I would like to take a little bit of your time here to introduce myself and give you all a little background on myself.

As you all know from reading Chris' column last week, I'm a graduate from Sullivan High School, and I actually finished up college down at Southern Indiana, not Indiana State. I did however attend ISU and wrote for the Statesman as a sports writer and sports editor for two years before transferring to USI.

At Sullivan I was a member of the football, wrestling, and track teams. I played baseball in the summers. Some of you have already commented about me being from Sullivan and covering Linton football games without being bias. While in my "glory days" as a Golden Arrow, I shifted most of my attention on battles with Evansville Mater Dei, as they were in our sectional every year, and I also had a personal rival with them on the wrestling mat. So I assure you that there will be no bias opinions covering the Miners!

From Sullivan I started my college career at the University of Eastern Illinois on a wrestling scholarship. My freshman year a football player by the name of Tony Romo roomed in a dorm across from my room, some of you may have heard of him by now! Although there were no Jessica Simpson or Carrie Underwood sightings on the campus at that time!

My stay at EIU was cut short my junior year due to an injury so I ended up coming back home. I didn't have a major at EIU, I just wanted to wrestle, make the Olympic Team and coach somewhere after that. Those dreams fell a little short but no regrets.

From EIU I started over pretty much from scratch at Vincennes University as an education major. I left there after a year and moved onto Indiana State. Still an education major. A good friend's girlfriend asked me if I would be interested in writing for the Statesman, she was the editor in chief of the paper. I accepted and was the beat writer for the women's basketball team and fell in love with being a journalist. Maybe it was the fact that I was around the girls every day and on some road trips with the team, but hey, I was still just a kid at heart and I found something that I truly enjoyed. So I switched my major to journalism the following semester, and later became the sports editor.

Like most people, Terre Haute got the best of me and I needed a change of scenery so I transferred to Southern Indiana where I finished up last May and took a part-time job at the paper in Sullivan before coming on board here the day after Christmas.

I loved ISU and writing for the Statesman, but Terre Haute kind of got the best of me so I transferred to USI, plus they had a club wrestling team so I could wrestle there as well.

Before Chris coaxed me into joining the staff here with a enormous signing bonus, I worked part-time at the Daily Times in Sullivan. Past jobs I have held includes, bartending, part-time car sales, girls basketball coach, wrestling coach, and summer softball coach.

Some of my sports teams include, the Cubs, Bears, Celtics, and Kentucky Wildcats! I know that I'm pretty much in Colts, Pacers and IU territory, but hey being a Cubs fan has given me some pretty thick skin, so I can handle whatever verbal punishment one chooses to dish out!

During the summers I like to travel to cheer on my Cubbies, as I average about 15 games each year between the friendly confines of Wrigley, and Cincinnati and St. Louis. I also can be found at the local softball fields during the summer and fall months as I play as much ball as possible. So if you need an extra player or are looking for a team to play on you know where to look.

I look forward to continue working with all the local sports teams here and meeting more wonderful people in the community. Thanks for taking the time to read through this mini novel, and if you have any suggestions on some feature stories or anything that you would like to see me do a better job of don't hesitate to contact me and voice your opinions.