Sharp-eyed BCB reader Beaushek noticed this last night and posted this FanShot, but I wanted to take this space this morning to officially announce that SBN and Yahoo! Sports have partnered to put posts from SBN blogs on team pages at Yahoo.
You can see it this morning at Yahoo's Cubs page -- there is a box with BCB front-page posts prominently featured right below Yahoo's own news headlines.
As you can imagine, this is a big deal for BCB and SBN. For one thing, it likely means a lot of Yahoo readers are going to find their way here. I welcome them and ask those of you who have been around a while to help the newcomers feel at home, especially since we begin spring training baseball games this afternoon (I'll have a game thread up as usual a couple of hours before game time -- not sure whether we'll need the usual complement of overflows today, but if needed, they'll be there). For those of you coming from Yahoo to BCB for the first time, I encourage you to read yesterday's post about posting and commenting, which will give you a good overview of how this site works.
For more details on the SBN/Yahoo partnership, see this post on SBN's own blog, "Blog Huddle", from our CEO, Jim Bankoff. Here's an excerpt:
If you are new to one of our communities, we welcome you. On our websites, you’ll find unique perspectives, insightful analysis and passion for sports topics that are unrivaled. We encourage you to read through posts and get acclimated to the tone, norms and quirks of the site you are visiting.
When you are ready, feel free to join the conversation or start one up. Whether you create a new profile or use your Yahoo or OpenID credentials to register, one username and password will give you access to all our communities. Each SB Nation site offers the same mechanisms for participating in the action via comments, FanPosts (a blog entry of your very own) or FanShots (a quick micro-post of a thought, link or photo.) Before you post though, please remember, you are entering an established and ongoing community. Your voice and opinions are encouraged (that’s what being a fan is all about after all), but as in any productive conversation, they should be presented in a manner that is courteous, civil and respectful of the culture that you are entering.
If you are an old-timer here, we encourage you to welcome and assist the newcomers. It can sometimes be challenging to join a new environment, so a helping hand is usually appreciated. Cut the rookies some slack and spread the word about what they have been missing all of this time. This is your chance to welcome new folks in a manner that is consistent with the type of place in which you want to participate. You have the power to shape the type of community you want.
Echoing Jim's sentiments, I welcome everyone here, whether new from Yahoo!, or continuing as a longtime reader. As Jim says, be courteous, civil and respectful of others, and we'll all enjoy what we again hope will be a great season for the Cubs. Let's play ball!