Introducing our new... International Sports Reporter!

By Robert Lawson, International Sports Reporter

Ed. note: As you may have noticed, we've been blogging a bit more than usual about sports recently. While I have no intention of shifting our focus away from U.S. politics, I think it's good to branch out and cover other topics well beyond the world of politics -- art, music, film, television, philosophy, etc. And that includes sports -- because, well, many of here are serious sports fans. In the coming weeks, Richard and I will be starting up a weekly football post on Sunday mornings, complete with our picks. As well, we'll continue to write every now and again about baseball, hockey, and whatever else gets us going.

I'm pleased to introduce our new International Sports Reporter, Robert Lawson. He's a good friend of mine and I can think of no one better to cover the world of soccer (he'll call it football -- just humour him), hockey, rugby, and so on. The guy knows his sports. If you're already a fan, I think you'll really like his engaging takes on the English Premiership, and on whatever else he decides to cover. If not, I encourage you to give him a chance. He's a great writer, and I'm sure you'll find his posts entertaining. 

(And if you're an audiophile, audio tech nerd, or vinyl enthusiast, or some combination thereof, or if you just love great music, check out his blog Analogue Adventures.)

With that, let me turn it over to Robert for his introductory post...

-- MJWS

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Hello, everyone. I'm happy to introduce myself to you as the new International Sports Reporter here at The Reaction.

In the main, I'll be writing (well, ranting in prose, to be precise) here about the beautiful game. While my focus will be English football, I'll also keep tabs on some of the other top European leagues (especially Spain, Italy, and Germany) and club competitions (Champions League and Europa League). With Euro 2012 on the horizon and the early stages of World Cup qualifying set to begin here in North America, I also intend to write a bit about international football.

In addition to the football, there will be a few posts here and there about rugby (union), cricket, and many other types of sport typically overlooked, ignored, and even ridiculed in this part of the world.

That said, I'll admit my bias right away. My primary interest is and will be the English Premier League.

This is, in large part, a product of Scouse heritage. I'm an ardent supporter of Liverpool with little time for Everton, little love for Manchester United, and unyielding fealty to King Kenny Dalglish. Indeed, I've been following Liverpool and English top flight football since the late-1980s, when I used to wake up early every Saturday morning to watch Soccer Saturday on TSN (Canada's main sports network) with Graham Leggat. I've also been to Anfield on multiple occasions.

For what it's worth, I typically spend the entirety of Saturday and Sunday morning watching matches. Much to our good fortune up here in Canada, we get at least six matches a week on TV and often more. And I do try to keep up with the football news at The Guardian, the BBC, Sky Sports, and ESPN Soccernet, among others, during the week. In other words, I'm keenly aware of what's happening each week in English football.

With that said, I hope you enjoy my contributions here a The Reaction and I look forward to your contributions in the comments section.

Keep your eyes peeled for my next two posts: a recap of the 2010-11 Premiership and a preview of the 2011-12 season, set to begin on Saturday, August 13.