Hey gang,
Greetings from Allentown, Pa.
I got the opportunity to watch my nephew play baseball today (Saturday), and while the results were not pretty, I go back to that old saying that a bad day of baseball is better than a good day of work anytime.
Anyway, one of the most asked questions to myself and the rest of my guys in the sports department is why we can't cover a specific game or event.
I'd love to be able to give a million reasons why, but in the end I keep coming back to one.
And that one is it's the price we pay for being a small sports department that covers a wide range of sports that centers around an even wider range of local high school and college teams. At the Freeman, our department consists of myself, our assistant sports editor (Dave Hines), two full-time reporters (Don Treat and Mike Stribl) and one part-timer (Eric Houghtaling).
I know our office is in Kingston, but as you know we are much more than a newspaper that simply covers Kingston sports. And there are those day -- boy are there those days -- when just keeping our proverbial heads above water seems like an impossible task.
A story I've told several times to friends and family concerned an area baseball coach who was very disappointed in our coverage (or lack thereof in his opinion) that we gave his team. Specifically, why we could not cover his team's games. He didn't understand or want to understand my reasoning until one day he came to our office to drop off his results and saw just how busy things can get around the Freeman sports department on a typical high school day.
I remember him apolozing to me and I think he got a greater appreciation of what we do.
I tell you all this not as a way to gripe to you guys, or make you feel sorry for us, but to give a kind of perspective of what we face as a sports staff on a daily basis.
I also wanted to use this space to acknowledge my staff and the the hard work it does on a daily basis. I know it's not easy, but Dave, Don, Mike and Eric are true professionals and it's an honor to work with them. Well, most of the time (just kidding!)
So, until next time, wish my newphew's baseball team luck and as always, take care and God bless.