Chicago

IMG_1357.JPG, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Great view

Great view, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Blogged with Flock

Chris' wedding

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Saturday we were in Tahoe for a Wedding. My roomate from college got married. It was awesome. I only wish we could have stay longer in Tahoe. Need to go back there soon.

Greece faces challenges ahead of elections; few taking notice

IMG_1119.JPG, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Along the trendy streets outside Athens in the Voulegemenia district, coffee houses are packed, stores busy, and revelers and tourists alike are out in large numbers. There is no evidence that less than one week ago intense forest fires were ravaging most of Northern Greece. Some 60 Greeks were killed, and the government has reported that 500,000 acres of forest and olive orchards were destroyed. With economists uncertain exactly what toll this will take on the economy, there seems to be one thing for certain: with upcoming elections, many Greeks, especially those in the hardest hit areas, feel that they have been let down by the ruling party.

The Olympics in Athens just a year ago put to rest a timeless notion that Greek infrastructure was inadequate to compete in the European Union. The games were a success, and many walked away impressed with the progress in Greece. But outside Athens, infrastructure is still lacking, and this became apparent with the government's bumbling of the crisis.

Now, as elections loom, the fire crisis poses some potential issues for the ruling party. Critics have been quick to point out that the government did little to help those in need in the short-term. Reports that the government lacked the resources to help battle the fires ran rampant on Greece television. However, in the calm after the disaster, the government has announced an aggressive relief package to help those in need. Estimates put the total aide at about 400M euros, with more on the way from the EU.

The next few months will be an interesting one as Greeks will have some tough decisions at hand; some of which will have lasting effects for generations to come.

MLS in Sacramento?

A good friend of mine asked me a few weeks ago what I thought about an MLS team coming to Sacramento. I didn't respond to him because I thought that this would be something worth blogging about, and get feedback from the soccer community.

At face value, having an MLS team in Sacramento would create a lot of buzz, and continue to cement the notion that Sacramento, is in fact, a first class town that has everything that other major U.S. cities have in terms of amenities.

Whether an MLS team could come to Sacramento and make money is an entirely different question. I am not totally convinced that the business model that MLS operates under is one that would make a lot of sense for Sacramento. I don't think that we could draw large enough crowds after the first two seasons to keep such a massive machine going. We saw this with the likes of the Sacramento Knights, the highly successful (world champions) indoor squad that pulled 3,5000 plus to each match at Arco Arena in the first few seasons, but dwindled after that. The team still exists today, but as an outdoor team. Attendance at those matches are relatively small and the team's lack of funds is well known.

I also don't think that we could recruit a top notch coach or international players. Sacramento has come a very long way; but why not San Diego? Seattle? Portland? What makes Sacramento the right place?

There's also a question as to where the team would play -- surely we'd need to build new stadium? Some would say that the Natomas area near Arco Arena is the right location. Makes sense, with the Kings being right there....but what if the Maloofs take the Kings out of Sacramento? Others would say Roseville/Rocklin. Not a bad idea either, but where? Also traffic on I-80 near Douglas is already congested beyond capacity. Could you imagine having to leave two hours early for a match just to beat the traffic up to Roseville? If you lived in Davis or Elk Grove, your drive would be longer.

So, do I want a MLS team? Yes. Do I think this is the right market? No. That being said, it would be amazing to put together a group of top business leaders who could explore all the options regarding a team coming to Sacramento. There is certaintly a way to do it. It is just going to take time.

VarsityDreams.com

We are seriously stoked about the launch of our Sacramento-based news coverage of High School athletics via www.VarsityDreams.com

There is no doubt that there is a total lack of coverage of Sacramento Prep Sports. For whatever reason The Sac Bee just does not give Prep Sports any love. We plan to change that.

There is so much passion that revolves around high school athletics, and the athletes that make it so much fun to follow.

Be sure to check out www.varsitydreams.com to follow us as we chronicle what is sure to be a really exciting school year for all the high school sports in Sacramento.

Rick Singer on KFBK 1530AM

Awesome stuff on college admissions....

Click Here to hear the audio.

Blogging with Flock

The first half of 2007 has been the worst for air travel delays since the Department of Transportation started keeping detailed statistics 13 years ago, the government said yesterday.And preliminary numbers show July won't do much to reverse travel woes, either.June 2007 was the second-worst June on record for flight delays, with only 68.1% of flights arriving on time as a result of more jets in the sky and particularly bad weather at key airport hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth International. Last year in June, 72.8% of flights arrived on-time. Only June 2000 was worse than this year at 66.3% on-time, when surging travel demand and airline labor battles clogged air transportation.

The Middle Seat - WSJ.com

Blogged with Flock

Chrysler

Chrysler hired ex-ceo of Home Depot, Robert Nardelli.

With US automakers struggling to keep pace with the likes of Toyota, Lexus and BMW, Nardelli might be just the outsider who can revive Chrysler.

It will be interesting to see how his experiences at The Home Depot will help him in Detroit.

Traffic on I-80

Traffic on I80
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

9.30am on I-80 near Davis and the traffic is thick. There's no accident. No construction. Nothing. Just a lot of cars between here and Marin County. Its a Saturday and still there's a lot of traffic.

This just in. Sacramento is no longer is a small town.

Toyota

Toyota continues to dominate.

They announced that net profits rose by 32%. Quality issues have taken center stage recently, but Toyota's brand name and reputation for quality has led the Janpanese car maker to keep its American rivals at bay.

In 2008, watch for Toyota to take even more market share from American car companies. Ford's recent news that they will put up Land Rover and Volvo for sale only signals that the American auto group is in worst trouble than its letting on.

18th and L Street

18th and L Street
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

In the midst of a depressing housing market in the Sacramento area, there has been a few projects that have managed to out perform expectation. SKK Developments new loft project near the corner of 18th and L Street is just one example.

What makes this a really cool project is the fact that urban living is now in Sacramento in a very Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle type way. This isn't a condo conversion of a 1970's apartment building. This type of project represents all that is good about Sacramento -- the future.

If you haven't been to mid-town Sacramento in sometime, check it out. There is a lot going on.

Sac Airport

I am at the airport this morning headed to Orange County for the morning. I got here at 5:30 am and the security line is already out the door.

What's wrong with this picture?

SoccerProfiles.org

We are really excited for the re-launch of our social networking site www.soccerprofiles.org. We had developed the site about 4 years ago and it has done well without any type of marketing or push from us. We have registered users from all 50 states and several foreign countries. We really think that the next 12 months will lead us to a huge growth spike as we re-tool some of our features and really open up with a marketing push.

Stay tuned, or better yet, check out www.soccerprofiles.org for more info.

Elite Soccer Camps

Next week we are hosting our last session of elite soccer camps for the summer of 2007. Director Simon Sheppard will once again lead the camp. If you want more information, please visit www.elite-soccer.com or email him at ssheppard@esmgroup.org

The Red Rubber Ball

Several years ago I attended a banking and real estate conference called PCBC in San Francisco. One of the keynotes was given by a man named Kevin Carroll, who worked for several companies, including the likes of Nike. He changed my mind, and helped foster my creative to both write my book and found ESM.



He spoke about the power of play. He talked about how each one of us has the ability to evoke positive change in the world, and to do so we needed to find our inner child. By doing that, he argued, we could have a powerful experience everyday. Most importantly he emphasized, that if we found that inner child and that passion to play that we could accomplish great things along the way.



In a lot of ways his speech helped me to write my book. In it, I talk a great deal about the power of play, and the ability we have in our society to effect kids through sports and empowerment.



One of the most interesting things I come across in my travels is that plethora of parents and coaches who don't get it. I can't put it any simpler: they just don't get it. They think that sports are about winning. They think that sports are about bragging about who is a better athlete. I am hoping that my book will shed some light on what's going on with the current plight of youth sports in America, but more importantly, provide a road map for what we need to do in order to bring about powerful change.



In the end, its all about finding a way to play.

The Getty

IMG_1039.JPG
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

If you haven't visited The Getty yet, you have to. It is most likely one of the most impressive cultural experiences in the states. From the minute you walk in you are so in to the whole experience, and just keep going from exhibit to exhibit. You can spend the whole day there, and not even realize it.

Check out my flickr photos on the right hand side of this blog for more details.

Flickr

For about 4 months now, I have been using Yahoo!'s photo management system, Flickr.

Flickr has changed the way I communicate using the web. Now, I snap a photo of something, upload it to my Flickr account, click "blog this" and moments later the photo and any text I want appears on my blog.

It also allows you to create collections and sets that you can email to friends, family and business associates.

This isn't meant to be a plug for Flickr, but the more I thought of it today, tools like Flickr, Facebook, Paypal, and others have really changed the way we live, interact and thrive as humans.

What I have been thinking a lot about this week is finding a way to utilize all these new tools from web 2.0 and make it impact our small business.

Food for thought tomorrow as I hit the road to Santa Cruz.

Social Networking

There seems to be a lot of blogging going on about Facebook. As you know, Facebook launched its new "open" platform. A backlash has hit Facebook in the wake of a tremendous amount of upset users who have been overloaded with a sea of new apps.

Facebook's plan is simple. More users equals more revenue. However, they may have overlooked one key element: they need to keep their current users happy.

Social networking a la Myspace and Facebook seem to be played out a little bit, but there is a new paradigm in web 2.0 and its called user generated content. I really think that this is the key to the future of social networking. Wikipedia and others have done a great job of creating content that has come from the users. My hunch, though, is that there is another twist in this game that will soon hit. Social networking may be played out, but the paradign is going to shift again.

iPhone: Cingular, AT&T or whatever their name is today bungled the opening day sales of the iPhone. Steve Jobs, wake up, cingular is not ready to handle Apple. Open the iPhone to every carrier.