A Word of Thanks

July is in the books, and it had something in common with each of the nine months preceding it: this blog increased its number of pageviews. Not by a little, either. The total of the relative hockey wasteland of July was more double that of February, a month in the heart of hockey season that saw some vital games for the Icers (along with the World University Games).

I don't mean that as bragging - okay, I do a little - but more as a reason to drop a quick post in to thank each of you for your continued support. When I started doing this, I never expected anyone to read it, it was meant simply as a hobby to fill all the internet time I no longer spend on Penn State message boards (seriously, quitting message boards was one of the best decisions I've ever made) and to ensure that I stayed in tune to the building of Penn State's NCAA hockey programs. Accordingly, I put very little effort into "marketing," so the fact that it's grown to where it has really blows my mind. It's because of all of you that I'm able to say that.

A lot of that probably sounds disingenuous, so I apologize if it comes off that way. But somewhere in this post, I hope you recognize that I'm truly honored that you continue to take a couple minutes to come here and see what's new with Penn State hockey and/or what I have to say about it.

Special thanks are in order to my wife Jennifer, who reads every post before it goes up (except, ironically, this one) to ensure that it doesn't read like the Nightman lyrics. She also has complete editorial control of TYT's Facebook page, so be sure to head over there if you want something a little more thoughtful than the TYT Twitter account.

A pre-Jennifer TYT post.

I also want to extend my gratitude to the PSU blogging community, which has treated me extraordinarily well throughout my run despite my relative newness and fairly narrow scope. I don't know how you guys stay so plugged in to every sport at our school when doing only one/two nearly makes my head explode, but as a regular reader of all of you, it's appreciated. My ability to follow other sports is probably hurt by TYT, but because of you, not by that much.

To those of you there from the beginning, or close to it, I'm glad to have shared the journey with you. And to those a little newer to the readership, welcome, and hope you enjoy. As always, get at me through Twitter, email (kkr112 [at] hotmail [dot] com) or in the comments to any post with any issues, questions, or just to chat, and I promise a reply.

This season promises to be truly unique in the annals of Penn State history, and I'm anxious to get it going and to roll out some of the things I have planned for you. Only 65 days until the puck drops!