RIP, ‘Out of Bounds’ banner; you will be missed

This seems impossible, but Out of Bounds is officially one year old this week. And we’re celebrating our birthday in the same fashion as many of your top Hollywood movie stars and international spies; with a facelift and a name change.

First, we say goodbye to the banner head above that we’ve all come to know and loathe tolerate. It will only be here for another 20 minutes, so look wistfully at the top of the page and say your goodbyes. I spent much of Tuesday doing just that to each individual generic athlete in the banner … random football guys; paparazzi; boxing chick, track dude … they all will be missed. But like Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, I think I’ll miss Tennis Girl most of all.  Our relationship was brief, but magical. Don’t worry darling, I shall raise our child.

The new logo will be simple, more streamlined, and best of all the grass will be mowed. We’re even going by a new name: Off the Bench. This is in honor of my 2010 World Series champion San Francisco Giants, whose starting lineup in October were mostly castoffs and bench players.  Also it was the only good stock photo I could find. Gaze on the wonder of the new banner at 10:30 a.m. ET today.

Lots more changes to come, among them the return of The Guest Post. So if you’re a writer who wants to get something off his chest, pitch me here at rickchand@gmail.com, and let’s set something up. Our focus, however, remains the same; sports nonsense, low hilarity and treats for the kids. This remains and shall forever be a sports humor blog for the infirm and the socially inept. Please remove shoes before entering blog. Not for centaurs.

– Rick