No cable? No problem, sports fans

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Just like many of you, I have stopped paying my ridiculous cable bill since I don’t watch 75% of the channels.  Furthermore, I am not going to pay the full bill for only watching 25% of the channels.  In regard to sports, this applies to all of us fans because we obviously have no outlet to watch events such as the Stanley Cup, NBA Final, or even the Superbowl.

To make the matter more of a problem than it is, we have no source to find day-to-day information of our favorite team or breaking news in general.  But don’t worry, I have a couple solutions that will help you keep up with any trade deadline, player injuries, or major trade that happens in the league as well as where to watch the game.

Streaming

Streaming is the best answer for your gameday problem when trying to watch the game.  In the United States, 85% of Millenials (born in 1981-1996) have a smartphone so it would make sense that there would be some sort of app made to resolve this problem.  Well I’m here to tell you there is and you should be using it.  Most, if not all, NFL games are broadcasted on NBC, CBS, and FOX networks.  All of these media outlets provide an app with a monthly purchase that lets you legally stream any game.  The NHL provides the same service in the NHL-tv and you are able to watch any game in the league during the season. Both of these options are far cheaper than having cable.

Applications

While your problem of watching the game itself is solved as I stated above, there is still the problem of keeping up with statistics, injury updates, scheduling, roster changes, and any breaking news that happens in the league.  My #1 suggestion would be to make an account and download the Bleacher Report app.  Through this app, you can follow any major news in the league or with a specific team.  WHy you should make an account is for the reason of following specific teams.  You can follow any and every team in any league from the NFL to rugby teams overseas.  Even better, you can receive notifications for just about all aspects of sports.  When a game will be played, in-game scoring, updated minute-by-minute gameplay and much more are all things Bleacher Report can do.  And to top it all off, everything is free.

How do you feel about cable? Do you feel the same as I do and want a cheaper approach? Do applications like Bleacher Report or cable networks satisfy all your sports needs? Let me know in the comments.

Making your own sports brand is easier than you think

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“Even if I have something worth telling, how could I possibly let anyone know.”

“I don’t work for ESPN for so there’s no point because no one will hear my voice.”

When having the dream to become a big-time sports analyst or even starting your own brand, these are common statements that hold people back.  However, starting your own brand today with easily accessible technology is easier than you think. The problem usually holds people back simply because they are unaware of how fortunate they are.

The problem escalates when the typical response is “well I don’t have money like everyone else does and I’ll get nowhere.”

You’d be surprised how cheap most of the equipment is to start a website or podcast and even more surprised to find out most of the tools you need are free.  As a result, the solution is a lot easier and simpler than you think.  Just putting in some time and thought with the following possibilities to build your brand can make yourself a name in no time.

The first step in the strategy is making a website.  This will be where everything and anything that you write. It is also where content will be located that you want people to see.  The first step is buying a domain name and for $2.95/month (Hostgator.com), you have your solution.  Take that to wordpress.org where you can build your website for free with tools that allow you to customize virtually every part of your website and you’re good to go.

If you are a person that wants to start a Podcast, you will simply need an editing software and a microphone.  Garageband for Macs or Audacity for PC are both free are work perfectly.  Even better, you can you use the mic built into your computer to record.  However, if you want something that sounds a little more professional and clean, you can buy the Fifine K668 that costs $21.99 on Amazon.

Finally, the most important step in the process is marketing yourself and on a consistent basis so people know you are out there making content.  They also can be notified when you post new content too with social media.  And the best part is it is all free. Twitter, FaceBook, and Instagram all cost nothing and go a long way.  Just keep everything consistent, professional, and you have multiple platforms to post your media.

Share your ideas in the comments on the start-up process.

Do you agree that it costs almost nothing to be as popular as some of the best doing it?

The REAL Future of Sports Journalism

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Given the change in the sports journalism industry, I thought it would be beneficial to look at the problem of its future.

It’s no secret that anyone could start a blog, podcast, or website for their sports opinion or analytics. The problem arises through the topic of analytics.  Technology today allows users to track anything from the exit velocity of a baseball after it had been hit to the “CORSI” rating that basically summarizes and tells the importance of a hockey player when on the ice.

The issue with the CORSI is that with players that have played over 60 games, the top 3 positions are held by Calgary Flames players and they didn’t even make the playoffs.

Not only does analytics go a little too far from the purist’s “eye-test” but it is ruining sports journalism as a whole.  The bigger problem is that there are little personality and character in sports media’s talent and this is an opportunity for young journalists that are reading this should realize.

Whether teachers in school or parents have told you, if you want to get a job or have an opportunity for an interview, you should do something that sets yourself apart.  Furthermore, the direction of sports journalism should not be looked at as obstacles but as an advantage that you can use to hone your craft.  As a result, I have recognized 3 things that will land you that job in sports media.

  1. Personality

Going along with what I said earlier, no one wants a stats robot spitting out facts. It gets redundant, boring, and most of it means nothing as I said about the Calgary Flames. You may not be the most knowledgeable anchor but if you have personality, you will go far in your career. A perfect example is where ESPN is at.  They had to fire more than half of their staff of sports gurus and the ones left are analysts viewers can connect with or provide more than statistics.

2. Humor

This is a trend that has been emerging and if you know how tomato people laugh will surely land you a job.  Stu Gotz from The Dan Lebatard Show, PFT Commenter and Dan Katz from Pardon My Take, and Scott Van Pelt all went against the grain and have been a very successful journalist and voices in sports.

Just listen and study the formula these individuals go by if you want to understand what I’m talking about.

3. A different perspective

Looking at something from a different point-of-view makes listeners or viewers focus on whatever take you have no matter how right or wrong it is in the future.

Not to be confused with the “hot take” trend that is being phased out of the industry, you want to have an in-depth knowledge that you can pick apart the game so far as to provide your audience with something different.

 

So you should ask yourself, what skill or trait do you have that sets yourself apart from others?

 

What E3 Really Means: An Upfront Review

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This post is for all the E-Sports fans out there.

The annual video game conference, E3, took place last weekend  on June 12th in Los Angeles, CA.  For those of you who are aware, this event is a pretty big deal.  And for those that don’t know, E3 is basically the biggest event in the gaming and E-Sports community. Pretty much the Super Bowl for gamers. Every game developing company releases gameplay or previews of games being put out in the future.

The problem with E3 is that every developer makes every game they are putting out seem like this “next big thing” that’s perfect and flawless and everyone will love it. And they should because they want to get paid. But realistically, most of the games either have a terrible presentation (like The Division where there was little gameplay and just a guy walking around) or they don’t live up to the hype when released.

What’s even worse is that popular streamers on Twitch who are sponsored by these companies or may have favorites will give an unbiased opinion.

My solution to you is a review with a couple unbiased opinions that you can make a fair judgement on when buying one of these games because they can be expensive.  But also a couple that I can’t help but say they will be the best game released and I will put so much time into because of reasons ill explain later.

Most Anticipated

Fallout 76

In the past, Bethesda has always released games that live up to the hype like Elder Scrolls, the Fallout series, and even Wolfenstein which pioneered the first-person shooter genre.  When Bethesda played the trailer for it’s newest release, Fallout 76, everyone knew it would be amazing and I know I’ll be buying it upon release.

Fallout in a nutshell is what would’ve happened if the Cold War got out of hand and both Russia and the United States started atomic bombing each other.

This Fallout is the one everyone was waiting for because in other Fallout games, they mention “Vault 76” which is one of the earliest bunkers and you now get to play in that time period.

Probably the most anticipated part is the map and gameplay itself since Bethesda said the map is 4 times bigger than the Fallout 4 map…that’s unreal to think about.

Most Nostalgic

Kingdom Hearts

Clearly there’s going to be bias here. Back when I was ripping Mountain-Dew straight from the 2-liter and smashing bag of Doritos, I was playing Kingdom Hearts on my PlayStation 2.  This role-playing crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy will always be one of my favorites and will finally be playable Jan 29, 2019.

The older gamers. like myself, that played the original will still be able to play alongside Donald Duck and Goofy.  What they have added into the game will main characters from the movies Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story, Tangled, Frozen, and Monsters Inc.

For those who love role-playing games that can’t be beat in a weekend and have so much to do such as Fallout, I recommend this game to you.

After all, it has been 12 years since Kingdom Hearts 2 so they’ve had their fair share of time to make it really, really good (*fingers crossed).

The “you will probably put so much time in that it will ruin any relationship you are in and there’s so much to see and do” game

Elder Scrolls VI

It goes without saying how much fun this game is and everyone that has played the recent release, Elder Scrolls V, to Obsidian years ago knows that it’s hard to put down the controller when you start playing any Elder Scrolls game.

I know personally, I have skipped so many phone calls, cancelled so many plans, and had so many unread text messages because I couldn’t take my eyes away from the screen.

Everything from the combat to the beautiful artwork and landscapes that the developers created make Elder Scrolls one-of-a-kind.

While the game doesn’t have an official release date, we know that it will be out in the future and with a game with so much to do like this one, I’m perfectly fine with that.

What’s different about the Elder Scrolls edition is that they are adding a feature similar to the whole concept of Minecraft.  Bethesda said that in Elder Scrolls VI, you will have the ability to forge houses and maybe even develop individual towns.

Biggest Letdown

No Borderlands 3

I threw this in here because I just want anyone working with Gearbox (the developer) to see this and know how I feel.  Borderlands was a game with a lot of depth to the story, distinct artwork, and was a blast to play.

 

What is your opinion on Borderlands? Did Gearbox mess this one up with not announcing a new game?

Also what are games coming out that you are looking forward to the most? I know I missed a couple.

 

A Non-Soccer Fan’s Guide To The World Cup

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Mid-June can be pretty rough for sports fans in the United States.  The Stanley Cup Finals and NBA playoffs are wrapping up, the NFL is still in the off-season, and the MLB is past opening day but still too early for the playoffs.

However, once every four years, the World Cup comes around and the first game is this Thursday, June 14.  With nothing else to watch, I’m here to give you a beginner’s guide to the World Cup and how to make it look like you fit in with the soccer super-fan.  And especially since the United States were knocked out, I’ll give information on some other teams that make you sound like a soccer aficionado. Also an Italian head butted another player in the final one time so sometimes it can get crazy.

I think a good spot to start would be describing how the World Cup tournament process works.

32 teams qualify to make the Cup and are put into 8 groups of 4.  This is usually where people get confused.  Just think of it how the NFL puts teams into divisions. So there’s 8 divisions and the goal is to place in the top half after playing every team in your group once.  After that, the remaining 16 are put into a single elimination bracket and eventually there will be a winner.

So the good news is you know how the tournament works.  But the bad news is there’s so many different narratives, stats, history, strategies, and concepts that there’s no hope to learn it all.  However my solution to you is giving a couple open-ended questions that will get any die-hard soccer fan heated.

  1. “Is Messi or Ronaldo better?”

No fan sits in the middle when answering this so it will either 1, give you conversation with someone without having to say a word, so just shake your head and agree since you know nothing about soccer. But also 2, if someone else tunes and disagrees, all hell will break loose and you’ve got debate that you need to know nothing about.

2. “Do you think Messi and Argentina win it all?”

A BIG narrative in soccer is that Messi, while one of the best, can’t pul it together on the national level and win whether it’s the World Cup or Copa America. Just like the first question, asking this question will get a far left or right answer because there’s the chance a Ronaldo fan is listening.  In this case, refer to question as a follow up.

3. “Did you see______’s jerseys?! They look so good!”

To be honest, you don’t even need to look up what the jerseys look like because the super fan already knows.  Just make sure the team you throw in the question is in the tournament.  For some reason, soccer fans think any new jersey that’s released is “sick” no matter how bland or uncoordinated it looks.  Furthermore, I’ve figured out that soccer fans also assume whoever has the best looking jerseys will win the tournament. So whatever team they think has the best looking jersey, say you think they have a really good shot at winning it all and they will surely agree.

So there you have it. A guide for the fan who doesn’t watch soccer so you can look like you know what you’re talking about.  Stick to those questions and you’ll fit right in.

For all the soccer fans reading this, what do you think? Does this sound about right?

Also feel free to comment your own soccer fan clichés or expressions for the beginners out there.

 

 

Intro: Why It’s YOUR Blog and Not Mine

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Being my first blog post, I think it’s fair to introduce what the blog will be about and the type of content you can expect.

I had the idea to create this site because like a lot of other people, I was tired with the usual content ESPN puts out and wanted not just new material or shows, but something more raw and entertaining.  “Pardon The Interruption” and “First Take” are shows that have been airing for about a million years and it’s the usual “hot take” debate or boring interviews with athletes that are look bored themselves.

I wanted something more edgy and something timeless instead of the pre-game show, the post-game show, and the next game’s prediction.

The problem gets even worse because with the millions or dollars ESPN is losing and people around the world making new, modern content, ESPN is desperately playing “catch up” and trying to do what everyone else is. The only issue is they suck at it and is “cringe-worthy” or awkward. But you can’t blame the on-air talent, they did a job well for a while (million years) and just don’t know how to innovate and adapt to what you want today.

MY solution isn’t just writing content for you and you reading, watching, and listening to my ideas or opinions.  My solution is YOU because YOU know exactly what you want to talk about and have listened to others for years.  Why have me do all the talking when everyone has the power of the internet at their fingertips.  I don’t want to force anything or write boring content. YOU know what you want, so go ahead…talk about it!

My solution comes from collaboration and a sharing of ideas that you, the fans, want to talk about.  Football may be the most popular sport in America, however, I realize that others are die-hard hockey fans.  Rather than catering to the majority (like ESPN), I chose to cater to…well…everyone.  I allow you to have a platform and voice to talk about what you want. The hockey fans can skip through all the football talk and join a thread to talk about the Stanley Cup.  Heck, even the cheese rollers in England can discuss their reaction to the latest cheese rolling event.

I will still be posting my ideas on the blog page, but the site comes to life with collaboration on your part.

I hope your onboard with my idea and I made this site because I am a sports fan like you that wants more than boring interviews and reductant shows with “I’m right, your’e wrong” opinions.

So comment or email me if you have any suggestions or what you want to include in the site.

What else do you want me to include?

Do you think my idea will revolutionize sports media or is complete trash?