Hello, and welcome to my new home. As you can see, I’m still moving in; there are boxes everywhere, the floral wallpaper is from the previous owner, and please do not go #2 in the hall bath as it is not up to the task right now. It is a work in progress, but it will round into shape over time.
I don’t plan on getting into the weeds about why I left Barking Carnival, suffice it to say I felt like it was time to move on. I’m thankful to Drew & Paul & SBNation for the opportunity to stretch my wings and the latitude to figure out what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it with minimal interference. A lot of good came from having that place to incubate, and I will look back on my time there fondly.
I’m still not entirely sure what this place will look like in its final form, but to set expectations:
I’m planning on writing more or less on a weekly cadence during the season. The format will be roughly similar to the recaps I used to do on Barking Carnival, adjusted somewhat for covering a couple games at a time instead of one. I’m not sure when they will come out yet; I’m thinking maybe write them on Sundays and publish either Sunday or Monday, but that may be adjusted depending on how life intervenes.
The season preview will be truncated this year since large parts of the season - like, uhh, how many games they’re playing and against whom - are still TBD. Generally by this time of year, I’m 75% or more done with the preview because everything is already set in stone, but 2020 is consistent in its inconsistency so I’m waiting until things congeal before getting going.
I’m still planning on doing the Pretend We’re Football podcast with Tim and Will, so that shouldn’t change much. *insert standard ‘2020 could still fuck everything up’ disclaimer here*
There may be non-sports posts from time to time; if that’s not your bag, I understand. I believe I can control which posts just go here vs being sent out in the mailing list, so people who just want the basketball stuff can sign up for the mailing list version and I’ll leave non-sports topics on Substack. It’s a manual process, but I will do my best to adhere to that distinction moving forward.
This site is free; I’m not offering up a paid version, as there are already a number of Texas pay sites and I’m not really interested in squeezing people for more cash in the middle of a pandemic with massive unemployment. I have setup a tip jar on Patreon if you’re inclined to help me offset the alcohol needed to write about Texas Longhorns basketball, but it is entirely optional. The posts will be identical *crosses fingers while praying to the article formatting gods* whether they’re here or Patreon, so if you have a preference for one or the other the content should be the same.
Thanks for coming, you’ll hear from me again as the season gets closer.
Glad to find you again, BWG. Been a fan of Texas basketball since the Gregory Gym days, but your writing has given me a new and nuanced understanding of the game of college basketball in general, and Texas basketball (with all its warts) in specific. And every once in while I learn about a really good TV series (e.g. Mr. Robot). Thanks for continuing to write.
So happy to still get to read your terrific writing!