The Herald is getting ready for some football

August 10, 2003|by MARK KELLER

I absolutely love this time of year.

I've always been a football fan and enjoy watching the game at all levels.

The excitement always grows in August, as high school teams hit the field for two-a-days, colleges hold their annual media days and the pros hit stride with preseason games.

For those Herald-Mail readers who are football fans, this is going to be an exciting year for you.

We have plenty of football in store for our readers this season, quite possibly more than we have ever offered before.

Here's a quick rundown of what you can expect to see this year:

Football preview section - On the day the high school football season opens in the Tri-State area (Aug. 29), readers will be treated to an extensive look at the area football scene.

Previews on all 23 area high school varsity programs, four regional college teams (Maryland, West Virginia, Penn State and Shepherd) and three pro teams (Ravens, Redskins and Steelers) will highlight the section.

Weekend Playbook - Set to run in tandem with Friday Preps Extra, Weekend Playbook will be one page filled with area high school football stats, standings, news, notes and previews of each weekend's games.

In addition, we'll expand coverage of other high school sports on the Friday Preps Extra page.

Big Sydney - Returning for his 33rd season at The Herald-Mail, Big Syd will entertain and annoy every Friday with his irreverent view of life.

Oh, yeah. And he'll predict the games each week.

Fearless Forecasters - Members of The Herald sports staff put their knowledge (or lack thereof) on display every Thursday by predicting select games. Andy Mason is our defending champ.

Friday night lights - We'll have extensive coverage of the area's high school football action in every Saturday edition.

Fantasy Focus - As the world of fantasy sports leagues continues to grow (including here in our office), we offer up a new syndicated weekly column beginning Thursday. P.J. Slinger will offer draft advice, highlight up-and-coming players and alert you to injuries prior to the weekend's NFL games.

Expanded college coverage - Our Sunday section will once again be expanded to 10 pages to allow for more college football stories and box scores.

Look for game stories, sidebars and photos for Maryland, West Virginia and Penn State, roundups of the Top 25 games and capsules of small college games.

Pro football - We'll have previews of Ravens, Redskins and Steelers games, as well as recaps of every NFL game.

It should be a great year for football, and we hope to make it a great football season for our readers.

Mark Keller is sports editor of The Herald-Mail. His column appears every Sunday. He can be reached at 301-733-5131, ext. 2332, or by e-mail at keller@herald-mail.com

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