Actress Alyssa Milano Teams Up With NFLPA Players To Help Them Be Pros On & Off The Football Field

We all have favorite players we cheer for on NFL game days, but how well do you know these players when they're not playing on the gridiron?  NFLPA, the union for professional football players in the National Football League, is upping its game when it comes to creating professional opportunities for its membership to market themselves off the field within the entertainment industry through the creation of its own multimedia development and production company called Athlete Content & Entertainment (ACE) Media.  Owned by the NFL Players Association and select strategic partners, ACE Media strives to provide unparalleled access to the athletes that are known for entertaining sports fans on fall Sunday afternoons so they are more prominently featured beyond  game days within a wider variety of educational, lifestyle and entertainment outlets.  ACE Media already has several successful projects to its credit including Catching Kelce on E!, Trading Playlists on Spotify, Take It To The House on Bleacher Report and Branding U on Above Average.

To help ACE Media in its efforts to win over Hollywood, it recently appointed Alyssa Milano to its board of directors.  While many of us know her from her roles on the television shows "Who's The Boss?" and "Charmed", Milano is also an avid sports fan whose TOUCH clothing, jewelry and eyewear line was the first women's only sports-licensed fashion brand and is currently the only one licensed by all the major sports leagues within the United States.  As a comic book aficionado, I also appreciate that she is the creator of a great graphic novel series called "Hacktivist."  Milano will bring more than 30 years of experience as an actress, author, designer, and entrepreneur to help NFLPA members gain exposure and maximize professional opportunities beyond their efforts on the football field.

“Alyssa joining the ACE Media board comes at a critical time in our growth. With hundreds of unique projects featuring almost 400 athletes last year, we're focused on expanding even further,” Ahmad Nassar, President, NFLPA, and ACE Media Chairman of the Board told A Geek Daddy. “Alyssa is the very best board member out there, with a unique track record bridging sports and entertainment. She's going to help us develop even more great opportunities for athletes, programmers, publishers, brands and leagues to create content across all sports and media."

“This is really an incredible opportunity for every player,” said Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl Tight End Travis Kelce, who has worked with ACE on several projects, including the new E! series Catching Kelce. “To have someone with experience navigating Hollywood, and leveraging its crossover appeal with sports and business, is a tremendous asset for the NFLPA and ACE Media. What Alyssa Milano will bring to the table will help each and every one of us in showcasing our personalities beyond the field – and across different kinds of media.”

How big of a football fan are you? Can you spot and identify players when they don't have their helmets on? Keep an eye out as you are bound to be having a lot more opportunities to test yourself in spotting players off the game field as ACE Media continues to expand its members profiles within the entertainment industry and beyond.

Football Video Game Coaches Players On Being Financially Savvy

With today being the last day of Financial Literacy Month and the first day of the NFL Draft, I thought it would be a good time to give a shout out to Visa's FINANCIAL FOOTBALL game which uses the sport to help make kids financially savvy.  Created in partnership between the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Visa's Practical Money Skill's for Life program, and the NFL this video game lets children, teens, and adults test their money management skills by answering questions that allow you to move down the field and score touchdowns when you make the correct choices.

Available to play online via your personal computer or laptop, Financial Football puts players fiscal knowledge to the test in an online simulation game environment by combining the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. Visa has also released the game as a free iPhone app on iTunes, along with an optimized HD iPad version.  The game can be played in single player mode or against a friend in head-to-head action.

To start the game you can pick its length ranging from 5 minutes to 20 minutes plus select which NFL team you want to play as.  Difficulty settings are also available with Rookie (Ages 11 -14), Pro (Ages 14-18) and Hall of Fame (18+) to choose from.  Players are than able to select defensive and offensive plays with difficulty levels of easy, medium and hard which are followed up with questions about financial literacy and money management that correspond to the selected play's difficulty.

 

If on offense and you get your question right you than your team is successful with their play, but if you get the question wrong than your QB will get sacked, your running back hit for a loss, or a wide receiver drops the ball.  The harder the successfully completed question the better your players do so an easy question might get you one or two yards, a medium question 5 yards and a hard question could get you ten yards or maybe even a break away touchdown.

 

Defense also provides an opportunity for players to answer questions.  Get it wrong and the opposing team will do great but get it right and you could hit them for a loss or sack.

 

This game takes a topic that can be boring and mundane for many kids and adults and adds some excitement to it that will help ingrain important tips and information into people's heads as their competitive instincts get them involved with this game.  As a parent, I'm always keeping an eye out for opportunities that combine entertainment and education to assist getting kids to embrace learning.  Financial Football is a great way to catch children and teens' interest and help them become financially savvy.

For more information about the FINANCIAL FOOTBALL video game, CLICK HERE.

Aspiring Athletic Wear Designer Creates Stellar Star Wars Themed Soccer Uniforms

The indoor soccer team I play on thought we were sporting some great jerseys when we selected the stormtrooper themed shirt pictured above to wear during games for our most recent season.  We were put to shame though by an aspiring clothing designer named Nerea Palacios who has showcased a line of Star Wars themed soccer kits (what serious players and fans call uniforms) on her website that are pretty fantastic.  Hoping to garner the attention of Nike or another sporting attire brand to hire her to professionally design soccer kits, Palacios created a number of outfits tied to specific Star Wars characters to demonstrate her talents and gain some attention.

The soccer kit themes include Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Obi-wan Kenobi, R2-D2, C-3P0, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and Stormtrooper.  All of them are impressive, most impressive ... though my favorites out of the bunch are the the droids R2-D2 and C-3P0.

To check out the full gallery of her Star Wars soccer kits visit www.behance.net/nereapalcacios.  Good luck with your job hunt and fashion designing career Nerea - May the Force be with You!

Dream Team Pets to the Rescue

My 5 year old son has been sneaking out of his room after bedtime and slipping into bed with my wife and I in the middle of the night the last couple of weeks.  So we're going to give a product called Dream Team Pets a try to see if that might help him stay asleep throughout the night in his own room.

Photos provided by Dream Team Pets

According to information provided by the manufacturer of Dream Team Pets these stuffed animals are more than just a bedtime toy - they are an innovative kid's sleep aid that helps end the bedtime battles of trying to keep your child in bed.  Developed with the help of a pediatrician, Dream Team Pets bedtime routine empowers kids as they reward their Pet with stickers and a certificate for a good's night sleep.  If the child wakes up from a nightmare, there are no hard feelings because the responsibility is on their Pet, but when they successfully sleep in their own bed, the kids feel a sense of accomplishment as they reward their Dream Team Pet.  What makes this unique is that the kids think they are training their Pets, but really they are sleep training themselves!

Since my son and I enjoy watching Detroit Lions football games together we're going to go with the Dream Team Pet Lion and see if it helps with his sleeping through the night.

A Geek Daddy Blog readers receive a 30% off discount on Dream Team Pets from Amazon.com if you use the promo code: USFGUIDE.  CLICK HERE to pick one out for your child.  The options to choose from are a cat, dog, or lion.

DISCLAIMER:  the story about my son not sleeping through the night is true and my own personal situation but most of the information provided in this post was supplied directly from Dream Team Pets through the U.S. Family Guide program that A Geek Daddy Blog is a part of.  A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive financial compensation for this post but is receiving a complimentary Dream Team Pet for a future review post regarding the product on this blog.

Hip Hip Hooray for Northwestern University

College makes effort for athletic events to be Peanut Allergy Friendly

As the father of a daughter with a severe, life-threatening peanut food allergy, when I observe an organization make an effort to accommodate people with this affliction I want to give them a public acknowledgement of gratitude because our family has been excluded plenty of times from activities and events due to dangers presented by food allergies.  For the 2014/15 school year, the Northwestern University athletic department will have an official Peanut/Tree Nut (PTN) program.  Forty Wildcat sporting events, including 3 football games, 10 men's basketball games, 6 women's basketball games, 18 volleyball matches and 3 wrestling matches will enforce a peanut/tree nut free environment.  During these events, which include football games versus Cal, Northern Illinois, and Western Illinois, no products containing peanuts or tree nuts will be sold at Ryan Field or Welsh-Ryan Arena.  Both venues will undergo extensive cleaning to ensure no peanut or tree nut materials remain anywhere in the facility.

Mike Polisky

According to Mike Polisky, Deputy Director of Athletics - External Affairs at Northwestern University, in an interview with FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) the school located in the suburban Chicago area city of Evanston, Illinois began investigating doing something to address the exclusion of fans from sporting events due to food allergies after being contacted by the father of a current student.  The father communicated frustration about how his son wouldn't be able to attend football or basketball games because of allergy concerns. "After doing our research and coming to a better understanding of the impact of tree nut and peanut allergies on tens of thousands of people who cannot participate, it made sense to take the next step, said Polisky.  "We decided to break up our seasons to create more opportunities for families to attend Northwestern games in a safe environment."  Now the non-conference games will be peanut/tree nut free and the Big Ten inter-league competitions will allow them.

 In an interview with ESPN, Polisky noted "We just wanted to do the right thing.  This has nothing to do with PR. It's not a business decision...It started out with one father looking out for his son."  He added "It's great for kids' families to be able to attend these games that couldn't participate in things others take for granted."

Northwestern University becomes the first university in the United States to address food allergies at sporting events.  When asked on his thoughts about Northwestern's stance, John Lehr, chief executive officer of FARE stated "We are pleased to see sports teams across the country working to address these issues and we congratulate Northwestern on leading the way in college sports to help ensure families who are managing peanut and tree nut allergies feel welcome." He also noted "attending college sports games is often a family tradition, but for many families managing peanut and tree-nut allergies, the widespread sale and consumption of products with peanuts and tree nuts at athletic events is a deterrent."  According to FARE's website, www.foodallergy.org, the number of children with food allergies to peanuts and tree nuts tripled between 1997 - 2008.

Northwestern also issued a statement regarding its new food allergy policy from Dr. Ruchi Gupta, an associate professor of pediatrics with Northwestern Medicine.  "Now families with nut allergies can enjoy Northwestern University football, basketball and other games worry free," Gupta remarked.  "On the science side, researchers at the Northwestern Food Allergy Research Consortium are working to better understand the cause of food allergy and find treatments."

Giacalone

While I've unfortunately encountered many people who make light of the seriousness of peanut allergies, I've experienced the dangers first hand as I watched my infant daughter surrounded by doctors and nurses in an emergency room cube working to open her swelled shut throat after she'd eaten peanut butter for the first time.  A woman who lives a few miles from our house is still in a coma after she ate ice cream last year that had a peanut covered pretzel in it she wasn't aware of.  Chantel Giacalone went into cardiac arrest and has yet to recover from the incident.  Last year a college freshman , Cameron Fitzpatrick, and 13 year old girl , Natalie Giorgi, both died after accidentally eating food that contained or was contaminated by peanuts.  Food allergies are a serious problem, and a very scary and lonely one, for people who suffer from them and their families.  Helping taking precautions to protect people with peanut allergies shouldn't be considered as taking a freedom away from others but rather as being courteous to others who are suffering from an affliction that they did nothing themselves to cause.  It also shouldn't be about numbers and percentages of the population who actually suffer from allergies to determine whether or not to take action on this topic but rather placing a focus on respecting every human life so that no person  is injured or dies from an incident that could very well have been prevented by some proactive accommodation or safety measure.

Fitzpatrick

Giorgi

If you haven't had an experience before with someone with a peanut or tree nut allergy, I hope this article provided some useful information and insights.   Please be considerate ... way too many people unfortunately aren't.  For more information, visit www.foodallergy.org. 

NFL ADDS SOME POP WITH NEW LINE OF FUNKO FIGURINES

 

The popular Funko vinyl toys that mimic pop culture entertainment figures is adding the NFL to its ranks this fall.  Debuting just in time for the kickoff of the National Football League's 2014 season is a new line of Funko Pop! figurines that depict some of football's greatest athletes.  Funko's Pop! Viynl toys are modeled in Japanese chibi style which portrays an exaggerated caricature that is small and chubby with stuffy limbs and over-sized heads giving characters the resemblance of small children.  The NFL joins a wide array of licenses that Funko already holds for a variety of entertainment properties including DC Super Heroes, Disney, Star Wars and The Walking Dead among others.

Funko will be releasing toys of 26 players from 19 NFL teams ranging from Detroit's Calvin "Megatron" Johnson to Washington DC's Reggie Griffin III.  Each figure will be 3.75" and come with a removable helmet.  Each figure will also capture a unique feature of a player in his chibi caricature.  For example, Calvin Johnson will have on eye black, Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews  have long locks of hair, Andrew Luck will be sporting his lucky beard, a bandage adorns JJ Watts nose and RGIII will be wearing a beanie.  The lineup of represented players ranges from SuperBowl Champs to ProBowl super stars to some of the top rookies picked up in this year's draft.  Yes Johnny Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney made the cut.

Each player is also assigned a number on Funko's 2014 roster of NFL figures:

01 Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
02 Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks
03 Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
04 Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
05 Tom Brady, New England Patriots
06 Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers
07 DeMarcus Ware, Denver Broncos
08 Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
09 J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
10 Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
11 Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
12 Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
13 Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins

14 Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
15 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
16 Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
17 Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
18 Eli Manning, New York Giants
19 Victor Cruz, New York Giants
20 Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
21 Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
22 Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
23 Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
24 Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans
25 Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns
26 Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars

This isn't Funko's first foray into mocking up sports figures, but will be its first effort with the NFL.  They have also featured NBA players and WWE wrestlers in the past, plus captured Major League Baseball's mascots in vinyl in the past.

Players are sold separately and suggested retail price is $9.99.  Keep an eye out at stores for your favorite players this fall.  Also note that once a wave of Funko toys is released they normally aren't reproduced again which makes them collectibles that are often grabbed up; so if you see a player you want at a store pick him up because you may not be able to find the toy again once it is sold out unless you go to ebay and pay a huge markup.

For more info, visit www.funko.com

Gatorade & DC Comics Team Up to Bring NFL Gridiron Heroes to the Pages of Comic Books

 

Visit the Gatorade website between now and the kick-off of the NFL season and you can enjoy some FREE comic books featuring some of the brightest stars from the NFL. Working in partnership with DC Comics, Gatorade has produced a series of digital comics titled "League of Captains" that involve stories featuring JJ "MegaWatt" Watt, Cam "The Blender" Newton, Peyton "The Sheriff" Manning, Eli "Big Easy" Manning, and Robert "TrIIIple Impact" Griffin III. These digital comic books are part of Gatorade's larger "League of Captains" marketing campaign that also features specially labeled bottles hyping these players special flavors and a contest where you can win your own image on the cover of a comic book. Of course this is all meant to hype up consumers for the return of the football season while the NFL teams are in preseason training camp and get them to pick up some bottles of Gatorade - but hey its a fun campaign and its nice to see advertisers putting some creativity and imagination into their marketing efforts.

The digital comics feature stories about how in addition to physical talent it also takes experience, training, technology, practice and homework to be able to make the plays to win a big game   The comics include flash backs of moments in a players life that helped make them the "player" they are today and sports scenes of the players in the heat of NFL action.  While the stories might be somewhat cheesy the comics feature some great artwork and digital special effects.  These are some fun comic books that have some nice messages about teamwork and homework for kids, an interesting connection to the NFL, and aren't meant to be taken too seriously but rather just enjoyed for a moment by football fans.

When you go to the Gatorade website to view these "League of Captains" comic books there are also some other interactive things you can do while there.  You can create an image of  your own comic book likeness sports super hero...and not just for football but for a variety of sports.  Here I created A Geek Daddy football and futbol players.

There is also a contest you can enter online for a chance to have a comic book cover created in your own likeness. Submit a photo from a game, practice or workout showing how you "Win from Within".  Submissions will be judged and the BEST will be immortalized with a one-of-a-kind comic book cover depicting the winning photograph.  Photo entries are due by September 7, 2014.

Oh, and of course the campaign ties into Gatorade packaging that depicts the comic book images of each of the featured players:  Mega Watt, The Sheriff, TrIIIple Impact, Big Easy and The Blender.  You can pick up these "League of Captains" Gatorade bottles at your local grocery store between now and September 7th.

To check out the comics,  sports character illustrator and photo contest, visit: leagueofcaptains.gatorade.com