College basketball columnist Dan Wetzel is leaving SportsLine.com to become the first full-time national writer at Yahoo! Sports.
 |
| Wetzel |
Wetzel, who spent the last three years covering college basketball and Detroit-area news on SportsLine's flagship Web site, cbs.sportsline.com, starts his new job this week. Brian Grey, general manager of Yahoo! Sports, said Wetzel is expected on Wednesday to file the first of what will be three or four weekly columns on all sports.
Wetzel said he was not actively looking for another job, but the chance to branch out from college basketball was hard to pass up.
SportsLine executives would not confirm or comment on Wetzel's departure, saying only that Wetzel was still filing stories for SportsLine through the end of last week.
Wetzel's hiring, Grey said, is an extension of efforts by Yahoo! Sports during the last year to produce more original content. The online entity has several seasonal contributors but still relies mostly on wire services for day-to-day news.
"Dan's column will serve as a vital piece of the unique editorial voice that we are building," said Grey. He would not disclose terms of Wetzel's contract but said the writer was signed for at least a year.
Wetzel, 29, spent five years as an editor and writer at Basketball Times prior to joining SportsLine.com in January 2001.
Yahoo! Sports was the fourth-highest-trafficked sports site last month (6.3 million unique visitors), just ahead of SportsLine.com, which was fifth (5.7 million), according to June figures from Nielsen/NetRatings.
Wetzel's departure leaves an opening in one of SportsLine's most important beats. CBS.sportsline.com typically is a top destination for college basketball fans, receiving heavy promotion on CBS during the NCAA men's basketball season and tournament in March.
