I Follow: Lon McEachern

Editor’s note: I Follow is all about ESPN employees on Twitter: what they tweet, whom they follow and how you can interact socially with anyone and everyone.

Twitter Handle: @lonmceachern
Following: 55
Followers: 7,456
(*As of 1/24/13)

Lon McEachern is known as ESPN’s “voice of poker.” But he’s also in his first season covering ESPN’s bowling telecasts. McEachern is paired with PBA Hall of Famer Randy Pedersen as the commentating team.

Both will be on-site to call the action live for the first of six PBA League events on ESPN, airing Sunday, Jan. 27, noon ET in a two-hour telecast. The PBA League, a new concept in the 2012-2013 bowling season, is an eight-team pro bowling league featuring PBA stars as Franchise Players and celebrities from the TV and sports worlds as team owners, including the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul, tennis legend Billie Jean King, Grey’s Anatomy’s actor Jesse Williams and actor/comedian/blogger Chris Hardwick.

Front Row caught up with McEachern to learn how he approaches his new job and social media.

How has Twitter changed the way you do your job?
I’m very conscious of what I’m tweeting, because I know I’m representing the network and all the good people I work with. It’s an extension of our on-air business. I know what I’m saying will have an impression on people. It’s also direct contact with fans, which you don’t have when you are on TV. It helps me feel like what I’m doing on-air is real and has an impact on people. It’s a nice bridge between us and the folks out there who are watching.

Who is your favorite person or account to follow?
I follow people for professional and personal reasons. I keep track of all the main bowling guys to find out where their heads are ahead competitions. Some of my personal follows are @HenriLeChatNoir, and guys like @ConanOBrien and @StephenAtHome [Stephen Colbert]. Of course, I have to follow my San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks!

Give us a preview of our upcoming PBA League telecasts.
This is something brand-new for the PBA to have this team concept [with celebrity owners]. Each team is captained by one of the premier stars in the PBA, and the teams are very deep. It’s going to be interesting because some of the guys come from great college bowling programs with foundations on a team format. This is getting back to their roots. It’s going to be different from guys who have bowled as singles all their lives, to have to wait four frames before bowling again. There’s a certain mentality to that, like being a pinch hitter in baseball, knowing you’re only going to have a few shots. It’s more pressure, and it makes it fun to watch. The celebrity owners will just add to that. With 10 bowlers on the lanes at a time, I’m sure there will be some razzing going on out there. They are not known to be quiet.

Any early predictions as to which team will come out on top?
I’m keeping my eye on the Silver Lake Atom Splitters. They have a great name and lots of talent.

Follow the PBA on ESPN this season on Twitter with #LoveTheLanes and #PBATour.