First Time, Long Time…

Hello there, old friend. It’s been a long while since you’ve seen me roaming these pastures, but I owe you one (maybe, maybe not!) last post here before officially riding off into the sunset…

First, a quick explanation for where I’ve been and why the site has mostly been dormant for so long. I won’t bore you with a long-winded spiel here because it’s really quite simple. As me and Pete (and eventually Mike) worked to grow the Laker Film Room Podcast, and as my responsibilities to my family and my day job remained as important as ever, I simply had less time (and RAM in my brain) to devote to writing. And then when Silver Screen & Roll approached me to write a weekly post (which I accepted and continue to do, if you’re interested in reading some of my work), I found myself with even less time.

So, I stepped away and to the side. In the middle of all this, some other very capable folks did write here when they could (and wanted to). And I very much appreciated them for it. However, as time went on, and those other contributors also had other responsibilities come up which meant they too stepped away, I did not pick up the slack and get back on that horse to keep FB&G running. Instead, like Tom Hanks watching his beloved Wilson at the end of Castaway, I just sort of let the site drift away.

I did this quietly so as to not cause a fuss, grieved a little to myself, and then went and recorded another podcast. Life, as it does, moved on. And that’s that.

If you’re still reading this far, you might be wondering then, why I’m posting this at all. Well, it’s because I have a small announcement to make and I figured I’d put it up here first because…well, FB&G is my site and I don’t need a reason beyond that! So, some personal news…

I’ve been hired by the Lakers to do some writing work for them at Lakers.com. I’m not sure how long they’ll decide to keep me around, but I’ll be doing some game previews, some recaps, and maybe a more long form piece if I find the right idea. It’s an exciting opportunity for me, a challenge that I embrace, and something that I never actually imagined would be possible for some random guy like me.

If you’ve been following my work at all over the years or have ever talked to me in a more relaxed setting, you’ll know that I have a very specific view of who I am as a writer/analyst/basketball observer/fan. I am, basically, just some guy. One day I showed up in the comments section of this here site, and I found a group of people in the community and, more specifically in Kurt Helin and the other writers here, that I liked to read and interact with. And, so, I kept coming back and kept commenting. And I’d email Kurt and I’d comment some more and sometimes some of my comments even made into game previews or recaps! It was quite the thrill, to be quite honest.

Then, one day, Kurt asked me if I’d like to write a post. Me? Write??? Sure, I thought. I’m not good at it, but I’ll try. And so I did try. And I tried some more. And then after some time of continuing to try, Kurt got the opportunity to run Pro Basketball Talk and I took over this here site. And over the years, I’ve continued to try to do my best. Until, well, the ability to try wasn’t quite there any more.

18 years ago this week Kurt founded Forum Blue & Gold. Eighteen Years. I’ve run it for the past 12 and half. Through championship seasons, lottery bottom-outs, and everything in between. I don’t know if this will be my last post here or not. But, if it is, I’d like to thank everyone and I mean EVERYONE who has had any hand in making this place what it has been and what it was for as long as it was. I won’t name names now because, honestly, I’d probably forget someone and feel terrible about it. But, if you find yourself reading this post right now and nodded along at any point or felt any twinge of anything, I guarantee my thank you applies to you.

So, goodbye…for now.

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