Courant: Doyle: Mouse Takes Fans Far Beyond Crumbs

No, no…this has nothing to do with Disney’s lawsuit against Zap Comix…it’s a look at the Yankee/Red Sox blogging scene.

There was time when Connecticut baseball fans might have felt detached from their teams in Boston or New York. But in this age of 24/7 access to information and opinion, fans living along the rivalry’s dividing line are as immersed and informed as those residing in the shadows of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.

Much of the access starts with a click of the mouse.

“Baseball is a sport driven by two things that are natural to the Internet: conversation and data,” Quinnipiac assistant professor of journalism Rich Hanley said. “The conversation is no longer controlled by the mediators, the sports writers and columnists who gave fans insight into the game and its players. Instead, much of that access comes directly from the players in the form of blogs and fans whose voices are no longer restricted to neighborhood bars and sports talk radio.”