As the Times' Eric Deggans reported on his blog Monday night, Channel 8 sports anchor Dave Reynolds was one of 53 people laid off by the Florida division of Media General, Channel 8's parent company. Reynolds said Channel 8 plans on using more Tampa Tribune reporters to report stories on the air.

This is sad news for two reasons. Most importantly, Reynolds not only was a solid sports reporter, he is one of the good guys. He was one of the more professional and intelligent voices in town and is a heck of a nice guy.

Furthermore, it's bad news for local sports fans. Speaking as a sportswriter who does a little television, I can confidently say that replacing (instead of merely supplementing) trained on-air talent with sportswriters can't be good for the overall product.

Reynolds leaves about 15 months after sports director J.P. Peterson left the station. Peterson was never replaced and that leaves Dan Lucas as Channel 8's sports anchor.