Hey everyone! So this is kind of my first blog post.  I wrote one blog post a few years ago, but it was about absolutely nothing and I quit after that. I’m a different man with different interests now, and I think I am going to dedicate myself to blogging more than I did back then. Hopefully.

The main reason why I am starting this blog is because it’s a great outlet for self-expression. I work for the Washington Capitals, so my big boss is Ted Leonsis. If you didn’t know already, he wrote a book called The Business of Happiness (http://www.businessofhappinessbook.com/), and one of his tenets for being truly happy is having a method to express yourself.  For those of you who know me know that I have a lot to say, and this blog is going to be one of the channels I use to express myself. This blog will be similar to Ted’s and will be about a broad range of subjects. I consider Ted a role model and hope to be at least 1/10000 as successful as he is.

I think I am a man of many interesting interests and this blog is going to address them all. Here’s a little organized synopsis of myself:

Marketing, in sports and any industry

As I mentioned, I work for the Washington Capitals, and I am Director of Strategic Marketing there. I love my job, and in many ways, my job defines me. I like to think deeply about marketing, primarily in sports but across all industries, and am interested in CRM, social media, mobile marketing, advertising, sponsorship, research, and pretty much anything else that has to do with marketing. I also teach a course on Sports Digital Engagement at Georgetown University, which will fuel many of my thoughts on this topic. A lot of posts here will have to do with marketing and I hope we can get into some great discussions.

Sports in general

First and foremost I’m a sports fan.  This drove my journey into working in the sports industry. I am a big fan of the Yankees, Giants, Caps (not only because they pay me), and Georgia Tech. I also follow the NBA, tennis, action sports and poker (if you think that’s a sport), and a bunch of other sports I can’t think of right now. I hate the Boston Red Sox, by the way. The NCAA b-ball tourney is going on right now and I wish Gus Johnson called every game. He’s awesome. And I love fantasy sports, too. Except when my teams suck.

Poker

I like playing poker. I play online and wish I played live games with friends more. I make trips to Atlantic City and Vegas every now and then. I’ll eventually play in the World Series of Poker sometime during my life.

Food

Ask anyone – I am a great eater, in terms of volume and frequency. In my 3+ years in DC, I’ve eaten at more than 100 restaurants in the area. I’ve lived in NYC, San Francisco, Atlanta, spent some time in Phoenix, LA, and Boulder, CO, and have visited Chicago, Seattle, Philly, and a bunch of other cities, so  I’ve eaten at some great restaurants all over the country.  I like all food except for olives, for some strange reason. I’ll post some restaurant reviews here, and will probably start writing reviews on Yelp. Maybe. I’d love to hear more about your favorite restaurants.

I hope you enjoy my posts and that they provoke thoughts and dialogue.

On to the next one…