Tag Archives: Brad Stevens

Apr 1 2012

The 140 Character Sports Connection

Passing the 1 year blogiversary/blogbirthday last week prompted me to look back at some of my work from the early days. One of the early practices I adopted was tracking followers. Long before it became en vogue to track such things, I incorporated follower-tracking into my blog. Not so much tracking just to track but rather, tracking event-based follower increases.

*

Earlier this year in NASCAR’s Daytona 500, an explosion caused a major delay of the race. While waiting, driver Brad Keselowski used the delay to take to Twitter. One of the tweets included an image, while hard to see, of the fire from the explosion.

According to Mashable.com, within two hours of Keselowski tweeting from his phone, he had gained 100,000 followers. 100,000!! That is a tremendous increase in a short amount of time.

Centered around a sporting event.

*

Last year at this time, March Madness was nearing it’s pinnacle weekend: the Final Four and national championship game. Two storied programs (Kentucky vs UConn) and two ‘Cinderellas’ (Butler vs VCU). Goliath vs Goliath and David vs David. We were guaranteed a David and Goliath showdown in the championship game.

However, that wasn’t the only story taking place in college basketball. Paling in comparison but still an important story was the University of Tennessee’s hiring of new men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin. While on the surface it may not have the cache of March Madness stories, Martin replacing Bruce Pearl was a popular topic on Twitter at the time. 

*

“Looking back”, Cuonzo Martin was the first person I ever tracked Twitter followers for on his accounts. That’s right, I said accounts. Back then, he had two accounts. On March 28, 2011, the day he became Tennessee’s new coach he had “@CuonzoMartin” and the now-defunct “@CuonzoLMartin”. The latter was from his tenure at Missouri State, which one can only assume he deleted. 

It’s a good thing he deleted it. For more than a week, his follower count grew on the Missouri State account from 1,713 on March 28 to 1,851 on April 4. The bio for that account even described him as the Missouri State coach. Which begged the question, What exactly do they teach in school in Tennessee? (I’m only kidding.)

As for his then-new account @CuonzoMartin, on March 28 he had 3,596. On April 4, it had grown to 4,207. Today, he has more than 17,338 followers. 

*

Coach John Calipari. Coach Jim Calhoun. Coach Brad Stevens. Coach Shaka Smart. Those were our coaches for last March Madness-Final Four weekend. Two veterans and two new guys. The storylines and angles were all well-played out in the media and talkshows around the country. All except for one. Twitter followers. How did the four men stack up way back when? 

By far, the most interesting of the four were Butler coach Brad Stevens and VCU coach Shaka Smart. They were most definitely on Twitter. As of March 29, Coach Stevens had 10,089 followers while Coach Smart had 4,716. Throughout the week leading up to the Final Four, they both steadily gained followers. Finally on  April 4, Coach Stevens had 12,283 while Coach Smart wound up with 6,840. 

Today, @BUCoachStevens has 20,631. Coach Smart? He’s not too far behind at 19,405. 

And the two legends? 

I was none too sure that Coach Jim Calhoun from UConn would have a Twitter account. He does @CoachCalhoun. While it may not be a verified account, with no tweets since 2009, pretty safe to say that it’s his account. No tweets since 2009. I’m guessing he’s been a little busy the last few years. His follower numbers back on April 2 stood at 240. Today, he has 458. 

By far, the king of Twitter for college basketball coaches in 2011 was Kentucky Coach John Calipari. @UKCoachCalipari‘s follower numbers on April 2 exceeded the million mark at 1,133,811. Twitter now shows Calipari at 1,174,233. 

*

Slow growth for the coaches when comparing it to the exponential growth of Brad Keselowski. The impact of Twitter is part of the story. In the context of college basketball, there’s no significant down-time during the event to make an impact like Keselowski. What he did was unique but the reaction was instant on Twitter. 

And that is the point of looking back. What once started as a novelty for me, has become an integral part of the sports story today. Whether it be media, fans, coaches or athletes, the sports story is told in each tweet in a 140 character narrative.

The narrative, no matter how small it may be, has become the connection. 


*

CadChica Sports

Jun 14 2011

Spanning the Twitterverse: Checking In….

Spanning the Twitterverse to bring you the constant variety of tweets…the thrill of the retweet…and the agony of the unfollow…the human drama of the twitter timeline..This is             CadChica’s Wide World of Tworts

Now that I’m back from vacation, now seems as good a time as any to look at some follower updates from March. March as you know, is Madness time, so we take a look back at some follower counts from the tournament.

Two of the “golden” boys from the tournament, whose teams made deep runs, one to the championship of course, Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens, with their updates from back in March/April to today:

Shaka Smart @coachsmartvcu :  4,282 followers then/9,482 followers now

Brad Stevens @BUCoachStevens : 9,851 followers then/14,564 followers now

Here are some others that we checked on during the Madness with their numbers then and now:

Jim Calhoun @CoachCalhoun : 230 followers then/459 followers now

John Calipari @UKCoachCalipari : 1,133,087 followers then/1,144,890 now

 Lon Kruger @LonKruger : 2900 followers then/4,985 now

Josh Pastner @JoshPastner : 2,673 followers then/4,554 followers now

Tubby Smith @CoachTubbySmith : 7,248 followers then/7,678 followers now

@MasonCoachL: This was the account for Jim Larranaga, when he was coach at George Mason. Since then he took the University of Miami job and is now known as @CanesCoachL. As George Mason coach, he started with 2,673 followers. Today, as Canes coach he has 4,554 followers.

Oh how I love Tennessee fans:

Bruce Pearl @CoachBrucePearl  : 21,656 followers then/20,377 followers now

As you can see, Tennessee fans got smart and quit following Bruce Pearl. But then I decided to recheck Coach Cuonzo Martin’s two Twitter accounts. He has one for his Tennessee gig and a still-open account under his old job with Missouri State. And again, his Missouri State account has more followers than he started with. I thought Tennessee fans could read and understand the difference between Missouri State and Tennessee but maybe I’m giving them too much credit.

Missouri State account: @CuonzoLMartin 1,713 followers in the beginning/1,889 followers now

Tennessee account: @CuonzoMartin 3,596 followers in the beginning/6,732 followers now

So he gained 176 followers under the Missouri State account as well as 3,136 on the Tennessee account. Meanwhile, Bruce Pearl lost 1,279 followers. I wonder if those 1,279 joined the Missouri State or Tennessee account. What do you think?

A FEW TWORTS TO SHARE WITH YOU

CadChica Sports

Apr 5 2011

Follower Update and Twitter Trash-Talking

There is no stopping this Twitter train. Last night, I thought I had checked the follower lists one last time. But, somewhere along the way I’ve become fascinated by them. And so, without further adieu:

TWITTER FOLLOWER UPDATES

 Shaka Smart: @coachsmartvcu  =  6754 last night / 6840 tonight

Brad Stevens: @BUCoachStevens  = 12,601 last night / 12,283 tonight

Jim Calhoun: @CoachCalhoun = 366 last night / 386 tonight

Missouri State account: @CuonzoLMartin 1851 last night / 1851 tonight

Tennessee account: @CuonzoMartin  4176 last night / 4207 tonight

Well done Rocky Top. No changes on the Missouri State account. Woo Hoo. Not sure if I typed the numbers wrong for Coach Stevens or not though. Hard to believe he “lost” followers so maybe last night’s number was 12, 061. We’ll keep an eye on it though to see if it’s a trend. Now that basketball is done, I’d expect a bit of a slow down. At least until we get closer to Midnight Madness.

WOMEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL:

The women’scollege basketball championship was tonight. Those two heavyweights UConn & Stanford met. Wait. The coronation of those teams would have to wait because they were beat in the semis on Sunday by Notre Dame and Texas A&M, respectively. And so we were left with two newbies. I know Notre Dame is not really a newbie but it seems the talk centered around UConn and Stanford as being destined to meet in the final for most of this year. Not that I’m a women’s basketball fan but if you listen to sports radio or read sports websites often enough, you’re more than likely to read about UConn and Stanford.

I didn’t watch the game tonight until the last few minutes. I followed along on Twitter, of course. Thankfully, it was a better game than what the men turned in last night. Texas A&M defeated Notre Dame 76-70. Naturally, after the fact, I went to Twitter and decided to check the status of one of the players, who shall remain nameless. From my search, I found tweets upon tweets upon tweets just denigrating this player. Most of them had nothing to do with her playing. .

The more I typed this, the more confused yet irritated I got about this subject. To prevent from having to “edit” myself, I will now stop this subject right now. But I will ask this one question. Why is it okay to talk about female athletes’ in non-sports terms if they don’t do anything but just play their sport????? I am in no way a champion of “all things women’s sports” but come on now. Is it really necessary? Really? I’m not a politically correct person but I do know when to grow up…every now & then.

CadChica Sports 

Apr 4 2011

Oh How Ugly It Was

As I’m typing this, I’m watching one of the ugliest basketball games you’ll ever want to see. UConn & Butler is not a pretty game for a championship. It’s hard to imagine that this will get any better, but I’m not holding my breath.

I thought refereeing would be critical in this game but not in the way it’s playing out. After watching UConn get their opponents’ key guys in trouble their last two games (See: Derrick Williams-Arizona, Josh Harrelson-Kentucky), I thought for sure Butler needed to keep their guys out of foul trouble. They have so far. But the game is not being called like their last 2 games. It’s being reffed like a Big East game, which is right up UConn’s alley. Here’s how I found this out:

** Sorry folks. I had to take my own personal time-out. I kept watching this game & getting more and more irritated by the above notation. I don’t like to edit my posts; like to just lay it all out there. But that game was just brutal. I watched Big East basketball this year and that’s what that was to a “T”. **

So, now this game is over, thankfully. The One Shining Moment disappointed, except for the 5 Arizona scenes they had. Derrick Williams had a couple in there but his best dunk did not show up. Major fail on CBS’ part. In addition, the game really was a sorry way to end this tournament. The tournament, while yes it did show parity yet again, really was enjoyable as a whole. Upsets, nailbiters, game-winning shots, players like Derrick Williams shining bright like the Tucson sun and just fun overall. I know I didn’t watch as many games last year as I did this year. But after this mock Big East finale, I’m glad it’s over. One last note: the Tweet of the night for me:

“And Now Here’s Something We Hope You Really Like” (shout-out to Rocky & Bullwinkle). (Google them youngsters if you don’t know who they are.

TWITTER FOLLOWER UPDATES

Here is the breakdown: checking at 8:15 this morning, halftime & postgame

Shaka Smart: @coachsmartvcu  =  6556/6718/6754 followers (had 4,282 when I began)

Brad Stevens: @BUCoachStevens  = 11,501/11,894/12,601 followers (had 9,851 when I began)

Jim Calhoun: @CoachCalhoun = 321/350/366 (started with 230 when first checked a few days ago0

Missouri State account: @CuonzoLMartin 1848/1852/1851 followers (had 1,713 when I began)

Tennessee account: @CuonzoMartin  4142/4169/4176 followers (had 3,596 when I began)

So what did we learn? I’m sure someone who understands “social networking” better than me can give a better explanation but, I think Twitter and sports go hand-in-hand right now. It is instant communication and connection in a world of microwave mentality. Sure in the past you could join a fan club, wait outside the ballpark or arena and hope to get an autograph but Twitter is allowing fans or just people in general to feel instantly connected to sports figures. I know it’s exploded in the entertainment industry but Twitter is going to take, if not already, sports to another level. It’s become the norm, if you will, in sports to tweet about an event. It’s instant blogging. It’s instant opinion. It’s that instant connection that fans love.

One caveat though. I still can’t explain why Coach Martin’s Missouri State account keeps gaining followers. Earth to Tennessee? Anybody home? You got some ‘splainin to do.

CadChica Sports

Apr 2 2011

All Things Twitter (Almost)

TWITTER FOLLOWER UPDATES

Missouri State account: @CuonzoLMartin 1844 followers

Tennessee account: @CuonzoMartin  4089 followers

 Yes, you’re reading that right. The Missouri State account “picked up” followers AGAIN!! Why? I have no idea. But, the Tennessee account gained as well. I can’t see Missouri State people following him now, can you?

Here is where it gets interesting. I checked the accounts of Coach Shaka Smart & Coach Brad Stevens 4 times today. I felt this would give me a better feel of the impact of Twitter in sports. The first number is from 8am this morning. The 2nd number is pre-game. The 3rd number is right after the game and the last one is at 10pm tonight. Quite interesting.

Shaka Smart: @coachsmartvcu Followers-5980/6092/6270/6355

Brad Stevens: @BUCoachStevens Followers=10528/10624/10765/10930

In the span of a day, each coach gained ‘around’ 400 followers. Coach Stevens gained the most since this morning with an increase of 402 followers. With his name & team still in the news the next couple of days. I will also keep watch on Coach Smart’s account. There are still at least a couple of coaching jobs he’d be rumored about. That alone will keep his name in the public eye as well.

I wanted to check on some other coaches’ accounts as well just to see the effect on Twitter. Here is the list with two comparisons for each; this morning & tonight. Everyone gained except 1. You can figure out why for yourself.

@CoachCalhoun = UConn Coach Jim Calhoun: 230/240

@UKCoachCalipari = Kentucky Coach John Calipari: 1,133,087/1,133811

@LonKruger = New Oklahoma Coach Lon Kruger: 2900/2921

@MasonCoachL = George Mason Coach Jim Larranaga: 2673/2674

@JoshPastner = Memphis Coach Josh Pastner: 2965/2969

@CoachTubbySmith = Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith: 7239/7248

@CoachBrucePearl = Former Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl: 21656/21629

Somehow I can’t see Jim Calhoun as much of a Tweeter but, as die-hard as UConn fans are, his numbers may increase until Monday night. John Calipari led his Kentucky team to the Final Four this weekend so not surprised that he increased but I am amazed that he’s over a million; he does have another account (verified even) but he hasn’t tweeted since 2009 on that one so I didn’t count it. Lon Kruger just got hired by Oklahoma so I can understand the increase there. Not huge increases for Jim Larranaga or Josh Pastner but they were interesting to me so I thought I’d throw them on the list. I did see Tubby Smith during one of the games tonight so I’m not surprised to see a slight increase there. The power of a camera shot! And last but not least, at least some Tennessee fans get it don’t they? Bruce Pearl’s numbers decreased today. But maybe they started following @CuonzoLMartin instead of @CuonzoMartin. Maybe?

That’s it for the Twitter updates today. Lots went on today in sports, not the least of which was the start of the Final Four in men’s basketball. Two close games with Butler and UConn pulling out the wins. Thoroughly entertaining. I did want Butler to win so I was satisfied. But, for some reason I was cheering for Kentucky. I’m not much of a fan of either coach but I had to choose one. Regardless, I’m hoping for a Butler win on Monday night. It appears that their coach and players are doing things the right way. Reminds me of the old Gonzaga ‘Cinderella’ days. And what do you know??? They’re both BULLDOGS. Let’s go Butler!!

 Seattle Sounders played the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-2 tie. UGH-LY tie. Some would say all ties are ugly but it was just hard to watch sometimes. It probably didn’t help that I was watching the San Jose television feed. I understand homerism to an extent with local broadcasters but, their announcers were over the top. Nearly every bit of contact that the Sounders made with one of the San Jose players, their announcers were all over it, calling for a yellow card or foul. I’m not defending the Sounders mind you, but this is soccer/futbol/football. It’s not a sport for sissies. You play hard, attacking football or you go home with a loss. As a broadcaster, I think you can be objective while still being a homer. It’s called balance. Good broadcasters and journalists are “balanced” in their reporting. Prime example: late Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus. He loved his Mariners; boy did he love them. But he also wasn’t afraid to say what the fan was feeling when a mistake was made, a lead was given up or another loss in a lost season. He was balanced.

Prayers go out today for a member of the Gonzaga family. Longtime announcer, Harv Clark, passed away today from heart failure. I remember seeing Mr. Clark roaming around the fields of the old “North Complex” during my daughter’s soccer games. He was part of the soccer association’s growth in the 80′s and 90′s here in Spokane. I didn’t realize he was part of the Gonzaga family as well. Not only was he part of Gonzaga but he was involved in local radio too. Great, great voice for radio. We extend condolences and prayers of comfort to Mr. Clark’s family. 

CadChica Sports