ISSUE #56 (Captain: Lawrence Taylor) - February 22nd, 2019

NEW FEATURE!!!

THE Q: ONE QUESTION WITH A FASCINATING PERSON  THIS WEEK: 4x NBA All-Star Damian Lillard

FF5: You've amassed 1.5M followers on Twitter, 2.7M fans on Facebook & have secured major national sponsorships with Hulu, Adidas and more playing in a small market. What's your secret?  DL: I think what separates me is that my fans have actually gotten to know me. Fans really appreciate it because they get to see me as a person and not just as an athlete. The main thing I keep in mind is that I have to be myself. So many people on Twitter are looking for something to relate to. A lot of times I write about things that people can relate to and they appreciate my stance on things. One of the most important things to me is giving kids something to look up to.  Damian Lillard played hoops at Weber State before being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in 2012. He won Rookie of the Year and is an All-Star, musician, entrepreneur and social media savant. Follow Damian Lillard HERE

A PERFECT READ FOR PRESIDENT'S DAY (WEEK)

 Did you know there was an assassination attempt on George Washington (aside from in battle)? Did you know that one of our best writers turned it into a thriller?  The writer I'm talking about is Brad Meltzer and the book I'm referring to is The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington. Meltzer is a master storyteller with numerous New York Times bestsellers to his credit, but this is his first foray into non-fiction and so far it's fun and reads like an action movie. One critic said it's a 'romp through the Revolution', which is so critic-y it made me laugh. Check it out here.

DROPPING KNOWLEDGE

People who aren't involved in media ask me about Facebook and Twitter and instagram and algorithms all the time and I usually just text Zuck for help but he got mad when I called him out on his thousand dollar t-shirts so we don't talk anymore.. Buuuut....   This piece by Stephen Davies covers the elusive algorithm and things like 'organic reach" and news feed relevancy and timelines better than anything else I've read and gives a nice glimpse into the back room of how you see what you see on social media. It's long, but you can click to whatever parts interest you within the piece. Shout out to the Morning Brew crew for this one.

NOSTALGIA: TONY GWYNN'S 3,000th HIT

News of Manny Machado's 300M deal with the Padres was the talk of the sports world for a few days this week, but it made me think of one of my favorite baseball players ever, Tony Gwynn.  I spent a little time reliving my favorite Gwynn moments and this video of his 3,000th hit is so great... Excellent announcer call and both dugouts emptied to congratulate him and even the umpires gave him hugs. Classy, awesome guy who was gone too soon. Watch the video here.

A TREMENDOUS QUOTE

"The difference between the 'almost right' word and the 'right' word is really a large matter. 'Tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." - Mark Twain

SHARE THE FAST FIVE

STEP 1: CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW STEP 2: SHARE THE FF5 WITH OTHER CHAMPIONS STEP 3: YOU'RE AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED TO WIN SOME COOL STUFF (BOOKMARKS, BOOKS, BASEBALL CARDS AND MORE!) STEP 4: YOU'RE A HALL OF FAMER IN MY BOOK CLICK HERE TO SHARE

Thank you for reading and I hope you like the new design and my new feature: THE Q.   Let me know what you think! And as always, e-mail me (reply to this e-mail) or hit me on Twitter HERE with any questions.