Check Your Scorecard: Here Comes Tom Durso

Editor's note: It's rare that we step out of our collective voice/pants to let someone steal the spotlight. In our history, we've only done it when (a) the Pope did a guest spot in our 30 Days of Easter series, (b) we put up a "Day as Phillyist Editor" for bid and Singularist won, (c) we just felt like wingin' it. Today, we let Tom Durso, the newest member of our team, don the slim-fit pants before diving into the big waistline that is Phillyist.

Welcome to the future of Philadelphia sportswriting.

Ah, that's not really correct. My last participation in organized sports, assuming you don't count the office softball team I played on many years ago, was starting at second base for my freshman baseball team in high school. Since then there's been pickup basketball, football, and street hockey, a couple of years of tennis, and, over the past few years, the occasional round of golf. (Playing Halo 2 with my brothers and brother-in-law doesn't count as an organized sport, right?) So, um, this is gonna look an awful lot like the present, and the past, of Philadelphia sportswriting, in that I'm a guy with limited physical skills who nonetheless thinks he's better than those who, you know, play the games and those you run the teams.

A bit more about me: I'm a lifelong Philadelphian with a passion for the local teams. I share a partial season-ticket plan for the Phillies with my brother. I follow the Eagles, but not with the zealotry of way too many people in these parts. I enjoy the NBA and NHL, but don't really get into them until the playoffs. College hoops, yes; college football, not so much. Wing Bowl, never.

So, yes, I'm the new guy here on the Phillyist team, but hardly a rookie. I've been blogging for more than two years now, and have done freelance sportswriting for even longer. To get a flavor of what you might see here, click on over to my own little effort, Shallow Center. Whereas the specialty of the house there is Phillies coverage, with side orders of other sports, pop culture, politics, and the media, my aim here will be to focus on the wider array of Philadelphia sports -- those who play, those who own, coach, and manage, those who cover, those who root. I hope to keep the tone similar -- snarky enough to retain my blogger cred, reasoned enough to inspire some thoughtful debate. It'll be a work in progress, as I figure out how to balance the Shallow Center stuff with the Phillyist material, and I'm looking forward to working it all out. I like reading comments, and I enjoy feedback (AIM: shallowcenter; e-mail: tom@shallowcenter.com), so fire away. First topic of discussion: The first time the New York media swarms over Larry Bowa because he waved home a Yankee who was thrown out by 30 feet, he will (a) admit his mistake and say he'll try harder next time; (b) call Scott Rolen a wuss; or (c) blame Ed Wade and Bill Conlin.