When I took over as publisher of Duck Sports Authority, the first priority was urgency. We needed fresh content every single day. Not filler. Not recycled takes. Real reporting. Real conversation. The goal was simple: keep the existing subscribers engaged and give new readers a reason to join.
We did that. But I also stepped into that role too late to meaningfully redirect the larger trajectory. Momentum in this industry matters, and once it shifts, it is hard to reverse.
When I went independent, the move was less about building something new and more about staying in the arena. I wanted to keep writing. Keep telling stories. Keep engaging with a community I had spent 15 years helping build. The plan was modest. Three articles a week. The same rhythm I had followed from 2011 through 2024. Sustainable. Manageable.
Then Honolulu happened.
That week in January reminded me what I actually love about this space. Being on the ground. Seeing prospects up close. Talking to people face to face. Feeling the pulse of recruiting rather than reacting to it from afar. It re-energized something that had grown comfortable.
So today I am bringing back one of my favorite formats: Take Two Tuesday.
Will there always be two perfectly packaged topics each week? Probably not. But there is value in forcing myself to think critically about what actually matters. This week, that means lost rivalries. The rise of Will Mencl. And the tidy myth that consolidation automatically improves a product.
If this little independent corner of the internet is going to grow, it will grow on clarity, urgency, and honest conversation. That part has not changed.
