk showed their strengths.

Albert called the pass from MacKinnon and one-timer goal from Drouin, and immediately noted that MacKinnon now had a point in all 34 of Colorado’s home games this season. On the goal replay, Olczyk showed how the play developed pointing out how McKinnon allowed Pittsburgh’s Evgenii Malkin to come in close before making the past to Drouin.

The TNT production team then showed a graphic displaying that McKinnon is now second all-time in longest home points streaks trailing only Wayne Gretzky. This was a sublime sequence of symmetry between talent and technicians like a songwriter, musician, and singer creating beautiful music.

What was supposed to be a blowout win for Colorado had now become a hockey barn burner, and the TNT crew was up to the task. Every goal and key play was followed up with replays from multiple angles showing the genesis of the action.

TNT has certainly taken to the velocity of the hockey broadcast with movement that challenges directors, graphics professionals, and videographers.

When there were breaks in this non-stop action, Olczyk was at his best. No hockey analyst draws on his experience as a player and explains that experience better to viewers. The TNT broadcast also lets Boucher freewheel and join in the flow of discussion without having to be introduced.

TNT does not merely rely on the traditional wide shot of the entire rink. We see close-up shots of each goaltender after a great save and the sweat of players on the bench or in the penalty box.

When McKinnon tied the game at 4-4 with 4:38 left in the third period, we got a series of tremendous crowd shots showing the Colorado fans going absolutely berserk. The sage Albert and Olczyk wisely remained quiet for several seconds, letting the cheers do the talking.

When Drouin scored the game winner at 4:06 of overtime, Albert exercised controlled enthusiasm, raising his voice on the call of the goal, but not becoming the show and overshadowing the play itself. He is definitely in the mold of Dan Kelly, Gary Thorne, and Sean McDonough, announcers who enhance but do not supersede the game.

Putting a cherry on top of this hockey Sunday, TNT showed a graphic that the Avalanche now led the NHL in comeback wins this season with 25 and that they were riding a 9-game winning streak. In analyzing the goal, Olczyk opined that the altitude of playing in Colorado was prevalent as the Penguins seemed to tire as the game progressed – really interesting insight.

In the postgame show, Anson Carter made a great point that the chemistry between Drouin and MacKinnon stems from the fact that they have been playing together going back to junior hockey. McKinnon joined in from the arena for a postgame interview. The analysts asked solid questions and even did a funny MVP chant together as the interview ended.

The NHL on TNT takes no back seat to its elder NBA sister. The broadcast provides viewers with flash, dash, and serious hockey talk from every angle – in studio, from the broadcast booth, and on the ice.

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Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

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photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

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