[jcmanson]

Today is my last full day on the Liberty beat. Colleague and good friend Nathan Warters is leaving for another opportunity, and I’ll be taking over his duties on the Virginia Tech beat starting Monday. So I’ll get to know this stretch of I-85 well, as my first game covering the Hokies will be next weekend just down the road at Clemson.

http://www2.newsadvance.com/sports/2012 ... r-2280633/

[Purple Haize]

Someone send his editor those compromising photos. We don't want Lang to leave! Maybe BJ will takeover

[01LUGrad]

Congrats to Lang. You will be missed around here.

[flamehunter]

We knew it wouldn't last forever, but wish it could have. Chris is one of the best. Good luck and don't be a stranger around here.

[phoenix]

Hoping we get a beat reporter that can measure up.

[TDDance234]

Congrats, Chris.

We have appreciated your work around here!

[Sly Fox]

You know he is jazzed to be covering his alma mater. But this is not good for Liberty coverage. At all.

[thepostman]

I hope they don't use this as an excuse to start covering liberty sports part time as a way to save money. I always have enjoyed Lang's prospective.

Beej, get that resume updated!

[Chris Lang]

Guys, they won't. The wheels are already in motion in terms of my replacement. But you know how hires go, having to deal with HR, etc., etc. Liberty is a very important piece of our sports coverage, one that will not be neglected. I've spent too much time building it up to let that happen. I appreciate all of the kind words.

We're going to be short staffed for a week or two, and it's fortunate that LU plays a Division II team next week at home and that I'm available to take care of the Coastal game. Should help ease the transition a bit.

[jcmanson]

Maybe Lang is our playoff curse

[Chris Lang]

It's quite possible.

[mlschubert]

Congratulations Chris! We've been fortunate to have some of the very best coverage in the country. We appreciate the work you've done. i guess we'll see you in 2016!

[bigsmooth]

congrats Lang! you deserve it!

[jinxy]

Congrats, in all seriousness you have been the best beat writer of all the teams that i follow, not even close. Gonna be tough for the next guy, especially mid season.

[Sly Fox]

For those of us that have been following the program back to the day before Chris arrived on the beat, it is hard to even compare the coverage. It was a night & day difference the moment he started entering our little bubble. He's raised the bar and hopefully the folks who run the fishwrap will attempt to maintain the new standards.

[SuperJon]

When I read it I felt like Chris was breaking up with me over an e-mail. I was hurt at first but then remembered he deserves way better than us.

[Purple Haize]

Can we still be friends?
Are you saying you still love us but are no longer IN love with us?

[jcmanson]

When I read it I felt like Chris was breaking up with me over an e-mail. I was hurt at first but then remembered he deserves way better than us.

My first reaction was - oh, wow, great for Chris, he deserves it. But then last night I finally realized that this sucks big time for us.

[BiggAl57]

When I read it I felt like Chris was breaking up with me over an e-mail. I was hurt at first but then remembered he deserves way better than us.

My first reaction was - oh, wow, great for Chris, he deserves it. But then last night I finally realized that this sucks big time for us.

+1 - but i wish him the best

[BJWilliams]

Its definitely a bummer. Even though he wasnt a Liberty grad, he became an integral part of the LU family through his writing and for that he will definitely be missed.

[adam42381]

Congratulations and good luck. Keep up the good work.

[PAmedic]

WOW.

congrats to LANG and maybe you can do a guest piece now and again.

you will DEF be missed.

I may have to do a temporary memorial avatar

[El Scorcho]

For those of us that have been following the program back to the day before Chris arrived on the beat, it is hard to even compare the coverage. It was a night & day difference the moment he started entering our little bubble. He's raised the bar and hopefully the folks who run the fishwrap will attempt to maintain the new standards.

Truth.

[Chris Lang]

The beat is what you make of it. Some people told me Liberty was a small-time beat when I took it on. I didn't see why it had to be, and the fan base has grown ten-fold since I covered that first game in the trailer that was the Williams Stadium press box in 2005. I thought my readers deserved to have the same sort of coverage that we would have given to Tech or UVa. It was a win-win. Good for you guys, and good for me experience wise learning how to cover a beat inside and out.

Once our new writer is hired officially, he's going to need some time to get acclimated, so have some patience with him, please. There's no way to come in mid-season and be an expert or authority on anything. I was fortunate when I started to start in July before Big South media day, so I was coming in before the start of a new year. I'm going to help him in any way I can get up to speed.

[Purple Haize]

Just make sure he has a cooler screen name. Not saying your isn't but it was really easy to figure out who you were in the 'real world'