Ok, I know this isn’t exactly Apples to Apples. But, just for grins and giggles, here are the attendance figures for week 1 of the English Premier League, arguably the greatest, most well attended Football/Soccer League in the World, with the most passionate fans.

Now, for fun, throw in the Sounders:

All things being equal (which they’re not) the Sounders would currently be 6th in Attendance in the EPL, with 5 teams above, and 5 teams below. Just a fun stat for anyone who tells you that all European clubs draw insane amounts of fans.

I’ve done a lot of Mariners bashing here over the last 2 years.  But they honestly deserved it.

So congratulations for making 2009 way more interesting than I expected, and giving me hope, faith and optimism to 2010 and beyond.

For the first time in years, I’ve found myself tuning in sporadically to games on the radio.  Well, maybe not whole games, but innings at least.  And all of the recent trades, minor league call-ups and debates are exactly what baseball is supposed to be like.

Baseball shouldn’t be like it is for the Red Sox and Yankees who (until the Rays got good) were almost allowed to write their own personal ticket to the playoffs every year thanks to 57 games against the most inept division-mates in baseball.

Baseball is cooler than basketball because you can’t go to the 7th, 8th and 9th innings and let Kobe Bryant go to bat every time.  And it’s cooler than football because Peyton Manning can’t pitch every game.  The fabric of it’s coolness comes in a combination of players battling for more innings of that enormous 162 game, 1500 inning season, but also needing a superstar to come up huge in the ninth inning of game 76 with 2 men on and 2 outs.  

So instead of dreading the off season, this year we’ll argue about the starting 5, what we should do with Felix, if Griffey should come back, whether 8 million is too much for a defensive shortstop, and if there’s any chance to salvage Morrow’s career.  These are the kind of arguments we should be having in a baseball off season. 

Sure, I know technically they are still in it this year.  But that’s more of a quirk in the way the schedule is presented, not actual reality.  And I don’t really care.  Because next year, 2011 and 2012 look like a lot of fun.  At least, a lot more fun than 2003-2008.  Thanks M’s, for finally pulling your heads out of your you-know-whats.

I received an email from Biznik, explaining why their rates are going up about 10%. Keep an eye out for how many other of your online purchases are about to get another tax:

“Washington State, like many states in today’s economy, is looking hard at areas of ambiguity within their tax code. The state has just enacted legislation that became effective July 26, 2009 clarifying how digital products and services are to be taxed. Electronic downloads of music, movies, and other standard information have always been subject to sales and use tax. However, with the passage of this bill, all digital products and digital automated services will be subject to these taxes. Biznik is classified under the law as a Digital Automated Service (ESHB 2075 section (5)(a) – the newly enacted legislation). Consequently, we are required to collect and remit appropriate sales and use taxes on membership fees for customer’s located in the state.

How does this affect you? 

Biznik’s membership dues fall under the definition of taxable digital automated service. Starting on July 26, 2009, Washington Sales Tax at your local rate will be added to your recurring monthly membership fee.

The sales and use tax in the zip code is 0.095%. Therefore, $0.95 will be added each month to your $10 monthly membership fee.

Thank you for participating in the Biznik community!

Lara Feltin
Biznik Cofounder
[email protected]

I am woefully late on paying my respects to America’s best loved broadcaster, Walter Cronkite.  So here is a link to the CBS News Tribute Page.  

You have to wonder whether a man like Cronkite would have been as successful in today’s world of lower journalism standards.  Would he have made 2009 journalism better, or would have he been passed over because of his inability to lower himself and do what it takes to get ratings?

I like to think there is a new version of Cronkite mulling around out there, who is going to reinvent broadcasting, and make it once again a place of relevance and respect, not ridicule.  As it is, I hope everyone in the industry has taken a few minutes to reflect back on Cronkite’s career, and what it looked like to report the news without being the news or injecting one’s own views.  

I’ll be attending the Sounders v Chelsea game July 18. But, if I wasn’t going to watch the most obnoxious and annoying English Premier League Club play against our beloved Sounders, I’d probably do this:

http://www.hightrekadventure.com/

Thanks to Liz’s friend Christy for the heads up on this event.

Why was this win important to Mexico fans? When the World Cup rolls around, they place all the competitors into 4 “seeding” categories, from 1-4. It’s kind of like the NCAA Tourney, where you know the Big East, ACC and Pac 10 reps will get the best seeds, while the mid majors will argue for a spot at the top of the bracket. Think of Europe as the Big East and ACC combined, South America the Big East or Pac 10, Concacaf a weak Big 10 or mid-major, and Asia and Africa the small conferences with automatic bids. Traditionally, it breaks out something like this:

• #1 seeds (8 total): 6-7 from Europe, 1-2 from South America (Brazil and Argentina)
• #2 seeds (8 total): 4-5 from Europe, 2-3 from S. Am, 1 from Concacaf
• #3 seeds (8 total): 2-3 from Europe, 2-3 from S. Am, 2-3 from Africa, 1 from Concacaf, 1 from Asia
• #4 Seeds (8 total): 1-2 from S. Am, 2-3 from Africa, 1 from Concacaf, 3-4 from Asia

Usually, Mexico gets that Concacaf entry into the #2 seeds, and the U.S. gets the #3 or #4 seed. So you get to the World Cup, and while Mexico has maybe England (#1), Paraguy (#3) and Australia (#4) in their group, the U.S. gets Italy (#1), the Czech Republic (#2) and Ghana (#3/4). Since only 2 teams go to the next round, the U.S. already needs an upset to survive, while Mexico just needs to avoid being upset.

But, a U.S. win in a sanctioned tournament over the #1 ranked team in the world, coupled with general dominance over Mexico over the last decade or so, then combined with the U.S. winning Concacaf over Mexico, may be enough to flip-flop the places in the pecking order. And if that happens, the chance to get seeded in a reasonable group becomes more likely.

Some fun pics from the game. Looking for more that I can repurpose…

I like to think of Spring Creek Group as a legitimate Marketing Services Agency that happens to specialize in Social Media.  So this site mocking Social Media Agencies makes me laugh.  Sadly, there are companies who this web site appears to be based, but I’ll be polite and not name them here…

Look how dusty this blog has gotten. I spent years getting my followers up to at least 5 a day, and now I’ll never get them all back….Next time I go on vacation, I promise to have interns write articles for me. Heck, I might start anyway.

Regardless – A quick thanks to everyone out in Iceland who made our trip such a blast. Anne-Marie from Copenhagen, Alex from Germany, Brian from Reykjavik via St. Louis, Sara from St. Louis, Tom the world traveller from Chicago, Andrew the Med student from Toronto, Sveinbjörna from the Reykjavik soccer team, and the Reykjavik crew of Gunnar, Jon and Svana, who coincidentally worked in Social Media and Small Business Incubation, respectively.

Also, thanks to the tourist information peeps in Akureyri, the bus depot folks in Reykjavik, all the hotel people who pointed us in the right direction, held our bags, and translated words with way too many J’s and K’s in them.

Stories to come, but the short version is that Iceland should get added to the top of your Vacation “To-Do” List if you enjoy stunning vistas, friendly people, incredible hiking, mind-numbing nature scenes, crazy food and a safe and clean environment.  If that’s not your cup of tea, then I suggest Cleveland.

More to come.