Some local sports fans I’ve talked to have heard the story, others haven’t.
I won’t go into the details, because they ceased to matter a long time ago. In short, my long tenure as editor of the Local Sports Journal website and magazine ended very abruptly in July, so most of the other LSJ writers and I quickly formed MuskegonSports.com.
Our veteran reporting team, which I’m extremely proud of, is pictured above – from left, Mitchell Boatman, Andrew Johnson, the overweight old editor, and Dave Hart.
It was a head-spinning experience, quickly organizing a new online media company in just a little over a month, to be up and going on time for football, the rest of the high school sports season, and the Muskegon Lumberjacks season.
Now we’re coming to the end of the fall season and preparing for winter sports, and we couldn’t be happier. While we still have a lot of tweaks to make – which our readers will notice in the coming weeks and months – we felt like we delivered great coverage throughout the fall, and we’re excited about the future.
[1]We’ve also attracted a pretty sizable following, particularly for a company that just appeared out of the blue a few months ago. That tells us that quality sports journalism still matters, and it’s not just about selling as many ads as possible, which sadly is the main focus of so many other online media sources.
One of my favorite duties at Local Sports Journal was producing the monthly magazine. While I certainly had help, I wrote most of the stories myself, and assigned and edited the stories I didn’t write.
The magazine became pretty popular, and I was very proud of that. I loved having print space to delve more deeply into the teams, coaches and athletes that make the Muskegon sports scene so unique and special. When I and the writers left LSJ, leaving the magazine behind was one of my main regrets.
But the type of work that the writers and I were proud to produce for that publication has found a new home. The first monthly MuskegonSports.com sports section is now available in selected local retail stores and restaurants. The complete list is below. Please grab your free copy and check it out!
The inaugural edition features a profile of Montague High School senior quarterback Andrew Kooi, a remarkable young man who had the courage to leave his family in Mexico, where his parents serve as Christian missionaries, and move in with relatives in Montague, so he could live out his longtime dream of playing high school football.
[2]
Quality writing and reporting matters at MuskegonSports.com. We believe that well-written stories about our area athletes and teams– with great photos from our photographers Tonya Pardon and Jeremy Clark – are the best way to honor their efforts and accomplishments, and help local residents understand and appreciate them.
We are looking for more advertising partners to join us in the monthly production of the MuskegonSports.com paper. We already have a few great advertisers who quickly jumped on board without a sales pitch, because they knew from experience what kind of quality product we would produce.
That list includes Muskegon attorney Dave Shafer, Whitehall attorney Matt Shepherd, Van Dyk Mortgage agents Nate Smith and Derek Brown, Coldwell-Banker realtor Dave Dusenberry, Five Star real estate agent Matt Parker, The Rec Room owner Mark Middlecamp, Dave’s Tavern owner Dan Taylor, and Pardon Photography owner Tonya Pardon.
If you operate a local business or organization, and want to be part of this grassroots effort to have a quality sports print product in our area, please feel free to drop me an email at [email protected]. The ads are VERY INEXPENSIVE (ranging from $25 to $100), and we would very much appreciate the support!
In the meantime, I just want to say thank you to all of the readers who have checked out our website and liked our Facebook page! We’re just getting started – we will never quit! – and our best work is yet to come.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE MUSKEGONSPORTS.COM TAB
The Rec Room, 1038 E. Sternberg, Norton Shores
Dave’s Tavern, 8520 Holton Rd., Holton
Holton Grocery, 8764 Holton-Duck Lake Rd.
J&H Family Store, 5536 Holton Rd., Twin Lake
Wesco, 8973 Water St., Montague
North Brewers Grove, 8735 Water St., Montague
Lipka’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain, 8718 Ferry St., Montague
Pitkin Drug, 101 Colby St., Whitehall
True North Shell, 3385 E. Colby St.
Family Dollar, Apple and Wood in Muskegon
Wesco at Apple and Shonat
Sunny Mart, 1301 E. Apple Ave.
Bigby Coffee at Apple and Shonat
E & A Grocery, 2829 Apple Ave.
46 Bar, 3015 E. Apple Ave.
Wesco 3743 E Apple Ave
JJ’s Pub, 4009 E. Apple Ave.
Town and Country Grocey, 5311 Apple Ave.