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Tag Archives: Baseball
Best Baseball Podcasts
A friend of mine was bemoaning the state of sports radio in Toronto when I suggested that he look at podcasts as his source of sports talk “radio”. He’s a hockey and baseball fan. I can’t help with hockey because I’m only a fan every 4 years (hello Olympics!). So here are my favourite baseball podcasts:
And there are only two worth your time. And they are both brought to you by the same folks who brought to you the best damn sports mobile app of all time: The Score.
Drunk Jays Fans
Otherwise known as DJF, this podcast and blog provides everything a Toronto Blue Jays fan could ask for. The writers of the blog also provide everything you don’t want to hear such as why the Jays suck this year. Answer: Too many crap players. Writers Andrew Stoeten, Dustin Parkes, Drew Fairservice, and Scott Lewis provide amazing analysis that most writers and sportscasters ignore because of timelines, word count or just plain ignorance about the sport of baseball.
The DJF podcast is just as delightful. However, be careful. The content is NSFW so wear a headset if you listen to it at work or at home around kids. One thing you will notice is two things: Firstly, the crew are not shills for the team or ownership. Which means they tell it like it is. Secondly, they always provide insightful analysis no matter the colour of their language. So it’s both entertaining and educational.
Getting Blanked
My favourite part of this baseball blog is the My Approach series by Drew Fairservice. If this is all the baseball you read then you will be 1000 times smarter than anyone else you listen to in Toronto sports radio – never mind your baseball drinking buddies. Drew has interviewed a dozen or so of the top baseball stars of today asking them about their approach to the game. He sometimes interjects the interview with thoughtful analysis backed up by stats and videos. You will be hard pressed to find better baseball writing anywhere else.
The Getting Blanked podcast is the best baseball podcast around. These guys know their baseball and can talk about it just as well as they can write about it. Expect analysis of breakout players, Mike Trout, the most underrated players, Mike Trout, thoughts on stats and moneyball and even everyone’s favourite player, Mike Trout. Oh, expect to hear the boys trashing Toronto’s baseball beat writers and radio hosts for being lazy…and stuff. If you want to be a well rounded and knowledgeable baseball fan, then the podcast and the blog are a must. And the bumper music they play is outstanding too!
Beware of Bullshit from Conferences
I’m not usually one to post such a negative title. But I want to make sure that you’re all aware of what is happening out there.
I attend many conferences. I find value in the education and in the networking. More often than not I will meet someone or a group of people that will end up becoming valuable associates, good friends or even clients (although this rarely happens – but one never knows). And I will always attend and promote conferences.
However, something has been happening recently that I need to direct your attention to it.
In the social media and communications world – which I live and work in – there are many so called facts that people use to promote the value of social media or even why (expensive) tools or services should be purchased and used. What’s the big deal with this? Nothing. If it’s true. But a whole lot is wrong if false examples are used to illustrate the point.
This first came to my attention on a panel I sat on discussing social media. It was hosted by a young professional network. The lie: United Airlines lost market share, market value and revenues as a result of United Breaks Guitar. Many articles have been written assuming that United lost money. The facts are far from clear but I stand to be corrected.
The latest was from a conference I attended last week hosted by a company which was recently purchased by SalesForce. The lie? That in recent history the team that has won the World Series in baseball has had more singles (than any other type of hit) than everyone else. The point was to tell people to be satisfied with hitting singles in life rather than swinging for the fences (dream small versus dreaming big). Fair enough. But the fact of the matter is that the story used to illustrate the point is 100% incorrect.
According to my numbers (I had someone who works in stats on a daily basis help me out – the “fact” sounded fishy to me), since 2000, only 2 teams with most singles overall have won the World Series: The 2012 Giants and 10 years earlier, the 2002 Angels.
Sigh. I don’t know how many Tweets and ReTweets the original statement received. I do know it filled my timeline.
My suggestion: Before taking any action on what you hear at conferences, do your own research. And don’t be afraid to call the bullshitters out.
End of rant.
Why I do what I do.
I love Toronto. And not just the Blue Jays baseball team or the CN Tower. I mean what makes Toronto, well, Toronto.
Her people. Especially those people who are making things happen. Whether it be community activists like the folks at the Toronto Green Community or the start-up/tech space that I have been involved in for the past couple of years.
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to chat with Canadian entrepreneur, angel investor and venture capitalist Boris Wertz. He appeared as my guest on The XConnect Show. It was our 19th episode and the first time we had a live audience.
The reason we invited a select audience was because our team knew that many people in the start-up space would love the opportunity to listen and learn from Boris. So we had about 10 guests sit in on the session.
Before our taping I introduced Boris to every member of the studio audience. And that made me feel happy and proud. Happy that I could do it and proud that I had the chance to do it.
What made me more happier was receiving an email from one friend a few minutes ago who apologized for leaving without talking to me so he could share with Boris a cab ride across the city.
No need to apologize.
It’s why I do what I do.
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