Website: Gate 21

Interview With: Matt

When did you start your blog?

November 2007

What made you start it?

Just wanted a creative way to participate in the sports discussion and found blogging to be the easiest method to do this which allowed me the flexibility to say what I want, when I want without having to worry about being filtered or having to fit my thoughts into a model developed by others. Also really enjoy the graphic arts side of the web, and added that as a sub-part of my blog.

What is your background?

Tennessee Alum and season ticket holder, a practicing attorney by trade.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

As much as I would love to make some money from blogging, I haven’t. Be that as it may, my primary goal is to do it for fun — it is a creative outlet which is as fun as it is challenging.

What was your tipping point? What put you on the map? (if you bring in more the 5,000 uniques a month)

Not yet to the 5,000 uniques a month status. I focus on my message (a/k/a original written and graphic content) and though it has slowed my growth a bit, I have tried to avoid simply using gratuitous pictures of scantily clad women to draw hits — there are a few on my site occasionally, but it isn’t a regular thing. My most popular attraction is my Tennessee Home for the Visually Offensive, which is a collection of photoshopped/farked photos related to sports.

What type of blogging software do you use?

Wordpress 2.3.3 (self-hosted); PhotoPlus 11, Inkscape, and Post2Blog.

What ad network(s) do you use?

Currently use Adify (YardBarker Network), Commission Junction, and a few direct affiliations. May be switching to Adify exclusively due to better payment structure.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

A few dollars, never more than $ 5.00

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

Advertising Optimization, I suppose. Graphically I am happy with it — I do all my own graphics, mainly would just like to get more traffic.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

Loser With Socks, Rocky Top Talk, Everyday Should Be Saturday, Brahsome, Busted Coverage, Your Mother Slept With Wilt Chamberlain, 3rd Saturday in Blogtober, Deadspin, Hugging Harold Reynolds, Fulmer’s Belly, Get the Picture, etc.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

The internet is just going to continue to grow as a medium for sports coverage and expression. I imagine that the primary mode of delivery of live content will eventually be Internet-based. The real question is whose content will win — the marketplace of ideas is becoming more and more crowded, with less and less real difference in some areas. In the end, however, as is the case with all blogging, content sells.

Website: Dan’s Take 

Interview With: Dan McGowan

When did you start your blog?

November 2005.   My first post was about the 7th Floor Crew at Miami.  Their song is still my ring tone.

What made you start it?

I wanted to be Bill Simmons and I had this crazy idea that I would be the first to copy him.  I had no idea what a blog was and I still feel like it’s not something I tell women I meet in bars about.

What is your background?

I’m a college student (comm major) that really enjoys journalism and public relations.  I work for a nonprofit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children through in-school and after-school programming, so I’m quite passionate about that.  For a while I thought becoming a professional poker player could be fun, but I like my chances in craps and casino war better.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

I’d like to eventually be a writer somewhere, but I certainly don’t want to make Dan’s Take a career.  My goal is to produce quality content and make a little money to pay rent and keep the ladies smiling.

What was your tipping point? What put you on the map? (if you bring in more the 5,000 uniques a month)

I probably haven’t really had one yet, although Deadspin, The Big Lead and Can’t Stop the Bleeding have linked to my site, which resulted in a lot of hits.

What type of blogging software do you use?

Blogger

What ad network(s) do you use?

AdSense, but I mainly find my own advertisers.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

It varies depending on the month, but anywhere between $500-1500.  The two greatest things I’ve learned when it comes to marketing: 1) Everyone has an advertising budget, so why not ask everyone for money?  2) The Olympic/Nascar Model – Find a sponsor for everything.  Do you know that hosting the Olympics was so expensive that it almost bankrupted the entire city of Montreal?  Then the Olympics found major sponsors for everything and they are profitable today.

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

Design probably.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

The Big Lead and Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Blog? are the most interesting.  I get my baseball news from Baseball Musings, football from Pro Football Talk and basketball from True Hoop.  I read a lot at BlogCritics, Sox & Dawgs and the Futon Report.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

I think the theory that bloggers are taking over the world is a little silly.  The average sports fan is still reading newspapers and getting all their info from ESPN, and truthfully so are the bloggers.  With the exception of the rare few that break stories, most are just linking to stories you can find on the front page of ESPN’s website.  Almost all newspapers are already online, but I think they’ll still continue to be in print for a long time – I mean people need to read something if they take the train to work, right?

Website: The Sand Trap

Interview With: Erik Barzeski

When did you start The Sand Trap?

The Sand Trap launched in August, 2004, though I’d been planning to start the site for a few months prior.

What made you start it?

I had planned to “glom on” to an existing golf site, as a writer, and spent several months looking around and trying to find sites that interested me. Unfortunately, none of the sites had quite the focus I wanted – they were either oriented solely on one thing, were run by one person who intended to keep it that way, or – frankly – were too amateurish. By no means am I a professional journalist, but I’ve played one several times throughout my life.

What is your background?

You mean aside from my degrees in medicinal chemistry, French, and computer science? <grin> Despite what I told my high school English teacher, I’ve made my career writing for the most part. Sometimes it’s been writing programming code, but more often it’s been writing. I ran an electronic magazine called “Apple Wizards” which reviewed Mac hardware and software and covered Mac-related topics in the late 1990s. I was Editor-in-Chief of SegaWeb, a games news/reviews site after that. I’ve written reviews for MacAddict and had a column at a site called MacOpinion for awhile. In about 2002, I moved into programming and consulting.

Nowadays I still find myself doing the same general things as I was in 2002 – consulting, programming, development, writing.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

I maintain a personal blog at http://nslog.com. I blog for fun, enrichment, and as one of my favorite Mac bloggers says, “so google can index my brain.”

Though The Sand Trap is powered by WordPress, a blogging package, I’ve tried to push it into a realm where it’s not so much considered a “blog” as it is an electronic magazine. I think “golf blogs” have a bad name as flippant, personal, insignificant golf diaries, as in “today I went out and shot 77 with two birdies…”.

I think The Sand Trap is so much more than that. We publish the best reviews of golf equipment you’ll find anywhere, bar none. We cover the world of golf, not just what’s happening with our own games or in our own neighborhoods, and we’re a staff of eight, not one or two. We view ourselves as a sort of electronic magazine, as I’ve said, and very few other golf blogs seem to share in that approach.

That’s not to say that the other golf blogs aren’t interesting – I subscribe to and read about 50, after all – but just that they aren’t going about it quite the same way we are.

What type of blogging software do you use?

WordPress with a fair number of plugins and a custom theme I’ve built along with some other tweaks. The appearance of the site hasn’t changed, but a little over a year ago we moved the site from MovableType to WordPress, and thus far have been very happy with the move.

What ad network(s) do you use?

We don’t rely on an ad network. Titleist has been sponsoring the site for most of the time we’ve been around, and our click-through numbers are high enough that they keep coming back. We’re happy to have them, both as a
stable partner and on a personal level, because I’ve always appreciated and used Titleist equipment.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

Enough to pay the bills and a little extra for staff rewards like our yearly Newport Cup. I make a living doing software and web consulting, and each member of our staff earns their own living as well. I think that if we ever became worried about making money with The Sand Trap, some of the appeal and joy of writing for the site would be lost. Currently, I’m happy to keep it a
site for people who are passionate about golf – myself included – to share their thoughts with a large audience.

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

I think we’re doing fairly well and we’ve been on an upward climb in viewers, listeners, and more since launch. I said before that the site hasn’t changed much in appearance for several years, so I’m looking to redesign the site at some point, but the current site works quite well for now.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

I subscribe to about 200 blogs, and I have favorites in every category. Photography, golf, technology, Apple, humor… I’ve got all the topics in which I’m interested covered.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

No bold predictions. I think blogging is mature, and yet diversifying at the same time. We see corporate blogs and we see blogs about someone’s cats, yet both are called “blogs.”

Everyone from the NFL to the PGA Tour has done more with real-time statistics and broadcasts online lately, and I’m happy to see that trend. I think it can enrich sports viewing or bring sports viewing to people who can’t get to a TV because they’re stuck at work or something.

But bold? No, I’m sorry, I don’t have anything for you there. I’m fairly happy in the knowledge that technology marches on.

Website: Cuzoogle

Interview With: Michael Cusden

When did you start your blog?

Cuzoogle originally started in 2006 and have had many face lifts and hosts. It was on msn, then moved to the free wordpress host and as of this year it is on it’s own host.

What made you start it?

Needed a creative outlet and a good way for my friends and family to keep up with me when I moved to the East coast of Canada. It has evolved into and site where I mostly discuss my favourite team, the Raptors.

What is your background?

Canadian, parents are Brits.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career?

Mostly for fun but it is slowly turning into a career.

What is your goal with this blog?

To keep up to date with marketing trends, improve my writing and grow the blog into something that brings in some money on the side.

What was your tipping point?

Last year some random post I did made it on the front page of Fark and my site exploded, 10k unique hits in one day.

What put you on the map?

The blog has made SI.com’s extra mustard twice and got on the front page of Fark once.

What type of blogging software do you use?

Wordpress

What ad network(s) do you use?

google, kontera, bidvertise, entrecard

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

200$ average

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

A personalized template

What are some of your favorite blogs?

The Arsenalist, Brahsome, Busted Coverage, Joe Tech, The Dinosity.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

It can only get better.

Website: www.accnation.com

Interveiw with: Patrick Hite

When did you start ACC Nation?

Started in January 2005 as a local radio show and companion Web site. We moved to producing the show as a podcast a year later in January 2006. The current blog was launched in January 2007. My co-host of the show and co-writer on the blog was Chris Graham until this past September. He moved on to other projects and my current partner is Jim Quist (AKA The Evil Q)

What made you start it?

I’ve been a fan of the ACC (specifically the University of North Carolina) since I can remember. I have a journalism and radio background and was hosting a local-themed sports-talk show on a radio station in Staunton, Va., when ACC Nation was launched. Chris and I had known each other for several years and had always talked about doing a show together. When we started throwing around ideas, ACC Nation seemed a natural fit for both of us (Chris is a University of Virginia graduate). We convinced the station to let us do the show and the blog soon followed.

What is your background?

I worked in radio (a Top-40 as well as a Country music radio station) as both a disc jockey and news reporter during college. I then got into print journalism and have worked for several daily and weekly newspapers. Currently I am an editor with a publishing company (more money than newspapers). I am based in Charlottesville, Va.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

It’s a little of both, I guess, although it’s much more for fun at the moment. I love my full-time job, so there is no hurry for me to make blogging and podcasting a career.

We have had a few sponsorships for the podcast, but nothing significant. If I had more time to focus on getting sponsors, I’d certainly be interested, but between my family, my full-time job and providing content for ACCNation.com and the podcast, sponsors aren’t something I have much time to pursue. I’d also be interested in switching the blog to something besides Wordpress.com, but my technical abilities are limited and I don’t have time to research the process or money to pay someone else to do it.

What was your tipping point? What put you on the map?

Probably getting credentials to cover the 2007 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Since we’re a podcast and blog and not mainstream media, I thought it was significant that the ACC credentialed us to cover the tournament. We had applied in 2005 and 2006 and were turned down. We’ve also just received credentials to cover this year’s ACC Tournament. We did live game blogs and other posts from the tournament last year as well as six podcasts in the four days of the tournament. We attracted a lot of new listeners and readers from that event.

We’ve also interviewed some big names on our podcast, including John Feinstein, Dick Vitale and Andy Katz as well as several ACC football and basketball coaches.

What type of blogging software do you use?

Wordpress.com

What ad network(s) do you use?

None

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

Minimal.

What are some of your favorite blogs and what are some of your least favorite blogs?

Like a lot of others, I visit Awful Announcing and Deadspin several times a day, plus I try to check out DC Sports Bog as often as I can.

There are a lot of ACC sites I like, but I really admire Statefans Nation, the Duke Basketball Report and Eagle in Atlanta. I’d like to provide the kind of in-depth stories they write for their blogs. But again, time is an issue. Plus, they are able to focus on one school while we try to cover 12 schools. That sort of forces us to be a little more general in what we write.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

Coverage of sports will continue to grow on the Internet. There will always be bloggers out there satisfied to just write their opinions a few times a week for the world to see, but I think we’ll start seeing more and more breaking stories on blogs as well as in-depth pieces that, in the past, have been the territory of magazines like Sports Illustrated.

As more and more veteran journalists turn to blogs, I think we’ll see the quality of blogs get better (although there are plenty of quality blogs written by people without any formal journalism experience). I hope, over time, the hostility between mainstream media and bloggers fades away. There is plenty of room for both.

I find it interesting that bloggers complain about a lack of respect from mainstream media, when there seems to be a lack of respect from bloggers toward mainstream media as well. I respect both. Like anything, there are good examples and bad examples in both camps. Find what you enjoy and read it or watch it or listen to it. When you find something you don’t like, avoid it.

STN’s Take:

As one can tell Patrick is having a great time doing his podcast and blog. He is a very hard worker that puts a great deal of time into his website while also having a family and a full time job. If you are a fan of the ACC, his blog is a must read. He must have some great connections because his list of interviews are top notch. Nothing can beat Dick Vitale.

We do have some suggestions for Patrick. We would like to see links to his top podcasts like his one with Dick Vitale easily available. Patrick should keep in mind that most people are new to his site and he should make it as easy as possible to find his best content. Also, we would like to see the intro in his Podcasts shortened. It seemed like it was 2 minutes. If I wasn’t forcing myself to listen to it, I would of shut the podcast down. And last, we don’t think Patrick should be so quick to dismiss Wordpress. It can do many great things and we actually think his site looks great.

Website: www.nflgridirongab.com

Interview With:  Matt Loede

When did you start NFL Gridiron Gab?

We kicked off in August of 2006…have been going strong ever since and have expanded our staff a lot over the last 8 months

What made you start it?

My business partner and I felt like we had enough connections through the media as well as our general love of football and the love of wanting to share our opinions.

What is your background?

I have been in the sports media for the last 13 years, I cover the Indians, Browns and Cavs, doing reports and updates for ESPN, Fox Sports, Westwood One, Sporting News and other outlets.  I have had a blast covering about 100+ games a year.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career?  What is your goal with this blog?

Both to be honest…If it can be a career, great…we are looking to expand our advertising this year, and really get more mainstream already with outlets that pick us up already.

What was your tipping point?  What put you on the map?

We started getting picked up by various national outlets – USA Today, Palm Beach Post, CNN/SI, NBC Blog Buzz..I think that gave us a lift as far as hits and what we were all about

What type of blogging software do you use?

We use Wordpress

How is your staff paid?

Right now we are not in a position where we are paying anyone on a regular basis, but if we get trades for gift cards, whatever, we share the wealth

How hard was it to recruit your staff?

Not really, we put out a couple of posts asking for interested writers, and then it’s grown with friends of them and people asking us to come on board.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

Right now it varies, but we usually make about $500-$1000 per month

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

Right now we really would like to get our site out there, so getting some ads out there for all to see would be great.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

I think it’s only going to grow, and so far it’s been great to see things get bigger since even we’ve been around

STN’s Take,

Matt has a great thing going over at NFL Gridiron Gab.  It looks like his experience and contacts in the business have helped him to grow pretty fast along with his great writing.  We like that he has separated out each team into its own domain so people can just go to that website if they are just interested in team news.  His sites are designed very well and they are very easy on the eyes.

Overall his site does a great job but we do have a few minor suggestions.  We would like to see him promote his network more.  On the upper right sidebar we would like to see his team pages first.  There are a many team page links so we would like to see each division and then if someone clicked on the division, it would expand to show the teams in that division.  Our second suggestion since many of the articles are long is that we would like to see him excerpt some of his posts so he can fit more articles on the front page.  Our last suggestion is to create a logo or design a better header image that makes the brand NFL Gridiron Gab more noticeable.

Website: www.sportingnews.com/blog/TheSportingBlog

Interview With: Chris Mottram

When did you get started in the blogging business and how did it happen?

I was first introduced to sports blogging when I started at AOL as in intern for their first sports radio show the summer of ’04. They had recently launched AOL Journals, and by “journals” they really meant “blogs.” My brother, Jamie Mottram, had started Mr. Irrelevant about that same time, so he encouraged me to start a blog of my own. At the time, I had never heard the word “blog” before, but I knew I loved writing, and it was an outlet, so I started Show Me Your Blog (later called Saved By the Blog). I never imaged starting that blog would lead me to the point where I could make a profession out of it.

When did you start Saved By the Blog and when did you move over to Mr. Irrelevant?

I suppose the previous response takes care of the first part of this question. Jamie and I joined forces at Mr. Irrelevant last summer. We were both at the point where we had decent sized audiences, and were posting everyday, so it just seemed like a natural fit to join forces (and start actually turning a profit). Plus, we both wanted to get off of AOL Journals (let’s just say it’s not the best blogging product around), so we re-launched using Wordpress. For the record (and I’m not getting paid to say this): We love Wordpress. It’s highly recommended.

When did you start with Sporting News?

I started at SportingNews.com in October of ‘07. I guess that thoroughly answers your question in the least interesting – yet most direct – way possible.

How did Sporting News contact you or did you contact them?

While I was still at AOL last summer, I was contacted by Shawn Schrager who was already in Charlotte working for SportingNews.com as their Director of Programming and Product Development. We had previously worked together at AOL on “Sports Bloggers Live,” which was a blogger-driven pod/webcast hosted by my brother and me. SN was looking for someone to take charge of their blog content. I was lucky enough to be that someone.

Was there any negotiation with Sporting News or did they basically offer you the job and you said “I’ll take it”?

There were some negotiations. I demanded one million dollars. They offered $7.50/hour. We settled on an amount somewhere in between.

Does a Sporting News editor monitor your content or do they just let you do it on your own?

I do it on my own, but I can feel them watching my every move. Not that I’m paranoid or anything.

Did they give you any strict rules like what you can link to or what you can show?

I don’t think I can post anything that includes the words “f@#$, shit, coc$ or balls.” Other than that, I’m free to link to any sites as long as it’s not porn or whatever. Although if it’s something basic – like an AP story – I’m encouraged to use the SportingNews.com URL instead of, say, linking to ESPN.com.

Is Sporting News giving you a marketing budget?  If so, what kinds of marketing are you doing?

The only marketing I’ve done involves me begging other sites for links.

It looks like you have a few different writers from around the blogosphere, are they just paid per article?

I’m not at liberty to say what our pay structure is. Get me drunk and I’d probably tell you though.

Any advice for a young sports blogger trying to get started?

I was asked a similar question in an interview I did with The Big Picture. The best advice I could give is just post often. And don’t be lame. Or boring. Or think you’re smarter than the average sports fan, ‘cause you’re not. Take it easy on anything resembling “analysis.” Leave that to the idiots on ESPN.

In the end though, I think there are just certain people who understand what sort of content makes for a good sports blog. I realized this the other day when someone complimented me (I think) by saying – and this is the exact quote — “Yo man, I’m seriously not trying to kiss your ass or anything, but you Mottrams do a fantastic job of blogging. It’s not rocket science to find interesting shit (I do think you have to have an eye for it) but how come so many people fu&$ing suck at blogging?” To which I responded, “Sadly, the talent God gave me was blogging.”

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

Less words, more moving pictures.

Is it tough being the younger brother of Jamie Mottram?

Yeah, it’s a real bummer. I have a white collar job that I happen to love, health care, all my limbs and digits, and a 47-inch HDTV waiting for me at home. Life is horrible.

STN’s Take:

If you’re a sports blog reader and not anti-establishment, you should be reading the Sporting Blog on a daily basis.  They have a great collection of writers over there to keep you entertained.  It is great to see someone like Chris work his way up the ladder to the position he is in today.  I think it gives all sports bloggers hope out there and shows that internships with media organizations are the way to go.

We do have a few suggestions for the Sporting Blog.  The first is that they should still have a blog roll.  We know its probably Sporting News not allowing it but we think it would give much more validity to the blog.  How can Chris go out and ask for links when he can’t give any back.  Is it really going to hurt Sporting News that much to have a few outgoing links on their blog?  The answer is No.  The second suggestion would be to work WordPress in as the Sporting News Blogging Platform.   Chris already loves Wordpress so we think he would agree.  There are too many benefits to pass up.  The New York Times and CNN do it so no newspaper has any excuse.

Website: www.cantstopthebleeding.com

Interview With: Gerard Cosloy

When did you start Can’t Stop the Bleeding?

The Autumn of 2003.

What made you start it?

I’d read that David Pinto needed more money so he wouldn’t have to send his children to one of those ghastly public schools. I nearly cried the first time someone told me about it. Anyhow, I figured that if I started a semi-popular sports blog and managed to elbow my way into the BlogAds system via a David Pinto referral, I’d be doing my part to make sure the Pinto family crest wasn’t sullied by any riff raff.

I was also looking forward to using the words “riff raff” as often as possible.

What is your background?

I’m not gonna list my c.v. here. There’s a slightly inaccurate Wikipedia entry if anyone gives a shit. I’ve done this & that in terms of journalism, broadcasting and some medium-profile stuff in the music world. But none of it is particularly relevant to CSTB.

CSTB’s other contributors have a rather varied history in journalism, print and otherwise, but again, if anyone wants to connect the dots they are welcome to do so. I’m very grateful that anyone writes for CSTB for free when they’re paid to do so elsewhere.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

I’ve got a career unrelated to CSTB. It’s fair to say the blog is a labor of love (or hate, depending on what we’re writing about).

I don’t think there’s a specific goal. The exchange of ideas, the running dialogue, is of greater interest to me than any greater plan for the blog. I’m a firm believer that if we’re doing something that cannot be found in dozen of other places as well if not better, everything will fall into place. And if we’re not considered appreciably more entertaining than another blog, I can live with that, too.

What was your tipping point?

I have no idea. I’m not sure that’s happened yet. Over time, people have found CSTB, sometimes through links on other sites, on other occasions because I’ve left a browser in the Apple Store on the CSTB URL. I guess that would qualify as marketing, right?

What put you on the map?

Probably all the jpegs of starlets and models. And Tom Sizemore googling himself.

What type of blogging software do you use?

Wordpress.

What ad network(s) do you use?

Yardbarker, BlogAds and Google.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

Not nearly enough. Especially when you consider some of the YB advertisers have more money than God, use slave labor to manufacture their shoddy products, etc. Seriously, f$$$ you Washington Mutual.

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

I’m ok with my own primitive design skills, and I’m not so keen on marketing. At least not with CSTB in mind. I wouldn’t mind having a few more writers, preferably those conversant with the sports I rarely cover, but when it’s so easy for a writer (established or not) to start their own blog, I can’t be too upset about it.

What are some of your favorite blogs and what are some of your least favorite blogs?

favorites: Fitted Sweats, Wizznutzz, Detailed Twang, Boing Boing, No Mas, Yard Work, Radosh, The Feed (when he was publishing regularly), Bugs & Cranks, True Hoop,The Offside, Baseball Think Factory, Rebuilding Year, WFMU’s Beware Of The Blog.

least faves : I think we can file this under “who f@@#ing cares”. I’ve mentioned the above sites in the hopes someone will take a peak who isn’t already reading ‘em. But there’s little purpose in my making a list of the blogs I dislike. The ones I really can’t stand, I’m not reading very often. In which case, I’m not really qualified to comment.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

Not really. I see no reason why the current formula of tits=hits, pseudonymous commentary and heavy petting of Will Leitch’s baloney pony can’t continue for another few years at least. Whether or not I’m providing any sort of alternative is for others to judge. I guess it’s safe to say I don’t really spend much time thinking about “the future of sports on the internet”. I suppose there will be some kind of technological innovation that will enable me to watch a baseball game on the laptop whilst reading a telex mistakenly sent by a man in Tokyo who dialed the wrong number. But I don’t wanna get anyone’s hope up with this mad scientist shit. We all saw what happened on “The Island Of Dr. Moreau”.

It pretty much ended Fairuza Balk’s career.

STN’s Take:

As you can see if you love sarcasm and sports, Can’t Stop the Bleeding should be on your list of websites to visit daily. You can tell that Gerard has a passion for comedic writing and the traffic his site brings in proves that. He would of made our list of STN’s top 25 Blogs for December, but we didn’t know about Can’t Stop the Bleeding. We are sure he will make it next month.

Gerard says he is pretty happy with his primitive design skills though we think its time for a redesign or at least a new header image. He should put out an APB on his site for a designer to help him do a header image. I am sure there is someone out there that as some design skills that reads his blog. Gerard is also the second guy that has said Yardbarker Ads aren’t doing so well for him and it will be interesting to see if that is a continuing trend.

Website: www.intentionalfoul.com

Interview With: Chris Richardson

When did you start Intentional Foul?

Intentional Foul launched on 11-13-2007

What made you start it?

I enjoy being a sports fan. There’s something oddly satisfying about wearing your team colors and being an outspoken supporter of your team, especially in enemy territory or a location that has a much different fanbase (like KC).

However, besides being a fan with an outspoken opinion, Intentional Foul offered me the opportunity to mesh my working knowledge of Internet marketing with an undying love for watching sporting events; complete with the attitude of a fan that’s currently a fish out of water.

What is your background?

Before I began working for Ticket Solutions, I worked for iEntry.com and was a contributor for WebProNews.com. I also worked on the WebProNews blog. As for sports, I grew up in a sports family. My brother plays JUCO basketball at Volunteer State and my father is a career coach. While not being the basketball player my brother is, I did play soccer extensively while I was growing up and during my adult years.

Basically, I’m a sports fan with a rudimentary understanding of Internet technologies and the blogosphere and was given an opportunity to combine these skills for my current employer.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

Both—Launching and editing Intentional Foul is the biggest part of my Ticket Solutions’ demands. The goal for Intentional Foul is to embrace and attract like-minded or outspoken sports fans while leveraging the social media movement for our parent company.

What type of blogging software do you use?

Wordpress

What ad network(s) do you use?

None

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

Believe it or not, Intentional Foul is not here to generate ad revenue. Our corporate backer, Ticket Solutions, already has a primary source of revenue. We are here to engage sports fans and potential ticket buyers alike. Additionally, we are a resource for current Ticket Solutions customers who want to share their thoughts and feelings about the sports world we now inhabit.

What are some of your favorite blogs and what are some of your least favorite blogs?

Faves: Awful Announcing, Babes Love Baseball, Epic Carnival, The Sports Frog, EDSBS, SbB… the list goes on and on.

Least Favorite: Blogs that scrape someone else’s content

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the Internet?

I think the proliferation of fans embracing sports blogs will only continue. Sports fans have already shown a tendency to zealously use other Internet technologies that give them a place to voice their opinions like forums and message boards. As the sports blogosphere continues to grow, I expect the fans will continue to flock to these sites.

I also expect blogger backlash from the traditional press to continue… as they themselves continue to embrace blogging by having their most recognizable reporters take to the medium. It’s almost like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Another thing I’ve noticed is the adaptation of other Web 2.0 technologies to leverage some of this user-generated content. Digg clones like Yardbarker and BallHype come to mind. These services also try to engage the social web by allowing members to personalize their experience by adding pictures to their profiles and offering little touches like friend lists.

STN’s Take:

Intentional foul is very interesting because it doesn’t have advertisements and it was basically built to entertain Ticket Solutions customers. I am surprised more organizations that are somehow affiliated with sports don’t do this. It looks like Chris has a pretty good gig if his main job for Tickets Solutions is just the blog and it seems they don’t really care what he posts either because there is a lot of Intentional Eye Candy.

Since his blog is not really built for making money we really don’t have any suggestions. Its designed very well and its easy on the eyes. In fact we wouldn’t mind a redesign from whoever designed his blog.

Website: zachls.blogspot.com

Interview With: Zach Landres-Schnur

When did you start The Big Picture?

A dark, stormy night in December, 2005.

What made you start it?

Combination of things, really. I was about to graduate college and a buddy of mine suggested that I should start a blog. I was pretty naive and thought that perhaps writing a blog would lead to something big…like a well-paying job, in a city I wanted to live in, where I didn’t have to work too hard and I had beautiful women hand-feeding me grapes. It hasn’t happened. Though it has led to long, sleepless nights with little monetary reward.

What is your background?

Journalism degree from the University of Washington. I cover prep sports and small colleges for The Seattle Times. I grew up in the Bay Area, so my rooting allegiances are still for San Francisco teams. When I was 5, I aspired to be an African American baseball player.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

If someone would pay me, I’d love it. I’d do it for 15K a year plus benefits and a year-long supply of Newcastle. Fu** it. Coors.

Right now it’s just for fun, with a little money coming in from it. My realistic goal is building a site that very interactive and gets people talking, thinking and writing about sports (and hot chicks who are loosely affiliated with sports). An unrealistic goal is getting full-time work to blog for an already-established website. I’ve been in talks with Playboy On Campus, but not sure if it’ll go anywhere. If it does, I’ll invite you to the Mansion.

What type of blogging software do you use?

Blogger. (Cringe)

What ad network(s) do you use?

Adbrite, Adify and YardBarker. YardBarker has a big ad on my right sidebar, but I haven’t seen a dime. I’m shaking my metaphorical fist.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

It varies…randomly I’ll get ticket sites offering to give me like $500 for some text links. That’s rare. Without those, maybe $100 a month. Maybe.

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

Good question. Probably design stuff. There are a lot of sites that look good and can use Photoshop for some really cool stuff. My site lacks on that end.

What are some of your favorite blogs and what are some of your least favorite blogs?

The big ones are big for a reason; Deadspin, The Big Lead, With Leather. The creativity of Kissing Suzy Kolber is really inspiring and sometimes gives me ideas on slow news days. One of my faves that doesn’t get a ton of hype is The Hater Nation. It doesn’t find the crazy stories, but it takes a fun, new, satirical angle on the daily sports scope. And it’s very well written by a guy who’s an Associate Editor at NFL.com and who has fathered more children than Shawn Kemp.

Least favorite…eesh, that’s asking for trouble. I won’t name names, though there are some sites that are good at finding those underreported stories and get linked by the big boys. Some of said sites are well-written, most aren’t. Those poorly-written ones sorta piss me off. Not really sure why. Probably just jealousy of getting that much more traffic on a given day.

I also don’t care for sites that give picks/predictions. I could tell you that USC was going to wallop Illinois. I don’t need to read it with analysis that was probably taken from actual reporters.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

Well, I work at a newspaper and the head honcho basically said we’re a sinking ship. So the Internet is the place to go! I’m jumping off the boat!

Look for newspapers going primarily on-line and breaking news happening on blogs. I still think people want the solid reporting that’s done in the print media, but, like a lot of big websites are already doing ( ESPN.com, Yahoo! Sports), the newspaper guys are getting plucked by the riches of the Web.

STN’s Take:

You always have to like the experienced newspaper writer who writes a blog. We really think that newspaper writers that don’t have their own personal blogs are not very smart. They might not have time to post everyday but its always a good to have something once a week. If there newspaper is against it, then they should just post anonymously. Zach is a great writer and this interview is probably one of the best written interviews we have received.

Our first suggestion would be to move to Wordpress. As everyone knows who reads this blog, we really think there is only one real way to blog and that is using Wordpress. Zack would like some help with design but we actually like the look of his site and the header image for what he has to work with. Sometimes the most simple designs can be the best. Our next suggestion would be to spend the $10 a year and get a domain name. Unfortunately most domains with The Big Picture are already taken so Zack will probably have to get creative. Lastly, if he isn’t making any money off Yardbarker Ads, he should take them down and make Yardbarker guarantee him money up front. His best option would be to go with Google Adsense. Blogger makes it really easy to use Adsense.