Immediate future holds Super Bowl, Winter Games, new look

It has always been my intention to use this small corner of Page 2 to let readers know what is happening in their sports department and to their sports section.

Today, I could take up the whole page. We’ve been busy. Here is the boiled-down version:

Super Bowl

Columnist John Blanchette and staff writer Jim Meehan head to Detroit today for the biggest single-day sporting event of the year. It makes it even bigger for our readers, of course, because the Cheney, er, Seattle Seahawks are playing in the game next Sunday.

We have the entire week planned out, starting with Blanchette’s column today on 1992 Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien. Our other Super Bowl offering today has Meehan recalling turning points in the Seahawks’ season.

We’ll have profiles on players and coaches with local ties, have a little fun with the Seahawks’ strange past and, of course, dissect the game. You can count on something daily for the next nine days from our guys in Detroit.

And no, I won’t be going. If I had a nickel for every time I have been asked that question this week. My job? I sign the expense sheets when Blanchette and Meehan get back.

Olympics

The Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy don’t start until Feb. 10, but starting Wednesday, we will have all the Olympics coverage you could want.

The Olympics create special problems for sports sections, but they are especially troublesome when they happen during a busy sports time of the year. Finding the room to run stories on the Winter Games is difficult. In addition, because of the time zone difference, most of what you read in the paper is already old news.

We’ll still have stories each day on the Olympics, but for the readers who can’t get enough we have purchased an impressive online package from the Associated Press that can be accessed through The Spokesman-Review Web site.

Among other things, you will get event previews, athlete bios, complete schedules, notebooks, blogs from AP writers, a continuously updated medals table, photos and results from every event.

It’s really like having access to all the information we have in the newsroom, but can’t get in the paper. If you would rather have more hockey news than skating news, no problem. You choose. You like curling? We have curling. You like to read about guys on skis with guns in their hands? We have biathlons.

What you will have is the biggest news organization in the world at your fingertips.

Starting Wednesday, check it out at spokesmanreview.com/olympics.

Our new look

When you wake up tomorrow morning and start flipping through the paper, don’t panic. It’s going to look a little different. It will definitely feel different.

If you want the technical explanation of why the paper has changed, read Editor Steve Smith’s column in the B section of today’s paper.

We will have less space, but we have attempted to use the space we have more wisely. We will tighten up those everyday stories for the record like game advances, game stories and transactions. We will still use a good chunk of space on compelling stories about athletes and trends.

We will also attempt to do a better job of directing you to our online blogs. There is a lot of good inside information on all the blogs this week.

For the real sports junkies, here is all you really need to know: The typeface on the stats will actually be BIGGER. I’ve seen the prototypes. It’s very clean. You can throw away the magnifying glasses.

I think a lot of people are going to like our changes. Some won’t. Change is hard. Either way, write to me or call. I’d like to know what you think.