Chicago Sun-Times - Tech Matters Column

Many thanks to Brad Spirrison and the Chicago Sun-Times for mentioning Cubscast in today’s Tech Matters column. I’ve been hoping for a little daylight to explain our philosophy and why we put so much effort into Cubscast, and I think now is the time on account of the quote Brad opted to use:

“(With Cubscast) you don’t have to sit through 10 minutes of commercials or White Sox talk,” said co-host Andrew Figgins, a Rogers Park-based new media consultant. “It’s coming from die-hard sports fans who are passionate about the Cubs and are not paid to be passionate.”

If you’ve listened to the show for more than a couple episodes, it’s likely that you’ve heard us skewer ESPN or FOX for their predictably inane national coverage of the Cubs. For example on today’s episode (mp3) I mentioned preparing for the endless deluge of Dempster closer-to-starter talk during Wednesday’s NLDS Game 1. Annoyance with out of town commentary is one thing, and that sentiment is hardly original or new.

What is original is a growing feeling among Cubs fans that sitting through 57 minutes of Baseball Tonight to get 3 minutes of dedicated Chicago Cubs commentary is a giant and unacceptable waste of time. Maybe it wasn’t a waste 3 years ago, but today it is. Tivo changed everything (as one of my co-hosts knows more than most), and there is absolutely no reason anyone should ever have to gut out those 57 minutes or the 28 minutes for a local newscast to get their Cubs fix. As evidenced by my quote, even sports talk radio involves listening to unwanted information.

That’s why Cubscast was invented, and why we’re looking to thrive for years to come.

I recently heard the quote “Success on the Internet means solving a problem that the Internet didn’t cause.” We’ll keep doing our part.

Please join us as we follow and cover the Cubs postseason run! Cubscast will be doing at least 3 new episodes each week. It’s easy and free to subscribe today via iTunes or e-mail.