Richard got a chance to go to one of the NBA championship series games last night, to cover the NBA’s use of social media.
The result is a really interesting article that addresses not only how the NBA deftly uses different social media sites — and decides which sites are best suited to which kinds of stories or photos — but also the enormous popularity of basketball worldwide. I had no idea that the NBA had millions of followers worldwide, or that so many people use social media to follow the sport. If you want to get a good idea of how the internet and modern communications have made the world a much smaller, more intimate place, Richard’s article is a good place to start.
And allow me to put in a plug for Richard’s Twitter feed, which not only gives you a first look at his articles but also includes links to other interesting stories and observations.
The expectations were low for the Tribe this year, and the season is still young, but this team seems to be a lot better than anticipated. Amazingly, right now the Tribe is one of the best slugging teams in the majors. Their starting pitching and bullpen have been solid, and they have some guys who know how to play in the field, too. They just swept a four-game series with Oakland, and they’ve got an interesting collection of players — as well as an experienced manager, Terry Francona, who appears to be touching all the right buttons so far.
It was an exciting season for the Blue Jackets, and even non-hockey fans like me had to appreciate this team that wouldn’t quit and ended the season playing as well as anybody in the NHL. Still, I’m not much for moral victories. The fact remains that the CBJ didn’t quite play well enough to make the playoffs, and that is the bottom line.
This year, no one except the most ardent fan had any reason to expect anything different. The Blue Jackets had traded their best player, Rick Nash, and had a grab bag roster. But the team has jelled under the stewardship of coach Todd Richards and has a hot goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, who has instilled confidence in his teammates. To the delight of fans, the team has been terrific in April and has been especially good on its current west coast road trip, on which the Blue Jackets have won four out of five games. With 
Akron, Ohio, the place of my birth, falls squarely within the Cleveland sports orbit. Parentage and pedigree played a role, too, as my parents and grandparents were all Cleveland sports fans. Rabid support for the Browns and the Tribe was a kind of birthright for the boys in our family. I gladly participated, going to Indians games with my grandparents and watching the Browns with UJ on autumn Sundays. Little did I know that, during those hopeful days of the late ’60s, I was signing on to a lifelong commitment that, for more than four decades, would not be rewarded with a championship.
