For those of you scoring at home, you know that August is a special month on Gameops.com. 

This year August marks our eighth anniversary on the web.  For the last few years we roll out the best content we can for the anniversary and celebrate with specials and extra content….this year is no different.

Coming tomorrow:

• A brand new updated and fully functional Classified Ads.  Last month we started having problems with the old version, so we started over and the new one looks better than ever.
• Our second interview with Peter Sorckoff.  Peter is a veteran director of both hockey (Atlanta Thrashers) and hoops (Atlanta Hawks) and he returns to compare the two.  An interesting read to be sure.
• We have a new premium item feature, the resin figurine.  The second coming of the the bobblehead?  Not quite, but a very solid item for your premium giveaways.
• We updated our Pyro Terms page with video to show you pyro effects
• Our twice a week blog expands to a DAILY blog in August, including specials and giveaways directly from the blog
• New navigation on the whole site….it’s easier than ever to find the content you are looking for.
• New products in the store.  We have 2 or 3 new items for the store in August (they won’t be up for Aug 1st, but will be noted on the blog and the home page).

Thanks for reading and supporting Gameops.com…needless to say we wouldn’t be here eight years without your interest and support.

-Cudo

In a somewhat poorly researched article for Fox Sports, Ty Hildenbrandt  chronicles his “Top 10″ mascot incidents.

1. Benny the Bull (2006)
2. Mariner Moose (1995)
3. Wild Wing (1995)
4. The Stanford Tree (1995)
5. The Italian Sausage (2003)
6. Billy the Marlin (2000)
7. Vic the Demon & Chief Brave Spirit (1992)
8. Harvey the Hound (2003)
9. Burnie (1994)
10. Snowflake the Dolphin (1994)

Read the article on Foxsports.com

Couple quick thoughts:

First, there are broad errors in some of the stories, like the note that the Moose just ran into a wall (his skate was stuck in a turf rut) and broke his leg.

Finally, in a desperate move to fill out his Top 10 list, the final entry was from a movie plot. 

This must not be his best work since Ty Hildenbrandt was the winner of the first Next Great Sportswriter competition on FOXSports.com.

Stay tuned for my Top 10 Sports Journalist list, which will be announced next month….I already know #10 will be Oscar Madison.

-cudo

In a recent psot I talked about how exciting it was to have a classified ads section of the site up and starting to gain some traction.

My excitement was dampened late last night when I found out it is no longer working properly, nor is the related Message Board.

I am now back to square one, reseraching new software and scripts to accomplish these two sections of the site.  I have attempted to repair them, but so far that’s a bust.

Thanks for your patience as I struggle to get these back up and regain my excitiment.  If you are a programmer who loves to troublshoot this stuff, feel free to contact me.

-cudo

Looking for a work diverstion?  One you can claim is “work related”?

How about “researching some new web content” with the World Cup Soccer Mascot Smackdown?

Click here to play.

Not sure which is funnier the German Sausage mascot (related to a racing wurst in Milwaukee?) or the Italian Pizza.

Good luck with your “research”.

-Cudo

At the Florida Marlins June 30 game, the team, along with sponsors NAPA retail stores and NAPA Auto Care Centers, gave one pre-selected fan the opportunity to win $1 million by throwing a strike.The fan was selected through a random drawing. Fans were eligible to register for the contest at NAPA retail stores and NAPA Auto Care Centers throughout South Florida.

Its been in the works for a long time, but I finally got the new navigation up and operational.  I welcome any feedback.

As you will notice on most of the site (with the standard navigation bar on the left side) I have changed the headings to more accurately describe the content.  It sounds obvious (and it is) but as the site grows and expands this is more a reflection of growth than poor planning (at least that’s my webbie argument).

Gone are the headings like “Spotlight” and “On the Net”, since one doesn’t mean a lot and the other really could mean everything.  I have tried to have the main headers more obvious especially if you are a infrequent visitor.

I will be tweaking this still in the next month or so (until it totally drives me crazy), since there is is content that you actually can’t link to right now.  That should be resolved soon.

More changes are coming soon, but they are a bit more complex….which means it will be slow to happen but worthwhile once it does.

Thanks for your patience, I hope you like the new updates and changes.

–cudo