Sports Biz Blogs, New to the Crew
MiLB.com’s own Benjamin Hill released his “Top 10 Minor League Stadiums” today and said, in the comments section, of Parkview Field:
“Fort Wayne was the last cut that I made, so put that at number 11! I haven’t been to the Dow Diamond yet, but it’s on the short list for 2013. “
This set off mass chaos around the TinCaps’ offices, and required the convening of the secret council of baseball advisors in a DEFCON 1 meeting. Ticketstock was thrown in an uproarious riot, bobbleheads were strewn left and right across the staff cubicles and panic reached near Harlem Shake-esque levels.
The good people of America came to Parkview Field’s rescue in the comments section, demanding that Parkview Field–named the #1 Minor League Ballpark Experience by Stadium Journey the last two seasons–receive its rightful place in the Top 10:
Fortunately, I had been working on a blog post this week and it is without further ado that I present………”Mike Couzens’ Top 10 Blogs That May or May Not Be About Sports”:
1) The Ellie Almanac: Something for Everyone, From an 11 Year Old’s Point of View
Recent Posts: Ellie’s Top 5 Chicago Tips, The Sounds of College Basketball
2) CurdNerds.com: The Cheese Blog
Recent Posts: The World of Mediterranean Cheese, Raw-Milk Cheese 101
3) The Life of a Cat Named Patches
Recent Posts: I’m a Lazy Kitty, My Birthday!
4) GroceryLists.org: The Grocery List Collection
Recent Posts: White Bread, Juice, 1/2 lb turkey
5) AwkwardYearbookSignatures.com
Recent Posts: Guilford High School, Guilford, CT, 2007, Davis Drive Middle School, Cary, NC 2002
6) Sorry I Haven’t Posted: Inspiring Apologies from Today’s World Wide Web
Recent Posts: That’s Just The Way It Is, Bargainista Fashionista Part 8
Recent Posts: Big Bird, Kermit, Cookie Monster
8) Super Baby Food: Everything You Need To Know About Feeding Your Baby
Recent Posts: Parsley Is A Super Baby Food!, What You Did Not Know About Martha Stewart
9) Cooking With Spam: 10 Recipe Ideas
Recent Posts: Spam Corn Chowder, Spam Macaroni Salad
10) Hungover Owls
Recent Posts: See Above
and coming in at #11, which was a really close choice to bump out of the Top 10…Ben’s Biz Blog.
In unrelated news, as I promised you earlier this week, an introduction from TinCaps 2013 Broadcasting and Media Relations Assistant, John Nolan, who you’ll hear from all summer on the radio during TinCaps home games…
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Thanks, Mike.
You know, one of my first responsibilities so far in Fort Wayne has been writing the player biographies for the 2013 TinCaps Media Guide. It’s more or less the information you’d find on the back of a baseball card. Of course, it doesn’t share the whole story of a player, but it’s at least a snapshot of who the individual is. So without further ado, here’s a glimpse of how I’d appear in the TinCaps Media Guide…
Name: PxP John Nolan
B: R T: R Height: 5’8” Weight: 155
Born (Opening Day Age): 03/08/1991 (22) in Red Bank, NJ
Obtained: Signed by the TinCaps as a non-drafted free agent on December 7, 2012
MiLB info: In 2012, served as a broadcast and media relations intern for the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals
College/HS notes (w/famous alumni): Graduate of Syracuse University… Other Orange alums in broadcasting include Bob Costas, Mike Tirico, and… Mike Couzens… Worked on the sports staffs of WAER Radio and CitrusTV, and was Sports Director at WJPZ Radio… Called play-by-play of Syracuse football, basketball, and lacrosse… Attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, NJ… Same high school as Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams, and rock star Jon Bon Jovi
Clearly, my high school didn’t offer any classes in cosmetology.
If we included any baseball stats, they wouldn’t be pretty (although, I’d like to think I have enough speed to at least swipe a few bags if I could ever get on base). But alas, like many other broadcasters out there, I realized around the age of 14 that I was probably a few tools short of making it in the bigs and started to focus my efforts towards becoming a broadcaster.
But “broadcaster” is just one of a few hats I wear. There’s also son (to John and Kathy) and older brother (to Katie and Kirsten). There’s a fan of dry humor hat (see: Seinfeld and The Office), pickup basketball player hat, bad golfer hat, and when-I-have-time-for-it distance runner hat.
In retrospect, I don’t think I’d ever actually wear that hat.
By the way, as an Edison, New Jersey native, yes, I am indeed a fan of Bruce Springsteen and wear an excessive amount of hair gel. (That last sentence is only partially true. I’ll let you decipher.)
This is sacrilege.
Now, I’m excited to be on board with the TinHatsCaps. Feel free to be in touch on Twitter @John_G_Nolan and let me know what hats you wear (or perhaps what your favorite version of the TinCaps hat is).
Back to you, Mike…
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And with that, John, we’ve reached the end of another blog post. Stay tuned to “It’s All Relative” for another edition of Prospect Previews next Monday. Have a great weekend.
As always, thanks for reading.
If you’d like to get in touch, you can reach me via email (Couzens@TinCaps.com) or on Twitter @MikeCouzens.
I really enjoyed my visit to Parkview a few years ago. I would love to go back for another game!
-Mike
http://minoringinbaseball.com/2013/02/11/parkview-field-honored-again/