First impressions are always tough - especially for a northern fellow in the South.
So, I'm going to try and make this as direct as possible, and, hey, you might even respect me for it. My name is Nick Margiasso (Nicholas, if you're my wife or mother and screaming at me) and I came to Georgia by way of my birth state of New York.
Yell at me if you must.
I currently live in Atlanta and went to school in Tampa, Fla., at the University of South Florida - where the mighty Bulls have built the best record of any Florida-based BCS team since joining the Big East in 2005 other than those reptilians that rhyme with taters - and I am pretty proud of both. But now I have something else to be proud about, as I am taking over the sports editor post for The Rockdale News.
Going on and on about my life won't really prove anything to readers except that writing about myself is a great way to induce a lengthy nap. Any sports fan knows that if you really want to know something about a fellow sports buff, you need to know where he or she stands on some issues. I figured that laying out my stance on some major themes will not only give you an idea about how passionate I am for all of our favorite sports, but will also hopefully exemplify how I'll turn that into a style as an editor that will bring the enthusiasm that is needed for this great community and its second-to-none sports scene.
So here are a few things that I think:
• The Yankees stink.
• Urban Meyer is actually a snake.
• Chipper Jones is the best switch hitter of all time.
• MMA is hockey without the ice skating, so why have both?
• LeBron = overrated.
• High school football might be the purest form of sport.
• My calendar is always clear for the world's best party - tailgating before a UGA football game.
• Federer and Tiger are the best champions in any individual sport - ever.
• Mike Tyson knocks out Muhammad Ali in the second round if they fight in their primes.
• Brett Favre is pathetic.
• Our best national team is U.S. Soccer.
• Buying a NASCAR ticket is the best fan value you can get.
• Andy Roddick just played better tennis than any American ever at Wimbledon - and lost.
• NFL wide receivers need a good, collective smack.
• The best college football is played in the SEC - period.
• New Braves center fielder Nate McLouth might be the nicest athlete I've ever met.
• Pete Rose is maybe the dumbest athlete I've ever met, but he gets in the Hall of Fame if the 'roiders do.
• Speaking of nice and dumb ... Matt Ryan is to wow as Michael Vick is to bow-wow.
There are plenty more things I think, but we're running otu of room.
And, although I've only been in town for a short while, I also think there are some pretty important local things to note. Freshly graduated Salem center Sam Watts is going to start helping the turnaround at a hurting Mississippi State football program this fall under former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen. Also, Heritage's Tyler Austin (who plays alongside the other 39-best baseball preps in the nation in San Diego next month) is going to make one MLB team very happy in next summer's draft.
With the caliber of sports being played in Rockdale County, though, those certainly won't be the last big sports stories to come out of The Rockdale News during my tenure. I hope you will join me in staying tune for the next.
