Sporting Madness

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the "Justice, society, and the rise of online and athlete activists" panel that closed out the day. (Update: also see my take on this at Awful Announcing .) Panelists: Julie DiCaro @JulieDiCaro Aaron Harison @FreeBeacon Greg Howard @GregHoward88 Chris Kluwe @ChrisWarcraft Cyd Zeigler @CydZeigler Moderator: Kevin Blackistone, @ProfBlackistone CK: "I'm a straight white male. My life is not hard." CZ: "I don't watch much sports anymore." "It's a tool for social justice for me. It's a tool to advance kids' lives." JD:  "We have baggage we all bring. Before I wrot...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the  "Breaking Away From the Narrative: How to Navigate the Waters of 24/7 NFL Coverage" panel. Apologies for the short notes here; I was uploading some other notes during this panel. Panelists: Eric Edholm @eric_edholm Andrea Hangst @fball_andrea Maggie Hendricks @maggiehendricks Robert Klemko @robertklemko Keith Bulluck, @kbull53 Moderator: Michael Schottey @schottey Maggie: [At USA Today] "I didn't necessarily always know my click numbers which was nice. It let me look for stories that are good stories." How to balance the 24/7 nature of the NFL today: Andrea: "It's hard to have that separ...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the very interesting "Your Pitch Is Futile" panel, a discussion about PR and the media.  Panelists: Mitch Germann (@mcg5) Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) Robert Littal (@bso) Dayn Perry (@daynperry) Moderator: Zack Smith (@sportsflackzack) The panel started with panelists asked to define storytelling and then describe either media (if they're from the PR side) or PR (if they're from the media side). RL: Storytelling is about his own unique take. PR people : Agenda. MG: "Storytelling is something that creates a connection with the audience." Media: resourceful, busy RG: "[Storytelling is] inf...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcriptsu. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from  Cyd Zeigler  and  Christina Kahrl 's conversation about trans issues. On trans issues in general: CZ: "People don't know anything about this." On Bruce Jenner and his recent ABC interview: CK: "Certainly it's an opportunity." (to talk more about trans issues). CK wishes they'd discussed sports element more on Jenner interview On journalists looking to cover trans people and worried about pronoun use: CK: "Trans people are used to the (pronoun) question. Just ask." CK on her own identity: "between my ears, I always have been Christina." Discussing  Grantland's piece...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts; this panel's highlights are particularly short, as I was uploading a previous panel's highlights during it. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the Yahoo Sports Grandstanding Podcast , which did a special episode live from BWB focused on the NFL draft. Panelists: Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee), Kevin Kaduk (@KevinKaduk), Eric Edholm (@eric_edholm) On the draft in Chicago: KK: "I don't think the NFL knows how this is going to go." "They're trying to turn this into a travelling roadshow." If drug arrests really hurt a player's stock: EE: "I don't think they put a little marijuana flag by the guy's name." KK: "Th...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the Q+A session with SB Nation editorial director and Every Day Should Be Saturday's Spencer Hall, focusing on the questions he was asked about how the network handled the situation with a rogue post on their Angels' blog about Josh Hamilton (SB Nation has since parted ways with the blogger in question). On the Hamilton post, and the challenges with having people in their affiliate network who are not full SB Nation employees: "It is difficult at times." "Hopefully the goal is to groom people to run these sites in a way that's within our editorial guidelines." "That's where you cross t...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the NFLPA Q+A with assistant executive director (external affairs) George Atallah and president Eric Winston. NFLPA: The Business Of Football George Atallah and Eric WInston @GeorgeAtallah @EricWinston Keith Bulluck asked about players in transition EW: Worked with league to create The Trust Helping guys find what they want to do and get into it "When they get off that field, they've been doing something for so long. They've had that path and that path has always been given to them." Been going for 24 months, over 1000 enrolees, all you need is one season The Trust: NFLPA Affiliated organization, funde...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the fifth panel, focusing on the state of Chicago sports. The State of Chicago Sports (and media) Panelists: Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes), 670 The Score/120 Sports Jon Greenberg (@jon_greenberg), ESPN Dan Katz (@BarstoolBigCat), Barstool Sports David Kaplan (@thekapman), CSN Chicago Jen Lada (@JenLada), CSN Chicago Moderator: Sarah Spain, ESPN (@SarahSpain) David Kaplan: "Anyone with a Twitter account can actually break news." "A story can get out there and it doesn't have to be vetted." "You're competing with so many different people now." "You go into the locker room and there...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the third panel, focusing on the NBA and its engagement with fans. Like, Follow, Swipe Right: How The NBA is Connecting With Fans in the Modern Era Panelists: Zach Harper, CBS, @talkhoops Eddie Maisonet III, The SF Journal, @edthesportsfan Andrew Nicholson, Sacramento Kings, @a_nicholson Moderator: Lang Whitaker, NBA Digital, @langwhitaker EM: On Twitter, you can talk about anything, even things not directly NBA related. Movies: “Jesse Hall is the greatest MIghty Duck of all time.” EM: “Getting a credential is not that tough for the NBA.” ZH: “I started writing when I moved to Sacramento. When I started Truehoop’s Kings blog, the...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the second panel, Measuring Online Influence. Athletes Off The Field Don Povia, @HHReynolds, moderator Shawn Smith: @1stLadyXAMSport Mike Dolan, @mikedolanaq John Thornton, @JohnThornton SS: Has an agency with her husband “I do all the marketing, the PR.” MD: “I’m the editor and publisher of Athletes Quarterly.” “We’re the official magazine of major league toilets.” JT: “I’m an NFL agent at Octagon. Before joining Octagon last year I had my own agency.” “Before that I had a 10-year career in the NFL.” “I forced the Bengals to upgrade their website because I had more traffic than them.” SS: Connor Barwin: “The dude ...

I'm in Chicago for Blogs With Balls 6 and taking plenty of notes. I'll be posting my notes from each panel here for the use of anyone who wants to check them out. Keep in mind that these are highlights, not complete transcripts. Every effort is given to be as accurate as possible; apologies for any transcription mistakes. Here are my notes from the introduction and the first panel, Measuring Online Influence.   Introduction: Don Povia, @HHReynolds: "I hate to call this a conference. It's more of a networking event." "It's a community-driven event." Panel I: Measuring Online Influence: Panelists: JR Jackson, @jrsportbrief Brandon WIlliams, @bjw5002, moderator Wes Davis, content director, MVP Index, @mvpindex WD: "We're trying to become like a Nielsen ratings for teams." "People aren't stupid. You know when you're being sold to." "Where real engagement occurs is when an athlete is actually living t...

Back in September, I headed to New York for another Blogs With Balls conference. The two I’d attended before, in Vegas and Chicago, were amazing experiences, and this one was no different; it was a great time, an excellent chance to get some intelligent perspective on where blogging’s going and a chance to hang out with some awesome people. I was just going through my files and realized I had a lot of notes from the BWB4 panels that I’d never posted, so here they are. First up, the first panel, Women Talk Sports. Note on the notes: these are in chronological order (as much as possible), but I couldn’t write down every comment from every panelist, so this is more of a "Highlights" piece than a full transcript . Panelists : Sarah Braesch , BlogHer / Draft Day Suit , Richard Deitsch , Sports Illustrated , Jemele Hill , ESPN , Tina Cervasio , MSG , Jane McManus . Moderator: Megan Hueter , Women Talk Sports . The panel started with a discussion of why women’s sports aren’...

We're going to be running plenty of panel recaps from Blogs With Balls' fourth edition (which I'm in New York City for) here this week, but the best moment actually came in the final panel of the day yesterday. Thus, to borrow from a famous quotation , "the last shall be first and the first shall be last". The most newsworthy moment of the whole day came from Josh Elliott , former ESPN SportsCenter anchor and current ABC Good Morning America co-host, who was on the final BWB panel ("Rising Stars") and candidly responded to my question about how he handles criticism of ESPN (along the lines of what I've delivered in a couple of pieces at The Good Point ). "I absolutely understand why people criticize ESPN," Elliott said. "It’s so pervasive and there are certain decisions it makes that are so terrible it sets itself up." Elliott was particularly bothered by his colleagues' reactions to his GChat interview with Deadspin ...

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." - J.R.R. Tolkien "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson My writing life's been an unusual journey, which is probably true for many writers. My parents have been heavily involved in the journalism industry for decades, but I wanted nothing to do with it growing up. I always loved sports, but I wasn't particularly interested in writing about them either. When I went off to school at Queen's University, my plan was to become a chemist; I was more concerned with compounds and formulas than vocabulary and turns of phrase. That all changed thanks to the Queen's Journal , the campus paper I knew I wanted to be a part of soon after reading it for the first time. At first, I wanted the news and politics beats everyone else was interested in, bu...

I'm in Prince George at the moment for my cousin's wedding, so I probably won't have much time to write this weekend, but I appeared on the Davis Sports Deli Podcast this morning with Jon Santiago to discuss the World Cup, the NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant , LeBron James and Blogs With Balls 3.0 in Chicago. Check out the episode here !

The Blogs With Balls III conference took place last weekend at Wrigley Field. I was there, and I quite enjoyed it; there was a lot of good discussion around several key topics in sports media. Over the next few days, I'm going to be presenting recaps and analysis of all the different panels. Here's the first one: Panel: Going Local: Charting The Evolution of Local Sports Media In The Digital Age Panelists: Jim Bankoff of SB Nation , Enrico Campitelli of The 700 Level , TK Gore of Comcast Sportsnet Chicago , Jon Greenberg of ESPN Chicago and Dave Nemetz of Bleacher Report . Moderator: ESPN's Amy K. Nelson . Picture: Theme Song (unofficial): Tom Petty - Learning To Fly I chose this because it reflected both the small-scale beginnings of many of the panelists and their current lofty status (Bankoff and Nemetz both run massive sports networks, while Campitelli's site was recently acquired by Comcast and Gore and Greenberg are both prominent in the ...

"It's 106 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it." - The Blues Brothers I'm in Chicago for the third Blogs With Balls convention, which starts in just a couple of hours with a kick-off party. If it's anything like the last one I covered in Vegas last fall , it should be a great time. The real action is tomorrow, and there's a great lineup of panelists . You can catch all the action via Justin.tv ; I'll also be tweeting during the proceedings and writing some recap posts here. It should be a great weekend; make sure to check back here for my coverage of it!

ESPN's decision to suspend columnist Bill Simmons from Twitter for two weeks [ Mediaite ] is the wrong move. The suspension wasn't highly publicized, but came out as the result of an investigation by Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead , which prompted ESPN.com editor-in-chief Rob King to write a blog post explaining the decision. Here's King's statement : "We have internal guidelines designed to inform how we discuss the topic of sports media. These guidelines are important us, because they help maintain the credibility with which ESPN operates. No one knows the guidelines better than Bill Simmons, and he customarily works within these standards. He also understands, as does everyone else at ESPN, that we regard these guidelines as being equally important when participating in social media. While it's unfortunate -- and sometimes painful -- that not everyone outside of ESPN chooses to play by such rules, we choose to hold ourselves to higher standards. R...

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Las Vegas for the Blogs With Balls convention and had a great time. There was so much that came out of it that was worth writing about, as evidenced by all the great pieces that have showed up in the blogosphere on the conference since then. You can find most of the recap pieces linked at the official conference site here , and you can also look at parts I , II and III of my series if you're interested. I've been working on a final piece from there since then, but haven't had time to put it up yet, and in some ways, that's probably good, as it gave me time to reflect on it. This is the last official part of the Feat, Loathing and Blogs series, but I'll certainly be touching on some of the panelists' remarks and some of the things that came out of the conference more briefly in future posts as well. This series isn't just about conference recaps, but rather where the sports blogosphere may be going, so I hope it's st...