Okay - it's been just over a week since Mark mentioned that a new writer would be doing the blogging here at Bless You Boys, so as Austin Powers once said, "Allow myself to introduce... myself."  

My name is Ian Casselberry, and for the past year-and-a-half, I've been ranting, raving, and ridiculing in my own little corner of the Detroit sports blogosphere, Sweaty Men Endeavors.  (Urban legend has tagged it "the sports blog with the slightly gay name.")  And last year, you wouldn't have been worth a $1.50 Coney in this town if you didn't blog about the once again beloved Detroit Tigers.  So I tried my best to fulfill that civic duty.

I also have a little bit of professional sportswriting experience, the majority of which happened to take place at Comerica Park last season in what was one of the most delightful coincidences of my life.  (I actually haven't blogged about those experiences before, as I tried to keep "media stuff" and blogging separate, but maybe I'll dust off a couple of those stories for off-days or rainouts this year.)

What can you expect from me throughout the upcoming season?  Well, you probably won't see any graphs.  That's not to say I have some Murray Chass-esque grouchy disdain for the sabermetric view of baseball.  No, sir.  It's exciting to have a different way to look at the game, and I'm trying to learn more about it each day.  But here's the thing: 1) I have poor math skills and am embarrassingly ignorant with Microsoft Excel.  2) Blogs like The Detroit Tigers Weblog and Tiger Tales already do that sort of thing really well.  

That leaves me with the only thing I've ever really been good at doing (besides collecting junk I don't need).  I love to write.  I love to tell stories.  I love to be funny.  So that's what I'll try to do most every day here.  If something's awe-inspiring, I want to say so, even if it occasionally means I'm Captain Obvious.  If something gets me mad, I'll stomp up and down about it.  When something strikes me as funny, I'll make fun of it (though sometimes I might try a little too hard - hey, they can't all be gems).  Throughout all of it, I'll do my best to keep you entertained and give you a reason to come back here every day.  That's something I take a lot of pride in.  

I'm also really proud to be part of the Detroit Tigers blogosphere, which has become pretty impressive over the past couple of years.  A lot of fantastic blogs have popped up recently, creating a community that I think rivals any other out there right now.  (I only wish these sites were around while I was serving a self-inflicted academic exile in Iowa two years ago.  Man, was I starved for Detroit sports stuff back then.  They're all Chicago fans out there.  It was awful.  I still have nightmares.)  I've come to know several of the people creating all this great material for Tigers fans to read, and if you're not already familiar with their sites, I plan to make sure that changes.  

So I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  It's already off to a nice start, thanks to the generous soul who mentioned my move to Bless You Boys over at WXYZ-TV's "The Dugout" shortly after I announced it at SME.  (See what I mean about that "community" thing?)  Thanks for checking us out, and I hope to keep you coming back.