So I have to be up front with everyone about this. I've had more than just a tiff or two with Montana Grizzlies fans.

Growing up in Chewelah, just north of Spokane, Wash., and going to school at Eastern Washington University in 2003, I learned at a very impressionable age to not like the Montana Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies, oh boy, have always been the bane of existence for Eagle fans. Perhaps it's just me and my unhealthy support of Eastern athletics, perhaps it was the way the Griz would always seem to come away with the victory. While my school's team played in front of a half-full stadium of fans with students cutting out at halftime because it was below 50 degrees, Montana fans packed their gigantic stadium and even invaded Cheney when the two teams faced off, turning the paltry sea of red to a deeper maroon color.

Needless to say, I had a big case of "Griz envy". Around the time of my maximum peak of EWU fandom, I was the sports editor and later the Editor-in-Chief for EWU's student newspaper The Easterner and naturally decided to write a few satirical articles making fun of Montana fans and the state. Big mistake.

Every year I wrote my annual "Boo Griz" article, I was lambasted with Internet comments, on message boards, letters to the editor and somebody even found my cell phone number. I had underestimated the strength and determination of University of Montana fans.

And as luck would find it, I'm now the new sports editor of the Lake County Leader in the heart of Griz Country and I have to say that I couldn't be happier. Everyone has been more than welcoming in my first week here and other than the rainy weather, the natural beauty of this area is simply stunning.

So I'm asking you, the fine people of Lake County, to forgive me for my prior Griz-bashing. It's not personal, I promise. I love talking sports, on any level, with anyone. You'll have to excuse my Boston Red Sox and Seattle Sounders FC fandom, but if you can get beyond that, please feel free to suggest any story ideas or tell me how I can improve the sports section. Since I'm new to the area, any help would be greatly appreciated.

You can e-mail me with questions and concerns at sports@leaderadvertiser.com, and read the latest local sports news for Lake County at http://onthebleachers.blogspot.com/.