Special Start Time for The Exchange

A couple of quick notes:

• For at least one week, The Exchange will move up an hour to flow right into the NBA Finals. Tonight's show kicks off at 8PM Eastern and we'll discuss a few topics. We're obviously going to talk up the big three topics of the moment in sports: those aforementioned finals, the Stanley Cup Finals that begin tomorrow night in Vancouver and of course, the de-threading of the Sweater Vest at Ohio State. Follow the show on BlogTalkRadio and learn more.
  
  
• If you haven't, check out the still-growing weekly version of Norman Einstein's, Unified Field Theory. Beyond my contribution two weeks ago, we have some real good work going on over there that continues from our monthly work from 2009 to this past winter.
  
  
• Speaking of writing, although negativity overwhelmingly reigns freely in sports media, we're going to come upon some quieter days once these championship series are over. Be on the lookout for summer reading and viewing lists that will mix up the chatter a bit.
  
  
• Finally, usually, this is the point where I say words are forthcoming. This is no different. Words are coming soon, just not under such distractions.

Remember, we start at 8PM Eastern tonight, not the normal 9PM Eastern.

We Be Puckin' on The Exchange

via Tampa Tribune

So if you missed the first three episodes of The Exchange, do yourselves a favor and take a listen to each. For quick recaps:

• Our debut featured Lahne Mattas of Steelergurl, one of the more popular Pittsburgh Steelers-themed sites going. We chatted on the NFL Draft that would take place later that week, including potential picks and the cloud that loomed over the festivities with the ongoing lockout.
  
• Our second show provided a lengthy conversation about the ongoing NBA playoffs, some quick points on the previous week’s NFL Draft and a quick moment to reflect on the death of Osama bin Laden.
  
• Last Tuesday’s show – extended to 90 minutes – gave us a fantastic discussion on sports ratings, the narrative of big versus small markets, announcers and the ‘Inferno of Idiocy’ thanks to Paulsen of Sports Media Watch.

Tomorrow, Sumit & I chat up hockey.

Say what?!?!

No, for real, we’re talking puck this week. We’ll have two guests this week:

• Angie Lewis (@LadyHatTrick) covers the Washington Capitals for The Hockey Writers as well as local high school teams for the Washington Post. She also runs All We Do is Puck. You can check an interview she did explaining more on the game with friend of Scribe, Mia Jackson of Sideline Pass.
  
• Andrew Bucholtz (@AndrewBucholtz) – who contributed to this Norman Einstein’s piece for me last year – is the editor of Yahoo! Canada’s CFL blog, The 55-yard Line. He also runs Sporting Madness, where he talks up pretty much anything where there’s a game, including hockey.

There are plenty of readers and listeners who are unfamiliar with the game, but find themselves caught up in it this time of year. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are arguably the best in all North American sports and these last few weeks have once again lived up to those lofty claims. We figured this would be a great time to give you a chance to learn a bit about the players, coaches, teams and other intricacies of the game.

Yet, the NHL has also made waves for other reasons in the last several days; Sean Avery’s (New York Rangers) public support of gay marriage & a few reactionary tweets that it inspired, relocation rumors involving the Atlanta Thrashers & City of Winnipeg, the shocking death of Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, etc. Whatever we can address in a timely manner, we shall as some of these matters might seem familiar to other sports.

So do yourselves a favor and tune in. If you haven’t, follow and get into The Exchange on BlogTalkRadio.

The Exchange - Episode 2 - Labor Strife & Why We Do/Don't Care

Last night's episode of The Exchange was much smoother and we had a pretty good time with it. Hopefully, you will too by downloading the podcast.

We didn't plan to spend as much time on the ongoing NBA playoffs and last week's NFL Draft as we did, but they flowed well with the main topic of the differences in how the labor issues with both leagues are being covered and spoken of by fans.

Take a listen and follow the show on BlogTalkRadio.

Listen to internet radio with A Sports Scribe on Blog Talk Radio

Tonight's the Night! - The Debut of The Exchange

Tonight's the night, friends.

Look, there's plenty of room. You, Eli, the guy in the circle.

Okay, no Eli, but we're going to party!!!!!!

Follow The Exchange on BlogTalkRadio and tune in at 9PM Eastern. With friend of Scribe, Steelergurl, joining the fray, we have a lot of NFL Draft chatter mixed in with the goodness of the NBA & NHL playoffs. Hope you can join us and/or download the podcast later tonight.

Call-in number: (619) 639-4601 - Yep, a San Diego number, but it's cool. We will be accepting live calls after the interview until the end of the show.

Chat room will be open minutes before the show begins. Feel free to log on.

Twitter hashtag: #theexchange

Ask us questions, leave comments and let's just have some fun.

See you tonight!

The Exchange - The 411 on the New Podcast

Last Tuesday’s post about the podcast actually provided the long-needed inspiration for its name. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, A Sports Scribe presents to you… The Exchange.

The Exchange?

Well, yeah.

See, when reading the final edited version of the post, chatting with potential guests and the likely co-host, it just made sense.

I’ve always believed that there’s no better social currency in the world than sports. You could drop me off in the middle of any foreign nation and if there’s some sort of game on, even a rather unfamiliar game, quite a few people are willing to strike up a conversation.

Business, politics and religion speak to a geographic identity while music and film speak to the individual psyche. Yet, sports are rather unique in that they can touch upon both in a manner that no other realm can.

Mention any local team or its rival and immediately, ears perk up, opinions are strewn about and some good-natured ribbing occurs. The conversation might drift a bit, especially when rival fans briefly come together to talk smack about a third team just for the heck of it. Yet, somehow, these people don’t forget each other, even if they don’t encounter one another ever again. There was a brief bond between people of disparate views on life and society because for a few hours a day or week, they cheer for laundry, as Jerry Seinfeld once quipped.

Now, mention that you’re not a Jay-Z fan. No one ever speaks to you about music again unless they want to a) try to convince you that you “aren’t really hearing him” but sending you his songs, b) examine your personal tastes like a snobby music critic and/or c) ridicule you for “being a hater”.

Movies? Please.

Religion? No comment.

Politics? C’mon, Man!

Business? You’re kidding, right?

It’s not that conversations on sports are perfect; in fact, after a loss, some fans and media tend to be saltier than the ocean and spread that unfocused anger to whoever has the nerve to mention their team’s name. Yet, we all come together to discuss who, what, when, where, why and how these insanely talented people move around some oblong object for a couple of hours.

As discussed before, The Exchange will try to pool together fans of varied interests, including all of those who drum the beat of “who cares about sports when we have real problems in this world?”. However, we will do so not only in discussions between the hosts, but with interviews with fellow writers, sports and media industry professionals and eventually current and former athletes. The analysis we will bring is rooted not only in our research and intrinsic knowledge, but just like Scribe, a mix of the business and culture that give sports such a unique gravitas.

So, who is ‘we’? At some point, Sumit Dasgupta will introduce himself formally. Hopefully, he'll become a significant contributor on the writing side, but when it came to launching the audio component, there’s not another person in the world I would have done so with. Sumit has one of the more brilliant game analysis minds I’ve ever encountered, but like me, his curiosity for what surrounds the on-field action will shine through in each show. Sumit lives in the Boston suburbs, but also like myself, doesn’t exactly follow the script of the local beat. Think of this show as a testament to the power of the internet; actually bring these brother cities together for 60 minutes.

If you were one of the three people on earth that remembered our program at Babson College, "I Dunno, but..." (shout out to the alma mater), you know that we will never have an issue filling up time. However, for the rest of planet Earth, all you need to know is that our show was the inspiration for my career.

As for our first edition of The Exchange; we will be talking about current happenings with the NBA and NHL playoffs, an introduction of ourselves individually and the seemingly forgotten NFL Draft.

Geez, NFL? Really?

Well, yes. We won’t just discuss picks and projections, but we will also talk about the different air around the Draft this time around thanks to the lockout. We expect as many questions from you as you expect answers, so our first guest – and wonderful friend to Scribe – Steelergurl, will chat with us about what’s truly going on. The well-respected blogger on the AFC Champs will be in New York next week for the Draft, so she’ll give all of us a tremendous look into all the hubbub before the lights come on Thursday night.

Of course, you will have an opportunity to interact on the show as it will be hosted on BlogTalkRadio. You can participate by calling into the show live as well as joining the chat room. You can follow The Exchange here and for questions you might have in advance, please feel free to send them through all things Scribe.

The podcast itself will be available for download the following morning.

Say What?!?!: Many thanks to the homies at Ed the Sports Fan for allowing me to plug the show last night. You can consider us the Tuesday night appetizer to their Wednesday evening supper called The Unsportsmanlike Conduct Show.