I love to see people take action on their passion – whether it’s sports, pirates, writing, reading, motivating, movie making, fitness, family, or the fight against childhood obesity. The last item isn’t on my top 10 passion list, but I did recently become involved – as an advisor - to a group of talented medical professionals based at Nemours in Delaware, who are passionate about finding an antidote to the ever-growing spread of childhood obesity. more…

I use the analogy of the plate spinner when focusing my attention on a variety of important ventures. You remember the plate spinner on the Ed Sullivan variety show who would start by placing one spinning plate on the tip of a vertical stationary rod, and then repeat the process until he had a dozen disks spinning at the same time. The performer never ever removed his total focus away from any one plate for fear of it wobbling and falling.

And that’s exactly my philosophy regarding all the plates I have spinning – even when other people’s fingers are on the plate. The following are updates on some of the PC plates. more…

I had a great time this past week as a panelist on the taping of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch show. The topic was “overachievement.” His main guest was an author and professor on performance psychology, named Dr. John Eliot. The name didn’t ring a bell when I was provided some of the doctor’s strategic achievement points during the pre-interview call the day before the taping - several of which were in complete opposition to my way of thinking.

I didn’t know I even knew Dr. Eliot until he walked up to me while I was sitting in the makeup chair at CNBC and said enthusiastically, “Pat, so they have the two of us together today firing up this show! Have you talked to Jeff lately?” more…

I love seeing in my inbox an email from David Franzoni. As the writer for our movie script on Blackbeard, he controls the pace of the project. So when comments or queries are sent my way, I know the creative genius is busily penning Blackbeard’s 1718 bloody adventure. more…

I’m excited to announce that I’ve finally started interviewing really cool business leaders, entrepreneurs, internet gurus, and CEOs for my new digital show called Down to Business. The show is produced by deca.tv (Digital Entertainment Corporation of America) - a production house created to deliver mainstream digital entertainment by Michael Wayne and Chris Kimbell, both formerly of Sony Pictures. more…

In the past I’ve had the pleasure of being a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and The Jimmy Kimmel Show, but this was the first time that I was ever a guest of a comedic show in the host’s living room! more…

It’s been five years since I’ve commuted from the Beverly Wilshire Hotel to Universal City Walk via Coldwater Canyon - either getting dizzy on the switchbacks or fighting the damn traffic – and it brought back great memories. And they’re even better this time around.

The games have begun. more…

As a sports physical therapist by trade, the former president and part-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, and currently the Commissioner of Slamball, and a serial entrepreneur, I have been a sports enthusiast and businessman all my life. During my career, I have witnessed numerous changes that have either detracted from or improved the fan experience, but none approaches the changes we are witnessing today, everyday online. Indeed, the Internet has made being a sports fan more fun than ever before.  more…

It felt like old times.

The excitement, passion, energy, and craziness was reminiscent of the numerous grand opening events we hosted at our Sports Physical Therapists facilities in the ‘80s, the outrageous promotional happenings (scaling bridges, capping cabbies) we staged during my Sixers reign in the late ‘90s, and the piratical parties and ribbon slashing ceremonies at the Rum Barrel and Pirate Soul Museum during the beginning of the new millennium.

The launch of Skinny Water in Philadelphia will be remembered with the best of them. more…

It was around 10:00 on Tuesday night and I was returning to my car from a dinner meeting at Flemings in Radnor, Pennsylvania. I had spent an enjoyable time in a private dining room with the partners and fellow advisors of NewSpring Capital. The wine was wonderful, the food delicious, and the conversation informative and humorous which elevated my normally ebullient disposition to the next level.

But what happened next spiked my mood to a NBA Finals Game 1 win-like level! more…

I could say this past week was the realization of an idea I initiated about 16 months ago – although the original dream was stimulated about 46 years ago – but, candidly, I won’t be content until I’m walking with Diane down the red carpet of Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard for the premier. With that said, the week was certainly a colossal step closer to the climax of a childhood dream. more…

It seems like I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time in the air lately with no relief in sight. For example, a week ago I flew to Tampa, Florida to attend the Slamball Draft at IMG Academies in Bradenton. Next, I flew over to Key West for several Pirate Soul and Rum Barrel meetings – we were one of the host establishments for the Key West Songwriters’ Festival. Then off to San Diego via Atlanta to speak to the Mission & Combat Support crew of Lockheed Martin at the historic Del Coronado. Great audience! And finally, I returned home to Philly International via Chicago to hug my wife, clean off my desk, attend several business meetings, and repack for another cross country trip to Los Angeles – where I’m pitching a movie with a couple of Hollywood heavyweights. more…

The first paragraph of the magazine article read: “It was scheduled as a 1 pm staff meeting. The phone rang in my office. On impulse I picked up the receiver and engaged the caller in a very brief conversation. That spontaneous moment cost me about 30 seconds of precious time. Pat Croce’s time. A little over a year into Croce’s tenure at the helm of the 76ers, he was not happy. Neither were the fans. Optimism abounded though as the new look of the team, from the coaching staff to the uniforms, were all about to be unveiled. As I hurried through the door of the conference room, Pat was already into his motivational magic when without warning…Zap! As I jetted for an open seat, musical chairs style, his laser beams burned a hole right through me. Even though the climate was comfortable, I was sweating profusely, the normally expressionless head coach of the 76ers, Larry Brown, managed an innocuous chuckle. I was told later by one of Croce’s closest confidents, “He must like you, if not, he would’ve blown you up right on the spot. Just don’t be late again.” more…

I recently had a meeting with Mark Burnett in his LA offices regarding his proposed network show entitled The Shark Tank.

I had met Mark at his way cool Mark Burnett Productions compound about a year ago when he was producing The Pirate Master. I had supplied him with my book Pirate Soul – A Swashbuckling Journey Through the Golden Age of Pirates as a reference source for his Caribbean adventure show. So even though the excitement I typically experience when visiting a new environment was less that my Red Alert status, the energy I felt in the presence of this pioneer of reality TV was once again volcanic! more…

I just spent a long weekend in Bradenton, Florida at the 300-acre IMG Academies. The amazing campus contains a par 72 golf course, two pools, two baseball diamonds, soccer fields, NBA-regulation basketball courts, an outrageous weight room, and 56 tennis courts where the likes of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Maria Sharapova, and the Williams sisters honed their game.

But I wasn’t visiting the sports academies for any of those amenities. more…

Whenever I dine out at a restaurant – which is usually three meals a day when I’m on the road - I regularly ask the wait staff their name. I may be considered peculiar with this practice but I like to personalize my dining experience and familiarize myself with the stranger servicing my gastronomic needs. And since I know that everyone loves the sound of their own name, I take advantage of the power to make them feel important.

The name game provides me the opportunity to instigate conversation, not only about menu suggestions and food preparations, but about the server’s history and hopes – especially in Hollywood. In that crazy city I do more than just get their names. more…

This week I lived at my old stomping ground in Beverly Hills, CA - the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. I was first exposed to the luxurious hotel back in the 80’s when I scheduled a several-day stay while hanging out with the creative genius Chuck Barris. It was my first exposure to the outrageous sights and lifestyles of Hollywood. The hotel is located right on the intersection of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard. You probably best recognize it as the setting for the romantic comedy Pretty Woman starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in 1990. And although we weren’t romantic, we were pretty funny when I had the Sixers team – and all of the entourages - take over the place during our thrilling run at the NBA 2001 Finals against the LA Lakers. But that’s another story. more…

I recently read a great article in the April/May issue of Success magazine entitled “Personal Development in America.” It highlighted the beginning of what we now refer to as the “self-help movement” with a book appropriately titled Self-Help written by the Scottish reformer Samuel Smiles in 1859.

That’s right…1859…almost a hundred years before the release of Norman Vincent Peale’s brilliant best-seller The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). I love that book! And I love the back story. Peale was so displeased with the final draft of his manuscript that he trashed it and forbade his wife from removing from the trash can. Mrs. Peale did as she was told; however, she did take the trash can to the publisher. more…

Watching the Villanova Wildcats – one of the last teams selected for the field of 65 - advance through the first two rounds (Clemson and Siena) of the NCAA tourney resurrected fond memories of Rollie Massimino’s 1985 championship season when GQ-clad Jay Wright was his assistant coach.

Living proof that times change but memories last forever. more…

The press release announcing my involvement with Skinny Nutritional Corporation was released yesterday. It mentions that I took a seat on the newly formed Board of Advisors, made a significant financial investment in the company, and I helped to develop a new “high-energy” Skinny Water that debuts within two months.

I’m excited about the prospects. more…

You’ve probably heard the saying “patience is a virtue.” I hate that quote!

Anytime someone preaches to me about the virtues of being patient – which is quite often – I like to reply by parroting Abraham Lincoln’s line: “Things will come to those who wait, but the things left by those who hustle.” Now, I love that quote! more…

I’m a big believer that “relationships determine results.” And the amazing journey behind this photo of Abbey Road Studios will demonstrate my point perfectly. more…

On Friday I received a call from Mark Benevento. In addition to being great friends, Mark and I are also close business partners in several ventures - including Greate Bay Country Club and Pirate Island Adventure Golf courses. In business he’s as tenacious as a pit bull with a juicy t-bone. In life, he’s as witty as Chris Rock – and possibly a little crazier! I love being in his company because he makes me laugh, and makes me look like an angel!

So Mark tells me that he arrived late at a small gathering of business men who annually celebrate their friendship with an exclusive dinner in South Jersey. They eat the meat they hunt or some such manliness. more…

I usually commit the last hour of my day to reading a good biography or some book of fiction. It’s part of my bedtime ritual to help me wind down, forget the day’s business focus, and enhance my ability to get a restful sleep.

Presently, I’m reading Ken Follett’s World Without End which is a sequel to his best-seller The Pillars of the Earth. The ultra-thick tome features descendants of the Pillars characters two hundred years later, so you don’t necessarily have to read the first book to take pleasure in World. I remember reading Pillars about 15 years ago and thoroughly enjoying it, so I was psyched to see the release of Follett’s newest work. FYI, the only common ground between the two books is literally the setting in the English town of Kingsbridge during the Middle Ages. more…

It’s funny how every so often someone asks me: Whatever happened to Slamball? In fact, just last week I had finished a speaking engagement in Atlanta, Georgia when a fellow came up to me and asked that exact question. 

Well, for his and your information, I’m happy to reveal that preparations are now underway for the return of our extreme sport Slamball to national and international TV. Following two seasons (2002 and 2003) on Spike TV, the high-flying, hard-hitting sport toured through Europe and Asia with phenomenal success. more…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

For my inaugural blog I was going to highlight the exciting progress on several venture fronts. But instead, I am sharing with you what I believe to be one of the worse examples of customer service in the world! 

As you know one of my previous companies was a finalist for the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. I’m a big advocate of top shelf customer service, so the horrific treatment I received at the Miami International Airport two days ago is worth sharing. more…