Don’t get me wrong, the Blues have some of the best fan-friendly public relations in the entire NHL, but they are going to be running into some problems next season if the team does not get any better.

The Blues missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year, and the team’s season ended anticlimactically last night.

I love the Blues, but I have had a very hard time watching them this season. Injuries destroyed the team, and it really isn’t anyone’s fault, especially in PR where the Blues are fantastic.

Still, the Blues are going to be a tough sell next season because nobody is going to expect the same old same old to work if the team is not good enough to get into the playoffs.

The Blues marketing folks tried everything this year. They offered a season ticket plan where “you pay half in advance and the second half when the Blues make the playoffs.”

That worked out well.

There is only so much their PR department can do with a perennial losing team, and it doesn’t help matters because TJ Oshie missed a practice because he was hungover a few weeks ago.

the team pride approach only works so far, and the Blues need to get creative. Maybe “Don’t pay a penny for season tickets until we make the playoffs.”

That may be the only way they get anybody to go to their games.

What is on your wishlist for things you would like to see the Blues PR Department do?

Missouri’s Athletic Director Mike Alden was unable to get Matt Painter from Purdue, and Tubby Smith from Minnesota. Shaka Smart said he was not going to leave VCU, and let’s be real. Brad Stevens will never leave Butler because of how great of a situation that school has become.

So, he went for what he thought would be the next best thing, hiring Frank Haith, the coach of Miami.

Haith has a losing record in the ACC, but has had a few positives in his career. The people at Missouri however were not so pleased with the hiring of Haith.

Social media places like Twitter have been ramped with negative feedback on the hiring of Haith. Missouri students even organized a protest of the hiring at the famed columns on the Columbia campus.

Alden has been considered a joke by many people who know him. He comes off as arrogant and is unable to turn the corner for Missouri and make it a national winner. For a major conference team, the fan-base is largely apathetic.

Missouri needs to do some damage control here. Reversing the hiring of Haith, which at one point was considered a possibility is extreme, and would probably call for Alden’s resignation. It is an embarrassment.

Missouri needs to rally around their new coach, and make a statement about winning. They need to implement a new marketing strategy to show their fan-base they are ready to turn that corner and become a championship contender. It is embarrassing on the part of the Missouri fans to be so privileged to have to have a championship team. I feel as though power conference teams feel as though they have to be number one every year, and just appearing in the NCAA tournament is nowhere near enough.

It’s time for Missouri fans to suck it up with Frank Haith or send Alden on his way.

Charlie Sheen is not all he is cracked up to be.

The actor, self proclaimed winner and addict Sheen performed his first ever live show in Detroit earlier this week to less than stellar reviews. Sheen was booed throughout the night, as was his opening act and his pitiful performance went down as probably the worst in the history of live comedy.

It was a disaster of epic proportions.

Sheen at one point told his booing audience “Sorry, I already have your money.”

That really isn’t a great way to engage with your audience.

It was a torpedo of F___ you sent out to his entire paying audience.

Sheen’s arrogance really goes to show he isn’t worth what people are paying to see him, and those at the Detroit show were lucky to get in the Ford Theatre for less than $80. To make it worse, a big chunk of the show was spent showing videos on a projector rather than Sheen actually performing, as he was supposed to be.

The crowd wasn’t giving in to his question and answer session either.

Here is a timeline of the early events:

8:53 — The show officially begins with a mock iPhone ad, advertising the “MaSheen.” This app will be used throughout the show to introduce each segment. Two attractive scantily clad women — contest winners Kelly Jean and Lisa Jaques — come onstage to sing the national anthem before a waving flag. They’re not exactly great singers. “Do it topless!” one audience member shouts.

8:58 — Film clips are playing onscreen. Die Hard, Midnight Express, Taxi Driver, Animal House, Sheen’s own Platoon, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and (of course) Apocalypse Now. There’s no context, just the violent clips. One imagines it’s like being inside Sheen’s fever dream and the experience is taking on a Clockwork Orange quality.

9:00 — Two goddesses are now making out onstage. And finally, Charlie Sheen returns. He holds up a sports shirt of the style that’s worn by his Two and a Half Men character and puts it on. The audience gamely boos. The Two and a Half Men theme song plays and is intercut with a scene from a classic film of a man screaming “Turn it off!” Then, Sheen grabs a Detroit Tigers shirt instead. The crowd roars and gives him a standing ovation. Regarding the Men shirt, Sheen says, “Take that out and burn it.” On video, the girls burn the shirt backstage.

9:07 — Sheen steps behind a presidential-style podium that proclaims “Warlock States of Sheen.” Guitarist Robert Pattinson is playing onstage. Sheen begins a lengthy speech in his newfound Malibu Messiah semi-coherent metaphor-stuffed neo-Hunter S. Thompson style, talking about his “napalm dripping brain.” “I’m here to solve a portion of this grand mystery,” he says.

That just sounds painful.

Sheen apparently got his act together for his second show in Chicago, but answering his critics has proved difficult. His attitude is just going to drive him down, rather than propel him to the superstardom he is expecting.

I never thought I would be in PR, let alone even a class on it. Early on in life I decided I wanted to write, I wanted people to read what I write and I wanted to go to lots of sporting events for free.

Pretty much all three of those things hold true in PR as well, and because I feel as though my personality kind of hinders me in journalism, PR is an overall better fit for myself.

Plus, I am not opposed to starting out with a higher salary than I would have with years and years of experience working at a newspaper.

My first professional venture into the world of PR is Wednesday. I have an interview with the St. Louis Rams for an internship position in Corporate Communications.

I am excited, as I have seen myself progress professionally to this point, where I actually know what I want to do and have an opportunity to get that first line of PR experience on my resume, and get a pretty good one at that, working with an NFL organization.

All-and-all, I figured I would blog about this just to bring up some conversation, how easy do you think it is for a journalist to transition right into PR? There are differences, but to me it is just about knowing your role, and journalists and PR professionals should be able to just trade hats and vice-versa. It’s the same style of writing with a different mission.

I found these tips to make the switch, but think they may be a little bit over-dramatic. I am hoping it goes seamlessly for me.

I am sick of Charlie Sheen and really don’t care about the personal life of celebrities, but that is not the way the rest of America is.

Amidst getting fired by CBS and the cancellation of Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen is washed up, beats up hookers, shoots cocaine and a while back accidentally shot one of his wives. The guy is a walking disaster.

Despite all this, Charlie Sheen is finding ways to remain relevant. He is quickly becoming “Chuck Norris esque,” because people view him as unbeatable, and he is so full of himself it works.

Charlie Sheen is quickly trying to turn his antics into something of Legend, rather than the trainwreck it really is. He started a Twitter account and has coined catchphrases, like having “Tiger blood” running through his veins and “winning at everything he does.”

You have to give Sheen credit, because he is winning the PR fight right now. He has the Guiness Record for most Twitter followers in a 24 hour period of time – more than a million. He is also hiring an intern with a similar capacity of Tiger blood, and over 74,000 people applied to run his social media empire.

These PR stunts are amazing to watch, because Sheen has single handedly been able to completely turn his reputation around. People know him for his PR capacity now and winning rather than his crappy sitcom and beating up hookers.

What do you think?

I have lived in Edwardsville for 22 years. I know every road, every back road, every corner and every other little thing you could ever imagine. I haven’t lived anywhere else.

This news is great for Edwardsville, and can substantially boost its image. The North side of Edwardsville is pretty much the worst side of town. It is also the oldest. There really is no “bad” neighborhood in Edwardsville. Earlier this year when I was looking for apartments my parents specifically told me “not to move to the North side” because it is the hood. I think this is ludicrous, because the crime rates in this town are pretty much non-existent. The little there is does occur in these neighborhoods, so they get a bad rap. It’s basically an unkept, low income part of town, but hardly qualifies as a ghetto of any sort.

I never got to go to Rusty’s, because it closed down before I turned 21. I think that bar running is huge for that side of town, and am glad to see the city is pushing to find the place a tenant, as it has been lying decrepitly for a few years now.

Edwardsville in comparison to its neighbors on the East side is already around the top of the best places to live, along with Glen Carbon. Family Circle Magazine voted Edwardsville as the “third best place in the country to raise a family” just last year. Alton, Granite City, East St. Louis, Collinsville and Belleville make Edwardsville look like the Vatican.

If Edwardsville can successfully rejuvenate its old-town district, it will have made a very good move in terms of publicizing its city.

This renovation is not completely necessary, and I think that is why they have decided to do it now. Getting this done will make Edwardsville a more attractive town, and because it is an entrance point into the city, it needs to be at the center of the town’s tourism and marketing efforts.

I would love to see this happen sooner than later, and can see it greatly benefiting Edwardsville.

Thoughts?

Saturday I encountered the train ride from hell.

I left Chicago with six co-workers after attending the Illinois College Press Association Conference. We were greated at Union Station with a flashing “delay” on the departure train when we arrived 30 minutes before we were scheduled to take the 307 to Alton.

No big deal, they will keep us updated on the situation and eventually we will be on our way.

Or so we thought.

After a few updates, they stopped telling us what was happening to our train. It had a mechanical issue, but they were vague about it.

Finally, the train started boarding at 9:30, but we didn’t know about it because AmTrak forgot to tell anyone.

Once we got on the train, we were greated by the conductor who told us they had a “cold car.” The heating unit was not working properly and they didn’t want the customers to be uncomfortable on the ride. It was 40 degrees outside, so it wasn’t a huge deal. We were all just ready to get home.

About an hour into our journey, we were stopped on the tracks. A strong smell of gasoline filled the cabin. We were not told what was going on until the train started moving again.

Later, the heating unit went out again causing the train to stop. The conductor walked through the cab and told us what was up.

Later, we were stopped again, this time because a car decided to park on the tracks in Carlinville and we couldn’t move until it was off.

We were there for two hours, calling local law enforcement who knew nothing about this so called car on the tracks.

Around 3:45 a.m. we finally landed in Alton.

Nine hours of hell had ended.

I don’t care if people are sleeping. AmTrak needs to let its paying customers know what is going on during these situations. I don’t like being stuck on the tracks. I don’t like delays. AmTrak sucks. The trains need WiFi and when i pay $7 for a turkey sandwhich I don’t want it half frozen and half buring hot and soggy from the microwave.

AmTrak needs a PR rejuvination, or else I am never riding again.

The deadline is now set for Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals to reach a new contract.

The slugger and the team have until Wednesday at noon to reach a deal, or Pujols, the face of the franchise will become a free agent next offseason.

From a public relations standpoint, the Cardinals are in a bind. They absolutely have to sign Pujols or face alienation from their fan base.

The ownership is really in a bind. Pujols wants to become the highest paid player in the game with a 10 year, $300 million deal. It is a tough situation for ownership, because Pujols contact would extend him to the age of 40, and by then who knows what he will be worth? $30 million a year for a 40 year old baseball player is a bit of a stretch. Just look at Jim Edmonds, 40 who the Cardinals just signed to a minor league deal.

The fact is, the Cardinals need Pujols. the Pujols people know the Cardinals need him and are taking advantage of that fact. Even if the Cardinals get a valuable replacement for Pujols and go on to win a World Series, it would still not be the same. The fans value Pujols as their own, and need to keep him. The problem is, Cardinal ownership already gets some bad publicity for the way they spend money. Fans think the Cardinals are cheap. Failure to sign Pujols would offer fans further proof.

When the Cardinals signed Matt Holliday, fans worried the team would not be able to sign both Holliday and Pujols. The Cardinals said it was possible, but it seems more and more far-fetched as each day passes on Pujols deadline set for the beginning of spring training. Holliday even said he would defer money from his current contract to help sign Pujols.

The Cardinals know they need Pujols.

Now, it’s a matter of how bad they need him.

The NFL and the NFL players association are up in arms over their collective bargaining agreement, set to expire March 4.

Each and every year, the Super Bowl is a marketing opportunity for the NFL. It is the biggest game in this country, and nothing is supposed to stop it from going on without a hitch.

The  American people love football. If the players and owners do not reach a deal next year, there will not be football and a public relations nightmare will ensue.

A world without football means a lot of pissed off people, even though I would probably care less.

Super Bowl weekend became a platform for the owners and players, meeting for the first time since November. At Super Bowl media day, Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Ochocinco posed as a reporter and asked commissioner Roger Goodell a question about the potential work stoppage. I don’t know if he was genuinely concerned, covering media day for the “OCNN” or making light of the situation, as he has been known to do throughout his career.

Greg Aiello, the NFL’s Senior Vice President of Public Relations says the league is trying to “grow the game” through these negotiations. They want to institute an 18 game regular season, which the players think will create a pay cut, among other tough issues.

What the Green Bay Packers win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl did was create a temporary distraction from the doom, gloom and uncertainty in the NFL for the 2011-2012 season. It was a time to celebrate football, but now nobody knows what will happen next.

It is in the NFL’s best interest to prevent a lockout, because we know how long it took baseball to recover in 1994 and hockey to recover in 2003. It is going to take a massive PR effort to prevent alienation of its fanbase.

For more, see nlflabor.com

This isn’t surprising news, but it is a problem for fast food giant Taco Bell.

USA Today and other news sources are talking about a class action lawsuit against the Yum! Brands Subsidiary, stating Taco Bell meat is only 36 percent beef.

The USDA requires a minium of 40 percent beef for a err, substance to be called beef. The suit wants Taco Bell to either rename its product to something like imitation beef, mystery taco meat or something else because Taco Bell’s beef is in fact, not beef.

Uh oh.

This is perhaps the biggest PR nightmare a fast food company has faced in a long time. Reports say Taco Bell is indeed not suffering a whole lot from the revelation, because Taco Bell has always been delicious and really cheap. It’s not like their “beef” is made out of silicone or some inedible ”Thing.” A lot of it is made from soybean fibers, which is edible, just a little more vegetarian than people eating taco bell would like. It is not all-natural, but really, was anybody truly surprised by this?

This is pretty much what Taco Bell said in their first public comments about the controversy, courtesy of Spokesman Rob Poetsch.

“Taco Bell prides itself on serving high quality Mexican inspired food with great value. We’re happy that the millions of customers we serve every week agree,” Poetsch said. He said the company would “vigorously defend the suit.”

Whether or not the accusations of fake beef are real or fabricated, Taco Bell is defending their brand. Taco Bell claims their beef is in fact, 88 percent beef. This makes it, umm…beef.

Taco Bell’s PR people went to action, putting out full-page ads in major US newspapers stating:

“Thank you for suing us. Here’s the truth about our seasoned beef.” It goes on to tell you that its taco mixture is 88% beef, with the remaining ingredients, such as oats, spices, cocoa powder and sugar, included to provide flavor, texture, consistency and moisture levels.

What do you think about this tasty controversy?