Tired of traditional press coverage of his favorite collegesports team, sophomore journalism major Trey Heath started the Blueand Grey Web site.
"I do it all. I'm my own writer, my own editor, and I take allthe pictures," Heath said, adding that he created the site for theaverage Tiger's sports fan.
When he entered The U of M a year ago, Heath said he felt thatthe Commercial Appeal and The Daily Helmsman weren't doing enoughto cover "the fan's point of view."
Heath wanted to do something different from what was out therebecause local news organizations cover Mississippi and Arkansas, inaddition to Tennessee.
Tiger sports do not have a major emphasis, he said.
"I wanted to build a (U of M) fan base," especially after thefootball team's success in Louisiana Heath said, "and it kind ofbothers me that people in the (Memphis) area struggle to befans."
One can get a sense of that by the content of his Web site, likea campaign called "VOLS Suck," which features a popular Top TenList.
Although segments like the Top Ten List are catchy, Heath wouldlike people to focus on his basketball and football editorialcolumns, which he tries to update every day. But Heath admits it'sdifficult to do so while working part-time and going to school.
"I don't have the resources of a major Web site," Heath said. "Ihave to be very creative."
Heath's Web site, which until now has received more than athousand hits, assumes its readers already know the stats and haveread other sources. It doesn't attempt to compete with major newsorganizations --mainly because it can't.
"I try for a commentary or comical style," Heath said.
The hardest part of keeping the Web site running is not thewriting or grammatical mistakes, but in getting a fan base going,Heath said. Nevertheless, Heath has tried by plastering stickers oncampus and posting a link to his Web site on different MemphisInternet message boards.
