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Award-winning sportswriter Gary Shelton joins SaintPetersBlog

in Apolitical/Top Headlines by

Extensive Enterprises Media is proud to announce the addition of award-winning sports columnist Gary Shelton, who joins the new media group to provide unique insight on the intersection of sports and politics.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium saga; the Florida Legislature’s debate over subsidizing sports stadiums; progress on new soccer teams in the state; referendums to attract sports teams to Florida communities; athlete involvement in political campaigns … all of these issues, and many more, will be part of Shelton’s wide-ranging wheelhouse.

Founded by Peter Schorsch, Extensive Enterprises Media is the publisher of SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, INFLUENCE Magazine, and Sunburn.

“Having Gary join us is about more than an accomplished writer coming aboard,” Schorsch says. “This is about a longtime fan of Gary’s — me — getting to work with someone I woke up and read almost every day. I could not be more excited.”

For nearly 25 years, Shelton was the cornerstone of the Tampa Bay Times’ sports reporting. He began at the Times in 1990 after a six-year stint at the Miami Herald, reporting on the Dolphins, the NFL and the University of Florida. In Tampa Bay, his column became a respected voice during much of the area’s rise as a sports powerhouse: the Buccaneers, the Lightning, the Rays and a wide range of college football and basketball teams.

“I’m thrilled to be joining a terrific news staff,” Shelton said. “This is the future of journalism, untied to deadlines, a living series of works in progress. I think we’re going to have fun. I hope the reader will, too.”

Few people have the range of Shelton’s sports-writing experience. He has covered nearly 30 Super Bowls (including the 2002 Bucs win), 10 Olympics, seven Masters and 11 Final Four events.

As well as contributing to SaintPetersBlog, Shelton also blogs for the premium website GarySheltonsports.com, a subscription-based service exploring local sports. Through both, Shelton will continue his focus on the Florida sports scene — its people and personalities — like no one else.

Among his numerous awards and recognitions, Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) named Shelton twice as the No. 1 sports columnist in the country. Shelton was also five times an APSE Top 5 member and eight times in the Top 10.

He was recognized six times as the Florida Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Shelton’s other awards include the Green Eyeshade of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Florida Sports Writers Association.

Phil Ammann is a St. Petersburg-based journalist and blogger. With more than three decades of writing, editing and management experience, Phil produced material for both print and online, in addition to founding HRNewsDaily.com. His broad range includes covering news, local government and culture reviews for Patch.com, technical articles and profiles for BetterRVing Magazine and advice columns for a metaphysical website, among others. Phil has served as a contributor and production manager for SaintPetersBlog since 2013. He lives in St. Pete with his wife, visual artist Margaret Juul and can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @PhilAmmann.

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