I've worked on The Daily Tar Heel all five semesters I've been at UNC. After a year on the State & National desk I moved to Sports, where I am now an assitant editor. In that time, I've written more than 75 articles,all of which you can read, if you're bored and ambitious, by searching "Daniel Blank" into the site's search engine. Instead of that, I've listed below some of what I think is my best work -- placed in chronological order from most recent.

Senior perseveres after surgeries, father's death:I was actually really nervous before writing this story because I didn't want to screw it up. Hewitt's story itself is so amazing that I just tried to let it speak for itself and just try to weave all the parts together while injecting my voice as little as possible. I think I did pretty good with that, but you can be the judge.

Officials to review policies on recruiting: This was a front page story explaining UNC's reaction to the ongoing recruiting scandal at Colorado University. Even though it seemed like nobody was calling me back, I got a nice diversity of sources that gave the story some different angles.

Tar Heels solve FSU slugger : This might be my favorite sidebar story I've written. I tried something a little different, centering the entire article around one at bat. I led the story with the meeting on the mound before the at bat and didn't get to the first pitch until the last couple of paragraphs. Plus, I got to talk to the guy, who if that weekend was any indication, is going to be a star in the Major Leagues.

TV tourney coverage is maddening: Everybody seemed to like this column a lot, but not for the brilliant insight or the forceful argument. The fact is, everybody hates Billy Packer, so everybody loved what I had to say -- even if I only devoted a few paragraphs to the man. Best part, this column ran Monday, and on Tuesday Bill Simmons wrote a column on espn.com that said almost exactly the same thing. Also, ignore the crappy picture.

Duke wins 5th straight title: Spring Break Greensboro!! This is what I devoted this year's break to when, in a stunning development, UNC women's basketball lost in the finals of the ACC Tournament to Duke. I liked this story if, for nothing else, Leah Metcalf went off on Alana Beard's acting abilities, and I was the only one to get those quotes.

Smith pushes for all freshmen to redshirt: When Dean Smith tells you that you asked good, thoughtful questions, that stands out. I was incredibly fortunate that he happened to pursue this issue the day before having a public book signing on campus. Right place right time I guess. Too bad the Copy Desk changed the basketball's team name to UNC-CH, how stoopid.

Fate of Olympic sports in question: My pride and joy when it comes to in-depth reporting. I spent a better part of a week with my ear glued to the DTH phone calling athletic directors, conference commissioners, athletes, coaches and so on to get this story and its two accompanying stories to come off well.

TV should give rugby a chance: My first column. I actually wrote a solid chunk of it over dinner and a couple of beers in Queenstown, New Zealand -- the notes are scribbled on some flyer for bungy jumping. I enjoyed paying homage to Australia and making an argument most people don't get to make and I was even ahead of the curve making a Roger Clemens joke.

Wrestling's architect closes book on UNC career: Perhaps my best piece of writing while working for The Daily Tar Heel. Summing up a 30-year career in 25 inches isn't so easy but I got across as much as I could. Before the match the night the article ran, Lam came up to me to shake my hand and thank me for the article, a memory I'll keep for a long time.

Road Trippin': Sharing a weekend with 15 girls on the volleyball team? There are worse ways to spend a Fall Break. I trekked around with the UNC volleyball team to Maryland and Virginia for a weekend's worth of games and did a little SI-style road log article on the experience. I'm not thrilled with the lead and certain other aspects of the article, but considering that I wrote it on about 5 hours of sleep and had to write it (and an accompanying game story) the day I got back, it turned out all right.

 

 

 

This site was last updated on April 13.

E-mail me