Ballhype, the user-driven Digg-like sports site which publicly debuted at the beginning of April, recently completed a study of 135 sports bloggers from around the United States, from a variety of sports focuses, to learn if this unique breed of uber-fans was best characterized by the unwashed basement dweller, or instead, a well to do self-made individual. The answer? Some of both. But by and large, the sports bloggers community is led by job-holding, house-owning (or renting), 20 or 30-something folks who don't get paid much, who could sink anywhere from 1-5 hours a day into their work.

According to Ballhype's survey, more than 80% of sports bloggers hold a college degree, while another 18% are full-time students, assumed to be working on getting one. Additionally, a strong 26% have a post-graduate degree as well. Most of these bloggers see their work as a hobby, rather than a career. And it's a good thing, because most aren't paid much, if anything. The results show 58% see their blog as a hobby that's just for fun, while 26% see it as a hobby that just so happens to make some revenue. Another 17% see it as a part-time or full-time job. But that can't be all that rewarding for the non-basement dwellers, as fully half report making less than $20 a month from the blog. Only one of every six bloggers (16%) claims revenue exceeding $500 a month - which just might keep you in stock of Top Ramen and Cheetos.

Almost 60% of sports bloggers see more than 1,000 visits to their sites per month, with just under 20% of all sports bloggers seeing an incredible 100,000 visits or more per month. As expected, this level varies wildly, from the one-off just for fun hobby blogs, to the very serious, frequently updated sites like DeadSpin, TrueHoop, and SportsBlogs Nation network, where you can find me at Athletics Nation and Sactown Royalty.

Most promising, 70% of sports bloggers who responded to the survey found the experience more rewarding than expected, and a full 90% would love to blog full-time if paid to do so.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the survey skewed to privileged white males, with 95% of respondents being men, and 87% being Caucasian. This could be due to early adopters of Ballhype slanting this way, or simply evidence of a good old boys network reaching new networks as well. My expectation is that in further editions of the survey, you will see these demographics return to the mean a bit, as there are some fantastic sports blogs authored by women and others of all backgrounds.

Be sure to check out the survey, the first of its kind that I'm aware of which focuses on the fast-growing sports blog community. Great work, Ballhype!

Though yesterday's 14-10 loss at the hands of the Mariners was more evenly contested than some of the team's woeful shutout losses that have been all too common this season, the Oakland A's are turning what was once a promising year into an incredibly frustrating season.

Yesterday, I filled in for Athletics Nation's Sunday regular, baseballgirl, and started off the discussion by saying that though it defies logic, I tend to remain optimistic. As a fan, I reserve the right to ignore trends and statistics, and believe my team will come through. But those words stood, mockingly, against me, as the team first rallied back from a 6-0 deficit, only to take a 10-7 lead, and shockingly give it up as fast as possible.

As I noted in yesteday's recap, "2 Innings of Pleasure, 7 of Pain", it just wasn't all that fun for all that long. The short-lived lead was a tease for those fans of us left who really cared. And while I'll no doubt be following along when the A's take the field again, it's really become time to look at this season for what it really is, one to showcase individual players, because as far as playoff chances are concerned, at this point, it would take a miracle for the A's to even be part of the conversation.

Years ago, the art of forecasting Apple and Macintosh rumors was left to a small number of oddly obsessed people, myself included. Now, with mainstream media, including New York Times, BusinessWeek and Wall Street Journal in on the act, it's hard to remember that dedicated rumor sites like Mac OS Rumors were leading the way almost a full decade ago in near blog-like fashion, reporting the latest whispers from Cupertino.

But now, it looks like Mac OS Rumors has gone dark, after the site's quality eroded, and as of two weeks ago, the site doesn't even come up, replaced with a reminder from Network Solutions for the site to pay its bill. If it were up to me, I'd move on and let it be.

That's the background behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled Original Mac Rumors Site Goes Dark. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

Saturday was a day I'd yearned for in excess of a decade and a half. After years and years of speculation and hope, I finally had the chance to enter a movie theater and see The Simpsons Movie. Nearly 90 minutes of The Simpsons in all their yellow, dysfunctional glory, without commercial breaks and much, much larger than ever before. I also was lucky enough to see the show with some of my closest friends and my wife.

As any good diehard will tell you, The Simpsons Movie wasn't perfect. There's no way that a single film can meet all the built-up hopes and expectations we had. There's no way that 87 minutes can provide the show's fans enough time to see all the minor characters we wanted. And for every laugh we had during the film, and there were many, we could find issues we would have improved were we running the show.

The show itself was divided into three parts. Simplified for spoiler avoidance, you had: Crisis, Escape and Resolution. The escape had the Simpsons headed to Alaska, away from Springfield, where all the fun is. The escapade to the great white north took the Simpson family out of their element, away from the hilarity of people who were greatly neglected in the film, like Apu, Patty and Selma, Groundskeeper Willy, and even usually non-funny folks like Principal Skinner, Gil the salesman, and the acne-ridden teenager whose voice is constantly breaking.

What I loved about the movie was that it started immediately and kept going at a quick pace. Without the usual buildup you see, even in the 30-minute weeklies, with delayed on-screen credits, the movie jumped into its element immediately, and one scene led to another. I loved the fact Bart and Homer continued their efforts to be the worst father-son combo of all time, and that the writers could take liberties with the content that aren't available on network television.

What I didn't like about the movie was the introduction of new characters, as in a series so rich as The Simpsons, there's really no need to add more to the mix and introduce their background. This also squeezed out some of the much-desired peripheral people. I also didn't like the utter non-believability of some parts. As dumb as that may sound, The Simpsons are largely funny because their antics could theoretically happen, as they reflect a certain element of our society. When they cross from potential reality to obvious supernatural, I'm annoyed. And the worst part? It was done all too soon. If Pirates of the Carribean and Dances with Wolves can touch the 3 hour mark, The Simpsons on the big screen deserved much more than just under 90 minutes. By the time the credits rolled, I wasn't ready to leave. Maggie's call for a sequel didn't fulfill my needs.

I didn't mind the story elements. Lisa is obviously a preachy environmentalist. Homer is clearly a misguided would-be do-gooder with negative results. The Flanders are still goody two-shoes. There were tips and nods to previous episodes for us die-hards. And trust me, I laughed - not as much as I did during the South Park movie a few years ago, but enough that I was happy I went.

Also - on the way home, Kristine and I stopped by the Kwik-E-Mart in Mountain View, in reality a converted 7-Eleven franchisee. While that was wonderfully amusing, it only struck home how we actually never saw the inside of the Kwik-E-Mart in the film. Seemed like a lost opportunity.

All in all, a great day. Great friends. Good fun. The completion of a much-anticipated dream, but one that left me wanting more. I may never be satisfied.