Are you full of crap?
I’m full of something, that’s for sure. I actually do have some “ins” in sports and professional wrestling, primarily with in the NHL, MLB and WWE/TNA. News that gets posted here is also filtered through the fake/illogical “rumours” that are posted as “true” by unreliable sources who have gotten their info from “sources.” Anything that sounds even remotely suspicious of being opinionated on this site will be–anything you find in the editorial section is definitely opinionated. Anytime a rumour or news blurb cannot be confirmed by a reliable public source or media outlet, I’ll say so in the post; and anytime a rumour has a reliable name and source with it, I’ll post it along with the rumour as well.
Can you text/email me trades/trade deadline/rumours when you get them?
No.
How can I contact you?
If you didn’t think to check here first, I probably don’t want you reading my site to begin with. You can reach me for questions, concerns, fan/hate mail, media, link exchange, advertising, or anything to that effect by clicking the “Contact Us” tab at the top of the screen. If you’re interested in advertising here, please contact me and I will be able to supply you with specifics, such as page rank, monthly traffic, unique hits, etc. If your email consists of anything with spelling mistakes, other grammatical errors, or is boorishly written, it will be deleted without hesitation. If you do email me, however, make sure that you clearly label the subject line so that I get back to you accordingly. Anything that sounds remotely like spam will automatically be filtered by my spam blocker and deleted automatically without me getting a chance to see it, so using a subject line like “Voice of Valeri” or “VoV” will ensure that it reaches my inbox. I check my email daily, so you should receive a response back fairly quickly.
But before you click “send,” I’ve compiled a list of things you should read before you email me:
If your keyboard doesn’t work, don’t email me.
If you use “tha” instead of “the,” don’t email me, it will only piss me off.
If you are unsure of the difference between “your” and “you’re,” or “their,” “there” and “they’re,” don’t email me.
If your age consists of a single digit, do not email me.
If you’re going to send me the laughing baby/light saber video, etc., assume I’ve seen it a million times and don’t send it to me.
Don’t beg me to post your email on the site as fan/hate mail. If your writing was good to begin with, you’d probably have something better to do than to beg strangers on the internet to publish your stuff.
If you tend to use the acronym “LOL” a lot, don’t bother trying to remember not to use it in the email, it’s just easier for you to not email me. Save my ‘delete’ key some wear-and-tear. Whatever it is that you have to say probably isn’t important.
I think that about covers it for now. If you’re going to send me an email and you’re not sure whether or not it’s stupid, play it safe and presume it is. Together, we can make my inbox idiot-free.
Who’s behind VoV?
Voice of Valeri is solely run by myself, Marc Valeri. I graduated with an honours degree in Media Studies and a diploma in Journalism. I wrote my thesis on steroids in Major League Baseball and the negative effect it’s having on the culture of sports. I’m a Toronto-based sports journalist, and have been writing consistently since my mid-teens. I have written, produced and/or designed pieces for my high school yearbook, and have been published in high school and university newspapers. I’m also the co-founder and head sports director of Live in Limbo (2009-present). I also wrote for HockeyLeaks.com as a Team Blogger and feature writer (2006-2010). My site is far-and-away the best site I’ve ever been to. I love everything about my site. It’s the best. I rule.
How did this site start? How do you promote it?
As an avid sports and wrestling fan, my first dream was to become either an athlete or a pro wrestler. When I realized the world wasn’t ready for me, I decided against it. Writing/arguing/debating has always been something I’ve really enjoyed, so now, with an education in the field and some experience, I realized that I could do what failed athletes and wrestlers do–write about their profession. Originally, the VoV concept was a blog on Blogger called “Voice of Valeri” (the name itself was coined by Live in Limbo’s Sean Chin on October 5, 2007 while fooling around with possible names and logo designs over an MSN Messenger conversation), which debuted in late-2007, but it has since become a stand-alone website as of December 2008. While on Blogger, VoV garnering roughly 50-100 hits per month. Now, VoV.com sees up to 500,000 hits per month. Needless to say, the site has grown like a rash.
How many people write for VoV?
Just me. I do all the articles, news, email responses, etc. From time-to-time, there will be writers doing columns/articles/opinions/editorials/blogs/podcasts, which can be found under the “Writers” section. VoV’s staff currently consists of the following people:
Founder, Editor in Chief, writer: Marc Valeri (www.voiceofvaleri.com, Twitter.com/VoiceofValeri, Facebook Fan Page, Formspring, RSS Feeds)
There’s always room for more, so drop me a line using the contact form above if you’re interested in writing, blogging, podcasting, etc. for VoV.com.
How often do you update your site?
I try to update it as often as possible. I do my best to update multiple times on a daily basis, but I do have a life outside of the site, so it isn’t always possible to be as up-to-date as I’d like to be. If it’s a slow day, or I’m away from the computer, the site goes untouched until I’m back in front of the keyboard. Often times, I’ll receive news, but if I’m not by a computer at the time, I can’t post, and since I’m the only one working the site, I can’t relay info to anyone to have them post it. Some days, I’ll update as many as six or seven times, and others I won’t update at all. It’s all relative. More frequent updates come around the free agency period for sports, as well as trade deadlines–both of which I usually cover live at this site.
VoV.com has quickly become on of the fastest to late-breaking news in the world of sports and professional wrestling. VoV.com has broken news such as Christian leaving TNA and re-signing with WWE; the Red Wings signing Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg to long-term deals; the Flames firing Mike Keenan; the Giants releasing Plaxico Burress; the Cardinals releasing Edgerrin James; the Habs firing Guy Carbonneau; the Cowboys releasing Terrell Owens; Alex Rodriguez admitting to using PEDs; the Devils hiring Jacques Lemaire; Cam Ward signing an extension with the Hurricanes; and J.P. Ricciardi leaving the Blue Jays.
Your rumour doesn’t make sense/that never happened/is this likely?
Whenever I post a “rumour”, that’s exactly what it is–a rumour. I receive a lot on a daily basis, but I don’t post ones that I can’t stick to a reliable or credible source, or ones that are too vague. If there isn’t anyone or anything credible behind it, it won’t be posted, since there’s no juice behind it other than the deal possibly being logical from a player/position/financial standpoint. If the rumour has no credible source, but still makes sense as a logical possibility, I may post it with the caution that there may be nothing behind it and may simply be hearsay/speculation. A lot of the time, names that pop up in rumours are the ones that make the most sense, whether it’s because of contracts, etc. but there’s always more to it than what’s merely logical financially. The rumours that have publicly available sources will be posted along with the rumour.
How much do you spend promoting/upkeeping your site?
I don’t. To date, I’ve spent a grand total of $0.00 on it. All traffic has been generated through word of mouth alone, and all costs (purchasing and renewing URL, etc.) are paid for by advertising deals on the site.
Who are your writing inspirations?
I’ve got a few. In sports, I’m a fan of Bill Simmons of ESPN, Steve Alexander of RotoWorld, Tom Chisholm of TSN and Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. In pro wrestling, I started writing consistently because of The John Report’s John Canton.
I have an idea for an article / Can you do a page about [insert topic] / May I send you my writing/ideas?
Don’t give me ideas if you don’t want your name attached to the aricle. Articles/opinions/rants that readers have written will have to be sent to me in advance if you’d like them posted, but anything not sports/wrestling related will be disregarded. Sorry, but that’s what the site is about. Generally, I don’t want anyone emailing me ideas because I don’t want to post something on my website, then having them see it later and think it’s an unoriginal version. I always have a bunch of article ideas at any given time, but it’s more a matter of finding the time to bang them out rather than generating the ideas themselves. Bottom line, I have more than enough to write about. You may send me general suggestions, but if you’re worried about me taking your ideas, then don’t email me.
On Twitter / Facebook / Formspring, you contradicted yourself [insert frequency] times.
…and?
You always say you’re right / undefeated. How can you be if you contradict yourself? You’re a(n) idiot / moron / racist / terrible person for your views and comments on [insert topic]
If I wasn’t undefeated, this would be a huge issue. But that’s besides the point. What’s important is that I’m always right about everything–like I said, I’m undefeated. If you disagree with anything I have to say, you are wrong. I can’t think of an example, but trust me, I’m right. Better yet, leave a comment or something, or, send me hate mail so that I can do a page on that.
On Twitter / Facebook / Formspring, you say that [insert noun] is [insert controversial/irrational/illogical comment] which isn’t true. Are you an idiot?
Who cares?
Do you hate sports and wrestling? Why are you so angry?
No, idiot. The following words should never be taken literally on my site: “always, every, all, everything, nothing,” and “never.” Most of the things I say I hate, I really don’t care about strongly in real life. A lot of it is knowing how to push people’s buttons and making them tick, just because I know I can. Take animals and animal rights, for example. I really, truly don’t care. So why do I say animals are only good for eating? Well, firstly; because they are; and second, just to piss off people who love animals.
Will you marry me? / Do you have a girlfriend?
To date, I’ve received 43 marriage proposals from women, and 3 marriage proposals from men. Only kidding, of course.
I sent you an email–too good to reply?
Did I miss your email?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfH8AGhFwVs&feature=player_embedded
The ones that are poorly written, or ones that require a maximum amount of effort to read are automatically deleted (for example, anything with “LOLLL!11″ is spammed). Once again, I stress that you use the subject line to your advantage.
Why does your site look so crappy / generic?
Mostly because of bandwidth. Because there are so many posted pages, hi-res pictures, video, etc. I eat up a lot of bandwidth per month. I want to make it as efficient as possible while still getting my point across. Also, I hate fancy, expensive websites with lots of flash but no content. You’d think people would catch on by now, but spinning and rotating icons with cursor fades is stupid and annoying. Both are important, but content over delivery. Besides, mine isn’t the only site on the internet that uses a simple layout–perhaps you’ve heard of this one?
Some people have spent years tweaking their layout and designing their site, and few get significant traffic. This site, as generic as can be, gets a lot of traffic, especially considering I haven’t spent a dime on this site. When I go to a site, I want to read the content. My site’s background and font colour is easy on the eyes and isn’t like staring into a light bulb with some people using black text on a white background.
Is it OK if I link your website?
Yes. You can even drop me a line to let me know you did so, but no, you do not need permission. Articles, opinions, etc. are another story. Please email me and notify me if you plan on citing some of my work on your blog, site, etc. If you want to use something on my site, please contact me and ask my permission first. Feel free to link any of the pages on my site, and my site itself on your own site.
Why don’t you have fan/hate mail on your web site?
It’s actually a work in progress. Ridiculing people who spell things incorrectly, as well as boorishly written emails and ridiculing the people who write them, is the best part of my day. No one likes reading fan mail, since it’s usually not very interesting, but I’ll worry about the hate mail when more of it comes in. Although the overwhelming majority of the mail I get is “fan” mail, or links to rumours/articles, the hate mail I do get is actually kind of funny since the reader is usually super pissed. That said, it’s unimportant and there’s not enough of it to turn it into anything more just yet.
What’s this on Facebook / Twitter / Formspring about pirates and lumberjacks?
Pirates and lumberjacks rule. They kick so much ass. They’re the epitome of manliness.
Who are your favourite teams? What is your favourite sport?
My favourite teams are as follows; NHL (Red Wings), MLB (Jays, Phillies, Cardinals, Braves), NBA (Raptors), NFL (Packers). My favourite sport is probably baseball or hockey, but it varies based on the time of year. I usually don’t ‘hate’ teams, I usually hate players which makes me hate the team in turn, so it changes as players move from team to team. In wrestling, my favourites are; Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jeff Hardy (circa 1990′s), Randy Orton, Triple H (heel), Christian, Chris Jericho, JBL, The Undertaker, Santino Marella, Edge and CM Punk. From the good old days; Mr. Perfect, Ted DiBiase, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Legion of Doom, the original D-Generation X, The Ultimate Warrior and Razor Ramon.
Can I be your friend?
I doubt it. You’ll like me, but don’t be surprised if I hate you. But you probably won’t realize it, so live in suspicion.
*some of the FAQ content is courtesy of Maddox.