The End of an Era

I've got some sad news to report tonight. Pioneering hockey blogger extraordinaire and founder of The Sidney Crosby Show Jes Gőlbez has decided to retire his keyboard:

Back in May of 2004, I got the notion to start this blog, and called it Hockey Rants because I love hockey and ranting. Simple concept, really.

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4 years later, I feel the fun has disappeared for me. Perhaps the combination of writing for AOL and my own site just overloaded my positronic circuits, but blog posting now feels more of a chore and an obligation than anything else. I haven't truly enjoyed blogging very much for the past few months, and I don't see that changing in the near future.

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Like Trevor Linden, I just don't have "it" any longer. I'm tired, worn down, and my abilities have been eroded over time. I know I'm capable of writing some good material, but it would take a lot of time and effort that I'm just not able to handle. When I think about the memorable posts I've written, most of it has not been writing over the past 6-8 months.

That is why I've decided to retire from regular hockey blogging and close the Hockey Rants chapter of my life, as well as stop writing for AOL FanHouse.

Make sure you read his entire final post over at Hockey Rants. I now want to take this opportunity to thank Jes for taking a chance on me and basically handing over this blog to me.


He started The Show when Sidney was drafted by the Penguins in 2005. Fast forward two years: In June 2007, Jes asked me if I'd be interested in coming on board TSCS as a contributer. I jumped at the chance and hit the ground running. I posted often. Gradually more and more of you started reading what I was writing. It didn't take long until he trusted me enough to grant me full administrative privileges, which gave me the freedom to turn The Show into what it is today.


Meanwhile Jes was gracious enough to stand back and let me do my thing. He didn't get mad when I started making changes to the style sheet or when I added the banner or the menu or the schedule widget. Once we became partners, he never referred to TSCS as "his" blog; rather, he always called it "our" blog. Eventually, this became "my" blog. And as it did, Jes never tried to slow me down. Instead, he encouraged me and was happy for me.

I can honestly tell you with 100% certainty that I never would have ventured into this crazy blogosphere if it hadn't been for Jes Gőlbez. Because of him I now have this hobby (a passion, really) in my life that has provided me with an outlet and an escape. Most importantly, TSCS introduced me to all of you. I am so grateful for that.

Thank you, Jes. For everything. Good luck in all you do, and know that you'll be missed.