Fang's Bites

People You Should Follow On Twitter, Part 1

Last week to mark the 5th anniversary of Twitter, Sports Illustrated put out a list of the 100 accounts readers should follow. While it was nice, there were several glaring omissions. Most of those listed were mainstream media accounts or athletes. Again, that’s nice, but what about bloggers? What about reporters who work for internet sports sites? How about various fans?

I’ve put together a list of my own. I’ve broken them down into various classifications. They are in no particular order. This will be done in multiple parts. I’ll provide General Sports and Sports Media Twitter accounts here. Other sports will be in future installments.

GENERAL SPORTS

AmandaRykoff — Contributor to espnW, sports fan, a Power Tweeter and yes, I call her my Twitter Trophy Wife because we have most everything in common except for our favorite baseball teams. One of the funnier people on Twitter and has 5,782 followers for good reason. She knows her sports. You should do yourself a favor and follow her. Do it.

bubbaprog — Known as Timothy Burke, this is another Power Tweeter. Tim recently joined the sports media site, SportsGrid. Known for recording every sporting event known to man and putting up screen grabs and videos, his site is a great resource for bloggers throughout the web. Tim has 4,313 followers due to his tireless work.

Dan Levy Thinks – Formerly of OnTheDL and Press Coverage, Dan still provides his thoughts on Philadelphia sports and soccer. He may not be doing his daily podcast anymore, but Dan can still provide thoughts on various sporting events. His opinion is very much welcomed on this end. Dan has 3,506 tweeps and that’s still more than me.

BlkSportsOnline — Run by the great Robert Littal, this site not only keeps track of sports, but also pop culture. Through Robert, I’ve learned about terms like “break lamps” and “no ho’s”. In addition, Robert can break news on occasion. Robert’s tweets can be laugh out loud funny. During NFL season, I know what Robert’s watching as we both have NFL Sunday Ticket and he’ll tweet scores from same game I’m viewing. He has 10,332 followers for a reason.

The Big Lead — Great way to keep up what’s going on at The Big Lead which is an independent sports blog. Jason McIntyre and his staff keep on top of the sports world and sports media. Tweets can be a mix of blog posts, general sports observations and pop culture. The Big Lead’s Twitter account has 23,736 followers which is way more than mine.

AndrewBucholtz — Our first account based in Canada, but not the last. Andrew is not only the editor of Yahoo’s 55 Yard Line, the blog on the Canadian Football League, but he also provides observations from the Great White North on various sports. He’s a dedicated fan and a very good resource as well. Andrew has 2,304 followers, but believe me, he should have many more.

JulieDiCaro — The founder and CEO of Aerys Sports and the beat reporter for the Chicago Cubs on the site, Julie is a great sports fan. She also lives and dies with her Cubbies. A person I’m proud to follow, a very good writer as well. Keep track of her tweets now. Julie has 3,215 followers.

DugoutSportsShow — The account of Glenn Moore who’s an unabashed Cleveland sports fan. The Dugout Sports Show has plenty of podcasts focusing on Cleveland sports, Ohio State football, but also has one featuring World Wrestling Entertainment legend Jerry “The King” Lawler. Glenn is a true multiplatform power user. His account has 4,258 followers.

Susan Shan — The Asian Sensation (she stole this from me) has not been tweeting as much as she did last year, but she still is a Power Tweeter and has over 13,000 followers. She holds sports chats on Twitter every Wednesday and also maintains her own site.

trenni — Trenni Kusnierek, the former reporter with MLB Network is now a co-host on WTMJ Radio’s Sports Central afternoon drive show. She tweets info on Milwaukee sports, but also gives us some aspects of what she’s doing away from the station. A true friend of Fang’s Bites, she’s one of nicer people on Twitter and responds to tweeps. Trenni’s amassed 9, 378 followers.

MSGTina – Tina Cervasio of the MSG Network not only provides info on the New York Knicks, which she covers on the sidelines but also the New York Red Bulls. In addition, tweets on events she’s watching or her thoughts in general. Tina has 9,544 followers.

ESPN_Michelle — Nice guns. Michelle Beadle from ESPN2′s SportsNation has over 303,000 followers, but that’s not why she’s on this list. It’s because you just never know what Michelle will tweet. Seriously.

BonnieBernstein — Former ESPN and CBS Sports Reporter, Bonnie tweets her observations on sports and life. Occasionally, she’ll put out non-sports tweets. A good follow and someone who has embraced Twitter after some initial trepidation. Her following has grown to 24,752.

CarlinRobin — Robin Carlin, a writer and correspondent for Mile High Sports Magazine, she now can be seen on the TV edition of the mag on Altitude Sports. Robin’s account is good to keep track of what’s going on in Denver and the Rocky Mountain region. By following the people I’m listing, you’ll get a very good sense of what’s happening all across the country and Canada! Robin has 1,301 followers.

JCameratoNBA — The twitter account of Celtics beat reporter for Comcast SportsNet New England, Jessica Camerato not only tweets about the Celtics, but also the Red Sox. A person who embraced Twitter practically from the beginning and has become quite popular among C’s fans. Jessica has 3,623 followers and is respected by the fans.

SPORTS MEDIA

SportsGrid — This site keeps track of the sports media and there’s a lot of good posts coming from this account. The writing is done well. It’s also the home of the aforementioned Timothy Burke a.k.a. Bubbaprog. Following this account keeps you up to date on the site. SportsGrid has 1,654 followers.

SportsNewser — Another site that follows the sports media, SportsNewser tracks all things that occur in the industry. Not as flashy as SportsGrid, SportsNewser is a “Just the facts, ma’am” site. Very well done too. This account also lists all of the published posts. SportsNewser has a mere 570 followers so do yourself a favor and give it a follow.

Awful Announcing — The tweets come from editors Matt Yoder and Brian Packey. This is not just an account to list the posts, but also provide the observations on the sports media by Yoder and Packey. Awful Announcing has picked up from where former editor Brian Powell left off and taken it to new heights. The AA account has 4,322 followers.

TheDalyPlanet — You wanna keep up on how the networks cover NASCAR? Then John Daly’s Twitter account and his excellent blog are for you. John is not afraid to criticize NASCAR’s TV partners when they fail to live up promises made to the fans. And he’s fair when they do good work. John has a solid following of 6,117 loyal tweeps and growing.

Paulsen_smw — This is the account of the great sports TV blog, Sports Media Watch. All posts are listed in the Twitter account and every once in a blue moon, blog editor Paulsen will comment, but he lets his blog posts do the talking. SMW has 787 followers.

the506 — This is the account of American ex-pat JP Kirby who now lives in Canada. the506 is responsible for all of the great NFL TV viewing maps from his site, the506.com. But this isn’t just a clearinghouse for his posts, JP also tweets his thoughts on what’s going on in Canada and on sports. This has 2,423 followers.

CdnSportsFan — Another account from Canada, this is for the Canadian Sports Media Blog which keeps track of all things from Canada’s sports networks, TSN, Rogers Sportsnet, CBC and the Toronto sports radio wars. Josh also tweets what he sees on Canadian TV and makes other observations as well. Just 422 followers, so let’s do our part to increase that.

Mattsarz — The account of one of the hardest working bloggers and TV sports sites, Matt’s College Sports. He compiles the college football and college basketball schedules for each season and is a great resource for anyone who keeps track of both sports. Matt occasionally blogs to talk about updated TV schedules and media days. He has 712 followers. Should be higher.

SteveLepore/Puckthemedia — Another hard working blogger, Steve focuses on the NHL and its TV partners in both the US and Canada. His Puck The Media site is a great resource on the NHL’s TV ratings and other media-related news. Due to his hard work, Steve is getting recognized writing for SB Nation and Versus over the last couple of years. He’ll hit it big soon. Steve has 1,765 followers.

SonoftheBronx — This is more of a general TV news account, but it also keeps track of sports TV as well. The account lists its posts, but also comments about TV and sports. The Son of the Bronx site is an excellent resource on TV ratings. This account has 359 followers and it should have much more.

IUSportsCenter — This is the Twitter account of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University. It will have what is posted on the NSJC’s site which include various stories and original content. The Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center has 648 followers.

SMJournal — This is for my podcast partner, Keith Thibault and Sports Media Journal. Keith has his posts listed on the account, but also retweets others sports media Twitter accounts. Sports Media Journal is also the home of the Sports Media Weekly podcast so follow Keith who has 483 loyal tweeps.

Ourand_SBJ — John Ourand of Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily is one of the most prolific sports media reporters in the business. Breaks stories and is constantly on top of sports media like no other. His twitter account is very busy and he’s very good at responding to questions. He has 10,500 followers.

MMcCarthyUSAT — I just realized Mike McCarthy of USA Today is on the phone in his Twitter avatar. Very funny. One half of the sports media beat at USA Today along with Michael Hiestand, Mike uses Twitter quite often. Michael Hiestand is rarely on the service. Mike has a steady following of 3,212 and responds to questions when they come.

RichardDeitsch — The great sports media writer for Sports Illustrated, Richard uses Twitter not only to discuss sports media, but to also provide links to various news stories. Richard’s tweets are usually of high quality. He has 21,197 followers.

RichardSandomir — The excellent sports media writer for the New York Times is a late comer to Twitter, but he’s beginning to embrace the medium. After not responding to tweeps, he’s now doing so and actually engaging them through polls and questions. This is a good use of Twitter. Richard has 5,864 followers.

sportswatch – Newsday’s Neil Best is one of the best sports media writers in the country and unlike rivals Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News and Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, chooses not to go all negative in his writing. Not only will be tweet about sports media, he’ll wax poetic about his days covering the New York Football Giants. Neil’s following has reached 9,334 tweeps.

GlobeChadFinn — The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn wears two hats, keeping readers up to date on his blog on the Red Sox and sports media, and writing his Friday media column for the newspaper. Keeps his nose to the grindstone and has broken local sports media stories. A person who has welcomed Twitter and regularly responds to tweets. He has 5,943 tweeps.

wordmandc — Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner uses his account as mostly an RSS feed for his weekend columns for the newspaper. However, he does respond to tweeps and he answers questions when asked. Jim has 1,015 followers.

So you have 34 accounts thus far. I’ll have much more in the following days. Keep it here.