On Montlake, we celebrate our wins

A cool honor for this publication — and for all who support it.

I’ll try to keep this brief — and some of you surely saw my note on social media — but I did want to let you know about a pretty cool honor this little publication received last week.

You’ve likely seen past references in this space to the Associated Press Sports Editors annual writing contest. It’s the premier awards competition in sports writing, essentially, and earning any recognition is considered a big achievement, silly as it might seem to expend much energy thinking about a journalism award.

Each year, the organization first announces a list of top-10 finalists for each writing category within each division (A is for giants like ESPN and The Washington Post, D is for small newspapers and independent newsletters like this one). Making one of those lists is an accomplishment unto itself, and anything beyond that is gravy.

Winning first place isn’t really something I ever expected, and these contests are inherently subjective, anyway — who’s to say, after all, whether any first-place winner truly is the “best?”

Well, at least a couple people thought On Montlake was the best of column writing in 2024 within its division, to go along with a sixth-place finish in the beat writing category. On Montlake took home four top-10 finishes in the 2023 contest, including a second- and two third-place finishes. But first place is a first for me.

The four columns which made up the winning submission, out of 23 entries:

• Just like that, Kalen DeBoer is gone

• Troy Dannen’s departure for Nebraska is stunning, but shouldn’t send you reeling

• A Pasadena snapshot, and a tale of perseverance

• Finally a ‘Legend,’ Billy Joe Hobert is proof that time heals

I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when I say that I couldn’t have written precisely these kinds of stories for any other publication, or at least been empowered to write them precisely the way I wanted. It’s only because of your ongoing support that I’m able to blend reporting, institutional knowledge and opinion in this way, offering facts and analysis with the freedom to tell you exactly what I think.

As journalists, we’re not supposed to care about this kind of stuff, not really. But I won’t lie: it was a great feeling to see the On Montlake logo front and center on the APSE site last week. Scanning the list of top-10 finalists across all divisions, I see at least three other independent Substack publications: JohnCanzano.com, Tyler Dunne’s GoLongTD.com and Sean Highkin’s Rose Garden Report. Fellow Substackers Tyson Alger and Justin Ferguson recently covered the College Football Playoff and the Final Four, respectively. Marc Stein is a past APSE winner, too. The independent market is growing, and I’ve never been more proud to be part of it.

I’ve mentioned this before, but there was a time when becoming a newspaper columnist was probably my No. 1 long-term aspiration. But the business has changed, and my career took me where it took me. The dream faded, and I was fine with that.

So maybe it’s a little more gratifying to know that your support allows me to write the way I want, all the time. Independent journalism means no constraints, editorially or creatively. Thanks for helping make it all happen.

— Christian Caple, On Montlake