Rick Burton

Major League Soccer, armed with its massive Apple sponsorship, the imminent arrival of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, the hosting of the COPA America tournament in 2024, and the signing of the game’s GOAT, Lionel Messi, could make MLS one of the world’s biggest leagues and one, within the next five years, capable of keeping credible company with European leagues such as La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and Bundesliga. InThe Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant, experienced sports business experts Rick Burton and Norm O’Reilly dig into the slow but sure growth of Major League Soccer in North America and the advent of major European teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and others attracting huge fan bases in the United States. Additionally, they detail how the MLS is building a global sports entity which is already commanding international attention from rival leagues by prioritizing digital marketing, international media platforms, creative global partnerships, investment in superstar players, and rapid expansion.

Wilmeth Sidat-Singh is the greatest athlete you've never heard of--and so much more. A rocket-armed passer on the football field, an ankle-breaking playmaker on the basketball court, he was also a scholar, civil rights pioneer, patriot, and one other thing--forgotten. In this historical novel based on Sidat-Singh's life, sportswriter Breanna Shelton stumbles upon the riveting story of the former Syracuse University star who was forced to hide his identity in order to take the field, leading to climactic moments when race and sports collided. As a young Black woman making her way in a profession not ready to fully accept her, Shelton immerses herself in the research, determined to resurrect an inspirational man who time left behind. Along the way, she finds courage and perseverance to transform herself and her career. Post-civil rights era society still grapples with dispiriting obstacles that Sidat-Singh faced more than a half century earlier, when he was "passing" to play; serving as a Tuskegee Airman in World War II; and interacting with luminaries such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Grantland Rice, Sam Lacy, and Joe Louis. This fictionalized account, as timely now as ever, honors an American hero whose life was cut short while serving a country that didn't recognize him as a full-fledged citizen because of the color of his skin. After you read it, Sidat-Singh will be invisible no more.

Business the NHL Way draws on hockey-inspired stories to show how brands, institutions, and individuals associated with the NHL have consistently survived a variety of challenges and thrived as a result of its decisions. This revised and expanded edition explores business-related scenarios from the sport of hockey and links each lesson back to business, leadership, diversity, management, and sport outcomes. Using ice hockey as an analogy for life, Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton – leaders in the business of sports and former amateur hockey players – inform business and industry professionals on best practices to achieve strategic outcomes and career advancement. The book aims to help businesses emerge from the financial and health disruptions of the global COVID-19 pandemic that not only altered the future of hockey but threatened business sustainability in every sector. Business the NHL Way will appeal to both casual and passionate hockey fans, as well as anyone eager to follow in the footsteps of a successful professional sports organization.

Business the NHL Way draws on hockey-inspired stories to show how brands, institutions, and individuals associated with the NHL have consistently survived a variety of challenges and thrived as a result of its decisions. This revised and expanded edition explores business-related scenarios from the sport of hockey and links each lesson back to business, leadership, diversity, management, and sport outcomes. Using ice hockey as an analogy for life, Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton – leaders in the business of sports and former amateur hockey players – inform business and industry professionals on best practices to achieve strategic outcomes and career advancement. The book aims to help businesses emerge from the financial and health disruptions of the global COVID-19 pandemic that not only altered the future of hockey but threatened business sustainability in every sector. Business the NHL Way will appeal to both casual and passionate hockey fans, as well as anyone eager to follow in the footsteps of a successful professional sports organization.

The premier NCAA student-athlete handbook, now in a second, updated edition designed for today's competitive market and with a new chapter on name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. Few student-athletes dreaming of athletic stardom ever make it to the pros. Yet, the discipline and skills they've developed while balancing a sport and academics make them ideally suited for satisfying careers elsewhere. The book's authors draw on personal experience, interviews, expert opinion, and industry data to provide a game plan for student-athletes to help them transition from high school to college, navigate evolving rules about NIL rights, and find success in life after college. Modeled after Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this expanded and updated guide provides a much-needed strategy for student-athletes as they prepare for postcollege careers, while serving as a valuable resource for their parents, coaches, and sports administrators across the country.

Surveying the university’s chronological history, with special focus on how Syracuse led the way in numerous important matters—gender, race, military veterans, and science. Forever Orange goes far beyond the parameters of a traditional institutional history. Authors Pitoniak and Burton have utilized exhaustive research, scores of interviews, and their own SU experiences to craft a book that explores what it has meant to be Orange since the school ’s founding as a small liberal arts college in 1870. Through narrative and hundreds of photos, Forever Orange presents SU’s glorious 150-year history in a lively, distinctive, informative manner, appealing to alumni and university friends, young and old.

The vast majority of student-athletes dreaming of athletic stardom won't make it to the pros. Yet, the discipline and skills they've developed while balancing a sport and academics make them ideally suited for satisfying careers elsewhere. In 20 Secrets to Success for NCAA Student-Athletes Who Won't Go Pro, the authors draw on personal experience, interviews, expert opinion, and industry data to provide a game plan for student-athletes through key transitions at each stage of their careers, from high school through college and beyond. Modeled on Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this book provides a much-needed strategy for achieving career success. Readable and concise, it will be a valuable tool for students, parents, and sports administrators.

The vast majority of student-athletes dreaming of athletic stardom won’t make it to the pros. Yet, the discipline and skills they’ve developed while balancing a sport and academics make them ideally suited for satisfying careers elsewhere. In 20 Secrets to Success for NCAA Student-Athletes Who Won’t Go Pro, the authors draw on personal experience, interviews, expert opinion, and industry data to provide a game plan for student-athletes through key transitions at each stage of their careers, from high school through college and beyond. Modeled on Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this book provides a much-needed strategy for achieving career success. Readable and concise, it will be a valuable tool for students, parents, and sports administrators.

Combine WWII flyers, a sadistic Nazi colonel, East Germany's feared secret police, the CIA and a prominent U. S. Senator with years of Cold War knowledge and a you get a historical thriller of biblical proportions from newcomer Rick Burton. This hard-hitting, fast-paced story moves from war-torn Berlin in 1944 to modern-day Boston, Budapest and Moscow. Combining historically accurate military and espionage details, Burton's thriller spans two generations of complicated intrigue and dark double-crosses. The Darkest Mission is a harrowing ride that follows the crew of a doomed 100th Bomb Group B-17 bomber, through a 50-year odyssey targeting one of America's most honored public figures. With its whirlwind plot, delving deep into bitterness and dark depravity, it falls to a South Boston detective, turning to an NFL-linebacker-turned-priest, to explain one clue (a Bible verse that doesn't exist). It leads to a series of gritty homicides and a puzzle-filled plot that ends with a blazing conclusion.

For more than seven years, the incisive commentary of Burton and O’Reilly has graced the pages of SportsBusiness Journal, the industry’s leading trade journal. Now, fifty of their most recent columns are collected in one volume, providing thoughtful and deeply knowledgeable insight into many of the industry’s most contentious issues. Covering an era in sports that has experienced rapid change, the authors discuss such topics as gender equity, corporate sponsorship, collegiate athletics, diversity, and the future of sports. As two of the leading scholars in the business of sports, Burton and O’Reilly also draw upon years of experience to give both students and industry professionals a dual perspective on the role sports play in a healthy, thriving society.

Combine WWII flyers, a sadistic Nazi colonel, East Germany's feared secret police, the CIA and a prominent U. S. Senator with years of Cold War knowledge and a you get a historical thriller of biblical proportions from newcomer Rick Burton. This hard-hitting, fast-paced story moves from war-torn Berlin in 1944 to modern-day Boston, Budapest and Moscow. Combining historically accurate military and espionage details, Burton's thriller spans two generations of complicated intrigue and dark double-crosses. The Darkest Mission is a harrowing ride that follows the crew of a doomed 100th Bomb Group B-17 bomber, through a 50-year odyssey targeting one of America's most honored public figures. With its whirlwind plot, delving deep into bitterness and dark depravity, it falls to a South Boston detective, turning to an NFL-linebacker-turned-priest, to explain one clue (a Bible verse that doesn't exist). It leads to a series of gritty homicides and a puzzle-filled plot that ends with a blazing conclusion.