The Good Names Are Already Taken: Let's Call Them NewGuy1 and NewGuy2...

Strap in guys and gals, as we are about to be infused with fresh blood to run the BGN war machine.  Last night SB Nation CEO Jim Bankoff announced a deal with Yahoo! Sports that will allow the SBN family of blogs to be featured in parts of the Yahoo! Sports site.  If you would like to read the announcement in its entirety, you can go here.  Otherwise, let me grab some information to share with you.

As members of our communities or readers of our sites, you already know that SB Nation takes a different approach to online sports.  Our focus has always been on empowering fans to participate in conversations that are specific to their particular teams, leagues or sports.  We’ve watched over the years as the popularity of this unique approach has rapidly accelerated.

Today we want to welcome some new members to our flourishing communities. SB Nation and our friends at Yahoo are partnering to give Yahoo Sports audiences one click access to our sites and content.  In addition to being the largest sport property on the web, Yahoo Sports is known for some of the best general sports blogs including: Ball Don’t Lie, Puck Daddy, Dr. Saturday, Big League Stew and others.

Relevant pages of Yahoo Sports will now feature contextual links to specific SB Nation communities.  Many other pages of Yahoo Sports will feature SB Nation content and links. The great news is that more sports fans will be introduced to SB Nation sites.

If you are new to one of our communities, we welcome you.  On our websites, you’ll find unique perspectives, insightful analysis and passion for sports topics that are unrivaled.  We encourage you to read through posts and get acclimated to the tone, norms and quirks of the site you are visiting.

When you are ready, feel free to join the conversation or start one up.  Whether you create a new profile or use your Yahoo or OpenID credentials to register, one username and password will give you access to all our communities.  Each SB Nation site offers the same mechanisms for participating in the action via comments, FanPosts (a blog entry of your very own) or FanShots (a quick micro-post of a thought, link or photo.)  Before you post though, please remember, you are entering an established and ongoing community.  Your voice and opinions are encouraged (that’s what being a fan is all about after all), but as in any productive conversation, they should be presented in a manner that is courteous, civil and respectful of the culture that you are entering.

If you are an old-timer here, we encourage you to welcome and assist the newcomers. It can sometimes be challenging to join a new environment, so a helping hand is usually appreciated.  Cut the rookies some slack and spread the word about what they have been missing all of this time.   This is your chance to welcome new folks in a manner that is consistent with the type of place in which you want to participate.  You have the power to shape the type of community you want.

So what does this mean for us?  Well, right now, BGN is already one of the more heavily trafficked sites on the SBN network.  This partnership will allow us to get some great exposure due to the extreme amounts of volume that Yahoo! sees.  Posts from BGN will now appear on Yahoo!’s pages and Yahoo! users can follow the links and find themselves here.  Although BGN has had a long existence on the SBN network and has grown considerably over the years, this will allow us to reach a larger audience. 

 If you found yourself reading up on the latest and greatest Eagles news on Yahoo! Sports, clicked the new shiny link and found yourself here; welcome!  Pull up a chair, stay awhile, and join our great community.  We look forward to the influx of views and ideas that the new partnership will bring.  To the long time readers, it will still be business as usual; you just may find standing room only now, which is a good thing.  If you see a straggler lost on the BGN highway, feel free to pull over and lend a helping hand.

To get a peak at what exactly the interface looks like on Yahoo!, go here.

Welcome aboard everyone!