Dave Thurman (5:02 pm) @DThurman7

All good things must come to an end.  I'm not much of a philosopher but I have found those words to be true.  And so it is that The Silver Bullet bows out after a wonderful five year journey.

In January, 2008, Drew came up with the idea that we begin a Father-Son Ohio State blog, centered mostly on football.  The Buckeyes had just lost to LSU in the national championship game, and Drew and I were both frustrated with some of the things being written by the national media, to say nothing of silly comments made by a few Buckeye fans via social media.  Drew thought that an OSU blog would be fun, would allow us to vent a little, and be a great way for father and son to share together.  At the time he was in Cincinnati finishing his schooling.  Neither of us had any clue that he would wind up in Arizona for three years, causing us to be separated by 2000 miles.  During that time, working on the blog allowed us to stay closely in touch as we talked pretty much every day by phone.  It also helped Drew stay connected to his Midwest roots and his love for Ohio State.  When he got married nearly two years ago, Drew's wife found out what my lovely spouse already knew: as long as father and son discussed the Buckeyes and had an avenue to share their passionate thoughts, she didn't have to deal with all the ranting.  In that regard, our wives may not be too happy that we are now signing off!

Along the way our meager efforts were met with positivity from Buckeye nation, and we went from a handful of readers to a few hundred a day, all the way to several thousand hits a day.  At one point 
Drew was interviewed by a Columbus TV station doing a special on Buckeye blogs, and later Jason Priestas was kind enough to ask us to write an article for the Buckeye Battle Cry 2010 preview printed by Maple Street Press.  We've even gotten press access, and Drew was able to interview a number of recruits this last January at the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl.

Then there were all the new friends we have made along the way.  The guys at Eleven Warriors took us under their wing early in the process with some kind words, and later we got to join the Buckeye Blogger Network which was a blast.  We loved the Live Blogs for football and basketball games, and had fun bantering with guys like Eric, MaliBuckeye and Vico.  Even though we won't be operating TSB any more, we'll still check out the other blogs and jump in to the live chats quite often.  Ohio State sports journalism (even at our smaller level) is a family, and we have really enjoyed the connections we have made.

We also really enjoyed adding some writers to our blog, and getting acquainted with some great people.  Michael Chung wrote for TSB for quite awhile, and then got the opportunity to move to the big time, now serving as a regular contributor on The Ozone.  Ken Kohl was a guy we noticed dropping comments regularly, and when we asked him to write he was eager, and brought his sarcasm and humor to our blog, along with a passion to increase cancer research so we can wipe out that dreaded disease.  Later, a young man named Zach Clark showed incredible talent for writing, and he will continue to use his abilities at another blog.  Thanks to others like Andrew, Eric and Corey for their fine contributions, as well.  We appreciate all of these guys, and it has been an honor to get to know them better through this process.

Although neither Drew nor I claim to be experts and didn't have a lot of insider connections, we hope that the last five years has provided something unique for the great sports fans of the Ohio State University.  Certainly the father-son angle with our regular Family Feud segments added something a little different, and we sure enjoyed it even if nobody else did!  Like I said, it was incredibly fun for us, and even though Drew now calls his beautiful wife his best friend (replacing me for some reason) we are still very close and that is a true blessing.

So why are we closing shop in the midst of our best year yet?  The truth is we both feel that it has taken an incredible amount of time that we want to devote to our jobs, our families, and our friends.  However, writing is in our blood.  My father was a published author with a Master's Degree in journalism from the University of Illinois.  My mom worked as an editor at a publishing company for over 25 years.  Both Drew and I had thoughts of pursuing a degree in sports journalism before accepting a "call" into ministry.  And as much as we love Buckeye sports, that is our greatest passion.  So we hope to launch a new blog called Generations, that will allow us to share our experiences in ministry.  It won't take as much time because we will not update it every day, and it will spill out of the overflow of what we do every day as we serve God and people.  

Generations is an apt name because my father was a preacher and missionary, and my wife's grandfather was also a minister.  So as we bid farewell to one venture we begin another one.

As we sign off for the final time, we do so with tremendous appreciation that so many have checked in and read our rantings the past five years.  We were pleasantly surprised at the response and thank you for allowing us this opportunity.  Don't be surprised if you see us pop up on another blog at some point in the future as guest contributors.  But above all know that we will continue to be passionate about Ohio State sports donning our scarlet and gray every Saturday in the fall.  

Go Bucks!