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Weekend Plans With NHL Exec VP & CMO Brian Jennings: Playoffs, Road Trip

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are well underway, and NHL Exec VP & CMO BRIAN JENNINGS is already preparing for next season. He spent this week engaging with broadcast partners Rogers Media and NBC, planning the league's budget for the next fiscal year, and holding discussions with first-time playoff clubs about their business and brand goals. But there is still plenty of time for the Riverside, Conn., resident to satisfy his hockey craving. Jennings: “There is nothing better than the first round of the playoffs because of the sheer volume of games, the intensity, and the environment. It really is a sportsman’s dream.”

DRIVE MY CAR: Friday night is going to be pizza with the family and Stanley Cup Playoff hockey games. I am an early riser, and with two kids -- a 10-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son -- sleeping in until 7:00am would be considered a late one for me. Sometimes we go up to this breakfast place in Easton on Saturdays called the Olde Blue Bird Inn. It is a little bit of a drive, but it is so worth it. It is a family-owned place that specializes in breakfast. From the eggs to the homemade muffins to the delightful French toast, it’s really a great little spot. I will be taking a four-hour journey to New Hampshire on Saturday for my son’s soccer game. On our way back, we are going to intercept my daughter who is in a soccer tournament in Glastonbury. We will spend the night there and watch her games on Sunday. It’ll be a lot of driving, but there is nothing more important to me than being involved in my kids’ activities. They are into all sorts of things: swimming, soccer, basketball. It keeps us moving.

FOOD, INC.: Saturday night is typically our night to go out for family dinner. Food for me is always centered on Italian. As the runt of an Irish litter, I don’t know where the Italian thing came in, but that is my love affair. Go figure. I enjoy grilling, particularly flank steak. I find that it is the one thing that I can do and not really mess up. The thicker the steak is, the more difficulty I have. So I just get a lean cut that doesn’t need to be on the grill that long, seer it on both sides and add a little bit of roasted asparagus -- I got that idea from my sister-in-law. I am not a tremendous cook by any means, but that would be my one signature dish. My guilty weekend pleasure is ice cream. There is a little ice cream shop called Darlene’s Heavenly Desires on Sound Beach Avenue. It has all homemade ice cream, which I know is not good for you, but if I’ve at least biked that day, I can go down and get a small serving.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: My dad started a family tradition for breakfast on Sundays. He would always make us pancakes, so I have tried to take it over and the kids love it. But I’m not sure my wife thinks the pancakes are all that great. My dad has been ill, and two weeks ago I took the family up to spend some time with him. It was really good to see him back in his apartment with a little window view and in good spirits. I always try to call my mom and dad on weekends. I come from a big family -- I am one of six -- and my parents sacrificed a lot for us. I am very grateful for that.

RIDING, ROCKING, ROLLING: I used to do a lot of mountain biking competitively when I wore a younger man’s clothes. But as the knees have aged, I’m resigned to sidewalks and more leisurely biking around town. I still play a little bit of hockey now and then. I make guest appearances at our roller hockey league on Saturday mornings when the guys are short a player. But those are few and far between. I am trying to learn the guitar, and at my age, I’m not quite sure I am making music. It’s a challenge, but a lot of fun. My music tastes are probably more out of the ‘60s. I have been trying to learn some NEIL YOUNG songs, and for a couple of chords here and there I can at least fake it. My nightlife consists of taking my kids to the movies where I’m the dad that sits 10 rows behind them because it is not cool to have your dad there. I feel like there is limited time that I can be with them, and I cherish those moments.

FASHION SHOW: A favorite weekend getaway of mine is Block Island (Rhode Island). It has not been hit with the commercialization that some of the other islands have, and the cell reception is spotty. I like that in the summer. When I’m traveling, I try to read up on something I don’t know. And for anyone that knows me, I have quite a broad spectrum. I like retail design and certainly fashion, coming out of my days at Christian Dior. I am responsible for the consumer product business as well, and I think it is important to stay on top of what it is going on there and reading up on trends. “60 MINUTES” is absolutely appointment-viewing for me on weekends. I also try to catch “HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA.” It gives me a real good pulse of what is going on in the Canadian marketplace. It is obviously very important for us, but the quality of that broadcast and how they cover the game is really good.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

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On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

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SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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