I'm headed back to The Oklahoman, but this is not goodbye, dear readers

What's next for Beyond the Boxscore.

(Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash)

I never want to bury the lead — I'm going back to work at The Oklahoman.

Next week, I'm returning to the place I worked for 24 years. I'll still be writing sports, covering OU and OSU, Thunder and high schools, but the job will be a little different than the sports columnist job I did the first time around. There will still be sports columns, but there will also be longer features and takeouts. And when something big happens in our state, even if it has nothing to do with sports, there's a good chance I'll have a hand in the coverage.

I'm excited about the opportunity and honored by the chance to return.

A million thanks go to executive editor Ray Rivera, who worked tirelessly to create a path for my return, and to the entire sports department led by editor Jeff Patterson, who welcomed me back with enthusiasm that mirrors mine.

This news, of course, raises a question: what does all this mean for what we've created here?

The short answer: I'm not sure just yet.

Beyond the Boxscore isn't just some side hustle for me. It has become my professional focus, passion and joy since Sellout Crowd folded in May. It provided an outlet for stories and commentaries, sure, but as much as anything, it gave me an connection to you, the readers.

So many of you subscribed and emailed, commented and connected.

Grateful doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about all of you.

Appreciation?

I don't even know how to say thank you enough.

When I launched the site on May 16, I was honest in saying, "This is a starting point. I’m not sure where it will go or what it will become. Maybe something more. Maybe something less. But for now, this will be a place where I tell stories about what is going on with the sports world you know and love."

Even though I couldn't promise you much, thousands of you still came on board. And every time I posted something, you opened the email or clicked the link.

I can't tell you how many times I logged on to check how much traffic a piece was getting and in that moment when the page was loading, I thought, "This is probably the day no one reads." 

But that day never came.

I kept writing, and you kept reading.

So, what happens now with Beyond the Boxscore?

I'm going to steal one of my own lines: I'm not sure where it will go or what it will become.

Even though it won't be the same as it has been, I plan to have some conversations with my new (old?) bosses at The Oklahoman about the future of Beyond the Boxscore. But I want those conversations to happen at the appropriate time, and of late, we've all been focused on getting to the starting line.

So, I have a favor to ask: give me 30 days to figure this out.

I'm halting any additional payments for subscriptions, so if you're a monthly subscriber, you won't be charged until further notice. If you're a yearly subscriber, that clock will be stopped, too.

I have to tell you, my decision to return to The Oklahoman shouldn't be seen as an indictment of what we have built at Beyond the Boxscore. The experience has been invigorating and thrilling. But as a divorced mom with a 12-year-old, I need a bit of stability. Regular paychecks. Benefits. Reimbursements. You know, boring adult stuff that suddenly isn't so boring when you don't have it.

Even though I’ve had an unbelievably supportive team — Michael Lane and Jacquelyn Farris are video deities who I am extremely lucky to call friends, Jay Spear and Mike Sherman are always there with advice and laughs and all my sponsors have been angels, headlined by the amazingly awesome Cristy Morrison at Visit Stillwater — I love being in a newsroom. 

One of the reasons I got into journalism was the teamwork, the camaraderie, the fellowship, and I simply can't wait to get lunch with Jacob Unruh and Joe Mussatto again. Or carpool to Stillwater with Scott Wright again. Or road trip to Dallas with Ryan Aber again. 

Can you tell I'm excited about the next chapter?

Just know that this chapter isn't closed yet. Again, I hope you'll grant me some time to figure out what all this means for Beyond the Boxscore because this isn't goodbye. 

It's please stand by.