Growing Edthesportsfan.com caters to the thinking sports fan

Are you one of those sports fans who'd rather see your favorite player on reality TV than on the field? Do you devour the latest tawdry gossip on your favorite baller's private life?

Then Edthesportsfan.com is not for you.

"Some of the popular sports blogs rely on salacious news, rumors and conjecture, and those things just aren't important to me," said the blogzine's founder Eddie Maisonet, of Walnut Hills. "I don't care who's dating who, or who's doing something on reality television. I care about the sport. I love sports; it's the ultimate reality TV. It's got comedy, horror, sci-fi, history. It's got it all."

Maisonet's passion for all things sport is evident in his writing and on Twitter, where you can catch him Tweeting about a live college football, NFL or NBA game, draft picks, the latest sports news or links to his latest thought-provoking post. The articles are written in a brief, readable essay 2.0 style, often accompanied by videos or photos.

The 'zine has a Cincinnati flair, with articles about University of Cincinnati, Xavier, the Bengals and the Reds, but the site is national in scope with a little good humor thrown in. Some of the most popular headlines are "Five tips to help women survive football season," "Forgotten powerhouses of college football series," "The Prototype: The baddest women covering sports," and "The real ten best NFL running backs of all-time."

"Sometimes it's philosophical, or we talk about the lifestyle, or the culture of being a fan. We don't try to be experts. We're just fans; that's the only perspective we know," Maisonet said.

Along with Maisonet, there are two other contributors Kenny Masenda, of Dallas, and Phil Barnett, of Bakersfield, Calif. Together they reach 1,500 readers a day. Going multimedia, the trio also hosts the Unsportsmanlike Conduct show on Blog Talk Radio Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST.

Maisonet started the site three years ago when he was in between jobs. He's now working in consumer market research for The Nielson Company, but Ed The Sports Fan is thriving. It was named the 2008 and 2099 Best Sports Blog by the Black Weblog Awards Association and the Best Black Blog by Best of Black Cincinnati.

Maisonet has contributed to several sports websites and magazines including one of his favorites SLAM Magazine, which he's read since he was a kid.

Soon the Ed The Sports Fan team will further contribute to the sports wring world with the launch of a sports fan journal, which is set for a June debut. It will feature sports writers from across the country, guest commentary and more. While Edthesports.com has one update a day, the sports journal will have up to a dozen daily articles that will tackle not just sports, but music, culture and fashion.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Eddie Maisonet, founder Edthesportsfan.com

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
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