In the beginning, scientists say, all matter and energy in the universe was focused into the tiniest of possible concentrations. From that incredibly hot, dense state, came a rapid expansion outward, and after enough time, I’m here to write this post, and you’re reading it, all thanks to the Big Bang.

Well, I wasn’t really around back then, but Mike over at Black Shoe Diaries, though he’d probably hate the analogy, was the Big Bang of the Penn State blogosphere. A better part of a decade ago, he was one of the first pioneers into the blogosphere, at least for Nittany Lion fans, and it’s in no small part due to the impact he made that, for so many years, Penn State has been one of the best-represented schools on these interwebs. For a long time, you’d need to use both hands and maybe a foot to count how many PSU-centric blogs there were, and  all, to be sure, were producing great content. Perhaps it flowed from the top down, from Black Shoe Diaries to the rest of us, and it’s entirely possible, if not likely, that many of us wouldn’t be writing today if it weren’t for the example Mike always set.

But if you haven’t heard the news by now, and I’m sure I’m not breaking this to anyone, Mike’s stepping down, after many years at the helm of BSD. And sure enough, the ensuing madness has brought on what plenty of astrophysicists imagine to be an end-of-the-world situation far more real than the fancies of Harold Camping, or the predictions of the ancient Mayans: the consolidation of so much energy back into one point. Though Mike may be leaving BSD, it’s sure to flourish in his absence, seeing as the SB Nation gang has brought together not just Chris and Kevin, Mike’s former copilots (and formerly of SlowStates), but the whole Linebacker-U gang, and even Ben, formerly of Victory Bell Rings, to go along with the usual cast of characters, who worked alongside Mike. There are a few of us stragglers left; namely, us here at quebecpenspinning, William F. Yurasko, the litter in JoePa’s Doghouse, and our friend Kevin McGuire’s Nittany Lions’ Den, and this surely isn’t the end of the Penn State blogosphere, by any stretch of the imagination, so maybe it’s not exactly parallel. You’ll have to indulge me on this one.

Know that, for the forseeable future, we’ll be here to bring you the content you’ve hopefully come to expect from us–I’m still out of the country, and Charlie’s been doing the heavy lifting for a while, but as we approach football season, we’ll be getting into our usual gear. This, of course, isn’t a post updating you about how our summers have gone–but in the midst of the chaos, I think it’s important to let everyone who might be reading this know that we don’t expect to be terribly affected by all the craziness. I’m not sure any of us know how it’s going to work–we haven’t had this few Penn State blogs since Mike was just getting started, probably, but we’re excited to see just how this shapes up, and what our role will be in this new universe.

But if you’re celebrating ArtsFest this weekend, it wouldn’t hurt to pour one out for a fallen homey. Though Mike’s not dead, he is moving on, and though life will go on, for us Penn State blogs, I know it won’t be the same without him.