SB Nation Atlanta had a strong opening run this season. Going into this weekend's offseason, there were many questions to answer. Primarily, the nation's analysts wondered how the team would respond to losing fearless leader Martin Gandy, the only captain the squad had ever known.
Key departures:
- Martin Gandy, senior editor. Gandy elected to focus on Talking Chop, the world's most successful Atlanta Braves blog.
- Winfield Tufts, Georgia Tech columnist. Likewise, Tufts decided his Jackets blog, From The Rumble Seat, deserved the bulk of his blogging efforts.
- Jacob Peterson, assistant editor. Peterson placed himself on waivers, then logged into Talking Chop and claimed himself, rejoining Gandy.
Key additions:
- Matt Taylor is SBN ATL's new weekend editor. He's a fan of Tech and all Atlanta pro teams except the Thrashers, after being converted to a Washington Capitals fan. Sorry Laura. Matt on what to do about third base now that Chipper's gone.
- Ben Duronio, Braves editor, comes aboard from Talking Chop and his own The Bravesologist. Despite residing in Mets country, he's seen the light and embraced the chop. We've unlocked New York as a recruiting pipeline state! Here's Ben's most recent post at The Bravesologist.
- Jon Kirk is going to pitch in blog posts on just about all Atlanta teams, and will be writing a little about Georgia's less Atlanta sports, like NASCAR, outdoorsmanhood, and other country things. Let's face it, the people love it. He'll also cover Tech hoops when the time is right. Kirk is the father of freshly promoted senior editor Jason Kirk, leading some analysts to suggest the arrangement is similar to the Kiffin family coaching express. These analysts are not clever people.
Remaining standouts:
- Bronn Tallant of Peachtree Hoops has agreed to take on UGA hoops in addition to the Hawks, capably becoming our basketball editor.
- Laura Astorian of Thrashing the Blues skillfully handles all things Thrashers. Her hockey knowledge likely surpasses the combined hockey knowledge of everyone who has ever written for SBN ATL, and God bless her for that.
- Doug Gillett of Hey Jenny Slater and Every Day Should Be Saturday and all blogs with long names is our excellent UGA football columnist. He's last in this list because somebody has to be, but not in SB Nation Atlanta's heart.
Outlook:
SBN ATL has weathered a major series of shuffles, only to come back more ham than ever. The squad is tooling up for its upcoming college football kickoff week bonanza fiesta karamu forever, plus the start of all other non-baseball seasons. I foresee a 54-2 season.
[A-T-L! chant.]