Hi, my name is Jim and I
’d like to introduce myself as the new Morgan Hill Times Sports
Editor by stating unequivocally that I love sports. And, I don’t
just mean kicking back at home in the recliner switching between
games on TV, though I’m not knocking that by any means. I mean
getting out there, on the fields, in
the gyms, on the courts, in the stadiums, and absorbing the
essence of athletic competition. I mean getting to know everybody
associated with the sports world and finding out what motivates
them to compete and excel. I mean riding to the heights and the
depths that sport offers, to experience the th
rill of victory and the agony of defeat and, paraphrasing one of
my favorite poems, to treat both those impostors the same while
appreciating the transcendence of accomplishment that embodies true
athletic competition.
Hi, my name is Jim and I’d like to introduce myself as the new Morgan Hill Times Sports Editor by stating unequivocally that I love sports. And, I don’t just mean kicking back at home in the recliner switching between games on TV, though I’m not knocking that by any means. I mean getting out there, on the fields, in the gyms, on the courts, in the stadiums, and absorbing the essence of athletic competition. I mean getting to know everybody associated with the sports world and finding out what motivates them to compete and excel. I mean riding to the heights and the depths that sport offers, to experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat and, paraphrasing one of my favorite poems, to treat both those impostors the same while appreciating the transcendence of accomplishment that embodies true athletic competition.
How else can I introduce myself in my new capacity? That pretty much says it all as far as I’m concerned.
I mean, I guess I could tell you about my years of covering sports at every level in the Santa Cruz area, where I was born and raised.
I could tell you about how my first real job was working as a sports stringer for the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper, where I learned how to cover sports.
I could tell you about covering youth sports over the years, from Little League baseball state championships to start-up Pop Warner football programs that drew hundreds of kids to youth basketball and soccer and martial arts, and everything else. And, I could tell you about the delight in kids‚ faces when they realize their name is going to be in the paper. I could go on and on about youth sports because, when it comes right down to it, that’s where all sports’ roots really are.
I could tell you about covering high school sports, from writing about Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer during his prep days at Aptos High, and covering Northern California championship basketball games, and the half-century-old Dad’s Club tournament, and the intensity of Santa Cruz-area prep baseball battles.
I could tell you about covering college sports, from juco programs to Cal-Stanford hoops to San Jose State, where I saw a skinny kid quarterback from Gilroy who looked like he was about 15 nervously take on his first press conference with the Bay Area media before his first start in an NCAA Division I football game. His name was Garcia or something like that.
And I watched that same skinny kid dance all over the field later that season for the Spartans against Fresno State and their freshman quarterback Trent Dilfer in one of the greatest college football games I’ve ever seen.
Both of those guys ended up doing pretty well.
I could tell you about covering professional sports.
How I sat next to Hall-of-Famer Orlando Cepeda (one of my favorite baseball cards growing up) in the San Francisco Giants‚ box at Candlestick when the press box was overflowing during the 1993 pennant chase. And, how he asked me if I‚d ever played professional baseball. Even though I think he knew the answer and was trying to make a point about my lack of “inside” knowledge of the game, it was still pretty cool.
Then there was the time I wrote a feature story on Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mark Eichhorn, who is from Watsonville, when he was visiting the Oakland Coliseum in the midst of the Jays’ back-to-back World Series championships run.
I knew Eichhorn from playing pick-up hoops with him but I still appreciated him treating me more like a friend than a member of the press. One of the all-time great guys in pro sports.
I could go on and on. Maybe I already have.
I could tell you about my plans for covering sports at the Times. How I’ll try and balance plenty of prep and college sports coverage with fun, in-depth features about local athletes, solid stories about area sports issues and regular coverage of local youth sports. And, yes, there will be the occasional foray into the pro sports arena.
And, I can use this opportunity to send out the blanket request to all athletic directors, coaches, parents, players, league organizers and anyone else who cares to keep me updated on everything that’s happening out there. This will help me out immensely and thank you in advance for your assistance.
But that just tells you what I’ve done and what I intend to do.
Really, the best way I can think of to introduce myself is to reiterate much I enjoy sports and writing about them, and that I’m hoping to convey that excitement to all of you, our readership.
So, that’s who I am. I’d like to meet all of you, too. Feel free to introduce yourself the next time you see me, especially if you like sports as much as I do.
There will never be too many sports fans in this world and I’d like to know all of you.
And, be sure to let me know, from time to time, what you think about the Times’ sports coverage, especially if you have suggestions about how to improve it. I can be reached by calling 779-4106, ext. 203, or by e-mail at
ji**@mo*************.com
.
