New Gamblers coach Rud anything but

The Gamblers hired a new head coach this past week - Eric Rud. His last name is pronounced rude - with a long u. I got the chance to spend a few hours with him on Wednesday taking him on a media tour - FOX 11, WIXX, Y100, WNFL (John Maino) and WDUZ the Fan. As a PR guy, one of my concerns with any coach will be how he deals and relates with the media. If Wednesday is any indication, Eric will be great. Former coach Jon Cooper had a gift for that (I hope he never reads this because his head is big enough). Another former Gamblers coach, Mark Osiecki, was also good. I would say Coach Rud is a cross between them. He's a hockey guy no question, but he gets the other part of the job too - relating to the fans, season ticket holders and the media!

Coach Rud had a lot on his mind besides taking the new job. He also has a wife and 3 kids to think about - kids that will start school in the Green Bay area September 1! Before he left Green Bay that day, he and his wife had to have a pretty good idea of where they were going to live and which school district he would send his children to. While Eric was with me, his wife stayed behind at the hotel and worked the internet looking at potential places to live and they were meeting with a realtor to look at those potential areas. He is very open to doing unique things with the media this season, so hopefully we'll come up with some creative things to showcase the Gamblers maybe in a different light.

Next Thursday, September 2 is the last Leicht at Nite of the season at Leicht Park. Big Mouth is the band. It's been another huge success this year and Leicht Park is becoming the place to be on Thursday nights in the summer! I, however, won't be slinging drinks Thursday. No, I'll be traveling south to check out Lady GaGa at the Bradley Center that same night. You can bet you'll hear from me on that one. I hear it's quite a spectacle!