52 Comments

At the Athletic you would sometimes mention a word limit to your articles. I'm looking forward to you writing as much as you like here on Sturmstack. Like many others, your Cowboy articles were the only reason I subscribed to the Athletic.

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Bob: Much respect and admiration for you and your desire to write. As I sit on my ass in retirement, the memories of my work ethic fade. I honestly marvel at how you keep the plates spinning.

I got The Big Haircut once in my career, but I was 61 and didn't have a full-time gig. When the Big 12 "decided to go in a different direction" and fired me, I was close enough to retirement to freelance my way "home" - including writing about college hoops for one season for The Athletic. Their dismissal of you (and the others) was cold blooded.

I will be looking forward to reading. I might not follow you down every rabbit hole, but the ones I explore I know will be enjoyable.

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Thank you, Wendell. Your writing was a big part of my CFB/CBB diet for a fair mount of time.

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Appreciate that. Thanks.

Heard you boys talkin' about Quarterback on Netflix. What a great watch. Agree with the thoughts on Cousins. Always thought he was JAG but that's because I drank the KoolAid about his playoff mediocrity. The episode that featured game prep was awesome. The Good Wife heard the Vikings' paragraph-long play calls and said, "That's crazy." For once, I agreed with her.

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Man the Athletic has done nothing but go downhill since being acquired by the NYT. Bob was the only reason I maintained a subscription. I’ve cancelled now. I certainly hope this will maintain a Cowboys focus, as I couldn’t care less about the other teams. Will certainly miss his Sturm 60. I respectfully disagree about the juice being worth the squeeze. The NFL draft does consistently better ratings than the championships of the other sports leagues so I think it’s clear where the public’s interest lies.

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I am positive I will still cover the draft pretty thoroughly. I just don't want to marry myself to exclusively the draft from late January to late April. That is a mighty big mountain I have been climbing.

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Understand completely. Thanks for the reply. Just want to say how much I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your writing over the years. Some of the smartest analysis I’ve come across!

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You are my sports leader, Bob. Lead the way.

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This is exciting. With all of the changes over the last decade to traditional print media along with the consolidation in online media, this market has really suffered. As a Stars fan watching Sean Shapiro then Saad taken from full time Stars beat really hurt.

Having independent voices like yours now who can really address fan interests in the market beyond "stay in your lane" journalism is a blessing. I don't always agree with you, and I've irritated you on Twitter before, but I've always respected and enjoyed your writing. Thanks for going this way and best of luck. The market needs you and this project.

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Anyone who read your articles understood much of what you wrote was in the context of football concepts. You applied facts about the Cowboys to those concepts. You could easily have applied your knowledge to the NFL generally and probably college football. This seemed like a corporate person making decision without knowing what they were doing. We have all seen that happen.

Someone once told me be thankful things do not always workout the way we want them to. Glad to see you on Substack!

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Canceled my subscription the minute I found out what happened. Didn't know right away where you'd gone, but glad I found you here. I was worried Jerry would find a way to pay you enough to accept a muzzle over at dc.com so I am happy you will be free here. I won't be so bold as to say I am your #1 fan, but I am indeed a big one.

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All 22 breakdowns are the absolute best. Especially when Dak has tossed a couple pics amd all we have is our reaction from what the TV truck shows us in the game.

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Subscribing was easy money. But no soccer please.

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Bob: I don't have much interest in anything but the Cowboys; so the old format was OK with me. But I enjoy your football analysis & reporting so much that I'm happy to deal with the rest to bet your fine writing & commentaries. This is obviously a great day for you having achieved personal & professional independence ; but it's also wonderful for all your many fans! Woohoo!!

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Best way to start the morning! Excited to see where this takes you Bob and will be reading along!

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I can't wait to see where this stack goes Bob! It's great to have you back in my feed.

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Excellent news! I am with you, Bob!

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Indeed, sometimes it takes a push.

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Hurrah. More Luka is what the media needs now more than ever. Together we'll crack it and turn the tide (I say "we" but I'm only a fan with a door photo blog).

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Hi Bob! I joined the The Athletic because of Jamey Newberg, but found you there too. I “knew” you as a lifelong DFW sports fan, and have followed you here to the SturmStack.

I love my Cowboys, so you can write all you want about them as far as I’m concerned. However, my number 1 team is the Rangers, and I loved how you covered them through the playoff run. I think you did a great job with covering the mix of what mattered most at the time!

Can’t wait to see what happens now that the Cowboys season ended at least four weeks earlier than it should have. The only thing rally going now are basketball and hockey (which for me fall below Rangers, Cowboys, and soccer), so I’m interested to see what you do with more “free” time (aka Cowboy offseason).

I love your writing, and truly appreciate your responsiveness, as evidenced in your immediate changes made to help me and others who are red-green colorblind. You have a loyal subscriber in me!

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Hey Bob. I subscribed to The Athletic specifically because you had moved over there. Reckon I can cancel that subscription and follow your work here now. Really appreciate all the effort you put into it and I’m glad to see you’ve landed somewhere comfortable.

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