A revamped Construda!

That's right. Construda is back. After a near three-month hiatus, this sports blog is back online and ready to go. But changes are abound.

Firstly, Construda is now just one blogger. Me, Nick West. I'm no longer anonymous. I believe I should stand behind what I post instead of using a goofy username (NDub wasn't too bad, was it?).

This blog will take on a much more positive tone, which makes it easier for me to post under my real name. Construda fired up in August 2007 with four guys. Gradually, the blog spiraled out of control with negativity and personal attacks. Construda was everything Buzz Bissinger so furiously said blogs were on the 'Costas Now' episode a few weeks ago.

I thought about changing the name and redirecting readers to a new blog, but this one still generates an average of 500 hits a day despite not a single post since March 4. So I'll just clean up Construda.

Often times in this blog's past, we focused on bringing originality to the blogosphere. Opinions were forced in an effort to bring a fresh voice. And as a result, lots of posts missed because they took a negative perspective.

I refuse to let that happen again.

I'm writing this blog so that I may interact with fellow bloggers while developing my voice as a sports journalist. A lot of my work entails coverage and reporting, not opinion. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but columns are part of the profession and I'd like to develop my style. Certainly, a blog independent of my employer will allow me to do so.

Plus, with the way media is evolving, a blog - if operated and written professionally and properly - can only enhance my experience in this field.

As this week progresses, I'll be making some changes. As you can tell, the template is different. The blogroll will be updated with some local and fan blogs I discovered in recent months. And I'll do my best to Paintshop a banner. The current one is pretty drab, no?