Or maybe not. Still, I was entertained by Kristine's video on AOL Fanhouse. She's a Patriots fan, to the best of my knowledge. Her dad and brother are Giants fans. Thus, at the end Kristine resignedly congratulates her dad and brother on the big Super Bowl win. It made me laugh, for some reason--looks like congratulating them caused her physical pain, ha.
Do watch the AOL Fanhouse Minute if you haven't already; watch each weekday via http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/tag/FanHouseMinute/. The ladies are funny, well-spoken, and cute, and it's just one minute long.
By the way, some of you have asked why I'm posting so much lately. For one, hits have been rather high recently, so I feel like I should ride out this trend until the market no longer supports so much posting. Also, my one-year anniversary of this blog is February 11th. At the same time, I have stacks of "saved draft" posts that have been getting stale in my inbox. Thus, I thought it best to flush out the system to coincide with the end of the NFL season and the impending one-year site anniversary. Expect posting to drop significantly once we reach February 11th.
Showing posts with label ThisSuitisNotBlack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ThisSuitisNotBlack. Show all posts
Friday, February 8, 2008
Thursday, June 14, 2007
MCBias Interviews: This Suit is Not Black
After seeing the fun that The Big Lead, Pyle of List, The Big Picture, and others had in interviewing media types and bloggers, I decided to join in if I could find bloggers worth featuring. I wanted to get answers to questions that smaller, mediocre bloggers like myself care about. I found a blogger worth featuring in the witty Kristine of This Suit is Not Black fame. Kristine is one of the people who helped inspire me to blog, and I really wanted the opportunity to introduce her to more people in the blogging community. That, and I am a sucker for tall ex-volleyball players. So here are 20 Mediocrely Cerebral questions for a MCBias favorite. (Expletives get the #### treatment; of course, I can’t stop the uncouth among you from playing “Obscene Mad Libs” at the top of your lungs in your very own cubicle or domicile.) Be your usual classy selves in the comment section, readers.
1. What was your background in sports and writing before blogging?
I graduated with a degree in sports journalism, believe it or not. It was the last of the five majors I tried (6 if you count “undeclared”) and I still managed to graduate on time. I finally settled on journalism because I wanted to be a VJ at MTV (no judgment). But at Springfield College - highly regarded for grooming the nation's top physical educators - it is impossible to find a major unrelated to sports. So journalism became sports journalism. From there I went into radio and ended up at ESPN Radio in Bristol (clearly foregoing the whole MTV career path when I realized it blew). I left the World Wide Leader when an opportunity arose in New York City for a radio prep service (ask me what that is later). I started up the sports column for the service and when I didn't get a raise at my yearly review I rebelled by starting up This Suit is Not Black which I would write from work – because #### the man, that’s why. And as of two weeks ago, I am a fulltime writer for the service, which sadly cuts down on the time I can write for TSINB. It's bittersweet, really, but there you have it: the short, short version. I hope it was coherent.
2. You could be a pro at any sport of your choosing, but you’d only make 50% of your current salary. Deal?
No #### deal. I can barely live off of my current salary and I highly doubt, “Coach, I can’t go to practice today, I have to waitress” would work very well.
3. I know you were a commenter on Deadspin.com for a while before you started your own blog. What convinced you to take the plunge into blogging?
I realized that writing for the prep service, though a great step back into print from radio, was still incredibly stifling. And after reading all of the different blogs out there, I found that the work done by those writers was what similar to what I was looking to do. So that helped convince me. As did the fact that I can be as big of a bitch on my site as I’d like without possibly losing my job.
4. How do you find material to blog about? It sounds like such an easy question, but all the excellent writing in the world can’t save a boring rehash of yesterday’s news.
I try not to rehash too much. I’ve found a few untapped sites that are goldmines for stories about retards or retarded events. However, if I see something on one of the more well known sites that I think I can put a good spin on, I’m definitely going to use it.
5. You can be present at one sporting event, past, present, or future; where do you go?
There are a lot of sporting events that give me the chills when I think about them. Off the cuff I can think of about 7 events in Red Sox history that I'd love to have been present for. But I have choose Jason McElwain’s http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/23/earlyshow/main1339324.shtml 6 three-pointers in the last three minutes of his senior game. It’s even better than Rudy.
6. You worked at ESPN for some time, and although I’d love to hear more about that one time with that one ESPN personality, I understand that professional etiquette may restrain you, ha. But on the off-chance it doesn’t, spill the beans, sister! How gory is it within the bowels of the Worldwide Leader? And do you find the fascination of outsiders with ESPN at all weird now that you’ve worked there?
As much as I hate to disappoint (not really), I had not one problem working at ESPN. I never encountered one TV or radio personality who made me uncomfortable in any way. That being said, I was aware of the environment I was working in and am not easily insulted or offended – qualities that may have helped. My boss was very clear that I could go to him if I had any problem with sexual harassment whatsoever, though I never did. I'm certainly not saying all those guys are saints – what they do on their own time is their business – but as far as the way they treated me, never a problem. Steve Levy was able to provide me with the most embarrassing moment in my professional career, though, I will say that. And both he and Harold Reynolds signed a graduation card for my younger brother. Can’t hate guys for being nothing but nice.
7. You’ve done a good job of getting larger blogs like deadspin.com and withleather.com to link to you. Tell us what made those blogs you wrote worth linking to, and how you went about getting the links.
I think you're asking me to tell you what made me choose the blog posts I sent out? Based on that question, here's my answer: The one criterion I have is that I will not send stories that I've already seen on another blog. After that, it's not up to me what I think is worth linking to. Basically, I email both Deadspin and With Leather without abandon or shame. Probability says that the more stories I send, the better the chance of one getting chosen for use. Ultimately, the editors of those sites choose what they deem worthy, I just add to the material they sift through.
8. I enjoy your self-depreciating humor on your site about women, making comments such as “Great find by The Big Lead this morning that further proves the woman's place is in the kitchen.” Because you don’t identify yourself as a female on the site, how many guys, if any, didn’t get that it was a joke?
I think that anyone who read that sentence and didn't pick up on the joke came across my site by accident and won't be returning which, frankly, is probably better for the both of us.
9. I know you’re a Red Sox fan, so I have to pick on you once. David Ortiz gets traded for Derek Jeter tomorrow. Do you have a heart attack, and how long does it take for you to become a fan of Derek Jeter?
This is a #### question which I will not dignify with an answer.
10. Now that you’ve been in blogging for a few months and met some bloggers, are the stereotypes true about bloggers being white, male, unemployed, socially awkward losers living at home?
Yes.
11. Tom Brady after Bridget and Gisele: tarnished or not?
He can have sex with whomever he wants to, it was the Yankees hat that tarnished him.
12. To you, what is the reward of blogging? It amazes me sometimes that so many people in their 20’s and 30’s are willing to waste parts of the best years of their lives to type out entries just so they can get a couple “Nice post, dawg” type comments. It’s more than just that, right?
It’s not much more than that. Honestly, though, I write between 15-18 stories daily for my prep service, but if I don't write one good blog post I feel like my day's been a waste. The blog is my voice, my creativity, my brainchild as opposed to my company’s voice, my company’s creativity, my company’s brainchild. So as much as I’d like to say I do it for myself (and maybe my mom), it's a cool feeling to have someone like what I, even if that makes me lame.
13. As a native Massachusettsian (I’ll use the nice term, ha), what do you think of the Sports Guy? Does he represent Boston correctly?
He is a Boston fan, so he can’t represent himself incorrectly.
Blogger Superlatives:
14. You’ve been sentenced to 90 days in jail for various petty crimes, and are incarcerated with one sports blogger. If you had a choice, who would it be?
Matt over at With Leather. I've met him before and I feel like I could make it 90 days without wanting to kill him or myself.
15. Which blogger/site do you think is most likely to write a book? No, you can’t say Will, ha.
I don't really feel I can answer this one. I know a few who are going to write books, but that's not information for me to give out. And I don't want to insult anyone by not choosing them, etc. So I'm going to answer safely and say I’m going to get a book deal because I'm #### awesome.
16. What are your thoughts on the Hot Blogger contest? (ladiesdotdotdot.wordpress.com)
I think it's sexist. I think it completely degrades those men and the talents that they bring forward as writers. And I think it turns them into nothing but pieces of meat. I couldn’t love it more. I just wish I had thought of it first.
17. Which blogger/site is the craziest fan of his/her team?
I haven’t a breeze.
18. Which blogger/site is the funniest?
What Would Tyler Durden Do. It's not sports, but it's like, With Leather's sister site and it's fan-####-tastic.
19. Most creative blogger/site?
Kissing Suzy Kolber or Girls Gone Sports. Those chicks are no joke – at both sites.
20. Pick your own question to answer.
Do I hope to someday get paid for my blog? ####, yea.
1. What was your background in sports and writing before blogging?
I graduated with a degree in sports journalism, believe it or not. It was the last of the five majors I tried (6 if you count “undeclared”) and I still managed to graduate on time. I finally settled on journalism because I wanted to be a VJ at MTV (no judgment). But at Springfield College - highly regarded for grooming the nation's top physical educators - it is impossible to find a major unrelated to sports. So journalism became sports journalism. From there I went into radio and ended up at ESPN Radio in Bristol (clearly foregoing the whole MTV career path when I realized it blew). I left the World Wide Leader when an opportunity arose in New York City for a radio prep service (ask me what that is later). I started up the sports column for the service and when I didn't get a raise at my yearly review I rebelled by starting up This Suit is Not Black which I would write from work – because #### the man, that’s why. And as of two weeks ago, I am a fulltime writer for the service, which sadly cuts down on the time I can write for TSINB. It's bittersweet, really, but there you have it: the short, short version. I hope it was coherent.
2. You could be a pro at any sport of your choosing, but you’d only make 50% of your current salary. Deal?
No #### deal. I can barely live off of my current salary and I highly doubt, “Coach, I can’t go to practice today, I have to waitress” would work very well.
3. I know you were a commenter on Deadspin.com for a while before you started your own blog. What convinced you to take the plunge into blogging?
I realized that writing for the prep service, though a great step back into print from radio, was still incredibly stifling. And after reading all of the different blogs out there, I found that the work done by those writers was what similar to what I was looking to do. So that helped convince me. As did the fact that I can be as big of a bitch on my site as I’d like without possibly losing my job.
4. How do you find material to blog about? It sounds like such an easy question, but all the excellent writing in the world can’t save a boring rehash of yesterday’s news.
I try not to rehash too much. I’ve found a few untapped sites that are goldmines for stories about retards or retarded events. However, if I see something on one of the more well known sites that I think I can put a good spin on, I’m definitely going to use it.
5. You can be present at one sporting event, past, present, or future; where do you go?
There are a lot of sporting events that give me the chills when I think about them. Off the cuff I can think of about 7 events in Red Sox history that I'd love to have been present for. But I have choose Jason McElwain’s http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/23/earlyshow/main1339324.shtml 6 three-pointers in the last three minutes of his senior game. It’s even better than Rudy.
6. You worked at ESPN for some time, and although I’d love to hear more about that one time with that one ESPN personality, I understand that professional etiquette may restrain you, ha. But on the off-chance it doesn’t, spill the beans, sister! How gory is it within the bowels of the Worldwide Leader? And do you find the fascination of outsiders with ESPN at all weird now that you’ve worked there?
As much as I hate to disappoint (not really), I had not one problem working at ESPN. I never encountered one TV or radio personality who made me uncomfortable in any way. That being said, I was aware of the environment I was working in and am not easily insulted or offended – qualities that may have helped. My boss was very clear that I could go to him if I had any problem with sexual harassment whatsoever, though I never did. I'm certainly not saying all those guys are saints – what they do on their own time is their business – but as far as the way they treated me, never a problem. Steve Levy was able to provide me with the most embarrassing moment in my professional career, though, I will say that. And both he and Harold Reynolds signed a graduation card for my younger brother. Can’t hate guys for being nothing but nice.
7. You’ve done a good job of getting larger blogs like deadspin.com and withleather.com to link to you. Tell us what made those blogs you wrote worth linking to, and how you went about getting the links.
I think you're asking me to tell you what made me choose the blog posts I sent out? Based on that question, here's my answer: The one criterion I have is that I will not send stories that I've already seen on another blog. After that, it's not up to me what I think is worth linking to. Basically, I email both Deadspin and With Leather without abandon or shame. Probability says that the more stories I send, the better the chance of one getting chosen for use. Ultimately, the editors of those sites choose what they deem worthy, I just add to the material they sift through.
8. I enjoy your self-depreciating humor on your site about women, making comments such as “Great find by The Big Lead this morning that further proves the woman's place is in the kitchen.” Because you don’t identify yourself as a female on the site, how many guys, if any, didn’t get that it was a joke?
I think that anyone who read that sentence and didn't pick up on the joke came across my site by accident and won't be returning which, frankly, is probably better for the both of us.
9. I know you’re a Red Sox fan, so I have to pick on you once. David Ortiz gets traded for Derek Jeter tomorrow. Do you have a heart attack, and how long does it take for you to become a fan of Derek Jeter?
This is a #### question which I will not dignify with an answer.
10. Now that you’ve been in blogging for a few months and met some bloggers, are the stereotypes true about bloggers being white, male, unemployed, socially awkward losers living at home?
Yes.
11. Tom Brady after Bridget and Gisele: tarnished or not?
He can have sex with whomever he wants to, it was the Yankees hat that tarnished him.
12. To you, what is the reward of blogging? It amazes me sometimes that so many people in their 20’s and 30’s are willing to waste parts of the best years of their lives to type out entries just so they can get a couple “Nice post, dawg” type comments. It’s more than just that, right?
It’s not much more than that. Honestly, though, I write between 15-18 stories daily for my prep service, but if I don't write one good blog post I feel like my day's been a waste. The blog is my voice, my creativity, my brainchild as opposed to my company’s voice, my company’s creativity, my company’s brainchild. So as much as I’d like to say I do it for myself (and maybe my mom), it's a cool feeling to have someone like what I, even if that makes me lame.
13. As a native Massachusettsian (I’ll use the nice term, ha), what do you think of the Sports Guy? Does he represent Boston correctly?
He is a Boston fan, so he can’t represent himself incorrectly.
Blogger Superlatives:
14. You’ve been sentenced to 90 days in jail for various petty crimes, and are incarcerated with one sports blogger. If you had a choice, who would it be?
Matt over at With Leather. I've met him before and I feel like I could make it 90 days without wanting to kill him or myself.
15. Which blogger/site do you think is most likely to write a book? No, you can’t say Will, ha.
I don't really feel I can answer this one. I know a few who are going to write books, but that's not information for me to give out. And I don't want to insult anyone by not choosing them, etc. So I'm going to answer safely and say I’m going to get a book deal because I'm #### awesome.
16. What are your thoughts on the Hot Blogger contest? (ladiesdotdotdot.wordpress.com)
I think it's sexist. I think it completely degrades those men and the talents that they bring forward as writers. And I think it turns them into nothing but pieces of meat. I couldn’t love it more. I just wish I had thought of it first.
17. Which blogger/site is the craziest fan of his/her team?
I haven’t a breeze.
18. Which blogger/site is the funniest?
What Would Tyler Durden Do. It's not sports, but it's like, With Leather's sister site and it's fan-####-tastic.
19. Most creative blogger/site?
Kissing Suzy Kolber or Girls Gone Sports. Those chicks are no joke – at both sites.
20. Pick your own question to answer.
Do I hope to someday get paid for my blog? ####, yea.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Bloggolalia: Blogging Sans Hat
I decided to put up a late Friday post for weekend discussion, and see what the response is. The term "Bloggolalia" is a word mash that literally means "talking about blogs." (Lalia is a Latin/Greek word that means talk, more or less). I think it looks cool, so there you go.
Usually, MC Bias writes as if other sports blogging sites don't exist. (He also spends a lot of time listing the pros of cons of "I", "we", or "MC Bias" as terms to refer to oneself while blogging, and is giving serious consideration to the fourth-person "you" or "one"). However, a recent controversy on
http://www.withleather.com/post.phtml?pk=2218 drew his attention. (FYI: The comments and/or post may offend you if you are sensitive to foul language or the abortion issue. Proceed.) The author made this comment: "Let this be the 1000th reminder that nothing -- nothing -- on this site is serious unless I make it an explicit point to "take off my With Leather hat."
I thought the throwaway reference to hats was an excellent metaphor for a dilemma that occasionally annoys me in sports blogging. Many of the best sites employ "hats"; that is, the author is talking in a very distinct style. That style often isn't how the person actually lives/talks in everyday life. The styles can be intriguing and entertaining, or irritating and biased, depending on your preferences. A short listing of "styles" would be Leave the Man Alone's or The Big Lead's sports media surveillance and analysis, Deadspin's self-depreciating, whimiscal humor, KSK or With Leather's testosterone rush, This Suit is Not Black's cross-out self-exultation/depreciation, and Nation of Islam Sports Blog's over-the-top and yet internally consistent exultation of the black race. I think that's enough mischaracterization of one's blogging elders for now, so I cease and desist.
However, what bothers me about a blogging hat is that a style, by definition, is often imitable. So if you wear the same blogging hat all the time, it gets very easy for someone to borrow that hat. Additionally, if we were to hold a contest, long-time readers of each site listed above could dredge up a passable imitation of that site's writing style. Plus, as the sites grow in popularity due to their hats, they attract detractors who have caught on to what hat the blogger is wearing. After all, isn't this the knock on Simmons? That he became popular because of his hat, but isn't changing the hat anymore? Perhaps the only difference between today's new sports bloggers and Simmons is longevity.
In the end, I think the right way is to begin by blogging with a hat, but to discard the hat once the site reaches a certain age or level of notoriety. I think Yaysports and Slamonline do this well. You may argue that Yaysports has the blogging hat of Photoshopping sports pictures, and that Slamonline has the blogging hat of supporting hip-hop ball. They may have started that way in the eyes of some, but there's been a lot of evolution since then. Explore the text, and you'll find variety in writing style and posts from each.
Of course, I blatantly disregard my own conclusion, and enjoy blogging hatless myself when no one is reading. :-) Let's hear it for blogging ADD!!! So, for your discussion this weekend while I attempt to school kids a decade younger than me in my high school's annual alumni game; hats, or no hats? And if you feel I have unfairly characterized your hat, by all means, comment.
Usually, MC Bias writes as if other sports blogging sites don't exist. (He also spends a lot of time listing the pros of cons of "I", "we", or "MC Bias" as terms to refer to oneself while blogging, and is giving serious consideration to the fourth-person "you" or "one"). However, a recent controversy on
http://www.withleather.com/post.phtml?pk=2218 drew his attention. (FYI: The comments and/or post may offend you if you are sensitive to foul language or the abortion issue. Proceed.) The author made this comment: "Let this be the 1000th reminder that nothing -- nothing -- on this site is serious unless I make it an explicit point to "take off my With Leather hat."
I thought the throwaway reference to hats was an excellent metaphor for a dilemma that occasionally annoys me in sports blogging. Many of the best sites employ "hats"; that is, the author is talking in a very distinct style. That style often isn't how the person actually lives/talks in everyday life. The styles can be intriguing and entertaining, or irritating and biased, depending on your preferences. A short listing of "styles" would be Leave the Man Alone's or The Big Lead's sports media surveillance and analysis, Deadspin's self-depreciating, whimiscal humor, KSK or With Leather's testosterone rush, This Suit is Not Black's cross-out self-exultation/depreciation, and Nation of Islam Sports Blog's over-the-top and yet internally consistent exultation of the black race. I think that's enough mischaracterization of one's blogging elders for now, so I cease and desist.
However, what bothers me about a blogging hat is that a style, by definition, is often imitable. So if you wear the same blogging hat all the time, it gets very easy for someone to borrow that hat. Additionally, if we were to hold a contest, long-time readers of each site listed above could dredge up a passable imitation of that site's writing style. Plus, as the sites grow in popularity due to their hats, they attract detractors who have caught on to what hat the blogger is wearing. After all, isn't this the knock on Simmons? That he became popular because of his hat, but isn't changing the hat anymore? Perhaps the only difference between today's new sports bloggers and Simmons is longevity.
In the end, I think the right way is to begin by blogging with a hat, but to discard the hat once the site reaches a certain age or level of notoriety. I think Yaysports and Slamonline do this well. You may argue that Yaysports has the blogging hat of Photoshopping sports pictures, and that Slamonline has the blogging hat of supporting hip-hop ball. They may have started that way in the eyes of some, but there's been a lot of evolution since then. Explore the text, and you'll find variety in writing style and posts from each.
Of course, I blatantly disregard my own conclusion, and enjoy blogging hatless myself when no one is reading. :-) Let's hear it for blogging ADD!!! So, for your discussion this weekend while I attempt to school kids a decade younger than me in my high school's annual alumni game; hats, or no hats? And if you feel I have unfairly characterized your hat, by all means, comment.
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