Mike Spellman, John Dietz to cover Blackhawks beat for Daily Herald
For the first time in 26 years, we open the Daily Herald's coverage of the Blackhawks season without Tim Sassone, who passed away last spring.
While it's difficult to replace such a talented reporter who became the dean of Chicago hockey, we still have the standards Tim set down to follow as we strive to match the passion, insight and competitiveness he provided daily.
Today, we introduce you to two of Tim's longtime colleagues who will share responsibility for our Blackhawks coverage this season: Mike Spellman and John Dietz.
Tim logged a lot of hockey mileage in his career here, and Spellman and Dietz bring 40 years of experience covering sports in Chicago and the suburbs.
Spellman, who joined us in 1991, has covered everything from preps to the pros, and he worked alongside Tim for several years on the hockey beat, including last season's playoff run. He's covered many big events, such as the Stanley Cup Finals, the Masters, the Ryder Cup and the Breeders Cup. Many readers are familiar with his wit and wisdom showcased in his Scorecard and Bears Bites columns.
"I learned a lot from working with Tim," Spellman said. "He set the bar very high and we'll do our best to measure up. It's a great game to cover and the resurgence in Chicago has been fun to watch."
Dietz joined us in 1998 and has been an important contributor as an editor on our sports copy desk. He also provided extensive coverage during the Bears Super Bowl run in 2006, and he has had a Fantasy Football column for 15 years. In addition to providing many outstanding feature stories in a variety of sports, Dietz worked with Sassone in 2007 and produced a three-part series on the darkest days of the Hawks franchise. Dietz also has a keen eye for stats analysis, which will help us in our hockey coverage.
"The response from fans to that series seven years ago was overwhelming," Dietz said. "I'm looking forward to building a relationship with rabid Hawks fans to make our coverage the best it can possibly be."
Of course, working alongside them this season will be our two veteran columnists, Mike Imrem and Barry Rozner. They not only remember the roar from the old Chicago Stadium, but they also have witnessed every step of hockey's revival in Chicago.
Each year, Tim Sassone couldn't wait for the hockey season to begin, and we share that passion. We hope it comes through in our coverage.