A place with room for a writer to stretch

It doesn't make them any less important than the ones you read in the paper. There just wasn't enough room for them.

I've always considered myself more of a writer than a journalist. Unfortunately, what comes with that distinction is I tend to be wordy.

Conversely, nothing makes the kid grind his teeth like game stories that read like the reporter didn't actually attend the event. And I seem to read more such stories as time goes by.

I'd rather use descriptive language to give the reader a front-row seat for an event than shoehorn in a slew of stats that they can read in the scoreboard.

I have a hard time ignoring storylines. And I'm easily moved. Add all these things up, and it's a wonder that I've lasted this long in an industry that demands you do more with less space.

My good buddy, Web, is going to help me keep my job. Thanks to the Interwebs, I can put here the memorable quotes and observations that didn't "make the cut."

If you're in the Twitterverse, I'll tweet whenever I post an entry. You can follow me @CHeimerman_SVM and look for the hashtag #ExtraExtra. We'll also put a teaser within the print story to let you know there's a corresponding blog entry.

So get the essentials in the paper, then come here for bonus coverage. Be ready for a heavy dose of opinions, too.

Let's not waste any time here. I might not be at the girls state golf meet, but I have an observation, even if it was gleaned from ihsa.org:

How cool is it that Prophetstown senior Amanda Bertolozzi is playing today? Throw her score right out the window. Ten days ago, she was a mess over being unable to play as the Prophets won their second straight regional title.

Molly Corbin did her best to console her best friend, assuring her she was part of a 19-0 season and still part of what the Prophets were accomplishing, even if she wasn't physically swinging a club.

But the best consolation had to be what Amanda felt today - playing at state, with her teammates.