Armed Forces Bowl Podcast
(Written by kencraw)
My last podcast of the 2007 football season is now posted on the podcast page here.
I’d really like to hear some feedback from those who listened to it throughout the season to let me know what I can improve for next season (or whether it just isn’t worth doing). Along those lines, how much more popular would it be if I was to include player and coaching audio from weekly press-conferences and post-game interviews and the such. I noticed that while I usually get 20-30 listeners per podcast, my Oregon podcast where I had player quotes got over 100 listens. Is that a necessary piece to make this podcast worth while?
Please let me know what you think.
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I can’t speak for other readers/listeners, but I’m way more likely to listen to the pod-casts after a Cal victory rather than a loss, which might explain why you had so many listeners to the post-Oregon game – everybody wanted to bask in the glory of a great win. After we lose I try to think about Cal as little as possible. I feel bad though, because you go the the effort to break down and analyze a painful 60 minutes of football.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I really like all your thoughts on the Riley/Longshore debate. I especially like how you stress that we can’t count Longshore out. I agree that Riley seems like the clear favorite right now, but as you pointed out, that can all change come spring/fall camp. Very fair, and balanced non-biased thoughts, Ken. I like it.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Thanks for doing the podcast. It would be great to get the podcast mp3s listed as enclosures in your RSS feed so that I can subscribe and automatically download the audio in iTunes or another aggregator. I appreciate hearing your thoughts about the wins (and sometimes the losses). Keep up the good work!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_Enclosures
January 4th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Brian, both the RSS feed and getting it in as many aggregators as possible is definitely in the plans. I’ve got a HUGE list of site improvements that didn’t happen during the season that I’m confident I’ll have more time for during the off-season.
January 4th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Nice analysis of the bowl game. I agree that you dealt with the QB situation fairly.
My experience in sports and being an entrepreneur has shown me the importance of leadership. If Riley demonstrates significantly more leadership skills than Longshore, then there is no contest. Tedford knows this. He was a QB and has coached them successfully for years.
As you noted, when Riley came in, the defense played better. Strong leadership has positive impact on all players on every play. Everybody wants to win — when you have faith in the decision makers, you will play harder. This is not a new concept and Tedford knows this better than any of us couch sitters.
January 5th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I’ve enjoyed your podcasts all season, Ken–win or lose. I was amazed how you could keep your objective, calm demeanor after some of those horrible losses.
I agree with you about NL & KR. It would be shortsighted to count Longshore out next year. The Bear Insiders would probably file a class action suit against Tedford, but if Longshore has a better camp the job will be his. And rightfully so. Really, it’s a win-win situations for Cal fans. After watching what transpired this year, especially how the team seemed to give up on Longshore, my personal preference is with Riley but I’ll cheer on whomever wins the job. Riley seems to have far more upside, for lack of a better word. I wonder if we’ve seen the best that Longshore has to offer. Who knows? Plenty of NCAA QBs have shaken off sketchy JR years to have incredible SR seasons.
Back to the podcasts: if you could get down to practice, a few interviews thrown into the mix would be great. Perhaps with some of the lesser known position coaches. Also, a pre-game podcast on Thursdays or so wouldn’t be a bad idea either: breaking down the upcoming matchups, etc…
Anyway, thanks to you and Jason for publishing a fantastic site for Cal fans to visit. I’m already looking forward to spring practice!
January 7th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Thank you for your detailed and accurate reviews of Cal football throughout the season, Ken. I enjoy listening to them every week. I think it would be great if you could get some quotes on Tedford’s press conference, and see if he goes with the strategies that he outlined in the conference. Comparing and contrasting what is said and what actually happened, in relation to whether the team wins or loses, is always interesting.
Thank you for being a true blue Cal fan, and a reliable source for accurate information.