Hi there, I'm David Ching, the new Auburn beat writer for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. This will be my first year covering the Tigers, but I'm a long way from a novice when it comes to Auburn sports. Growing up in Mobile, my parents raised me as an Auburn fan and I received my journalism degree from the school about a decade ago.

Don't get me wrong, though, while I was raised on the Pat Dye teams winning league titles and went to school at AU while Dameyune Craig was leading the Tigers to their first appearance in the SEC Championship Game, I have no intention of being a homer. The only way you earn respect as a beat writer is by being objective, and I have every intention of being critical when the situation calls for it. My job absolutely comes first and I plan to call things like I see them, even if it makes Auburn people (including my friends and family) angry sometimes.

Anyway, I guess I should tell you a bit about my background. I wrote for the Plainsman for a couple of years before I graduated from Auburn in 1999. The paper's archives are unfortunately littered with perfectly mediocre A&E material authored by yours truly. I apologize. I started working as a sports writer in 2000 and caught on with the Columbus paper in 2004. I've covered UGA sports for the last two years and was given a Heisman Trophy vote last year (I voted Tebow-McFadden-Daniel, just so you know). I think I still have the vote, so we'll get to more from that discussion later this year when it gets closer to time to make my choice.

While covering Georgia, I discovered that the best way I'd make a mark on the beat was by being a prolific blogger. By that I mean I put out a substantially greater inch count than any other writer on the beat. I plan to transcribe interviews and post Q&As and give detailed updates and observations every single day during football season, and then let you know plenty about Auburn's other sports as well. If you're looking for volume, this will be your place. I truly enjoy covering SEC sports and getting to know the players and coaches, and I hope you'll enjoy reading some of the stuff I post here.

I'm not one to post those pandering questions asking for your opinions on things very often -- I think that's kind of a hacky beat blog fallback -- but I look forward to receiving your input. Always feel free to drop me a line with questions, comments or suggestions. The UGA fans who followed my blog can attest that I'm willing to ask their questions to the right people when they have merit. I believe part of my job as a beat writer is being an intermediary between the program and the readership (and part of it is to tell you things the program might not want you to know, as well). I want to fill you in about the things you want to know. So let me know. This should be a lot of fun...
David