Cards Hire Darren Urban as Website Manager

[Jim O]

Cards Hire Darren Urban as Website Manager

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Tempe, AZ – The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that the team has hired DARREN URBAN as website manager for www.azcardinals.com.

Urban has been a sportswriter for the East Valley Tribune since 1994 and has spent the last eight seasons covering the Cardinals and National Football League for the paper. His debut on azcardinals.com will coincide with the opening of training camp on Friday, July 27.

“Darren is very well-known and respected among those who follow our team,” said Cardinals Vice-President/Sales and Marketing Ron Minegar. “He is a tremendous addition to azcardinals.com and will certainly help to establish the site as the top source of Cardinals news and information.”

A graduate of Arizona State University, Urban has also worked as a reporter for the Scottsdale Progress and the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff.

- www.azcardinals.com -

 

[Shane]

I like Darren good for him! I hope its a hefty raise. Im just glad they got him into camp ON TIME!

 

[abomb]

Wow, that is very cool. Hopefully the quality and frequency of content on the official site will keep increasing.

 

[jefftheshark]

Here is a great way to silence a critic: You hire him!

What's next, K9 as Director of Media Relations?

The Shark

 

[BigRedRage]

good for him but I wish the cardss would stop taking everyone good under theyr payroll, I fear he may become another rah rah guy now and not be so honest.

 

[kerouac9]

What's next, K9 as Director of Media Relations?

This was funny. Especially considering how on his blog today and apparently in the paper the last two days he mentions that the Cards are lowering expectations for this season.

If nothing else, I hope that Urban is able to decrease the number of laughable "Mike Gandy was one of the most sought-after free agents of 2007" articles that the official site has put out lately.

 

[ajcardfan]

I'm afraid we've lost the best sportswriter who covered this team. Team websites are what they are. Urban won't change that.

But, it's a nice coup for the Cards and a nice job for Urban. Congrats to both.

 

[Redheart]

That makes Urban the new "Cardinals Insider".

What does that make Jurecki?

 

[Redheart]

Did Urban keep his job with the Trib? Hard to think he gave that up just to manage the Cardinals Website.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Yeah, I'd like to know if his blog is going down now, since I link to it on the frontpage

 

[DeAnna]

I heart Darren Urban...there's just something about his smile...

 

[Scott MS]

Congrats to Darren. I've known him since first grade and we rose from the "Ashes" together.

 

[joeshmo]

NOOOOOOO.

Congrats to Darren for pulling in some extra cash, but.....

Any reporter who gets hired by a team in any capacity turns into rah, rah, tow the company line guys. Happens every time, and I doubt it wont happen in this case.

Bad move in the wrong direction for valley football coverage.

Hope I am wrong.

 

[CatBoxBackFan]

Yeah, I'd like to know if his blog is going down now, since I link to it on the frontpage

From his blog: It's certainly not a secret anymore -- not with press releases and everything -- but I am moving on to another job at the end of the week as the Cardinals head to camp. Obviously I will still be covering the Cardinals.

I appreciate those of you who have been reading this blog (I will still be blogging through Thursday, so don't forget me yet) and I appreciate those of you who have complimented my work. I hope I won't lose my readers after the move, but I also hope everyone gives my replacement -- Mike Tulumello, who covered the Suns for the Trib for many, many years -- a chance.

I also hope that, for everybody's sake, we all transition into the beginning of training camp this weekend with no unsigned rookies. Still nothing to report on Levi Brown or Alan Branch (their agents didn't return phone messages Monday) but there are still a few days left.

 

[Redheart]

From his blog: It's certainly not a secret anymore -- not with press releases and everything -- but I am moving on to another job at the end of the week as the Cardinals head to camp. Obviously I will still be covering the Cardinals.

I appreciate those of you who have been reading this blog (I will still be blogging through Thursday, so don't forget me yet) and I appreciate those of you who have complimented my work. I hope I won't lose my readers after the move, but I also hope everyone gives my replacement -- Mike Tulumello, who covered the Suns for the Trib for many, many years -- a chance.

I also hope that, for everybody's sake, we all transition into the beginning of training camp this weekend with no unsigned rookies. Still nothing to report on Levi Brown or Alan Branch (their agents didn't return phone messages Monday) but there are still a few days left.

Wow. Just Freakin' WOW.

This could be looked at as very good news for the Cardinals.

(K-9 is now free to ask me why).

 

[Gambit]

Here is a great way to silence a critic: You hire him!

What's next, K9 as Director of Media Relations?

The Shark

 

[Mike Olbinski]

I like Mike Tulumello...a good writer.

 

[Totally_Red]

Good hire by the Cardinals and a big loss for the Trib. It'll be interesting to see if Darren can turn the web portal into something worth visiting on a regular basis. My guess is that he will. I've appreciated his insights and articles on the Cardinals from the outside and I'll miss his blog.

Kudos to the Cardinals for spending the bucks on a solid hire and hopefully a genuine attempt to make the website "must-visit" reading.

 

[D-Dogg]

Odd.

Position wise, that is. Urban would be better served in PR than Website Manager...yeah, he's got a nice blog but seriously, put talent where talent is best utilized.

Seems to be a very small job (Website manager is kind of a piddly job, IMO) where a guy like Urban could be HUGE running PR. If you want to bring the guy in, bring the guy IN for God's sake. Just my two cents. I love the hire; I just think they aren't looking at him in the right way...unless they have a longer term plan.

 

[Stronso]

NOOOOOOO.

Congrats to Darren for pulling in some extra cash, but.....

Any reporter who gets hired by a team in any capacity turns into rah, rah, tow the company line guys. Happens every time, and I doubt it wont happen in this case.

Bad move in the wrong direction for valley football coverage.

Hope I am wrong.

Not necessarily.

Here in NY there is a guy named Michael Kay who is the TV guy for the Yankees on YES. He also has an afternoon drive radio show on 1050 ESPN Radio here in the city.

Despite the fact that he has the Yankee position he is brutally frank about them on his radio show. He calls people out, both managerial and player, on the good and the bad. I find that he is fair in his positions and does a good job.

Now remember - these are the NY Yankees with Steinbrenner, Torre, Jeter, ARod, etc. - and he calls them out. In NYC prime drive radio.

I think having a guy doing "print" media on a team website with lower profile people like Whisenhunt, James, Boldin, Leinart can work if the guy tells the Bidwills from the get -go that there has to be integrity in the coverage.

It can work and Kay proves it can be done very well.

 

[az1965]

Urban as Cards web site manager...???

No wonder I'm getting non-stop web page errors when I click on Urban's blog on the front page... Is anyone getting these errors???

Coincidence? I think not...

 

[CatBoxBackFan]

Urban as Cards web site manager...???

No wonder I'm getting non-stop web page errors when I click on Urban's blog on the front page... Is anyone getting these errors???

Coincidence? I think not...

Nope,Bird Watching

 

[JeffGollin]

Odd.

Position wise, that is. Urban would be better served in PR than Website Manager...but seriously, put talent where talent is best utilized...Seems to be a very small job (Website manager is kind of a piddly job...Urban could be HUGE running PR...I love the hire; I just think they aren't looking at him in the right way...unless they have a longer term plan.

Seems as though many of us are thinking along the same lines.

Darren Urban's prime value - in terms of his existing body of work - is that he's been providing fans with news and information they've had trouble obtaining otherwise; and he's worked hard and exercised the kind of objectivity you like to see in a journalist.

I wouldn't describe website managing as "piddling"; just different from being a beat writer. Web technology is new and rapidly evolving. (For example, who would have thunk 5 years ago that it would be relatively simple to receive video feeds of all kinds of programming - including movies from NetFlix - on your PC and then show it in another room on your TV screen). Can archived video feeds of entire games (or for that matter, telestrator game-tape) via the Cardinal website - along with expert analysis from commentators and coaches - be far behind?

For the above reason, website management will require a considerably different skill-set from simply being a cracker-jack local journalist. I think Darren's challenge will be the ongoing one of organizing an enormous and ever-changing body of material so that website visitors can easily find and navigate to content that they'll find informative, timely, concise, accurate and (more and more) entertaining. It could, therefore, be that a PR post might ultimately be a better fit.

For this reason, I share the thoughts of many of you that the website job may simply be a "foot in the door"/"get your feet wet" move for Urban that may herald something bigger and better not too far up the road if the Cardinals like what they see and Darren feels likewise.

That said, my inition reaction was: "Good for Darren!", but it's the Cardinals' gain and journalism's loss.

 

[D-Dogg]

I wouldn't describe website managing as "piddling"; just different from being a beat writer. Web technology is new and rapidly evolving. (For example, who would have thunk 5 years ago that it would be relatively simple to receive video feeds of all kinds of programming - including movies from NetFlix - on your PC and then show it in another room on your TV screen). Can archived video feeds of entire games (or for that matter, telestrator game-tape) via the Cardinal website - along with expert analysis from commentators and coaches - be far behind?

Oh, I agree. Piddling isn't the right word in that web management is very important and all the things you talk about above are great but that isn't what I'd foresee from Urban taking the post. That is so much more than Urban is capable of (I'm assuming). That would take someone really versed in Web 2.0 philosophy, active video and integration that would take someone really on the cutting edge of what is going on with the Internet. But I venture to guess that all that you posted above would elicit a "wow, could we do THAT?" from Urban. Yeah, he had a good blog, but blogs are sooooo mainstream. What would be great is to see them hire an Internet visionary taking them far beyond what we have today from team owned Web sites.

I just think they put him there because he has a decent understanding of the Web, and will eventually move into PR.

But when I say piddling it is more in line with how I figure Urban's understanding of Web media versus what could be. I'd be more impressed, actually, if they hired someone who started and sold some social web site successfully with new ideas of how to re-distribute Cardinal news to the fan base.

Piddling wasn't the right word; it was more addressed I guess at the results from an Urban-directed Web site given his skill set.

I know what I'm saying but I don't know if I'm expressing it correctly.

 

[JeffGollin]

Oh, I agree. Piddling isn't the right word...I just think they put him there because he has a decent understanding of the Web, and will eventually move into PR.

That's how I see it also. Urban's forte is sports-writing and football knowledge/not necessarily web-stuff (technical or otherwise).

The web spot may or may not be simply an entry-point serving as a stepping stone upward; perhaps to PR sometimes in the future.

Note - I also believe in "hiring the person" (rather than the resume). Darren seems to be a good guy with strong basic skills that could readily translate into other responsibilities within the organization (including what it takes to run a good website - we've only seen Urban's writing persona; we don't know what else he can or cannot do).