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Is anyone still reading this?

Curiously enough, this weekend I won't be looking forward to an NFL matchup the most, I am actually looking forward to a high school contest. Usually I find the high school games to be inferior in quality to the NFL where a much improved and polished version of football can be enjoyed but this weekend I am looking forward the most to tomorrow night's game between Claremont and South Hills High for several reasons.

First off, South Hills is kind of our local team. The school is literally blocks away from my house and my brother Nick graduated from there where he played in the band.

The team was projected to be the top ranked team in the sgv by the Tribune when the prep season onpened, but has of late fallen in hard times. They are off to an 0-2 start. I will be covering the game for the Tribune this friday night and chances are that I will get more than the usual 2 or 4 inches of print because it's a top ranked team. I am sort of hoping they bounce back with a big game.

The game also has meaning for me because it might be the last one I do for the Tribune. The gig covering football games hasn't gone as planned. It seems that the paper treats the stringers as seasonal workers with very little intention to hire any full time and I am not looking for that. I am looking to attach myself to a newspaper permanently in whatever capacity they see me fit, copy editing, writing, layout or whatever else needs to be done.

If I am only getting two or three inches per issue then the gas, expense and time that goes into covering these games is not justified. I have had a great time for one and a half seasons covering prep football and I have seen some terrific games, and some which weren't so great. This game between the South Hills Huskies and Claremont will be my swan song, but I am sure going to miss covering these games on a regular basis. I am going to miss driving back at midnight with the lingering memory of the bands playing in my head and with the rush of completing a deadline and I am going to miss seeing my byline on saturday mornings. Alas, that time has passed and I will concentrate on writing articles for the Walnut Weekly and also freelancing for the Citrus College magazine.