BWB Radio, Episode 35: Interview with Poker Pro Jennicide

Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh, poker pro, Playboy model, World of Warcraft enthusiast and one-time computer hacker joins us to talk about the International Poker Federation's Nations Cup, her introduction from role playing games to online poker, her budding, albeit sometimes uncomfortable, modeling experience and more.

She also dishes some on the likes of Phil Helmuth and Scott Fischman.

BWB Radio, Episode 35 by Blogs with Balls

The IFP’s inaugural Duplicate Poker Nations Cup will be contested by teams of top players from 12 countries with the initial phase held in capsules on the EDF Energy London Eye. The tournament is on November 17 and 18 and will be accompanied by a Festival of Mind Sports under the banner of the UK Mind Sports Association. Individual sports will include Chess, Draughts, Go, Bridge and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess).

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Blogs With Balls Radio, Episode 21

This week’s Blogs With Balls Show on the JoeSportsFan Radio Network is now available.

Download Episode 21 here, or subscribe via iTunes.



Lucas has long been an advocate that the future of sports blogging lies in content producers adopting more than just the written word and dabbling in audio and video. We kick off the week talking a little about some folks who do the latter quite well.

Our ballsy blog of the week belongs to our good friends at The Global Sports Fraternity who did an absolute phenomenal job creating original, entertaining content at the Super Bowl in Miami.

Most notably, GSF's Henry Lowenfels gave Lions QB Matt Stafford the business at the Gatorade Fitness Lab.



We'd be remissed talking video if we didn't mention our BwB videographers and editors Ben Eckstein and Rob Baker, as well as the great work done by Wondershot Productions (who gave us the BwB opening/welcome video).

Our favorite ongoing use of video-that-should-be-its-own-TV-show is from our podcasting partners at Joe Sports Fan, who this week brought us the return of The Softball Guy.

An Exclusive, Emotional Interview with Softball Guy from JoeSportsFan.com on Vimeo.

Our guest this week was a panelist at Blogs With Balls 1.0 in New York and winner of the inaugural Blogs With Balls Charity Poker Shootout, Adam Best.


Best is the co-founder (with his brother Zach, a web designer) and senior editor of the FanSided.com sports network as well as the site that launched the network, Arrowhead Addict.

What sets FanSided apart from its competitors is the family-like business approach that Adam has taken to advancing it. Adam talks about the progression from blogging on his Chiefs site to creating the original make-up of FanSided as an NFL blog network to one encompassing multi-sports and housing 135 different sites. He taps into the importance of forging strategic partnerships, like he has with Yardbarker.com/Fox Sports and CBS Sports.

He also recently launched FlickSided.com, a site dedicated to his other passion - film.

This week’s links of interest:

• FanSided.com
• Arrowhead Addict
• FlickSided.com
• @adamcbest
• @FanSided
• @FlickSided
• The Global Sports Fraternity
• @TheGSF
• Joe Sports Fan
• @joesportsfan
• @thesoftballguy
• Beryllium Pictures
• Kabimba Media
• Wondershot Productions

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Blogs with Balls After Dark With Matt Sebek

A special thanks to “host” Matt Sebek who goes ahead and breaks down the film quite eloquently at JoeSportsFan.

Blogs with Balls After Dark With Matt Sebek from HHR on Vimeo.

From the afterparty at the ESPNZone to the Blogs With Balls Charity Poker Shootout, JoeSportsFan's own Matt Sebek brings you a behind-the-scenes look at the late-night side of Blogs With Balls.

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Annie Duke Talks BwB Charity Shootout & Ante Up For Africa with Dan Levy

From On the DL Podcast:

What started out as an idea to have a bunch of people from Blogs with Balls and Blog World network over the felt, turned into one of the best charity events any of us could have imagined.

Annie Duke was gracious enough to let a bunch of bloggers use her name to promote a poker game we decided to run in Vegas -- and of course, turn the event into the Blogs with Balls Charity Poker Shootout where we raised $10,000 for Ante Up for Africa.

Dan catches up with Annie to recap and promote the event and charity, and talk politics and poker On the DL.

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BwB 2.0 Recaps, Round 1

Puck Daddy in Vegas: 21 observations about hockey, gambling, new media journalism and Blogs With Balls 2.0 (Yahoo! Sports' Puck Daddy)

"My Blogs With Balls panel dealt with blogger access to sports, and it was a pleasure to debate with the issues with Mitch Germann, the vice-president of communications with the Sacramento Kings; John Karalis of the Boston Celtics' blog Red's Army; Patrick Wixted of New Media Strategies; and our moderator Dan Levy of On The DL.

...I think every blogger who wants access, and can demonstrate that his or her audience will be better served with access, should have the chance to gain it. That goes for burgeoning journalists or fan bloggers."

Blogs with Balls in Las Vegas Wrap-up (Gunaxin)

"HHR Media and Friends put on a hell of a show, again. Don, Chris, and assorted friends have pulled off another fabulous event, and left everyone in awe of their ability to pull shit together. First rate communication via the website, Facebook, e-mails, and even the printed program once we arrived at the event made it easy for attendees and panelists. From the professionally produced intro video and the folks documenting the entire event on film and video, all details were taken care of in an expert manner."

Top Sports Bloggers and Poker Celebrities Join Annie Duke for Blogs With Balls Charity Shootout Benefiting Ante Up for Africa (GreasieWheels Blog)

"On Friday, October 16th, professional poker players and top sports bloggers representing ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo, AOL, Sports Illustrated, Gawker Media, Yardbarker, SB Nation, and many more came together for Blogs with Balls, a charity poker shootout at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Poker Lounge. The fundraiser was held in conjunction with the BlogWorld & New Media 2009 Expo in Las Vegas...

The event raised awareness and $10,000 for Ante Up for Africa, a charity founded by Duke and award-winning actor Don Cheadle to aid relief and support human rights efforts in Darfur."

Jalen, Vegas, and why it matters to you (Red's Army)

"So while I loved the excuse to get out to Vegas, this trip really was about you... the readers. In the coming months, we hope some of these meetings manifest themselves in cool new features and guests. We have some things in the works now and we're hoping to bring them to you either by the beginning of the Celtics season... or shortly after they begin."

Fear, Loathing and Blogs in Las Vegas (Sporting Madness: Part I, Part II, Part III)

"There are too many people in the blog world who focus on trying to replace the mainstream media, and too many mainstream journalists who are worried about being replaced by blogs and Tweets."

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Blogs With Balls 2.0 Shuffles Up and Deals

We have a lot of pictures, videos, and other blackmail-worthy media to post in the coming days, but first, we'd like to start with a thank you to the people who came out to Blogs With Balls 2.0 at Blog World Expo in Las Vegas. We made a giant request of you all: that you trust us to make it worth whatever you sacrificed to make it here; be it vacation days, a plane flight, hotel, or part of the Phillies-Dodgers game, everyone put life on hold to meet up, share a lot of useful information, and to take on Vegas. Raising $10,000 for Ante up For Africa as part of our first ever Blogs With Balls Charity Poker Shootout with Annie Duke (and 10 other pros) was a fitting way to end it all.

We are especially grateful to our sponsors - Track Sponsors FoxSports and Yardbarker, as well as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, Carbon Poker, and Diageo Liquors. Each contributed something unique, and all are heavily invested in seeing the quality of online sports writing supported and rise to what we are capable of. Dan Levy, Beryllium Pictures, and Kabimba Media represented a special group of our sponsors - good friends who came on to work at the event, making sure BwB 2.0 was an amazing experience to have and to share.

Speaking of which, we've got a lot of footage to share - including every single panel in its entirety - but let's start at the end. Below, take a look at a few shots from the Blogs With Balls Charity Poker Shootout benefitting Ante up for Africa. Sure, we raised $10,000, but we also got to party with Captain Morgan himself (the actual guy from the commercials), wear funny Cuervo hats, and go chip-to-chip with some of the world's best poker players (in a post-tourney side game two bloggers, Ufford and Jimbo, outlasted and took down 5 pros). Take a look!

Spencer Hall and PUNTE have a very serious discussion about strategy (specifically hat strategy).

Dan Levy, Annie Duke, Don & Chris from HHR.

JoeSportsFan interviews FanDuel (who just learned to play that night & made the final 20 out of 100)

Of COURSE he's one of the Gunaxin guys.

Spencer and the Captain.

Ufford's hat, AJ of Deadspin, Poker Pro Gavin Smith, Jimbo,
Poker Pro Jeff Madsen, and Dan Levy before the carnage really began.

Big Winner: Adam Best of Fansided.com. Outwitted and outlasted 100 other players.
Well definitely outlasted, anyway.

Did Ufford win Jason Mraz's hat earlier in the night?

A full Blogs With Balls gallery will be up this week.

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Announcing: “Blogs with Balls Charity Poker Shootout”

Top Sports Bloggers and Poker Celebrities, Including Annie Duke, to Join Up For Charity
BLOGS WITH BALLS CHARITY POKER SHOOTOUT SET FOR OCTOBER 16TH IN LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas, Nevada (September 28, 2009) – On October 16th, many of the top sports bloggers and poker players in the world will get together for the Blogs with Balls Charity Poker Shootout, held in conjunction with BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Las Vegas.

Each table in the 100-person Shootout, generously underwritten by Carbon Poker, will feature sports writers from the leading sports media companies, including ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo, AOL, Sports Illustrated, Gawker Media, Yardbarker, SB Nation and more. In addition, each table will feature one of the best professional poker players in the world, including Annie Duke – a WSOP bracelet winner and runner up on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice on NBC.

The Shootout has been organized to raise money and awareness for Ante Up for Africa, a charity founded by Duke and award-winning actor Don Cheadle to aid relief efforts in Darfur through poker events. In the last three years, Ante Up for Africa has raised more than $5 million dollars to help support human rights work in Darfur.

In addition to raising money for charity, the event will have both cash and prizes for the top finishers, as well as knockout bonuses and other fun and valuable giveaways from sponsors. An announcement with additional sponsors and full list of professional players signed on to play will be forthcoming.

The event, taking place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s new poker lounge, begins at 8pm. For more information on the Shootout, including sponsorship opportunities and media/interview requests or to get a seat in the tournament visit blogswithballs.com or email info[at]hhrmediagroup[dot]com.

About Blogs with Balls

Blogs with Balls is a series of social sports blogger and new media gatherings featuring speakers and panelists specifically focused on sports fans, writers, sites, teams, athletes and companies; and their ability to maximize new media outlets for promotion and advancement.

In addition to writers and executives from the largest online sports outlets on the web, speakers at BwB 2.0 at the BlogWorld & New Media Expo include former NBA star Jalen Rose, television, web and print personality Kevin Blackistone, representatives from ESPN and The Sports Illustrated Group, Sacramento Kings VP of Communications Mitch Germann, and many more.

For a full list of speakers, panelists and scheduled discussion topics, please visit blogswithballs.com/panels-20. For more information on BlogWorld & New Media Expo, please visit blogworldexpo.com.

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Excuse Me, Mr. Pit Boss...

But the gentleman at my table has a real "Phil Helmuth" funk wafting from his person.

"So what of it?"

Gambler Makes Stink About Casino Ejection Due To B.O.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A Brooklyn man who went on a shower-less 17-hour gambling spree at a New Jersey casino is demanding an apology for being ejected because of his body odor.

Ahh. A Philadelphia station reporting on a stinky New Yorker in a New Jersey casino.

They should have just tossed him into one of the pools at the casino's new Water Club.

But now the fun begins. Degenerate Philadelphia gamblers, no doubt with their own "brand" of effervescence, are sounding off on the story.

Go on, readers. Tell Fox Philly what you think.

(Personally, I agree with "JT": "Ten to one he was winning at the time. A casino wouldn't throw out a family of skunks as long as they were losing money.")