Late last night after the Red Sox had won another game in Baltimore, Ian Bethune, head of the great Sox & Dawgs website made a rather shocking revelation on Twitter, that he was going to shut down his blog effective immediately.
Ian has been doing his site starting in 2005 and then really in earnest in 2006. He and his site partner, Steve, followed the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and UConn sports and did a very good job in keeping up with stories, writing game previews, game recaps and providing coverage that the newspapers could not. In addition, the site also provided videos.
Sox & Dawgs got a very loyal fanbase over the years from Red Sox fans looking for the latest information.
After Patriots season last year, Steve left leaving the Pats coverage in flux, but Ian did his best to maintain the Red Sox, UConn and Celtics coverage.
When I restarted this blog in 2007, Ian began to link to my articles and through the Sox & Dawgs’ readership, Fang’s Bites got a loyal fanbase of its own.
When a blog shuts down, it leaves a hole. When the Fire Joe Morgan site ended last year, I felt sadness, but because I didn’t know sitemaster Ken Tremendous personally, I quickly got over it as there were other blogs to replace it. But in this case, I got to know Ian online through the exchange of e-mails and a few live chats he conducted. And then for Blogs with Balls in June, we finally had the opportunity to meet face-to-face and I found Ian not only passionate about his work, but one hell of a guy.
We hung out in New York getting to meet our favorite bloggers and thanks to our New England connections, find other Red Sox fans. It was a very good day.
But as I read Ian’s final statement, it leaves me with a sadness that a fellow blogger has decided to call it quits. Ian has told me the reason for his departure and suffice to say that it’s solely his decision. I respect that. I do hope that down the road, he’ll find the passion to return and he has an open invitation to write some Red Sox stories here at Fang’s Bites.
Ian’s decision has left shockwaves among Red Sox bloggers including the lovely Amanda Bruno of Batter-up with Bruno and the great Fenway West blog.
Whatever Ian decides, whether this is permanent or just a short hiatus, Fang’s Bites and his fellow Red Sox fans will be there to support him. To me, this is a short farewell, but it’s not a permanent goodbye. I certainly hope to have another opportunity to hoist beer with Ian down the line.
