Schuckman: Welcome to opening day

QUINCY — Maybe with a little forethought, our opening day celebration could have included some of the nuances which make the kickstart of the Major League Baseball season so unique.

Maybe we could have brought the Clydesdales to town to circle our newsroom.

Maybe we could have hung red, white and blue bunting from our desks.

Maybe we could have asked Jim Rapp or Mike Kinscherff, the two gentlemen whose vision to deliver local sports news from a locally owned source is coming to life, to throw out the first pitch. Or in this case, we could have asked them to publish the first story.

As it turned out, we didn’t bother with any of those distractions.

The launch of MuddyRiverSports.com is about delivering high-quality content you want to read, hear and watch, and I am confident when you logged on to our site for the first time, you saw a smattering of the things you expect to receive.

You will find opinion pieces in the Pressbox. You will find the high school sports news broken down by state, giving Illinois and Missouri readers their own platform. Quincy and Hannibal readers have their own platforms, too. 

We plan to keep you connected to the outdoors, provide the news in brief and highlight the daily action on our scoreboard.

The goal is to be informative, entertaining and relevant.

I believe at first glance that has been accomplished, and I am confident we will continue to deliver.

We know you can collect the who, what, when and where from a variety of sources. Here is where you will get the why and the how. For example, did you know the seniors on the Palmyra football team were winless as freshmen? Read our story to find out how they reacted to those struggles and changed the trajectory of their careers.

We will be introducing new segments and series as the website evolves. One of my favorite endeavors will be the “Schuck on a Truck” video interviews, where I will conduct a weekly interview sitting on the tailgate of my pickup truck.

The goal is to give you stories you won’t find anywhere else or a different take on the stories you get from other outlets. It’s about highlighting what it takes to be a student-athlete, a coach and a team in this unique environment.

It’s an exciting new adventure I’m ready to begin.

Welcome to opening day!