The explanation behind the name

Time for the explanation behind the name of this blog.

Twenty-one years into my sports writing career, I find myself only partially employed by two local newspaper companies after working full time for one. So, I'm faced with the prospect of either seeking employment outside of my native Albany, NY, with another newspaper or changing career paths. Neither idea is attractive to me. I've been helping my dad around the house for more than two years, and I don't want to move out of town. Besides, with newspapers struggling to remain relevant in a digital age, I could get a job in another part of the country and then get laid off within a year.

At the same time, the thought of trying to change careers seems daunting to me. There are many paths for someone with a B.A. in English to look at, but even if I acquire the training necessary to make the shift, I would be going against a lot of people trying to get the same entry-level position. I could be wrong, but I don't think the odds would be in my favor.

As I was considering my next move, I decided to get more active with this blog. I picked the name "Down and Out in Upstate NY" because it sounded good and basically described my financial situation. My main focus would be commenting on the national and international sports scene, since my main sports writing job involves covering high school and community sports in Albany County. It was a way for me to offer opinions on topics I wouldn't have room for at my primary post.

So far, the response has been good. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I've been seeing a steady increase in readership and some comments being thrown in over the past week (which is when I got back from my self-imposed hiatus at the beginning of June).

With that in mind, I plan on continuing to write about what's going on in the sports world. But as the subhead suggests, there will be some other entries about my life in the Capital District and where I'm going. I'll try to keep everything as fresh and fun as possible. I may even throw in a few entries about my other "career" -- being a singer-songwriter (and before you ask, I am not related to the Jonas Brothers as far as I know). Whatever is on my mind that day will likely find its way onto this site.

I don't know where this blog will take me. Maybe it will become my primary job, or maybe I'll wind up taking some community college courses to train me for another line of work. All I know is I'm having fun with it, and it seems like it's being well received. As long as both of those things keep happening, I'll keep this site going.

One more thing: If you have become a regular visitor or are here for the first time and like what you see, please spread the word about this site. This may be only a side project at the moment, but I'd love to have a large audience to write for. And if you happen to be on Twitter, please follow me @team_town. I'll be Tweeting occasionally during big sporting events such as the Stanley Cup Finals, the NBA Finals (what's left of them, anyway) and -- farther on down the road -- baseball's All-Star Game and World Series, as well as the Super Bowl. You'll also be among the first to find out when the blog has been updated.

With that, it's time to move on to Monday night's bounty of sports -- including Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals between Boston and Chicago. Will this finally be the night someone wins in regulation, or will we go to overtime for the third consecutive game? We'll find out together.