Bartender Banter: Pimping Blogs

In this edition of BB I'm going to take some time to mention some of the different blogs out there that are worth checking out. In the short time the Saloon has been in existence I've found that a simple link from a fellow blog site can mean boatloads of exposure. While some have added the Saloon to their links, we in turn have returned the favor and put them in ours. Here is rundown of some of the great sites we've found that have been deemed worthy of a link in our sidebar.

The Big Dogs

Deadspin - Most people that regularly read sports blogs are aware of Deadspin. I guess the best way to describe them is being "The Superficial" of sports. They cover just about every sports related story out there and interject it with their own brand of wit and humor. They'll pretty much take on anything, even the latest "My Wish" segments on Sportscenter. Deadspin also links to various articles written by different sports blogs out there. Getting linked by Deadspin can bring boatloads of exposure. Just ask the guys over at Goat Riders of the Apocalypse.

Rivalfish's Rival Room - The Rival Room is a satirical sports site that has a stable of writers who put together various feature columns such as "Ladies Love Obscure Rivalries" and "Keepin' Fit with Ronny J". We were recently linked in an edition of "Say Cheese", which features various sports stories from different sites. A recent "Rivalries" column pitted the Chicago Cubs against The Gay Games.

Phat Phree - Another satirical site that takes on much more than just sports. Their pieces are the kind that make me read them and think "Dammit! I wish I thought of that." Case in point, check out this gem.

Cubs Blog Army: Taking New Recruits?
Finding blogs and sites about the Chicago Cubs is incredibly easy thanks to the Cubs Blog Army, a site that serves as a main directory for Cub related blogs. Its a pretty cool concept in that being a member of the CBA allows you great exposure to many readers. Most members use a nice HTML code that is provided as a way to get links of all CBA sites into their sidebar. Sounds great you say? It is, and I think we could get a lot of page hits, if we were a part of this. Yes, unfortunately for us, the CBA hasn't been updated in almost half a year, thus we're sort of floating out there on our own. We're like the Cubs Blog Mercenary I guess.

Nonetheless I'd say that maybe apart from the Yankees and Red Sox, the Cubs have more blogs devoted to them than any other MLB team. Here are a few that I usually try to keep up to date on.

Goat Riders of the Apocalypse - Death, Famine, Pestilence, War, Chaos, Despair, Bob. Those are the identities the folks at GROTA go by in their posts. A good blend of up to date news as well as some humorous points of view. GROTA was just embroiled at the center of the great "Quite Frankly"/Boo Dusty Baker debacle. If you haven't heard about this yet, I'll let you check out their site for the details. Like I needed any more reasons not to like Stephen A. Smith.

Bleed Cubbie Blue - What strikes me most about BCB, is that given the enormous amount of content that is posted daily, I'm amazed that its all done by a single guy. Always a good place to gain a little more insight on the plight of the Cubs.

Desipio - Probably one of the funniest Cubs blogs out there, Desipio never seems to disappoint. My personal favorites are the little nuggets he has stashed in the sidebar, like the "Why We Boo Jock Jones Today" graphic, or the running clock that counts down to when Dusty's contract expires, to the second.

Wow, I could be at this all day on the Cubs blogs. A few more real quick worth noting are The Cub Reporter, which is a great place to get the latest info without going to cubs.com. Derek Smart's writing at Cub Town is always enjoyable (Pretty much all the writers over at Baseball Toaster are worth checking out). Die-Hard Cubs Fun is the place to go for your goofy Photoshopped Cubs pics fix.

Those Other Team Sites
While there are hundreds of team blogs out there, I've found a handful that are humorous, entertaining, and generally good reads, even if I may not be able to stand their team.

Pittsburgh Loves the Saloon
While we currently are linked by zero Cubs blogs, somehow by a strange series of events we are linked by 4 different Pirates blogs. What can we say? The Steel City digs our stuff. Actually it all started with a simple link and a friendly hello to Honest Wagner, who then linked to Governor Gray Davis' Tracyball FAQ post. That in turn led to us getting linked by Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?. A little later we got linked by Raul Mondesi's House, which I like to think is just down the street from Thunder Matt's Saloon, and by Bad News Bucs. In fact we're the only non-Pirates site that has a link on Bad News Bucs.

All four of those sites are very well done and I recommend them to anyone wanting to get a glimpse inside the psyche of Pittsburgh fans. They're not much different from us, except their team doesn't spend nearly as much money to basically suck.

Some More Team Sites

Dodger Blues - Since we got our own Dodger guy on staff in the Governor, its probably good to link to at least one LA site. Dodger Blues reminds me a little of Desipio in the way they have all sorts of funny graphics and features on their site, like the "Time since the last great Dodgers moment" clock, which keeps track of the time that's passed since the legendary Kirk Gibson home run.

Yes Joe, It's Toasted - I came across this blog after the Cubs series with the Mets last week that ended with the 11 run debacle. They were at Wrigley for the series and got to experience firsthand why we all show up for home games, even if our team is atrocious. It looks like they definitely enjoyed themselves.

Metstradamus - Another great Mets blogs that features the Mets fans' Hall of Hate.

Darth Marc - The noted arch-nemesis of Metstradamus and the only Yankee blog I've been able to read without vomiting in my mouth. Still looking for a Red Sox blog that I can say the same for.

Cardinals Diaspora - I know, I know. Its downright blasphemous to plug a Cards blog, but CD is a pretty decent read. The "we suck" diatribes during their losing streak earlier in the season were amusing since the Redbirds were still in first place and with the NL Central playing like a batch of moldy dog turds as a whole, not likely to lose the top spot.

Gaslamp Ball - There's actually someone who cares enough about the Padres to write about them regularly. Who knew?

Batgirl - Entertaining Twins blog. I've got all the respect in the world for someone that hates the White Sox as much as us. Well most of us. We're starting to wonder about Chaim and his mancrush on Ozzie Guillen.

And Lastly, a Couple More

Awful Announcing - If you can't figure it out from its blatantly obvious title, this blog is all about bad announcers and commentators. AA skewers just about every blowhard out there, from McCarver to Buck to Morgan. AA also recently announced he'll be taking on the much beloved/much hated Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, who's work has noticeably declined in quality since he's moved out to LA.

AndyBugay.com - Andy is the sponsor of Thunder Matt's baseball-reference page as well as the first person to give the Saloon a link on their site. He's also one of the Saloon's 12 regular customers.