MONDESI ENTERS THE TERRIBLE TWOS

Just a minor footnote that I'd like to acknowledge: Mondesi's House officially turns two years old today. I'll take any excuse I can to use my stock "birthday cake nearly on fire" photo. Cecil from Cecil will be cutting the cake and scooping ice cream for each of you.

I'm not going to get all sappy at this milestone, and I pretty much spilled my guts on the re-focusing of this site last week. So what should I say? Honestly, I want to just make a brief mention, because I'm quite fascinated with the discussion the past few days and didn't want to take any attention away from that.

In the lifespan of a blog, I'm pretty proud to have made it two years. It hasn't been easy, and there's times when I wonder why I still try to do it, given my schedule. But "at the end of the day", it's still a lot of fun, especially when I focus on the things that I (and you) enjoy. Since the little "re-launch" last week, the posts have been fewer but they've been longer and they've been original. I think that's the formula that works best for everyone.

The good news is that the idea generator in my head has plenty of new material lined up, and combined with your commentary, emails, and tips, that should make for a lot of fun reading. Which reminds me, if any of you are attending the Pirate-Yankee games tonight or tomorrow, feel free to email mondesishouse@gmail.com with any first-person accounts or photos. We have Ramon Mondesi on the job for Thursday, so if nothing else, we have at least one on-the-scene recap on the way.

Thanks to all of you who read the site, to those of you who've recommended it to friends, to those of you who've contributed, and to those of you who comment. It's been quite a ride, and as I always say, the best is yet to come.

Time Flies When You're Blogging About Pittsburgh

I can't believe it myself, but it was one year ago this week that Mondesi's House was officially unveiled to the masses. "10 Worst McClatchy/Nutting Pirates Moves" was the very first article, and it was a blast to put together. Little did I know that those 1,568 words would change my life forever.

I've been humbled by the overwhelming response since day one. I do this site because I've always enjoyed writing (I'm the son of two journalism majors) and I've always loved Pittsburgh sports. I'd like to think of myself as a creative person, and when I hear stories about how much people love the site, it's incredibly rewarding.

I could thank a number of people, but I'm going to make this really simple: the audience is what makes this site go. With no audience, are my words even heard? With no audience, how would I get all of the tips, photos, and links that make up so much of the content? With no audience, how could I continue popular features like the mailbag? I feel like I've become a middleman for all things Pittsburgh. You're sending the news and you're reading the news that others have sent. Things are running like a well-oiled machine, and I can't thank you enough.

I have some exciting things lined up for this week in honor of the one-year mark, including some special features, some "year in review" items, some "best of" goodies, and some surprises, of course. I have high expectations for this site. And I expect the second year of Mondesi's House to be exponentially better than the first. I can say without a doubt that the best is yet to come.