OneSeason closes $3.5 million venture round and adds Ronnie Lott and James Hong to advisory board

OneSeason announcement on TechCrunch homepage

So it was officially announced today that OneSeason.com closed a $3.5 million dollar round with Charles River Ventures. I’ve written about my involvement with OneSeason as an advisory board member before, so I’m not afraid to say that the team’s ability to close a venture round of this size, in this market/economy, is truly impressive.

OneSeason really is the “next generation” of fantasy sports games and brings an interesting dynamic that you just can’t get from a traditional fantasy league. The fact that the system uses real money forces participants to be “engaged” in the game.  It’s not hard to imagine a future where ESPN would show a player’s OneSeason price during a game or highlight and watch it rise or fall with a player’s performance.

With the addition of James Hong (founder of hotornot.com) and Ronnie Lott (NFL hall of famer) to the advisry board – there is no lack of horsepower. Now it’s just a matter of digging in and executing. The next year should be pretty interesting.

Obama’s Secret Service convoy is packing serious heat

Watching a reporter easily attack Bush with two shoes made me realize just how vulnerable the president is in most situations. I know the Secret Service is very good and that every possible precaution is taken to ensure the safety of the president. However, as I watched the inauguration of Barack Obama on CNN.com the same thought popped up. How safe is one of the most important president’s of our generation?

Well, the video above calmed some of my fears. This is a promotional video for the company that builds the Secret Service’s Yukon XLs that follow the presidential limo.  Specifically, the Dillon M134D Gatling Gun, a six barreled, electrically driven machine gun capable of firing 4,000 rounds per minute. That’s not a typo . . . it fires 4,000 bullets per MINUTE. Potential evil doers beware.

Doogie Howser MD (Neil Patrick Harris) kills it on SNL

The kids fell asleep early last night, which gave Jess and I a chance to watch the Tivo of Saturday Night Live from this past weekend. The host was Neil Patrick Harris – of Doogie Howser fame and now on How I Met Your Mother. He was hilarious. Probably one of the funniest host I’ve seen in a while. Part of what makes him so funny is that he embraces his Doogie Howser fame (as evidenced in this clip and the image above).

I’ve never seen a single episode of How I Met Your Mother, but based on NPH’s performance on SNL, I might start watching the show.

It’s not what you say, but how you say it

In our ThinkCash weekly marketing meetings I’ve started a new feature we call “YouTube Video of the Week”. The point is to find a YouTube video that illustrates a marketing principal (something done really well, or really poorly). This weeks was a good one. The idea here is that the way you say something (punctuation, emphasis, etc.) is just as important as the actual message. This anchor obviously didn’t think about where he should put the pause, or the emphasis, when we read the opening off the teleprompter. This is like a scene straight our of Anchorman.

Have $12 million to drop on Lance Armstrong’s hill country retreat?

Lance Armstrong’s 4,241-sq.ft. ranch house at Deadman’s Hole, sitting on 447 acres of Texas hill country in Dripping Springs, is on the market for $12 million. Probably not the best economy for trying to sell a $12 million weekend home, but if you’ve recently won the lottery . . .

SELLER: Lance Armstrong
LOCATION: Deadman’s Hole, Dripping Springs, TX
PRICE: $12,000,000
SIZE: 4,241 square feet, 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms (total)
DESCRIPTION: Spectacular resort like ranch with 447.8 acres. Ownership in Deadman’s Hole & 1886′ of Pedernales River frontage (per survey). Extensive clearing of underbrush, paved roads, beautiful grassy pastures & 7 miles of hike/bike trails. Fab 4bd, 4ba main house on hilltop w/ exquisite landscaping, neg. edge pool & firepit overlooking endless hill country views. Great 1bd/1ba guest house.

So let’s see. You get

gorgeous hill country views . . .

an architecturally-interesting, amazing 4bd/4ba main house (you also get a 1bd/1ba guest house for people you don’t really like) . . .

a gourmet kitchen . . .

7+ miles of your own private mountain bike trails . . .

ownership/access in Dead Man’s Hole. So whenever you need a break, you can take the 45 ft. plunge to clear your head.

All-in-all an amazing piece of property and further proof that Lance Armstrong has a pretty good life. Who knows, if you’re a cyclist like me, and you win the lottery, and you buy the place, maybe Lance will give you a lifetime discount at Mellow Johnny’s. Jess and I will see Lance in action when we go to the Tour de France this summer. Maybe if we hasn’t sold it by then I’ll see if he’s willing to give me a good deal 😉