Tao of Sports Podcast

The game isn’t just a game anymore, as Justin Hollander can attest to. Now, metrics and Big Data have entered the fray, making Hollander’s job of compiling an entire Major League Baseball team’s organizational information into one of his most recent tasks. Hollander talks about the different complexities of his job after graduating from law school and whether never playing professional baseball is...

Ted Santiago is constantly developing new ways to make hockey cool in the desert. That isn’t easy when the team is in Phoenix, which is known as a “paper town” where tickets have notoriously been available to fans without paying for them. Santiago talks about that challenge as the Coyotes have greatly reduced the amount of free tickets per game offered, and some of the methodology behind advertisi...

Independent baseball and its promotions are this episode’s focus, with guest Mike Kline, who discusses how the Schaumberg Boomers work against five major league sports, several other minor league competitors, and still draw a large crowd out to the ballpark each home date during the summer. Kline discusses the promotion meetings, where the only response that can’t be given is “no” and how to effec...

In one of the more fascinating episodes for the podcast, Pedro Gutierrez talks about the Liga Mexican del Pacifico (Mexico Pacific League) where he serves as media manager. Gutierrez talks about the fight for baseball’s media coverage against the backdrop of futbol’s dominance in South American countries, as well as the International Drafting System and why Cuba is not in a part of the Liga Mexica...

  Dan Migala has worked for or advised virtually every level of sports franchises, including organizations in MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, NCAA, MLS, the LPGA, Cricket Australia and numerous minor league teams on issues related to non-traditional revenue generation, sponsorship, technology and sports marketing. Migala talks about not just breaking into sports, but staying in the industry. Twitter: @DanMiga...

  Nona Richardson has to multitask at her job daily; a mediator of sorts for staff, coaches and student-athletes, Richardson explains some of the intangibles of her job, as well as NCAA compliance issues. Richardson talks about “The Davis Way” moving forward into Division-I athletics, as well as some of the principles that guide the department as a whole.

The world of sports agents gets demystified by attorney Travis Leach, who talks about not only the representation end but also the financial side of the business. Leach discusses how financial planning, especially with NFL retirees, is crucial, and why agents need to put a lot of good people around their client. Leach also talks about CTE & concussions, a subject he is very passionate about. Twitt...

The ticket reselling game tends to get a lot of flack, but J Cobb decided to come on the podcast to dispel a lot of rumors. Cobb talks about the fact that selling to brokers is one of the dirty little secrets of sports sales, as well as ways that brokers tend to not make as much money as laymen might think on the secondary market. Could the secondary market be cornered by Ticketmaster or is there...

Gary Gelinas operates several junior hockey league teams and a minor league baseball franchise from his Phoenix desert office - Everett Silvertips, Texas Tornado, Amarillo Bulls, North Iowa Bulls, Peoria Pines. Gelinas has also owned and operated his own franchises in the past: Nanaimo Clippers Jr A hockey franchise, Venom Spring Teams, Vancouver Island Hockey School, and the expansion Nanaimo Tim...

  The Arizona Rattlers have one of the most dedicated fan bases in the Phoenix area. Team President Joe Windham talks about fan loyalty to the brand, the ability to push corporate sales activation further than even some of the larger major leagues in the area, and how to hire the best staff. Windham discusses how he mentors young interns and develops a full-fan experience that pushes fans to come...

  Flash Seats is one of the more revolutionary products in ticketing. Sam Gearce has overseen its implementation with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and expanded Flash Seat’s reach into professional and college teams. Gearce talks about dynamic ticket pricing, ticketless entry and some of the other technologies, which Flash Seats will be innovating for the next few years. Twitter @FlashSeats

  Michael Larsen heads the ticket operations for one of the most successful independent baseball teams in the country, the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. Larsen talks about the challenges with attendance, promotions, and how to garner crowds that come back several times over the year. Larsen also talks about what it takes to get into sports, some of the ways in which interns are used by a team in their...

  Nicole Pincus must sell all of her major corporate sponsorship for the Atlanta Motor Speedway on one weekend a year, Labor Day Weekend. Pincus talks about some of the sponsorship opportunities of that NASCAR offers for its fans. Pincus talks about the fan-NASCAR relationship and how that works to ensure corporate sponsorship activation.

  Madison Mallards President Vern Stenman has his work cut out for him. The Mallards are one of the most successful collegiate summer wood baseball leagues in the nation, utilizing several professional team practices in terms of sales and marketing. Stenman talks about the challenges moving forward, as well as the development of two other teams within the collegiate summer wood baseball league, as...

  The NBADL Bakersfield Jam have an interesting history since the team’s inception in 2006. Jam Co-Owner and Team President David Higdon explains some of the early missteps of the team, along with its resurrection in a unique way. The Jam went from a 10,000 seat downtown arena that they couldn’t fill while losing money, to a 400 seat practice facility in which they now generate a large B2B audienc...

  Dr. Barry Kahn founded QCue, Inc., helping foster dynamic ticket pricing’s rise with the San Francisco Giants in 2010. It changed the ballgame, causing front offices to embrace analytics in revenue streams for the first time. Kahn explains how the process of variable pricing works, some of the factors which teams still aren’t doing correctly, and how it can help generate more revenue in a fracti...

  Ari Kaplan has been a leading figure in revolutionizing the way that Major League Baseball looks at statistical information. A key leader in the role of analytics, Kaplan has been involved with half of the MLB teams in his 23-year career. Kaplan talks about good data, sampling and the ability to see through the numbers, understanding the intangibles and how to work with great managers to determi...

  Matt Slatus has his work cut out for him at Camelback Ranch, the Cactus League Spring Training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. Slatus has to sell not only against every one of the five professional and two college teams in the Phoenix metro area, but also against 13 other Spring Training competitors, each going after the corporate and luxury entertainment dollar. The fact...

At a university where the rival school has won consecutive FCS Football Championships, Director of Ticket Sales & Promotions Dexter Albrecht has managed to push the envelope in collegiate ticket sales. His goal is to continually establish a cohesive ticket sales strategy that ensures UND's success, regardless of whether that is on the football field, basketball court or the ice. Albrecht talks abo...

Getting that first job in sports isn't easy, but WorkInSports.com has a few answers on how to do it. Since 2000, company president John Mellor has helped found one of the largest online sports job employment boards in the world. Mellor talks about what it takes to get into the industry, including some of tips on resume, grooming skills and even expectations of the "hockey stick" model. Twitter: @J...

Michael Kelly is the newly-hired COO of the Bowl Championship Series in College Football. Charged with operating a unprecedented four-team national championship playoff system, with scores of folks still against the entire BCS voting system in general, Kelly has his work cut out of him. Kelly talks about some of the challenges that he will face upcoming, jumping from the Atlantic Coast Conference...

The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes have undergone a remarkable transformation in a comprehensive sales effort to prove that hockey can work in the desert. The Forum, a first for the podcast, includes the four Coyotes' sales managers, offers up expertise on the ground floor of the franchise. Guests: Nick Myers (Manager of Group Sales), Lindsay Kray (Manager of Customer Service), Justin Brickner (Manager of...

Ted Johnson has made a career out of gathering masses of people to events. Whether that be in his former life as a part of a political machine such as the Clinton-Gore campaign or Minnesota statewide offices, or as the Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. Johnson talks about his career in ensuring brand quality, filling the house during the down times,...

  President of STR Marketplace Preston Hill talks about NFL teams and the opportunity to push personal seat licenses sales higher through online portals. Hill talks about the current state of the PSL, different opportunities that the teams have in order to ensure that the “waiting list” grows instead of shortens, and what teams are doing to re-engage fans with luxury suite and premium seating opti...

  Bakersfield Condors President Matthew Riley has the task of making hockey cool in the desert. Riley talks about initiating various promotions, including Charlie Sheen Night, taking the Teddy Bear Toss from Canada, and bringing a live Condor to a game only to have the bird break free & sit on the bench for a youtube clip that wound up on ABC’s Good Morning America. Riley talks about the tasks in...