The State of the Blog: Editorial Directions

by

I’ve been a ghostly presence around here lately, arriving infrequently and unexpectedly. It’s about time I explained myself. I want to stave off any sentimentalism as long as possible, so I’ll cut to the chase:

I’m stepping down as editor of 48 Minutes of Hell.

What will this mean? Not much, really. As I said, I haven’t been writing that often over the last few months and Tim Varner has been serving as the de facto managing editor in my stead. Now his position will merely be official. I’ll be sliding into an editor emeritus role and, oddly enough, may end up writing more often than I have over the last six months. I’ll still stop by for the occasional podcast, and cover the Spurs whenever they take a trip to the Northeast. Tim and I are also kicking ideas back and forth about a monthly column I may pen. We’ll see.

If you’re one of those people who wakes up in the morning and just can’t make it through the day without having access to my thoughts and opinions, you can always follow me on Twitter or read my recently christened Tumblr blog. I also have plans to stop by a few of my old haunts, such as The Awl, Hardwood Paroxysm and Norman Einstein’s.

I don’t want to spend an inordinate amount of time thanking people- like I said, there’s a good chance I’ll write more posts for 48MoH in the next six months than I did the previous six -but I did briefly want to thank a few people whose support has been critical to the success of 48 Minutes of Hell:

Matt Moore, Kevin Arnovitz, Henry Abbott, Rob Mahoney, Cian O’Day, Ryan Marks, Wayne Vore and Robert Dietz (who gets a special tip of the hat for, I believe, being the first person ever to read this blog). You all know I love you, and am so appreciative of what you’ve done for the site and for me personally. Whether I knew you before this got started, or I met you because of it, I am so happy to call each of you my friend.

I’d also like to thank Andrew McNeill, Jesse Blanchard and our most recent addition, Scott Sereday. I’m so appreciative of your hard work and it’s been a real pleasure watching you grow as writers and observers of the game. You all have bright futures ahead.

However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give special thanks to Tim Varner. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner than Tim. He’s my intellectual soul mate and one of my closest friends. The truth of the matter is, when Tim came aboard, the blog got better- a lot better. 48 Minutes of Hell would be a shadow of what it is today without the effort, intelligence and ambition of Timothy Varner. Thank you, Tim.

When I founded 48 Minutes of Hell, I had no idea what it would become. I was watching the Chicago Bulls play the Miami Heat. This was long before the Mephistophelean dealings that have come to define South Beach. The Heat were terrible- nothing more than a glorified NBA D-League team, really -and yet were still beating the Bulls at the end of 3 quarters. I was drunk, and frustrated at the level of play. So I started a blog, incoherently ranted about the game and, in an homage to Nolan Richardson, with whom I have a longstanding love/hate relationship, entitled it 48 Minutes of Hell.

I never intended for this blog to be about San Antonio. But you write what you love, and I love the Spurs.

Over two years later, 48 Minutes of Hell has become more than I ever imagined. We’re an ESPN affiliate and a credentialed press representative at Spurs games. Some people might think of it as just some blog but it’s also one of my proudest achievements.

Lastly, and most importantly, I wanted to thank all of the readers. The idea that anyone would want to read my thoughts on basketball is to this day utterly surreal and deeply flattering.

Give ’em Hell this season, Spurs.

  • http://fundamentally-sound.blogspot.com Jaceman

    So long as the change is merely superficial and I still get to read Graydon, I’m happy.

  • Nadeem

    Graydon:

    Wish you the best of luck for all your future endeavors.

    I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Bulls for sucking against what used to be a “gloried D-league” team which ultimately led to the creation of my fav blog.

  • metalandganja

    fantastic work, Graydon. thanks for everything. your little whim of an idea has turned into my favorite Spurs site out there.

  • Pingback: Tweets that mention The State of the Blog: Editorial Directions | 48 Minutes of Hell -- Topsy.com()

  • Big Whit

    Thanks and good luck in the future!

  • http://www.operaforthemasses.com David G

    thanks for the hard work! Look foward to all of your future contributions.

  • http://projectspurs.com Nick Kapsis

    Graydon,

    Simply put: you’re my hero.

    Roughly the same time you brought 48 to fruition is the same time I discovered the message board and internet’s existence - to the extent that I began to use it and not question as witchcraft, at least.

    I hadn’t written anything significant or of any significance prior to that time; I never thought I would or would even care to. But the message board and online community opened up a whole new world, gave me access to more than ever and allowed me to interact with people I wouldn’t have otherwise, which led me to here (via Tim).

    Without people like yourself and a blog like 48, I’m not sure I ever would have found the passion to pursue whatever talent I do possess for writing. Reigning Black likely would have never come to be and Project Spurs never would have come a callin’. In all likelihood, I never would have been more than the occasional message board poster (though, some may want to fault you for that).

    Seeing as this isn’t a goodbye or eulogy, I’d just like to wish you and the boys all the best moving forward and thank you for the inspiration, knowledge, entertainment and friendship.

    Danke Shoen.

  • http://www.hornets247.com Ryan Schwan

    Wait, you can’t quit. You’re fired!

    I’m kidding. Good luck to you, Graydon.

  • http://www.joelkimmel.com Joel Kimmel

    I have to admit, I’m the furthest thing from being a Spurs fan, but I read this blog because of Graydon’s awesome writing, and will continue to read because of how great a blog it is.
    Good work, Graydon! Good luck!

  • JustMe

    “I never intended for this blog to be about San Antonio. But you write what you love, and I love the Spurs.”

    I’ll turn this into a love fest and say: thank you for writing about what I love.

    Good luck!

  • MC Welk

    Love the blog; hate the Spurs.

  • Mark

    I remember finding this blog in 2008 while I’ll was trying to find stuff to read about the spurs. A lot of blogs are blocked by high school firewalls, but this one didn’t. Since then, I come here weekly. The reading here is beyond the obvious and enjoyable. I’ve checked out the other blogs and no of them are worth reading as much as this one. Thanks.

  • idahospur

    Awesome blog. I’m glad I came across it one day and it instantly made the Bookmarks list.
    I can’t believe we finally made it to preseason. We’re almost there!

  • Pingback: On reflecting, apologizing and stepping back | Hot Hot Hoops()

  • ChillFAN

    Thank you so much for creating the blog. The level that you have written at has inspired others to step up their analysis.

    I wish you all the best with your new endeavors.

  • SpursfanSteve

    Graydon- your posts are some of my favorites. Sad to see you moving on, but i do hope you continue to post. Best of luck.

  • andy

    graydon, i’m wasn’t much of a blog guy (earning my degree in literature, i’ll freely admit i was a snob), but after reading this one, and a few others, i’ve come to appreciate the medium.

    i’m happy you created the blog, and am sorry to see your influence diminish. good luck in your future endeavors, and i look forward to seeing you drop by in the future.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Graydon Gordian

    Thanks so much for the kind words, fellas. I don’t know if you realize how much it means.

  • Jim Henderson

    Just a few brief observations about our preseason opener tonight against the Rockets in Houston.

    First of all, I wasn’t able to see the game, but a few things in the box score jumped out at me.

    At this stage, for me it only makes sense to comment about the players that are rookies and/or fighting for roster spots. I’d like to group my comments into three categories: (1) “initially promising”, (2) “initially concerning”, and (3) “not sure”.

    Initially Promising:

    Let’s face it, some of the guys we brought in are primarily to be shooter/scorers off the bench. I clearly put Neal & Penney in that category. And one thing we do know about scoring is that you won’t be successful in that role without putting up enough shots! For the game tonight, Penney & Neal combined for 7 for 15 in FG attempts, 16 points, in 26:39 minutes, which included 2 for 4 from three point land. That’s about one shot attempt every 1:46 minutes, which is a very nice and assertive ratio for a “scorer” off the bench. I would have liked to have seen a couple more 3-point attempts in those minutes from these two, but still, a very auspicious start in my view.

    We certainly could use another “big” on this team that can be productive and fill a relatively minor role off the bench, particularly in the case of emergency (e.g., injury). And unless the box score is lying to me, Marcus Cousin made a particularly impressive bid to land a contract to start off the season in Austin. Ten points (4-9 shooting), 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and zero turnovers in 24 minutes. I don’t know about you, but as a first outing, I’m thoroughly impressed by that line.

    Initially Concerning:

    It’s hard to make a big point here, for it’s just his first game, but I’d have to say that Jerrell’s box score looked a bit shaky. In 12 minutes, 2 points (1-3 shooting), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and 4 personal fouls. I’m more concerned about the turnovers & personal fouls than anything else. A foul every 3 minutes, and a turnover every 6 minutes is a bit high. Now Simmons, he has me a bit more concerned because he’s a veteran, and we could REALLY use a true back-up SF. My biggest anxiety from the box is that he put up just 4 shot attempts in 18 minutes (making only one of them - and I think he only had 2 attempts in his first 13 minutes), which included just one attempt from beyond the arc. We could use an ace defender at the SF position, but Simmons was brought in primarily because he has SF size, and is an excellent shooter that can really nail corner three’s. It reminds me of Bonner, some games, and infuriates me in the sense that you simply can’t be a “shooter” and put up just one shot attempt every 5 or 6 minutes. Not gonna work. So unless Simmons played VERY impressive “D” out on the wing, he needs to get that shot oiled up. The sooner the better.

    Not sure:

    James Gist is an interesting guy because of his length & athleticism. It looks like he struggled with his shot tonight (2-7 shooting, which could be an issue), but it also looks like he was pretty active out their without the ball, getting a steal & 6 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. Because I can’t really see “defense” through the box score, I’m not able to upgrade his performance to “initially promising”. For James Anderson I can’t really make an assessment. He got too few minutes (8), and he’s still working on his conditioning. Also, Temple had too few minutes, and Gee didn’t play tonight.

    Overall, seemed like a productive first preseason game. What is everyone else’s take? I’d be particularly interested in hearing from those that had the opportunity to see the game.

  • sasleepless

    Thank you for this wonderful piece of “heaven”. This website has been my escape from the usual crazy fan blogs out there. You have managed to turn this blog into our own Espn/spurs analysis, very professional, yet home brewed.

    Thank you again, and I’m sure you will do great in whatever endeavor you choose.
    I’m sure Tim will manage it just fine, but don’t stop writing yourself.

  • mla2131

    Outstanding work, Graydon.

    Thank you.

  • Nick (Italy)

    Thank you for creating 48MOH, Graydon!
    We are proud of being your readers 😉
    Best,
    N

  • BlaseE

    First, Wayne at PTR and now, you! Thanks for all of your excellent work and creating this blog to give a place for other writer’s and commenters to share their piece. I do feel like your personal post has distracted us from the topic at hand though; what can we get in a trade for Tony Parker???

  • http://www.hothothoops.com Surya Fernandez

    Good luck with all your future projects and looking forward to you continuing to do great work here as well. Cheers!

  • http://www.bpifanconnect.com Alix Babaie

    Graydon, your work has made me want to create a blog to discuss the Spurs. Your work is an inspiration and I am hooked on 48MOH. I realize we are in good hands with Tim but you will be missed!

  • Jplat

    All the bes Graydon. I’m not a Spurs fan but I’ve always stopped by a few of the TrueHoop Blogs (48 MoH, HotHotHoops, Knickerblogger, etc.) because they were so good regardless of team affiliation. Good luck going forward.

  • rob

    I’ve not been as long standing a viewer and commentor on this sight as many of the others…but what a great place you created. If this site is any indication of you’re talent…you’ll do well in your next endeavor(s).

    Thanks and good luck.

  • Luke

    You will be missed if that small chance happens. This was the first blog about the Spurs I ever read, and it still to this day is my favorite. You have broadened my knowledge of spurs and basketball itself more and more after every post. Thanks for the times.

  • Rey

    Stay as cool as you’ve always been, Graydon. I enjoy reading your posts and I look forward to more from you. Yeah, I agree with Jaceman that as long as we still get to read your posts, we don’t mind. Cheers on your future endeavors! :-)