The Baseball Blogger Alliance HOF Recommendations

Seven players from the 2014 Baseball Writers of America ballot were recommended for enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame by the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance on Friday. Given the backlog of quality players on the ballot, this year the BBA adopted the plan suggested by St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Derrick Goold of a binary ballot.  Each player on the ballot was given a yes or no vote by the BBA voters and those receiving over 75% were then recommended. With this format, pitcher Randy Johnson received 100% of the vote while pitcher Pedro Martinez was close behind at 95%.  Others that topped the 75% mark were catcher/second baseman/outfielder Craig Biggio (90%), pitcher John Smoltz (89%), catcher Mike Piazza (85%), first baseman Jeff Bagwell (77%) and outfielder Tim Raines (77%). Those that just fell short of the mark were designated hitter Edgar Martinez (71%) and pitcher Curt Schilling (68%). The rest of the voting was as follows: Mike Mussina 67% Barry Bonds 65% Roger Clemens 63% Alan Trammell 53% Jeff Kent 44% Gary Sheffield 38% Larry Walker 37% Fred McGriff 33% Mark McGwire 33% Don Mattingly 31% Lee Smith 31% Sammy Sosa 23% Carlos Delgado 19% Nomar Garciaparra 13% Cliff Floyd 4% Brian Giles 4% Rich Aurilia 3% Darin Erstad 3% Troy Percival 3% Aaron Boone 1% Jason Schmidt 1% Jermaine Dye 0% Tom Gordon 0% Eddie Guardado 0% Using this binary method, only 13% turned in a ballot with less than 10 names selected. 40% turned in a ballot with 15 or more names selected, with a high of 20. The official website of the BBA is located at baseballbloggersalliance.wordpress.com.  The BBA can be found on Twitter by the handle @baseballblogs and by the hashmark #bbba.  For more information, contact Niko Goutakolis at baseballbloggersalliance@gmail.com.

Anthem Media Acquires RotoExperts and Sports Grid

This sounds like great news for my friends at RotoExperts.

Here is the Press Release:

TORONTO --- Anthem Media Group announced today that its Fantasy Sports Television Network (FNTSY) has acquired 100% of the assets of New York-based RotoExperts and SportsGrid in a cash and stock transaction. The acquisition immediately stamps the new media company as a leader and innovative force in the already-exploding Fantasy Sports industry.

RotoExperts.com is established as one of the Fantasy Sports industry's premier websites and is regarded as one of the leading independent providers of fantasy content in the space. Since 2008, RotoExperts has rapidly grown to become a prominent national staple in online content, broadcasting and syndicated offerings to reach the estimated 40 million Fantasy Sports players in North America. RotoExperts programs over 30 hours per week on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and has occupied the morning drive slot since the launch of the channel. Founder and CEO Louis M. Maione, a longtime Wall Street executive, will now join FNTSY Sports Network and serve as the Executive Vice President of Anthem Media.

SportsGrid, one of the top mainstream sports websites in the U.S., was acquired from Abrams Media. SportsGrid was founded by U.S. television personality Dan Abrams, who has been instrumental in establishing the site as a major destination and player in the sports and media worlds.

"This is a tremendous acquisition for us as we build out the world's premier fantasy sports media company," said Leonard Asper, President and CEO of Anthem Media. "We will have access to many of the most talented commentators to develop and expand the video content

for the TV channel, one of the most accomplished executives in the industry in Mr. Maione, and a great set of assets with which to market the channel."

"In SportsGrid, we add a popular website to serve as the core of our digital strategy for all our channels, including Fight Network, Pursuit Channel, FNTSY Sports Network and the other channels we will add moving forward," Asper added.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Anthem team as a shareholder and executive," said Mr. Maione. "As we were looking to further develop our web and radio presence with a team who can execute the broadcast component, Anthem became the perfect fit, so we decided to join forces to create scale and speed of execution. At RotoExperts, it has always been our goal and promise to the fantasy community that we would always bring them the highest quality of content online and on radio. Now, we can deliver the same standards of insights and information to their living rooms, where they have waited for it and really deserve it. Our vow to them is to keep innovating and surprising them because they have supported us and put us in position to give them exactly what they want."

Chad Midgley, VP Programming of Anthem and the FNTSY Sports Network, added: "We intend to continue working with all components of the industry, including other websites, talent on both sides of the border, and the providers of the statistics and data feeds that support the industry".

About Anthem Media Group Inc. Anthem Media Group Inc. is a media company operating niche television channels on linear, digital and mobile platforms globally. It is the owner of Fight Network, the world's premier combat sports channeland is a significant investor in Pursuit Channel, one of the top outdoor channels in the U.S., and FNTSY Sports Network, a TV channel to be launched this Fall targeting the burgeoning fantasy sports industry.

About RotoExperts Founded in 2008, RotoExperts quickly became one of the leading independent providers of fantasy content in the industry. RotoExperts has provided fantasy content to major sites and publishers such as NFL.com, Seahawks.com, Yahoo Sports, SI.com, USA Today and the Bloomberg Professional Service. RotoExperts programs over 30 hours per week on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and has supplied regular broadcast content to TuneIn, Alloy Digital, the Beasley Broadcast Group and Fox Sports Radio. RotoExperts was nominated for a total of 51 industry awards in its first five years of existence. RotoExperts has won six Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards in the past two years, including Managing Director Scott Engel being inducted with the inaugural class of the FSWA Hall of Fame.

About SportsGrid SportsGrid is the site for news, videos, and smart opinions about sports as seen through the eyes of the media-addicted fan. Its coverage of athletes, teams and coaches goes beyond the playing field, and in the SportsGrid world, a players' late night TV appearances and controversial political views matter just as much as their batting average. SportsGrid is the ultimate destination for the media-savvy sports fan who wants to stay entertained.

For More Information Contact:

Anthem Media Group Chad Midgley
VP Programming & Production
chad@fntsysportsnetwork.com

Press Release: Toronto Blue Jays management change

ROGERS today announced that J.P. RICCIARDI will be leaving his position as Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations & General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays effective immediately. Mr. Ricciardi joined the Blue Jays in 2001.

"This was a tough decision and a difficult one for me personally as I have enjoyed J.P.'s friendship and his perspective on the game," said Paul Beeston, acting President, and CEO. "J.P. has put an incredible amount of effort into improving the team and he has brought along a number of great young players. However, I feel that it is time for a change and accordingly we have decided to move on."

Alexander Anthopoulos, Vice President, Baseball Operations & Assistant General Manager will fill the role commencing today.