Much has already been written about the awesome weekend that was Blogs with Balls, so instead of regurgitating everything, I’ll just tell you about my weekend that started at 3 AM Thursday morning, what I enjoyed at Blogs with Balls, what could have been better at BwB, and all the cool folks I met.

The Awesome Weekend:

Wednesday/Thursday - Getting Burnt & Nearly Dying

After working Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, all I managed was a two hour nap during the day before everything was packed up and the girlfriend and I departed at 3 in the morning Thursday. We grabbed some snacks and then headed toward Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as neither of us had been to the beach in a couple of years. The drive wasn’t too bad except for the ticket I received about 20 minutes from the beach when I was starting to fall asleep while driving and didn’t pay attention to the speed limit or even notice the police car that I drove by.

Being as tired as I was, when we actually got to the beach around 10 AM, I decided to take a nap on the beach. Even though it was very much overcast, I could feel the heat pressing down, so I told the girlfriend that we definitely needed to put some sunscreen on. She didn’t necessarily agree but started putting some on on my chest and stomach, and by the time she had finished, I had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, for my skin, when I fell asleep she saw that as an opportunity not to continue with my arms or legs.

When I awoke an hour or two later, the sun was shining like a Lil’ Wayne chain blinding everyone around. After frolicking (yea, a grown man can still frolick) on the beach for a bit and playing in the ocean, we packed it up and headed out after about 3 1/2 hours.

Back on the road, I let the girlfriend take over the driving duties, which nearly got me killed. About 30 minutes away from the beach, she came to a stop sign and stopped, but did not realize that it wasn’t a four-way stop, so with the coast seemingly clear, she began accelerating across the intersection. I had my eyes closed with my head buried in a pillow but had yet to fall asleep, so I definitely heard the screeching as a car slammed on it’s brakes and began to skid. I opened my eyes in time to witness her pound the gas pedal and get us through the intersection just in time. She started saying something about the other car not stopping at the stop sign, but I looked back and confirmed that it was not a four-way stop.

After having Yolanda (my car) nearly be crushed and the possible death of me because I would have received the direct impact, the excitement of the rest of the day’s driving paled in comparison. From South Carolina, we traveled to the Washington D.C. area where we met up with Dumont Walker of Walker Sports, who graciously extended an invitation for us to stay with him on our way up.

Having never met DWalk or even spoke to him on the phone until I was about 10 minutes from his place, I didn’t exactly know what to expect except that he was a cool dude. Having never met him, I also had to play 20 questions, including fielding questions such as, “He’s not a serial killer is he?” from my girlfriend. If you’ve ever met DWalk, you know he is a large hulking man, who could easily intimidate upon first glance (which means he can roll in my crew any time), but like I said, he’s just a down-to-eart, cool dude.

Anyways, we went out to a local pub and watched the Magic blow a lead and win that should have put them back in the series and called it a night since we all had to be up early for our various reasons.

Friday - 2nd Greatest Sports Experience in My Life

On Friday morning I was pumped up for the day ahead. I was ready to leave early by DWalk let us know that leaving early would just leave us sitting in DC traffic. But we left in what should have gotten us to the hotel at 2:30 PM giving me an hour and a half to find my way from Queens to Secaucus, NJ and the MLB Network Studios. Instead, various issues from traffic to getting drilled by a loose bucket in Philadelphia to taking the wrong turn (two or three times — thanks a lot for being slow as molasses GPS navigation) to nailing the largest hole in New York and messing up my alignment led to me getting to the hotel at like 3:45 or so.

Instead of shaving and then being able to take my time mapping out my route in the hotel room, I just sat my shit in the hotel room, changed out of my driving clothes, and took off out the door. I asked the guy at the hotel desk which subway train I needed to get on and where the closest station was. Inevitably, he led me astray, whether it was through misinterpretation of his dicey English or just bad directions. Aren’t these people supposed to be able to direct people. I mean you work in a hotel where people must constantly be asking for directions.

So I hopped on the nearest subway, I just headed toward Manhattan. I sent out a Tweet asking for further directions, but unfortunately after going underground I didn’t receive any of the replies until I was already in the middle of the Times Square station and had hopped on the wrong train once and went the wrong direction another time. Finally, I got the info that I needed to get on the NJ Transit at Penn Station, but when I got there I didn’t realize the NJ Transit was inside the Long Island Rail station (yea, I thought there were two). After walking around the block twice and seeing nothing credible I headed inside the LIRR where I eventually wandered into a sign for the NJ Transit.

I finally boarded a train and got off in Secaucus, grabbed a taxi (I even did this wrong by not going to the first taxi in the line), and arrived at the MLB Network Studios…only about an hour and fifteen minutes late. I was so pissed off!! I entered and talked to security, who couldn’t find my fellow bloggers on any of the cameras, so he escorted me in a search. We came upon the group already in Studio 42 — a mini-field used for demonstrations and where the MLB Draft’s first round was held earlier in the week.

The media relations lady from the network came up to me and informed me that it was pretty much the end of the tour, but that she would take me around later if I wanted (this never happened but probably because I was pre-occupied). When I walked in the network’s exeutive producer or director or something was speaking to the group along with the best analyst in the game — Harold Reynolds. Before long we were joined by writer Jon Heyman (lot taller than expected). Dave Valle also stopped by briefly.

When they finished speaking, we were told we could hang around and play some wiffle ball on the Studio 42 field. We started playing around and about five minutes after all the people from the network had left, Harold Reynolds came back out to play with us. He took over the mound and pitched to each of us and just chatted us up about a variety of topics from where we each were from, the College World Series, the demonstrations done on the field, to the infamous site Hugging Harold Reynolds, whose owner, Don Povia, had set up the tour.

I was one of the last to bat (and hit fairly well, especially for a pitcher, only swinging and missing once and going opposite field one-hopping the right field wall), so after I hit, I just hung around the dugout (yea the field even has mini-dugouts). When everyone had hit, we made Harold take some swings. I squatted down behind the plate and was able to just sit and chat with Harold about the art of keeping your hands inside the baseball and a couple of other things. It was a pretty surreal and absolutely awesome moment!!

After Harold hit, he, Valle, and Mitch Williams just hung around and shot the shit with us telling us some hilarious stories, particularly from their minor league days. Having interned for a minor league club, I had no problem visualizing any of the stories. After their stories, we got a couple of pictures and then went and checked out the live production of MLB Network’s preview show that comes on just before the majority of games begin around 7 PM.

One of the niftiest pieces of equipment they currently have are the in stadium cameras that they can control directly from the studio. For example, even though Anaheim didn’t play until 10 PM EST, they were able to zoom in on one of the workers in the stadium. Pretty cool stuff.

After leaving the studios, I headed back to the hotel, freshened up, picked up the gf, and headed back out to Sutton’s Place where Jeff from Project Spurs had set up a pre-conference party amongst us Twitter friends, who had been Tweeting back-and-forth during the NBA Finals. Besides meeting DWalk the day before, it was the first chance I really got to meet and hang out with any of the people I interact with online on a regular basis. (I’ll get to all the cool people at the end of this post.)

Between some drinks and a lot of chatter, we watched as the Penguins took home the Stanley Cup and then watched as Luis Castillo made himself new fans and new enemies in New York by dropping a routine Alex Rodriguez pop-up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yanks a walk-off victory.

I had a good time at the pre-conference party, and the gf was a trooper for sitting around for a couple of hours listening to a bunch of guys (and a couple of girls) talk sports, and in particular the gf’s least favorite sport basketball. However, after a couple of hours, she began to get irritated not only from the douchebags that kept bumping into her but also from the cigarette smoke, which in significant amounts works to trigger an allergic reaction for her. So we headed out and back to the hotel where we dined on some fine delivery at about 3 AM in the morning (if only we could get that down here in Georgia — there’s no telling how broke I would be).

Saturday - Little Learning, Lot of Networking, Whole Lot of Alcohol

The day of the conference finally came on Saturday, and I was pumped up at the opportunity to meet some more folks but more importantly to learn some new stuff to help out our pedestrian web site. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. Don’t get me wrong as I did learn a lot of cool stuff, but not a lot geared specifically toward the web site. Instead of recapping the panels (which can be found in other people’s recaps below), I’m just going to give what I liked about the conference and what I would like to see different:

What I Liked:

• Casual - I enjoyed how everything was laid back. Even though there were some big names in not only blogging but also sports writing, there was a subdued, casual approach to the entire affair.
• Name Tags - I definitely would have been lost without the name tags. They definitely helped out a lot.
• Twittering - It was really interesting to see people getting live feedback and questions while in the middle of the panels. I read somewhere that the live-tweets were originally going to be displayed on the monitors in the venue, but evidently there were technical difficulties.
• Peter King Opening - There was an opening video done for the event featuring Sports Illustrated writer Peter King. Unfortunately, there were again some technical difficulties.
• Networking - The conference allowed everyone an opportunity to get there early and mingle around with fellow bloggers, writers, and even some other types like advertisers and network directors (blog networks that is).
• Finger Foods - I’m a huge fan of food, so the various finger foods from panini style sandwiches to mini-burgers (we don’t call them sliders in the South) to chicken fingers gave both a good variety and enabled everyone to continue to mingle and/or listen to the speakers instead of having to sit down to a full plate with silverware and needing to cut all the food up or whatever it may have been.
• The Drink Off - Project Spurs’s Michael DeLeon and Chronicles of Crotty’s Jimmy Castro battled off in an epic drink off of Guiness beer, which led me to miss the final panel. However, with pride and money on the line, I had to witness the event firsthand. Jimmy definitely let me down with his half-hearted attempt at competition. He was, of course, half the size of Mike, but as John from RedsArmy.com pointed out, he looks twice the age of Mike as well, so he should have at least put up a better fight. We can only hope for a better attempt and payout in Las Vegas where Blogs with Balls 2.0 is going to be held.
• Key Note: Gary V - It appears that those in attendance were split on the key note speaker Gary Vaynerchuk. I liked him. I thought he was on-point.

Remedies for BwB 2.0:

• Venue - There were a couple of issues I had with the venue at Stout NYC.
  • Being in the basement - I understand the comical irony of putting all the sports bloggers in a basement, but it caused limited wireless service, and I’m talking about for my phone.
  • Too small - This may have been an unforeseen consequence of such a great turnout, but at times it was difficult to move around, and caused small conversations in the crowd to become loud distractions for people who were attempting to listen to the speakers, such as myself.
  • No wireless internet? - With it being too small, I didn’t even have a chance to pull out my laptop and check the wireless (we were requested not to bring much stuff, but I don’t listen well). Rather than live-blogging, it had been my idea to live-tweet the event from my computer rather than on my phone. Not only can I type faster on a computer, but I also don’t run the battery dead on my phone (which would cause issues later).
  • No tables - If the venue was larger, there could have been tables were everyone could have set their laptops, notepads, recorders, and even drinks. With only the floor to set stuff on, inevitably, drinks were knocked over, glasses were broken, and free beer was wasted. There were so many drinks knocked over and glasses broken that it became the soundtrack to the event and even Miss Chatter, who had been giving updates on the # on Twitter, finally gave up counting around 15 or so. I would estimate the number got up to 20-25.
  • Outlets - In a venue with Internet and tables, I would hope the tables would have outlets for laptops, cell phone chargers, etc. to be plugged into.
• Extra Breaks - While not every panel contained Earth-shattering information, I didn’t want to have to get up and head to the bathroom and miss something that might have been Earth-shattering for me and my site. Also, extra breaks would have allowed folks more time to interact with others at times other than when the panels were taking place, which would have lent to less shushing being needed and more calm from me because I did get pissed off when I was trying to listen to the speakers and couldn’t hear shit just because my seat was near the bar. There need not be any long hour breaks or anything, but maybe three 10-minute breaks that would help give the organizers a chance to set up for the next panel and give everyone an opportunity to use the bathroom, grab a drink, or meet one extra person in an unobtrusive manner.
• Panel Changes - Now, I don’t know exactly how to go about making everything work out here, but these are things that I was hoping to get out of the panels that I didn’t (and maybe I just need to go to a regular blogging convention/conference for these things rather than a sportsblogging one):
  • Advertising - None of the panelists said anything that would help me in attracting advertisers or explained what exactly advertisers were looking for in a sports-related web site. How can I maximize revenue? How do I approach possible advertisers? What are alternatives to traditional banner ads (this was touched on, but it seemed like none of the blog networks wanted to say too much and give their rivals an upper hand) — it’s great that Yardbarker teamed with Versus for a TV show, but does that really help my small, stand-alone site unless I join their network?
  • Appearance - What are some simple things I can do to make the appearance of my site look better or stand out more? Is a premium theme worth the cost? How to differentiate yourself from other blogs, especially other sports blogs?
  • Link Dumps - Are they worth spending the time to compose daily/bi-weekly/weekly (and this was touched on, but I wanted some more info)? What are some ways to find stuff that isn’t already in everyone else’s link dumps?
  • Mechanics - Advantages/disadvantages of platforms (Wordpress, Blogger, etc.). What plugins are essential? Which ones can take a site to the next level? What tools do the Deadspins and the With Leathers use? Are the Daulerios and Uffords doing the mechanical stuff or do they have someone on staff — if so, get that staff person to speak on the panel?
  • Monetizing - What are other ways to monetize a site besides simple advertising? Could someone please explain to me how the hell affiliate marketing works and if there is a place for it in sports blogging?
  • Sponsers - How about giving the sponsers like 2 minutes (strictly enforced) at the opening to tell about their product or why they are sponsering the event rather than necessarily having them on panels (unless they are going to be able to contribute to the discussion) — DISCLAIMER: I don’t know necessarily that some people were put on panels just because they were with one of the sponsers, but some people on the panels just were lost and forgotten in the stir of everything going on. I was interested in knowing what the hell a company like Lijit was and why it specifically related to sports-blogging.
• Name Tags - Yea, name tags make both the + and - . What I would have like changed on the name tags was an inclusion of people’s username(s). Most everyone tries to use the same user name for social media/social networking sites, such as Twitter or Flickr, so why not have a user name on the name tags as well. Also, I think you should be able to request what name you want on your name tag. For example, Spencer Hall from EDSBS writes under the name Orsen Swindle, and by the end of the day, he had crossed out Spencer Hall and written in Orsen Swindle. Similarly, I had to cross out my first name and put Shotgun, as I rarely go by anything other than Shotgun (besides the occasional “Asshole” or “Motherfucker”).
• Crowd Mic - I think there should have been someone deployed to walk through the crowd with a microphone when questions were being asked because there’s nothing like hearing a 5-minute answer to a question you never heard. Either that or make sure the moderators take control (only one or two did) and repeat the question and then pass it along to the panelists.

This may seem like a bunch of negatives, but it was truly a great event that will only be bettered next time. The constructive criticism is only going to push BwB to be one of the premier conferences, not only in the sports community, but across the entire blogosphere.

We now move forward in this story to the after-party hosted by GQ, which was MONEY! The after-party, combined with the after-after-party, had to be my second favorite part of the weekend. Not only was there great networking opportunities with everyone mingling and milling around, but there was also some beautiful shot girls walking around in white wigs with platters of Jose Cuervo Especiale shots. I was finally able to take advantage of the free alcohol (I don’t drink beer, so I didn’t partake in the free Guinness at the conference), and take advantage I did.

Along with the shot girls, there were also four free liquors (Jose, a bourbon, a whiskey, and a sweet tea vodka), of which I imbibed freely. I met and chatted with some more intriguing people (to be mentioned below) before the majority of our group from the pre-conference party along with a couple new faces, headed out for the after-after-party at some random bars.

I don’t remember all the details, but I believe this is where I earned the distinction of being “probably the craziest[sic] sportsblogger I met all weekend” from Adam Best of FanSided. I do remember us running into a couple of bride-to-be/bachlorette groups in the bars we attended, so I felt it was only my duty to booty shake on the brides-to-be as it was probably going to be the greatest experience of the rest of their lives.

After being in the bars until about 3:30 AM and with my phone having been dead since about 6:30 PM, I felt it was time to find my way back to the hotel. However, without having any cash on me, I couldn’t take a cab to the nearest subway, so I ventured out alone in New York City (someone suggested that wasn’t the best idea, but what does my mom know). I wandered for at least 15 blocks before finding a subway…too bad it was closed!

I wasn’t only lost in my search for a subway; I also was hungry as hell since all we had eaten all day was finger foods. I saw a street vendor in a truck/van at the closed subway station, so I thought maybe he accepted debit/credit cards, but alas he did not, so I ventured on like Hansel & Gretel. Walking down Broadway in a direction I hoped either led me toward a subway or Queens where my hotel was, I happened to see a McDonalds. Now, I am by no means a McDonalds fan, but at 4:30 in the morning, the brightly lit signs and pictures for 2 Bacon, Egg, & Cheese biscuits for $3 attracted me like a glow-lamp for insects.

Anxious to get some deliciously greasy biscuits, I crossed the street nearly getting hit ( who’s driving around at 4:30 in the morning anyways — someone should have arrested them for being sober way too early in the morning). I entered this not-so-fine establishment without there being anyone waiting in line, yet it would be 45 minutes until I got served anything.

I asked for two of the BEC biscuits … they didn’t have any biscuits.

I asked for a couple of cheeseburgers … they didn’t have any burgers. “Only fried foods - chicken, fish, and fries” was the response.

I asked for a chicken snack wrap … “Oh, we don’t have those either.”

“What the hell do you have then?” “Chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, fish sandwiches, and fries.”

“Look, just give me the largest fry you have, and I’ll get the hell out of here!”

By this time, there were like three people behind me in line, and each of them went through the same ordeal and then ordered something and fries. And each one of the people behind me got their food (with each having fries) before I got my order of only fries. Needless to say, I was a bit of pissed off, but I finally had something warm to put in my belly besides shots of alcohol, and I had directions to the subway.

I got on a train and did exactly what you shouldn’t do on a train at 5 in the morning after a late Saturday night out — I fell asleep. Luckily, I didn’t awake with someone rummaging through my pockets, but I did awake to find myself a good 5 stops past where I should have gotten off the train, so I tried to non-nonchalantly act like the next stop was mine, though the looks I received showed either no one was buying the bit or that I had been snoring the whole time I was asleep. Likely, it was a combination of the two.

Anyways, I got off the train, boarded one headed the other direction, and finally got back to the hotel somewhere around 6 in the morning, much to the grief of my girlfriend, who said she thought something had happened to me since I hadn’t talked to her since I had been on my way to the GQ after-party. But I explained that I hadn’t died, only my phone had.

Sunday - Hungover at Yankee Stadium & Too Much Driving

The morning came way too soon as we had to be out of the hotel and wanted to be on our way to the Yankees/Mets game by 11 AM. That meant I got around 4 hours of sleep after having been drinking for about 10 the day before. Some how those just don’t seem to even out to me. It took me an extra minute or two to get out of the bed and the couple of extra minutes in the shower didn’t do the trick either.

Needless to say, the car ride to the Bronxwasn’t the most fun, but it could have been worse because I’m sure the jolting of a subway car wouldn’t have made my headache or aching body feel any better. After paying the unfounded amount to park (isn’t parking for any event just ridiculous these days?), we headed to and into the stadium.

What a spectacle!

The new Yankee Stadium is quite a sight. Before even making it to our seats or seeing the field, I was impressed. With reminders of and tributes to the Yankee legends throughout the ballpark, the Yankee lore is proudly on display as it definitely should be. We hit up the team store where the gf had to buy shirts for her family. I, on the other hand, had no intentions of paying $25 or $30 for a t-shirt. Everything in the gift shop was extravagantly priced, but it was nothing that wasn’t expected as everything in the stadium was extravagantly priced from the t-shirts to the $5 bottle of Gatorade that I needed to acquiesce my stomach.

The game itself wasn’t that exciting except for seeing Johan getting blasted for the most runs he’s ever given up in his career and seeing Robinson Cano have an outstanding day to boost my fantasy team. I originally thought it would be a pitchers’ duel with Johan and A.J. Burnett squaring off, but after Burnett got out of a second inning bases loaded jam, it was all Yankees (as the photographic evidence below proves).

I did have a good time at the game getting to spend time with my girlfriend and her father (who lives in Brooklyn and who she hadn’t seen but 3 or 4 times in the past 6 to 8 years or so). He’s a Yankee fan from way back, so he got to tell me about and rub in seeing Reggie Jackson hitting three homers in Game 6 of the ‘77 World Series, him getting to see Ali fight, and his tales of Giants/Cowboys games throughout the years. While I’m not a Yankees, Giants, or Cowboys fan, I can definitely appreciate a fan that was able to see some of the games that are now part of the lore and history of the respective sports.

Following the game, the gf and I headed to a local pizza joint that I went to last summer when me and the boys went to a weekend series at the true Yankee Stadium. Three large slices of pie along with a couple garlic rolls for only $9.50 — now, that’s a great bargain, and especially in NYC, where it’s difficult to even find a drink for that price. Full of some tasty pie, we headed back into the city to Foley’s, the bar that had hosted the after-party, so that I could pick up my laptop and laptop bag since I happened to leave in prior to the after-after-party, the McDonalds debacle, and the sleepy train.

We then began the arduous journey back to Georgia, and about 13.5 hours later, we made it back in one piece around 8 AM despite the need for a couple of energy drinks, some Skittles, and a delicious pickled sausage (ah, nothing like a tasty, spicy pickled sausage at 4 in the morning except maybe some bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits, but I wouldn’t actually know about that one).

And that was my crazy ass weekend in New York for the inaugural Blogs with Balls conference.

The Awesome Peeps:

(alphabetical order)

Stephanie Bagley, ESPN the Mag, As Good As It Guests: - Met Steph at the MLB Network Tour. First thing you notice about her is her infectious, bright, wide smile. A beautiful smile always makes it hard not to like someone, and she never gave any reason for me not to like her. She was a genuine lady, who wasn’t stonefaced like some of the other folks were when I arrived an hour late for the tour. Wish I would have gotten a chance to really meet her on Saturday, but that’s what Twitter is for, right? (@StephBags)

Jimmy Castro, The Chronicles of Crotty: What can I say about Jimmy? I put my pride and money on Jimmy in the drink-off and he definitely let me down! Other than that, Jimmy was one of my favorite people to meet over the weekend. We discussed everything from basketball to racism (and I’m not really sure how we got on that topic but we definitely went there). He’s just a great guy, and I could tell he was a true and sincere person. Looking forward to hanging out with him in LA when I’m out there and he visits from Costa Rico. (@WinInTheEnd)

Alex Curtis-Slep, NBA Tipoff: Little Alex is likely going to be a blogging star by the time he gets the age of any of the current big names of blogging. The kid is only 15 just turned 16, and while he still has a ways to go (as was evident by him being the first to drop and shatter a glass Saturday morning), he’ll get there…especially if his mom keeps trying to get other bloggers to slip him into bars. Haha. (@NBATipoff)

Jeff Garcia & Michael De Leon, Project Spurs: Not only did big Mike win the drinking contest, but I think Jeff was one of the most outgoing guys I met. He arranged the entire pre-conference party and did a phenomenal job of introducing everyone by both real names & Twitter handles (not the easiest task). These boys also threw me in on their podcast, and I look forward to doing some collaboration in the future. (@sa2ny2004; @mdeleon)

Spencer Hall, aka Orson Swindle EDSBS: Though he must be reprimanded for his attendance at both Florida and Georgia Tech when I’m a Georgia & Florida State fan, Hall/Swindle was the funniest panelist of the day. He also produces tremendous content for Every Day Should Be Saturday — one of the best college football blogs out there. Plus, I think he was the only other Southerner to make the trek to NY. (@EDSBS)

Zach Harper, Talk Hoops : What a character. Zach definitely took advantage of the weekend in NYC. When he didn’t have a drink in his hands, he had two. He also just joined the TrueHoop network, so support the man and give him his props. (@talkhoops)

John K., RedsArmy: The man with the huge ego, huge mouth, and huge ears constantly got huge laughs. I hate the Celtics, but this is a man I can appreciate. He had great knowledge and often even better one-liners. Reds Army is also one of, if not the, premier site dedicated to the Cs. Now, I just can’t wait to rub it all in his face when the Hawks make it further next season! (@RedsArmy)

Dave Kelsey and the rest of the Bloguin team: According to a source (whom I can’t remember), the Bloguin team had meeting/possibly attaining me as a priority. I don’t really know the validity of that source, but I’m flattered that someone would be seeking me out. However, I couldn’t really tell you why someone would want me and the crew of bums we have here at The Blue Workhorse. Regardless, Mr. Kelsey approached me and was very cordial toward me. Unfortunately, he caught me when I was on my way to the bar for a refill, so I was probably short and terse with him. If that was the case, I apologize, but I was being called like I had stayed out playing in the yard too late. (@bloguin)

Diana Klochkova, Yardbarker: I like to think Ms. Klochkova is the fuel behind YB. She does all the updates and keeps up with all of the Yardbarkers making sure everyone dots and crosses. She also has an incredible memory (just ask Douche Larue). She also recently had a last name change that had nothing to do with her getting married and was kind enough to explain it. Interesting story. (@dinabanina)

Mike Mader, Mike on the Phillies: Yet another damned Phillies fan, but we’ll have to excuse it since he was a cool guy. (Plus, he is subconsciously supporting the Rays with a Rayshawk.) Met him on the train ride back from MLB Network. A freelance writer just trying to find a true home. Check him out. (@mikeonthephils)

Matt McCarthy, Meet the Matts: Matt was a crazy guy that hung out with us until the after-party pretty much shut down. He then sent us on our way to the hot spots for the after-after-party. I can’t necessarily forgive him for being a Mets fan, but if I’m ever back in NYC, I’ll make sure I have my glove and some spikes and be prepared for a call for the bullpen. I’m sure an inning or two can’t do too much more damage to the rotator cuff. Also, check out Meet the Matts some funny videos with bald men in early 1990s uniform florescent suits..

Rey Moralde, The No-Look Pass: Rey is one of the few people that I’ve had some regular contact with for more than just the few weeks leading up to BwB. Whether it be karaoke or basketball, he knows what he speaks on, and I can’t wait to get out to LA to join him for some pick-up bball…and if everyone he plays with is as short as him, I’ll finally be able to dominate! (@TheNoLookPass)

Eric N., Pitchers and Poets: I met Eric on the train ride back from MLB Network. Just from chatting with him, I could really feel his passion for writing. I had never heard of his site (as most people hadn’t heard of The Blue Workhorse), but it’s a site everyone should check out, especially if you are a baseball or literature fan. He writing is lucid and done extremely well. One of my best finds over the weekend. (@pitchersnpoets)

Shawn Norris, aka Douche Larue, National Lampoon: Douche Larue is a gonzo sportswriter who has the talent and lack of giving a shit that works perfectly for that style of writing. Plus, from the variety of the stories he tells, he’s definitely got a log of good stories from the past that he could easily splice in, so expect big things from him. (@DoucheLarue)

Don Povia, Hugging Harold Reynolds: Mr. Povia was the brain child behind Blogs with Balls, and we all are indebted to him for that. He’s also a great guy with a great, supportive family. They must be forgiven for their Phillies allegiance, but besides that they were awesome all weekend. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much time to speak with the man with the plan, but I’m looking forward to it at BwB v.2. Also, much props to the man who helped get me inside the MLB Networks studio and was helpful throughout my adventures in trying to get to Secaucus from Queens rather than being judgmental as he could’ve been since I was possibly giving our group a bad name by arriving an hour late. Plus, the meeting of Harold Reynolds and the man behind Hugging Harold Reynolds was a classic moment — should be in a “One Shining Moment” montage ala the NCAA March Madness tournament. (@HHReynolds)

Amanda Rykoff, ESPN - Play Ball: Amanda came out the pre-conference party, and while she won’t admit it, she definitely disappeared like A-Rod in the clutch and Luis Castillo’s glove in the ninth inning, but I don’t hold it against her. I had never heard of her podcast (really never listened to any since I don’t have an iPod, but now I do), but I have since meeting her. It’s really well done so it should be on your list to check out. (@CompanyWoman)

Sarah Spain, SarahSpain.net; MouthpieceSports: Sarah is truly an awesome chick. Even though she is fine (I equate her as the Erin Andrews of sports blogging, whether she likes the title or not), she knows her shit. Not only sports. She also went to Cornell. Loves sports and Ivy League smart? That’s straight wifey material by itself (not that I’m looking b/c if my gf or her mother made it through 6000 words and got to this without their being a disclaimer, I’d never hear the end of it), but she also is outgoing, not uptight, and also has a great smile. When we hopped in the shuttle bus back to the train station from MLB Network, she was basically the only one willing to talk to the guy that was an hour late. Not that talking about riding in 15-passenger vans in high school and college was necessarily a ground-breaking conversation, but it showed me she was down to earth and genuine. Now if only I could get her to get me a gig or at least take me with her on all the awesome assignments she gets. (@SarahSpain)

Matt Tunison, aka Christmas Ape, Kissing Suzy Kolber: I have to thank Mr. Tunison for answering my questions about journalism and the possibility/my future in graduate school. He also wasn’t afraid to speak about his infamous firing from the Washington Post due to his blogging and a drunken NFL playoff rant, which some people may have preffered hiding or downplaying.

Jared Wade, Both Teams Played Hard: Jared can bring the hoops knowledge, and he can do it while rocking the Kangol forward like he’s a straight up 1930s pimp. What more could you ask for out of a basketball blogger? (@BothTeamsPlayed)

Dumont Walker, Walker Sports: DWalk was the shit for letting us stay at his place. A huge Virginia fan, he knows his college football, but he also plays rugby, so if you are a rugby fan, player, or have ever even heard of the game, you should definitely check out his site.

Phil, Gunaxin; Nick, PSAMP; Josh, Josh Q. Public: These are all sites that I’ve read occasionally and appreciated the work, but I never got to speak with the men behind the sites. I saw Nick and Josh only in passing and never ran into Phil. Conference tragedy.

Other Recaps:

• Bostonist - Michael Femia
• The Business of Sports - Russell Scibetti
• Bus Leagues Baseball - Extra P.
• Carrot Blog - Jeff Brunelle
• Cleveland Frowns - Peter Pattakos
• The Cricket Tier - Peter Della Penna
• Dan Shanoff
• Deadspin - A.J. Daulerio
• The Dugout Sports Show - Glenn
• Fang’s Bites - kzfone
• FanSided - Adam Best
• Free Darko - Bethlehem Shoals
• GoGameFace - Erica Boeke
• GQ
• Hoops Addict - Rashad Mobley
• The House that Glanville Built - Reverend Paul Revere
• Jeff Pearlman
• The Jets Blog - Brian Bassett
• Joe Sports Fan - Matt Sebek
• Koo’s Corner - Ben Koo
• Lacrosse All Stars - Mr. Blue Sky
• MGoBlog - Brian
• Miss Chatter
• Mouthpiece Sports - Sarah Spain
• New Media Strategies - Ryan Scriven
• Newsday - Neil Best
• National Lampoon - Douche LaRue
• On the DL - Dan Levy
• Philly.com - Soft Pretzel Logic - Jonathan Tannenwald
• Pitchers And Poets - Eric N.
• Project Spurs - Jeff Garcia
• Red Cup Rebellion - Whiskey Wednesday
• Reds Army - John K.
• Rumors & Rants - Phillips
• Sox & Dawgs - Ian Browne
• Sports Media Journal - Keith
• Sports PR Blog
• Storming the Floor - Extra P.
• Talk Hoops - Zach Harper
• Team Speed Kills - Year2
• Ted Leshinski’s Sports Pub
• Who Dey Revolution - Bieniemy

Shotgun Spratling

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