That was just off the top of my head. It's certainly true, though. My last seven blog posts here (except for the most recent one) have been related to IndyCar racing. The post before that - after I got done covering everything for March Madness - was written in early April.
You know how sometimes you realize you say you're going to do something, mark an item on your to-do list or just make a note to get to it later? Then you realize months have gone by and you have no idea how? That's kind of what happens to me from time to time.
Let me just say that I'm definitely still writing. For those that follow me on social media or know me personally, I would hope that doesn't come as a surprise. It's just that this isn't my only platform to share my work anymore. I also didn't make a format change to IndyCar-only for this blog.
I've shared my thoughts on the Minnesota Wild via stories and podcasts at ZoneCoverage.com. There was a lot to cover this season with some success, a disappointing playoff run and then all the excitement with the Expansion Draft for the new NHL team in Las Vegas. With the only true part of the hockey offseason right now, there hasn't been much on that front for a while, but I hope to start back up again strong in the fall.
Baseball is still the main gig
As for the Twins, I guess I really haven't written much about them lately - in more than 140 characters at a time. See, I still watch all the games and comment on what's happening. I just use Twitter as my platform.
After losing 103 games last season, this year has been a refreshing change of pace. They've been a winning ball club (this last week aside) and managed to stay in the division/wild card races.
It's weird how the Twins have fared the past few seasons. After reaching the postseason in 2010, the inaugural season at Target Field, the Twins had some losing seasons. It looked like they were going on the upswing in 2015 though, with a bit of a surprising season in which they were in contention for a division title until the last weekend of the regular season. Instead, the Kansas City Royals won it and the World Series. Still, no one expected the Twins to have that kind of success. They overachieved.
That was why the results of 2016 were so disappointing. It seemed going in that the losing seasons were going to be behind the Twins as they looked to build on the 2015 surprise. A far cry from what happened. The Twins started out 0-9 - with a bad omen of multiple rain delays in Baltimore on Opening Day - never recovered and stumbled to the worst record in baseball at 59-103.
After that performance, and a similar roster, the expectations weren't too high for 2017. But again, the Twins have surprised everyone. They spent a bulk of time before the All-Star Break in first place, or in second just behind the AL Champion Cleveland Indians. Part of this can be attributed to the weak division and an overall weak American League.
The Twins have played better, too. Byron Buxton is outstanding in center field, Miguel Sano nearly won the Home Run Derby in his first All-Star Game selection, Jose Berrios has figured it out, Ervin Santana has pitched extremely well. The Twins have won games this year with much better defense and clutch hitting. When they get a lead, they know how to hang onto it.
Anyway, the Twins season keeps me pretty busy, but I'm still working as a freelance writer. I write high school and general human interest features for the local suburban papers under the Chicago Tribune/Chicago Pioneer Press umbrella. All my work is done over the phone talking to sources before I write my stories.
Plenty of other stuff, too
Plus, there are other odds and ends projects that come up with various outlets. I'm still involved with the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a freelance reporter for high school sports, which mostly include section and state tournaments.
I'll still continue to use this platform for whatever I see fit to write about that's timely. I didn't intentionally turn it into an IndyCar blog, but that's just what I've wanted to write about. The Indy 500 is always a big deal, whether I'm there in person or not, and we took another family trip to Road America this June, too.
I started this blog to keep writing after I graduated college. I knew I could always have this forum as a place to put my thoughts. That's what I'll continue to do.
So, that's a little bit of catch-up with me and what I've worked on over the past few months. As always, thanks for reading, following, retweeting and sharing.
I've shared my thoughts on the Minnesota Wild via stories and podcasts at ZoneCoverage.com. There was a lot to cover this season with some success, a disappointing playoff run and then all the excitement with the Expansion Draft for the new NHL team in Las Vegas. With the only true part of the hockey offseason right now, there hasn't been much on that front for a while, but I hope to start back up again strong in the fall.
Baseball is still the main gig
As for the Twins, I guess I really haven't written much about them lately - in more than 140 characters at a time. See, I still watch all the games and comment on what's happening. I just use Twitter as my platform.
After losing 103 games last season, this year has been a refreshing change of pace. They've been a winning ball club (this last week aside) and managed to stay in the division/wild card races.
It's weird how the Twins have fared the past few seasons. After reaching the postseason in 2010, the inaugural season at Target Field, the Twins had some losing seasons. It looked like they were going on the upswing in 2015 though, with a bit of a surprising season in which they were in contention for a division title until the last weekend of the regular season. Instead, the Kansas City Royals won it and the World Series. Still, no one expected the Twins to have that kind of success. They overachieved.
That was why the results of 2016 were so disappointing. It seemed going in that the losing seasons were going to be behind the Twins as they looked to build on the 2015 surprise. A far cry from what happened. The Twins started out 0-9 - with a bad omen of multiple rain delays in Baltimore on Opening Day - never recovered and stumbled to the worst record in baseball at 59-103.
After that performance, and a similar roster, the expectations weren't too high for 2017. But again, the Twins have surprised everyone. They spent a bulk of time before the All-Star Break in first place, or in second just behind the AL Champion Cleveland Indians. Part of this can be attributed to the weak division and an overall weak American League.
The Twins have played better, too. Byron Buxton is outstanding in center field, Miguel Sano nearly won the Home Run Derby in his first All-Star Game selection, Jose Berrios has figured it out, Ervin Santana has pitched extremely well. The Twins have won games this year with much better defense and clutch hitting. When they get a lead, they know how to hang onto it.
Anyway, the Twins season keeps me pretty busy, but I'm still working as a freelance writer. I write high school and general human interest features for the local suburban papers under the Chicago Tribune/Chicago Pioneer Press umbrella. All my work is done over the phone talking to sources before I write my stories.
Plenty of other stuff, too
Plus, there are other odds and ends projects that come up with various outlets. I'm still involved with the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a freelance reporter for high school sports, which mostly include section and state tournaments.
I'll still continue to use this platform for whatever I see fit to write about that's timely. I didn't intentionally turn it into an IndyCar blog, but that's just what I've wanted to write about. The Indy 500 is always a big deal, whether I'm there in person or not, and we took another family trip to Road America this June, too.
I started this blog to keep writing after I graduated college. I knew I could always have this forum as a place to put my thoughts. That's what I'll continue to do.
So, that's a little bit of catch-up with me and what I've worked on over the past few months. As always, thanks for reading, following, retweeting and sharing.
No comments:
Post a Comment