YAHOO COUP - AOL LOSES SPORTS BLOGFATHER MOTTRAM: SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL reports today that Yahoo has hired Jamie Mottram away from AOL. Mottram is the man who singlehandedly turned AOL FANHOUSE into a sports blogging powerhouse. His new title at Yahoo: “Senior Editor of Blogs & Community.”

Powered by a team of bloggers hired and directed by Mottram, AOL’s previously mundane sports portal exploded in popularity, leading company execs to fold his blogging operation into the main AOL sports area - capitalizing on the new-found traffic (that’s our own opinion, by the way).

The hire is a coup for Yahoo and a major loss for AOL. Mottram made AOL Fanhouse a daily must-visit, and he will do the same as Yahoo’s sports blogging point man.