Like most NU fans, I was surprised today by the news that Jay at LakeThePosts.com has decided to close his site. Lake The Posts will cease updating on January 15, and will remain online as an archive. If there is a perfect example of going out on top, this, dear readers, is certainly it. Lake The Posts, in its seven years online-- and particularly in the last four-- has set a standard for independent fan sites. And I'm not referring just to Northwestern sports, but to fan sites of any topic.

To have a site, updated daily, with such rich content, so independent, so thoughtful, and so well-executed, is a rarity, and we will all be poorer for its loss.

Jay's reasons for stepping aside are the right ones, and I congratulate him for his decision and for the seven years of great online information and entertainment he provided our little and passionate corner of the world of college athletics.

Thanks, Lake The Posts. Farewell.