Posts Tagged ‘Excuses’

As I mentioned the other day, any of you that have regularly read Gate 21 have probably notice the deafening sound of the silence here for the past month or so.  That silence was prelude to this post.  There is no better way to say it than to quote the words of the legendary John Ward:

It’s Time…

I started Gate 21 in 2007 not really knowing what I was getting myself into.  I really had no concept of what it was that I wanted to do with the site or, in fact, how I would do it.  I just decided one day that I could write a blog as well as the next guy and within 10 minutes, the original version of Gate 21 was live for all to see over at WordPress.com.  Within 2 months, I had over 10,000 visitors and had taken the site to a privately hosted (i.e. I had to pay for it) server and debuted the cartoonish looking site that hung around until mid-2009 when I overhauled the site once again.  You are looking at that version now.

Since that less-than-auspicious beginning in 2007 I have spent literally thousands of hours writing, designing, re-vamping, updating, and otherwise working on producing and publishing Gate 21.  Along the way I have had had the help of many, many, people.  These would include writers HomeSweetHome and VolAmbassador, who have both made major contributions to the site over the past several years.  Then there were others across the blogosphere who have both assisted and collaborated with me on articles, memes, roundtables, Power Polls, BlogPolls, and running jokes.  These would include folks like Ghost of Neyland, MoonDog, LSUFreek, Will, Hooper, and of course—the best of the best—Joel at Rocky Top Talk.  These are but a few of the many with whom I have interacted and with which I have had the pleasure to become acquainted.

Then there are those of you out there across the blogosphere and the wider arc of the internet that have visited my humble site and read a bit of what I had to say.  There are even those of you who have taken the time to leave a comment here and there.  To each and every one of you I offer my sincerest gratitude for more than 2 years of interaction across the divide that is the internet.  I have not always been right about things, I have not always been serious,  I have not always been couth, but I have always tried to be honest about my views and perspectives on the world around me and my love for the Tennessee Volunteers.  All I can say is that these last 2 1/2 years have truly been a pleasure.

All things, however, must come to an end…

Thus, while it pains me on many levels, this will likely be the last post on Gate 21, at least for the foreseeable future.  And, now it is time for the Gate to close.

The thousands of hours that I have spent on this site have been a labor of love, as blogging always is.  While I may have advertisements here on the Gate, the fact of the matter is that I have lost money on this endeavour from the outset.  The cost of hosting the site alone has been substantial.  Yet, this exploration of “Life, the Universe, and the Bounce of the Ball” (Thank you Douglas Adams) has been a welcome and wonderful creative outlet for me, and one which has been far more “therapeutic” than I ever imagined.  And to those of you who have visited and taken the time to comment all I will say is that you never know just how much a single sentence left in the comment box or via Twitter really means to folks like myself who are blogging their lives away.

There’s really nothing that makes a writer feel better than knowing what they wrote was interesting enough that someone felt compelled to respond…

Now, however, the demands of my “real” life are such that I simply cannot maintain the Gate in the way that I have in the past.  It is hard enough to run a site with substantial help and a bevy of free time.  It is next to impossible to do that alone while trying to maintain a job, a family, and some semblance of sanity.  As I have said before, the informational cycle on the blogosphere lasts approximately as long as the attention span of a hyperactive 4-year-old who just ate 5 bags of Skittles and washed them down with three cans of Red Bull, and I simply cannot keep up with that.  My lack of timely comment over the past football season stands as a testament to that reality and one which I simply can no longer ignore.

I know, Frank, shocking isn't it?

These sorts of conclusions are not always fun, but they are necessary.  I think Lieutenant Frank Drebin probably said it best:

Okay, enough of the depressing stuff, now for the good news…

For those of you who have enjoyed my writing—though I am certain there aren’t that many of you—take heart!  I am not abandoning my devotion to Tennessee athletics only to go gentle into that good night.  While I may not be able to justify continuing on here at the Gate, I fully intend to continue writing about the Vols.  Why?  Because, in the words of Clay Travis, I simply cannot imagine not doing it.

Thus, it is my distinct pleasure and honor to announce that, effective immediately, I will be joining on as a writer for the VolNation Blog.  Thus, any of you who wish continue to read my mindless prattling, I’ll still be around.  I cannot overstate how lucky I feel at having the chance to jump on board at VolNation, and I hope to see some of you over there in the near future.  While my time at Gate 21 is now at an end, I am extremely excited about what the future holds in store for me at VolNation.

In the meantime, the Gate will not be disappearing (though, after the next few days, I really won’t be monitoring comments any longer).  It will still be here and you will still be able to send me hate mail via the contact form here on the site, at the email address listed in the sidebar and on the Ushers page, or via Twitter.  For those of you who have subscribed to the RSS feed here at the Gate, you can now follow me via the feed at the VolNation Blog.  The Gate will now take its place among the so-called “dotsam and netsam” that floats across the web.  Everything will stay right where it is—most notably, my tribute to Sam and Andy’s.

As for me, I am on to a new home on the web and new challenges.

So, for the last time, I bid you farewell from Gate 21.  To each of you out there with whom I’ve come in contact as a result of my time publishing Gate 21 over the past 2 1/2 years, I say thank you for reading, best wishes, and Godspeed.  Now, more than ever, I suppose my signature “tagline” seems appropriate.  Thus, I will end this final post as I have ended those that came before it.

Until we meet again … Go Vols!

– So it goes …

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 15

Through 6 December 2009

Ahhh, 2009 college football regular season, we barely knew ye.  Yes friend and neighbors, here we are at the end of the regular season.  Thus, here is my final ballot for the 2009 regular season, the last ballot until after the completion of bowl season.  While I am sure some will disagree with some of my rankings, they are what they are: little more than my subjective assessment on the powers of college football.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is is:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Cincinnati	3
3	Texas	–
4	TCU	–
5	Ohio State	1
6	Boise State	1
7	Penn State	1
8	Oregon	1
9	Brigham Young	1
10	Virginia Tech	1
11	Georgia Tech	4
12	LSU	–
13	Florida	11
14	Miami (Florida)	3
15	Wisconsin	4
16	Oklahoma State	4
17	Nebraska	4
18	Iowa	3
19	Stanford	4
20	Utah	4
21	Pittsburgh	5
22	Central Michigan	NR
23	West Virginia	NR
24	Houston	6
25	East Carolina	NR
Last week’s ballot

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 14

Through 29 November 2009

Ahh, Championship Week.  How quickly the 2009 regular season has passed us by.  Still, even this late in the game there were still a few surprises this past week in the world of college football.  Thus, here’s in my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot for week 14.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is is:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Florida	1
3	Texas	1
4	TCU	–
5	Cincinnati	–
6	Ohio State	–
7	Boise State	2
8	Penn State	2
9	Oregon	2
10	Brigham Young	3
11	Virginia Tech	3
12	LSU	5
13	Nebraska	8
14	Southern Cal	4
15	Georgia Tech	8
16	Pittsburgh	8
17	Miami (Florida)	2
18	Houston	2
19	Wisconsin	3
20	Oklahoma State	8
21	Iowa	3
22	California	NR
23	Stanford	NR
24	Utah	9
25	Clemson	9
Last week’s ballot

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 13

Through 22 November 2009

Well, things appear to have settled down a bit, with only a few teams making meaningful moves in my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is is:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Texas	–
3	Florida	–
4	TCU	–
5	Cincinnati	–
6	Ohio State	–
7	Georgia Tech	–
8	Pittsburgh	–
9	Boise State	–
10	Penn State	1
11	Oregon	1
12	Oklahoma State	1
13	Brigham Young	2
14	Virginia Tech	2
15	Utah	4
16	Clemson	4
17	LSU	7
18	Southern Cal	–
19	Miami (Florida)	2
20	Houston	2
21	Nebraska	NR
22	Wisconsin	8
23	Navy	–
24	Iowa	1
25	Mississippi	NR
Last week’s ballot

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 12

Through 15 November 2009

While it didn’t seem that way at the time, this weekend was apparently a bit of a whirlwind in in the world of college football, as the entire mid-section of my poll ballot from last week emptied itself out.  As a result, there is a lot of movement in my ballot for this week with the middle and the bottom tiers of my week 11 ballot trading places.   On another note, I am — yet again — in the midst of preparing for trial and, thus, it will have to be short and sweet this week.   I know, I know, it was pretty short and sweet last week, and the week before that, and so on.   All I can say is that I do have thoughts on many topics related to the world of college football, however, due to the frenetic pace that attends an active litigation practice, I simply will have to wait before delving into the details of my random obserations.  That said, here it is for this week, without further comment. I’d actually be a bit surprised if the reasoning behind the changes in my ballot for the week weren’t fairly apparent, but I’ve been surprised (and wrong) many times before.  Either way, here is is:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Texas	–
3	Florida	–
4	TCU	–
5	Cincinnati	–
6	Ohio State	–
7	Georgia Tech	–
8	Pittsburgh	–
9	Boise State	1
10	LSU	4
11	Penn State	5
12	Oregon	5
13	Oklahoma State	5
14	Wisconsin	6
15	Brigham Young	6
16	Virginia Tech	7
17	Stanford	NR
18	Southern Cal	9
19	Utah	7
20	Clemson	NR
21	Miami (Florida)	10
22	Houston	9
23	Navy	1
24	Rutgers	NR
25	Iowa	10
Last week’s ballot

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all insults comments.

You can view the final results of this week’s poll over at CBS Sports later this week and check out an analysis of how the collective blogging brain-trust arrived at this week’s result. If you’re craving even more BlogPoll goodness, you can also check out how other bloggers voted and see how your team fared across the Blogosphere.

– So it goes…

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 11

Through 8 November 2009

This past weekend’s slate of college football games were—for the most part—supposed to be dull and boring.  There were very few “key” matchups on the schedule and most thought it might be a snoozer.  Well, that simply did not turn out to be the case.   Thus, there are a number of shake-ups in my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is is:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Texas	–
3	Florida	–
4	TCU	–
5	Cincinnati	3
6	Ohio State	6
7	Georgia Tech	4
8	Pittsburgh	6
9	Southern Cal	4
10	Boise State	–
11	Miami (Florida)	6
12	Utah	6
13	Houston	2
14	LSU	8
15	Iowa	6
16	Penn State	11
17	Oregon	10
18	Oklahoma State	2
19	Arizona	2
20	Wisconsin	3
21	Brigham Young	3
22	South Florida	3
23	Virginia Tech	NR
24	Navy	NR
25	Auburn	NR
Last week’s ballot

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Lawvol, attempting to overcome obstacles to writing

In case you haven’t noticed, I have been pretty sparse with my posts lately.  Part of that is my fault—solid time management has never been one of my strong suits.  That said, I have been so busy of late, that I have hardly had a chance to breathe, let alone finish the 20+ odd posts that I have started and had to abandon due to the other requirements of life.  I suppose I have tried a little too hard to keep the bar high.

Thus, while I am somewhat reluctant to do this (but ignoring it would be the most foolish sort of ignorance and an out-an-out lie), it is time for me to admit that I simply cannot manage a daily posting schedule.   Therefore, I would like to publicly invite anyone that think they might be interested in writing for the Gate to drop me a line.  I am looking for at least one, but potentially more writers to join on.  I’m looking for someone who is passionate about the Vols and likes to talk about that passion.  Beyond that, I am flexible.

If you think you might be interested, contact me and I’ll be glad to fill you in on all the lurid details…

– So it goes …

Image(s) Courtesy of:     This Writing Life ||  Statement on Fair Use