Years ago – quite a few actually, although we won’t put a number on it for the sake of keeping the illusion that I’m still in tune with the young folks – I faced the challenge of covering my first pro beat.

I was asked if I wanted to cover the Anaheim Ducks. I had never covered hockey, certainly not the NHL. Watched it, yes. Followed it, some years more so, others less. Knew who the stars were, the championship teams. Learning the nuances came in time but my interest went back to being really turned on as a pre-teen in the winter of 1980. Many others were. Jim Craig. Mike Eruzione. Herb Brooks.

Al Michaels asked if we believed in miracles? Shoot, I was in disbelief.

And I was in disbelief again. Someone was entrusting a pro beat to me with the thought that I’d do a good job. Or at least turn in stuff that looked respectable. That someone was Bill Dwyre and that something was the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper we had delivered to our home, where I dove right into the sports page and read religiously. Read it because an all-star team and the prose it pumped out on a daily basis made the section compelling, required reading. Never did I think I’d actually work there.

I did my share of things. Covered preps and college sports. But this was the leap of a lifetime, mine anyways. And I was praying that I’d last three months on the beat, maybe six. Trying to live up to writers I considered infinitely more talented, who could churn out turns of phrases that left me marveled and angered because they didn’t pop up in my mind.

Talk about miracles.

Years later, I’m covering the Anaheim Ducks as I did then. It remains the only pro beat I’ve worked full time. And now I’ll be writing about them for The Athletic, which is extending its reach into the Southern California sports landscape as it continues to spread across North America. And I’m left with some of the same feelings I had then.

The roster of writers brought to this outlet is simply staggering in its quantity and quality. Long ago, I was convinced that The Athletic is the real deal and has only doubled down (Forget that. How about quadrupled.) on its quest to be the site for the hardcore fan – and even the casual one – that wanted and would appreciate great sportswriting.

That’s my challenge. It is lofty, but one I’m out to meet. My goal is not just to report on the Ducks, but to illuminate. Maybe even entertain. Be comprehensive and provide that nuance I hope I’ve picked up along the way. Reach deeper to give readers something they didn’t know in a story about their favorite player, or even one they’re not crazy about. Why a particular personnel or coaching decision was made – and what I thought of it. Look forward. Analyze.

It’s not just about reporting, and that’s what makes The Athletic look and feel like something special. Something I wanted to be part of. The news of the day and the game stories still matter – and I still love writing them – but that can be gained from many different outlets. The goal is to give you something that you will not see elsewhere and why it’s worth subscribing.

In that case, I plan to give it my best shot. (And when you consider the access to the entire site, the fantastic articles displayed on a clean, ad-free layout and this enviable all-star roster I’ve been asked to play a role in, it is easily worth it. Trust me on that.)

I’d be remiss in not recognizing the last nine years I spent at The Orange County Register, which is now part of the Southern California News Group. My editors gave me free rein to write the stories I wanted to write and go where I needed to go to provide thorough daily coverage of the Ducks. And the desk put up with my fudging of deadline in battling to turn in a coherent gamer. I’ll always be thankful of that.

I won’t miss those nightly deadlines. The Athletic is about publishing the best story possible when it is ready. It will be refreshing to have both eyes on the games until they are completed instead of one on the ice and the other putting sentences and paragraphs together to describe what happened, with a little flair thrown in.

That remains relevant. And that’s something I feel is paramount. Writing to inform but also doing it with depth and flair. There just won’t be the constraints that come with writing for a print edition. It is quite a change, but one I’m looking forward to. It is the direction I see our industry heading.

You may have read my stuff over the years or know me from the Twitter handle. Or you may be reading my musings for the first time. Either way, I hope you stay on for this exciting ride.

(About that handle, it may seem a bit cheeky or even arrogant, but it’s actually a takeoff of a nickname I was given by a high school friend and took a life of its own by one of my best mates while in college. There was no hockey connection but it stuck, even after running with it as a lark when I joined Twitter.)

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(Photo by Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports)