I spent part of yesterday preparing a candidate who currently works in New York for an interview with a law firm in Kansas City.  Coincidentally, the New York Giants play the Kansas City Chiefs in football today and my candidate’s interview is tomorrow.  Thus, I recommended that my candidate, a sports novice, pay attention to today’s game and be prepared to comment on it during her interview tomorrow.  It’s very likely an interviewer will note the candidate’s connection to New York and mention the game – especially while getting to know the candidate and before starting the substantive interview questions. 

As I prepped my candidate yesterday, I was reminded that many job seekers today are interviewing anywhere they can find jobs and that often means outside of their current city.  I’ve outlined four interview tips that I recommend my candidates know about sports before interviewing in another city; the tips are applicable to anyone seeking and interviewing for a job in a new city.

We have another big weekend of college football laid out before us and we’re getting to the point of the season where conference games start to heat up and consequently we see higher quality games. Here are five games to keep your eye on over the weekend:

• Oklahoma at Miami (FL.) – This is a huge game for both teams.  By beating Miami, Oklahoma would reignite their national title hopes, but they’ll have to do it without their star quarterback Sam Bradford. Miami is a lot better than most people thought at the beginning of the season, but suffered their first loss of the season last week to Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes will be looking to make a statement that they belong with the big boys once again.
• Texas A&M vs. Arkansas – These two former Southwest Conference teams reignite their rivalry at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington. When the stadium was built, Cowboys’ owner, Jerry Jones, wanted to bring a marquee college football series to the stadium that would rival Texas/OU. He managed to get his alma mater (Arkansas) to sign a long-term deal with the Aggies to have an annual meeting at the stadium. The Aggies are off to their best start offensively in the school’s long history and they enter the game undefeated. After putting up huge offensive numbers in their first two games of the season, the Razorbacks struggled last week against Alabama and enter this game with a 1-2 record. Their schedule only gets tougher. A win over the Aggies would help stop the bleeding and give the team confidence as they enter the meat of their schedule.
• USC at California – Cal seems to always play USC tough and going into this season a lot of experts felt that the Bears had enough talent to challenge the Trojans for the Pac-10 title. However, the Bears were throttled last week by Oregon and many people are beginning to question just how good this team really is. The Trojans usually have one hiccup a year in their conference schedule. They’ve already had that hiccup this season (Washington) and another conference loss could mean a new team representing the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl come January.
• Washington vs. Notre Dame – Washington has already had one huge upset win this season over USC. If they could go into South Bend and pull off a win against the Irish, their season would be a success regardless of what happens the rest of the way. On the other hand, the Irish need this win to stay on pace for a 10 win season. Irish coach, Charlie Weiss, needs a 10 win season to keep his job.
• LSU at Georgia – After losing in Week 1, the Georgia Bulldogs have responded with three consecutive victories, but lack a true “statement” win. If they can pull off the upset at home against LSU, they’ll have that statement win. LSU is ranked # 4 in the nation and #3 in their conference. Many feel that LSU might be a little overrated, especially after struggling with Mississippi State last weekend. A strong showing “between the hedges” in Athens could prove these naysayers wrong.

While the purpose of this blog is to incorporate sports talking points into your cocktail chatter, another popular topic for cocktail party conversations is real estate. Imagine a conversation involving both sports (football, specifically) and real estate …

The Wall Street Journal recently provided a glimpse into the real estate markets of three college towns that have some of the strongest football teams — (1) Austin, TX – University of Texas Longhorns; (2) Baton Rouge, LA – Louisiana State University Tigers; and (3) Athens, GA – University of Georgia Bulldogs. Click here to read the column and learn more about the real estate markets in these college football towns. You will definitely have some talking points for your next cocktail party or networking event!

Today’s e-mail comes from  Ann in Denver:

At a recent staff development lunch, I sat next to a couple of guys who spent the majority of the lunch discussing the nuances of football. The talk turned to the NFL’s decision to crack down on the use of Twitter by NFL player during games, which led to a discussion of the attempts of the league to control so much of its players lives from character clauses in contracts to very strict rules regarding the players uniform, including a rule stating that uniform numbers be assigned by position. I won’t ask for a full explaination of the NFL’s decorum policies, but I am curious, does the league really dictate what number a player can wear based on the position he plays? 

Thanks Ann.

In short, yes, the NFL does set forth a list of numbers for each position. However, this practice is not limited to the NFL. Indeed, this practice, while not as strict, extends down into the college and high school game.

In order to understand why, you must first  understand a basic rule in the game of football. Of the 11 guys on the offensive side of the football, five players are eligible to be receivers at any one time. In an attempt at fairness, to prevent the defense from guessing which five guys are being designated as receivers, a certain set of numbers are designated for players most likely to be receivers. A player with a number not designated for a receiver, can check in with the official prior to setting formation, letting the official now they will be an eligible receiver.

In the NFL, the numbers 1-19 are reserved for quarterbacks, kickers, punters and receivers. The numbers 20-49 are reserved for running backs, cornerbacks, safeties and tight ends, in special situations. The numbers 50-59 are designated for offensive linemen and linebackers, 60-79 for offensive and defensive linemen, 80-89 for receivers and tight ends, and 90-99 for defensive linemen and linebackers.

In college and high school, there is more freedom with the numbers, but 50-79 are still considered “linemen numbers” and are not worn by eligible receivers, quarterbacks, kickers or punters. Again, a player with an uneligible number can check in with the officials as an eligible receiver, prior to the snap, and become an eligible receiver.

If you have a question you would like answered, please e-mail me at jhellis978@gmail.com.

Here’s your late edition of the Monday Morning Quarterback for September 21, 2009–those key talking points for your Monday afternoon business meeting or cocktail hour.

• New Orleans Saints & Drew Brees- After two weeks of the NFL season, the New Orleans Saints have established themselves as one of the early favorites to win the NFC and as one of the top teams in the NFL. On Sunday, the Saints traveled to Philadelphia and beat the Eagles, a team thought by many to have the most talented roster in the NFL, 48-22.  In the game, Saints quarterback, Drew Brees three for over 311 yards and 3 touchdowns. In just two games, Brees has thrown for 669 yards and 9 TD’s.
• Green Bay/Cincinnati- The most surprising result of the  NFL weekend came at Lambeau Field in Green Bay where the lowly Cincinnati Bengals came in and defeated the Packers, a team many predicted to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Lambeau Field has the reputation of being one of the most difficult places to win in the NFL, especially for the underdog. In short, upsets like this just don’t occur in Green Bay.
• Washington/USC- The Washington  Huskies pulled an equally shocking upset in college football on Saturday, defeating the #3 ranked USC Trojans with a field goal in the final seconds. Both teams playing the Pac 10 Conference, which as the name implies consists of 10 universities. College football analysts generally view USC as the top program in this conference and generally view Washington at the very bottom of the conference.
• Florida/Texas – Elsewhere in the world of college football, the University of Florida and the University of Texas continued heading towards what seems like an inevitable January date to face each other for the national title. While many of the other top teams have shown signs of weakness (see USC), the Gators and Longhorns have handled their victims with relative ease. Both teams played conference rivals on Saturday, both teams struggled in the first half of their games, but both emerged with big second half performances to start their seasons 3-0 and as the clear top two teams in the nation. The only question is which team is #1 and which team is #2?
• Dallas Cowboys stadium- If you were busy watching HBO’s Sunday night lineup or the Emmy’s and missed last night’s Dallas Cowboys/New York Giants game, you missed the most watch prime-time televised NFL game in over a decade. However, the more impressive record set in this game was the attendance figure. 105,121 people walked through the gates at the new Cowboys Stadium, breaking the attendance record for an NFL game. This astonishing record comes as many NFL teams struggle to sell out their home games. Consider the fact that only 46,520 people attended the Jacksonville Jaguars home opener against the Arizona Cardinals, almost 20,000 tickets shy of a sell-out. Unfortunately, many of the 105,121 fans left disappointed as the Giants won the game on a last second field goal.

• Tennessee vs. Florida – Lane Kiffin ramped up the intensity of this already fierce rivalry when he made false accusations regarding recruiting violations at the University of Florida. The Vols appear to be down this season and must travel into “The Swamp” to take on the Gators. However, this is Tennessee/Florida and it is “must see TV” every time these two teams play.
• Texas Tech vs. Texas – Last season, the Texas Tech Red Raiders ruined the University of Texas’ dreams of a national title, beating the Longhorns on a last second touchdown pass in Lubbock. This year the Red Raiders must travel down to Austin for a made-for-TV prime time game. The Longhorns return Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley who both played huge roles in last year’s game, while the Red Raiders must look to replace Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree who led the Red Raiders to victory.
• Georgia vs. Arkansas – Second year coach Bobby Petrino is still trying to get his system installed at the University of Arkansas. Transfer quarterback Ryan Mallett seems to be picking up Petrino’s spread offense and the Razorbacks rolled to huge win against Missouri State in their first game of the season. The Bulldogs will be looking to build off the momentum from last week’s victory over South Carolina and avoid their second road loss of the young season.
• Nebraska vs. Virginia Tech – For decades, Nebraska was a major player in the world of college football. For much of this decade, the Cornhuskers have struggled with mediocrity. Mediocrity might work at some schools, but not Nebraska. Their fans expect much more. The Cornhuskers have a chance to return to national prominence in a big way on Saturday as they travel to Blacksburg to take on the Hokies. Virginia Tech already has one loss on the season and another one would certainly destroy any national title hopes.
• Florida State vs. Brigham Young & Utah vs. Oregon – I placed these two games together because it is important to watch their collective results. Utah and Brigham Young both played in the Mountain West Conference. Unlike some of the major conferences (e.g. Big 12, Big 10, Southeastern) the Mountain West Conference winner does not get an automatic bid to a Bowl Championship Series bowl game. They can earn an at-large bid, which Utah did last season, but no non-BCS team has ever earned a spot in the BCS National Title game. Usually strength of schedule hurts the non-BCS schools. However, BYU has already beaten Oklahoma this season. A win against Florida State would further strengthen their resume. Utah will earn strength of schedule points by beating Oregon. BYU and Utah face each other in their regular season finale on November 28. If Utah and BYU both win on Saturday and either one of them or TCU can go through the season undefeated, there is a great chance that a Mountain West Conference school could be selected to play for the national title this season.

We intend for this blog to be interactive and welcome all readers to submit questions.

Stephanie in University Park, Texas writes:

I recently started watching football and noticed that in addition to numbers, some of the referees have different letters on their shirts. Additionally, some of the referees wear white hats, while most wear black hats. Why is this? Why were the officials in the New England game wearing orange and white uniforms?
Well Stephanie, let’s begin with some semantics. Though the term referee is often used to refer to any official on the football field, this usage is incorrect. NFL and collegiate officiating staffs consist of seven officials, including the referee, umpire, head linesman, line judge, field judge, side judge, and back judge. The letters you see on the jerseys correspond to each of these official titles. The referee serves as the head of the officiating crew and wears a white hat to distinguish himself from his compatriots. Each official has a particular part of the field and game they are responsible for watching and officiating.

From 1960 through 1969, the AFL (American Football League) existed as a rival league to the NFL (National Football League). In 1970, a merger between the two leagues was finalized and ten teams joined the NFL: Boston Patriots (now New England Patriots), San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans), Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins. In observance of the 50th Anniversary of the AFL, the NFL will honor the league all season long. When teams from the former AFL face one another, the teams will wear their old AFL uniforms and the officiating crews will wear the traditional, orange and white stripped, AFL officials uniform. Since Buffalo and New England both were AFL teams, the officials wore the orange and white uniforms tonight.

If you have a question you would like answered, feel free to e-mail me anytime at jhellis978@gmail.com.

We just completed our first full weekend of college and NFL football and no doubt football will dominate the cocktail chatter all day. If you chose to spend your weekend doing other things besides watching football, fret not, we have the talking points for you. Here are five things you need to know heading into Monday:

• USC beat Ohio State 18-15 -One of the games we previewed for you earlier in the weekend. The Trojans travel to Ohio State and emerge with a come from behind, last minute victory over the Buckeyes in a nationally televised game. If you want to sound really impressive, mention that USC freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley, became a man Saturday night and proved that he deserved the starting quarterback job, leading the Trojans 86 yard drive to win the game.
• Michigan beat Notre Dame 38-34 – Another game we previewed for you Saturday morning and another game that went down to the wire. The Michigan Wolverines scored with 11 seconds remaining in the game to upset the Irish and go 2-0 on the young season. Like USC, Michigan was led by a freshman quarterback, Tate Forcier, who engineered the game winning touchdown drive.
• Brett Favre wins his debut in a Vikings uniform – While the Minnesota Vikings were led by running back Adrian Peterson(25 carries for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns), quarterback Brett Favre did enough (110 yards passing and 1 touchdown) to ensure the Vikings 34-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns. This will not be remembered as one of Brett Favre’s most impressive games and some will begin to question whether or not he will really make a difference on this team.
• The Denver Broncos had the most exciting finish of the weekend – If you watched any TV at all on Sunday there’s a good chance you saw this highlight. The Broncos trailed the Cincinnati Bengals 7-6 with the ball on their own 13-yard line and time expiring, when Broncos’ quarterback heaved the ball down field, praying for a miracle. The Bengals defense converged on the intended receiver, jarring the ball loose, but another Broncos receiver, Brandon Stokley was in the area and managed to catch the deflection and run into the end zone with eleven seconds left on the clock to give the Broncos the 12-7 victory, stunning the crowd in Cincinnati.
• The Big 12 is overrated – Entering the college football season, several “experts” felt that this could be the season that the Big 12 conference topped the Southeastern Conference as the best football conference in the nation. After watching Oklahoma lose to Brigham Young in week 1 and Oklahoma State lost to the University of Houston this past weekend, the top of the conference doesn’t match up with the top of the Southeastern Conference at all. The bottom of the Big 12, Colorado and Iowa State, look a lot weaker than the bottom of the Southeastern Conference. The SEC still rules the college football world.

Those of you who watch AMC’s hit series Mad Men may be wondering exactly what kind of sport the young entrepreneur was trying to get the boys of Sterling-Cooper to sell telling them it would soon become America’s next past time. You’ll remember, Don Draper and the boys spent time trying to learn the rules of the game, destroying an ant farm in the office during the process.

Believe it or not, this is a real sport, a form of Basque pelota known as cesta punta or  jai alai (pronounced “high a lie” ) and is known as the “world’s fastest sport.”  The game enjoys popularity in Spain, France, Mexico and Argentina. The sport failed to catch on in the Untied States, but is popular in some gambling circles in the state of Florida. On first glance, cesta punta resembles the racket sport, squash, but what makes the game so unique is the cesta, the curved, woven racket, worn on the hand and used to hurl the pelota, or ball towards the walls. Games take place on a court called a fronton, and players attempt to hurl the ball off of the walls in such a manner that their opponent is unable to return the ball.  This series of events is known as a rally. If the ball bounces twice, or if the opponent fails to return the ball in one fluid motion, the rally is stopped and a point is awarded.

College football remains one of the most popular sports in the country, especially in the Deep South and Midwest. If you’re doing business in these parts of the country, or if you have clients or business associates who attended college in these parts of the country, it’s good to be well versed on the current events. Here are a few games to keep your eye on today:

• USC at Ohio State – This is THE game of the week! It features two tradition rich teams ranked in the Top 10, squaring off in a game that could shape the national title picture. College football picks two teams to play for the national title at the end of the season based on a complex computerized ranking system. Part of the equation relies on strength of schedule. Winning a game of this magnitude will earn the victor major points in the drive to the championship game. On top of that, Ohio State is a bit of underdog on their home field and will be looking to show they belong among the elites of college football.
• Notre Dame at Michigan – Another game that features two tradition rich programs, but in this instance, two programs who have fallen on hard times recently. Both teams feature high profile coaches (Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame; Rich Rodriguez at Michigan) who need to have highly successful seasons to preserve their job security. It is not hyperbolic to say that the losing coach in this game may lose his job at the end of the season. Both teams looked impressive last week and will look to carry that momentum into this game.
• UCLA at Tennessee – Nestled on the banks of the Tennessee River, Neyland Stadium, home of the Tennessee Volunteers, seats well over 100,000 people and has consistently been rated at the top of college football experiences. “Sailgating”, instead of “tailgaiting,” takes place on the river and hordes of orange clad fans fill the stands and sing along to “Rocky Top,” the schools unofficial “fight song”, throughout the game. The game day experience alone merits watching any Tennessee home football game. This game carries added importance since it’s the second game for Tennessee’s first year head coach, Lane Kiffin, and his first against a quality opponent. Vols’ fans will be looking for an impressive outing by the home team in this game to send a message to the rest of the college football world.
• Idaho State at Oklahoma – Oklahoma is a 55 point favorite heading into this match-up and they should have a decent chance of covering that spread. However, it is worth following this game because the Sooners entered the season as a national title contender, lost a close game to an underdog team last week and lost the defending Heisman Trophy winner (the award given to the college football player of the year), Sam Bradford, to a shoulder injury. In addition to the Bradford injury, the Sooners have suffered injuries to several other key players, some lost for the entire season. The Sooners desperately need an impressive victory to establish some momentum heading into a very rough stretch of their schedule starting next week.