Though this is the first time in my nearly 30-year journalism career that I have been a sports editor, I'm not a newcomer to sports -- or to the Sentinel.
I started as a copy editor in the Sentinel sports department in 1993 -- when Steve Doyle was sports editor, Larry Guest and Brian Schmitz were the columnists, Barry Cooper was covering the Magic, Mike Dame was on the Gators beat, Alan Schmadtke was in Tallahassee with the Seminoles, and I believe someone named Jerry Greene was covering a little school called UCF.
As the years passed, I moved up to deputy sports editor, working along side folks like Van McKenzie, Lynn Hoppes, Bill Speros, Mike Huguenin, Tim Stephens, Mike Bianchi, David Whitley, George Diaz, Rick Maese, Chris Harry, Joe Schad, Jeff Darlington, Andrew Carter, Dave Curtis, Jeremy Fowler and Jemele Hill -- just to name more than a few of the great folks who have been with the Sentinel over the years.
I left sports in 2006 to move to the Sentinel's online operation. Later I became the editor responsible for OrlandoSentinel.com, then essentially the digital managing editor for the Sentinel newsroom. I moved into a corporate role for two years with our parent company, Tribune, working with the digital managers of all of our East Coast newspapers.
When Orlando sports editor Tim Stephens left to go to CBSSports.com, I jumped at the opportunity to return to the Sentinel and the sports department.
A couple of other things you should know about me...
I'm a native Floridian -- which makes me about as rare as a Florida panther.
I was born in Miami, and my first sports memory is of the Dolphins playing the Redskins in the 1973 Super Bowl, capping that perfect 17-0 season. (I still know all the words to the Dolphins fight song.)
Locally, I was at the first UCF football game when the Knights moved from Division III to Division II in 1982 (ouch, that was an 0-10 season). I was at the first USFL scrimmage at the Tangerine Bowl when Steve Spurrier's Tampa Bay Bandits took on the Boston Breakers (in a monsoon-like storm). I was at the first Orlando Renegades scrimmage with the Philadelphia Stars at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand. I was also at the first game for the Orlando Thunder -- the NFL's World League of American Football team that wore those unforgettable fluorescent green jerseys. (That was also the first game when a TV camera was put inside Orlando QB Scott Mitchell's helmet -- and when his helmet got knocked off, TV viewers gasped in horror thinking his head was rolling down the field.)
But I do like more than just football. I attended the very first Orlando Magic regular-season game (a close loss to the New Jersey Nets), and as a fan I have been to both Eastern Conference finals game 7s with the team (against the Pacers and the Cavs). [Oops, was told that the deciding game with the Cavs was a game 6 -- see how the memory goes when you get old!]
So, I think I know a little bit about the region, its sports history and its teams.
I'm committed to improving Orlando Sentinel sports -- in print and on the web -- and making it as best as it can be for this fantastic region that you and I call home. And I can use your help. E-mail me about what you want to see in the Sports section. I hope to use this blog to answer your questions and also explain what's going on with our department.
I hope you're become a fan of what we are doing.
P.S. -- Why is that YouTube video posted below? Well, for those of you asking, "Who's this clown who's the new sports editor?" -- that would be me. I was Clocky the Clown in the Mike Bianchi-Jerry Greene Keep'n Score One on One videos.
Roger Simmons is the executive sports editor for the Orlando Sentinel. You can reach him via email at rsimmons@orlandosentinel.com. Or follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@rogersimmons. Become a fan of the Orlando Sentinel Sports Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/orlandosentinelsports
