Congratulations to our friend Kurt Mensching, who was honored by the Michigan Press Association as the top sports columnist in his newspaper class (circulation size) for his work in the Marquette Mining Journal.

So if you were wondering why Kurt hasn't been updating Mack Avenue Tigers much over the past month or lending his insight to the BYB comments, hey, the guy's been busy.  (Plus, you know, it wasn't much fun following that team the last couple of months.)

Kurt takes his place on the medal stand with fellow journalists Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press and Jim Carty of the Ann Arbor News.  In my opinion, Rosenberg and Carty are the two best columnists currently writing in metro Detroit, so that's some seriously esteemed company to share.  (Hey, all three of them are my Facebook friends!)

I'm terribly biased on the matter, but such an award couldn't go to a better writer or a nicer guy.  I've gotten to know Kurt through our shared blogging pursuits and instant message conversations, and chatting with him is always a fun, thoughtful experience. 

So please give a slow clap today to Kurt, and your kudos to the Michigan Press Association for rewarding his hard work.