Site News: The700Level.com Partners with Comcast SportsNet

Like most Eagles fans, I woke up on the morning of January 11th, 2004 amped to watch the Birds' divisional playoff game against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers on TV. Little did I know that my dad woke up early that Sunday to drive down to South Philly to see if he could score us any last minute tickets to the game. He tends to "have a guy" for these sorts of situations. When the phone rang around 2:00 p.m. with my dad on the other end, all he said was "dress warm." It wasn't until we walked down to our seats two hours later that I realized we were on the first row on the 50-yard line.

The swing of emotion -- from being down three points with a minute and a half to go, facing an insurmountable 4th and 26, to the moment Freddie Mitchell caught that Donovan McNabb pass -- was the sort joy you can only get at a sporting event surrounded by 67,706 of your closest friends jumping up and down, screaming like lunatics. I wanted to bottle that moment up to remember that feeling forever.

I couldn't, of course. But I did go home after the game and post a simple photo of my view from the first row on the Internet. I think it was the start of something good.

Like all worthwhile endeavors on the Internet, The700Level.com has continually evolved over the past few years. Twitter didn't exist in 2004, neither did YouTube, and sports blogs were hard to find. 

Anybody who has been following the site since the early days has seen the transformation. Initially, it was only my random ramblings on whatever happened that day in sports. A couple of years later, my old pal Matt started chipping in and quickly became an integral part of site. During the summer of '08 a loquacious and knowledgeable commenter named Kulp turned into a regular poster, educating us all on the Eagles, and midway through last Sixers' season we found their fan voice in Andrew.

Today, I'm excited to announce that The700Level.com has entered a new stage in its history. We have officially partnered with Comcast SportsNet and CSNPhilly.com. The700Level.com will retain editorial independence, while tapping into the unique access, technology, and resources of Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia.

Over the past five years, through two business consulting jobs and a two-year stint in grad school, I've spent the majority of my free time trying to make this site as fun, entertaining, and interesting as possible. Now, it will be my full time job to do so. Perhaps the best part of it all, we get to keep the band together. While I'll be working on the Level full time, Matt, Andrew, and Kulp will continue contributing their same fantastic takes on Philly sports that you've come to expect out of them. 

You may be thinking, Why now? Will the site change at all? All fair questions. Through hard work and solid writing, blogs have fought their way into the mainstream media conversation. The700Level.com has enjoyed somewhat of a first-mover advantage in the Philly sports blog space. We've been doing it a long time and I like to think we do it pretty well. But there were maybe two or three other Philly sports blogs in existence when I started. Now there are hundreds. This move allows us to not only differentiate, but to also put my undivided attention and effort into making this site a must visit destination for Philly sports fans.

Plus, we get to call Philly sports gurus like Jim Salisbury, Tim Panaccio, and Ray Didinger co-workers. Ray Diddy!

Not a whole lot will change right away besides me probably having to work a lot harder. But that's a good thing. It gets lonely in my parents' basement. Eventually, we'll probably spruce up the site design a bit, something that's been long overdue, and add some other new elements I hope you'll enjoy.

Thanks to all the readers and commenters over the years who helped make this possible. We're going to cover Philly sports in the same unique way we've always done and we're going to have fun doing it—from the perspective of lifelong fans.

Hopefully a few years from now, we can look back at today and say it was the start of another good thing.

You can subscribe to The700Level.com's RSS feed, fan us on Facebook, or follow The700Level on Twitter.

Comments

[Walklett]

Congrats guys, well deserved.

[meech.one]

YAAAAAAY!

Congrats, fellas. And well-deserved.

[mstearne]

Congratulations! You guys do great job and keep a Philly person living in NYC connected!

[Greg]

Congrats to all involved. This site does quality work and I'm glad everything is working out for you guys.

[PhillyFever84]

That's awesome!! Congrats!

[B Morris]

Congratulations, Well deserved fellas!

[Pension Plan Puppets]

Congratulations. Well deserved but...

Plus, we get to call Philly sports gurus like...Tim Panaccio..

One of the hucksters from Hockey Buzz?

[shakeitup]

Well Congrats guys! You deserve it, and to quote Papa Muntz "Bull Mountain... don't go changin!"

[Beck]

Congratulations! Now tell Comcast to start serving my section of South Jersey so I can watch all the games.

[Kevin McGuire]

Wow, that's awesome! Congrats guys! Much deserved! I feel even more honored to have posted a couple things here for you guys!

[Greg]

awesome, congrats.

[Kevin A]

Congrats to you guys, great job!

[Adam B]

Holy shit, dude. You guys just became the Genie in Disney's Aladdin: Phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space.

Wait, can I still say "shit"? Or will comments and posts be getting some sort of a Comcastic, Xfinitesimal scrubdown?

[Serena]

Enrico, not to sound like a mom, but I am... proud of you! Wow, so exciting. Congrats, congrats, congrats!!

[Brendan Mooney]

Congrats guys, and what Meeech said!

[Paul]

Congrats Guys! Keep up the good work.

[theKrisheim]

congrats, yo

[Mike P]

Congrats!

[Poster Nutbag]

you sold out to the man!

j/k...great news.

so, now that you have your "access", what can you tell us about the big piece/el hombre swap?

[Caroline - Philly Tourism]

Kudos. This is a great site and you well deserve this promotion of sorts.

[Walklett]

Sooo, pretty much you owe all of the success of the site to Freddie Mitchell.

[Jason]

Congratulations to all of you. Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of dudes.

[andy]

so will you be another subsidiary of the Shinehardt Wig Compay once Comcast and NBC merge?

[Mikec]

Epic!!! I remember when you imed me if www.the700level.com was a good name.

[Adam B]

@Walklett: Yah, Enrico's first draft of this post started off, "I'd like to thank Freddie Mitchell's hands..."

[gootman]

Congrats! Buy yourself a new black light poster for your parent's basement!

[Ryan H.]

congrats, yo. goes to show that true passion pays off (most of the time... flyers... birds...)

[millertime]

@Walklett: be careful how loud you say that. he may come looking for royalties.

congrats gents.

[nick h]

dont let fredex see this, he'll be asking for royalties

[nick h]

oh yea and congrats

[Adam B]

It may not have been clear from my first post, but congrats all around, fellas.

May I make a request? With your first infusion of corporate cash, please set up a search function.

[Adam B]

As Liz Phair once sang, "It's nice to be liked, but it's better by fair to get paid." Mazel tov.

[Steve]

Nice work guys, this is awesome!

[briere sucks]

now if only u could get your new employer to settle the versus vs direct tv dispute so i can watch the freaking nhl playoffs from the comfort of my couch

[jd]

SELL OUT I WILL NEVER COME BACK HERE BIG CORPORATIONS RUIN EVERYTHING BLAH BLAH

nah, just kidding. congrats all around; this move is much deserved.

[Shawn]

Congrats!!!!!

[timm]

congrats. now go get the gov off of the postgame for us......

[Beardface]

One step closer to your own cameo appearances on ESPN's Around the Horn!

Congrats!

[ron]

congrats! you've earned it!

[TheSportsHernia]

Awesome, congrats guys.

The 700 Level was one of my first discoveries when it comes to sports blogs. A very pleasant one, I might add.

[ChickPhilA]

Very Cool - congrats!!!!

[Johnny Nas]

Congrats and great work on the site. Long time fan and this site, at all times of the year, keeps me interested.

[Sean]

Awesome news. Congrats to all of you guys for making this a must-visit site for Philly fans.

[shann]

congrats guys!!

[dbick]

that's awesome

[will.H]

pssh yeah but when do you get your own sky scraper.

oh and uh, good work fellas

[John]

Congrats! Now is there anything that Comcast can do about www.700level.com? I've accidentally stumbled across that site a couple times and it's painful.

[DSD]

The700level.com was the first Philly blog I started visiting, and it's still the best. Congratulations to you guys. You deserve it.

[Zeke]

Way to go, guys! I only hope that you reserve the right to write the occasional heady post when Phish comes to town.

[astcter]

Tim Pannaccio says welcome to the team. now go get your fuckin shinebox.

[Matt]

Congrats guys.

[j_romes]

Congrats and well deserved, gents.

I can't believe it's graduation already!

Don't ever change.

KIT over the summer.

C/m 856-555-5683

[murdz19]

Congrats, well deserved fellas!

[Drew P.]

@ Zeke:

I second that motion.

Good job guys.

[Matt]

Uh, am I the only one who feels this may not be a good thing? You're in corporate territory now. I know you said you'll retain editorial independence, but I can't help but think things will get watered down. You're co-workers now also include some of the players you've been praising/criticizing over the years. And are CSN's personalities now off limits? Something tells me this won't end well.

[Hoosier Poppa]

Kudos. Couldn't happen to a better, more deserving group of writers. Your phenomenal site has allowed this native Philly boy and Philly sports fan (currently stuck in the Indiana hinterlands) to stay connected with the kinds of fans, conversations, and morning-after madness (celebration or mourning) that make Philly the most compelling, dynamic sports scene in the nation.

Lest it go unsaid, thanks for your years of great work, and good luck/continued high success in your new partnership!

[pilgrim]

Wow, so if I start a blog that ignores half of Philly sports news while writing with the prose of a 7th grader, can I get a payday too?

Great hard hitting piece on the Geico cavemen meeting the Flyers, though!

[Drew]

Good work guys. You can finally afford that de-luxe apartment in Center City.

[Wilkes-Barre Sucked]

Congrats guys. I came across this site early in 2007 and it has become a must-read every day. It is a great alternative in terms of seeking the opinions of fellow Philly sports fans to listening to idiots who call WIP. I'm moving to north central Montana next week for a radio job and, being so far away from all things Philly, it will be really nice to know that I'll always have a connection with other fans in this site.

as for people who think this site will become watered down, I'm sure Enrico wouldn't have agreed to do this if he felt that was going to happen.

[Zeke]

@Matt

Whenever you give up ownership of your content or a piece of ownership there will ALWAYS be changes and no one realy knows what that is until it happens. I trust these guys to keep it real and I think there will be a lot of benefits, but honestly who knows. My hope is that I will still be able to say things like this:

@Pilgrim

Go fuck yourself you jealous fucking fuck!!

[Mark R.]

Congrats Guy!!!! I'm really excited for the future of this site!

[Birdshit]

Good job Rick, I remember this whole site started out with Sid and Scott and myself messing around with each other at work. Now look at the monster you have delevoped. You have added some great coworkers that have made this site awsome. Rick, I bet your glad to tell everyone now. Good Job Bro!

[game 5]

Nice work by you guys.

[Adam B]

@pilgrim: Quite possibly Comcast re$ource$ might help The Sev find time and people to cover that other half (whatever that might be)? Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!

[Adam B]

Hey Enrico, on the real, will you still take guest posts from outsiders like me and Nick Temple-Hoops?

[Marc]

Awesome news!!!! Congrats and good luck!!!

[Gaze]

Congratulations guys and best of luck with the transition... A lot of loyal readers are counting on you!

[Bob]

Congrats as stated from everyone!

[Dolomite]

Today in Philly Sports History:

The700level.com Sells Out, 2010.

lol just kiddin' ... had to go there.

[doubleh]

Awesome! Don't let them "Wayne's World" you, fellas. Keep on doing your thing. Nothing wrong with getting paid.

[Vicky]

Awesome news, guys. Congratulations!

[maria]

@j_romes, that reminds me of many good times. K.I.T and H.A.G.S!

This is very cool and I hope the site doesn't change too much. I agree with whoever said to add a search box. Either way, this must be really exciting for you guys.

[Barry]

Congrats. Best Philly sports blog. You guys deserve it.

[Ricky - Sixers4guidos]

Taking my guido hat off

Congrats to Enrico & crew, well done !!

[Tom]

Hey, awesome.

I have directv, though... does that mean I won't have access to the site's content anymore?

[ahorrow]

congrats guys couldnt have happened to a better site

[trijws]

and the rich get richer. lol. jk guys, congrats!!! well deserved.

[poorsports]

let me be the first to say congratulat..oh shit.

ok, let me be the 200th to say, congrats to a great site. i hope all these new connections will make it that much easier to yell at philly GMs when our teams do poorly.

[Dean]

Congrats, guys.

[Jason]

Outstanding news! Congrats! Much deserved.

[fuckthemets]

Just woke up to this, congrats guys. Well deserved, couldn't say I didn't see this coming.

[Tartan69]

From Philly.com:

He (Enrico) insists that he has been assured that he could criticize the Comcast-owned Sixers and Flyers as "we see the need to."

Hmmmm...I think I can picture where this is going to end up...

[ThinkRed]

Comcast Sportsnet: "This is the700level.com, they're friends of ours."

They opened the books for you guys. Congrats.

[Benjamin]

Outstanding news!! Your efforts are well recognized, and the reward is justified.

[db]

First order of business: get me Amy Fadool's number.

[The MD]

Congrats guys

[beelove]

holy shit dudes - CONGRATS!

[JD]

This news is Comcastic!

[GregMikeS]

Congratulations! That's all I got...

[HummerX]

dont you mean Xfinity Sportsnet?

this is actually kinda awesome. congrats!

[dlhunter]

Congrats Enrico and gang.

[Scott B]

I once knew these guys who said they would never change. Their names were Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar; just two dudes on a basic cable station in Aurora, Ill when they partnered with Noah's arcade, this regional arcade chain, to earn some extra money and next thing you know, its totally different.

Noah Vanderhoff the new boss is changing the show for the worse and Wayne was losing his babe to Benjamin Kane.

In the end it all worked out but come on, take note!!!!

[Sean]

The700Level sells out. Bound to happen sooner or later, right?

[Bob]

Will this blog become like other water-downed and tame blogs that have acquired corporate ownership? Guess we have to wait and see but if I see a post praising the genius of Ed Snider I will have my answer.

[Watrick]

How about a survey for the site, for the long time readers can have some input about what they like, and then maybe about what they would like to see in the future?

[Swift]

Congrats Enrico, and the700level staff!

This is a well deserved recognition of your accomplishments. I just hope this leads to a weekly invitation for Enrico to show up on Daily New Live.

[Carboni]

Congratulations!! You guys are awesome!!

[Travis]

You guys rock. Keep up the good work, and uber congrats.

[mike c]

Congrats guys. Well deserved. Been reading this site for years and check for updates every time I'm near a computer.

[TJB]

Congratulations! Great to see hard work pay off!