I am now Will McDonald
Because I'm going to start being a minor contributor to SB Nation.com's MLB section, I am now no longer "royalsreview". I am "Will McDonald". Feels weird. I can still remember when I was on this site for the first time, setting up my account and everything. I was getting trained via IM (which was actually a pretty effective way to do it) sitting in my bedroom in Iowa. I was asked to choose a screen name, and really had no ideas. So I just went with the name of the website. In retrospect this was actually weird and unusual, but it made sense to me. Then years passed and thousands and thousands of comments and posts piled up. I was never shy about my "real" identity and I wasn't trying to hide behind a SN. (Unless you're famous, you have nothing to hide because your name means nothing to anyone anyway.) People called me Will in the comments, or RR, or whatever. Then last week I decided to get on board at SBN/MLB, and wham... name change. So just letting you know, same guy here.
about 2 years ago
Freneau
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Wil McDonald would have been much cooler
Or better yet Wil de Beaumarchais
indeed
I would have unbelievable potential as Wil
after just three weeks of blogging people would be saying I was the next Bill Simmons/Dick Schapp/Buzz Bissinger/whatever
and a fun irony
is that about a year ago, I got into a flame war and basically made myself look like an insane jerk about this very issue on the SB Nation listserv
my insane/jerky reaction was actually only tangentially related to the issue at hand (which I don’t have strong feelings about) but what about how someone defended their side of the argument
So is the idea to brand the writers' names in an effort to extend visibility off the network?
For example, ESPN, Fox Sports, or a newspaper may talk or cite to Tom Tango, Kevin Goldstein, or Dave Cameron, but not so much a Tangotiger, a Pizza Cutter, or a Royals Review.
basically that
I think that they think that it looks more professional or serious or whatever
or
the argument is “there’s a segment of the population that thinks that screen names of any kind = coward in mother’s basement so we will capitulate to that demand”
the standards to be accepted are always changing… the people that dismiss blogs will just keep coming up with new ones
I guess SBN is taking itself seriously as a business
The ads for Holiday Inn Express and the Hawaii Visitors Bureau replacing the ads for products and services I am fifty percent sure do not exist should have been a tip off.
If that is how it is going to be, I want my cut. From now on, my “recs” are going to cost $0.25.
I've been on strike for months
And no one appears interested in caving to my demands.
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Feb 24, 2010 3:01 PM EST up reply actions
But seriously folks
If I were trying to build a writing career, I’d probably transition to my real name. Also, I think using my real name might somehow inhibit me from being a blunt asshole. I’m not interested in that.
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Feb 24, 2010 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You're a blunt asshole?
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
by Warden11 on Feb 24, 2010 3:46 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Are you new here?
:)
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Feb 24, 2010 3:55 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Lmao
Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry to disappoint you.
by royaldaddy on Feb 24, 2010 5:07 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
"Also, I think using my real name might somehow inhibit me from being a blunt asshole. I’m not interested in that."
Not to reacquaint you with a familiar foe, but isn’t this more or less playing right into Dr. Thunder’s hands? I’m not claiming you have to change your handle/avatar/SN – hell, 99% of us use one, including myself, and I certainly don’t condone it – but I think using it as a justification for blunt assholishness (sic) is a faulty one. Just saying.
Unless you were joking, of course. In which case…..hey, we’re Royals fans…..we live one.
by Royals Nation on Feb 26, 2010 11:58 PM EST up reply actions
I thought his real name was
Block Quotes.
Me no likey T2.
by labbadabba on Feb 24, 2010 4:15 PM EST up reply actions 5 recs
ironically
I believe “Tom Tango” is itself a pseudonym
but this is basically the same reason I started using my real name at fangraphs
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 24, 2010 2:35 PM EST up reply actions
On the down side
The future roundtable segment will not be as fun without Buzz Bissinger ranting about “what the f~~~ is a devil finger?”
by Gopherballs on Feb 24, 2010 2:47 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I put mine out because people wanted to reference me in their writing.
I have been trying to get SBN to remove the Tucson Royal, but no luck. Typing that login name is a bee-atch.
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by Jeff Zimmerman on Feb 24, 2010 2:55 PM EST up reply actions
I always assumed you wanted to show off the fact you are a former All-Star
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/z/zimmeje02.shtml
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
So where is the 10.7M? I have seen none of that.
- .-. ..- … – / – …. . / .—. .-. - .. . … …
by Jeff Zimmerman on Feb 24, 2010 3:16 PM EST up reply actions
I wife swears that Tom Tango is a porn star.
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by Jeff Zimmerman on Feb 24, 2010 2:56 PM EST up reply actions
So does he.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 24, 2010 11:30 PM EST up reply actions
No one ever mentions Gopherballs by real name
I’ve decided he’s famous. I’m leaning towards Allard Baird at the moment. Allard just needs his Royals fix and this is a good anonymous way to be involved. No regular person could know so much about major league options and other obscure rules!
Allad Baird was a pretty good scout
…but he doesn’t know 10% as much about statistical analysis as Gopherballs does. I don’t think Allard Baird knows half as much about statistical analysis as the average casual baseball fan.
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Feb 24, 2010 3:42 PM EST up reply actions
give me a percentage compared to Trey
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
They appear to be equal to me
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Feb 24, 2010 8:17 PM EST up reply actions
I hope you used the argument
Hey, I played 3B at South Florida, so I know what I am talking about unlike you, who has probably never seen a game and lives in your mother’s basement!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
I was hoping for something more like this
I am now Will McDonald = I am Tiger Woods
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Feb 24, 2010 1:49 PM EST up reply actions
I wondered why I got a cold chill a few minutes ago
So cold right now.
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 24, 2010 1:50 PM EST reply actions
did you sense a disturbance in the Force?
I know I did.
"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell
indeed
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 24, 2010 3:54 PM EST up reply actions
His name is Will McDonald.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
In death, a member of Project Royalsreview has a name.
His name is Will McDonald.
by BrRoyal on Feb 24, 2010 8:48 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
YES
Somebody caught it!
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
Possible negative,
would banning “Will McDonald” be easier than banning “RoyalsReview”? I’d think so but all other “W. McDonald” Royals fans better be ready for the harassment.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
Thats BS I was gonna change my name
to Will McDonald…pffbt what am I supposed to do now?
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
by kcscoliny on Feb 24, 2010 2:43 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Wait, your real name isn't Royals Review?
And here I thought your parents were just really creative.
Is there anyway to change my screenname while keeping my post history?
I wanna get on this bandwagon while it’s hot.
-
Of course not
I’ll just blame it on injuries
-
I'm hoping a little fairy will do the same for me
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 24, 2010 3:55 PM EST up reply actions
I think you're better off going with a dualistic handle
… where people will always wonder whether you’re referring to your fondness for numbers & the Hunts’ franchise or football-related testicular ornamentation.
by chiefstatnut on Feb 24, 2010 4:11 PM EST up reply actions
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 24, 2010 4:19 PM EST reply actions 7 recs
I was OK with Cassius to Ali and Alcindor to Jabbar but I'm not sure I can accept this.
I saw that those guys were the same guy after the change. You, being a non-visual persona, could be deceiving us for some reason. Perhaps RR was kidnapped by Gobble for CyYoung or LebenNazi and have now , in coup-like fashion, taken over the site for their own propaganda purposes. I’m watching closely for subtle shifts in ideology and the inevitable pussification of your stance towards Dayton Moore.
by Steve Hovley on Feb 24, 2010 6:06 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Luckily, no one knows who I am.
There are TONS of Mindas out there. And they all like the Royals and blog about them.
WTF, self?
How Come All
The sports (and otherwise) writers in my life are suddenly named Will? I have Leitch, McDonald and Blythe. To further confuse matters, I am actually Phil Blythe. I turn 55 on March 5, so this may be too much for me to keep straight.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 24, 2010 11:37 PM EST reply actions
All of these comments and not...
…even one suggestion that the title of this post should’ve been: “Will I Am.”
Am I lame for making this joke, or is everyone else lame for thinking it’s lame and not suggesting it? :) – TL
"Sir,--It has been wittily remarked that there are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third and most aggravated is statistics." *The National Observer* (June 13, 1891): p. 93-94.
little bit of both
but I never go in that directino with my thought, because my name isn’t William based…
Wait, are you one of those rare...
…Wills are are Willis? Willy? Willehelm? Willaume?
"Sir,--It has been wittily remarked that there are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third and most aggravated is statistics." *The National Observer* (June 13, 1891): p. 93-94.
That's a fine name.
I was kind of hoping you’d give one of the older Germanic-French names, but that was merely for exoticism. …And if you don’t like Willis, it’s no worse than Timothy. :)
"Sir,--It has been wittily remarked that there are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third and most aggravated is statistics." *The National Observer* (June 13, 1891): p. 93-94.
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