It's an exciting day for all of us here at Defending Big D and all across SportsBlog Nation. I am thrilled to announce that today Defending Big D and SBN have entered into a mutual partnership with Yahoo! Sports. What does this mean, exactly?

For one, if you go to the Dallas Stars team page on Yahoo!, you will find a column that links directly here to Defending Big D and lists the latest stories and FanPosts written on the site. Even more features will become available in the coming weeks. This should bring a whole new group of Dallas Stars fans and hockey fans from all over the world to join us here at DBD. Nothing here will change and we will continue to do business just like we've always done.

If you are an established member, please welcome the new users showing up. If you are new to us here at DBD, please feel free to sign up and join in the conversation. This new partnership will open new and bigger doors for SB Nation, Defending Big D, and the blog world in general. If you have any questions or ideas about this wonderful announcement and what it means going forward, send them my way at defendingbigd@gmail.com. Welcome Stars fans. Welcome fans in general. We hope you stick around and enjoy blogging with us.

From the official SB Nation announcement:

As members of our communities or readers of our sites, you already know that SB Nation takes a different approach to online sports.  Our focus has always been on empowering fans to participate in conversations that are specific to their particular teams, leagues or sports. We’ve watched over the years as the popularity of this unique approach has rapidly accelerated.

Today we want to welcome some new members to our flourishing communities. SB Nation and our friends at Yahoo are partnering to give Yahoo Sports audiences one click access to our sites and content.  In addition to being the largest sport property on the web, Yahoo Sports is known for some of the best general sports blogs including: Ball Don’t Lie, Puck Daddy, Dr. Saturday, Big League Stew and others.

Relevant pages of Yahoo Sports will now feature contextual links to specific SB Nation communities.  Many other pages of Yahoo Sports will feature SB Nation content and links. The great news is that more sports fans will be introduced to SB Nation sites. There are now close to 200 different sports communities for Yahoo users to discover. Each is led by bloggers who are first and foremost passionate fans.  Part of what makes our network so special is that each SB Nation site has its own URL, name and colors as well as its own community guidelines and expectations.  Some are more serious, some more irreverent, but they all share a common goal of nurturing strong and focused conversations around a common interest.

If you are a new visitor and have joined us from Yahoo!, then welcome! Defending Big D is a new and friendly community established to provide a knowledgeable and loyal environment to talk anything Dallas Stars and hockey related.

When you are ready, feel free to join the conversation or start one up.  Whether you create a new profile or use your Yahoo or OpenID credentials to register, one username and password will give you access to all our communities.  Each SB Nation site offers the same mechanisms for participating in the action via comments, FanPosts (a blog entry of your very own) or FanShots (a quick micro-post of a thought, link or photo.)  Before you post though, please remember, you are entering an established and ongoing community.  Your voice and opinions are encouraged (that’s what being a fan is all about after all), but as in any productive conversation, they should be presented in a manner that is courteous, civil and respectful of the culture that you are entering.

If you are an old-timer here, we encourage you to welcome and assist the newcomers. It can sometimes be challenging to join a new environment, so a helping hand is usually appreciated.  Cut the rookies some slack and spread the word about what they have been missing all of this time.   This is your chance to welcome new folks in a manner that is consistent with the type of place in which you want to participate.  You have the power to shape the type of community you want.

On the left hand side you will find links to several instructional posts walking you through the different features of SBN and Defending Big D. You can also find the community guidelines here.

Once again, if you have any questions at all, never hesitate to email me directly at defendingbigd@gmail.com.

Go Stars!!!