It’s not good to try and look in the mirror and size yourself up as a media member, unless of course your position is clearly defined. Peter Gammons, Peter King, John Clayton, Ken Rosenthal… “Insider”. If you blog from home and do analysis around stories in the mainstream and alternative media and provide commentary, clearly an “outsider”.

There are tweeners. Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal/Daily is as inside as they get when it comes to what agents are up to, but outside, for the most part when it comes to leagues.

And, then there’s me.

I’m an “inside, outsider” in that I’m an independent. I have insider access to an extent, but I would never dream of saying that I have the muscle needed to get into every place I’d like to be because I don’t have “ESPN”, “FOX”, or “Yahoo! Sports” on my title at this point.

You’re asking what this is all about. Keep reading….

Much was made of how Albert Pujols and some of the veterans on the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t make themselves available to the media after the World Series Game 2 loss on Friday night. A host of columns, and a mountain tweets and Facebook comments were generated out of the actions, specifically with Pujols.

This morning, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com ran a story that may best describe why accessibility is critical to good reporting (see Stars need to talk to media, regardless). Part of the column reads:

 

Anti-media types consider reporters to be pests. Fanboys want to hear only the best about their favorite players and teams. But the daily contact between reporters and players produces not just quotes, but also background information for context. And the checks and balances actually work both ways.

[…]

Such accountability is healthy, often prompting restraint. Judging from Twitter, many fans took exception with the other side of the argument, that players should be accountable to reporters. Well, reporters essentially are conduits to fans, means to an end

Rosenthal hits on something that has been a source for my desire to write daily: background information for context.

From the time I began writing, I wanted to interview those around sports. I wanted to ask my questions, and get answers from individuals directly without the filter that may come from another writer’s perspective. It was done, not only to get original content out there, but to be enlightened.

Rosenthal talks in his column about how those that are balanced pros as reporters can be heard to say, “I don’t know.” Even the best, with many, many years in the trenches have been heard to say that. And, the best advice I ever got about doing radio was when confronted with a question you might not know the answer to, the best of them know how to gracefully say, “I don’t know.”

There can be pitfalls in accessibility. One can run the risk of being a conduit for one point of view or another. “Balance” has to be a reporters credo, even if a story is incredibly one-sided.

Reporting on the business side of sports can be difficult. Report on a game, and the outcomes are fairly clear, and the story rarely lingers more than a few days. Contrast that with a story on labor issues, or the complexities around a club bankruptcy or sale, and the story can ebb and flow for months, if not years.

I have been pounded every which way to Sunday on reporting a story one way, only to see the direction of events shift 180 degrees in a matter of days or weeks. That’s the nature of the beast.

So, talking to those directly involved in negotiations is paramount to understanding how matters can change, the complexities and internal politics, and more.

I have never considered myself an “expert” in the field of sports business. To say as much would mean knowing everything about an industry that is constantly moving and evolving. There are no rules. There is no “final out” or “time has expired”, it just moves on.

So, in a world where fans take sides, and look for any little matter to say, “You’re a hypocrite,” if you want to be a journalist, get some real thick skin. If you’re good, you’re always learning, which if you think about it, isn’t a bad thing, right?

FOLLOW MAURY BROWN ON TWITTER @BizballMaury

You want to write these days? Blogging ain’t enough. Jump on the social media train, as it’s left the station. Twitter in. Blogging out.

But, if Twitter is “in” then that begs the question: Are reporters, authors, columnists allowed to be “social” on a social network?

Or, more correctly, am I allowed to have personality?

It’s a thorny question. Write for ESPN or other mega-outlets, then there are social network policies. Some writers aren’t forced into policy, but the mandate from publishers are pretty clear: talk your articles up. “Promote your outlet. Keep other aspects of your life out of the social network space. It’s dangerous to us.”

Those that follow also have an interest in whether you talk about everything from your morning cup of Joe to what’s playing on your iPod. Some have come for the information you provide. “I want your information and personally, I don’t want to wade through the chaff. Keep your life separate.”

I get this, kind of. Twitter is a tool for many to get information. On the other hand, some Twitter’s greatest aspects are that a) by definition it’s social, and; b) it gives authors a chance to show their something besides a breathing RSS machine – a robot there to dispense news.

It’s happened to me. I was politely asked (see below), and to that end, it provided the opportunity to ask some of the over 7,000 followers I have: “Should I keep sports biz and personal commentary in separate Twitter accounts?”

The overwhelming response was to keep it a mix. For some strange reason, people want to know what I think of music, news on autism, and other nonsense. More than one said it was refreshing and added personality. Hitting close to home, Kevin Goldstein understood something else:

If there’s something lacking, it’s personality from some of those reporting sports on Twitter. This maybe due to company policy. It may also be that there are some that view Twitter as nothing more than a vehicle to pimp their stories. Or, it may be that they’ve built a following to the stage where the need to show some color is deemed unneeded. Whatever the case, I hope fans get to know the writers. Some are as compelling as those they cover in the media.

I always am astounded that there’s more than zero following me. I just don’t seem to me to be compelling. To all those that do follow, thanks for coming along for the ride. For now, take a dose of sports biz, and… get a dose of whatever else is going on in my little world.

FOLLOW MAURY BROWN ON TWITTER: @BizballMaury

Maury Brown is the founder and president of the Business of Sports Network. He is a contributor to Forbes SportsMoney and Variety. He has freelanced for the New York Times, MSNBC, Baseball America, NBCSports.com, and Yahoo! Sports. His contact info is here.

SELECTION OF RECENT ARTICLES:

• Confessions of an Independent Sports Writer (Sports Bash)
• Why Jim Crane Could Become Baseball’s Most Controversial Owner (Forbes)
• Divorce Settlement Shows Frank McCourt is Rearranging Deckchairs on the Titanic with the Dodgers (The Biz of Baseball)
• Law Firms Are Approaching NFL Players, Not the Other Way Around (The Biz of Football)
• NBA labor strife puts TV on defense (Variety)
• MLB on precipice of renewed success (Variety)

This is not about sports. It is sports only insofar as it was the impetus to write. To provide information. And yes, in some sense, to stroke my ego.

I have pushed and prodded. Wrote for nothing. Wrote for something. Wrote to report. I wrote for the truth. Wrote to entertain. Wrote to make my head spin.

I did not begin writing to make money. I began writing as an outlet. A deep, and in some ways, sick need to get information, thoughts and feelings out of my head.

I began it all as part of a civic effort. Take some analytics around my home market, look across the baseball landscape, and see if Portland, OR could support an MLB club one day.

That was 2000. I worked with civic leaders and baseball boosters in what I call “the ultimate SABR research project” – a real, live effort with funding, press and politics.

It was eye-opening. I had a mentor in David Kahn, who is currently the President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves. “Learn to be dispassionate,” was the message. Getting an MLB was more than a long shot. “The process is the reward,” said Kahn.

The process is the reward… I took that to heart.

Portland didn’t land the Expos. It was wired for Washington, DC. That didn’t mean I stopped writing. The joy of pumping out article after article had meaning. Or, it had meaning to me and a niche of others looking for something on sports outside the lines.

I was approached by The Hardball Times to write an essay for one of their annuals, and simply stuck around. I began understanding that there was a fraternity of great writers covering baseball. Whether it was Rob Neyer, Dave Studeman, Aaron Gleeman, Joe Sheehan, Will Carroll, Christina Kharl, Jayson Stark, Jerry Crasnick, or the late, great Doug Pappas and John Brattain…. more than I can mention in this space. I was jacked to be involved.

When I went to Baseball Prospectus, there was a sense that I had, in some form or another, “arrived”. I don’t know why I wound up feeling disappointed after a period of time. Writing for BP was to be lined up with the best writers and minds around sabermetrics.

Which is probably why wasn’t happy.

I was clearly not going to be the most popular there. I mentioned that ego is a part of writing (for most), and this was the case.

I called Will Carroll, someone that I knew that would be straight up with me. “This sounds stupid, and a bit pompous, but you’re not helping your brand,” said Carroll.

Will knew I had seen myself as a niche in a niche. Writing about the business of sports was one thing. Writing about the business of baseball wasn’t going to allow the visibility I ultimately hoped for; I’d be a one-trick-pony. If I was going to see growth in “brand” then writing about just baseball was not going to cut it. It was always going to be the first love, but branching out made sense. In some senses, sports business is like art: when you step back and look at the whole, there is a point where each sport intersects and lends itself to the overall picture. I focused on The Biz of Baseball, launched three more sites, and knew I would somehow live and die by the Business of Sports Network.

It’s here that I can’t help but look at the print and alternative outlets and see what is happening on both sides of the fence.

For me, I began to think that in moving to BP, it was just a short hop to writing for one of the larger outlets for pay. In a short period, I’d be at ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, the SportsBusiness Journal… a serious paying gig. That became the focus.

Ego had supplanted desire. In an industry stacked with writers, I (foolishly) thought I was good enough to climb into a contract position. I may be good enough, but only a fool would say that in an industry with more workers than positions that they’d come knocking. Do what you do because you like doing it.

I am a product of blind luck. I had always had an interest in sports. But, I had early on taken an interest to sports outside the lines. When I began writing, few were plying their wares in that area.

There are aggregators of news – those that scour the internet looking for sports stories, and blog traditionally about it. A couple of sentences here… a pulled paragraph from the source story there… some commentary. Done.

I wish I were Craig Calcaterra, a rare breed of sports writer that has been able to be a superior columnist in every right. I, stupidly, have to want to break news, or provide data that others don’t.

I feel for this former blogger from AOL (see AOL Hell: An AOL Content Slave Speaks Out). I never wanted to go to a large outlet strictly to pump out stories. Being independent (and often times, broke) was okay by me. I write for Forbes gratis and have never thought twice about it. It’s “Forbes”. It looks good on the resume. That’s allowed me to write for Variety as a freelancer — a bit of frosting on the cake.

Finally, it’s about chops. Here I am prattling on for no other reason than to prattle. Write because you have a passion for it. In that, you will find there is never writer’s block. You push through, get the story out, and move on to the next story. Not everything you write will scream, “Pulitzer”. Everything you write should scream, “I’m a writer. This is what I do.”

I’m an independent writer, and somehow have had the incredible graces to have accessibility… well, at least within Major League Baseball. The NFL despises me, but if a story is a story and the truth lies on one side far more than another, you can’t try and make an egg into a perfect sphere. Slamming hard on the opposite to be balanced will only get egg on your face.

Writing to write is a joy. It costs nothing. It’s clearly cheaper than psychiatry.

I hope to do a book one day. Something that will have me dig so deep into a subject that at the end of it, there will be the liberation that every rock has been looked under, and more ink was spilled on the topic than I could ever do in any other form than within a book. I hope to say that’s soon. Until then, I’m writing to write.

FOLLOW MAURY BROWN ON TWITTER: @BizballMaury

SELECTION OF RECENT ARTICLES:

• Why Jim Crane Could Become Baseball’s Most Controversial Owner (Forbes)
• Divorce Settlement Shows Frank McCourt is Rearranging Deckchairs on the Titanic with the Dodgers (The Biz of Baseball)
• Law Firms Are Approaching NFL Players, Not the Other Way Around (The Biz of Football)
• NBA labor strife puts TV on defense (Variety)
• MLB on precipice of renewed success (Variety)

I’m an optimist in life, but for most there are few things in life you can really trust. I can trust that the sun will come up tomorrow, and unless you’re part of the Flat Earth Society, I can say the world is round. Some will say, you can really only trust yourself. Some will say they trust in God.

But, there are some things I’m not going to trust others to. I’m not going to let some random person off the street check my parachute before I go skydiving or let a high schooler conduct surgery on me. Common sense, right?

And, if I work in a union, I’m not going to accept, “Just trust us,” when it comes to negotiating my pay.

I am neither a union member or NFL player, but you can understand what they’re asking for in terms of their labor situation, which is the status quo, and if you want to ask us for a pay cut, please open your books. For me to report on the league’s position – that they are seeing declines in cash flow – it’s irresponsible to accept “the economic realities show we’re hurting” without, well… more than that.

I have always prided myself on objectivity. In working with several sports leagues, most closely with Major League Baseball, they would agree with that assessment. So, it’s an odd feeling to look into the numbers that are available on the NFL’s economics without the league doing anything more than stonewall the media, fans, and players on why they are willing to possibly lockout the players after March 3 while working from the position of, “it’s none of your business.”

So, when my Forbes SportsMoney piece Numbers Show NFL’s ‘Economic Realities’ for Lockout Unwarranted started making the rounds with the league’s players, there was a bit of discomfort in it. They’ve trumped it as part of their rallying cry.

For those that haven’t read the article, it is done in an FAQ format, going over the issues in the labor battle between NFL and the NFLA. When going over it, one might say that about 90 percent of the data shows that owners’ position for a lockout is, as the article says, “unwarranted.”

But, the larger issue, and the one I was truly trying to make was, you can’t take a $9 billion industry that saw revenues grow in the worst economy since the Great Depression; one that pulls in over $4 billion in TV revenues; had the highest viewed season in television history, and is over the verge of inking an extension with ESPN for Monday Night Football to the tune of nearly $2 billion annually for the rights to air one game a week and say you are hurting… “Trust us.” The real point of the article is, “prove it.”

This isn’t rocket science. The league shouldn’t act like you’re from outer space for saying, “Huh?” At its most basic level, by working from a “it’s none of your business” position, it makes it look like you have something to hide. If you want to be seen as credible, give me the evidence.

Since “Unwarranted” I have gone to the next best information available, Forbes’ NFL franchise valuations, and poured over them. I collected, queried, and examined the data back to 2004. That was then published in Instead Of Player Pay Cuts, NFL Needs More Revenue Sharing and More Numbers Show Labor Issue in NFL Far From Cut and Dry.

I want to take the NFL serious. I’m addicted to telling both sides to the story. So, to the NFL, I’ll say it again, “You’re just going to have to do better… trust me.”

The late ’70s Firebird that I had a love-hate relationship with

When you think about it, going to the guitar shop is kind of like the single guy heading to the bar to check out women. You go in, and can be taken aback with the beauty that surrounds you. Spend more than a couple of minutes and you’re liable to hook-up with one, spend some time with her, have a conversation (read: plug into an amp and try it out), and it could be love at first sight.

You’re reasonings can be clouded. “She’s beautiful. Imagine how I’ll look with her.” You throw caution to the wind, take her home and the marriage begins.

You get her home, and reality sits in. She’s high maintenance, and can be temperamental at times. You start to feel uncomfortable around her. Her outer beauty still remains, but it’s she’s not as attractive as when you first met.

If there were ever a case for that with a guitar, the Gibson Firebird “Non-Reverse” design is probably the case. I fell into this trap outlined above, and spent the better part of 2 years trying to gig with a late 70’s model, an image of the exact paint and configuration I provide here/ In the end, I sold her opting for function rather than form. This isn’t to say I wouldn’t want to get one again, but as main squeeze…. Thanks, no.

Model 1 – “Reverse” Firebird design

The Firebird was released in 1963 and came in several different designs. The “Reverse” design Firebird has a headstock designed similar to the Stratocaster and the smooth “Z-shape” that was leveraged off the radical Explorer design from 1958 but flipped; the horn on the top.

The “Non-Reverse” took the Explorer design and simply smoothed it’s sharp edges. The one difference was Gibson flipped the headstock and employed the use of banjo tuners. These design changes create interesting issues, which we’ll get into shortly.

The Firebird III-VII – the “Non-Reverse” – came with several configurations. Designs with 1, 2 or 3 pickups, hard tail piece, or tremolo, trapezoid, block, or dot fretboard inlays. All but one had rosewood fingerboards, with paint options starting with wood grain and tobacco burst, and then solid colors such as white and black. There was also a 12-string design. The classic bass design that went with had the product line “Thunderbird”. All were made of mahogany and had neck-through design (see this great image of the sales flier from the ‘60s)

For pickups, the reverse came with P-90s while the non-reverse came with mini-humbuckers.

As mentioned, the design is beautiful. Firebird collectors abound and they’ve been used regularly by the likes of Johnny Winter, Keith Richards, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Paul Raymond of UFO, and the late Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd (both Pete Way of UFO and the late Leon Wilkerson of Lynryd Skynrd used Thunderbirds as main bass rides at points in their recording careers).

But to say that they are easy to play would be lying. Where a Les Paul or Strat feel comfortable in terms of right hand position and the distribution of weight, the Firebird has the strings off-set to the left by roughly an inch. Play, say a Les Paul for some time, and then grab a Firebird and you’ll find yourself sliding your left hand a half-position out of place if you’re not watching what you are doing.

To add, by shifting the position, the weight is so unevenly distributed that if you’re using a nylon strap, just by letting go of the neck and having it hang on your body, you’ll see the neck dip to the floor – it’s weighted that far to the left.

Non-Reverse banjo tuners

And while the reverse headstock with the banjo tuners looks clean, it creates a case of nearly non-stop tuning issues. By having the low E now stretch the furthest distance from tail piece to nut, stretching and winds getting caught in the nut become nearly an “every song” matter. I went through so much graphite on the nut that at one point I considered buying a box of it. Throw in the banjo tuners that had considerable slip, and tuning after nearly every song becomes the norm, rather than the exception.

The Non-Reverse Firebirds are beautiful. Every time I see one, I think of that first day when I was smitten with its beauty and was blinded by it. They make a beautiful addition to any collection, and I could see how a white one sitting next to my black Les Paul custom would be a nice view. A good tech can make them manageable, but as a main squeeze for live gigs, they’re a handful.

Beauty? Yes. But, for the Non-Reverse Firebird, beware… It can be skin deep.

For more on my obsession with guitars, and the first guitar installment here on SportsBash see:

Guitar Talk: I Have a Metal Neck and My Name Is Travis

Maury Brown is the President of the Business of Sports Network where he is also a senior writer. He also currently writes regularly for Forbes SportsMoney and FanGraphs. His freelance work includes several book essays, The New York Times, Yahoo! Sports, MSNBC, NBC Sports, and the New York Post.

For those that have followed me for a while, they know that I have a fairly addictive taste for writing. “Prolific”, for some odd reason, seems a bit of a pompous adjective, but I seem to be pumping out 2-4 articles a day across multiple platforms.

If you know me (and of course, you’re seeing the name of the blog in big whopping letters) you know I write about sports – mostly of the outside the lines variety. I’m that “BizballMaury” guy on Twitter, which was a concatenation of my company’s LLC name and, yes, my first name. It’s pretty clear I’m obsessed with sports.

But, for those that have known me for a long period of time, they’ll tell you my obsessions have run just as deep on other topics. As a kid and early teen,  it was motocross. As a late teen till now, it’s been guitars.

I took up playing one summer in Jr. High and immediately failed at it. For some strange reason, the following school year, I took to it like distortion to a Muff Fuzz. I took classes, learned to read music, and then went about ignoring the reading in favor of ear training, combing over albums to learn songs.

When I got to Portland, I began playing in the local music scene weekly, toured for a couple of years playing daily, and worked at more than one music store.

But, it was a certain music store in downtown Portland where I really started getting focused on vintage and rare guitars, mostly of the electric variety. The owner, who I will not name, was an obnoxious jerk that would gladly rip off any uneducated musician that walked in, but he gave me the assignment of cleaning and attending to the rare gems that hung high out of reach, only to be played by those that were serious and I mean in terms of how much money they had.

It was educational, and honestly, a bit lustful. Guitars are art to me – functional art. Some see them as worthy of hanging on the wall and are never played (which seems sacrilegious to me, but I digress).

So, in the first of what I hope is many columns on the topic, I’m going to bust out some known, and not so known, cool and valuable rods that I dig, and I hope you do too. Today, it’s about metal… as in neck.

I’m sure that other materials had likely been toyed with, but when Travis Bean partnered with Marc McElwee and Gary Kramer, the latter of whom would go on to start his own guitar company, in the mid-70s, they opted to try a aluminum necks that ran through the body. The cool thing was that the pickups, a unique humbucker design, was bolted to the neck-through body. The design did two things: It gave a wholly unique tone, that was more brittle, but it also gave the guitars incredible sustain. To add, with metal being the neck material, warping of them was a non-factor.

I never owned a Travis Bean, but had played many. They were unique, but still classy – the wood body was still made of quality materials and the wood-grained models showed that beyond the novelty of the metal neck, the designs were classic – most with a double-cutaway reminiscent of smaller horns on the Gibson ES=335.

According to Wikipedia, “around 3,600 guitars and basses were produced between 1974 and 1979.”

As mentioned, Kramer went on to start his own company in 1975, and while I did not own a Travis Bean, I did own a metal necked Kramer with three single-coils for a stretch.

The Travis Beans are highly coveted collectables. In searching eBay, the #1 Travis Bean is listed for (sitting down?) , $58,000.

They’re odd, cool, and classic. How I wish I was still sitting there in that guitar store cleaning and playing one.

Tools of the trade. You make this stuff happen

In this world, you’re only as good as those that you learn from. Heaven knows, I wouldn’t be able to be a sports writer without the incredible collective knowledge that the massive sports industry has imparted to me through a vast array of dedicated people that work within it.

As 2010 makes its way to 2011, I wanted to take time to thank a few that have assisted, promoted, and befriended me over the last year, many much longer than that.

I should add a disclaimer here… I always cringe when I try to do something like this. I invariably miss somebody, not because they’re any less than anybody else, it’s quite honestly because I did much of this list based upon my email contact list. Many have reached out across other means, and I’ve labored my tired, old noggin to remember you all. If I missed you on this list, “apologies” falls far short.

To the tireless staff of the Business of Sports Network, you all are the greatest. You deliver incredible, thought provoking work, and in incredible volumes each and every week. Each of you, regular staffers and contributors are listed below, but I need to call those that have really gone the extra mile over the years. Matthew Coller, Jordan Kobritz, Jeff Levine, Devon Teeple, Joe Tetreault, and Pete Toms “thanks” just isn’t enough.

To Lynn and Liz Lashbrook of SportsManagementWorldwide, thanks for allowing me to teach your students each week. All these years, and it’s still a joy to do.

To the seemingly countless print and alternative media publications that have referenced me, or any of the staff and sites of the Business of Sports Network, I cannot thank you enough. We’ve surpassed the 10 million page view mark since we launched under 4 years ago, and it is in large part due to you.

To the nearly 6,000 followers of mine on Twitter… I’ve said this before, but how so many have an interest in what I have to say is humbling, and honestly, something of a mystery to me. I just never thought me talking about sports would hold that much interest.

The most important people though are my family. Glenna, Tyler, and Travis have seen me heads down, away from home, or on the phone so many times as I work. My parents – both genetic and extended – have supported me, and most of all, my entire family has epitomized patience, none more than my wife.

Finally, this not something just as a New Year’s resolution, but a mantra I hope for daily: Be grateful for whatever you have. Know that whatever you do, you have to thank those that taught you how to do it. Work hard. Be balanced. And most of all, pass it on.

God bless you, and a heartfelt thanks. May 2011 be all it can be for you.

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Will Carroll, Blair Cash, CBS Sports, Matthew Cerrone, David Chalk, Tim Chamberlin, Ralph Cindrich, Fred Claire, Devin Clancy, CNBC, Coast to Coast Tickets, Matthew Coller, Jason Collette, Tim Collins, Victor Conte, Booby Corser, Brian Costa, Pat Courtney, Tommy Craggs, Jerry Crasnick, Mike Cristaldi, Ken Davidoff, Deadspin, Lorraine DelliCarpini, John Dever, Jacqueline Diep, Tim Dierkes, Mike Dilornzo, Mike Donnelley, Kristi Dosh, Jim Duquette, Dan Duquette, Bob Dutton, Bob Dvorchak, Gordon Edes, Entercomm, Jeff Erikson, ESPN, Jeff Euston, Bill Evans, Seth Everett, Everyone at Lonestar Ball, Ken Fang and Fang’s Bites, FanGraphs, Jim Ferguson, Mike Ferrin, Mark Fischel, Eric Fisher, Josh Fisher, Andew Fitzpatrick, F.X. Flinn, Forbes SportsMoney, Sean Foreman and Baseball-Reference, Formula One, Rod Fort, FOX Sports, Tim Franks, Freakonomics, Meyer Freeman, Jim Furtado, Carter Gaddis, Cork Gaines, Brent Gambill, Peter Gammons, Luis Garcia, Andy Giegerich, Andy Giersher, Bill Gilbert, Dennis Glasgow, Ben Goessling, Josh Goldberg, Beverly Goldstein, Tom Gorman, Bill Gould, Matthew Gould, Evan Grant, Chuck Greenberg, Jordan Greenberg, Jon Greenberg, Sean Gregory, Donna Guillaume, James Guinn , Joe Hamrahi, Bob Harkins, Jeff Heckelman, Joel Henard, John Henry, Steve Henson, Mike Herman, Jon Heyman, HKS Architecture, Shawn Hoffman, Cory Humes, Kurt Hunzeker, Rob Iracane, IRL, Chris Isidore, Jay Jaffe, Chris Jaffe, Brian Jaquet, Dwight Jaynes, Rany Jazayerli, Michael Johnson, Dennis Johnson, Jamie Junco, Richard Justice, Benjamin Kabak, Kevin Kaduk, David Kahn, Christina Kahrl, Daniel Kaplan, Ari Kaplan, Nick Kappel, Stan Kasten, King Kaufmann, Joe Kehoskie, Jonah Keri, Sky Kestein, KFXX The Fan, Brian Killingsworth, Jordan Kobritz, Mat Kovach , Dejan Kovavevic, Mark Langhill, Liz Lashbrook, Lynn Lashbrook, Dave Laurila, Matthew Leach, Rich Lederer, Katie Leighton, Tim Lemke, Gina Leo Stingley, Jeff Levine, Will Lingo, Los Angeles Dodgers, Ryan Lubner, Lynn University, Bill Magrath, Drew Mahalic, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, John Manuel, Maple Street Press, Andew Marchand, Tim Marchman, Sloan Martin, Trish Martineck, Buck Martinez, Jonathan Mayo, Brian McCarthy, McCovey Chronicles, Wayne McDonnell, Brett McGinness, Tim Mead, Chris Metz, Bernie Miklasz, Alyssa Milano, Josh Milne, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Twins, Minor League Baseball, MLB Network, MLB Trade Rumors, MLBPA, Carmen Molina, Bo Moon, Adam Morris, Dick Moss, MSNBC, Liz Mullen, Don Muret, NASCAR, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, NBA D-League, NBA TV, NBC Sports, NBPA, Rob Nelson, NESN, Rob Neyer, NFL Network, NFLPA, NHL Network, NHLPA, Bob Nightengale, Roger Noll, NYBaseballDigest, Oakland A’s, Pat O’Conner, Buster Olney, Jorge Ortiz, Gene Orza, Mike Ozanian, Lisa Pagano, Jeff Passan, Merritt Paulson, Joe Pawlikowski, Greg Pawson, Jason Peck, Dayn Perry, Jon Pessah, Rick Peterson, Brian Peterson, Tony Petitti, PGA, Philedelphia Phillies, David Pinto and Baseball Musings, Plan B. Branding, Bob Plapinger, Populous, Portland TrailBlazers, Noah Pransky, Ed Price, Purple Row, Jessica Quiroli, Todd Radom, Ray Ratto, Marty Ray, Blake Rhodes , John Rhodes , Rich Rice, Tracy Ringolsby, River Ave Blues, Victor Rojas, Collin Romer, Issac Ropp, Bob Rose, Jason Rosenberg and IIATMS, Dan Rosenheck, Ken Rosenthal, Darren Rovell, Gary Roy, Amanda Rykoff, Anthony Salazar, Kevin Saldana, San Francisco Giants, Chase Sbicca, Curt Schilling, Shonda Schilling, Michael Schlact, Cory Schwartz, Russell Scibetti, SeatGeek, Joel Sherman, Joe Siegler and Ranger Fans, Michael Silverman, Mark Simon, Mark Smith, Tal Smith, SMWW, Sons of Sam Horn, Sports Business Radio, SportsBusiness Journal, SportsBusness Daily, Jayson Stark, Michele Steele, Lee Street, Dave Studenmund, Amy Summers, Bart Swain, Paul Swangard, Paul Swyadan, Paul Swydan, Jason Swygard, Dan Szymborski, Sarah Talalay, Tom Tango, TBS, Devon Teeple, Michael Teevan, Joe Tetreault, Texas Rangers, The Happy Recap, The Hardball Times, The New York Times, John Thorn, Bob Timmerman, TNT, Marc Topkin, Pete Toms, Joe Touchstone, Steve Treder, Turner Sports, United Football League, Uniwatch, Matt Vasgersian, Darren Viola, Vivid Seats, Johanna Wagner , Walk off Walk, Don Walker, Jonathan Weatherdon, Jon Weinbach, Jon Weisman, Paul White, Charlie Wiegert, Chuck Wilson, Jeff Wilson, Lisa Winston, Yardbarker Network, Al Yellon, Andrew Zimbalist, Jon Zimmer

All the best,

Maury Brown

P.S. If you’re new to me, you can read me most often here:

• http://bizofbaseball.com
• http://bizoffootball.com/
• http://bizofbasketball.com/
• http://bizofhockey.com/
• http://blogs.forbes.com/sportsmoney/author/bizballmaury/
• http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php?author=18136

Users of Apple’s iPhone that depend on Yahoo! Small Business email have been a frustrated lot since the popular mobile device launched several years ago. While you could easily add free Yahoo! email accounts, users paying extra to have a personalized email address were left with a kludgy series of steps to set up a POP account that proved to be exceptionally slow to push messages, and left users with no folder hierarchy. Nothing is more frustrating than getting a mountain of spam with the messages you want to really see, even if they are unorganized.

When Apple rolled out the much anticipated iPhone 4 and the associated OS 2.0, users that had labored through the process of setting up the POP accounts for Yahoo! Small Business suddenly found themselves unable to get messages to push through. You could send, but not receive.

But, fear not, iPhone users, you now have what free Yahoo! mail users have been getting. It’s just a matter of going through the simple addition of adding a new Yahoo! email account on your iPhone, with a twist.

1) Go to the “Settings” widget

2) Select “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”

3) Under “Accounts” add “Add Account…”

4) Select “Yahoo!” from the “Add Account…” menu

5) Add your name as you wish it to appear, but under address, add your email address that you have registered with Yahoo! Small Business (user@domainname.com). Do NOT use your Yahoo! freemail address.

6) Enter your Yahoo! password

7) Give it a description

Select “Next”

The system will then Verify that you have all the info correct, and add the account. All your folders that you have created on you Yahoo! Small Business email account will appear. Sending and receiving work as it should. In other words, no more messy POP account setup. No more lack of folders. And best yet, the ability to send and receive emails from your iPhone through your personal email address you’ve been paying good money for through Yahoo! Remember… this is for those who have updated to 2.0 and above of Apple’s iPhone operating system. Enjoy!

LATEST ON THE BIZ OF BASEBALL

• The Upcoming MLB CBA and the Battles Within It: Hard-Slotting
• Bobby Thomson, Famous for “Shot Heard Round The World” Dead at 86
• HKS Unveils D-Backs-Rockies Spring Training Design
• Shawn Chacon Loses Grievance with Astros After Ed Wade Attack
• Interview: Chuck Greenberg, Managing Partner and CEO of the Texas Rangers

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, as well as a contributor to FanGraphs and Forbes SportsMoney. He is available for hire or freelance. Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

Follow Maury Brown on Twitter

Follow The Biz of Baseball on Twitter

Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve said much here, which, when you think about it isn’t very bright of me since doing a Google search points you to here. Makes sense, right? After all, Sports Bash has the URL of MauryBrown.com.

But, there’s been more than a lot going on, and it’s about time I updated you all on it.

For one, the All-Star Game was a great success for me, and out of it, a chance meeting on the media bus back from the game with Dave Cameron has translated into a weekly column for FanGraphs. With the Texas Rangers bankruptcy case having so many twists and turns leading up to the auction on Aug 4, it seemed perfect to start with a look at Mark Cuban as a potential owner, even if he’s not yet committed to pursuing the club at auction. You can check my article archive on FanGraphs, going forward.

The other bit of news as that starting shortly I will have a dedicated blog on Forbes.com. I have been writing for them for a while as part of SportsMoney, but now, I will have “Bizball” as a place on Forbes to call my own. No, it is not a full-time paying gig (which if you are reading out there, and are looking I certainly could use), but it’s worth doing because, well… it’s Forbes. Putting that name on your resume certainly builds credibility.

That’s it, for now. With MLB’s postseason fast approaching I hope to be reporting from some of the games there. World Series? We’ll see. Also, look for me at this year’s Winter Meetings in Florida.

LATEST ON THE BIZ OF BASEBALL

• Padres Pick Up Miguel Tejada for Pennant Chase
• Orioles Name Current ESPN Analyst Buck Showalter as New Manager
• Marlins Deal Jorge Cantu to Rangers for Two AA Pitchers
• Phillies Land Roy Oswalt and Cash for J.A. Happ and Two Prospects
• From Alex Rodriguez to the MLBPA, Objections Fly in Texas Rangers Case

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, as well as a contributor to FanGraphs and Forbes SportsMoney. He is available for hire or freelance. Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

Follow Maury Brown on Twitter

Follow The Biz of Baseball on Twitter

Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook

All things considered, media has been good for me these days. Yes, I’m still looking for a full-time writing gig. Yes, I’d take a consulting or full-time position with a club or agency, but in the meantime, it’s nice to be wanted.

In mid-May I accepted an invitation to write for Forbes’ SportsMoney (see my article archive). Being a contributor gets me in some extremely fine company. Besides  Forbes senior writers and editors Michael Ozanian , Kurt Badenhausen, Tom Van Riper, and Paul Maidment, there’s sports economist and author Andy Zimbalist; Lee Igel an assistant professor at New York University; Andrew Brandt, the former player agent and president of the Green Bay Packers who is now president of the National Football Post; Wayne McDonnell who is Clinical Associate Professor of Sports Management at New York University, and one who has offered frequent content to BizofBaseball.com, and; Kristi Dosh, an attorney, baseball blogger, and one working on a book on collective bargaining in MLB.  Like I said, good company.

The Forbes work has been a nice add, and opens some doors, but the best news I’ve gotten in a long time is that I have been approved to cover the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim this year. Getting your foot in the door for what is considered a “jewel event” by MLB is not easy for an independent new media writer, such as myself. While I have been freelancing for Yahoo Sports, The New York Post, Baseball America, and shortly, MSNBC, MLB approved BizofBaseball.com through their media affiliation program, a sign that they view the site as a legitimate news organization reporting in an “at large” capacity. Next stop? An attempt to get credentialed for the World Series. After that? Let’s see what happens at the Winter Meetings.

Finally, I reported last month that I was part of a sports business pilot for Bloomberg Television. Well, that show has been shelved. I need to contact one of the producers, but word is that the content filmed last month might be interspersed throughout regular programming on Bloomberg Television. Hey, just getting in front of the camera is always a great learning experience. Recall doing my first piece for ESPN and I felt like Albert Brooks’ character Aaron Altman in Broadcast News when he had the sweat machine turn on. The Bloomberg filming felt easier, which shows I’m either getting more comfortable doing television, or I realize that Bob Costas and Dan Patrick really have nothing to worry about.

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OTHER NEWS FROM THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK

(THE BIZ OF BASEBALL)

• SEE THEM: Bronx Bombers Design Their Own Yankees Caps
• Phillies Players Rollins, Victorino, Hamels, Werth, Ibanez Rollout Apparel Designs
• Orioles Relieve Dave Trembley of Managerial Duties
• In-App Advertisement Seeps Into “At Bat 2010″ for iPad
• Statue of Red Sox “Teammates” to Be Unveiled At Fenway on June 9

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, and is a contributor to Forbes. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

Follow Maury Brown on Twitter

Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook