So Here's What's Going On.

I need to, first, apologize.

It's been about ten days since I last updated this thing, and, considering the Big One is upon us again, that's, well, pretty awful.

The truth is, I'm not sure where this site is going. People aren't quite sure how to react to it. I've gotten every criticism to "tl;dr" to "too analytical" and every praise from "nice poetry" to "syndicate this $#%&."

The truth is, I'm not sure how much time I even have to figure out where Second and One is going, if anywhere. I have been working between 9 and 12 hours per day for the last three weeks. This isn't likely to change any time soon. I haven't read much about football for more than five minutes, and haven't read anything longer than about five sentences. I don't know who's been hired, fired; what's contested, who got arrested - I couldn't put together a coherent post if someone handed me a template, and even then it would probably end up coming out like the Patriots' eventually ill-fated playbook: flying in every direction, with no way to stop it.

So, I'm going to say for now that Second and One is going to take a vacation, and a pretty long one at that. As far as I can foresee, this is the end of regular updating. I'm fading off into the swirling vortex of the Internet. I'm tired. I'm stressed out. I don't really care who wins the Super Bowl, to be perfectly honest. Feel free to unfollow if you really want. There will probably be sporadic updates here and there as I feel like it - I'm just posting this message so I don't have to feel guilty in the early hours of the morning about not posting.

Thanks to everyone who reads.

And have a good and safe time this weekend, no matter who you're rooting for.

MC

Check out the Blogroll

The new sidebar to the right - "Teammates" - is the beginning of the Second and One Blogroll. Currently it's not much, but for now, I encourage people to check out The Sports J.A.R., just started by my friend (and fellow analyst/humorist) Judy. She's a fan of Cleveland everything and soccer. There are a few potty words (if anyone may be offended), but it's a pretty amusing commentary nonetheless.

Second and One, Version 2.0

Welcome to the New, Improved Second and One. It's a new season, and we've been working on some new layouts around here as I got complaints that the old color scheme made people's eyes go all funky (and it was starting to do the same to me). I'm still trying to work some bugs out so the plasticky, fresh, new blog smell will probably hang around for a while. 

Nota Bene

A) Comments are again open. Kudos to Blogger for translating Google's spam-filter into the client. It's a new development, but hopefully I'll be able to filter the porn-bombers out of the muck more easily now.

B) The Baltimore Ravens had 1100 yards of penalties last year. That's almost 65 yards of penalties per game, counting the 17 they played. Their first play of the 2010 season (whilst Carolina had the ball) was jumping offsides. Baltimore Ravens, that's Tragic Irony on Line 2. It's like Aaron Rodgers getting sacked on the first play. Or maybe Jay Cutler throwing an interception, or Brees tossing a pin-point Hail Mary to the corner of the end zone. Or Vince Young punching his own center. Or Ben Roethlisberger whistling lasciviously and chasing a startled cheerleader out of the stadium. Apparently Line 2 is a party line in all senses of the term. 

Save the Blog!

I announced maybe 1.5 months ago that Second and One was ending due to both low readership and a series of personal reasons. I pledged that on August 1, this site would be abandoned.

So I've taken a few months to clear my head. I've taken a vacation; I did some reading and writing, and now, on the day before of this blog's supposed demise, I have to make an announcement.

I've changed my mind. Although it may not be permanent, Second and One isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Of course, I can't say it will be the same in the future - I am moving into a series of new responsibilities at work this fall - and I don't know how regular or comprehensive anything's going to be as I adjust. Nonetheless, I'll be stressed, restless, overburdened, and in need of a distraction more than ever. And it's going to be football season! I've been reading ESPN and NFL.com and a myriad of other sites three times a day. I got my Bears tickets two days ago. The preaseason kicks off in two weeks! I've been dreaming about football - and where else will I be able get this out by writing in alliterations, metaphors, and pseudo-poetic jibber-jabber...and have a good time doing it? I can't kill this. To use a better simile, getting rid of your best diversion on the eve of a long period of guaranteed insanity is like dismissing your star receiver on the eve of the Super Bowl - it makes no sense, regardless of questions of one's readership (or how temperamental a team's star wideout is). It's not for the glory; it's not for the fans. This is for me and my team. 

So I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to do some interesting things this upcoming season. And just to prove this, tomorrow or Monday, I'll have a full-color, pictorial post up as part of a mini-series that I'm doing on NFL training camp. 

To anyone who may be out there in the swirling electrons of the Internet and casually (or regularly) peeking at my website, I'm sorry about the unnecessary drama that I've caused. I had a lot to deal with at the time. Thanks for reading. 

Remember kids, if you cut too many corners, your secondary's going to suck.

MC

Founder and Blogger

Second and One

Commemorative 100th Post!

This is Second and One's 100th post since its inception eighteen months ago. This comes out to approximately 5.56 posts per month, which isn't too bad, considering some weeks I work 50 hours and have to consciously try and remember that football isn't just a bunch of guys clocking each other for the fun of it. 

I don't have too much to say today beyond that whatever is plaguing the Titans is apparently beginning to infect the rest of Tennessee: a receiver at the University of Said Belabored State was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after a huge barroom brawl that left police officers unconscious. (ESPN) Yeesh. If the football gods incur any more wrath, the state will have to be quarantined.

So Here's What's Happening.

18 months ago, when I started this blog, Second and One, it was a distraction from some unpleasant things in my life. And it worked. It worked very well as a place for me to harmlessly divert energies that would have been (plausibly) destructively wasted elsewhere - I took all of this energy and used it to write about something I truly do love: football.

Then, it became a challenge for myself, where I sat down and said "If I write a blog where an average person simply writes about news and feelings about the sport in a safe yet matter-of-fact way, will anyone actually read it?" And about a year later, we have our answer: no. Despite months and months of ashamedly pimping this site on Facebook, etc., readership remains extremely low and I've tried several events to get people to participate more (polls, etc.) to no avail. 

Couple this with the fact that I'm very busy at work these days and getting ready to move into a new, amped-up phase of my career, and the balance between the time it takes for me to actually do the research, find credible sources (and then express this material in an engaging manner, even when I'm not feeling humorous) and what feedback I get back on it gives me diminishing returns. Additionally, I have no way to assess readership or circulation beyond the use of a cheesy "hit counter" or the like (which is hard to do in Blogger), because I had to lock the comments to prevent spammers from posting inappropriate material.

So Second and One is going offline because I don't have the time/energy to commit to it anymore given what is coming out of it. I've had someone recommend that I try and get it syndicated, but this involves more time and energy and is essentially a crapshoot. I've had people say, "Just update more frequently." Well, this is hard to do in the offseason when there's no news on the radar for months, and it's also rather difficult to do when I work a job that, some weeks, demands 50+ hours of my time.

I've also gotten allusions to the "why don't you make it more like [insert name of popular sports blog here?]" routine. Simple answer: I shouldn't have to sacrifice something I liked doing, in the way I liked doing it, to fit someone else's mold (and this would come with syndication as well).  And I shouldn't have to make this blog something it isn't - sensationalist, crude, or vulgar - to attract readership. I shouldn't have to emulate someone from ESPN or Deadspin. I shouldn't have to perpetuate unfair stereotypes of certain players, or post pictures of half-naked girls, or use rhetoric that's misogynistic, racially insensitive, or just plain raunchy. This is/was meant to be witty rambling about football and the teams and players we love, and there's plenty of wiggle room for the subtle idiocy and innuendo, but it's not some saucy, profane manifesto of how I want to strangle whoever I started at running back during fantasy season. 

And perhaps I'm not qualified to even write about this subject. Sure, I watch a lot of football, I read a lot of football news, I go to plenty college and to pro games, I get lots of peoples' opinions - but beyond the occasional game of flag footie, I've never played (and I could go into why but that's *really* beside the point here). Maybe it is tantamount to asking someone who's never been in the military to write a detailed account of a tour in Afghanistan, and maybe it's not. Maybe I should write a blog about something I know very well: random humor, political stuff, writing fiction, or what hydrogenation catalysts light on fire spontaneously. The point is, short of my father and a few friends, nobody cares what I have to say here, and I find the whole notion rather depressing now.

So here's the order of events here. Posting will continue semi-regularly until the end of July. August 1st, "2ndand1.blogspot.com" will be abandoned. There may be another "save the blog"-rally then, but it's unlikely. I'm sorry for anyone I may offend, upset, or inconvenience with this action. Thanks to everyone who participated in this experiment.

Comments are open.

MC

Founder/Blogger

Second and One

Housekeeping, etc.

First, I've come to say that 2ndand1 isn't dead. I've been meaning to write an actual entry for days now, but various work-related craziness has prevented it. So. I'll try and update at least once every ten days about offseason trades, draft/combine business, and March Madness. First...

a) How 'bout them Saints, eh?

b) Show of hands: did anyone's bracket(s) get completely screwed yesterday by Georgetown, Marquette, Vandy, combinations thereof, or all three? Does anyone have bets that Purdue will continue the trend of making everyone really grumpy?

c) This is a bit of a problem around here. Please, please, please do NOT spam in the comments or post links to pornographic websites. Please try and limit your discussions to sports and sports-related topics if at all possible. This is a family- and work-friendly (rated PG-13 or below) blog, and this material is highly inappropriate. I will have to make comments private if the porn-bombing continues. 

Happy Anniversary!

Well, Second and One, my pet project/distraction, officially turned one year old five days ago! So now, instead of crying aimlessly, this blog can now stumble around the house in diapers, forcing me to lock my medicine cabinet and put gates in my stairwells.

Still, as my life at work, well, is my life these days, everything else has sort of fallen by the wayside, but I have a large .doc file of fun football niblets that will eventually find its way into here. 

Hope everyone enjoys the divisional round today and tomorrow!

Another announcement!

Happy 2010! Sorry for the delay in posting: I have again been traveling, and planes full of screaming kids aren't exactly the most creatively conducive environment. 

Now, as I am back at work, I am sifting through paperwork and getting ready to write a Super Fancy Scientific Article for publication, so there will be yet another brief hiatus - following which...playoff season is upon us once more!

Happy Holidays from 2ndand1!

I am enjoying the celebration of Christmas with my family - regular posting resumes in several days once everyone has recovered. 

This year, football-related gifts were exchanged at my house: I received two hoodies (a nice Bears one* and one for my favorite college team) from my parents, and a Nerf football from my dad- because there is an immutable law of presents that states every kid must get a football on Christmas morning. I gave my dad, in return, the Sports Spectacular edition of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. "Because I actually read these things in the bathroom" he stated upon receiving it. And I gave my mom new pot-holders for the kitchen. "Because I really like pot-holders." She said. 

Hope everyone scored this holiday season.

*Which is cozy and currently provides more coverage than the Bears' defense.

Commercial Break

There will be a short hiatus (eg. a few days more than normal) here at Second and One.

a) I was invited to give a fancy seminar early next week on some anti-cancer compounds we've been synthesizing, so it's rather best if I think about them rather than linebacker blitzes;

b) I am currently in shock over the absolutely horrifying collapse of the Bears' secondary yesterday, so I need a few days to recover from a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder. I'm also working on answering some burning questions like a) "Have the proverbial eggs hatched by Urlacher's disastrous wrist injury finally come home to roost?", b) "Isn't playing cover-2 when you have no pass-rush bringing a knife to a gun fight?" and c) "Why is it that whenever Cutler can't find Greg Olsen that they both throw a fit and the whole bleepity blanking offense folds like a bad poker hand?"

That is all.