u/CramblinDuvetAdv

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Longtime Michigan State coach Tom Izzo knows that some think his roster-building strategy is outdated in today's college basketball, but he applies another term to the approach.

"I get called old-school a lot; I think it's right school," Izzo said at Big Ten media days. "I have no interest in thinking this is an old-school way of doing it. We're doing the same things that I did for 25 years, putting the players first, putting relationships over transactions. I don't know what people want, but the relationships to me are going to be very, very important, and I don't plan on changing that."

Izzo, who is entering his 32nd season leading Michigan State, has looked at how other teams have built their rosters, joking that he does so "to satisfy my fans." Michigan State's roster includes transfers like center Anton Bonke, who will play for his fourth college program in as many years, but Izzo continues to build around players he recruited, such as guard Jeremy Fears Jr., the Big Ten preseason player of the year.

"I look at different options and different ways to do it, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I have 12 new guys," Izzo said.

Izzo led MSU to a national title in 2000 and eight Final Four appearances, although he's also in his longest drought without a Final Four, which the Spartans last reached in 2019. In-state rival Michigan in April became the first Big Ten team since Izzo's squad to win a national title, using a roster heavy on transfers.

But Izzo, 71, is committed to prioritizing "relationships over transactions" and puts his energy into retaining players like Fears and high-flying forward Coen Carr. Izzo said he doesn't like elements of how college basketball has changed but made it clear he still loves his job.

"I'll be here till I die or something," he said.

The wait is over, Texas. 🤠🌴 Beachcomber itineraries from Galveston are officially LIVE!

🔗Book now: https://bit.ly/BeachcomberTexas

Big ship. Big adventures. And 13 destinations waiting beyond the Lone Star State:
📍 Aruba
📍 Key West
📍 Jamaica
📍 Roatán
📍 Nassau
📍 Grand Bahama Island
📍 Curaçao
📍 Bimini
📍 Progreso
📍 Cozumel
📍 Grand Cayman
📍 Belize
📍 Veracruz
Texas, your next vacation just got a whole lot closer.

https://www.margaritavilleatsea.com/plan-your-escape/cruise-from-galveston-texas

Having visited Ocean Cay last week for the first time, I think Ocean Cay can be a massive gamechanger and allow MSC to take over the themed cruise segment of the market. I know they are currently working on improvements/expanding, but here's my first thought:

https://preview.redd.it/8lq5l3bk6zhh1.png?width=1828&format=png&auto=webp&s=576ea0148273fe7255824669d427274062d352a2

An amphitheater-like structure on the North Beach area can be used for national touring bands for themed cruises, and then smaller ambiance performances by the ship entertainment staff during traditional cruises.

Why this area holds such untapped potential:

- The overnight stays offer something completely different than other lines. Margaritaville at Sea is doing a 3-ship meetup in Nassau for a Zac Brown show (which I have posted in that sub I think will be a disaster based upon logistics), but all of those ships will need to depart by ~4pm. Imagine if you could have an all-day festival right on the island, in addition to performances on the ship(s).

- The close distance to Bimini means that you can fly in national artists that don't want to spend time on the ship itself, have them perform on Ocean Cay, and then they head back to Bimini to fly out. This drastically opens up your booking options, and you can fill the ship(s) with similar artists for the duration of the sailings (such as sub or co-headliners and support).

- The addition of a 2nd pier means you can have two similar genres sailings at once, and then meet up on the island for a shared event.

- You can setup VIP seating for Yacht Club members similar to festivals like Welcome to Rockville & Louder Than Life

Using genres I'm familiar with, let me give you an example;

Let's pretend Shiprocked is taking place on the World America:

https://preview.redd.it/vz2jnzdm8zhh1.png?width=1946&format=png&auto=webp&s=84cabdf31ce2de14723d99468c9631defc3d7d00

And Emo's Not Dead is taking place on Seaside:

https://preview.redd.it/vrxz9ju98zhh1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=3d42c2716d01de09c8ea6a627704c9aaddbda726

Both ships dock at Ocean Cay overnight. The amphitheater runs from ~11am - 10pm on the full day, and then ~10am - 3pm on the sail away day. Since two are docked at once, a handful of the bands that aren't performing on the island swap ships and perform on the decks/theaters of the other ship they are not sailing on, including late-night shows after everyone needs to be back on the ships. This means if you're on World America you can still catch Underoath, and the people on Seaside can see Avatar. On top of that, you bring in a band like Korn or Limp Bizkit to headline on the island.

Why was the North Beach location chosen? We didn't venture all the way to the end so I can't confirm if that screenshot is still up-to-date, but you have a lot of open land and it faces to quite a bit of beachfront. This means if you don't want to be close to the action, you can still hang out on the other side of the lagoon and catch the show (which I believe would be a very big selling point - I would also add at least one large screen would be necessary). The beach would allowed to be open during normal operational hours, which means you can just be floating in an innertube at 5pm watching Hawthorne Heights play.

What happens on regular sailings? You use the amphitheater for performances like steel drums, reggae, cover bands, etc. that serves more as background music and ambiance as opposed to the focus of the sailing.

This would require a pretty substantial investment from MSC, not only on the amphitheater structure but also additional power requirements, expanding the facilities on that part of the island, a mixer area (which can be combined with the Yacht Club section above), backline and production so not everything needs to be taken to and from the ship, and security. This kind of investment can lead to them being leaders in the concert and entertainment cruises in no time.

Here's another example using wrestling:

- World America: AEW Cruise

- Seaside: CMLL/NJPW Cruise

Both ships tape shows for their respective companies while sailing, and then they meet-up at Ocean Cay for a Bash at the Beach/Worlds Collide event.

Having been in Nassau twice in the last few weeks, I noticed the small amphitheater sitting there and thinking oh, they should really be using this for something when the ships are in town. I wasn't thinking anything big but... something. Upon looking up where the MaS ZBB performance is going to be, I was kind of surprised (but not really) to learn that it's going to be there. And I think this will be a very, very bad thing for the company that will have to fight a PR battle afterwards.

A look at the Nassau cruise port + amphitheater, with the Paradise at the top

Being an avid music fan (but not country/ZBB), I checked the 'ol Google machine to see what the capacity of that place is and it came back with 3,000. There's more people than that on the Beachcomber alone.

>Nassau Cruise Port is a modern, 3,000-person open-air event venue overlooking Nassau Harbour. Part of a $300 million port transformation, it serves as a central hub for live concerts, cultural festivals, and local Bahamian entertainment steps away from the cruise ships.

- Paradise: 1,308

- Islander: 2,680

- Beachcomber: 3,470

- Total: 7,458

So now you're telling me that you're going to have upwards of 7,458 people vying for spots at a 3,000 capacity venue? From the website:

>Zac Brown Band will take the stage at the Nassau Cruise Port Amphitheatre for an exclusive live concert, included only for Margaritaville at Sea guests.

>General concert viewing will be on a first-come, first-served basis. VIP packages with reserved viewing will be available for purchase closer to the concert date.

So now it's not just a regular 3k capacity, as certain areas will be sectioned off for VIPs. Maybe they can also fence in some of the areas around the trees at the port, but as of right now the Norwegian Getaway (cap. 3,903) will also be docked there that day:

https://preview.redd.it/25mc45vmamhh1.png?width=633&format=png&auto=webp&s=37a3d79f4169cf37a87fa1b525904fd17598f39a

You're going to have people paying $1k to sail on the Paradise and not get to see this show, which is nuts. Obviously the only people booking these sailings are ZBB fans, and these prices reflect the opportunity to see this show. With this venue, and this setup, you're going to massively upset over 60% of the people on these sailings which is horrendous for the brand image.

https://preview.redd.it/iuuvw2hi9mhh1.png?width=1182&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4119e4b03046322cc8cf295dbe2adc442ae1522

What I would do to fix this:

- Have the Beachcomber VIPs pay for an exclusive show in the Beachcomber theater. I would try to bring him and his band on board in Ocho Rios and have the show during their day at sea on 1/27, and they're all there and ready for for Nassau performance on 1/28.

- Have ZBB play two sets in Nassau, with the ability to still sell VIPs to Paradise & Islander cruisers with Beachcomber people getting any additional passes if they do not sell by X date

- Have those cruisers "book" one show or the other, effectively raising the on-land attendance to around 6k

I sailed on the refreshed Paradise a few weeks ago and while everything wasn't perfect, I believe they're starting to turn the corner after a rocky start and want to see them do well (including branching out beyond Florida). This may be a self-inflicted setback if they don't get ahead of it.

The University of Kentucky has hired athletic director J Batt away from Michigan State, a little more than a year after he left Georgia Tech.

Kentucky announced the move on Monday, delivering another blow to Michigan State’s leadership.

“The championship standard has been established at Kentucky and we are committed to upholding that standard of excellence,” Batt said.

Shortly thereafter, former Michigan State AD Mark Hollis told The Associated Press he wants to lead the Spartans’ athletic department again.

“I would be interested in talking to Michigan State about it,” Hollis said at Detroit Golf Club, where he was serving his role as tournament director of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic. “I care for the university and I want to help it in any way I can.”

Batt will succeed retiring Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. Barnhart has had the job since 2002, making him the longest-serving AD in the Southeastern Conference. Barnhart won’t take on a high-paying role at the school after Gov. Andy Beshear questioned decision-making at the school.

A year ago, Michigan State hired Batt away from Georgia Tech, where he was its athletic director since the fall of 2022. Before leading Georgia Tech’s athletic department, he was executive deputy athletic director at Alabama and served as chief operating officer and chief revenue officer in the athletic department.

“Across these institutions, J has distinguished himself as a record-breaker in fundraising and as a leader who strategically invests in facilities to maximize resources and revenue,” University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said.

Batt’s exit follows Michigan State President Kevin M. Guskiewicz choosing to leave for the same job at Clemson.

Hollis had a successful run for a decade as AD at Michigan State before announcing his retirement in 2018 amid the fallout from the sex abuse scandal involving Larry Nassar, a former Michigan State sports doctor who also worked for USA Gymnastics.

He also was credited with innovative concepts such as putting a court in the middle of a football field as he did when Michigan State played Kentucky in 2003 at Detroit’s Ford Field in front of a then-world-record crowd of 78,129 at a basketball game.

Hollis, a Michigan State graduate and close friend of Spartans basketball coach Tom Izzo, hired Mark Dantonio and he became the school’s all-time winningest football coach.

https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-athletic-director-batt-michigan-state-hollis-552006362085b8284b6dde20040f4a10