Welcome to Substack Sports
A new community for the platform’s sports writers, podcasters, video creators and fans.
It was my last week as an editor at ESPN. I was tying up loose ends and working with my writers on a few final pieces before escaping to Palm Springs in between gigs. That’s when the texts started coming in.
“Uh, is Stephen A talking about you on First Take?”
Oh, no. I tracked down the clip. On the screen, there was a graphic I recognized. Three of my writers had ranked their top 25 players in the NBA under the age of 25 by future potential, essentially picking the prospects most likely to become franchise-changing superstars. It was my job to coordinate the logistics and ensure the quality of the list. When we published the piece that morning, I found the end result a little provocative, but I was ready to defend it, if necessary. And it quickly became necessary when Stephen A. Smith saw LaMelo Ball ranked ahead of Devin Booker.
“Stuff like this diminishes the credibility of ESPN. OK? ESPN needs to drug test anybody that has something to do with this list. It makes no sense!”
Stephen A., star sports commentator and among the most entertaining people on live television, was just getting started. He continued:
“I believe that ESPN should call security right now and go to whoever put this list together on ESPN.com — line ‘em up! And test every one of them … I have been here for the better part of the last 17, 18 years. I have nothing to do with this list. Nothing. I disassociate myself from these people.”
Co-host Max Kellerman quietly followed up the rant by shaking his head and swerving with, “Put together a hell of a list. It’s a very good list. Excellent list.”1 Honestly, it was great TV. I made sure my writers weren’t offended by the segment, sent a couple emails to execs explaining why I stood by the piece, confirmed that ESPN security hadn’t added any last-minute meetings to my calendar, and then went back to booking dinner reservations for my desert exodus.
So, yeah, you’re in good hands over here at Substack Sports, a new community for the platform’s athletics-inclined writers, podcasters, video creators and fans. I’m Austin Tedesco, former ESPN editor and current Sports Partnerships Manager at Substack. My goal is to make Substack the destination for the best sports writers, creators and fans on the Internet, something that you are already actively contributing to. A place where you can publish great work about sports, find an audience for it and facilitate discussion, whether that’s in the form of TV theater or grounded reflections.
I’ve been wanting to set up a space for us to gather, learn and collaborate for a while now. If you subscribe, here’s what to expect:
You’ll get one post a week. Sometimes it will be a resource, like how to use Chat during a live game or how to monetize a premium sports show. Sometimes it will be an interview or a guest post. Sometimes it will be office hours. And once a month I’ll ask for your picks for the best thing you’ve watched, read or listened to on Substack, which we’ll compile and publish here.
If you’re a sports publisher who subscribes, you’ll go on this publication’s recommendation list. I’m going to take advantage of Substack’s new feature that unlocks the ability to recommend an entire network, growing our corner of this platform by putting you and your work in front of everyone else who signs up.
A lot of things will be geared towards sports writers and creators, but if you’re a sports fan and reader who's interested, I’m going to try to make it worth your time, too.
My former colleague
has been organizing these great collaborations between NBA writers on Substack. A lot of y’all have been asking for better ways to facilitate this kind of thing. I’m hopeful you can do it here, connecting in the comments and Chats then firing off DMs about working together.
This is a space for everyone, from new sports writers looking to grow to established podcasters to readers considering a launch. Next week I’m going to post a list of Substack tips and tricks that I get asked for most often. We’ll do more resources and guides like that with a sports focus, including:
How to start and distribute a podcast on Substack
The best ways to use your dashboard data
Launch checklists
Free vs. premium content strategies
Also, the chat is open. Hop in and say hi.
I’m headed to Boston on Friday for the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Hit me up if you’ll be in town. I’d love to talk tennis or Love Island: All Stars, whichever version of sports you recognize.
Here’s the list’s top 10, if you’re curious. It’s aged well in some ways since 2021 and poorly in others. That’s how it goes. But I do have to concede that Stephen A. was right about Book being too low.
This is fantastic — Substack Sports having its moment.
Austin and the Substack team have done a ton to facilitate collaboration, with better and better tools. I've seen first-hand how working together creates a virtuous circle ... and a way to lift all boats. It's fun, too.
As a follow-up to what Austin said ... We're going to keep it rolling, with more collaboration to come.
If you're interested in participating or just want to connect, DM me here or email me at 5x5basketball@substack.com
Stephen A Smith is the #1 reason I change the channel off ESPN.