The fourth edition of the popular Blogs with Balls conference is coming up September 24th in New York City. In anticipation, I wanted to write some blogs discussing topics of debate within the sports blogosphere. Feel free to comment with your own take on the topic and suggest what you think is important.
Suppose that you have a friend who lives in Denver and just graduated from college in electrical engineering. He loves the Colorado Rockies, skis relentlessly, plays drums in a local band, and has an odd fascination with foreign films. Unfortunately, he can't find a job, and so he wants to write a blog to stay busy while looking for a job. What should he write about?
To be honest, if you look at the Technorati 100, a ranking of blogs, the answer seems to be "anything but sports." How many sports blogs do you think are on the top 25? top 100? Check, you may be surprised. The circumstantial evidence that writing about sports is a mistake is also rather substantial. Look, for example, at Brian Spaeth, no longer writing about the NBA (formerly yaysports, now brian23.com). I'd interview him about it, but I'd have to get in line behind all his new lady fans. Or Drew Magary, who, despite being a successful sports blogger with KSK, decided to write a non-sports book (The Postmortal) and admitted that sports books really don't sell well. Matt Ufford is writing about TV, while Will Leitch writes about movies. Is it me, or is there a brain drain occurring in the sports blog world?
Aside: It's also interesting to see an increase in non-sports content on blogs. To name a few quick examples within the last year or two, Grantland has pop culture, Deadspin has Drew's funbag and comedy, TheBiglead does movie reviews, and KSK does their sex mailbag. If you click on their sites, you might think Sports by Brooks, BlackSportsOnline, and MoondogSports would be more accurate to drop the "Sports" and say "Women" instead. All seem to have increased traffic by doing so. Which do you think got more traffic last month--a lesser known men's mag like fhm, or your favorite popular sports blog?
Second, there's the audience for sports blogging. I've done several types of blogging, and quite honestly, sports are the hardest audience to write for. Heaven help you if you get a fact wrong or dare opine that someone's favorite player may be over-rated. Oh, there's criticism in all sections of blogging, but it's surprising to me how much negativity can be inspired by one blog. It's interesting to watch some sports blogs do their best to control and manipulate their comment section. I used to be quite against this, and that's a topic for another time, but...I can see their viewpoint a little more than before. A comment section shouldn't be a whine section, given that everyone has a red X button they can use.
Finally, let's look at the benefits. If our friend from the Rockies blogs about gadgets, he has a much better shot of having a well-read blog. If he just blogs about his band or does his best low-budget men's mag/Tucker Max imitation, he might be able to get some female fans. If he blogs about skiing, he might be able to score some free ski passes from lodges or otherwise get free equipment to try. If he blogs about the Rockies? Most pro sports teams tend to see bloggers as a nuisance.
I've deliberately painted a rather bleak picture of our man in Denver, but take my bait here, if you will. If you could start over again, would you still blog about sports? What benefits are there to sports blogging that I am missing?
Showing posts with label Will Leitch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Will Leitch. Show all posts
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Is Will Leitch leaving Deadspin.com? Updated Answer: No.
See UPDATE at the bottom of this post.
Hidden in AJ Daulerio and Bill Conlin's excellent column about the Phillies was this gem:
"A.J. Daulerio will be the senior writer at Deadspin starting March 31."
The only commenter who noticed this sentence was Ian of Sox and Dawgs, and thus I want to credit him for helping bring it to my attention.
While it's unclear what changes this will mean for Will Leitch, it's clear that Will will be less involved in Deadspin.com after 3/31. The quote refers to AJ as "the" senior writer, after all. As to what this will mean for Deadspin.com's future...it's hard to say. I would just comment that like Favre, Will will be leaving at or near the top of his game instead of being pushed out. That makes me happy, for his sake, even though fans of the site may be temporarily upset or annoyed.
UPDATE: I spoke to Will Leitch to see if I could update this speculative column either way with some facts. Turns out, Will will remain at the site in the same role, and a new role of "senior writer" is being created for AJ. I'm still impressed at how much content Will and Rick were able to publish for just two people, but another columnist or two will help them out quite a bit, I'm sure. So instead of switching out one name for another, Deadspin will have at least 3 full-time writers, which should help them remain at/near the top of the sports blog landscape.
Hidden in AJ Daulerio and Bill Conlin's excellent column about the Phillies was this gem:
"A.J. Daulerio will be the senior writer at Deadspin starting March 31."
The only commenter who noticed this sentence was Ian of Sox and Dawgs, and thus I want to credit him for helping bring it to my attention.
While it's unclear what changes this will mean for Will Leitch, it's clear that Will will be less involved in Deadspin.com after 3/31. The quote refers to AJ as "the" senior writer, after all. As to what this will mean for Deadspin.com's future...it's hard to say. I would just comment that like Favre, Will will be leaving at or near the top of his game instead of being pushed out. That makes me happy, for his sake, even though fans of the site may be temporarily upset or annoyed.
UPDATE: I spoke to Will Leitch to see if I could update this speculative column either way with some facts. Turns out, Will will remain at the site in the same role, and a new role of "senior writer" is being created for AJ. I'm still impressed at how much content Will and Rick were able to publish for just two people, but another columnist or two will help them out quite a bit, I'm sure. So instead of switching out one name for another, Deadspin will have at least 3 full-time writers, which should help them remain at/near the top of the sports blog landscape.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Will Leitch Book Tour: Leitch-a-palooza!
To celebrate my one-year blogging anniversary (2/11, to be precise), I went to the Will Leitch Book Tour stop. Photos, videos, and made-up captions resulted.
Will reads an excerpt from the John Rocker interview in his best John Rocker voice.
"Hey kids, want to hear a story about Chris Berman?"
"I have right here, in my hand, the secret to becoming a popular blogger."
At this point, Will rounded up some volunteers to help him reenact the John Rocker interview from his book.
Unfortunately, soon afterward Will broke down when forced to confront his true feelings for Rick Ankiel.
Onlookers began to whisper and look disappovingly at the unmanly show of emotion.
Will tried to speak through the tears and choked throat, but he faltered once more when remembering the one-year anniversary of Barbaro's passing:
The volunteers tried to avoid visibly reacting to Will's grief, but the conflict was evident on their faces.
Thankfully, after Will took a sip of water, he was strengthened and able to continue.
Realizing the tension in the air, Will won the crowd over during his Q&A with his comments on Stephen A Smith and whether Will considers himself a web star.
The crowd was once again won over and lined up to have their books signed by Will. (I opted for a hand-drawn photo of Barbaro, which Will drew in classic cave art style circa 9000 BC. It has four limbs! I think.)
In the end, the night was a success, as seen by the smiles of the Deadspin readers pictured.
Here are Will and friends at the after party, greeting those of you who couldn't make it. Please turn your speakers down so to limit auditory damage from the braying donkey voice of the cameraman.
Will reads an excerpt from the John Rocker interview in his best John Rocker voice.
"Hey kids, want to hear a story about Chris Berman?"
"I have right here, in my hand, the secret to becoming a popular blogger."
At this point, Will rounded up some volunteers to help him reenact the John Rocker interview from his book.
Unfortunately, soon afterward Will broke down when forced to confront his true feelings for Rick Ankiel.
Onlookers began to whisper and look disappovingly at the unmanly show of emotion.
Will tried to speak through the tears and choked throat, but he faltered once more when remembering the one-year anniversary of Barbaro's passing:
The volunteers tried to avoid visibly reacting to Will's grief, but the conflict was evident on their faces.
Thankfully, after Will took a sip of water, he was strengthened and able to continue.
Realizing the tension in the air, Will won the crowd over during his Q&A with his comments on Stephen A Smith and whether Will considers himself a web star.
The crowd was once again won over and lined up to have their books signed by Will. (I opted for a hand-drawn photo of Barbaro, which Will drew in classic cave art style circa 9000 BC. It has four limbs! I think.)
In the end, the night was a success, as seen by the smiles of the Deadspin readers pictured.
Here are Will and friends at the after party, greeting those of you who couldn't make it. Please turn your speakers down so to limit auditory damage from the braying donkey voice of the cameraman.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Bloggolalia: Will Leitch's Book Tour
After years of missing out on every single sports blogger gathering available (because I didn't live in New York, DC, LA, or Chicago), I am pleased to report that I am close to one of Will Leitch's Book Tour locations. Even better, Mr. Leitch has invited us readers to participate, although I'm sure what he had in mind was buying him drinks. But that's so shortsighted! There's so many more ways for us readers to participate. It's a chance to confirm people's worst fears about Internet bloggers!
See, usually when these gatherings occur, bloggers feel pressure to act normal, to convince each other that they aren't serial killers and do get out of their basements and meet people. How boring! Instead, why not take advantage of the anonymity and entertain yourself? A top 11 (for the Big Ten's sake) list of entertaining choices for the book tour stop follows.
1. Show up in full fan regalia of the Chicago Cubs (a Cardinals rival) and gush on and on about how you're so happy someone is FINALLY sticking up for the fan, that you spend $100 for each game you attend and it's TOO MUCH, that SOMEONE should have thought of this years ago, until someone finally gets up the nerve to say "Shut up, it's only a book!"
2. Show up pretending you thought the book tour was really for Jonathan Safran Foer and complain to people next to you that "He's not mentioning Everything is Illuminated!" and "He doesn't look Jewish enough!". When told that the tour is for Will Leitch, intentionally mis-pronounce the name as Will Litch and mutter incessantly to oneself "Will Litch. Weird name. Who is Will Litch? Not a great writer like Jonathan. Nope."
3. Show up in a black T-shirt reading "Will's #1 fan" and fake Will wig. Act like an over-the-top fanboy. Be way too excited and randomly reference "Black Table" and "Deadspin" columns to everyone--"You mean you don't remember #35 from Life as a Loser? How could you forget! That was awesome! What about #68? Nothing?" For extra creepiness credit (guys) make things more awkward by gushing about how pleased you are at Deadspin's coverage of gays in sports and (girls) tell everyone that you're going to have Will's baby someday, only "he doesn't know, don't tell him, it's a secret". Also demand to take your picture with Will on 23 separate occasions.
4. Show up in your high school sports team shirt. Tell people that you used to be quite an athlete "back in the day" and that some big school was looking at you before you blew out your knee. The ex-jock routine, where people can't make up their minds whether (1) You ever were a good athlete and (2) If they can risk threatening you with bodily harm to shut up if the answer to (1) is no, is a favorite.
5. Show up with a pillow under your shirt and claim to be Big Daddy Drew. Ruse is discovered when you have poor taste in beer, don't remember any obscure 80's bands, and fail to profess Adrian Peterson as your football lord and savior when given the opportunity.
6. Show up in full Florida regalia and claim to be Dan Shanoff. Ruse is discovered when you run out of Tim Tebow facts after only 15 minutes of conversation.
7. Show up wearing a shirt that says "+1 Champion, Deadspin.com, 2007 season" and claim to be Camp Tiger Claw. Ruse is discovered when your first few jokes are unamusing.
8. Show up in full Patriots regalia and claim to be SuperMike. Ruse is discovered after you fail to offend a single audience member.
9. Show up with a T-shirt reading "Too Soon, Will?" on the front and a picture of a plane hitting a building on the back. Claim to be Pot Roast and Gravy, lobbying to be allowed back on Deadspin.com. Ruse is discovered after people realize that no one gets banned from Deadspin for life unless they WANT to stay away.
10. Show up in a full suit and claim to be the Combudsmen, Rob Iracene. Ruse is discovered after you fail to complain about the unfunniness of someone's joke.
11. Show up in dark clothes and full-length jacket, hold notebook in hand with several pictures taped in there, keep up a bug-eyed stare, and pretend to be there to stalk one of the commenters on Deadspin (we'll say MCBias just because we don't want to give the real Internet weirdos ideas). Keep up a steady stream of deep breathing and asking people "Do you know if MCBias is here? I really want to MEET him, and go out for drinks with him. (looks down and then looks up with creepy look) I have a BIG basement. Did you know I have a big basement? I wonder if MCBias would like to see my basement. (Creepy pause, then acceleration of words) I have a lot of games there. And a bed. Did I mention I had a bed in my basement? Yeah, a bed, bed in my basement, yup, got a bed in my basement, ha-ha! Parents let me keep a bed in my basement, yup! (Stares at you again) Let me know if you've seen MCBias."
Ok, I'm probably too classy to actually do any of those, but you, slimy Internet weasel, should feel free to gain inspiration. Send me pictures if you do any of those! I'll post any book tour pictures if you send them, and may post my own as well.
See, usually when these gatherings occur, bloggers feel pressure to act normal, to convince each other that they aren't serial killers and do get out of their basements and meet people. How boring! Instead, why not take advantage of the anonymity and entertain yourself? A top 11 (for the Big Ten's sake) list of entertaining choices for the book tour stop follows.
1. Show up in full fan regalia of the Chicago Cubs (a Cardinals rival) and gush on and on about how you're so happy someone is FINALLY sticking up for the fan, that you spend $100 for each game you attend and it's TOO MUCH, that SOMEONE should have thought of this years ago, until someone finally gets up the nerve to say "Shut up, it's only a book!"
2. Show up pretending you thought the book tour was really for Jonathan Safran Foer and complain to people next to you that "He's not mentioning Everything is Illuminated!" and "He doesn't look Jewish enough!". When told that the tour is for Will Leitch, intentionally mis-pronounce the name as Will Litch and mutter incessantly to oneself "Will Litch. Weird name. Who is Will Litch? Not a great writer like Jonathan. Nope."
3. Show up in a black T-shirt reading "Will's #1 fan" and fake Will wig. Act like an over-the-top fanboy. Be way too excited and randomly reference "Black Table" and "Deadspin" columns to everyone--"You mean you don't remember #35 from Life as a Loser? How could you forget! That was awesome! What about #68? Nothing?" For extra creepiness credit (guys) make things more awkward by gushing about how pleased you are at Deadspin's coverage of gays in sports and (girls) tell everyone that you're going to have Will's baby someday, only "he doesn't know, don't tell him, it's a secret". Also demand to take your picture with Will on 23 separate occasions.
4. Show up in your high school sports team shirt. Tell people that you used to be quite an athlete "back in the day" and that some big school was looking at you before you blew out your knee. The ex-jock routine, where people can't make up their minds whether (1) You ever were a good athlete and (2) If they can risk threatening you with bodily harm to shut up if the answer to (1) is no, is a favorite.
5. Show up with a pillow under your shirt and claim to be Big Daddy Drew. Ruse is discovered when you have poor taste in beer, don't remember any obscure 80's bands, and fail to profess Adrian Peterson as your football lord and savior when given the opportunity.
6. Show up in full Florida regalia and claim to be Dan Shanoff. Ruse is discovered when you run out of Tim Tebow facts after only 15 minutes of conversation.
7. Show up wearing a shirt that says "+1 Champion, Deadspin.com, 2007 season" and claim to be Camp Tiger Claw. Ruse is discovered when your first few jokes are unamusing.
8. Show up in full Patriots regalia and claim to be SuperMike. Ruse is discovered after you fail to offend a single audience member.
9. Show up with a T-shirt reading "Too Soon, Will?" on the front and a picture of a plane hitting a building on the back. Claim to be Pot Roast and Gravy, lobbying to be allowed back on Deadspin.com. Ruse is discovered after people realize that no one gets banned from Deadspin for life unless they WANT to stay away.
10. Show up in a full suit and claim to be the Combudsmen, Rob Iracene. Ruse is discovered after you fail to complain about the unfunniness of someone's joke.
11. Show up in dark clothes and full-length jacket, hold notebook in hand with several pictures taped in there, keep up a bug-eyed stare, and pretend to be there to stalk one of the commenters on Deadspin (we'll say MCBias just because we don't want to give the real Internet weirdos ideas). Keep up a steady stream of deep breathing and asking people "Do you know if MCBias is here? I really want to MEET him, and go out for drinks with him. (looks down and then looks up with creepy look) I have a BIG basement. Did you know I have a big basement? I wonder if MCBias would like to see my basement. (Creepy pause, then acceleration of words) I have a lot of games there. And a bed. Did I mention I had a bed in my basement? Yeah, a bed, bed in my basement, yup, got a bed in my basement, ha-ha! Parents let me keep a bed in my basement, yup! (Stares at you again) Let me know if you've seen MCBias."
Ok, I'm probably too classy to actually do any of those, but you, slimy Internet weasel, should feel free to gain inspiration. Send me pictures if you do any of those! I'll post any book tour pictures if you send them, and may post my own as well.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Media Mayhem: Simmons, Banks, Leitch, Reilly
Lots of stories going around about sports writers lately, so I decided to do a rare post about sports writers.
I am ready to start a Paypal fund to collect enough money so Bill Simmons can move back to Boston. Not being in Boston anymore, he isn't surrounded by Boston folk. Thus, he gets his Boston fan talk fix by writing about it to us. His writing is more about his fond memories of Boston than anything else. If he would go back to Boston, I believe he would become a little more well-rounded in his columns. But let's be honest about Simmons' writing. Bill Simmons gets worse and worse as the year goes on, hitting bottom around January, until he can write about the NBA again. He's a great NBA writer, and only an average NFL writer. That's forgiveable; it's very hard to be good at writing on all leagues. But it still is hard to read him this time of year.
Don Banks may be my favorite NFL sports writer (Michael Silver also would be in the discussion). But I couldn't believe this line in his column about Boston sports fandom:
What?! That means nothing; of course Boston is more fanatical about sports than those cities. How well do the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or other Florida baseball/football teams draw? The Twins were nearly contracted by MLB, and Minneapolis may be one of the few places in the country where intellectual and artistic events are revered just as much as sports events by the average citizen. And Baltimore-Washington folk are too busy getting their politics on to pay faithful attention to all of their sports teams. I understand the point Don is trying to make (he recently moved to Boston and thus compares it with past cities), but those cities are poor sports towns, period. Not a good comparison.
Bloggers have been quick to praise Shanoff's idea that Leitch take over the back page of SI. Look at the Ballhype votes and links. However, look deeper at the comment section of Shanoff's post here. None of Dan's readers like the idea! And neither do I. Leitch is very talented, but I don't know if his style works for the last page of a magazine. What Will does best is write provocatively to inspire comments and thoughts. I could see him doing an excellent job with the first page of SI. But the last page? You don't stretch folks there. Instead, you tickle their egos and massage their biases so they buy your magazine again. Some time later I'll talk about how a magazine should be laid out.
Rick Reilly is not going to be the same at ESPN. Cosellout made some good points in his Reilly article. Reilly isn't the ex-high-school jock; he's the ex-nerd who married the head cheerleader, built an impressive resume at SI...and now both of those aspects are gone. SI was the perfect place for Reilly with its witty and laid-back style. ESPN is the opposite of Reilly, with its ex-frat boy feel at times. While Reilly may aspire to that style, I don't see that in him. It'll be interesting to see how his style may or may not change due to the location change.
I am ready to start a Paypal fund to collect enough money so Bill Simmons can move back to Boston. Not being in Boston anymore, he isn't surrounded by Boston folk. Thus, he gets his Boston fan talk fix by writing about it to us. His writing is more about his fond memories of Boston than anything else. If he would go back to Boston, I believe he would become a little more well-rounded in his columns. But let's be honest about Simmons' writing. Bill Simmons gets worse and worse as the year goes on, hitting bottom around January, until he can write about the NBA again. He's a great NBA writer, and only an average NFL writer. That's forgiveable; it's very hard to be good at writing on all leagues. But it still is hard to read him this time of year.
Don Banks may be my favorite NFL sports writer (Michael Silver also would be in the discussion). But I couldn't believe this line in his column about Boston sports fandom:
I've lived other places -- the Tampa Bay area, the Twin Cities, and the Baltimore-Washington area -- and nowhere matches the year-round intensity and passion for sports and its local pro teams that Boston exhibits.
What?! That means nothing; of course Boston is more fanatical about sports than those cities. How well do the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or other Florida baseball/football teams draw? The Twins were nearly contracted by MLB, and Minneapolis may be one of the few places in the country where intellectual and artistic events are revered just as much as sports events by the average citizen. And Baltimore-Washington folk are too busy getting their politics on to pay faithful attention to all of their sports teams. I understand the point Don is trying to make (he recently moved to Boston and thus compares it with past cities), but those cities are poor sports towns, period. Not a good comparison.
Bloggers have been quick to praise Shanoff's idea that Leitch take over the back page of SI. Look at the Ballhype votes and links. However, look deeper at the comment section of Shanoff's post here. None of Dan's readers like the idea! And neither do I. Leitch is very talented, but I don't know if his style works for the last page of a magazine. What Will does best is write provocatively to inspire comments and thoughts. I could see him doing an excellent job with the first page of SI. But the last page? You don't stretch folks there. Instead, you tickle their egos and massage their biases so they buy your magazine again. Some time later I'll talk about how a magazine should be laid out.
Rick Reilly is not going to be the same at ESPN. Cosellout made some good points in his Reilly article. Reilly isn't the ex-high-school jock; he's the ex-nerd who married the head cheerleader, built an impressive resume at SI...and now both of those aspects are gone. SI was the perfect place for Reilly with its witty and laid-back style. ESPN is the opposite of Reilly, with its ex-frat boy feel at times. While Reilly may aspire to that style, I don't see that in him. It'll be interesting to see how his style may or may not change due to the location change.
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