Hi.  My name is Steve Perrin.  I'll be taking over for ClipperSteve here at ClipsNation since his retirement from blogging, which coincidentally fell on April Fool's Day this year.  Come to think of it, it's also a coincidence that we both have the same first name.  Spooky.

OK, so yeah, it was an April Fool's Day prank.  I tried to throw you off the scent a little by timing the post where most people would see it on the 2nd, but the timestamp would still be the April 1.  Citizen SaintDee sniffed it out immediately.  But I managed to fool a few of you nonetheless.

It's interesting that it worked so well, especially given that SaintDee gave everyone the head's up in the first comment.  The simple truth is, it worked so well because most of what I wrote is true.  It has been a tough season.  It did begin to wear on me.  My LakerSteve post last April didn't fool anyone.  Of course, I played that one for laughs.  I just re-read it.  Good stuff.  I crack me up some times.  Sad too, though, what with the Brand references. 

Anyway, the farewell post worked, because as I was writing it, I could really see it happening.  It's completely true that I can't see myself doing this three more years.  What's not true is that I'm ready to move on.  Not yet.  Heck, the season's almost over.  It won't be long now before the Clippers are tied for first in the Western Conference with that lovely 0-0 record.  I love that 0-0 record - so full of hope.  Like a Christmas present waiting to be opened.  Of course, Clipper fans tend to find socks and underwear inside instead of a puppy.

I probably should have given some people the head's up.  Like the ClipperWidow.  She saw the headline of the post and was so happy for just a moment - before she realized what day it was.  Or Matt at Blog-a-bull, who runs SBNation's NBA network and who would have had the task of finding a new Clippers blogger.  He was kind of freaking out this morning.  With Kevin locked up at ESPN, it might not have been easy.  It's not really a growth industry, blogging about LA's other team. 

Kelly Dwyer at Ball Don't Lie (probably my favorite basketball writer in the world, btw) fell for it - again, because it made logical sense to him.  He doesn't understand (or maybe he does) how there can be savvy basketball people in the universe who actually root for the Clippers.  We're an enigma, citizens.  Anyway, thanks for the kind words, KD.  Sorry about the fish hook in your lip.

Interestingly, these events sort of coalesced into a decision to retire the ClipperSteve moniker.  Sure, it helps prolong the April Fool's gag for like a nanosecond - and I'm never one to kill a good gag too early.  But if I don't see myself doing exactly this for three more years, I do see myself doing something in this field, hopefully in some brave new world of sports coverage.  The blogosphere has clearly matured and blogs are being taken much more seriously.  It's sadly evident in Los Angeles, a market of a mere 17 Million people, that local newspaper coverage of teams without banners in the rafters is going to continue to diminish and perhaps disappear altogether. 

I will probably end up writing my J-school master's thesis on the subject of credibility, specifically the credibility of bloggers versus traditional sports journalists: how to measure it, what impacts it, that sort of thing.  I have conducted any research yet, but intuitively it would seem that ClipperSteve might lack some credibility.  Who is this guy?  Why doesn't he use his real name?  What is he hiding?

I'd been thinking about it for awhile, but seeing Dwyer's post, with 'ClipperSteve' side by side with 'Kevin Arnovitz' sort of crystalized it for me.  Kevin Arnovitz just sounds so much more professional.  Maybe I should change my name to Kevin.

Anyway, thank you to everyone for their kind words.  I wasn't really thinking about the whole 'fishing for compliments' angle on this.  I just thought it would be kind of funny.  So anyway, an outpouring of adulation - that's just a bonus.

So say goodbye to ClipperSteve and hello to Steve Perrin.  The blogger is dead.  Long live the blogger.