NBA Owners on Player Pay

NBA GM´s on Player Pay

Source: NBA

 The economic principle I’m exploring is because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost. My research question to help me study the economic principle is how do NBA GM´s determine how much to pay their players. This principle is demonstrated In Dr. Robert Lyons Jr. in an article titled ¨Determinants of NBA Salaries from The Sport Journal, ¨by explaining the various different factors involved in determining a players pay.

 The average NBA salaries along with other sports have significantly increased over the years. The average NBA salary of the 2014 season was about 5 million which is higher than salaries of the NFL, NHL and MLB. Some of the top paid players in the league like Stephen Curry, Russel Westbrook, Lebron James and Chris Paul are all getting paid over 35 million. But arguably the best player in the NBA right now Giannis Antetekumpo isn´t even in the top 25 for highest paid players. So what determines an NBA players salry you may ask? The answer isn´t as complicated as it seems.

 Similar to common businesses, the more money a company makes, the more money they can pay their workers. The same concept applies for NBA teams. As Dr. Lyons puts it, ¨ As capital increases, so do worker raises.¨ So the revenue a team generates from ticket sales, broadcast deals, merchandise sold, concessions, signage etc is directly correlated with how much pay a player can receive. The limit for how much a team can spend on players salaries is called a salary cap. GMs and owners have a scarcity of money, so they must choose wisely on how to spend it. So, the more revenue a team generates, the more player pay they can give out. Obviously the better more effective players are going to get paid more which leads me to my next topic of the factors considered when paying players.

 The factors involved in player pay are pretty straight forward. The better player, the better pay they will receive. Some statistics considered when evaluating player pay are points per game, rebounds, assists, turnovers, and efficiency percentages for field goals and 3 pointers. This is why there is a lot of NBA players who are selfish because they only focus on their stats. This is also why some players are overpaid because defense isn´t really a measurable statistic. But why is Giannis not getting paid as much as others? Because the determined salary is from a players past performance not there current performance. Giannis is having a breakout year putting up phenomenal numbers and leading his team through the playoffs. However, his contract which was 4 years was signed back in the 2017 season, where he was still a great player, but certainly wasn´t putting up the same numbers that he is now.

 In my next blog post, I will recap how NBA GM´s decide how to acquire players.

How Baseball Has Changed Over Time

The economic principle I’m exploring is Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.

My research question to help me study my economic principle is how has baseball changed over time?

Overall I have found out that many things have affected baseball and have made it change over time. It has changed because of various rule changes that make the game more competitive and exciting. Another thing that changed the game is all of the players and the different eras that they all played in. All of the players impacted the game in a certain way. Lastly the fans changed the game of baseball, because of the fans there are new rules set in place to speed up the game and make it more exciting to watch and to play.

Overall Effectiveness of Music in Advertisements

SOURCE: Pitchfork

     The economic principle I researched was “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways”. My overall research question was “How is music used in advertisements to offer incentives to people?”.  Overall, I found that through popular songs and evoking an emotional response, music can encourage a customer to buy an advertised product. 

     Through my research, I quickly discovered that a popular song can have a great influence on the sales success of a product. This was evident through Window’s “Start Me Up” ad, where a popular Rolling Stones song titled “Start Me Up” was used in an ad for the sake of a good pun. Due to the song’s immense popularity, the ad was extremely successful.

     Another big factor that influences the success of advertisements is evoking an emotional response. The classic example of this is the sad puppy ad. Whenever people see this ad, they can’t help but feel sympathy for these dogs. It immediately makes people want to adopt a puppy, successfully drawing them into their “product”. This is also seen with car commercials, when fast, exciting songs are used. The emotional response it garners is different than the puppy one, but arguably just as effective. 

      In general, utilizing popular songs and emotional content creates a successful advertisement.

Most Inspirational Players in Baseball History

The economic principle I’m exploring is Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.

My research question to help me study my economic principle is who were the most

influential players of all time?

The article Most Inspirational players in baseball history demonstrates what players are inspirational and their effects on the game.

First I am going to name the 4 most influential players of all time in my opinion. Starting at 4 I believe that Derek Jeter was one of the most influential players of all time because of the way he played the game. He always respected the game and he was one of the best leaders to ever play. He will go down as one of the best if not the best shortstops in MLB history.

At 3 I have Roberto Clemente, I think that he is very influential because of everything he did on and off the field. He was a great player but even more well known for helping his home country of Nicaragua. Unfortunately he passed away in a tragic plane crash when he was helping out bringing supplies back to his country to help out after a earthquake.

At 2 I have Babe Ruth. Babe was very influential because of how he played the game, he is one of the best hitters of all time and has over 700 home runs in his career. All of the fans seemed to love him and everything he did on and off the field.

At 1 I have Jackie Robinson, he was influential because he changed the game forever because he was the first african american player to play in the MLB. He was also a very good and successful player. He won NL rookie of the year, NL MVP, and even won the world series once with the Dodgers. His number is retired by every team in the league and there is a game every year where all teams and players wear 42 on their jerseys. This just shows how he was the most influential player of all time.

The Afghanistan War: Conclusion

Source: Britanica 

The economic principle I will explore is All choices have an opportunity cost. The question that will help me study this principle will be "What were the positives and consequences the United States faced so far during the Afghanistan War?"

After researching this question, I found that there were many fators that highlighted the rise and falls of the United States fighting in the Afghanistan War. When understanding the origin of the war and how the United States got involved in it, it allowed me to understand more about the war on terror and that it has helped fight against terrorists and their organization. However, when learning more about the costs of entering the war in Afghanistan, I found that the United States suffered the most economically, with spending billions of dollars on military spending, and along with loosing millions of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. 

Finally, I was able to undertsand more clearly on how the Afghanistan War shapes America's view of its involvement in foriegn affairs. With contrasting beliefs existing about the United States' role in affairs, I also learned that our country was able in reconstructing the Afghan government and policies as well as providing aid towards those in need. 

The War and its Impact on America's role in Forigen Affairs

Source: Iran Review 

The economic principle I will explore is All choices have an opportunity cost. The question that will help me study this principle will be "What are the costs of the United States being in Afghanistan?"

The article titiled "How Do Americans feel about U.S. Involvement in Foriegn Crises" by Jake Miller goes in depth about the United States' further involvement in forign affiars and crisises as well as the people's opinion of it.

First, with multiple problems occuring in the Middle East, the United States has been extremely involved in other countries' foriegn affair, which includes the Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen. Because of this and the number of years spent in the Middle East, Americans feel reluctant in further engaging other globa affairs. In a study conducted by the Chicago Council, 41% of responders believe that it is best to stay out of other countries' affairs and problems. However, 58% believe that America should still play an important role for global affairs. 

Secondly, it is not just the people that have different views of America enteracting in forign affairs. Politicans also have contrasting beliefs about the role the United States shoud potray in the world. Miller includes that 40% of Republicans, and 35% of Democrats, firmly believe that the United States should keep to itself and to distance itself from any global conflict. Because of contrasting opinions of wether or not to distance ourselves from global affairs, the United States is still reprensented as an active member in current events. 

The Afghanistan War plays a huge role in globalization for the United States. Having fighting the war for over a decade now, many believe that it is time for the United States to begin focusing more on the issues on our homeland. This is a question that we try to resolve each day. 

Which is Better?

The economic principle I’m exploring is the difference between electric cars such as Tesla in comparison to another competing gas powered car. In this I will be reviewing the specific stats of a My research question to help me study the economic principle is Does the electric car out perform an ordinary gas powered competitor? The article/video/etc published in [name of publication] titled “..[name of article with link embedded here]...” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing/showing ….. , ……, and…...
 First, we take a look at the performance aspect. From the line, also known as the acceleration, the Tesla in this car will accelerate faster than any other competitor in that class. Because the Tesla has a electric engine, it instantly responds when there is contact with the throttle. The gas powered car, however, takes off fast, but does not have an instant response, because of the engine it contains.

 Second, for long distances, assuming the same class of cars are being raced, the gas powered car will most likely take if not tie with the Tesla. The reason for this is because after the engine gets more accustomed to the higher speeds, it is no different from the Tesla. By having a faster acceleration, however, can severely impact the race conditions.

 Third, but certainly not least, is the handling. Like the high speeds, the handling is similar to same class competitors. As an example, the Tesla model T would be categorized in the same category as a M5 BMW. These sedans both have very good handling and maneuvering abilities. Comparing the Model X is a completely different story, however. The model X is one of voted the best handling suv/hatchback up to date. An example of a car in the same category would be a Porsche cayenne. Although it handles well, it still cannot compete with the ability of the Tesla Model X. In my next blog post I will research the question: How do the prices differ, and are these cars even worth it?

Psychology Advertisement: What are the types of uses that advertisers use to manipulate the consumers to buy products other than editing and coupon sales?

Source: http://www.adrants.com

I'll still be using the same website since that there are still many different ways that you can make an advertisement without any deals to convince the person to buy whatever you want them to buy. There will be another few tactics more like usual. There are so many ways to make your advertisement convincing but it's not enough to put in this post. 

Words are often used on advertisement to convince their viewers on buying into their product. Advertisers would use assertive language. Assertive language is demanding the person to buy the product such as fast food advertisements. Fast food advertisements would have some big text saying something like, Get the huge carton of fries right now! It's limited edition! It's usually something along the lines of that. 

source: Nikolenda.com

Assertive language can also be used in an emotion manner. Depending on how you use your words, you can be able to have a positive or a negative mood to be connected with the assertive language. ". . .hedonic consumption contexts are more likely to generate a positive mood, which in turn prompts consumers to expect assertive language and then to comply with requests using such language." You can use the words creatively in an advertisement to make the viewers to not pay attention to what the advertise is saying. The assertive words that are used int eh advertisement can make a person feel the pleasure of seeing the ad. 

There is another way that advertisers make their advertisements convincing. They use rhymes for their logo or a call to action. This tactic is pretty similar to the assertive language tactic that was previously explained. This also requires the creativity for words. Rhyming words can be pretty convincing because they can be stated at truthful and accurate. The stronger you words are with the rhyme, the more effective the words would be. 

 Source: Nikolenda.com

SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH ON SNOWBOARDING

SOURCE: Vancouver Is Awesome

The economic principle I researched was People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways. 

 My overall research question was How does the snowboarding industry market to their customers? Overall, I found that the snowboarding industry either markets through innovation, reputation, or design.

 I found that the two major ways in which snowboarding as a brand markets to their customers is through innovation, reputation and design quality. For innovation, snowboard companies such as Burton focus on developing new products that are superior. For example, they developed a new type of snowboard binding that reduces overall strap in time. They are called step on bindings, and they require a certain type of boot to use. Snowboarding brands also market to their customers through their own reputation. A company that demonstrates this idea is DC. DC is known for their snowboarding boots quality and durability. When someone thinks about new snowboard boots, they think DC. 

Snowboarding also markets to their customers through cool and intricate designs. Companies that focus on design almost always focus on creating T-Shirts and other apparel also. Volcom tends to focus on snowboarding accessories, instead of producing actual boards. Overall, snowboard companies have a couple of major marketing techniques.

Psychology Advertisement: The Summary

Source: https://glintadv.com/psychology-in-advertising/

The tactics that are used in advertisement are very vast. They use these mechanisms to convince their audiences that their product can work in different ways and also sometimes showing how they work. They can use the modeling for luxury items. What I didn't know about this is that advertisement has a way to give pleasure to your brain and make it feel, well, right. The position of the items like the spoon, shoes, and also the handle of the mug. The creative way of using fonts and words are also surprisingly important. However, now that you are aware of these tactics. You might now have an urge to resist the tactics that they might use against you. 

The NFL and How Strategy Makes Them Successful

The economic principle I researched was because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost. My overall research question was how should NFL teams allocate scarce resources like payroll and draft picks to maximize their profitability and chances of winning?  Overall, I found that a good coach with a good strategy will maximize profit as well as winning games.

 The first and most important thing I learned from my research is that you need a good coach in order to be a successful team. All the good teams in the league replicate success through a good coach. For example, Bill Belichick of the patriots has been extremely good at creating a system of winning. He has shown over the years that you do not need the best players to always be the best team, he has great players but he does not have the most talented team every year. Bill Belichick has coached his Patriots to become the most feared team in football because he is that good of a coach. He is also paid around 10 million a year which is way less than what some of the superstar players get in the league. For what he is paid, he has great value and continues to show that year in and year out. The coach is the most important asset to a football team.

When a good coach is brought to a team, a good strategy also comes with it. Bill Belichick’s system has been similar yet different for every year he has coached. Overtime we see how great coaches play the game, some coaches are just good because they have one year where their system could not be stopped. A good coach will be able to implement the a different strategy for winning every year. The best coach is also the best at adapting, like Bill Belichick for example. He is great at changing his defensive game plan to destroy opponents but sticks with his hard and physical running game. This is a perfect example of a coach who sticks with one system but changes another to be successful, and that is what it takes in a coach to become great. It takes a man who knows that he must change, and does change in order to succeed.

Last FIFA

The Denver Post 

The economic principle I researched was: Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices. My overall research question was: What makes international soccer teams successful? How does FIFA ensure that teams are treated equally? Overall, I found that FIFA really helps to ensure that the game is fair by incorporating certain regulations that allows that sport to grow and prosper as well as acquiring for extra needed help. 

 When the game of soccer was started back in the 19th century, the game has come along way. From then, FIFA has added tournaments and designs to better improve the game. The recent addition of goal line technology helps to review undecided goals to see what the actual call should be. This was extremely beneficial in the 2014 and 2018 World Cup. As the sport continues to grow, so does the technology that helps to support the game. Another idea is one of how fast the game is growing.

With women, many prominent figures have been throughout the world to help inspire those of a younger age. These players include: Mia Hamm, Alex Morgan, and Carli Lloyd. Players want to increase their overall fan base to encourage their t
eam to win. Additions like new MLS teams as well as a female league throughout the US also inspire people to come out and support.

 This shows that the sport will continue to develop in new ways to ultimately help better the game of soccer.

Is New Snowboard Equipment Being Developed?

SOURCE: BURTON

The economic principle I’m exploring is “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways. “

 My research question to help me study the economic principle is “Is new technology actively being developed for Snowboarding?”

 The article (SELECT ONE) published on Redbull titled “..[Check out the wildest new snowboard and ski tech gadgets for 2019 ]...” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing/showing whether new technology has been developed, whether it is useful, and the potential drawbacks of this technology.

 First, this article lists off six new products that have just surfaced in the snowboarding world. They range from classic snowboards, to new styles of bindings, and even different accessories with new benefits. One interesting revolution is the Capita FUS3D, also known as a board with 3D printed edges. This is very important for the snowboarding community because it will create less waste, and these new 3D printed edges will last longer than before. One of the other interesting inventions on this page is the Burton Step on Bindings. These are new bindings without straps in order to lock you feet in. One of the main hassles of snowboarding is having to strap into your bindings once you reach the top of the chairlift, and this gets rid of this issue. You simply step into them, as skiers do. And finally Oakley released a new type of goggles that allows the user to change the amount of light that gets through the goggles. Often, skiers have multiple pairs of goggles depending on the day. A lighter pair for a cloudy, snow filled day, and a darker pair for a clear sky. This eliminates the struggle of choosing what pair of goggles to bring on that day.

 Second, out of the three inventions that I listed, I believe that most of them are useful when compared to their counterpart. Each of them have their own uses and improve upon some of the flaws associated with these products. The new 3D printed edges on the snowboards allow them to reduce waste and create a board that lasts longer. I believe that this is the future of snowboarding, and it will allow them to save money, instead of buying a new board. The new Burton Step On boots are also a major innovation in the snowboarding community. These new bindings reduce one of the major drawbacks of snowboarding, and provide a binding with plenty of flexibility in the long run. It will allow snowboarders to complete more runs in the day, however, I am not sure that these bindings will become incredible popular. And finally the Oakley goggles that allow you to switch the tint of your goggles on the run. These will be useful for the fully dedicated snowboarders who are out riding for more than a week a year. Most intermediate snowboarders will only have one pair of goggles anyway, and these will not make a big difference. However, for people competing in competitions and who are snowboarding often, then these goggles are very useful. Personally, I only have one pair of goggles for the entire season.

 Third, I do not see there being any major drawbacks for the development of 3D printed snowboard edges, however, the other two options have a couple of major drawbacks. For the bindings, snow can get caked onto the bindings, preventing you from being able to clip into them at the top of the mountain. Also, in order to use these bindings you need to purchase a specific pair of burton boots. Currently there are only two pairs of boots available for these bindings, a stiff pair and a more flexible pair. The only drawback of the goggles I could see is if it were to break, and you were now stuck with either a very dark or very light pair of goggles. Also the price of these goggles is much higher than a standard pair.

Why People Should Understand Cars

ThinkLink

The economic principle I’m exploring is “People Benefit when they trade voluntarily”

 My research question to help me study the economic principle is “Why should people have an understanding of how cars work”

 The article published in The Good Men Project titled “5 Reasons To Learn and Teach More About Cars” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing/showing that you can understand the value of cars, Make your own repairs, and know how much repairs should cost

First, it would help you understand the value of cars. The author writes “While there are online calculators that can help you establish the value of your used car, you’ll still need some intuitive understanding of car value if you want to buy a used car affordably.” I agree with this because if you don’t know what makes a car cost what it does, you are a lot more likely to overpay.

Second, it would allow you to make your own repairs. According to the author, “You’ll need to cover several points of routine maintenance on your own car to keep it in working order, including rotating the tires, changing the oil, and replacing low fluids and windshield wipers. Knowing how to do these things can save you significant money (and can maximize the life of your vehicle). It may also come in handy if your car breaks down and you need to figure out what’s wrong.”

I think that he is right in saying this because it also could help out if something is wrong with the car when you are trying to sell it and need to fix it first.

Finally, it would teach you how much the repair should cost. According to the author, “customers who appear to know less about car repairs tend to receive higher quotes from auto mechanics than people who know a great deal.” Simply understanding how the car works and being able to show it means mechanics are less likely to charge you more because of your ignorance.

In my next blog post I will research the question: How does lack of knowledge lose people money when selling cars.

Psychology Advertisement: What are the psychological tactics that advertise workers use to persuade people?

source: udemy.com

The question that is asked in this post is very similar to the last post. There will be three more tactics that advertisers use to persuade their audiences to buy their products and there will be three more on the next post. 

This tactic is common from you seeing a lot of make up products and many other luxuries. People can use models in their commercials but there are certain relevance as to whether or not you should use a model to be part of your commercials. According to Nikolenda, the most relevance of using models is when you are doing certain types of luxuries such as art, beauty, health, and (as a mentioned before) make up. Sometimes, there are brands, that sell home decor, that use models to fit into their commercial, but those brands use models because it feels more natural and there is an artistic way of doing it. However, most of the brands with home decor don't use it as much. There is another way to use a model is clothing line such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, Levi, and also Macy's. There are tons of other clothing brands that have models but I could only name a few of them for now.

According to Trampe in Nikolenda, the quote says this, "Didn't explain why you need relevance. But here's my guess: irrelevant products reveal your underlying motive." What he's basically saying is that when you put an attractive model on your commercial to a product that has nothing to do with the model, such as a laundry detergent with an attractive male/female, people know you are persuading them so they tried to resist the urge of trying to buy something rather than letting their shopping spree mood take over. It's what people that use advertisements have to careful of. 

souce: Nikolenda.com

Fun fact about this tactic is that models enhance your persuasion and not minimizing it. However, the catch of this is, again, that you need to disguise the tactic with the right product, that feels natural into the advertisement. 

There is an interesting tactic for advertising was when the image size matters. From the commercials that you see, there are always those large images that on the screen that take up the whole screen. According to Nikolenda, the larger the image, the more emotion it has to the image. A lot of advertisers would use large size words to create an emotional impact on the person who is viewing the ad. For example, say that you're watching TV and you see a Verizon Commercial. They would put bold letters on the price deals for data. They would most likely bold get unlimited amount of data today! At least somewhere along the lines of that. 

Not only to the large sizes of words would be able to convey emotion, they can also give you another benefit which is that the different sizes of text can make the viewer pay more attention to what is typed out on the screen in front of them. According to the writers, Pieters and Wedel, they said, ". . . .an increase in text surface size raises attention to this element much more than it simultaneously reduces attention to the brand and pictorial elements. . . .[so] advertisers aiming to maximize attention to the entire advertisement should seriously consider devoting more space to text." 

Source: Nikolenda.com

Advertisers would mention different features of the product they are selling. If you ever had viewed an advertisement about, let's say, Apple for example, then you would know that they would talk about the features of the new I phone or the new laptop that they had made in their factories. It is said by the sources that Nikolenda had cited that having to talk about the features of your product can persuade a person to buy whatever you are selling. However, the flaw about this tactic is that the consumer would question the usage of the product. Does it meet up the standards to what this ad is saying? They would much rather have less features then if they are questioning about the usage of the product. 

So the proper way to mention features, without overdoing it, is to mention only the highlights of the features you want to present. For example, Samsung has made a new phone in their commerical. They would show you the feature of using your phone as a charger for another person's phone when they are low on battery. That is a highlight feature that they want to present other than the touch pen that works with the phone. 

"Avoid describing the usefulness or practicality of features. Instead, mention that your product has the capability." This quote means that when you're describing about your product, you should not talk about how useful it is and then present the features. The right way to do this would be describing the features of the product. On the picture below, it shows you the right way to word out on how the text should be like if you're introducing the features of your product. 

source: Nikolenda,com

NBA GM´s on Tanking

NBA GM´s on Tanking

                                                                  Source: NBA

 The economic principle I’m exploring is because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost. My research question to help me study the economic principle is how do NBA teams use tanking to their advantage and what risks are involved. This principle is demonstrated In Danny Chao´s article from The Ringer, ¨Tanking Ain´t What It Used to Be¨ by demonstrating the new rules in tanking and the possible benefits and risks involved in it.

 What is tanking you may ask? Tanking is basically when teams intentionally don´t do the best they can during the season so that they can get the worst seed and a high draft pick. How the draft lottery used to work is that the worst team would have the greatest chance at having the #1 pick at 25%, then the next worst team at 19%, then 15% then 12% and so on. Now, the new rule for this draft is that the worst three teams have an equal chance at getting the #1 pick at 14%. Not only is this percentage less for the worst teams, but a teamś chance at getting a top 3 and top 5 player is also significantly less. So, this new rule is created to force teams to think twice about tanking, and if itś even worth it anymore.

 Before this new rule, tanking was huge; the better you tank the better draft pick you get. But the NBA administrators realized, why in the highest competitive level, should teams try to not compete at all? This is a big factor in the new tanking rule. Even though this new rule is in play, teams will still tank however. So when should a team decide to tank? When a General Manager knows their team isn´t going to make the playoffs and doesn´t see a bright future of success for the team then the GM may decide to start tanking, this is especially the case when they have a very poor record. So let´s say a General Manager does decide to tank, what do they have to do? A big one is resting your best players. When your best players aren´t in the game, chances are you are not going to win unless you have an amazing bench. Not only this, but veteran players might be traded away for fresh young players who have the potential to be good in the future.

 But a common misconception of tanking is that the players intentionally suck and miss shots and get turnovers. This is wrong. The players are definitely aware of what the GM´s are trying to do, but regardless they are still going to play hard, especially considering a lot of players put themselves before the team and only focus on their stats. The downside to tanking is that fans lose interest in coming to the games and watching the games. This adds up to big revenue losses. The number of tickets sold will decrease, less merchandise will be bought and no one cares about a bad team. So, GM´s have to consider if their tanking will be worth it for the future of the program and if the long term gains outweigh the short term losses. This relates back to my economic principle by proving that the GM´s have to make decisions. They have to evaluate the pros and cons and eventually come to a conclusion.
 
But again, with this new rule, you will see a lot less tanking in the years to come

In my next blog post, I will talk about the evaluation of GM´s

Why NFL Coaches are Valuable

Source: 670 The Score

The economic principle I’m exploring is “Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.”

 My research question to help me study the economic principle is “Who is the Most Important Asset In the NFL? ”

 The article Bill Barnwell wrote and is published on Grantland titled "The NFL’s Most Valuable Person"  demonstrates this economic principle by discussing the coach's value, what the coach actually does, and what separates a good coach from a bad one.

First, The most important asset in the NFL, is a good coach. In this case it is a coach. John Harbaugh and the author states, “San Francisco gave Harbaugh a five-year, $25 million deal to replace Mike Singletary and take over a franchise that had gone 46-82 since Steve Mariucci left town. Since then, with virtually the same roster Harbaugh inherited, the 49ers have gone 21-6-1. and made it within a premature whistle of making the Super Bowl. It’s the best decision a franchise has made of their own volition (e.g., without having an obvious choice fall into their laps) in recent memory. By acquiring Harbaugh, the 49ers created value for themselves in a way that is virtually impossible to match. They might, in fact, have the single most valuable asset in all of football.” Not only can a good coach change the record of a team, he can also change the culture. He brought San Francisco from losing seasons back to success and even a superbowl appearance.


Second, John Harbaugh is also a very good asset to have because of how valuable he is for what he gets paid. His contract is 25 million for five years, while some players make 25 million a season. Harbaugh wins and he does it in a much less expensive way than having to pay the players. For example the article states, “Jim Harbaugh is making $5 million per season to be, arguably, the best person in the league at his exceedingly important position. You know Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson? Maybe the 10th-best 4-3 end in the league? He received $34 million in compensation in 2011 alone. That’s more than Harbaugh will receive over the life of his entire deal, with $9 million left over for Johnson to write thank-you notes to Marty Hurney. A top-five head coach is being paid what an average cornerback would make in a given year. Doesn’t that seem wrong?” It is amazing to think that the most important position in the league is a coach. It is a position that does not require a lot of money, does not require supervision. It all depends on how gritty a person is and how much work they can put into winning.


Third, All along, I knew that a coach was the most important position for a NFL organization. It requires extreme focus and dedication to your craft in order to win, the greatest coaches are on the teams that win. Bill Parcells, John Gruden, and Bill Belichick are all mentioned in this article. They have all won a superbowl, but they have also dedicated their lives to the sport. They are successful because they are motivated by passion and a pure love for the game. Without these types of coaches leading the game, there is no way that teams would be as successful. To put it as analogy, if a NFL team was a car, the coach would be the engine that makes the car go.


In the next blog I will be completing a summary of my research.

Fossil Fuel's Other Cost

The economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.”

Union of Concerned Scientists

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “ What is the true impact that our current energy source of coal and oil on our environment?”

The article published in August 2016 titled “The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuels” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing/showing that these energy suppliers do great damage to our environment and while renewable energy sources are readily available, we still choose to use fossil fuels. 
 
   First, fossil fuels most definitely have one cost and that is money. Thousands of dollars on a rate that is steadily increasing year after year. This rate will keep increasing until the earth is destroyed and there is no more fossil fuels left to use. Solar power on the other hand, has a high installment cost but it is rate that trends downwards and actually saves money from year to year and doesn’t emit toxins into the environment. These are real costs but there are many hidden costs to fossil fuels as well.
 
   Second, there are many externalities to society as a whole when it comes to fossil fuels. These “are sometimes easy to see, such as pollution and land degradation, and sometimes less obvious, such as the costs of asthma and cancer, or the impacts of sea level rise.” These are some hidden costs and they are very easy to ignore because they barely affect any of us in our everyday lives.

   Third, even with these hidden costs and the increasing rate of fossil fuels we still continue stay steady with fossil fuels because they are the easiest way of life and they are not outside of the “norm”. They are what some might say “the backbone of our economy and it is one of our biggest trade items and funds millions of jobs across the world. In my next blog post I will research the question: How can switch happen and what year could it happen realistically?

In my next blog post I will research the question: How can switch happen and what year could it happen realistically?

The True Cost of Alternate Energy

The economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.”

EWG

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “ What are alternate sources of energy besides oil that are somewhat cost effective?”

The article published in January of 2019 by EWG titled “Is 100 Percent Renewable Energy Possible for the US? Yes.” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing that it is almost impossible to switch energy sources in the next 2-3 decades because there isn’t a great alternative source that the american people could economically provide but it will eventually be possible.

    First, solar power is very costly but can provide adequate energy but with the current tax returns the government provides and the decreasing cost of solar power installment, it continues to grow and spread widely throughout the US. Combined with wind power as well its a very good choice and scientists say that “There’s more than enough solar, wind and hydro potential – 30 times more than business-as-usual forecasts for energy demand in 2050.” Still with this we continue to not shit towards alternate energy.

    Second, nuclear energy is another option but apparently they are causing more harm them good so it is important to stick strictly to solar, wind, and hydro. After the boom of nuclear plants because nuclear plants don’t emit greenhouse gases” it is now smart to get rid of them because “they’re dangerous and obscenely expensive, and they generate mountains of radioactive waste.” Sometimes even clean energy sources aren’t 100 percent clean.

    Third, while it seems that 100 percent non renewable energy is really far out. It wouldn’t be if we cut funding towards certain energies and focused solely on non renewable. Doing this would make it more efficient and less expensive for the american people in the long run. Besides, were going to have to do sometime in the future anyways so why not do it now. In my next blog post I will research the question: What is the true impact that our current energy source of coal and oil on our environment?

The Way Rules Can Affect the Fans

MLB Stadium

The economic principle I’m exploring is Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.

My research question to help me study my economic principle is “How do new rule changes affect the fans?”

The article “How Bonkers are each of the proposed MLB rule changes ?” demonstrates this economic principle by showing how the rules of the game may change and who it affects.

One rule change that could happen and would affect some fans is the 20 second pitch clock rule. This rule would make pitchers pitch the ball before the 20 sec is up. This would speed up the game and it would affect the fans because they will be more engaged to the game. The game will be played at a much faster pace and would be even more entertaining to watch than it already is. Personally I wouldn’t be a fan of this rule if it were to come into place because I feel like sometimes you need more than 20 seconds in between pitches and if this rule were set than I think pitchers will be rushed and not perform as well possibly.

Another rule change that may happen in the near future is a universal designated hitter. This means that every team in the league will be able to use a DH, right now only teams in the AL use a DH. If this rule were to come into place then it would affect the fans because they would be able to see another good hitter play and not watch the pitcher hit, which would most likely make them more excited. Also this rule could make some games more high scoring. Personally I would be a fan of this rule because it would make the game much more interesting and fun to watch.

Last rule change that could come into effect is a rule where pitchers that come into the game must face at least 3 batters before exiting. This rule would affect the fans and keep the game at a faster pace and there will be less pitching changes. I would not be a fan of this rule because some pitchers come in to face one hitter for a certain matchup that favors their team. I think you should be able to put in pitchers whenever you want not after 3 batters.

In my next blog post I will research the question: Who were the most influential players of all time?