Jimmy’s Blog

Happy Easter!  It’s been four days here in Brazil now and despite my lack of ability to speak Portuguese, I’m getting along fine.  In fact, it’s been great on the beach – there are so many conversations going on since the beach is crowded, but I can’t understand the language.  So, I’m not stuck listening to any inane babble among the small groups clustered around.   Not that one wants to listen in other people’s conversations but it’s hard when they are literally right next to you on a crowded beach.   So, it has been refreshing to be a clueless foreigner who can’t understand the native language.  It also comes in handy when the vendors are hawking their items.

But, a drawback to not being able to speak the language is that it’s sometimes difficult to order when you’re in a restaurant.  Many have a menu in English, but if not, you’re stuck pointing at an item and hoping it’s something you might like.  Oh, I did find a nearby Japanese restaurant – where I’ve eaten at twice thus far.  I can’t wrong in a Japanese restaurant.  LOL.

The other way to get around is room service – which I’ve used a couple of times.  I’ve gotten into a nice routine of doing a work-out in the hotel gym, then ordering breakfast via room service while doing email and reading newspapers online.  The Brazilian coffee is indeed money!

The first couple of days here in Rio de Janeiro have been terrific.   I’ve been spending a good chunk of the day on Ipanema Beach, which is located directly across from the hotel.   It’s regarded as one of the greatest beaches in the world.  It’s quite a scene – so much going on all the time.

First, of course, are the famous swimsuits that people talk about it.  But, what many people don’t realize is that nearly all the ladies – from all ages to all sizes – wears these two piece outfits, which includes the thong.  And, a majority of the guys wear these short trunks, including some that are speedo’s.  And, again, it’s people of all ages and sizes.  Of course, I stick out since I’m wearing knee-length swim trunks I got in Hawaii about 5 years ago.   I’m sticking w/ my hapa-haole look.   LOL.

There are vendors everywhere – hawking so many different products!    These include food, drinks, sun tan lotion, temporary tattoo’s (yes I got conned into one), balloons, beach balls, corn on the cob, frozen ice and much more.  

The top three activities are volleyball, soccer and paddle ball.  But, most of the volleyball games are ones where they don’t use their hands – instead they hit the ball with their head, feet, chest, shoulders, knees, etc.  It’s an incredible display of athleticism.  The soccer is a given in this futbol-mad country.   They form small a circle and constantly kick and head the ball to one another.   The third sport is paddle ball, which they whack hard at one another – even in the strong winds.    

One last item of note – the winds have been strong so they’ve posted danger signs about swimming in the ocean.  But, not everyone seems to listen.   A couple of guys got pushed out to sea.  And, I witnessed a dramatic helicopter rescue.  The chopper came whipping down low and a couple of stud life-guards jumped into the water – they put one guy in a basket, which was whisked up the chopper and dropped off on the beach – and they pulled the other guy onto a floating device and brought him to the sand.    It was a real life “Baywatch at Ipanema!”

A couple of my mentors strongly encouraged me take some time off to relax, recharge and get re-energized after the 14-year run at AOL. So, as always, I’m going to follow their wise counsel. I’m going to be doing some traveling while also working on my business plans for my new venture. And, during some of the travel, I’ll be meeting with prospective clients and / or future partners.

My first trip after leaving AOL a couple of weeks ago is coming to Brazil. I came here for the first time last October and I loved it. I split my time between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Both are terrific cities but since I’m looking to chill and relax, this time, I’m coming to Rio de Janeiro and Buzios.

I just arrived in sunny Brazil earlier this afternoon. I left Washington, DC last night at 10:00 pm – it took about 9 hours to fly to Sao Paulo, where we had a 2-hour layover before heading to Rio de Janeiro. I checked into the Caesar Park on Ipanema Beach.

It feels good to be back here. I love the happiness and joy of the Brazilians. Many people here do not have much in terms of money and material goods, but for the most part, they are a happy group of people. I recall the quote I read in a magazine the last time I was here, “I have my family, my futbol, my beer and my samba music, what else do I need?” What a refreshing outlook!

Okay, time to head out to the beach. Ciao. Ciao.

We had our first game of the season in our 30-and-over baseball league today.   Ironically, we started the season the same day that the MLB season kicks off.

We were blessed to have an absolutely gorgeous day in the Nation’s Capital.  It was sunny, bright and in the upper 60’s.  Perfect weather for baseball — especially since we played smack dab in the middle of the day — 11am – 2pm.

Our team won the championship last fall for our division.   Most of us haven’t played or practiced since then, including myself, so I was curious to see how we would play.

Fortunately, we played well and won 12 – 11.   If we didn’t give up 8 runs in the 7th inning, we would have won going by a large margin, but we’ll take the win any way we can get it.

It was great to get back out there with the fellas — we would have a group of good guys who love playing the game — and love needling each other.

I had 4 at-bats … 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 sac bunt, 1 stolen base and 1 run scored.  Considering I haven’t played since last Nov, I was happy w/ the game.

This is a great week in Sports — in addition to the opening of the MLB season, it’s the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night and the Masters this weekend.   What a great week!

One of my primary mentors strongly suggested that after 14 years at AOL that I should take time off to travel, relax and get re-energized.   So, I am indeed going to travel but also spend a bit of time working on my business plans for my new sports venture.

So, I went to New York for a few days this week to meet and catch up with a number of friends in the Sports industry in NY.   Over a three-day period, I met with friends / contacts from the NBA, HBO Sports, NFL, WNBA, Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, plus a couple of private equity and venture funds.

Man, it felt great!  It definitely reminded of the days back in the early 00’s when I worked out of our AOL NY office one day a week.   We met regularly with our strategic partners from the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, Sports Illustrated, HBO Sports, Turner Sports, etc.

These are definitely tough economic times but Sports will always play an important role in the lives of many people.   So, I’m going to do my best to launch my new venture focused on Sports and Entertainment, while also continuing my work in Education and Philanthropy.

Today is the beginning of Week 2 of my post-AOL life. First and foremost, I’d like to thank everyone for your wonderful emails, FB messages, phone calls, text messages, etc over the past week.

It’s been absolutely overwhelming, but of course, in a very good way.  I think I received over 250 – 300 messages.   Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to respond to everyone individually but I want everyone to know how very much I appreciate the various messages.

With the popular explosion of text messages, Facebook, etc, there’s much more of an outpouring of communication when one goes through a major change in life – positive or negative.

I can clearly think of this happening three times in the past few years.  The first time it occurred when I was fortunate enough to be announced as one of the winners of the “Andrew Heiskell” award, Time Warner’s most prestigious honor for community service, back in 2006.   My email box over-flowed that week.

Then, early in 2008, when my Father passed away, I received an incredible outpouring of messages in so many various forms — phone calls, emails, text messages, cards, in-person visits, etc.   Every single form of communication was important to me and helped me  and our family get through a most difficult and trying time.   I can honestly say I gained so much strength from those many “touches” during that extremely difficult period in my life.

And, the third and most recent is the past 7 – 10 days.   I’ve been blown away with the so many nice things people have written.

As a young child growing up, I was taught to try to treat everyone fairly and with respect.  I’ve tried to live my life that way.  And, I’ve tried to teach the many younger people I mentor the important of doing it that way.   And, the reaction I’ve received from people during these three times in my life just goes to show that if you treat people well, give back and help others, the return is even that much greater.   Again, thanks to all for your many wonderful messages.   I am moved deeply.

I had a tough task yesterday morning.   I served as a judge for the Washington Redskins cheerleader preliminary try-outs.  It’s  a tough job, but someone has to do it.  🙂

The Redskins cheerleaders are regarded as the “First Ladies” of the NFL.  They’re a terrific group of women — who in addition cheering at Skins games and making numerous local appearances — also travel throughout the world.    They’ve been to numerous military bases throughout the world to boost morale for our hard-working and dedicated soldiers.

I grew up on military bases in Japan.   I fondly recall when NFL players, college players, the USC dance team, etc would come to visit our Army base in Tokyo.  It definitely was a morale booster.   But, I imagine it’s even that much more so for the soldiers who are without their families and working long, grueling hours.

These ladies put in a lot of hours during the season to perfect their routines.  It must be quite a rush performing in front of over 90,000 fans at FedEx Field, the largest stadium in the NFL.

Hail to the Redskins!  And, the “First Ladies of the NFL!”

Whew, what a long, good day.  I was at Nationals Park today from 9:00 am – 7:30 pm for our SEME (Sports Events Marketing) 2009 Conference.   SEME, which is hosted by Georgetown University, is a terrific conference for undergraduate students, graduate students and people interested in working in the sports industry.

We had over 250 in attendance … and over 90 sports and entertainment executives came to speak on various panels.  I was on two panels and also participated in the networking luncheon.

The first panel was titled “Industry Trends and Outlook for 2009 in Sports.”  Matt Winkler, SEME founder, was our moderator.  I shared the panel with Tim McDermott, CMO, Capitals; Andy Feffer, COO and EVP, NFLPA; and Bill Krause, VP, UnderArmour.

The second panel I sat on was the “Changing Role of News and Sports Media.”  Meredith Geisler was our moderator and the other panelists were Jim DeLorezno, Octagon; Kelly Perdew, CEO, RotoHog (an winner of Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” in year 2); Chartese Burnett, VP, Nationals; and Jim Welch, Sports Editor, USA Today.

This is our sixth year of the hosting the conference … and, it keeps bigger and better every year.  I think it’s a great place for the students to come to network, job hunt and learn.

Tomorrow is another full day of great sessions!

I had an excellent night last night.  First, we held our bi-monthly board of directors meeting for our Asian youth development group, Asian American LEAD.  The board is comprised of a group of talented and caring individuals.  I’m honored to be part of this group — and I love the positive impact we’re making on the lives of the many students we help and support.

Then, I hustled over to my alma mater, American University, to guest lecture to David Eyl and Chris Hudgins’ Sports Marketing class.

The AU campus continues to grow.   There are new AU buildings along both Nebraska Ave and Mass Ave.   And, the class I spoke to is in the new addition to the Kogod School of Business.   It was a great classroom with excellent technology capabilities built in.

The students there have it so good now … there’s even a Wagshal’s Deli in the Ward Circle Building (when we were there we used to have to drive down Mass Ave to the original Wagshal’s to get the classic pastrami sandwich).    The Mary Graydon Center has a bunch of good eating places, including a fantastic cafetaria.  And, of course, they have their on-campus gym as opposed to having to trek over to Ft Myer where the Eagles played when we were there.

It’s always good to be back on campus.  Too bad they don’t stage the Spring Concert anymore — those were good, fun times!