THIS WEEK IN CHATTER (10/4/07)

(FanChatter's sorta-weekly letter to its registered users. Sign up here to receive via email and Call 'Em Like You See 'Em.)

Here it is sports fans, your second-ever, sorta-weekly...

THIS WEEK IN CHATTER

I'll start with one of the greatest nights in FanChatter's brief history (second only to Home Run Derby Monday). Four of us -- myself, Tommy_Trojan, Damon, and JoeyD -- all chattered live in the Fight On Trojans group while watching USC beat up on Nebraska. It was like we were all in the same room, even though we watched from Minneapolis, Eagan (MN), San Francisco, and LA, respectively. I even had to pick up my mother-in-law from the airport during the second quarter, but I was able to follow along on my phone with mobile chatter alerts and chatter myself from a couple of red lights.

Speaking of college football, Nemo was talking Bison in the NDSU Football group, and look wondered in the U of Mn Football group if the Gophers should be dropped to Division III, just like Michigan was after losing to Appalachian State (or so said the link he posted from The Onion Sports).

But Bistro24 offered chatter so big he made like Ernie Banks and played two:

"Attn Gopher football players: there's a new rule on campus. no walking around thinking you're all that. also, no using football to get girls...

...until you are no longer an embarassment, i don't want to see any of you chucks at the bar or anywhere besides practice or the weightroom."

With more on his mind, and possibly in anticipation of the Philadelphia Eagles' god-awful canary yellow and robin's egg blue throwbacks, Bistro24 later created the Logos and Jerseys group and touched off a string of posts about everybody's all-time favorites and least favorites. Whalers vs. North Stars... Discuss.

Of course, one of the most chattered-about stories was Marc Ecko putting the fate of the Bonds 756 ball to a public vote. Many weighed in at the Bonds & Selig group, including gaulstone who praised Ecko's marketing brilliance; while cyclones cautioned that the Hall of Fame "is for telling the story of baseball. Good and Evil. None of Big Mac's items have * by it."

cyclones also chattered up some Johan Santana trade rumors in the Go Twins group, prompting jon to wonder if the Luis Castillo trade would end up cursing the Twins for years to come (or maybe he cursed the Mets). And sarah spoke for many Twins fans in saying that management would be "nuts" not to re-sign Torii Hunter.

JJDacotah tried to explain the Trenton Hassell-for-Greg Buckner trade in the Twolves group.

Then, out of nowhere, Dastro chattered in a language I could barely understand about something called the Carling Cup in the English Premier League group.

Maybe he was inspired by RamDon's equally confusing analysis of the US Women's World Cup team's choice of wardrobe. Soccer, was it?

Back to football, KPK inquired in the Purple Pride group about the "Kelly Holcomb era so far". Interesting, but not as interesting as the tailgate photos of Viking superfan Syd Davy, a.k.a. "Cheese-Free", that I posted there on behalf of cell phone photographer dond107.

Funny how quiet the Packer Fans group has become, with only sschroed confidently (and correctly) predicting a Packer victory in Minnesota and their resulting 4-0 start.

And we end this list as we began, with a memorable game viewing experience made possible by FanChatter, and this time chronicled in the MLB group. It started with statman accusing the TBS broadcast team of "(sucking) the soul out of the game I love" and ended with me chattering late into the night as Matt Holliday scored (or didn't) in the bottom of the 13th inning to win that thrilling one-game playoff for the Rockies. But I wondered...

WHERE'S EVERYBODY ELSE?

There's no way all of you are watching all of these great playoff games will all of your buddies at some big endless party. Well that's exactly what FanChatter offers, only the party is on your computer and you can access it using your phone.

The same goes for college football Saturday and NFL (or should I say Fantasy Football ) Sunday-Monday. And where's thewagontrain ? Doesn't the NHL season start tonight?

Also, if anyone is actually going to any of these games -- especially the baseball playoff games and ESPECIALLY at Wrigley (hint hint) -- be sure to activate your camera phone and post lots of photos and other chatter. That way, we can all feel like we're there, too.

So thank you for growing with us, please recruit more friends, enable your mobile alerts (so you don't miss anything good), and always Call 'Em Like You See 'Em... from anywhere, anytime.

Marty

Learn more about building a mobile sports fan chat utility at THE BLOG TO BE NAMED LATER...

...and yes, that was way more than a week.