Why we needed a little Shine

Yesterday, I wrote about the demolition of the Wichita Eagle's longtime home at 825 E. Douglas on the blog for our documentary "Out Here In Kansas." Today, I decided I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the Eagle on this blog, also.
Before the building was torn down, I decided it was important to shoot an interview there with former Wings beat writer Tom Shine (pictured). Tom's father, the late Neal Shine, was a legendary editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press. His son Conor is a reporter for the Dallas News.
As for Tom ... he never left Wichita, and I for one am grateful for that. He's the one who hired me at the Eagle. He's a lively storyteller and is absolutely one of my favorite people in the world.
Tom wasn't my boss for long. I was his last hire before he left the sports desk, and he's now the Eagle's deputy editor.
As for me, I went on to write sports for 11 years at the Eagle. In all that time, I never covered a single Wings game. Do I wish I would have? Not on your life. It's much more fun to be a fan.