Category Archives: Blog entries

A little look through the window ahead 56

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BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC  |  DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

LATROBE, Pa. — Just to share some plans for the next handful of days as we build the site in the background: I’m heading right back to Latrobe today to cover the Steelers’ practice. That will result in a full Sunday column, topic of which is not yet known. I’ll have the site’s first Penguins column Monday, head right back out to Latrobe later that day. After that, we’ll have some focus on the Pirates at the trading deadline, then follow up on a possible Pitt surprise here.

I’ve also booked the first couple of flights out of the travel budget, thanks to your overwhelming early response to the site, both Steelers-related. That was fun.

The site itself is pretty much purring, which I never expected mechanically. Our next top priority is building a first-class mobile app, but the rest seems to be moving just fine. The subscription pace went from the first two explosive opening days of 1,000 total to about 250 in the past couple days. That’s actually about right. And fantastic. And appreciated.

We’re well, well on our way.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, that ridiculous photo-shop up there is courtesy of Austrian subscriber — and graphics designer extraordinaire — Alex Messmer.

An inside peek at Steelers’ reporting day 16

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BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC  |  DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

LATROBE, Pa. — “This team, as far as energy and all the young guys, it feels like ’04-’05.”

That was Ike Taylor, among the handful of veterans who held court with the media on the Steelers’ reporting day at Saint Vincent College on Friday afternoon. And for better or worse, he was making that statement from experience.

I’m not sure if Ike is right. He can’t be sure, either. But I know that his statement seemed to sum up the sentiment of a whole lot of folks up here in the rolling green hills of Westmoreland County. The talk is of speed. Of energy. Of fun.

It’s of youth. Even from the guys, like Ike, 34, who long ago lost that description.

This was Lance Moore, 31, on his fellow receivers, most of them children by comparison: “I’ve been in the NFL nine years now and seen a lot of wide receivers, and I’m telling you, this group is going to surprise people.”

This was Ryan Shazier, the most prized rookie: “Pressure? I wouldn’t say there’s pressure. We’re just here to do our jobs and play football. That’s fun.”

Call me a sap, but I liked all of that. It’s Day 1. There should be optimism. There should be enthusiasm. There shouldn’t be any lingering angst over 8-8. It’s a beautiful summer’s day, with just enough of a cool breeze to remind of football weather, and the ball’s about to be kicked into the air.

In lieu of a full column, I’m going to punt here and share a handful of specific questions and answers with players in short-video form. I hope it gives you more of a personal feel to the day, even if the topics are random:

Hard to top a pacifier and Mama’s milk as a transition, but I’m heading back out on the field right now to take in the famous run tests. We’re not allowed to report on these, much less take pics or video, only to relay what Mike Tomlin says. That’s the Jamain Stephens Rule, if you will.

I’ll be back to tell you absolutely nothing in short order.

UPDATE 4:51 p.m.: OK, a few final thoughts here after the run tests that no one is permitted to describe: Ramon Foster has been excused by the Steelers for the weekend for a death in the family. He’s fine, but think a kind thought for him. Good, good man suffered a terrible loss. … I’m not at all wild about Art Rooney II’s declaration that Ben Roethlisberger won’t be signed this offseason. I’ve made the case in the past for all the potential benefits of signing Ben now, and I’ll stand by those. But I’ll also wait for a chance to take Ben’s temperature on this before gauging how much, if it all, it might affect him. He was not available for interviews today. … Mike Mitchell went on PUP for a groin injury, and you could tell that didn’t have Tomlin tickled. Mitchell probably will miss no more than a week, but every day here alongside Troy Polamalu is precious. Especially since Polamalu didn’t participate in the offseason workouts. … One guy who just might turn heads at this camp is Loni Fangupo. I’m serious. Just wait. … It’s amazing to me how little certainty there seems to be about the defensive line, even now. Still waiting for a nose tackle to be named. … Tomlin downplayed yet another mention of all the speed on defense: “Speed is speed. Too much has been said about it already. Football is football. This isn’t a track meet.” Wonder if Tomlin felt that way when Adrian Peterson ran across the English Channel against his slow defense in London last season? Or Terelle Pryor over the Bay Bridge? … Everyone finished the run test. No one died. Can I say at least that much? … It’ll be fascinating tonight to see if the WTAE-TV chopper that flew in circles over Saint Vincent during the run test will be so bold as to air the footage. Doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. … Training camp more formally opens tomorrow, and I’ll be back here for a full, standard column off that.

Answering some FAQ 14

Blog entries

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC  |  DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Getting a lot of questions on the site, the endeavor and other stuff, so I thought I’d put this post together to both keep you informed and allow you to ask more.

How’s it going?

In a word, sensationally. As those news reports indicated yesterday, I’ve set a goal of 10,000 subscribers in the first year. It’s 9:28 a.m. on launch day as I type this and we’re approaching the first 1,000. The gratitude on this end is … beyond my ability to … oh, words and stuff.

Will you keep doing TV and/or radio?

I don’t have answers on TV, but I’m guest-hosting for Mark Madden today — full show, just me, 3-6 p.m. on 105.9 the X — and have other stuff in the works. But as I’ve always said, the writing comes first. That won’t change. Any TV or radio will be aimed at making impressions for this site.

Where’s my password?

There isn’t one. You’ll never have to remember — or forget — one. You get the subscription, you enter your email, an email comes to your inbox with the link, you click the link, and you’re in. That’s it. Probably should have put this up at the top.

Is there a mobile version or an app?

There will be. There will be all those things. The intent here is to make this a world-class site. But I had to decide between sitting out a month and doing all that — and missing all kinds of possible sports writing — or building a site myself in a raging hurry. As noted above, the writing comes first. I had to turn off my phone and everything else last night at PNC Park just to concentrate on writing the Justin Wilson column today, and that feels like the right call.

What about Morning Java?

I’d like to get that going again starting Monday. I’ve got Pirates and Penguins columns planned before the Steelers start unloading their plasmas at Saint Vincent, and there will be a couple columns from up there, too. Monday sounds about right.

How do I get an avatar?

It’s still on Gravatar.com. I wanted to keep things as similar as possible for our long-standing community, while also throwing in a few new wrinkles. Ask any of the regulars in the forum, and they’ll walk you through it.

What’s with the 280-character limit on comments?

Built-in, necessary evil. The entire commenting platform gets blown up without it, as we learned in a test run yesterday. If you have more to say, there’s no limit to how many comments you can write.

I can add to this as we go. Thank you again. So much.

Welcome to the new page 5

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BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC  |  DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

He did whaaaaaaaat?

Yeah, he really did.

The guy with the job of his dreams as a Pittsburgh sports columnist, one who was handsomely paid, who was winning national awards, who got some of the highest-profile assignments, who worked with a dedicated and talented staff of reporters and editors … just walked away from all that to start his own web site.

To start from zero, paycheck and all.

Why oh why would anyone, shy of momentary madness, even contemplate such a thing?

The answer, to me, is simple: This is what’s at the other end of the tunnel.

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(No, not that tunnel, as magnificently captured by local photog Dave DiCello.)

I’ve done sports writing of all kinds, at all levels, in all locations, made and lost a few friends, won and lost a few awards. A complete bio, for you newcomers, can be found here. The past three years at the Trib have been especially satisfying, as they were my first in writing columns, or opinion pieces. I covered all of Pittsburgh’s sports, to varying degrees, and had a blast digging into them deeply enough to offer what I hope was passionate, informed opinion.

DKonPittsburghSports.com will have all that and more once it formally launches Wednesday.

I’ll continue to have full access to the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, Pitt and more, thanks to the enthusiastic cooperation of all those entities in this endeavor. I’ll write the standard three or four regular-length, newspaper-style columns per week. I’ll break news. I’ll offer views on other news, and quickly, no matter where it breaks. I’ll film videos of interviews with athletes and coaches, as well as reviving my old Things That Make Pittsburgh Great feature in visual form. I’ll report from practices and games. I’ll travel, too. I’ll be at every Steelers game, all playoff games for all teams, out in Latrobe and Bradenton and beyond.

If all that sounds ambitious, you’re beginning to see the point: I want it to be ambitious.

I want to be able to bring you the Pittsburgh sports scene at the pace that the online community expects rather than the one that follows print schedules. I’ve always, always placed top priority on my online endeavors, whether it was the old Penguins Q&A that was among the first Internet features of its kind, or the 3.3 million page views over the past year-plus on my blog, or all the obsessive social media in which I engage. Sports tend to happen at night. Readers don’t want to hear that a night game can’t be covered because of a print deadline. Or that writing only occurs on designated days of the week. They want their reading material as timely and relevant as possible.

It’s going to take time — and your feedback — to figure out exactly what that looks like here, but I can’t wait to see that myself.

I can’t express how much it would mean to me if you were part of this.

Our long-standing blog community, some of which feels like family as it’s carried over from both of my newspaper employers, is back. Of course it’s back. I’d never have that any other way. But we’re always looking for more, to be part of our daily discussion or to chip in occasionally or to just read. I want to hear from you, criticism and all.

But I’m also looking forward to your being part of the general coverage here. Let me know what you want to see, hear or read more often or less often. I’ll be responsive to the point of being annoying.

I’m ecstatic — and that might be understatement — to have a major corporate sponsor supporting this startup, the details of which are coming very soon. But the financial foundation of the site ultimately will be the subscriptions, which means it’s up to you. The site offers three options: $4 for a month, $24 for a year, $54 for three years. That last one breaks down to $1.50 a month. I’d never presume to tell anyone what’s affordable or not, but I can promise you I’ll work around the clock to give you at least six quarters a month worth of value!

A lot of people will think this is nuts. And I’ll agree, at least regarding the perception. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work.

Here’s how to subscribe.

And thank you, as always, for reading.