Reflections on my blog turning one years old today

By Kshell

On this date last year the NBA free agency period was getting hot. This was back when I was waking up at 8 in the morning vs now when I go to bed at 8 in the morning. After talking on the phone with my friend I decided to create the blog. My very first post was nothing special and in fact it was only a paragraph about how the Miami Heat signed Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. I also created a facebook account called "Seattle Sportsblog" where I would friend those who would talk quite a bit on other sports figures pages. I built up quite a following on my facebook account but the problem was I couldn't get people to come over to my blog. In fact the few couple of months were rough far as viewership on my blog. In my first four months I only had 5,758 page views which isn't very much. What also didn't help was my friend who decided to partner up with me didn't want to write for my blog anymore. Then for the second time in two weeks facebook had deleted my blog account. It was looking like my blog was about to disappear until I finally caught a break.

One day in November I logged on and noticed over 300 people had viewed my page. I check to see what increased so much and it was that on twitter Sonicsgate tweeted an article that I had nothing to do with. They tweeted the article of sonics to oklahoma city means lightning in Seattle. From that point on the page views started to pick up as I received 4,246 views in November. Then in December my page views increased to an all-time high of 5,148. That month I was talking about the Huskies going to a bowl game, previewing the entire week of the Apple Cup, Seahawks playoff push. Plus I was pretty vocal on Dave "Softy" Mahler's facebook page at that time. Before Sonicsgate posted on twitter that article I had received just 5,758 views in the eight months after that I had received 33,294 page views. I needed to catch a break and that was the break I needed.

After an increase in page views in November and December my blog dropped off a bit in January and February. Once again I picked up a break when Jeff Aaron asked me to be on his radio show. You can listen to my interviews with my Jeff Aaron posts right here. I must admit those were a ton of fun I was so nervous my first interview but by my third one I felt really comfortable. It was a chance to voice my opinion on various topics and I'll never forget the fun I had from that. Then in March Dave "Softy" Mahler created a witch hunt for me which caused a ton of negativity towards me. He also made my blog pretty popular as I had over 300 page views that day. His act of immaturity whether he realized it or not helped my blog grow even more. In the past four months I've had over 19,000 page views so Mahler definitely helped my blog out. Then in April my blog received some views due to Patton Richard's NFL Draft talk which he would include his predictions and had a live NFL draft chat. I felt like Richard helped legitimized my blog. I think people viewed my blog after Mahler blew up on me as a side show then quickly realized I had some good information in there.

In the past couple of months my blog has really picked up. In the last two months I've had over 11,000 page views due to my Seattle Mariners related posts. I also think the group I created has helped with the popularity of the blog. The group I created is called Seattle Sportsblog which is always busy with traffic. My fan page has over 300 members, the group has over 250 and I've even had over 110 followers on twitter. My group page gives me a feel on some subjects so I write a blog post on it. My favorite debate was when Bryan White and Zach Cecil would go back and forth on Ichiro. Of course Tory Johnson who actually played with Ichiro in Japan would weigh in as well. During the NBA playoffs Chris Rozwood became a regular contributer to the group and whether I agreed with his opinion or not his posts were very well thought out. For baseball season Mike Morris was a regular poster as well and I remember him getting on a fan for calling Felix Hernandez "King Dipshit" that was a mememorable rant. Now our newest poster Ian Korzeniecki has given the group page a new refreshing change of fan point of view. I feel like the group has really helped my blog page and that's the funnest part of my day is get on the group as it's always busy.

In conclusion, my blog wouldn't be where it is without you guys. I want to thank Michael Morrison, Michael Hourigan, Patton Richard, Brian Alfi, Insider Steve and Korey Payne for writing for my blog in the past. I can't believe it has already been a year for my blog and over 40,000 page views. I started off slow if I keep up my pace I expect to be close to over 100,000 page views. Obviously I couldn't have my blog if people didn't enjoy it. This has been a fun hobby for me and has given me a chance to meet several former players I wouldn't have otherwise had an opportunity to meet. So once again guys thanks for a great year and I hope to be doing this for many years to come. Now I'll go celebrate with some friends in Las Vegas this weekend. Hopefully I come back rich but either way I'll still be posting on the blog. I can't believe it has already been a year a year that I'll never forget.

My interview with Jeff "the fish" Aaron part III

By Kshell

For the third consecutive week I was interviewed by Jeff "the fish" Aaron in which is becoming a nice trend. At first when I was interviewed it was pretty cool and nerve racking. Now I feel like I am when I'm discussing sports with my friends on the phone. I'll be a weekly guess on Aaron's show if you guys want to check out his page you can right here at gametimenorthwest. His show is an online radio show which is nice because you don't have to be in the Seattle market for an example to listen to the show. Well this week we went over several sports related topics including one where I passionately gave out a stat showing how pathetic Mariners president Chuck Armstrong is. In this following blog post I'll once again link my interview and go over the topics on here.

The first topic in this interview which you can hear by clicking this link was about the NIT and in particular the Washington State Cougars. Jeff had stated that at first he would rather lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament game than win the NIT. He then stated how he changed his mind after watching the Cougars experience a few more home games and get an opportunity to make a trip to the big apple New York City. This is where I disagreed with Jeff saying I still believe that I'd rather lose in the NCAA tournament because ultimately you are judged by what you do in the tournament. I also stated that nobody cares about the NIT(Not In Tournament) but I did play devils advocate saying where I can see why that is a good thing. For an example my brother is in the band at Washington State so he got a free trip to New York City. The talk of the NIT led us into the talk of the Final Four.

In the final four we discussed the two underdogs in particular the Butler Bulldogs. Jeff stated that he was more impressed with Butler than VCU because Butler is doing this for the second straight year. That is when I made the comparison to Boise State football where at first it was thought of as an upset now you realize they are a big time program. I mentioned how it's incredible Butler is doing so well despite a coach who barely looks old enough to legally drink. Jeff asked me who I felt would be the best NCAA final and I said Butler-Kentucky. I said Butler because they are more consistent while VCU is hot or cold so they could be blown out or even blow out the opponent. I said Kentucky because they represent everything that is wrong with college basketball. I went over John Calipari and his problems in the past. Apparently Jeff went to school with Calipari and even he knows that Calipari has a huge ego. I talk about the Terrence Jones fiasco at Washington as well. Then we discussed just how sad it is that most likely both Brad Stevens(Butler) and Shaka Smart(VCU) will probably bolt in the next couple of seasons.

Then the final topic we discussed was the Seattle Mariners who open the season this Friday in Oakland. If you haven't read it by now make sure to check out my 2011 Seattle Mariners preview by clicking this link. I first discussed the positives of the Mariners which is every fifth day we get to experience the best pitcher in the American League in Felix Hernandez. I also discussed the youth movement with Michael Pineda, Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley. That is where the positives end for the Mariners. After briefly discussing the NFL draft and in particular Jake Locker where I still think he'll go in the first round I went right back to the Mariners. I wasn't done yet as I wanted to take some shots at Chuck Armstrong. Armstrong has ran the franchise into the ground his entire time in Seattle. I mentioned how Armstrong has a losing record yet isn't on the hot seat. How the ownership cares more about selling bobbleheads, creating a family friendly atmosphere and making a profit than putting a good team on the field. Then I ended it by referencing Charlie Sheen saying they don't have the Tiger blood that is for sure.

Overall the interview well pretty well. I feel as if I'm getting more and more comfortable and the subjects are in my wheelhouse. I'm a jack of all trades so I can discuss almost anything but like most people I have some area's I'm strong at. Talking about the local teams I feel like I can put my voice out there better. I'm passionate about who got snubbed in the NCAA tournament but I will get pissed off talking about how crappy the Mariners have been. I'm not afraid to rip our teams when they are playing like crap as I don't make excuses. I felt today's episode represented me very well and I'm looking forward to next week's show. Like I said if you aren't already listening to the show go ahead and listen at www.gametimenorthwest.comwhich will have hall of fame wide receiver Steve Largent on Wednesday's show. Well this show went pretty well and I felt like I blasted Chuck Armstrong pretty good which always feels good.

My interview with Jeff "The Fish" Aaron part II

By Kshell

In what is becoming a nice trend for myself I was on the Jeff "the Fish" Aaron show once again. This time the interview took place on tape delay instead of live which I actually liked. This way I could hear myself with the rest of the show all at once. On the other side by being taped I don't know the flow of the previous conversations. This interview with Jeff lasted longer than my first one and we covered more topics. The interview process was pretty fun and I feel as if each time I'll continue to improve. At first I didn't even listen to my own interview until a week later because I was embarrassed. This time I listened to it immediately when it was put up. In this following blog post I'll go into detail with posting a link to my interview to describe the topics that I went over.

In my interview which you can listen to by clicking this link included several topics. The first topic was about the "Pot smoking" Washington State Cougars. Jeff posted the new fight song for the Cougars who at the time had suspended DeAngelo Casto(They lifted it before the game) who was the third Cougars starter to be suspended for pot. I think this was the funniest segment as Jeff had some good one liners along with his song about the Cougars. I suggest Afroman since pretty much all their songs have something to do with getting high. Even the story of how Casto was caught was pretty hilarious. The Pullman police was on foot patrol because there had been some burglaries around that neighborhood. They happened to see DeAngelo Casto rolling a joint through his window. This is like a scene from a movie it is so funny. The Cougars had their three best players busted for marijuana in one season which is pretty incredible.

Another we talked about was the lack of buzz surrounding the Seattle Mariners. Never in my life(25 years old) have I never been so disinterested in opening day than I have this season. As I discuss in this blog post hard to get excited about a team losing 100+ games and making no big free agent signings. We also talk about how the Mariners would rather spend money on slogans than have a good product on the field. Once again Jeff had me cracking up with his "Come see Ken Griffey Jr coach third base night" promotion which sadly wouldn't surprise me. The team still isn't over 1995 which didn't even reach the World Series. Just sad because opening day used to be my favorite day of the entire sports year. Now with the Mariners I know they will suck so I won't even waste my time getting excited.

Another topic we discussed was UFC coming to Seattle to a sold out Key Arena. We also discussed how once again despite a huge following in the northwest nobody in the Seattle media seems to care. They will pretend to care this week but after this week will continue to ignore the sport. Like I said in the podcast hopefully a Silva-GSP fight can bring in all the naysayers as that will be the biggest event of the year besides the Super Bowl. That also brought up our favorite sports month of the year. For Jeff this time of the year is his favorite with the Arnold Palmer invitational, UFC, spring training, college basketball, etc. I also nominated April as well for opening day, masters, NFL Draft and of course the Final Four. For me though I picked the month of October as I'm a baseball fan. In October you have the NFL(hopefully) and college football in midseason gear, NBA is on the horizon and baseball playoffs the entire month. Then we had one final topic to discuss which is almost a right of passage I guess.

You can't have interviews without talking about the Warlock himself Charlie Sheen. This was brought up because I had mentioned before the interview I was online thinking about buying a Charlie Sheen shirt. I think I'm going to buy this one right here which says Duh! Winning! I chose the picture of Sheen to my right as Major League is my favorite movie of all-time. Crazy how Charlie Sheen ended up being a bigger screw up than Ricky Vaughn who had been released from prison before he made the Indians roster. We also talked about how he is doing his stand up in Everett and charging a ton of money. I won't be listening to his stand up as I don't know how funny his jokes can be. Plus in another month his act will grow old as will his 15 minutes of fame. Like I said in the interview I hope he is secretly a genius and playing America right now. If he is doing that I will bow down to such genius. Otherwise Sheen's act is just sad at this point.

To sum things up, this interview went pretty well. I felt more comfortable with this interview than my first and I'm sure my next one will be more comfortable than this one. If you guys aren't already you need to be listening to the Jeff Aaron show by clicking this link he offers good opinions. What I like most about Jeff is that he isn't afraid to voice his opinion. I'm hoping to get to that level and I definitely have it in me. For next week I'll try to get into Jim Rome mode on my opinions so watch out guys. Overall this was pretty fun and I'll never forget these experiences for the rest of my life.

My reaction to being interviewed by Jeff "the fish" Aaron

By Kshell

On Tuesday March 15th, 2011 for the first time in my life I was interviewed on live radio. In this following blog post I'll link you guys to that interview while also talking about the process leading up to the interview. In this interview I mainly discuss the NCAA tournament and in particular who was left out. I also talk about my bracket(which I recently changed by the way) and from a previous conversation with Huskies beat writer Percy Allen I discuss which hollywood figure has the greatest booty. Quite a thrill to have been interviewed for the first time as my thoughts shall be discussed.

This interview doesn't take place if I hadn't start my blog. I was bored one day and created the Seattle Sportsblog. I also created a facebook account where I added people who typically post on Dave "Softy" Mahler's page. By doing this I've met some people who liked my blog and enjoyed discussing sports with me. Facebook decided to delete my account twice but the people I got to know through this process I added to my personal facebook. Well one of those people recently became an intern for Jeff "the fish" Aaron. After talking sports with him for almost a year he figured he would have me be a guest on Aaron's show. After talking with Aaron he liked the move and it was decided that I will be on his show. As for the interview itself it was well done in my opinion.

The interview sounded like a normal conversation because Aaron had already called me twice prior to my interview. In the off the record conversations I had told him I agreed with his stance that there would be more MMA coverage in the Seattle papers. I also told him that I think Percy is crazy for saying Kardashian is #3 on the best booty list. So when the interview finally took place which you can hear(if you want to skip to me I'm roughly at the hour mark) right here by clicking on listen to show!!! we discussed this very topic from the start. I told him I felt Beyonce is still #1 while Kardashian is #2 and although J-Lo was the first famous big booty due to her age she is a distant #3 in my opinion. I never figured my very first interview topic would be discussing who has the best ass in hollywood but it was. That helped relax me and made the interview process pretty fun. Then after that it was time to discuss sports and in particular the NCAA tournament.

In the following interview I talked about who was snubbed in the NCAA tournament. The two teams I felt were snubbed were St. Mary's who went 25-8, won their conference and had an RPI of 46. If you compare them to VCU who went 23-11, took fourth in their conference and has an RPI of 49 I don't get how St. Mary's was snubbed. I also brought up how future Pac-12 member Colorado Buffaloes were snubbed as they went 21-13, had a SOS of 49 and won six games against teams in the RPI top 50. While a team like Clemson who is 20-10 had zero wins against teams in the top 50. I also brought up how Alabama should have got in over Georgia since they won their division and swept Georgia. I then discussed my final four who I said 6th seed St.John's, two #1 seeds in Ohio State and Kansas then #3 Uconn(Although I changed it to Duke for my bracket). I then said I had Kansas winning the tournament and they better not burn me like last year.

All in all, I've received nothing but positive feedback from everyone which I'm happy to hear. I also discussed how I was going to watch the Seattle Sounders for the first time and sarcasticly(while being correct) Jeff Aaron said the game would end 1-0. The interview was a great experience for me to further my own career. The interview was also pretty fun to do and I hope to be back on Jeff Aaron's show in the future. I'll bring up some topics we can disagree on for a point counterpoint. I heard Jeff is a big golf fan while I can't stand the sport so that could be a nice little start. I'll forever be thankful for this opportunity as this was a great experience. Thanks guys for the continued support of this blog and my interview.