Buzz_bannerBuzz_banner

The takeover continues today.

Crossing Broad is Philly’s best sports blog– you said so and I think so. We can often get to stories while Philly.com and CSN are asleep at the switch. We can provide commentary that fucking blows through the arbitrary boundaries established by the, um, establishment. We have the freedom and balls to pull from and credit competing entities. And, unlike Philly.com and some other print publisher websites, we understand that stories can be told with not only words, but also with video, audio, pictures, long-form quotes, polls, interactivity, and – most importantly – personality. 

So, that’s why sports media in this town should take a bit of pause at this announcement.

Despite being Philly’s most read independent website, I like to think that CB is the city’s best-kept secret… and I don’t like secrets. There are many, many local sports fans who have no idea that we exist, and they are probably the same folks who are often seven hours late in learning the most interesting (and ridiculous) Philly sports stories of the day. So, today, we grow. We reach you, Mr. Seven-Hour Late Local Sports Fan.

We are acquiring BuzzOnBroad.com and, with it, the services of its founder, Drew Cohen.

What does this mean for CB? Nothing. Nothing changes. We are still the same site, making you damp with sportity goodness and made up words. But, admittedly, this has been nearly a one-man show for over two years. Sure, I’ve had some outstanding contributions from the likes of Ryan Gillon, John Ellis, Adam Reigner, Adam Gonsiewski, Lauren Liberati and others, but, at the end of the day, it was one person, me, updating the site around the clock. 

My goal for CB has always been to keep the site updated regularly throughout the workday. Unfortunately, though, the sports world doesn’t stop spinning at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m… in fact, that’s often when it gets going. Keeping up with it is a thankless task that always leaves one feeling a step behind, even if he’s three steps ahead of everyone else. That’s where Drew comes in. Drew founded BuzzOnBroad.com almost by accident. He originally used the site to promote his almost daily podcasts, which included interviews with many local and national athletes. Being the enterprising man that he is, Drew (perhaps not coincidentally– sorry, Drew) made his site look a lot like this one, and, in case you haven’t noticed, played off the whole Broad thing, too. But that’s OK, we respect bastardness here on CB– in fact, it’s encouraged, a point that is evidenced by the fact that Drew is now our number two.

Drew will help make Crossing Broad a bit more 24/7 and provide more updates throughout the workday to distract you, the reader, from doing what is important for your very existence (sorry). He will also host a daily (or at least that’s the goal) live radio show called CB Radio. I will join Drew once or twice per week, as is already the case with the now-former Broad Street Radio, but he will mostly be on his own to produce and host the show, which will include many guests. 

In addition, Drew will handle some back-end tasks for CB and plan events like tailgates, bus trips, and other things that often distract me from writing dick jokes and posting pictures of Jon Dorenbos’ wife.

That’s great, but what about Buzz On Broad?

I thought you’d never ask!

Instead of competing with CB and posting the same stories, it will become a complementary site, or, more ambitiously, the news backbone of Crossing Broad. Think of it as a cross between MLBTradeRumors.com and the NBC-style “sports talk” sites, delivering you nonstop news and rumors about Philly sports. Don’t expect many words or much commentary, though. I’ve long struggled with the threshold for what constituted a post on CB– I didn’t want to ignore “news,” but I also didn’t want to water down our commentary with the most mundane updates. And that’s where Buzz On Broad will come in– you will go to school over there and party over here. 

BuzzOnBroad.com will give you every bit of information you need. Want to know the night’s Phillies lineup? BuzzOnBroad.com. Want to know who’s starting in goal tonight for the Flyers? BuzzOnBroad.com. Want to what Ruben Amaro may or may not have told a rival GM as was reported by a national baseball writer throwing shit at a wall? BuzzOnBroad.com.

But wait, there’s more! 

We’re announcing that CrossingBroad.com and BuzzOnBroad.com will become the lead sites in a new local sports website partnership, Philadelphia Independent Sports Network, which will include PhilliesNation.com, TheSchoolPhilly.com, PhillyPhaithful.com, TheHockeyGuys.net, BleedingBrotherlyLove.com, TeamToBeat.comPhillySportsForums.com, PhillySportsCentral.com and others soon to be announced. We will have more on that in the coming weeks, but – looking at you, advertisers – you can reach nearly 250,000 local sports fans on 1.5 million (and growing!) monthly impressions for a much lower rate than you could with mainstream sites.

Let’s face it, online media in this town sucks. Philly.com’s online presence leaves much to be desired. That’s not an indictment of their writers and editors, some of whom are very good, but more-so of their business model. I used to work there, and, during my interview in 2005, was told that they viewed their biggest competition as being direct mail, not online. Tells you all you need to know.

So, while they’re busy trying to figure out how to survive today’s reported merger of the Inquirer and Daily News sports staffs, BuzzOnBroad.com will be delivering you around-the-clock updates, CrossingBroad.com will dampen your pants with sports commentary, and our partner sites will alleviate the need for you to ever read another Marcus Hayes column.

Who’s the big winner in all this? You’re the big winner in all this.

Screen Shot 2012-02-01 at 12.07.46 PM 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have a market to take over.

Needless to say, visit BuzzOnBroad.com if you haven’t done so already. Follow Drew on Twitter (@DrewBCohen). Listen to CB Radio, where we talked a bit about the merger yesterday. And check out all of our great partner sites.