Widgets please!

I don’t usually go to the NFL’s website but I went today and was completely blown away by their site’s clean organization, branding, and graphic design.  Also, they’ve got super cool Widgets to post on your blog, website, facebook, etc that lists quizzes, news headlines, and videos. 

http://www.nfl.com/tools

I realize I sound like a I’ve been paid by the NFL to write this, but no, I really just want something like this from the MLB.  A super cool widget that I can post on my blog with videos of the A’s (past and present), A’s quizzes, play by plays when games are going on, and of course all the latest in team trading.  I also want links to crazy trading-theory websites, because they crack me up (not as much as my own trading theories).  In fact, I would want to take the widgets thing a little further and have my own mlb profile — not where I connect with friends, because I do just fine with that on myspace, facebook, linkedin, and whatever else I’m on — but a profile that features all the latest MLB news that I care about.  How are Swish, Haren, Zito, and Harden doing now that they’re on other teams?  Who’s on the DL list with the A’s right now?  I’d want to have a little collection of favorite MLB videos — like when Cust had that awesome bunt earlier this year and actually beat the pitcher to first, getting Suzuki home and winning the game.  As well as a little collection of my favorite photos and MLB blogs.  Also, Susan Slusser is my favorite beat writer for the Chronicle – I’d want direct links to her stories in my profile to.  And since I’m making a wish list, I want Big Papi to be AOL’s “You’ve got mail” voice – like that one promo earlier this summer where you could have him call your friends.  I want him to say, “Hey!  Welcome back!” everytime I log into my mlb account, and I want Nick Swisher to say “Yee ha!” everytime I upload a new photo or post a new widget to my blog or Bengie Molina say “You gonna get that?” when I have new mail (and the new mail would be an awesome mlb promo directed specifically at my interests).  

The profile wouldn’t really be to show off to other people like social networking site, but more just for me to login, get informed and check out all the things I like  — in a super clear and organized way.  SUPER CLEAR AND ORGAINZED being key here.  A product with clean graphics that gets me pumped on baseball, keeps me coming back to mlb.com, and gives the site info on what fans like me want more of. 

So I’d get cool stuff to obsess over, and the mlb would be able to tell what’s most interesting to their readership and be able to pitch merchandise and subscription products to them better.

God, can you tell I’m writing this while at work?  I sound a little too latte’d up on promotions, tracking, and viral marketing.  Oh well.