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Traina Thoughts: You Can Study WWE, The Rock and LeBron James at Harvard
1. Harvard Business School students are about to smell what The Rock and the entire WWE are cooking.
This fall the school's "Business of Sports & Entertainment" class will study, separately, the WWE, The Rock, LeBron James and more.
Here was the official announcement from the university:
"The prestigious Harvard Business School is offering a case study on WWE as part of Anita Elberse's course 'The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports,' beginning this fall. The course will enroll 180 MBA students in their second year and will also examine other major sports and entertainment brands like The Walt Disney Studios, NBCUniversal, Nike and personalities such as former WWE Champion Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, LeBron James and more.
"The course will explore factors that drive sustained success for organizations and individuals in sports and entertainment; understand how companies can diversify beyond their core business to create engagement and value for fans and other stakeholders; and how business can best pursue contracts with star talent.
"The course begins in time for the fall semester."
I never thought Harvard would have a class I'd be able to get an "A" in, but this is it.
It's common knowledge that the WWE is a billion dollar company, but people with preconceived notions about "wrestling" would be shocked to understand what a business juggernaut the WWE has become. Of course, the man behind it all, Vince McMahon would be a fascinating case study on his own.
2. Catch a home run with one hand, chug a beer with the other. Then go nuts. This fan did it all during the Texas Tech-Arkansas game at the College World Series on Monday night.
3. Baseball needs more bunt doubles. I'll never understand how this doesn't happen on a regular basis.
4. Kevin Costner dropped an F-bomb on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday after being told his career had peaked and it was pretty great.
5. Cam Newton doesn't slack when it comes to fashion just because it's the offseason.
6. The latest SI Media Podcast features an interview with ESPN senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski. The long-time hockey writer talks about his transition from running Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog to working for the World Wide Leader. Wyshynski also discusses the challenges of covering the NHL, what the league's broadcast future could look like, the old-school blog days before Twitter changed the sports media game and much more. You can listen below or download the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play.
7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: Sir Paul McCartney turns 77 years old today. Nearly 43 million people have watched his Carpool Karaoke. If you have not, you absolutely should carve out the time to do so.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
IN CLOSING: Don't follow O.J. Simpson on Twitter. Just. Don't.
