With University of Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow leaving for North Carolina State, potential replacement rumors are running rampant

When she left, Yow recommended University of Connecticut Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway to replace her. UConn spokesman Mike Enright told AOL Fanhouse that Hathaway “is fully engaged with his duties at the University of Connecticut,” noting his travel plans next week for meetings with the NCAA basketball committee where he represents the Big East.

OK, that’s nice. But we all know that doesn’t mean much. What does mean something is the fact that Hathaway has a PR mess on his hands up in Connecticut and that might make jumping ship to Maryland look pretty enticing right now. What else might make it nice is Hathaway is a former Terp. Bonus for Maryland.

Last month, Hathaway announced UConn received a notice of allegations from the NCAA with regards to recruiting violations within the men’s basketball program and said the school would immediately begin the process of imposing sanctions in order to avoid further punishment.

I mean, what’s not fun about that, right?

Of course, when you look at the bigger picture, UConn has one of the best basketball traditions and programs in the country and an up-and-coming football program. Yes, I know there are other sports but we’re talking about money, so let’s be realistic here.

By comparison, Maryland’s basketball program is also good — just not as good.  Financially, Maryland basketball also has to compete with Georgetown and the Washington Wizards for its fan base and ticket sales, whereas Connecticut is a basketball-crazed state with just one professional franchise to speak of (the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun).

Football-wise, Maryland’s dealing with paying for a renovated Byrd Stadium with lagging season ticket sales and unsold suites. Meanwhile, UConn’s season-ticket sales are rising, as the Huskies played in their third-consecutive bowl game and posted a win over South Carolina in the 2010 Papajohns.com Bowl.

So what’s a guy to do? Leave behind a PR mess that could set his school back for years and head south to warmer winters (this last one excepted) and a program that has some financial challenges? Or see UConn through a tough spot and hope that if he’s successful, it’ll pay dividends down the road?

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Let the mud (or oil?) slinging begin. If you haven’t heard it by now, click here to listen to a Gov. Martin O’Malley campaign ad bashing his Republican competitor, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, for being pro oil.

Seizing upon the emotion surrounding the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the ad repeatedly uses clips of Ehrlich saying “drill baby, drill” and intersperses those with factoids about the spill.

The commercial also asks why Ehrlich, an attorney with firm Womble Carlyle, supports oil companies. The quote inserted is Ehrlich’s voice saying, “Life’s good. We made money — a lot of money.”

According to WBAL, the quote in the ad is taken from an interview Ehrlich did earlier this year in which he talks only about his work since leaving office in January 2007. To see Ehrlich’s video response to the ad, in which he calls the commercial irresponsible and ludicrous, click here.

It would seem that O’Malley might be nervous about keeping his job this fall. He’s striking out with a negative campaign ad — and not just any ad. A pretty out-there one (when I first heard it on the radio, I started laughing).

What do you think?

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Nope — that’s not a typo. It seems counterintuitive, right? The Orioles are stinking up the ballpark something fierce this season, losing 21 of their last 26 and with a 20-52 overall record.

But attendance is up more than 3 percent this year. And at one point (just after their last home stand against Boston) it was up by 10 percent.

I know. It seems weird. Through 35 home games, total ballpark attendance is at 802,977. Last year through 35 games the total attendance was 777,775. After the June 4-6 weekend series against Boston total attendance was 596,703 compared with 540,999. Read the rest of this entry »

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This gubernatorial campaign season’s going to be a doozie — and it looks like one of the battle grounds will be Maryland’s ability to attract film and television productions.

On Wednesday, Republican candidate and former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced he would invest $7 million in a key state tax credit to help bring back to Maryland the major movie and TV projects that have provided hundreds of jobs. He’s talking about the state’s Film Incentive Fund that in the last four years has been whittled down to about $1 million. In 2005, the fund was allotted $6 million.

The fund allows the state to woo producers by offering them tax credits and other incentives to film here. With less money, it’s harder to attract productions. I recently wrote about the fund’s impact when Maryland failed to snag Hollywood’s first lacrosse movie.

Like a good politician, Ehrlich used the press conference as a chance to cast blame on his competitor, Gov. Martin O’Malley. Apparently it’s all his fault that the state’s unemployment rate has doubled since 2006 (Ehrlich’s last year as governor). I thought the national recession had a lot to do with it but then again, what do I know? I’m just a business reporter.

Sarcasm aside, here’s what Ehrlich had to say at the press event, held at Hunt Valley’s Renegade production studios:

“Cutting this tax credit is no different than cutting jobs,” he said. “We all benefit from the jobs production companies bring to Maryland, and the money they spend on salaries, hotel rooms, restaurant meals, transportation, security, even dry cleaning and entertainment. It’s an expenditure that produces a huge return on a small investment, and we ought to return Maryland to the forefront of TV and film production. When I’m governor, we will.”

When it comes to the arts — even if it benefits businesses — campaign promises are especially hard to keep. If elected, do you think Ehrlich can do this?

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The Associated Press has helpfully compiled a comparison of the Federal Reserve’s statements on the economy and its policy positions from its last regular meeting on April 27-28 and the meeting that wrapped up Wednesday.

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The late, great TV show “Friends” (I’m still not over the fact it went off the air six years ago) taught me a lot about life.  I learned the importance of sitting around in a coffee shop all day, for one.

I also learned that bargain shopping can be a downright frightening experience.

One company is going out of its way to make it look easy: Nordstrom Rack.

The bargain price division of Nordstrom Inc. has 75 locations currently and in the next two years, the Seattle-based company plans to have 30 more. That includes a Nordstrom Rack in Annapolis at Annapolis Harbour Center, which the company announced Friday. This will be its third location in Maryland and will open in spring 2011.

An outlet concept works well for high-end retailers in tough economic times, analysts say. The recession has inspired Nordstrom competitors — Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s — to introduce outlets, according to a recent article in the New York Times.

Nordstrom Rack, meanwhile, advises shoppers on how to remain calm during a stressful bargain-hunting experience. “Be open to the thrill of the hunt” are among the helpful suggestions. “Shop often,” another tip recommends.

The only concern for the store, analysts say, is will Nordstrom’s discount stores hurt its brand?

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Every industry has its busy season — for accountants, it’s January through April; same for legislators in Maryland. Likewise, warm-weather months are busy for crabbers and construction crews.

In the restaurant industry, while they may have their busy seasons, there are really three times a year when they hit the cash-flow jackpot — and although we love our dads, Father’s Day isn’t one of them.

I mention this because last week we ran a story on Sir Walter Raleigh Inn, a Maryland restaurant that went through a bankruptcy 15 years ago and is still a successful business. When the owners of the business had to decide when to file for bankruptcy, which requires a lot of cash on hand, they knew they had three opportunities in 1995, and if they missed the holiday blitz, they might not have enough money to do it.

Here’s a little tidbit that didn’t make it into the story of how Jerry Cosker, one of four owners of the business at the time, got his partners to take advantage of the extra holiday cash to file for bankruptcy:

In our business you have three big events from December through May. The first is New Year’s weekend; the second is Valentine’s weekend and the third and the last and the greatest and the best is Mother’s Day. So December came and went with no decisions being made…The end of January, beginning of February came and I said, ‘this is the second train that’s leaving the station. We have a chance to jump on board and make this work, or we’re going to lose this golden opportunity.’ We had a lot of cash. We would get like $75,000 extra just from these busy weekends…

That train left and no decision. April came and I said, ‘this is it; this is the last one,’ because you know Father’s Day doesn’t bring a whole lot, although it’s getting better. They finally decided the third week in April that we had to go find somebody.

Check out the story to see how Jerry and the gang made it through bankruptcy in a very creative way.

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Maryland Women’s Heritage Center celebrates its grand opening  Saturday and is located in a beautiful ground floor section of the renovated 39 West Lexington luxury apartment homes in downtown.

If you’re wondering how the nonprofit got such a sweet space (2,400 square feet in the historic Baltimore Gas & Electric building), it’s certainly not because it can afford it. The space is being donated by David Hillman, CEO of Southern Management, which owns the property.

The generosity of local businesses didn’t stop there for the heritage center, which is an educational center featuring exhibits and historical information on dozens of Maryland women (including Harriet Tubman and Shoshana S. Cardin) and their achievements. Take a peak inside, and everywhere you look, you’ll see something that has been donated.

Sherwin-Williams Co. donated the paint, CertaPro Painters did the painting, Signs by Tomorrow of Baltimore donated all the signage. All the construction materials and labor (the space took about four months to complete) was donated by Lewis Contractors, Commercial Interiors Inc., CAM Construction Co. and Wilmot Modular Structures Inc.

Lastly, Cho Benn Holbak+ Associates donated the architectural services.

The center, which began as an idea back in the early 1980s as an outgrowth of the Maryland Women’s History Project, is also entirely staffed by volunteers. Its one paid employee, Executive Director Jill Moss Greenberg, had a lot to do with hustling for all the donations that got the center up and running.

The center’s influential executive board of directors — which includes former First Lady Frances Hughes Glendening, former First Lady Kendel S. Ehrlich and First Lady Katie Curran O’Malley — also doesn’t hurt.

The Maryland Women’s Heritage Center hopes to make its permanent location in a space 10 times as big as the one it’s in now so it can house a theater and permanent exhibits on influential Maryland women. But I think that’s probably gonna take some actual dough…

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I really like preventative giving. Meaning, I think it’s great to offer help before a situation turns dire.

Purple Cat PR, a Chester-based boutique public relations agency, is doing just that, offering pro bono marketing services to nonprofit applicants of CreatAthon, a national program.

How does it work?

Public relations or graphic design agencies, like Purple Cat, sign up as local affiliates and choose a specific market. They then solicit applications from nonprofits in their region and choose five organizations to offer their services. The projects are completed free of charge during national CreatAthon week, held Sept. 13-17.

Somewhat unique to Purple Cat, a one-man firm, is that everybody wins: Even the agencies that aren’t selected get a three-hour pro bono consultation.

Purple Cat’s founder and owner, Carol D’Agostino, said she used to work in the nonprofit sector herself, so she understands the stress of trying to put together the yearly budget. That stressed only increases during a recession, which hits nonprofits hard because donations typically decrease while the demand for services increases.

“I wanted to serve the nonprofit sector because I knew it the best,” D’Agostino said. “Part of everyone’s business plan should be giving back.”

Since 2002, CreateAThon has benefited more than 1,100 non-profit organizations with 2,500 projects valued at more than $11 million. Purple Cat says it has assisted 25 Maryland nonprofits and one New Orleans-based organization on projects valued at almost $81,000.

Applications are due July 12 and can be found here.

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Quick eats. Presto fare. Rapid cuisine.

These fancy terms basically all mean the same thing: fast food.

But people don’t seem to really like that one. I bet many would choose an item labeled with any of the three listed above before they’d consume fast food. I would.

As a result, fast-food companies have been desperately trying to bring healthy items to their menus.

We all know the good foods we’re supposed to look for: fresh, homemade, organic.

But this year, other trend words are making their way into our mouths and stomachs, according to Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. Inc., a Brooklyn-based international restaurant consulting firm.

These include comfort, safety, local, artisan and hand-made. With a post-recession era looming, people are focusing inward, the says: “Their concerns are personal, emotional and ethical.”

Pizza has shown us consumers are gobbling this trend up. Papa Murphy’s, the take-and-bake pizza chain which I wrote about Monday, is opening its first franchise in Maryland today.

Papa’s understands that often the healthiest option is creating a meal and eating it at home. But sometimes there isn’t enough time to prepare a healthy and tasty meal. So, Papa Murphy’s makes its pizzas fresh in the store, which are then baked in the comfort of your home.

In my opinion, Papa’s represents these 2010 fast-food branding trends to a tee.

A recent Technomic’s consumer trends survey found that “fast food” is now morphing into “food fast,” to move away from the former’s stigma. Food fast is served quickly but with a greater emphasis on quality, flavor and ambiance.

Technomic, a food industry consulting and research firm, also points out that pizza chains are trying to differentiate themselves by using innovative, all-natural and specialty ingredients.

DiGiorno’s, a well-known frozen pizza brand, and its competitors are facing stiffer competition from restaurants with take-and-bake, the Nation’s Restaurant News recently reported.

It all makes me want to invite over some dinner guests. They’ll arrive and the scrumptious aroma of fine meats, cheeses and perfectly-spiced sauce will linger in the air. I’ll tell them the homemade pizza is almost done.

Rapid cuisine has never sounded better. The only hitch is, there’s a good chance I’ll burn it.

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