Battle of California - Kings, Sharks, and Ducks

That's the title of a new opinion piece of mine at The Daily Caller, in which I argue that fans should harness the power of the Internet to make our voices heard in the current CBA negotiations. Media outlets too often focus solely on the struggle between labor and management in these disputes, and we fans get overlooked. So it's up to us to make sure people know what we think. Click the link above to read, and feel free to share with friends!

H/T to @mwong22 for passing this along: apparently Joakim Noah does not like other pro hoopers messaging with this girlfriend, a woman named Amanda. Nic Wise tweeted the interaction with someone claiming to be Noah. Later, he sent out: Woke up feelin bad smh. Apologies to @joakimnoah— Nic Wise (@TheNicWise) May 22, 2012 You can understand Noah's hostility. Wise did average 1.5 steals per game in his time at Arizona, after all.

I had no idea the Cubs were on Tumblr! They post some nice photos and other cool stuff. Check it out. (P.S. If this is old news, let me know and I will delete this FanShot)

I just noticed Sounder At Heart almost has 1000 likes on facebook. If you are a regular reader and on facebook and have not liked them already do it! Lets see if we can not get them over 1,000 before the season starts!

I was on ESPN's 'Outside the Lines' talking with Kirk Morrison and Drew Rosenhaus about Twitter. Check yourself / it out if you wanna. -CH

Ozzie will not be allowed to manage Friday (tonight) and tomorrow. I am assuming Joey Cora will be managing the club.

We can now all welcome our favorite manager to the world of social media.

LeBron James' Spring HIll Productions will launch Web-based animated series titles 'The LeBrons dedicated to promote positive messages to the youth.

I was just talking with petrel earlier today about how he was spot on about his observation that Georgia Tech's use of video is a good thing for building a buzz about women's basketball. Partnership Activation provides a detailed breakdown of six strategic objectives of Gonzaga's ZagsLocker.com and how they benefit women's basketball there. Great, succinct piece and worth a read for those interested in what programs are doing to help engage women's basketball fans.

Freelantz wrote last week about how Indiana Fever rookie Jene Morris is using social media to help "build a brand" for herself. However, as people extol the benefits of social media, it may be time for sports teams -- and perhaps sports media outlets as well -- to ask what exactly are we getting out of this? From the Charlotte Observer: "How exactly do you calculate the return on investment? And are these really devoted fans who will spend money over the long haul, or will they fade away like the Twitter ticket specials and Facebook giveaways that brought them?" Read more at the Charlotte News Observer