A New Opportunity

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I admit I feel a bit hypocritical. You can read under the “About” section how much I love covering high schools, how I find it preferable to a college or pro beat. I wonder if I’m not a tool.

As you might have already heard, I am taking a new position at the Daily Journal: Mississippi State beat writer. The estimable Gregg Ellis resigned today to head up MSU’s basketball media relations department. We’ve known this was a possibility for a little while, so I’ve had time to consider what I would want to do if this all went down. Nevertheless, when it went down this morning, I was still in a slight state of shock (Gregg, too).

Life has a way of being unpredictable, and opinions change. When I started out in this profession, my ultimate goal was to become a beat writer for a college program or professional sports team. After taking over the prep beat at the Journal in 2005, I grew more and more in love with the job. And I still love it, and I’m going to miss it dearly. I’m also going to miss dealing with all the wonderful people I’ve met and gotten to know over the years, from coaches to administrators to athletes to parents. Sure, I’m not going anywhere, per se, but I’ll no longer be on the prep scene.

I’d just like to thank all those people who have been so helpful during my time as prep editor. Too many folks to name. I’m ready to tackle this new challenge. I have been deeply pondering of late where I think my career should go; or should I say, I’ve been trying to see the direction God has for me. I sat down last night and listed the pros and cons of both the prep beat and the MSU beat. The pros won easily on both counts. So, all things being even, I figured I needed to step out of my comfort zone and take on something new. I’ve come back around to the idea of being a college beat writer and look forward to upholding the high standard Gregg has set.

There is so much I’d like to write, but I guess I should save some of it for my introduction to the MSU fans. I will be assuming Gregg’s blog (djbulldogs.wordpress.com) this week, so please drop in anytime. As for other logistics, I basically start Tuesday. I’ll be at the press conference and will cover Saturday’s game at Louisiana Tech. Gregg will accompany me this weekend and will help me settle in over the next week.

I don’t think my replacement has been made official just yet, but when it is, you’ll know. I think things will go rather smoothly considering the circumstances.

Thanks for the kind words, roastbeef1. And I thank all of you for making this beat, and this blog, more enjoyable. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

–BL

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