ESPN.com Senior Writer Andy Katz’s goal was to stay awake and provide live reports from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters throughout ESPN’s 24-hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Nov. 17. He posted blog reports and answered fan questions on ESPN.com, provided live updates during halftime of every game plus on SportsCenter across ESPN and ESPN2, and kept the Twitter world updated via www.twitter.com/ESPNAndyKatz.

In total - after factoring in the time he awoke that morning - Katz was awake for about 41 hours (minus a 20-minute catnap outside a colleague’s cubicle around 4 a.m.).

“Don’t try this at home, especially if you are getting over a cold,” said Katz, who did change his contacts, shower and shave during the 41 hours. “I was amazed at how many people, through our chats and on Twitter, were involved in what we were doing, including poking fun at - in good humor - my physical breakdown. I only had to chat and talk. I can’t imagine how doctors then have to perform surgery under these conditions.”

Katz woke up at 7 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16, and the cab dropped him off at his house Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 1 a.m.

The two-day 30th Anniversary Media Workshop at ESPN has officially started. John Zehr (svp, digital media) started off the event with a session on one of the biggest emerging platforms – mobile. Since 1995, ESPN has been serving sports fans on the go. We are strong believers in the potential of live mobile video and mobile video in general.

“Video is core to everything that ESPN does. It’s part of our storytelling.” — Zehr

Oke Okaro (vp, mobile product development) spoke of upcoming content – a slate of new and innovative offerings. Expect to hear more about what we have in the works for BlackBerry and iPhone devices.

“We feel strongly that of all the different channels we have, mobile is the glue that sticks everything together.” — Okaro

Some quick facts:

– ESPN ranks No. 1 in all of its mobile sports products.

– ScoreCenter has generated two million downloads from the iTunes App Store, and is the #1 application in the sports category. It is available in about 70-80 markets around the world.

– We deliver about 60 million alerts a month and people are continuing to subscribe.

Next up was Damon Phillips (vp, ESPN360.com). Simply put, ESPN360.com is ESPN’s online television network. Our programming approach is illustrated best in the schedule for Sept. 12, when college football, soccer, Aussie Rules Football and BASS fishing collide in the same day in a mix of both exclusive and simulcast coverage.

“We’ve been pretty successful as a company with the affiliate model, and ESPN360.com is a healthy business as a result.” — Phillips

Some questions from the room answered:

Q - Are there limitations of video quality? Can you deliver HD over the network?

A - Yes we can and this year we did several NBA games in HD. We were really just streaming at a higher bit rate but it comes down to computer usage, processing and connection. We’re looking to build more HD offerings this year.

Q - Is ESPN360.com a growing area in terms of manpower and a dedicated staff? A - Definitely, ESPN360.com runs just like a TV network with dedicated resources on the production side as well as marketing and sales.

Patrick Stiegman (vp and exec editor, ESPN.com) concluded the Digital Media session. Two major topics were covered:

1) Multimedia storytelling — ESPN.com’s foundation is based on its contributors. We’ve moved on from calling them writers because all their jobs now entail multimedia. As much as we want content to be on the best screen available, we also want the best format for the content.

2) Social media — Live chats via SportsNation have proved to be a powerful tool for us, particularly for our live events where we’ve used the space as a sort of virtual press box. Patrick went into the plans of integrating all social media tools and funneling them into the SportsNation platform for an engaging real-time media experience, including the use of Twitter.

About that Twitter memo…

– “It’s an attempt to broaden the opportunity and embrace it but do so in a way that stays within our guidelines.” — Stiegman

– “We want to make sure that breaking news is vetted. We want to be first and accurate, but always accurate over first, every time.” — Stiegman

Stay tuned, our 30th Anniversary session is up next…

@Kenny_Mayne — You got beat by a girl in the Preakness.

MTB — Yeah. But she’s like a man-girl. Then she hit on me after the race.

@Kenny_Mayne — You’re a gelding.

MTB — You’re turning 50.

@Kenny_Mayne — Can we stop with the insults?

MTB — Maybe I’m a little defensive. I have injured privates.

@Kenny_Mayne — You can still lead a productive life.

MTB — They’ll probably run me till I’m like ten years old. I’m tired already.

@Kenny_Mayne — You’ve only run 4 races this year. In the old days horses ran 50 times a year.

MTB — This is 2009, man. We run a few times, win the Derby, go to stud. Oh, wait.

@Kenny_Mayne — Don’t get emotional. I’ll tell you what. Maybe we can write a part for a gelding in Mayne Street on ESPN.com.

MTB — Oh, now I get it.

@Kenny_Mayne — Get what?

MTB — You were just using me to get in a plug for your internet show.

@Kenny_Mayne — The second season of which begins on June 9 on ESPN.com.

Note:  This is not an actual transcript.  It’s just Kenny talking to himself.  Or tweeting to himself.  Real horses can’t tweet.  They have hooves, and probably can’t type.  Check out the entire fake conversation here:  http://www.espnmediazone.com/press_releases/2009_06_jun/20090603_MayneStreetsKennyMaynesTwitterviewwith.htm

…and look for Mayne Street on ESPN.com, Tues, June 9.

ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons says so — sort of. 

In their second epic exchange of ideas, The Sports Guy and Gladwell cover that and about 3,587 other subjects.  Among the other topics:

• The Aniston thing.  Gladwell defends himself,  but in the end he reaches the conclusion that when you don’t recognize Jennifer Aniston — but can spot Baron Davis from across a crowded room — you’ve watched too much SportsCenter.
• The full-court press:  Gladwell’s recent piece from The New Yorker uses the lessons of a Bay Area little league girls’ basketball team to illustrate how David can beat Goliath.  Discussion ensues and Simmons agrees extensive use of the full-court press is on the agenda when he becomes the GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
• “Inliers” - the opposite of the concept behind Gladwell’s best-selling novel Outliers. Simmons suggests that “Just as timing plays a huge role in success, it can play a huge role in failure and/or a falling short of potential that could have been reached in another era. “   He then suggests that Larry Holmes is the ultimate sports Inlier.  Gladwell counters with Nick Faldo. They argue.
• Was Len Bias destined to be the Frazier to Michael Jordan’s Ali?  Simmons says yes.  Then he (a Celtics fan) punches a wall.
• Gladwell compares Simmons’ writing to “one of those Doug Moe Denver Nuggets teams from the 1970s.”

Get comfortable and read the three-part epic here.

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers­­­ will be doing a chat on ESPN.com on Wednesday, April 22, at noon ET for fans to ask questions about his upcoming appearance on the first episode of ESPN’s new series Homecoming with Rick Reilly. Reilly will also be conducting a chat later that day at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.com to discuss what it’s like to sit down with superstar athletes in their hometown.

Homecoming with Rick Reilly will debut Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, and in high def on ESPN HD, with the Hamilton episode.  John Elway will be featured Thursday, April 23, at 7 p.m.

With just two weeks until the 2009 NFL Draft, ESPN Insider members have exclusive access to the latest Mel Kiper Jr. mock draft on ESPN.com, which has Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford maintaining the No. 1 spot held by the Detroit Lions. Mel’s mock projects the first four rounds now that most draft-eligible players have had the chance to showcase their skills during pro days. ESPN Insider access is required to view all the picks but here’s a look at how Mel sees the first five and other notable picks in the first four rounds:

1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
Mel: Stafford is worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick, thanks to his overall skill set.

2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
The OT spot is strong at the top with Smith, a former tight end who is supremely athletic and exactly what you want in a left tackle: someone you can count on to protect the blind side of your quarterback.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest
He’s a complete OLB with great character and work ethic, which is why it was no surprise when he nailed his combine workout.

4. Seattle Seahawks: Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
Monroe is just a shade below Jason Smith, in my opinion, but is a legit top-five pick.

5. Cleveland Browns: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
The stress fracture in his left foot shouldn’t affect his draft status. He’s a big-time player who should have a Larry Fitzgerald-type career in the NFL.

Other first round picks of note…
13. Washington Redskins: Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
21. Philadelphia Eagles: Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
30. Tennessee Titans: Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
32. Pittsburgh Steelers: Eric Wood, C, Louisville

Second round:
58. New England Patriots: Pat White, WR, West Virginia

Third round:
69. Dallas (from Cleveland): Ramses Barden, WR, Cal Poly

Fourth round:
127. Indianapolis: Javon Ringer, RB, Michigan St.

Note: Media interested in ESPN.com Insider access may contact ESPN Communications

ESPN.com’s Surprise Search of the Week:  Biba Golic.  

After a brief appearance in one of the new commercials for ESPN.com (which also features The Sports Guy Bill Simmons and Mike Golic) the relatively unknown Serbian table tennis sensation received thousands of searches on ESPN.com’s Sports Search last week.  Having last risen to fame on the site as Page 2’s third-ranked “Hottest Female Athlete” in 2005, Golic (Biba, not Mike) saw a 574 percent increase in searches and was easily the ESPN Sports Search Surprise Search of the Week.

Sports fans might take pause when viewing any of the three new spots by ESPN and Weiden + Kennedy New York touting the user friendly and content deep nature of ESPN.com. Airing on the ESPN networks, the spots depict a sports world full of possibilities where sports fans can write their own storylines. 

“Page 2″ is a hypothetical journey into the mind of a sports fan as he creates his own sports journey on ESPN.com from Bill “The Sports Guy” Simmons’s column, the Boston Celtics, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish mascot to ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning  co-host Mike Golic and rising tennis table star Biba Golic.  Despite the underwhelming resemblance and the same spelling, the Golics are not related.

In “Fantasy”, a sports fan weaves his way from picking Grady Sizemore to consulting Buster Olney and Matthew “Mr. Roto” Berry and trading him to Alyssa Milano’s fictitious Who’s Your Boss? fantasy team for Matt Holliday.  Sizemore might have gotten the better deal though as Holliday suddenly finds himself a member of the Giant Salamis. 

Finally, “Fish” suggests further that the journey sports fans create for themselves at ESPN.com is a stream of consciousness that might only make sense to them but is valuable nonetheless. 

 ESPN.com: “Follow Your Sports.”