Most of you remember my announcement last year about our purchase of the domain, SportsRants.com. The news made the rounds in the digital/marketing world and it was an important moment for our brand and our first step towards rebranding. Although we tied our site to SportsRants.com we still had a bit of a “Z problem”. The fact of the matter is we needed to drop the Z completely and our little cartoon rant man that has been a part of our logo since we launched in 2011.

As we take  step forward to many great things I am pleased to announce that we are now officially SportsRants and our site can be reached by going to SportsRants.com. Don’t worry folks, you can still get to use at SportsRantz.com as well.

With this brand name alteration we believe this reflects a more polished, professional feel and a name that is easier to remember.

As we go through changes to the new official brand name tonight we ask that all bloggers who blog on SportsRants make sure to save their recent posts (as of the past 24 hours) on their computer. Updating to the new name will take some time, so you may be able to access your recent posts at SportsRantz.com/yourblogname to retain posts if needed.

Thanks for all of your continued support and we have some more major news to roll out as we continue towards the future.

Anthony DiMoro
Founder CEO
SportsRants

Hey Ranters!

Some of you may have noticed or experienced some issues with the look of your blog, or accessing the dashboard. With the growth of both our website traffic and the popularity of SportsRants over the past few months we have made a decision to revamp our server and the back-end of our site to increase speed, functionality and most of all usability. We are updating numerous features as well. Additionally, we are also gearing up for a bit of a change to our brand which will be revealing in the coming week as well.

We decided to perform this long process over this weekend and should have everything back to square one sometime on Monday.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but rest assured this is only to improve the website and your blogs as a whole.

We will be back running 100% in the immediate future. In the meantime, you can still access the Rantivity/Rants page and share your sports thoughts with others.

Thank you

Anthony DiMoro
SportsRants

I love making announcements just like this. I’ve been teasing something big for quite some time and today marks the day we roll some of it out. The first part of our announcement is mostly for sports radio hosts and sports podcasters. And i am particularly excited to roll this out because it isn’t just something cool for SportsRantz, but cool for the entire industry. Staying innovative is important to me and to the SportsRantz brand.

Starting on May 1st, 2013 we will be rolling out the new Broadcaster Feature on SportsRantz.com.

So what is the Broadcaster Feature? Quite simply the new, innovative way for show hosts to interact with their listeners!

Imagine a comprehensive chat room for you to use during your podcast or radio show. A feature your listeners can use to interact with the hosts, guests and other listeners. A chat room just for your show! Imagine an innovative feature that will not only bring your brand to the next level, but increase your audience interaction and also give you an edge over your competition

But what’s best about this chat room, is it isn’t just any run of the mill chat. It will allow you to have the option to video broadcast your show. Now your listeners can watch your show!

No more using Facebook Chat, Twitter, UStream, or Blog Talk Radio for your chat room needs. The Broadcaster Feature will allow you to not only provide an innovative feature for your audience, but a way to bring your show to the next level. You can fully control the room, police members and best of all, this is 100% FREE!

Check out some of the great features of the new Broadcaster Feature

• Brand Your Chat Room – Create a chat room with your show name. Easy for members to find your show and easy for other members to find your show!
• Mobile Ready – Members (and you) can access the chat room via your smartphone or tablet. As long as Flash is installed on your phone you can access the chat room without having to be tied to your computer! Keep your show on the go!
• Audio + Visual - After you join a room you can broadcast your web cam and microphone so that others can see and hear you.
• Play YouTube Videos – Talking about a particular play or topic in sports? Why not show your audience the video while you broadcast without having them leave your chat room? YouTube movies displayed directly in the text chat area. If anyone types a link to a YouTube movie, SportsRantz will automatically load and preview that video in the chat!
• Emoticons - The video chat supports emoticons, a fun way for users to express themselves!

• Full Screen Broadcast - You can watch the high quality video streams broadcasted by others in full screen!
• File Sharing – Have something you want to promote? A blog post? A flier? Upload files to rooms or send files directly to people
• Photo Sharing – Want to share a topic-related photo during your show?  Uploaded images are automatically loaded and previewed in the text chat area.
• Room Member Lists - The new users list can display the users in the room, who is watching you, who you have blocked, etc…. It can also display the avatar of each user and weather or not the user has a web cam/mic (even tough the web cam/mic is not started) .
• The Choice is Yours – If you would rather not use the video broadcast, that’s fine. You can use this as a basic chat room as well!

This is the future of radio and podcast broadcasting and SportsRantz is happy to help usher it in! We are looking for an official launch of May 1st, 2013! And we have one more announcement forthcoming, that is in conjunction with this.

Keep in mind this is FREE. You just have to be a member of SportsRantz.com, which is FREE to do!

So sign up and get ready on May 1st! More details forthcoming

Anthony DiMoro
SportsRantz
@AnthonyDiMoro

In December of 2011 I had an idea. Somewhat of a “vision”. I wanted to change the landscape of how we talk sports and how social media and networking socialize sports fans. Although it was merely a side-project at the time, I launched SportsRantz.com officially on April 1st, 2012.

Our first year proved to be both challenging and rewarding but several months into the operation of the website I fell in love with the direction and possibilities. To this day I still cannot believe this is my career. Everything we have done from SportsRantz Radio to SportsRantz TV and everything in between has been an incredible journey.

Through SportsRantz I have connected with some amazing people, athletes and brands.

Being a social networking, social media and sports media-ish outfit makes it a challenge to be unique and forge your own path. But I am proud to say we are the only one of our kind. The future is bright for SportsRantz and there are so many amazing things in the works that I am more than excited to roll out.

I wanted to take some time to acknowledge our 2 Years online, thank each of you for your support, thank our members for being ranters and also reflect on the growth of SportsRantz.com.

Here’s to a great 2 years and many more to come!

Take a look back at how SportsRants has changed over the past 2 years since being officially launched on April 1st, 2011:

SportsRantz.com – 2011

SportsRantz.com’s first redesign, 2012

SportsRantz.com 2012

SportsRantz 2013

Anthony DiMoro
President/CEO
SportsRantz

Wrestling fans rejoice! We have added two new shows to our SportsRantz Radio lineup and both will be talking about Pro Wrestling. So for all of you WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor and diehard wrestling fans we have your fix with two new shows hosted by the talented Greg DeMarco and his team.

The first debuts tonight at 10pm EST, Wrestle Rantz, and our second new edition, The Greg DeMarco Show, is slated to kick off this Sunday, the day of WWE’s Elimination Chamber event. Two shows is like a double body-slam in sports talk radio!

Over the past few years, Greg DeMarco has become both one of the most beloved and most hated personalities on the internet wrestling community. After four years working “in the business” as an announcer, backstage interviewer, writer/booker and on-stage character, Greg took his experience to the written word. Greg gained popularity writing the weekly “Wrestling 5&1” at 411Mania, and also became one of the most popular writers during his stint at Bleacher Report.

In May 2011, Greg took to the airwaves with The Greg DeMarco Show. Growing from an audience of 200 to 10,000, Greg earned the respect of listeners and wrestlers alike.  Each week Greg and his crew produce the best wrestling content heard anywhere. Starting in February 2013, Greg moves to producing two shows per week—both on the acclaimed SportsRantz Radio Network!

Airing on Wednesday nights, Wrestling Rantz features host Greg DeMarco and company in a unique format—interacting with fans via call-ins, Twitter, Facebook and even the archaic email! Greg won’t come alone, as he’s joined by two cohosts. First is Andy Critchell—who has an opinion and isn’t afraid to share it! Andy doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, his opinions are strong and he’s ready to spread them! Also on the air you’ll hear 411Mania’s Tony Acero—a published author and a personality who loves to have fun just as much as he loves to share his opinion.

After becoming a Tuesday night tradition, The Greg DeMarco Show moves to Sunday nights and joins the SportsRantz Radio Network! For nearly two years, Greg has been joined by co-host and best friend “The Wrestling Realist” Patrick O’Dowd. With his unique viewpoint on the professional wrestling business, Patrick will take those fans who overact to the events of the past week and welcome them back to earth! Originally built as an extension of their near daily banter, the pair have grown into some of the most respected wrestling analysts on the ‘net.

The GDMS guest list is one of the most impressive in the business, including appearances by TNA talent “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, former WWE Superstar Chris “Masters” Mordetzky, ECW/WWF/WCW legend “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, former 5-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce and many of today’s top independent talent including Ring of Honor World Champion Kevin Steen, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Champion Adam Cole, Dragon Gate USA Open The Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano and independent wrestling’s #1 female star, Rain.

Both shows will also feature appearances by The DeMarcettes, the seven hottest unsigned talents in all of women’s independent wrestling.

Joining The SportsRantz Radio Network is huge for me as a radio personality. When you take a step back and look at the significant reach of SportsRantz, you’ll see why I’m so excited to join the network. The group of hosts and personalities already on air with SportsRantz Radio is a very impressive bunch, and I am honored to join such a prestigious group. I can’t wait to bring Wrestling Rantz and The Greg DeMarco Show to the great listeners of SportsRantz Radio, and I can’t wait to introduce my loyal listeners to the SportsRantz community!” – Greg DeMarco

 

Join SportsRantz Radio as we kickoff two brand new shows, starting tonight! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sportsrants/2013/02/14/wrestle-rantz

-Anthony DiMoro
SportsRantz

It seems every few weeks or so we are adding more quality shows to our popular radio lineup. Today, is no different as we are happy to announce the addition of The Man Cave to our sports radio lineup. Another step in our initiative to stay among the best in online sports radio.

The Man Cave will be debuting tonight at 7pm EST. The one hour show will talk all things sports and engage the SportsRantz nation in colorful sports talk!

The Man Cave is a place where guys can feel safe to talk about all their favorite things, sports, movies,beautiful women and more. Jeff and Bobby will guide you through all these awesome topics in a way that no one else can. Its the perfect audio hang out for the modern man.

People can expect plenty of opinionated sports conversations that make them feel like they are hanging out with their buddies. Casual comfortable discussions that will also feature interviews with some of the hottest women on the planet. We have already interviewed the likes of Bree Olson, Jill Kelly, Tabitha Stevens and definitely want to keep that tradition going on SportsRantz.

SportsRantz is important to us because it helps us get new people into the conversation. We want this to be the most interactive show around. I’m really excited to hear more fans be a part of the show.  - Jeff Schaeffer

Most of you know about our section SportsRantz University which provides various tips and advice on topics like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, Internet Marketing and Branding. If you have a blog or website and you haven’t utilized it, then you’re missing the bus.

For those who don’t know SportsRantz is a division of Elite Rank Marketing, a top of the line and highly respected marketing company that specializes in SEO, Social Media, Branding and Reputation Management. We offer services to online businesses, brands, athletes, agents and much more and have been in business since 2009.

If you’re a blogger or own a website than this article should be very important to you. Simply because there is a big misconception out there on what SEO is and who actually is properly using it. If you aren’t educating yourself on SEO and general Internet Marketing than your website is missing the boat. Big time. It’s a key factor in building traffic, making your business profitable and most of all, empowering your brand.

With the revamp of the Elite Rank Marketing website, which is now officially merged with SportsRantz, we are glad to introduce some new tools you can utilize to gauge your site, check out your competitors and improve. If your brand and your businesses future is important to you, than this should be vital to you. Whether you’re a radio host, blogger or own a website, bookmark this article. We are about to give you critical information on how to take your brand and your image to the next level.

Don’t worry, it’s free. Why is it free? Because some of this information is common knowledge in the internet marketing industry. Frankly, a lot of SEO companies charge thousands of dollars just to educate you on this information. Since we are a company the deals specifically in high quality services, we don’t see the benefit of taking money from people just to give them information.

One quick tip is to share your content on SportsRantz.com, its’ free to register and is a social network for sports talk -
Click here to sign up

With the launch of the new ERM website we are offering the following tools absolutely free:

Google Pagerank Tool
This tool will give you the Page Rank of your website. Page Rank is a grading system used by Google. The more valuable, popular and informative your website is, the higher the Page Rank you have – Click Here

Backlink Analysis Tool
Quality backlinks is one of the most important factors in Search Engine Optimization.
It is not enough just to have a lot of backlinks, it is the Quality of backlinks along with the Quantity that help you rank better in Search Engines. - Click Here

Similar Page Checker
If you are a blogger, journalist or editor, this tool is vital for you. Search Engines are known to act upon websites that contain Duplicate / Similar content in a negative way and it can impact your rankings and your traffic. Use this tool to double check your content – Click Here

Keyword Suggestion Tool
Just starting SEO on your blog or website? Can’t figure out what terms you should rank for? Then this tool can give you some ideas! –Click Here

Keyword Density Checker 
Now that you have keywords, are you using them properly on your website? Picking keywords is just half the battle. Make sure you are using your targeted keywords in the proper fashion on your website or blog – Click Here

So after you use those tools, we aren’t done. now that you have checked out your website you need some vital information. Don’t worry we got you covered. Check out these articles and start practicing the methods to bring your brand to the next level

#1 – First off, STOP trading links and participating in Link Exchanges with other sites. This is a BIG issue and you need to realize your website is at risk every single time you do it. This is why and you’ll be shocked at how dangerous it can be for your website

#2 – Here is a basic introduction on SEO and why it’s vital to your success

#3 – This is how to choose keywords and how to apply them to your website/blog

#4 – The Beauty of Inter-Linking Your Blog/Website - Empower Your Blog/Website to be a Internet Powerhouse

#5 – Don’t forget to focus locally as well - Otherwise you’re missing a key demographic and audience

#6 – Setting up the SEO Plugin on your SportsRantz or WordPress blog
Now you are empowered to reach success online. If you’re skipping over the information and then left wondering why you aren’t as big as you think you should be, it’s your own fault. If you’re not doing it, your competition definitely is.

For those interested in hiring Elite Rank Marketing, we’d love to work with you. We offer SEO Services, Reputation Management, Sports Public Relations, Social Media Services, Branding, Athlete Reputation Management, Sports Marketing Services and much more. Just look at SportsRantz.com, much of it’s success was due to the efforts of Elite Rank Marketing.

If you want to contact Elite Rank Marketing or hire them – Contact Us here

You can also follow them on Twitter for more tips and info – @EliteRankSEO

If you need further proof of why you need to to tackle the online market more potently, check this video out.

2013 is a big year for SportsRantz thus far and we continue to strive to do some incredible things as the year rolls on. Growing our radio station is always a top priority and we are looking to further expand our current lineup of shows. It’s a key goal for us to improve our sports radio station each and every day.

With that being said I am pleased to announce the latest addition to our radio lineup, “Siren 1363 Radio Show” which will be following “Friday Night Rant Zone” on our Friday night lineup. The show will kickoff at 8pm EST and is debuting within the next few weeks. Hockey fans rejoice!

The host will be blogger Amy Gist and we are excited to welcome her to the SportsRantz Radio family.

“Siren 1363 was started in January 2012 by Amy Gist as a blog spot for Gongshow Gear Hockey. Amy stills blogs under Siren 1363 for Gongshow but it is also now her personal web domain siren1363.com and associated with most of her written content. The addition of a radio show to the Siren 1363 brand is a great opportunity for expansion of Amy’s little hockey haven for die hard fans

Tuning into Siren 1363 Radio Show will be an interactive hockey experience. Focusing not just on scores and updates we’ll be talking about charitable causes around the hockey world, controversial hits and fights, players from leagues other than the NHL, as well as some great surprise guests from hockey players to trainers and coaches! A weekly re-cap of everything Amy has published will also be part of the show! Listeners are encouraged to call in and join the discussion, ask questions, and get involved with the Siren herself (Amy) on the air

It is an incredible honor to be joining SportsRantz Radio and a huge step forward for the brand that is Siren 1363. The opportunity to reach out to an audience that might not have time to read all of the written material put out on Siren 1363 now has an opportunity to see what the big stories of the week from Amy were! This is an exciting opportunity and will be a great experience for Amy and listeners alike”  - (courtesy of Amy Gist)

February is a month of new shows debuting on SportsRantz Radio, a trend we are striving to continue as we progress further into 2013. Stay tuned and gear up for this great new hockey show on SportsRantz Radio.

- Anthony DiMoro
SportsRantz

I’m thrilled to announce this particular show as a new addition to our radio lineup. Specifically because I get to team up with a friend of mine, someone I respect dearly, Missy Deyo. With February on the horizon I am very proud to announce the debut of “Told You So“, a brand new show on SportsRantz Radio starring Missy Deyo, Erica Wallace and Blaire MacPhail.

Told You So debuts this Thursday, January 24th 2013, at 7pmEST on SportsRantz Radio here. The show will be every Thursday from 7-9pm EST right before The Bottom Line airs!

Here is Missy to give you a preview of what to expect from the show:

“Expect the unexpected! It’s certainly going to grow as we continue and we look forward to feedback from our listeners. Essentially, we’re going to cover a wide variety of topics from news headlines to sports to a little tinsel town gossip. It sounds conventional, but we are three extremely unconventional people with vastly different personalities.

We aren’t afraid to call it like we see it, and we intend to. We’re also going to cover dating and relationships, all the things men want to know and ladies need to hear, with the opportunity for our listeners to call in to vent and ask questions. Occasionally we may even have various celebs and Twitter stars joining us for what we like to call “radio speed dating” and rapid-fire interviews. You won’t want to miss it!

We go way back… WAY! The most well-known is Missy Deyo. Missy created Sports Babe of the Day, a website about male & female babes in sports, in December 2011. She joined it up with another sports website and has since left to pursue her career in media and hockey as well as write her novel and of course, to start Told You So! She’s 25, single and loves to mingle. She can (and will) talk your ear off about hockey, aliens, government conspiracies and rock and roll but is a fan of pretty dresses and falls in love with almost everyone she meets!

Erica Wallace is the neutral third party. She’s a comedic genius, although she will often leave a situation without saying much and just tweet funny things about it later. She’s also 25 and single, but rarely mingles, because her life is consumed by her work as a Dairy Farmer. Yes, that’s right, she is a dairy farmer. She has helped in more cow births than she has gone on dates, and that’s part of why here life appears to be one long, unending comedy. She never really gets into trouble, but is always encouraging Missy to get into trouble. She did graduate from legal assistant and massage therapy programs but lives to tug utters anyway!

Blaire MacPhail is the bubblegum personality of the group. She’s an unapologetic One Directioner and may or may not have an NSync keepsake box in her bedroom. Blaire is due to be wed this coming June to a man who was her polar opposite in high school (the nailpolish wearing emo music-loving type) but they truly make a perfect couple. She generally playfully chastises Missy for her serial dating habits and constantly tries to drag Erica from the farm. Blaire WILL call you out on your shiznit, boldly and blatantly…she will shank you emotionally if she thinks you need it – but that is why we love her.

Missy and Blaire first met when they were nine years old. Blaire was wearing a swimming suit because it was hot, and Missy thought she’d made a filthy rich new friend who had a swimming pool in her house. She was very disappointed to find out Blaire was a commoner like herself, but the duo remained friends anyway. They later met Erica on the first day of 9th grade in Drama class, where they all had to memorize each other’s names by saying a fruit with the same first initial as their first names as their last name. Missy and Blaire appreciated Erica’s comical attitude, and so a trio was formed. Thus they became eternally known as Missy Mandarin, Erica Eggplant and Blaire Banana.

It feels AWESOME to be joining the SportsRantz Radio family – and it truly is a family. Missy and Anthony, the creator of SportsRantz, became friends last summer, and the two have been looking forward to working together ever since. SportsRantz is such a well recognized brand and social media outlet that it’s just incredible to know there are already so many people who love it. We look forward to bring our existing friends, fans and followers to SportsRantz and to meet a lot of new ones as well! We hope you love us! If not, we shall be forced to bake you cookies and win you over. No? Not working? How about hypnosis? LOVE US DAMMIT”

As the new year picks up more steam it is certainly an exciting time at SportsRantz. Since New Year’s Day in 2012 we have actively expanded our overall exposure in online radio with a lineup that is packed with unique perspectives and impressive talent. The addition of new shows over the past several months has continued to strengthen the brand of SportsRantz Radio. Incorporating new talent and introducing our audience to brands via our airwaves has been a staple of the past 12 months. Something we are continuing to build upon in 2013.

I am very excited to announce a brand new show to the SportsRantz Radio lineup, debuting the first Sunday of February. Bianca Jade, a well-known, respected and popular fitness trend expert is bringing her brand, MizzFit, to SportsRantz Radio starting in February. You may know Bianca from her numerous appearances on TV shows like CBS’ “The Couch” (Video 1 and Video 2 ) and from her video with Jillian Michaels:

Here is what Bianca Jade had to say about the new show:

“I created MizzFIT as a destination for women who want to feel strong inside and out. And when I say strong, I don’t just mean physically strong and rock hard. I mean EMPOWERED. I created MizzFIT as a place for women to find great options to kickstart an incredibly fun fitness lifestyle. But we don’t just cover workouts on MizzFIT.com. We cover what’s in style and trending in fitness–from the hottest sportswear to up and coming fitness fashion designers to fitness instructors you have to workout TO amazing equipment that you can use at home to get in shape TO your favorites celebrities and their favorite tips for maintain a great physique. MizzFIT is a fantastic resource for all kinds of women looking to lead a healthy lifestyle

Fans can expect great conversation on a range of fitness topics that matter most to women. We’ll get up close and personal about fitness and health issues that people may be shy about or even sensitive about. We’ll bring it all to light and make sure the end result is that women develop a closer relationship to fitness and feel less intimidated about trying new things related to improving their physical and, of course, mental health.

I’m so thrilled to join the SportsRantz team because it’s a community of commentators who all love ACTION and SPORT. I think sometimes people forget about fitness when it comes to sport and not enough people consider the fashion element that goes along with both fitness and sport. The MizzFIT radio show will introduce listeners to the world of fitness trends and get their opinions on them. I think this show will add diversity to the lineup and hopefully get people talking about health in a non-boring way” – Bianca Jade (MizzFit)

 

This will bring SportsRantz Radio into the realm of fitness, something I cam very passionate about. Bianca is a very recognizable and respected fitness expert with a track record that speaks for itself. She’s inspirational, fun and will bring a ton of positive energy to our airwaves. Teaming up with her brand will help us collectively create something unique and innovative for the fitness industry and for the online radio airwaves!

Sports fans, Fitness fans, health nuts and everyone in between can tune into the show starting February. Stay tuned for more details on broadcast time.

In the meantime make sure to visit MizzFit.com and follow Bianca Jade on Twitter and on Facebook

- Anthony DiMoro
SportsRantz