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September 2, 2014Tribe fall victim in the Game of Groans
September 3, 2014
Welcome to day two of the new WFNY design. Thanks for your comments and feedback on the elements of the redesign. We really do appreciate them, and are taking them into consideration. Several items have been noted and are in the process of being changed. We do ask your patience as we get through the next couple weeks and get everything the way we like it.
I want to add a thank you to Andrew, Scott and Craig who were all instrumental in the planning of the new look. Andrew worked closely with our designer John on the nuts and bolts technical side and deserves kudos for those extra hours. Scott as always supplied vision and direction, and Craig was also a big part of the design process.
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Terrelle Pryor was cut by the Seahawks. This wasn’t a surprise, or it shouldn’t have been. Long before Pryor was part of the destruction of the Tressel era in Columbus, it was obvious to me and I know many of you that Pryor just didn’t have what it took to be a quarterback in the NFL. He can’t make all the throws. He floats too many passes. I actually got into a twitter argument a few years ago with LeCharles Bentley about Pryor. There’s a chance Pryor ends up on someone’s practice squad. But that’s about where he belongs. Hey, some guys should really take advantage of every snap they can in college.
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Ugh. That Tribe game last night. Scott will have the full story up shortly, but this tweet about sums it up for me.
Killer #DawgPound logo shining bright downtown on Terminal Tower all week! #DawgPound Rally Week. #GoBrowns pic.twitter.com/EUseDaLoKu
— Kevin Griffin (@KevinGriffin425) September 3, 2014
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Speaking of Browns and twitter, this is just a great idea by the team to give the fans some kind of input. I personally like no paint fill in the end zone, but kudos to the staff for getting the fans involved. This kind of thinking gives me hope that the new uniforms will have a nod to the fans that we will love.
#DawgPound We need your help!
Choose the next end zone design!
[ VOTE ] http://t.co/8bQXg8srgC pic.twitter.com/Z2sYf8bLgx
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 2, 2014
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Baylor played in their new stadium this weekend. Looked great, but on second glance…
It ain't actual bricks. RT @seh818 Is that a tarp? pic.twitter.com/HqWTP4Zs2R
— Phil Hecken (@PhilHecken) September 1, 2014
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Another new board game review for this week. Actually, this one isn’t really a board game as it is a small card game. The game is called Love Letter. Don’t turn your nose up instantly because of the name or the theme. This game is a winner.
In Love Letter each person is trying to get three letters through to the princess. The first player to do so is the winner. The deck is small, as each player only takes one card at a time. The cards are different characters, from the princess, to the king, all the way down to priests and guards. Each card also has a numerical value and a set of instructions for how that card plays. On your turn, you draw a second card and then decide which card to play. Your goal is to eliminate the other players so that your love letter gets through that round. The last player left in the game wins that round and gets a letter through.
At the core, this is a deduction game but with a bit of luck and risk involved. One of the cards is randomly removed at the start of the game, so you never know with 100% certainty what cards are left in play. The game is designed for 2 to 4 players (but don’t play with 2) and any age will enjoy it. It is also so compact that you can really take it with you anywhere you go. Throw it in your wife’s purse and break it out at a restaurant.
This game could have a 100 different themes slapped on it and be successful. It is simple to play and teach. It plays in anywhere from 10 minutes to a half hour. It is another great filler, or short game. You can find it for around $10 on Amazon or at your local game store. Haven’t seen it in any of the huge retailers yet.
38 Comments
1. Baylor’s having an interesting week. Earlier they unveiled a statue of RGIII. Jeez, should a guy in his 20s have his own statue? Seems creepy to me.
2. The Tribe just can’t seem to generate any excitement when they get the chance. Monday’s blowout and two straight blown saves by Allen. They really put us long-suffering fans through the grinder. Pennant races are supposed to be more fun than this.
3. Why why why do people who run stadiums and arenas think they are “enhancing the fan experience” when they assault our sanity with continual screaming and pounding racket? Between Browns plays, it’s hard to even talk to the guy next to you. Who likes that garbage? Anybody?
4. I wonder why today’s While We’re Waiting doesn’t get top billing. Most of us have already read the other stuff that’s on the top of the page. The new stuff should come first. I hate to belabor this or be negative, but I think the new look could still use some more cohesiveness. Right now it has too much of a scatter-shot look to it.
4. WWW is not part of what we consider our showcase features. This is why WWW was given its own spot. I can see how this could be slightly confusing for new visitors to the site, but regular visitors will always know where to find the latest WWW and it will never get pushed down off the front page like it was previously.
Hehe, the brown option is #2
Which I’m sure makes the Browns happy, as they prepare for those new unis… {conspiratorial look}
First time in awhile that I have really gotten upset with a Tribe loss. We had no business having the lead last night as the Tigers were stranding runners all over the place. But, we had the lead in the 9th and we gave it away. Gut wrenching.
Also, 9990 fans in attendance. Man, I hate talking attendance, but such a pathetic number needs to be brought up for a September game against a rival we are chasing for a playoff spot when an awful lot of that number seemed to be wearing Tiger gear. Yes, our TV numbers are relatively good, but getting fans in the park continues to be an issue.
Right, but I think that that comes back to the “most recent” vs. “featured” idea. I and I would *think* most other readers want to see Most Recent first. Showcasing is fine, but shouldn’t make it harder to see what’s new.
I agree. If you’ll indulge us amateur graphic artists, yesterday’s news is old news. But the top of the page right now features six stories that are already outdated. I think graphics people sometimes over-think things. KISS.
I’m sorry, we just don’t want WWW falling off the front page. It has its own isolated spot, and that part is not changing.
The top of the page features our six most recent stories.
And that’s fine; I love the easy access to WWW. I think his (and my) point is that the top should include whatever is most recent, including WWW. Not just feature stories, which is what I’m guessing you’re trying to showcase.
I certainly understand that. But it’s still old news by now.
But, hey, I’m just a lowly reader.
How is that any different than before? The front page has always shown the most recent stories.
Re: Rick’s feelings on the Tribe game – they’ll be in contention further into September than the Browns.
Well, we can’t make everyone happy. We really have listened to all the feedback and some changes have already been made, with more on the way. But this is one change that isn’t going to happen. We have always kept WWW out of the featured posts spotlight, and that was true of our last layout as well. The latest WWW was never at the top of the page, yet nobody complained about it before.
Okay, I’ll drop it. But I’ll just say that form should follow function, and not the other way around. I appreciate your feedback as well.
I hate that attendance is such an issue because I’m really sick of people talking about it, but there’s no denying that yes, it is a legit issue.
(As I wrote this, MrC’s point about form following function says this all better/more succinctly.)
That’s fine. I think a big difference now is that WWW used to be visible without scrolling, and accessible without having to go back to the home page. The new post pages require scrolling to the top, hitting Home, then scrolling down to get to WWW. It’s not limited to WWW, though that’s a good example as a popular read every day (to me, anyway). In general, the inability to easily access other posts from the post pages is an issue.
I understand it’s a lot of comments after a ton of hard work that you guys put in. It’s also a pretty large change for readers, which is fine, and it’s your site and we have to get used to it all. But if it makes it harder to read and navigate, those are points worth listening to. It’s a great overhaul, and the parts that are intuitive (top bar with the dropdowns) are great. The parts that are less intuitive, not as great.
It used to be simple to open the site and go from post to post to read what’s recent, and that’s much more difficult to do now. That’s what we’re trying to get across.
Perhaps a simpler suggestion that would help this a lot – let the header ‘pin’ when you scroll down or drop down if someone starts to scroll up, and include a “Most Recent” (and perhaps a “WWW”) dropdown there, to the left of the teams.
One oddity that I figured out with the new layout:
If I shrink the screen width (desktop) for just the article width (easier to read), then I lose all mouse capabilities on the page (cannot highlight text, nor click to comment). If I widen the width to see even the smallest bit of the sidebands, then I have full functionality.
I don’t really care, but wanted to just put it out there for others that may have not yet figured out why the page sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t for their mouse.
I think you make a good point about the individual Post page. That’s definitely something we’re going to have to talk about.
Thanks! (And the top bar staying, that one’s good, too! 🙂 ) <- no bias
Actually, I think this is exactly what pennant races are supposed to be: tense and gut-wrenching. The losses are that much worse, and the wins that much more exciting. It beats not playing a meaningful game after mid-July or so.
I’ve reached the point with attendance that it just doesn’t bother me anymore. I can’t do anything about it personally, because I don’t even live in the state. And while I have no doubt I would go to games if I did live up there, even then it wouldn’t be all 81 of them. It would be nice to see a packed house each night as I watch from afar, but ultimately I’m only concerned with the game’s outcome, not the quality of the visuals. I watch on MLB.tv, I follow the team here, I buy gear–I’m doing what I can.
I’m actually at a point with most sports (excluding hockey–far better in person) that I’d rather just watch from home. No crowds to fight through, cheaper food and drink, generally better angles and replay access, and so on. There is something to be said for experiencing things in person, no doubt. But anymore, the only part of the experience I genuinely feel deprived of while watching from the couch is tailgating.
I concur.
I’m a huge fan of that option, I must say. Looks sharp. Nice of the team to give the fans a say in how that part of the field will look, even if our offense doesn’t get to see it during the game.
This definitely isn’t happening on my end. Is this consistent? What browser?
i want to beat the dead horse too! Do you guys select the ‘top 6’ featured posts? or is it automatically the most recent? because if you hand select the 6 featured articles you could just as easily pin todays WWWaiting each day, and get rid of it as a grouping in the left column.
My suggestion would be to have 6 handpicked featured articles (including that days www) and then just have all posts in chronological order below that. It really is confusing to have seven groupings of articles to have to scan.
Consistent and repeatable in both Chrome and Firefox. Not sure what could be odd on my end.
Note: I can still scroll with the mouse with the shrunken width, just the mouse highlighting text and any clicking in the comment field (up-ticks, reply, comment) functionality that disappears.
#2 is brown
and yes, I agree that it looks sharp. but, it’s still funny that #2 is brown 🙂
I don’t care about the visuals either. I care about the long-term viability of the franchise.
And, I much prefer watching football from home. They have sucked the life out of NFL games in person (hey look, they are standing around the field again) whereas at home I have the slightly delayed DVR option.
Basketball is a tad annoying given that I apparently am old now and feel like I need earplugs to enter the arena (but not old enough to actually wear them), but it is still amazingly better in person.
Baseball though, is a sport meant to be watched live and in person. There is nothing better than being at the game and seeing all the little intracacies while carrying on conversations about baseball and/or life. I watch the Indians on MLB.tv as well, and it’s a great app. But, it just isn’t the same at all.
Ugh.
Just no fudgsicle uniforms this season…while we’re waiting.
i just upticked your comment from a shrunken down Mac Chrome window 🙂
Of course the long term viability is a concern. But I would assume that the big tv viewing numbers the Tribe has been pulling would have to factor into that discussion to some extent. People are watching and following the team, they just aren’t choosing to do so at the ballpark.
The live experience for the NFL is the worst of the major sports. Now, maybe that has something to do with the impressively consistent disaster that is the Browns, but I’m not entirely sure. If the live NBA experience was more about the game than the blaring music and t-shirt cannons, then it could be enjoyable, as you’re seeing some of the world’s greatest athletes without the layers of equipment. Baseball is a fine live experience for the reasons you mentioned. But asking folks to jump through the hoops of attending 81 times a season is just too much.
Oh yeah, one more comment that you should probably ignore: The option to toggle images on/off. It does not look good at work to have a screen full of sports images. 🙂
a la NYTimes.com
I completely agree with this. The option to waste time at work with a bit more discretion would be excellent.
big ratings in a small market only goes so far. it is certainly better than poor attendance and poor ratings though.
and, I agree that 81 times is too many. I would never go that often. but, enough people go 10-15 and the overall numbers go up. honestly, I don’t know how the team is going to recover to do it though. ever hopeful that their improved drafting nets a steady stream of youthful talent that helps people think positively about the Tribe and start going to more games.
okay, issue is somewhere on my end. no worries. the fix is easy enough 🙂
I actually agree with the featured content bit. It’s easy to assume that everybody visits the site every day like I do, and that it would be best for everybody to see the most recent addition every time, but that’s not the case. There are several categories of content on this site, and it makes sense to put featured content at the top for the casual visitor to find. The Look & Listen or WWW content probably isn’t what you want to lead with when somebody new comes to the site.
Maybe there’s room somewhere for a “latest” link of some kind for a quick list in strict chronological order. I could see that being useful at times.