Brief introduction: I used to be a sportswriter, but now I cover education.
Basically, I needed to find a career that would allow me more time with my family during normal hours. As much as I loved covering sports - and I did love it - that path was never going to afford me the chance to be the type of father I want to be.
There are plenty of guys who find a way to strike that balance, and more power to them. I just didn't see it happening for me, especially once Ray reaches school age.
So here I am, a sports nut covering school board meetings and learning about enrollment figures and graduation rates. It's a different type of challenge that I'm enjoying so far, but it also leaves me with nowhere to write about sports.
So that's where this blog comes in.
And it's a good thing, too, because this was a big week for my Atlanta Braves.
The Jason Heyward trade gave me mixed feelings. I love watching JHey play the game, and I really respected the way he kept fighting at the end of the abysmal 2014 year.
I'm not going to say outright that anyone quit on that team, but I will say I saw a difference in Heyward's fire and attack on offense compared to the others.
That said, I would've been more concerned if the Braves had tossed him the type of contract his representatives would want. Put his actual production with any name on the Braves roster except maybe Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons, and fans likely don't care that he's gone.
I guess that's the part of me that has the most to recover: being a fan.
Even though I didn't actively cover the Braves or any other team of national interest, I've slowly begun to approach some situations like an unbiased member of the media instead of a fan.
I kind of want to be upset when a player I like gets traded. I have a Jason Heyward shirsey (T-shirt jersey), for crying out loud! Instead, I'm all "look at the production, value and blah blah blah."
Now, I am a proud member of the "Fire Fredi Gonzalez Club," but even that took more time than a lot of Braves fans. I was too busy looking at all the angles.
Not now. Now I'm just a fan.
