You hold in your hands the next step in the evolution of HokieCentral … err, TechSideline.com. Knowing what voracious readers and huge Hokie fans you all are, we thought this would be a great way to provide some extra content for you, and to increase your enjoyment of Virginia Tech sports.

It has been hard work producing it, and every month, it will continue to be hard work, but it's also fun. Call me crazy, but when I see 7 or 8 big fat articles about Hokie sports wrapped up into one publication, I dig it. Knowing that I was the one to pull it all together, along with the able contributions of our writing staff, makes it all that much better.

I could blow a lot of cheery smoke at you about how great and interesting the TSL Extra is going to be to you, and that may be true, but I wanted to tell you something else, something important. I won't pull any punches with you: the TSL Extra is also an important revenue generator for us. As you know, Dot-coms have been biting the dust left and right, on both a large scale (Pets.com, anyone?) and a small scale, and it's an all-out race for survival at this point. Anyone can start a web site, but over the course of the next few years, we're all going to find out who can keep one going.

The TSL Extra is the third and final stage of a three-legged revenue strategy for TechSideline.com. First, we launched TechLocker.com, our sister web site and on-line store. Second, we added third-party banner advertising to TechSideline.com. Lastly, we launched the TSL Extra.

We're going to give this strategy a go for a little while and see how the numbers add up on the bottom line, and if we need to make adjustments, we will. Too many of you have told me on too many occasions how important TSL is to you, and that you'll help out in any way necessary to keep it going.

Hey, I'm with you on that one. I love my job, and I want to keep doing it.

So, here's what you can do: keep visiting the site often (which generates ad revenue -- remember to click an ad while you're there), shop at TechLocker.com (hey, if you're a TSL Extra subscriber, you get a 10% discount!), and subscribe to the TSL Extra (hmmm, you've already done that, unless you're reading a bootleg copy).

But you can also do other things: (1) spread the word to others; and (2) more importantly, tell us how we're doing! When you're done with this issue of the TSL Extra, drop me an email, and let me know what you did and didn't like about it. We can't make it better without your feedback.

One more thing -- thanks! Thanks for supporting TechSideline.com. Enjoy the TSL Extra, and be sure to get back to me with your thoughts on what we can do to continue making TechSideline.com and the TSL Extra the best sources for Hokie sports news and entertainment.

Enjoy issue #1.