TWML: Podcast and Anthology

adarowski · 10-05-2005, 04:18 PM

Hi all...

Just wanted to report on some of the fun things the Ted Williams Memorial League has been doing in the past couple of months.

1. The Ted Williams Memorial League 10th Anniversary Anthology
During season #10 of the TWML, I posted a plan to help us commemorate the event. We collected essays from each owner in the league (about a variety of topics), compiled comprehensive team history sections, honored our Hall of Famers, and named an All Decade Team—and all were chronicled in a 340-page book that we had published through CafePress. Being able to hold in your hand the history of your league is pretty damn cool... takes it away from the computer and makes it a little more real.
• Site post announcing book
• Cafepress page for book

2. TWML Radio (Podcast)
Podcasting is all the rage, and we got into this pretty early. Starting in August of our 11th season (we just finished April of Season #12), we started TWML Radio—a sports talk radio show about the TWML. It is delivered as a podcast (glorified term for an MP3 with RSS syndication). Our format has evolved, but now it looks pretty much like a half hour (or so) show every week (or bi-weekly, if you're going by sim time). We've had a couple contributors outside of the commissioner (me), but that, of course, proves to be a challenge.
• To check it out, go to the iTunes Music Store Podcast section and search for 'TWML'
• Or, check out the latest episode here.

Just wanted to share some of the cool things our league is doing (and your league can try, too)...

Y0DA55 · 10-05-2005, 05:11 PM

Pretty cool. I LOVE the idea of the book!

jeheinz72 · 10-05-2005, 05:28 PM

Wow, I shall definitely steal the book idea for Writers-Bloc. A perfect fit.

canadiancreed · 10-05-2005, 05:47 PM

how many seasons are covered in your first installment of the book?

Perfecto · 10-05-2005, 06:01 PM

"The Ted Williams Memorial League 10th Anniversary Anthology"

Kinda indicates 10 years

adarowski · 10-06-2005, 10:42 AM

Yup... 10 years in the book. At 20... I'm thinking DVD.

Coates · 10-06-2005, 07:46 PM

Quite possibly one of the coolest things I've heard of with the book, outstanding work! Any chance we could get an excerpt from one of the essays, or do we have to buy it to see that?

Tiesenberg · 10-06-2005, 09:28 PM

That's simply amazing, I'm honestly speechless at the amount of work that must of been. Despite the time and effort I bet it was a lot of fun to put together and remember the league's history.

If you don't mind me asking, how difficult is podcasting? At one point I had recorded 15-20 minute voice clips of a Baseball Tonight like show for the WBL. After I had the file I would just put it on the site, but if possible to put on a place like ITunes, that would be awesome and inspire me to get back into that. Also I see that you use a Powerbook, do you do the recording on that? If so, what program do you use?

Sorry for the questions, but your great work has inspired me.

canadiancreed · 10-07-2005, 12:18 AM

I'm curious do you have sample chapters or the like ot give a preview?

adarowski · 10-07-2005, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

I'm curious do you have sample chapters or the like ot give a preview?

Here are the names of the essays owners provided... this should give an idea:

"The TWML Experience: One Owner’s Perspective"
"From Kearns, With Love"
"Homestead: A History... A Beginning "
"OOTP Ratings in the Eyes of This Owner
"A Running Diary: The Day After"
"Forward: It’s Not Fantasy, It’s Simulation"
"The Fall River Battle Cats All Decade Team: A Weaver Approach"
"edz’s shizzy: 15 Things I Think I Think"
"KanSpo"
"San Francisco’s Team Essay"
"2009 Philly Brawlers: 12 Games To Destiny"
"Dazed and Confused: The Unflattering History of the Seattle Steelheads"
"Historic Lipton Field"
"The Patrone Saints Story"
"Short Hops"
"Top Ten Defining Moments of the Brooklyn Dodgers Organization"
"Dodger Digest: A-Rod a Dodger"
"Not Done Yet"
"The Dakota Destroyers Team History"
"Nagano 2003: Season of Magic"
"Twice Traded, Thrice Acquired: You Can Go Home Again, and Again"
"The Ted Williams Memorial League Or Why the Internet Was Invented"
"New York Monarchs Team Essay"
"The 2000 Rhode Island Rats Surprise World Champs..."
"Reflections on Ten Seasons of the TWML"
"The Dreifort Incident"
"Moneyball and the TWML: How Does it Relate?"
"Springfield Sentinels: A Decade of Disaster"
"Chicago Muckdogs! 2000–2010 Interview with Darren Bertini"
"The Birth of the TWML"

I'll work on getting a couple essays up for you to check out...

canadiancreed · 10-07-2005, 10:20 AM

ahh ok so it's more like newspaper clippings on events and happenigns of the league. Intresting

adarowski · 10-07-2005, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiesenberg

That's simply amazing, I'm honestly speechless at the amount of work that must of been. Despite the time and effort I bet it was a lot of fun to put together and remember the league's history.

I'm telling ya, it sure is great to hold it. A lot of work coordinating it though. It was like herding cats at times.

Quote:

If you don't mind me asking, how difficult is podcasting? At one point I had recorded 15-20 minute voice clips of a Baseball Tonight like show for the WBL. After I had the file I would just put it on the site, but if possible to put on a place like ITunes, that would be awesome and inspire me to get back into that. Also I see that you use a Powerbook, do you do the recording on that? If so, what program do you use?

How difficult... not really that difficult. If you understand things like MP3s, FTP, and a bit of XML, it's even much easier.

All that's really required is to record an mp3 and put it on a web site. Then you just need to direct people to it. Using XML-based RSS technology (how iTunes does it) is just one way. You could also make a site that directly links to the file. That's actually what most of my owners do anyway.

I do use a Powerbook (that's why my league still uses OOTP2... it runs in Virtual PC on Mac!). I use GarageBand (part of the iLife package, or free on any new Mac). I have a USB microphone (range from $25 to $50 for a standard one that will do). I'm on my 23rd episode and still trying to nail down a format. It's not easy, but it's damn fun.

Now I just gotta work on nailing down the technologies to have other owners contribute (besides just having them send me a segment).

Feel free to ask further questions. I LOVE chatting about it

adarowski · 10-07-2005, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

ahh ok so it's more like newspaper clippings on events and happenigns of the league. Intresting

Yeah, some are decade-long retrospectives... some are individual stories... some are actually reprints of old articles from seasons past.

All are fun.

adarowski · 10-07-2005, 10:43 AM

Some sample essays (ones written by yours truly):

The forward of the book
An All-Decade Team of just my franchise, the Fall River Battle Cats
Quite the collaborative piece... Moneyball and the TWML

Tiesenberg · 10-07-2005, 01:16 PM

...thanks for the info

Tiesenberg · 10-10-2005, 02:19 AM

Hey there again, sorry to bother you again about this topic, but I made a radio show and am now attempting to get it up with limited success so far.

I created a document wbltonight.rss with the following as the body of it

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE rss PUBLIC "-//Netscape Communications//DTD RSS 0.91//EN" "http://my.netscape.com/publish/formats/rss-0.91.dtd">
<rss version="0.91">
<channel>

<title>Westwood Baseball League</title>
<link>http://www.wbl.ootp-online.com</link>
<description>Welcome to the Westwood Baseball League (WBL). </description>
<language>en-us</language>

<item>
<title>WBL Tonight</title>
<link>http://www.wbl.ootp-online.com/wblradio.mp3</link>
<description>WBL Baseball Tonight</description>
</item>

</channel>
</rss>

I then uploaded both this and my mp3 file onto the site, I tried then validating www.wbl.ootp-onlline.com/wbltonight.rss and have no success.

Any ideas or help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED

adarowski · 10-10-2005, 03:46 PM

I don't think I'm seeing your code correctly. I tried to post an elaborate response with XML tags and whatnot, but for some reason I can't get those tags to post. Seems anything within brackets is not showing, even with [CODE] tags around them.

I did try to play your MP3 file from the link above and got nothing, though. Are the files still up?

Tiesenberg · 10-10-2005, 05:32 PM

I have tired the links using the mp3 files, for whatever reason they are not working I uploaded a .m4a file and it does appear to work.

wbl.ootp-online.com/wbltonight.m4a

adarowski · 10-11-2005, 09:24 AM

Okay... I was able to listen to the file. That's definitely a good start. I loved the commercials.

As far as the RSS for syndication... the real question to ask is whether or not you need it. I see your league has a site, so you may want to just make a page where you post the links of the latest episodes. Do you think that would suffice?

Tiesenberg · 10-11-2005, 03:28 PM

I suppose your right, I think that would work. Thanks for the help and time.

10-05-2005, 05:11 PM	#2
Y0DA55 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: In the middle of the Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry Posts: 1,771	Pretty cool. I LOVE the idea of the book! __________________ Do, or do not, there is no try!

10-05-2005, 05:28 PM	#3
jeheinz72 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 2,163	Wow, I shall definitely steal the book idea for Writers-Bloc. A perfect fit. __________________ Join The Dugout!

10-05-2005, 05:47 PM	#4
canadiancreed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11,660	how many seasons are covered in your first installment of the book? __________________ PT21 PT22

10-07-2005, 12:18 AM	#9
canadiancreed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11,660	I'm curious do you have sample chapters or the like ot give a preview? __________________ PT21 PT22

10-07-2005, 10:20 AM	#11
canadiancreed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11,660	ahh ok so it's more like newspaper clippings on events and happenigns of the league. Intresting __________________ PT21 PT22

10-05-2005, 04:18 PM	#1
adarowski Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35	TWML: Podcast and Anthology Hi all... Just wanted to report on some of the fun things the Ted Williams Memorial League has been doing in the past couple of months. 1. The Ted Williams Memorial League 10th Anniversary Anthology During season #10 of the TWML, I posted a plan to help us commemorate the event. We collected essays from each owner in the league (about a variety of topics), compiled comprehensive team history sections, honored our Hall of Famers, and named an All Decade Team—and all were chronicled in a 340-page book that we had published through CafePress. Being able to hold in your hand the history of your league is pretty damn cool... takes it away from the computer and makes it a little more real. • Site post announcing book • Cafepress page for book 2. TWML Radio (Podcast) Podcasting is all the rage, and we got into this pretty early. Starting in August of our 11th season (we just finished April of Season #12), we started TWML Radio—a sports talk radio show about the TWML. It is delivered as a podcast (glorified term for an MP3 with RSS syndication). Our format has evolved, but now it looks pretty much like a half hour (or so) show every week (or bi-weekly, if you're going by sim time). We've had a couple contributors outside of the commissioner (me), but that, of course, proves to be a challenge. • To check it out, go to the iTunes Music Store Podcast section and search for 'TWML' • Or, check out the latest episode here. Just wanted to share some of the cool things our league is doing (and your league can try, too)...

10-05-2005, 06:01 PM	#5
Perfecto Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 58	"The Ted Williams Memorial League 10th Anniversary Anthology" Kinda indicates 10 years

10-06-2005, 10:42 AM	#6
adarowski Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35	Yup... 10 years in the book. At 20... I'm thinking DVD.

10-06-2005, 07:46 PM	#7
Coates Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 80	Quite possibly one of the coolest things I've heard of with the book, outstanding work! Any chance we could get an excerpt from one of the essays, or do we have to buy it to see that?

10-06-2005, 09:28 PM	#8
Tiesenberg Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 307	That's simply amazing, I'm honestly speechless at the amount of work that must of been. Despite the time and effort I bet it was a lot of fun to put together and remember the league's history. If you don't mind me asking, how difficult is podcasting? At one point I had recorded 15-20 minute voice clips of a Baseball Tonight like show for the WBL. After I had the file I would just put it on the site, but if possible to put on a place like ITunes, that would be awesome and inspire me to get back into that. Also I see that you use a Powerbook, do you do the recording on that? If so, what program do you use? Sorry for the questions, but your great work has inspired me.

10-07-2005, 10:43 AM	#14
adarowski Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35	Some sample essays (ones written by yours truly): The forward of the book An All-Decade Team of just my franchise, the Fall River Battle Cats Quite the collaborative piece... Moneyball and the TWML

10-07-2005, 01:16 PM	#15
Tiesenberg Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 307	...thanks for the info Last edited by Tiesenberg; 10-07-2005 at 03:22 PM.

10-10-2005, 02:19 AM	#16
Tiesenberg Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 307	Hey there again, sorry to bother you again about this topic, but I made a radio show and am now attempting to get it up with limited success so far. I created a document wbltonight.rss with the following as the body of it <?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE rss PUBLIC "-//Netscape Communications//DTD RSS 0.91//EN" "http://my.netscape.com/publish/formats/rss-0.91.dtd"> <rss version="0.91"> <channel> <title>Westwood Baseball League</title> <link>http://www.wbl.ootp-online.com</link> <description>Welcome to the Westwood Baseball League (WBL). </description> <language>en-us</language> <item> <title>WBL Tonight</title> <link>http://www.wbl.ootp-online.com/wblradio.mp3</link> <description>WBL Baseball Tonight</description> </item> </channel> </rss> I then uploaded both this and my mp3 file onto the site, I tried then validating www.wbl.ootp-onlline.com/wbltonight.rss and have no success. Any ideas or help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED

10-10-2005, 03:46 PM	#17
adarowski Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35	I don't think I'm seeing your code correctly. I tried to post an elaborate response with XML tags and whatnot, but for some reason I can't get those tags to post. Seems anything within brackets is not showing, even with [CODE] tags around them. I did try to play your MP3 file from the link above and got nothing, though. Are the files still up?

10-10-2005, 05:32 PM	#18
Tiesenberg Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 307	I have tired the links using the mp3 files, for whatever reason they are not working I uploaded a .m4a file and it does appear to work. wbl.ootp-online.com/wbltonight.m4a

10-11-2005, 09:24 AM	#19
adarowski Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35	Okay... I was able to listen to the file. That's definitely a good start. I loved the commercials. As far as the RSS for syndication... the real question to ask is whether or not you need it. I see your league has a site, so you may want to just make a page where you post the links of the latest episodes. Do you think that would suffice?

10-11-2005, 03:28 PM	#20
Tiesenberg Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 307	I suppose your right, I think that would work. Thanks for the help and time.