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American: “I don’t really understand the Premiership. How do they decide who wins?”

EPL Fan: “It’s a double round-robin. Twenty teams play each other twice. Teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. At the end of 38 matches, whoever has the best overall record is declared champion.”

American: “So no playoffs?”

EPL Fan: “Nope. Not for the Premiership title. The FA and League Cups are both tournament style competitions, though.”

American: “So those happen after the season? Like playoffs?”

EPL Fan: “No, all three competitions take place from August until May. Premiership matches are generally on Saturdays and Sundays, while Cup matches happen Tuesdays and Wednesdays.”

American: “That doesn’t make any sense, having three competitions going on at once like that.”

EPL Fan: “Actually, it does. The same teams tend to challenge for the Premiership every season, but the knockout-style competition the Cup tournaments provide allow for the occasional upset win — allowing the lesser known clubs to take home the hardware every once in a while. The wide array of competitions are also what keeps teams from fielding competitive teams throughout the season.”

American: “Well then, what’s the reward for doing well in the Premiership if you know you can’t possibly win? Why don’t teams just direct all their efforts into the cup matches?”

Champions League

EPL Fan: “Two reasons. First, the top four finishers in the Premiership get to move on to the UEFA Champions League, (yet another competition taking place from August until May) which is comprised of a collection of the best teams from all of the national soccer federations of Europe.”

American: “Wow, sounds like that would bring in a lot of TV time and new fans.”

EPL Fan: “Exactly — which brings me to my second reason. Teams have to put forth effort during the course of the Premiership. The three teams which finish in last place are relegated to the Championship. Despite it’s name, the Championship is like the Triple-A for English soccer.”

American: “So the Premiership loses three teams every year?”

EPL Fan: “No, they promote the top three teams from the Championship up to the Premiership. If you thought there was a great deal of money to be had from making the UEFA Champions League, there’s an even bigger boost in revenue when you get promoted from to the Premiership.”

There is a pre-draft rundown of the AFC East over at Football Outsiders today, which touches on Belichick and Pioli throwing out the “Patriot Way” playbook last off-season in favor of top-dollar free agents.

This begs the question: Faced with an unprecedented exodus of home-grown talent, will the Patriots continue to deviate from their strategy of developing young talent? The acquisitions of Fernando Bryant, Jason Webster and Sam Aiken seem to forecast a return to the blueprint that built the dynasty to begin with.

Nowhere better is this blueprint better summed up than in James Lavin’s “Management Secrets of the New England Patriots.” It is without question the most comprehensive text I have ever read on developing a high-performance athletic organization.

Don’t be fooled by the mildly patronizing “Management Secrets…” title. This book is the real deal. Thoroughly researched, Lavin relies on hundreds of referenced articles, books, and interviews to build the value case for both Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli. Volume One covers the Patriots right up through Super Bowl XXXVIII, while Volume Two covers the victory over the Eagles, as well as the maintenance of an existing powerhouse through the 2005 season.

While the website does promise the release of Volume Three in 2006, it still has yet to be released. I exchanged e-mails with James this past February, and while he has begun writing the third installment, he is unsure of when it will actually hit shelves.

Until then, I can’t recommend the first two volumes highly enough. If I were developing a syllabus on sports management, this book would be one of the primary texts.

The Watchable

Until 2004, the Red Sox had the Curse. Without fail, each September and October fate would bring forth misery to an entire region. Love or hate the Boston Media Machine, by constantly reminding us of Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone, they created the unity that bound Red Sox Nation. From the Impossible Dream right up to October 28, 2004, you were born into Red Sox Nation. Because such a storyline was so well ingrained into sports folklore, the same regional obsession lives on — after two World Series titles in four years. Eons of soul-crushing defeat followed by sweet redemption. This is what it means to be a Red Sox fan today. This is why people watch.

The Patriots were one win away from the first perfect season since 1972. Once the laughing stock of professional football, management has managed to keep one step ahead of the NFL’s continual prescription for parity and fairness. There have been countless books written on the brilliance of Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, and Robert Kraft. The Patriots’ front office uses economic theory and statistics to outwit the opposition. They have a golden-boy quarterback, a brash (though in transition) defense, and a reputation for keeping even the most notorious of malcontents in line and contributing to the greater good of the team. To many, supporting the Patriots is to support all these things.

Once the gold standard for winning, the Celtics quickly hit the skids in the mid-90’s. Amusingly enough, the Celtics have managed to stay in the spotlight ever since by constantly displaying one of the following three characteristics:

1. One of the elite teams in the NBA (2007, 2002)
2. Exceptional periods of change/controversy (Wyc Grousebeck, Rick Pitino)
3. Finishing at the bottom of the standings, guaranteeing a shot at a top draft pick

The Celtics success this year is part of a story that goes back nearly a decade, yet still has meaningful chapters occurring the entire time. Last year’s disastrous showing lent us the 2007 NBA Draft Lottery Fiasco, which ultimately led to the acquisitions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Throughout the ups and downs, there is a greater story being told every night. This leads to a watchable product.

The Unwatchable

Watching the first five minutes of last night’s Bruins-Canadiens pre-game show, there was no real effort to convince me that Game One actually mattered. I was told about Tim Thomas’ lousy GAA, informed about the Bruins being winless against Montreal that season, and then immediately shown a phone number where I could buy my 2008-09 season ticket package. How can I resist!?!

The collective public has a short attention span these days. We love YouTube’s half-minute comedy shows, but on average, a YouTube video only gets watched for ten seconds. With a team that has been so consistently mediocre since 1992, quick anecdotes from yet another lackluster campaign aren’t going to excite me into spending the next couple of hours watching the Bruins — much less shelling out $1500 to watch them for six months next season.

Lost in the lead up to the game was that the Bruins and Canadiens have met in a playoff series 30 times, with the Canadiens winning 23 times. This is a dominance reminiscent of the Yankees over the Red Sox in the last century, and yet it gets no exposure. Considering the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry is the biggest cash cow in American sports today, this is absolutely baffling.

On behalf of potential viewers everywhere (at least those of us who weren’t scared off by Game One), I ask:

• Why do I care about THIS team?
• What stage in the epic of these two once-storied franchises is this next game going to tell?
• Is there the potential for me to experience something I’ll always remember (Dave Roberts steal, or Larry Bird’s strip of Isiah)?

Not shelling out big bucks to hold onto top-dollar talent (See: “Guerin, Bill” and “Thornton, Joe”) has always been the biggest knock on the Bruins organization. If this wasn’t enough to methodically drive fans away over the years, then the 2004-05 NHL lockout certainly did the job for them. Even with the cost certainty of a salary cap to assist them, the Bruins have still done little to bring in marketable players that will help them compete with the Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics.

People flock to teams with larger than life personalities. Even during the 2000-2003 era of first round playoff exits, the Bruins could still rely on P.J. Stock, Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, and Bill Guerin to get the crowd excited. They were a well-rounded team then, with speed and grit. Most importantly, they were a team with recognizable talent.

As soon as Patrice Bergeron went down early in the season, the Bruins didn’t try to paint any other player as among the NHL’s best. At a Bruins game this December, the JumboTron cut to a plainclothes Bergeron watching the action from above. This got the second loudest cheer from the crowd that day (The loudest? Announcing a Celtics victory that afternoon).

When even the organization seemingly admits to the fans that their only legitimate draw is out of commission for the entire season (and if they’re smart, the playoffs too), why in the world would I bother watching?

Our current Boston sports offerings are the Red Sox (Ortiz, Ramirez, Beckett, Papelbon, Lowell, Pedroia…), the Patriots (Brady, Moss, Bruschi, Belichick), the Celtics (Garnett, Pierce, Allen), and the Bruins (Chara, Taylor, Murray).

Who do YOU think people are going to remember to watch?