Announcing the first 5 categories open for #USMAP voting.
Click here to cast your votes!
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BWB4 Host Bloomberg Sports Releases Decision Maker
Updated Speaker List and Last Chance for Discounted Tickets
For those paying attention, there are less than 24 hours left to get discounted pre-sale tickets. It’s also the day we are happy to announce some additions to our lineup including BWB alumni Amy K. Nelson, John Thornton and AJ Daulerio, as well as newcomers Tom Fant of NBAOffseason.com and “locked out” competitive eating champion Takeru Kobayashi (to name a few).
Get your tickets now before they go up.
Stay tuned next week for party and #USMAP information.
- AJ Daulerio, Deadspin
- Amanda Rykoff, espnW
- Amy K. Nelson, ESPN
- Barry Petchesky, Deadspin
- Bill Squadron, Bloomberg Sports
- Bomani Jones, The Score
- Chris Russo, Big Lead Sports
- Dan Levy, B/R
- Dan Shanoff, Quickish
- David Finocchio, B/R
- Dom Constentino, Deadspin
- Emma Carmichael, Deadspin
- Eric Kay, CBS
- George Atallah, NFL Players Association
- Ian Schafer, Deep Focus
- Ives Garalcep Soccer by Ives
- Jack Dickey, Deadspin
- Jamie Mottram, Yahoo!
- Jane McManus, ESPN NY
- Jason McIntyre, The Big Lead
- Jay Busbee, Yahoo! Sports
- JE Skeets, TBJ
- Jemele Hill, ESPN
- Jimmy Traina, SI.com
- Joe Favorito
- Joe Fortenbaugh, National Football Post
- John Thornton, Retired NFL
- Josh Zerkle, B/R
- Kathleen Hessert, Sports Media Challenge
- Kevin Blackistone
- Lang Whitaker, SLAM/The Classical
- Maggie Hendricks, NBC Chicago/Y! Sports
- Mark Pesavanto, Yahoo!
- Matt Sebek, Joe Sports Fan
- Matt Ufford, KSK/Warming Glow
- Matthew Cerrone, MetsBlog/SNY
- Megan Hueter, Women Talk Sports
- Michael Hall, NESN
- Mike Germano, Carrot Creative
- Nando DiFino, WSJ
- Phil van der Vossen, Gunaxin Sports/Caps Outsider
- Richard Deitsch, SI
- Richard Ting, R/GA
- Rick Leibling, Coyne
- Sarah Braesch, BlogHer/Draft Day Suit
- Tas Melas, TBJ
- Takeru Kobayashi
- Tom Scocca, Deadspin
- Tommy Craggs, Deadspin
- Trei Brundrett, SB Nation
- Trey Kerby, TBJ
#BWB4 Pre-Sale Ticket News
Tomorrow, discounted pre-sale tickets will go on sale for September’s BWB4 at Bloomberg HQ in NYC. Keep an eye out for your chance to grab the limited-time only sale as well as information on the first round of announced speakers, sponsors and participants.
Lang, Shoals & Company Looking to Kickstart The Classical
BWB mainstays Bethlehem Shoals and Lang Whitaker are looking to fund a new daily online read with some of the most talented writers out there. And we think you should do your part. Click here to help.
The Classical is a daily web publication. We’ve written about sports and other things for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, GQ, The Nation, Yahoo! Sports, New York Magazine, Vice, Pitchfork, and more. We’ve started blogs you love, written books you’ve bought, and tweeted with you about critical theory, punk rock, and Kevin Durant. The Classical is the place where we write about those things some more, but on our terms, for ourselves and for the audience we know is out there.
Every day, The Classical will deliver several regular columns, a host of quick, random goodness, and a fun, smart community for talking about the sports world. There will be long features (a 25,000-word piece on Pete Alexander, say, or introductions to particular niches of sports fandom) and contributions from the world: prizewinning novelists, internet celebrities, guys and girls we went to school with who are unappreciated geniuses, members of the public. There will be theme weeks in the spirit of FreeDarko’s “Dream Week,” on-the-ground reporting when we can, and essays commissioned by you, the readers.
We will make no attempt to be comprehensive, or even to offer a reliable guide to the world of sport at a given moment. We will not try to be a smarter version of what you can find elsewhere. Instead, The Classical will be a running, wide-ranging conversation between us and our readers about baseball, basketball, soccer, football and fighting, and about things that aren’t sports, too. Our model in this regard is The Awl, a site for which many of us have written and which all of us love.
Writing about sports the way that smart people talk about sports is a simple idea, and a good one. To do it right, though—to set up a sustainable business, rather than yet another blog or Tumblr—takes some money. Site design and hosting, lawyering and other businessish stuff, and keeping a couple of us at this full time while we show and prove ourselves will require resources. We need to fund our budget for one year, and we need your help to do it.
Bloomberg Sports to Host BWB4
BWB4 is pleased to announce that BWB4 will take place September 24 and be hosted by Bloomberg Sports at the media giant’s global headquarters in New York City.
For those unfamiliar with the space, located at 731 Lexington Avenue, Bloomberg HQ is a revolutionary building unlike any other in the world, and we at BWB couldn’t be more thrilled to have a more cutting-edge and respected partner to showcase some of the best sports media talent in the world.
Allow our friends at Media Bistro to give you a virtual tour…
In addition to a great, diverse line-up of panelists that has set BWB events apart from any other new media gathering, BWB4 will feature the first ever Untitled Sports Media Awards Project (#USMAP) that will honor some of the biggest and brightest in our industry. As customary will all BWB events, we will also have a kick-off party Friday evening, September 23, and a Saturday evening post-party.
Space is limited, and tickets are expected to go fast. For those of you who want to get in early, we are offering a small amount of discounted pre-sale tickets (available while they last) within the next few days.
We will also be announcing our first roll out of speakers within the next week. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us here.
Five Minutes with CC Sabathia
Last month during MLB All-Star break, we talked with Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton about the Pepsi Max Field of Dreams contest.
Today, we trekked into the big city to talk with Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia about that same program as he casted his dream team ballot, selecting 11 legendary diamond stars (one at each position including DH & reliever) at the MLB Man Cave at 4th and Broadway.
Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia stopped by the MLB Fan Cave on August 10, 2011 to vote for his Pepsi MAX Field of Dreams team. Vote for your 11-man dream team of living legends at MLB.com/PepsiMAX.
For those who forgot since last month, by entering your picks for the Field of Dreams team, you enter for a chance to bring a team of MLB greats to your own hometown to play ball with you and 10 of your friends.
Throughout the afternoon, Sabathia was peppered with questions about his selections. I took the opportunity to grill him on his passing on Steve Carlton in lieu of Randy Johnson.
Having just watched his teammate Derek Jeter reach the magical #3000, I asked the Cy Young Award and World Series winner about his cognizance of his own legacy and milestones, to which he gave a very Jeterian answer.
Actually, much like the Captain, CC maneuvered landmine questions well throughout the day, and specifically throughout my chat with him.
I asked him to compare his time in the AL Central facing great teams such as the Twins, Tigs and Sox with his current battles in the media-saturated AL East. He didn’t bite.
They’re just as intense. Thery’re not as media covered…A lot of those teams have a lot of homegrown talent so you grow up playing against a lot of those guys.
We also talked about the current pitchers he loves to watch, which included “the best pitcher in the league” Roy Halladay, CC’s former Indians teammate Cliff Lee, David Price and a slew of fellow lefties.
Overall, a good, down to earth dude and a fun program from Pepsi Max.
For the record, my team:
Amar’e and Big Lead Sports Enter Into Strategic Relationship
Today, Big Lead Sports announced the addition of New York Knick superstar Amar’e Stoudemire to its stable of talent.
Said Chris Russo, CEO of Big Lead Sports (and BWB1 panelist):
“Amar’e Stoudemire is one of the most socially conscious and business savvy figures in sports today. We are very pleased to collaborate with Amar’e on creative digital programs that appeal to our audience of more than 17 million users.”
From a release today:
Stoudemire will become a regular contributor to BigLeadSports.com and other BLS web sites such as Hoopshype and HOOPSWORLD providing features to fans on professional sports and lifestyle endeavors. He will also work with BLS to create an educational curriculum for young people based on math and fantasy basketball. Finally, the nine year NBA veteran will also partner with BLS on an online fantasy basketball platform.
The Big Lead: So About That Amar’e News
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FFP Happy Hour Panel Video
This past week, we hosted a happy hour at Turtle Bay in NYC with the Fan Freedom project that was meant to educate sports bloggers and the general sports fan about the issue of paperless ticketing – specifically the restrictiveness of certain paperless practices.
Below is video of the panel portion of the event.
For those of you who were not able to attend, here is a video of our recent panel on paperless tickets and professional sporting events, featuring Will Leitch of New York Magazine, Darren Rovell of CNBC Sports Biz, and New York City Council Member Mark Weprin. The event was hosted by our friends at Blogs with Balls. You can read a brief recap of the event here.
Blogs With Balls Radio, Episode 33
Justin Upton at just 23 and with 2 MLB All-Star Game selections under his belt is known throughout baseball as a five-tool player. Add a sixth tool to the Arizona Diamondback’s repertoire. The kid is media savvy.
While I threw in the obligatory softballs, Upton maneuvered his way smoothly around any opportunity to take shots at Brewers slugger Prince Fielder and nicely avoided the landmine question about political protests in the host state:
The game of baseball can do wonders for communities…Obviously, the protesters feel like this is there time to shine, but it hasn’t dampened anything for me. The fans are still out. The fans are still having a great time. It’s a great experience for our fans here in Arizona to have this type of energy in your city and to do things for the game of baseball like helping the community. It hasn’t dampened anything for me because you see the smiles on the faces of people.
Upton goes on to talk about his goals as a player and a team, and also what it would take for him as a player to stick with the DBacks throughout his career:
If we can get a nice fanbase here and have people jump on and be DBacks fans, I’d love to play here the rest of my career.
Listen to the full interview below. And check out Pepsi Max’s Field of Dream promotion here.
BwB/FFP NYC “We the Fans” Happy Hour
Event
You are invited to join Blogs with Balls and the Fan Freedom Project for a 2-hour New York City “We the Fans” happy hour hosted by FFP President Jon Potter with CNBC Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell, New York Magazine’s Will Leitch and other notable speakers and guests from the worlds of sports, media and politics. The event will feature a short discussion on the impact of restrictive paperless tickets on sports fans.
| Who: | Blogs With Balls & the Fan Freedom Project |
| What: | 2-hour New York City “We the Fans” Happy Hour |
| Where: | Turtle Bay |
| 987 2nd Ave | |
| New York, NY 10022 | |
| When: | Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 6:00-8:00 PM EST |
RSVP
About
Darren Rovell
Darren Rovell is the Emmy-award author of the “Sports Biz” blog and is CNBC’s Sports Business Reporter. Joining CNBC in 2006, he is responsible for both analyzing and reporting on the sports business world on all of CNBC’s programming including “Squawk Box,” “Power Lunch,” “Street Signs” and “Closing Bell.”
His twitter feed (@darrenrovell) has more than 97,000 followers.
Will Leitch
Will Leitch is a contributing editor at New York Magazine, a film critic for Yahoo and the founding editor of Deadspin. He is the author of four books, including “Are We Winning?” (2010) and “God Save The Fan” (2008). He lives in Brooklyn with his wife.
Fan Freedom Project
Fan Freedom Project is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights of ticket holders and live event fans. FFP is supported by over 30,000 fans and a growing coalition of partner organizations.
Visit FanFreedom.org for more information.