Blog network SportsBlog Nation scores funding
A freshly minted blog network called SportsBlog Nation (or SB Nation, as it calls itself) has secured a round of funding in the "mid-seven figures," Sports Business Journal reported Monday.
Jim Bankoff, who once served as chief of programming at AOL, put the round together and will serve as chairman of the board at SportsBlog Nation, which boasts more than 150 blogs, each one dedicated to a different college or professional sports team.
The funding round was led by Accel Partners, best known these days for having been an early investor in Facebook; partner Jim Breyer holds a minority stake in the Boston Celtics. Also contributing were Ted Leonsis, former AOL vice chairman and owner of the Washington Capitals; former Yahoo executives Dan Rosensweig and Jeff Weiner; football-player-turned-private-equity manager Brent Jones; investment bank Allen & Co.; and several executives from Providence Equity Partners, where Bankoff is an adviser.
The Washington, D.C.-based SportsBlog Nation has been in development for about a year, Sports Business Journal wrote.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
