Just like the Phoenix Suns are turning over a new leaf with big changes by a management team that's been in the background for two years, so it goes with Bright Side of the Sun. Seth Pollack (formerly PhoenixStan), Wil Cantrell and East Bay Ray have all decided to move on to a life without blogging Suns basketball.
As a former Suns point guard put it recently: "This is a tough business and the only thing constant in life is change."
Taking over the best and brightest Suns blog in the nation is a daunting but exciting task, made much easier by the stable of experienced and wonderfully talented writers now joining me on the BSotS masthead.
So as we usher in a new era of Suns basketball, we also usher in some fresh changes to your favorite Suns sports blog!
Hit the jump for more details on who's authoring your Suns news these days.
Seth accepted a cushy corporate job all the way over in Washington DC at roughly the same time Wil and Ray decided their families and real jobs (like, whatevs!) were pullng their attention away from BSotS. So we had to devise a new team, including a new Blog Manager, editors and authors. While it may appear that I was the only one who didn't take a step back when volunteers were requested, that's not the case at all. I have been wanting this opportunity for a while now. Bwaahahahahaha!
SB Nation - the parent site and all-around visionary - is planning big, and I mean BIG, improvements to the website over the next few months before the 2012-13 season ramps up. I can't give you details of those as of yet, since I haven't even seen them, but our boy Seth is gushing about them offline. Our former overlord is right at the middle of all those changes. He's still got our backs, folks.
Who is your new management staff for Bright of the Sun?
Alex Laugan: Site Manager
I have officially been a member of this fun and creative website since March 2010, just as the Suns were ramping up their last run to the Western Conference Finals. As with most of you, I'd lurked for at least a year on a daily basis until realizing it was time to share my own thoughts on the Suns. Lucky for me, people liked reading those thoughts and I soon became a regular contributor.
Jim Coughenour: Editor, Author
How could we NOT add Jim to our literary rolls at some point, right? The man knows the English language almost as well as he knows basketball. Okay, maybe even moreso. He is a walking thesaurus who happens to have more common sense than most red-blooded bloggers, a big plus in my book.
My first memories of Jim involve haggling with him over the Hedo Turkoglu acquisition. Jim was actually skeptical of Hedo's ability to play the 4. Go figure. Oh yeah, and he didn't actually love the Childress or Warrick acquisitions either. Like I said, the man's got some common sense.
Omaha Sun: Editor, Author
We are lucky to have Omaha in the editing and writing pool after having been a contributor for nearly two years himself. Omaha also writes and edits for The Creightonian and Ridiculous Upside while hitting the books at Creighton. He really know his college basketball which helps shape our draft previews and keeps us up to date D-League prospects throughout the season. Oh yeah, and he lives and breathes Suns basketball despite being more than half a country away.
Leiland Tanner: Author and Social Media Master
Now, raise your hand if you know who Leiland Tanner is. No? Okay, I'll give you a hint: he's been a BSotS member the fall of 2009 and posted more than 5,000 comments and almost 150 fansposts and articles. Still no? Another hint: his posts stand out because they are so rich in multi-media content, often including homemade professional-grade videos on the Suns.
Still nothing! Leiland Tanner is...Eutychus! Yes folks, Leiland has come out of the closet and now writes under his given name. He's done so because he is ready for a larger role representing BSotS in the Suns community. While he has a full-time job and young family already, Leiland is going to represent our blog when possible at Suns events and on social media sites such as facebook and twitter. Leiland will work to expand our reach wider than its ever been!
7footer: Author and Season Ticket Holder
7footer joined BSotS about the same time I did - during the magical 2010 run to the Conference Finals. We've been trying to get him to write for us since then, and he's finally accepted the challenge. As a season ticket holder, 7footer brings a first-hand perspective to Suns coverage. Fold that in with great judgment, writing ability and a keen sense of reason, and you have an ideal author for the Bright Side. Few contributors provide such depth and logic to their posts - we just had to get the man to put his thoughts in their own stories rather than buried in the comments section!
Hey Alex, what about practice, game and press conference coverage?
Your new BSotS staff all have "other" lives, including full-time jobs and families. While we can carve out plenty of time for the blog, none of us are in position to cover the Suns fulltime as Seth used to do. However, all is not lost!
First-hand Suns coverage of press conferences, practices and games - including audio and video - will be gathered and shared by the great guys over at SB Nation AZ - Kris Habbas and Jess Root. So don't worry about losing first-hand news as it happens with the Suns. Kris and Jess have already been sharing audio of recent press conferences these past few weeks which has helped our coverage tremendously.
Please join me in welcoming the new BSotS management team!
As a group, we all have a sunny disposition. If you thought the site was fairly optimistic before, you won't see much change there. We will find our niche throughout the summer and be humming along when the season really ramps up.
See you on the Bright Side!