Let’s take a moment to recognize MSF’s new co-Editor: AJ Kaufman

I’d like to take a quick break from our regularly scheduled serious sports debating and unnecessary tomfoolery to recognize someone who has been a tremendous asset to MSF ever since he signed on to write.

If you are a regular around these parts, you know that AJ Kaufman consistently writes the most thought-provoking pieces that we post. And considering how I often I try to make you laugh (sometimes successfully, sometimes not), AJ’s eagerness to analyze serious sports issues provides a great balance and, I hope, makes MSF one of the more diverse sports blogs around.

Earlier this week I asked AJ to take an even more active role in the site and become our first ever co-editor. He accepted, and MSF will be exponentially better for it.

If you are unfamiliar with his work, here are a few of AJ’s most popular recent pieces:

• The Lunacy of the Ubiquitous Cries to “Pay College Athletes!”
• Shame on protestors, not Pujols, for actions Saturday
• Ranked from 1-10: The Best New* Ballparks in MLB
• What has Tim Tebow done to deserve all the hatred?
• Are the Pacers screwing Indianapolis?

His entire archive can be viewed here, and you can follow him on Twitter at @ajkauf7.

Congratulations to AJ. You will not find a more earnest, curious, and insightful sports fan out there; and you most certainly will not find anyone anywhere with a deeper, more genuine appreciation for the Midwest and all the hidden beauty and majesty she has to offer.

That’s why we’re lucky to have him and why I wanted to make sure he stays a part of the MSF moving forward.

And for some reason I just got the urge to post this video. I don’t know. It just seems to fit. (And if you ever met AJ, which I have, I think you’d agree.)