Mr. Bassett Goes to Park Avenue
UPDATE: Listen to my appearance with media maven Dan Levy of OnTheDLPodcast.com where we talk about our trip to New York.
That … Just … Happened …
Do not adjust your monitors – yes – I am wearing a Jets helmet in the NFL HQ Executive Board Room with no fear of league fines or suspensions. To be frank, I have been busting since last Thursday when I was voluntarily allowed (no break-ins required, score!) into the NFL headquarters to draft my fantasy football team for the the P&G sponsored Blogger Fantasy League (AKA BFL2010).
To get a visual sense of the trip, check out my flickr account, or Matt “JoeSportsFan” Sebek’s flickr account for lots of great pictures.
Twelve of us intrepid bloggers spent the day at the NFL HQ drafting our teams and meeting some key folks who work for the NFL. While the draft was a rollicking time – especially when Kyle Bunch picked (Schaub before Manning! Vincent Jackson in the fourth!) – I live by the credo that there’s little on this planet more boring than other people’s fantasy teams. We BFLers have made a pact that when we do write about it on behalf of the whole league, don’t expect it to be the “dude! Chris Johnson got me 20.2 points this week!” variety – it will be more rounded and universal in nature regarding fantasy football, otherwise we know it won’t be read by most people.
So this fall, we’ll be posting or linking regularly about the BFL, so stay tuned for lots of great content from many of the web’s best sports writers. Also, there will be free P&G swag for you readers: think ProFusion razors, Gillette series grooming items, Old Spice, Head & Shoulders … good stuff like that.
Rather than write up a big post about how the draft went, head over to MidWestSportsFan.com to read Jerod’s comprehensive post to cull some scouting data for your own upcoming drafts – or if you are fortunate/unfortunate enough to draft first or last in your league, listen to Dan Shanoff or Matt Sebek on their strategies on the subjects respectively.
Here’s some of my impressions of the day:
Just Me and the Ladies – While Jerod wasn’t a fan of some of my later picks, I’ve always maintained a strict “In FootballGuys.com We Trust” policy when FFL Draft time comes. So starting from the seven-hole, their Draft Dominator tool is predicting that I have the second strongest team to NFP’s Diana K. and that Steph Stradley (who fretted much of day about how she hated her draft ) took the bronze.
I Am Impressed By The Officiating Team – Upon entering this command room for the Officiating team, new VP Carl Johnson stood at the door and warmly greeted all of us individually. Johnson is the new head of officiating, and seems to be fitting into his new job “on the other side” as he called it, just fine. He knows what the officials on the field are concerned with, being one for many years, but also understands the league direction with officials and should be a great bridge between the office and the folks on the field. Both he and Ray Anderson (pictured below) used words like “uncompromising” when it comes to getting the calls right, and more importantly when it comes to player safety. They talked about the integrity of the game and the example that the league seeks to be all the way down to the pee wee level.
They showed us how they grade out their officials, and how it can be a Darwinian world if you don’t get the calls right over a two year period. They told us that the league looks at penalties in context. Does the player have a history of this sort of play, or was it a one-time thing? They told us that you might be hearing about mandating skill players (who often go without) to wear better / slimmer protecting thighpads to prevent what they term as “lost work days” … be they practice or game.
The New NFL.com Fantasy Platform is Compelling – The one big advantage that the NFL has over everyone else is their instant access to the game data and their exclusive rights on NFL related video content. The NFL Digital team seems to understand this and gave us a sneak peak of the new NFL.com platform. Some of the best features? Predictive game charting (click show chart in grey area), featured player video (click on video icon next to Shonn Greene) and vastly improved mobile apps (TBA) to allow for start/benching, video and much more from your smart (iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, Droid) phones.
I Was Humbled – It sounds totally corny, but this is in large part, thanks to you the readers. The twelve of us wouldn’t have been sitting in this room if it wasn’t for your choice to read our collective works. So for that, from us, a collective thank you. Sitting in the league office with the likes of NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, VP of Football Ops Ray Anderson, and VP of Officiating Carl Johnson and many on their team was in a word – humbling. I started TJB on my couch in my apartment, never did I realistically think that more than five years later it would lead to something like this. That to me, is pretty damn cool and just an indication how the media industry is changing. On top of that, the fact that a number of NFL higher ups took hours out of their day – while the season looms – to sit and chat with us and to take input on how we view their brand, and what improvements we’d love to see was an encouraging validation to all the hours the folks around the table have put into providing a new type of media to readers. So thank you to the league for recognizing us as “media” in some form or fashion, and thank you to you readers for your support.
If you would like to learn more about the league or the league’s writers, here’s some links that will help:
BFL 2010 Facebook Page // BFL 2010 NFL League Page // My Team: What Would Revis Do
- Dan Shanoff: DanShanoff.com
- Will Brinson: CBSSports.com
- Dan Levy: PressCoverage.us
- Jerod Morris: MidwestSportsFans.com
- Josh Zerkle: WithLeather.com , KissingSuzyKolber.com
- Kyle Bunch: BlogsWithBalls.com
- Brian Bassett: TheJetsBlog.com
- Steph Stradley: FanHouse.com
- Philip Van Der Vossen: Gunaxin.com
- Diana Klockova: NationalFootballPost.com
- Aaron Schatz: FootballOutsiders.com
- Matt Sebek: JoeSportsFan.com
15 Responses to Mr. Bassett Goes to Park Avenue
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Correction:
Make that Cumberland, Mulligan & Bassett fighting it out for that #3 TE spot on the roster.
How’s your ST game, Brian? It may be what saves you…
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Great article from a reporter up in New England about how hard it is not to love Rex Ryan — http://www.csnne.com/08/22/10/Is-it-wrong-to-love-Rex-Ryan/v1_landing_patriots.html?blockID=295626&feedID=6150
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funny, I just finished reading an article about Logan Mankins’ holdout. He’s apparently a frugal guy and has been smart with his money so he’s pretty dead-set on holding out all year and hoping/expecting a new CBA which would make him a UFA. Speaking to a Pats fan, I was told it’s not so much the total salary but the lack of guaranteed money. Sounds familiar.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1276640
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For one, it’s awesome that you’re the only rep of a team-specific blog. That means two things: 1) NFL Executives are Jets’ fans, and 2) Gang Green is winning the Super Bowl. My logic is infallible. NO ONE DENIES THIS!
Which leads me to another moment of shock & awe. I’m stunned that one of the folks from KSK was recognized in this as well. Not to imply that they’re undeserving, just that their approach isn’t what I’d expect the NFL to recognize.
Basically, Brian, TJB is THAT awesome, and I’m a little jealous. Only thing stopping me from being more excited about it all is my hatred for fantasy football.
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I didn’t catch that the first time Bassett told us about this, that he was the only blogger that runs a team-specific blog. That is pretty awesome.
It has a lot to with the product that we fans get to enjoy here but I’m sure the NY-market, the SNY-partnership, and the success of this blog were all important factors. I still don’t deny your logic though haha.
Either way, this is very impressive not only for you Bassett and thejetsblog, but also for the NFL for reaching out to the media to allow writers/bloggers an inside look at “where the magic happens.”
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This is amazing.
However, I suspect Josh was there more for his involvement with With Leather than KSK. If you’re going to go with a KSKer, it’s got to be Christmas Ape. Greatest genius of our age!
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Sweeet! Way to go, Brian. Well deserved.
Hey, did they let you keep the helmet? You could wear it, like Ricky Williams, during interviews or when your wife yells at you. I have a helmet at home for just such occasions…the yelling, not the interviews.