About Us:
The History of Start Spreading the News:
In an effort to rebuild its connection to Yankees fans around the world, It's About the Money was rebranded in 2017 as Start Spreading the News. Since then- and through multiple layout and website developer changes- we've arrived at the best version yet! Writers get a fully immersive Yankees writing experience as readers get to hear a variety of feelings from budding starts to this media.
Most of all, SSTN promises to always provide its best content, in a family-friendly manner, and (most importantly) free of charge, for access to all Yankees and baseball fans, forever.
Meet The Team:
Dr. Paul R. Semendinger (Editor in Chief)
Dr. Semendinger has been an educator for 30 years beginning his career as a middle school history teacher before serving as a high school vice principal and a middle school principal. He is currently the principal of the most wonderful elementary school in the whole world! Dr. Semendinger is a frequent guest on the Bronx Beat Podcast. Dr. Semendinger’s first novel, Scattering the Ashes, released in October 2019, has won two major book awards. Other reviews for this novel have been extremely positive! Dr. Semendinger's first book of motivational passages, Impossible is an Illusion along with the picture books about a character named Principal Sam were also released to very positive reviews. The Least Among Them, Dr. Semendinger’s first published book about the New York Yankees will be released on October 1, 2021. Dr. Semendinger enjoys running and has completed twenty-one marathons. Most importantly, Dr. Semendinger greatly values the time he spends as a husband and Dad with his wife and three grown sons. Dr. Semendinger's favorite Yankee as he grew up was Graig Nettles. He can be found on Twitter @DrPaulRSem and at www.drpaulsem.com.
Ethan Semendinger
(Managing Editor)
A graduate of Lafayette College with a Bachelors of Science in Neuroscience and a Minor in Chemistry, Ethan was born into his Yankees fandom which continues into today.
After a few years working in a Physical Therapy setting, Ethan decided to leave the health care industry to pursue a career in education. In his professional life, Ethan is now a Middle School Science teacher and is teaching in New Jersey.
In his personal life, Ethan focuses on his health and wellness through regularly hitting the gym, playing music on the piano/guitar, and making time for his family and friends. He's also a member of the Ridgewood Maroons baseball team and part of the IBWAA.
Ethan has watched this blog grow tremendously after its re-branding into SSTN in the late-2010's. On the site he is a weekly contributor and he does the behind the scenes work to keep the blog running and functional. Ethan was the architect and builder of all three redesigns to the blog since it's foundation. In 2017 he created the rebranding to SSTN, in 2020 he revamped the website into its current design, and 2022 he moved the site from Squarespace to Wix.
Executive Writers:
Andy Singer
(Lead Writer)
Andy has been a Yankee/baseball fan basically since birth, and one of his strongest early memories of Yankees’ baseball is of the first time the field at Old Yankee Stadium rushed to his eyes in a sea of green out of the upper deck tunnel as a young child. Andy graduated from Middlebury College in 2011 with a Bachelor's Degree in History and as the Sports Director at 91.1 FM WRMC for most of his undergraduate career...so, of course he has a career in pharmaceuticals. Andy has spent, and continues to spend, more time on a baseball diamond than he can count. When not playing, coaching, watching, or thinking about baseball, Andy can be found playing the sax, hanging out with his wife and family, or obsessing about his golf game (or any number of other hobbies). Andy is most comfortable blending statistical analysis with deep evaluations of player mechanics and skillsets. At his heart, Andy is a misplaced baseball rat who trusts what his experienced eyes see on the field, but likes to back it up (or refute it) with data of all kinds. Andy has been with Start Spreading the News since its inception, and continues to count the community built here as one of the best parts of his daily life.
Derek McAdam
Derek is a graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA where he majored in communications. He grew up in Altavista, VA, where he took on the love of baseball from his father, a lifetime Yankees fan from New Jersey. He was a goalie on his high school soccer team for two years and also played indoor soccer for two years. He is also a New York Rangers fan, a Brooklyn Nets fan, a New York Jets fan and an NYCFC fan.
Mike Whiteman
Mike Whiteman had ambition of playing centerfield in Yankee Stadium, at least until he encountered the curveball, and changed his focus to reading and writing about the National Pastime. As a member of Society of American Baseball Research, has participated in a number of collaborative book projects. Mike resides in Lancaster, PA with his home team of his wife and two daughters, who tolerate his baseball obsession. His favorite Yankees as a kid were Dave Righetti and Don Mattingly, his current favorite is Aaron Judge, and his favorite all-time Yankee is Mariano Rivera.
Ed Botti
Ed is a family man, business owner, martial arts instructor and baseball aficionado, who has been closely following the game of baseball for many years. A Yankee fan since he was a young child, Ed spends his days working and his evenings teaching karate, spending time with his family, and of course, closely following the Yankees and baseball in general. Ed likes to study and analyze the finer points of the game and the business of Baseball. Outside of Baseball and family, his interests include, martial arts, music, writing, reading, his dog and cars.
Tim Kabel
Timothy Kabel has been a Yankees fan for close to fifty years. His favorite player growing up was Thurman Munson. He has passed his love for the Yankees on to his children. Timothy has worked for almost 30 years as a social worker and subsequently a supervisor for the state of Connecticut in the field of child protective services. Timothy was a history major, who used to teach many years ago. In the past few years, Timothy has begun to pursue his dream of being a writer. He is now a published author. His first novel, A Resurrection in Bonners Ferry, was published in March of 2021. Baseball and the bond between a father and son that it helps to forge are major themes in the book. The novel has garnered extremely positive reviews. Timothy’s writing evokes a lot of emotion from his readers, who have reported both laughing and crying repeatedly as they read. One woman stated that she read the entire six-hundred-page novel in one day. Timothy has always enjoyed discussing baseball, and tries to bring a unique perspective and a sense of humor to his game recaps on Start Spreading the News. He never met a pun he didn’t like. In addition to writing, Timothy loves cooking and baking and was legendary for making a Turducken and 15 varieties of pie for Thanksgiving a few years ago. He lives in Connecticut with his three children, three cats, and a dog. To find out more about Timothy, please visit his website: timothykabel.com.
Phil Cashier
Phil is currently a retired business consultant and the Pet Human to Casey. He has been a devoted follower of the Yankees since he was a young tyke. Like many older fans, his all-time favorite Yankee is The Mick. In 1978 he was lucky enough to have a friend who had tickets to the ALCS Game 3 and watched as Thurman Munson’s homer over came the three by George Brett.
Contributing Writers:
Tamar Chalker
Tamar is a recovering attorney because we all make stupid mistakes in our 20s. She graduated from Kenyon College, where she played field hockey and softball, and some irrelevant law school prior to writing for IIATMS in 2009, eventually becoming the Minor League editor along with contributing the occasional silly Photoshop graphic. After a few years off, Paul coaxed her out of retirement and she is happy to be writing about the Yankees for SSTN. She is currently misplaced in the frigid wasteland known as Vermont, where she lives with her partner, Jenn, and their two cats, Bernie (named after Tamar’s favorite player growing up) and Noodle (whose theme song is “Vicious” by Lou Reed). They hope to relocate back to civilization as soon as possible. You can find Tamar on Twitter under @Jeterian, where she sporadically talks about the Yankees, UConn basketball, and politics.
Cary Greene
Cary is a life-long Yankees fan who also has followed the Pirates and the A's since he was a youngster. Besides his deep passion for all things related to baseball and the history of the game, Cary is also a life long freshwater and saltwater fly-fisherman, fly tyer and a devoted Surf-Caster. He has fished all over the world and often listens to baseball games while on the water, combining his two favorite pastimes into incredible experiences. Beginning his career as a high school English teacher and varsity baseball and basketball coach, Cary also found time to tie flies commercially while running his own professional fly-fishing guide service in the Catskills. All the while, he closely followed his favorite baseball teams, especially the Yankees and of course, he passionately rooted for Syracuse University Basketball and Football - as did his entire family who are all originally from the Syracuse area. After seeking out more lucrative employment, Cary spent time with the Orvis Company and Cabela's, which led him to a career as a sales leader in Corporate-America, where he is to this day! Cary is an avid cook and grill-master and is known by those close to him as a "foodie." He loves all things BBQ and spends his free time fly fishing coastal waters and if he's not hunting for Stripers from his skiff, Cary is often riding his fat-tire bike or stalking the beaches of New England from his pickup truck. Besides being a contributor of surf-casting and fly-fishing articles at stripersonline.com, a popular fishing site for bloggers, Cary now writes for SSTN and appears occasionally on baseball podcasts as well. Afterall, writing has always been one of Cary's main passions as well!
Lincoln Mitchell
Lincoln Mitchell is a pundit, analyst and writer based in New York and San Francisco. He has published broadly on politics, foreign affairs and baseball. He is the author of several books including Will Big League Baseball Survive? Globalization, the End of Television, Youth Sports and the Future of Major League Baseball (Temple University Press, 2016) and Baseball Goes West: How the Dodgers and Giants Shaped the Major Leagues (Forthcoming Kent State University Press 2018). Lincoln was born in New York, but grew up in San Francisco. He has been a Yankee fan since the mid-1970s, but the Giants have always been his NL team. Lincoln is married and is the father of two sons who are pitchers. The righty pitches for Oberlin College and the lefty is still in high school. His dog, who was born in 2010, is named Isis. You can learn more about him at www.lincolnmitchell.com and follow him on Twitter @LincolnMitchell.
Andrew Hefner
Andrew Hefner is a Freshman at The Pingry School with a strong interest in a career in the sports media industry. He has attended numerous sports broadcasting programs through which he has had the opportunity to learn from top broadcasters. Andrew also contributes to an independent Fresno State website, "Fresno Bulldogs Den", podcasting and writing, and is a credentialed media member of Fresno State Athletics. Andrew's early childhood memories include the Yankees thanks to his Grandfather who has shared his stories and experiences with the franchise. At school, Andrew plays water polo, swims, is a member of the jazz band, and is contributing to Pingry Athletics media. X (Twitter): @Ahef_NJ