Notes from the road: B/R Writer HQ visits the SEC

"Hey, pink shirt. I'm talking here!" King at the University of South Carolina.

I just got back from a tour of SEC schools with Bleacher Report Sportswriting Internship Manager Max Tcheyan. We visited the universities of Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia together, and then Max went on to Alabama and Ole Miss. We spoke to journalism and mass communications classes and set up camp at job fairs and info sessions.

Max does this sort of thing all the time as he spreads the word about the internship and other writing opportunities at B/R to young sportswriters. It was a new thrill for me to travel around and meet college students who know and love Bleacher Report, others who aspire to write and are intrigued to hear about B/R, and yes, even the ones who have tough questions about what we do and how we do it.

Max, suddenly regretting not having attended a big football school in the South.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was experiencing some SEC football first-hand at the Tennessee-South Carolina game. You probably saw the gruesome Marcus Lattimore injury from that game. Fortunately for us, we didn’t see it, even though it happened right in front of us.

That was the only low point in an otherwise wonderful day. We were treated to some genuine Southern hospitality from our hosts at the pre- and postgame tailgate, Professor Andy Gillentine, chair of the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at South Carolina, and his wife, Glenna. We even got to briefly experience the unique and swanky USC tradition of the Cockaboose Railroad.

Max rises and fires at NBA TV. Hard to believe, but Turner's Matt Mosteller, right, rejected this shot at the rim.

Another highlight was visiting Turner Sports in Atlanta, where Max and I got to shoot a little hoops on the NBA TV set. I blame the jacket I was wearing, not the bright lights of showbiz, for my not being able to throw a pea in the ocean.

But the best moments of the trip were when various journalism professors introduced us to their classes. “You need to listen to what these guys have to say” went one typical intro. “They’re the future of this business.” It’s heartening to see journalism educators understanding what it is B/R is doing—creating the next-generation media experience for sports fans—rather than being threatened by it.

I’m looking forward to some of the people Max and I met last week turning into stars, at Bleacher Report and elsewhere.