I've been an avid reader of any sports publication I could get my hands on, including The Pilot, since I was a little kid.

Growing up in Pinehurst, I can remember scouring The Pilot's sports pages for a -mention of my exploits on the playing field. Now that I'm a little older and have come to grips with my lack of athletic ability, I realize that winning the 1995 "Hustle Award" for the Angels 10-and-under baseball team probably wasn't front page material.

Though I think I got my name in there a couple of times during my long-forgotten high school cross country career at O'Neal (2000 state champs!), like most of you, I've spent most of my time reading about the accomplishments of other great athletes. What's most exciting about The Pilot's sports section is the athletes we feature aren't people playing in the big leagues in some distant city, but instead are folks who live among us in our community.

So while my athletic career has passed, and I never got to suit up for my beloved Cincinnati Reds or Bengals - The Pilot has graciously provided me the opportunity to pursue another dream: becoming the sports editor of this paper. I'm excited to continue the great work that my predecessors, Hunter Chase, Tom Embrey and Patrick Love, have started.

I'm a lifelong sports fan, and follow the aforementioned Cincy teams, along with my alma mater, Boston College, religiously (if you've read my stuff before, you know I can't resist getting a B.C. mention in there). But above all else, there's -nothing I like more than a good sports story.

Fortunately, we live in an area that has a great sports culture and plenty of stories just waiting to be told. We've got four high schools with some outstanding student-athletes who bring home a ton of hardware. We've got a community college with a relatively new athletic program that continues to grow. And we've got countless sports and events going on out in the community.

Oh, yeah, and this is also the golf capital of the United States.

My goal as sports editor is to highlight the accomplishments of as many athletes as we possibly can. It's not always easy - the sports department is a small, yet dedicated group of individuals, but we can't be at every game. There's just too much going on around here.

So, we rely on our vigilant readers to keep us informed. If there's a game you think we should know about, call me up. If you have a friend who happens to excel at a certain sport, let us know.

Stay tuned to thepilot.com as we grow our online sports presence. I want it to be more than just the stories you read about in the paper - I want it to be a one-stop shop for all Moore County sports. I'm hoping to add more content that will supplement our print edition, especially multimedia. I would love to attract our local "super fans" onto the site to create an interactive environment that everyone can enjoy. Feel free to start a blog or weigh in on our stories if you haven't already.

Our local athletes and teams will remain our top priority, but count on some state and national coverage and commentary both in print and online. Let's face it, we don't live in a vacuum. We're in the heart of ACC country, two hours away from the home of NASCAR and have three professional franchises around here. It can't hurt to have some of that from time to time. I'll promise not to get too carried away with B.C. - I realize we're well outside the Boston media market.

Bottom line - The Pilot is a community newspaper, making this a community sports section. Your sports section. So don't hesitate to comment on what you think we're doing well or what you think we could improve on. My door is always open, and I've vowed not to be like some of those sports media-types who think they know everything. We want to cover what you want to read about.

Our focus is simple - to provide a thorough and positive look at what our athletes have achieved. That's our No. 1 responsibility.

It's going to be a lot of fun.

Contact John Krahnert III at jkrahnert@thepilot. com.