Visit: www.usbwa.com password: tipoff VOLUME 42, NO. 4 May, 2005 Increased membership, wireless access top the agenda When I look at the list of the people who have served as president of the USBWA, it is a little intimidating: Gordon S. White, Smith Barrier (one of my mentors), Dave Dorr, Bill Brill, Bob Hammel, Bill Millsaps, the greatly President missed Larry Donald, Bob Ryan. The list goes on and on with heavy hitters who have sat in this chair. So please know that it is a privilege for a little country boy from Union Point, Ga., to be included in such esteemed By TONY BARNHART company. I thank you for the opportunity. Now let’s go to work. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Your USBWA board had some very productive meet- ings in St. Louis. Based on those meetings, we are setting three major goals for the coming year: because Robyn Norwood was one of our best. how big this could be. • The ongoing goal of increasing our membership. I’m • Make our web site more relevant and useful to our The Men’s Basketball Committee was very receptive asking each USBWA member who reads this to identify at membership. We have had some issues with our web site, to the idea and agreed that this was a worthwhile goal. Free least one person on his or her staff who is currently not a but Joe is in the process of hammering out a new deal with Internet in the short term is unlikely because the contracts member. Go to the web site, print out the membership our service provider. I have asked Dick Jerardi of the between the NCAA and the host buildings already have application and go put it in that person’s hands. Philadelphia Daily News, in his position as third vice- been signed for many years to come. Down the road, our Thanks to the tireless work of Joe Mitch, our executive president, to take a hard look at the content on the site and hope is that the NCAA will simply write the requirement director, our membership pitch is stronger than it has ever come up with a plan to update the site on a regular basis. into the bid package for a perspective site. been. Specifically, we have three things to offer a non- • To work with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Commit- In the short term, we, as an organization, will have to member to make his job easier: 1) The USBWA Handbook, tee toward the goal of universal access to wireless Internet decide if we would be willing make a trade off: Fewer which indispensable. Take your copy and show it to the at all tournament sites. This season, as you all know, was costly telephone lines in the work room in exchange for person as you put the application in their hand; 2) The really a mixed bag. At some places, it was free. Others tried wireless internet that is either free or reasonably priced. USBWA web site, which I will talk more about in a minute; to charge as much as $300. To that end, I have asked Rob Daniels of the Greens- 3) The Marriott Athletic VIP Card, which can be used to We believe that wireless Internet at courtside could be boro News & Record to put together a quick survey of the save hundreds of dollars on business and personal travel. the biggest advance in technology since the laptop com- membership on this issue. Very simply, would your news- Remind the candidate that he can cover his or her dues by puter. Not only would it allow you to send copy quickly, but paper be willing to accept a reduction of phones in the using the card just once! you could receive post-game stats and quotes immediately workroom in exchange for Internet access? And if you Of course, as we continue to increase our membership, on your laptop screen without waiting for them to be copied were willing to pay for Internet access, what would be a we must make this organization more diverse. We need and passed out by hand. I can see a day where a reporter on reasonable fee? more women. We need more people of color. We cannot go a tight deadline can sit on his seat at press row and monitor That should be enough to get us started. Have a great another 49 years before we have another female president the post-game news conference on his computer. That’s summer. Like Roy Williams, I’ll see you on the first tee. June 15 contest deadline Barnhart named president The deadline for submitting stories and columns Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published during the 2004-05 basketball season for the assumed the gavel from Robyn Norwood of the Los Angeles USBWA Best Writing Contest is June 15. Times at the USBWA’s annual Monday morning breakfast, Entries can be submitted in five categories: column becoming the organization’s 50th President. writing, moderate-length features, magazine-length Tom Shatel of the Omaha World-Herald moved into features, spot news/game coverage and enterprise/ the chair of the First Vice-President. Andy Katz of investigative stories. ESPN.com was appointed Second-Vice President and Dick Only dues-paying members of the USBWA are eligible Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News was named to the to enter the writing contest. Members may enter more than newly created position of Third Vice-President. one category but may submit only one entry per category. New USBWA Board members include Brian Koonz of Plaques and cash prizes will be awarded in each category, the Danbury News-Times, Joe Gergen of Newsday and Ted and winners will be announced in the fall Tipoff.. Lewis of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. An at-large Send all entries to: Joe Mitch; USBWA Writing position has yet to be determined. Returning board members Contest; 1818 Chouteau Ave.; St. Louis, Mo. 63103; (314) include: Rob Daniels of the Greensboro News & Record, 421-0339; or e-mail entries to [email protected] Mike Strange of the Knoxville News Sentinel, Jeff Shelman For entries submitted by the mail, print the name of the of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Steve Carp of the Las category, the author of the story, the publication in which Vegas Review-Journal and Ed Graney of the San Diego the article appeared and the date of the publication on a 3x5 Union Tribune. Rob Carolla of the Big 12 Conference will card and staple it to the article. Tony Barnhart receives the gavel from Robyn Norwood remain the SID representative. Inaugural Friday morning breakfast a huge success The USBWA has established what looks like will become an annual event at the NCAA men’s Final Four. The Basketball Writers held a breakfast on Friday during this year’s Final Four in St. Louis to honor the association’s coach and player of the year, and the event was an overwhelming success. Executive Director A sellout crowd of nearly 500 people attended the breakfast, during which time the USBWA also honored retiring coaches Tom Brennan of Vermont, Gene Keady of BY JOE MITCH Purdue and Lou Henson of New Mexico State. Plans are already underway for next year’s breakfast at MVC the Final Four in Indianapolis. Past president Bill Benner, formerly with the Indianapolis Star, is scouting out possible venues to hold the breakfast in downtown Indianapolis. The breakfast enables the USBWA to showcase in a to Player of the Year Andrew Bogut of Utah. The sculpture similar donation will be made at future Final Four breakfasts public forum its top two college basketball awards – the was made in the likeness of Oscar taken from a famous in honor of Oscar, who saved his daughter Tia’s life several Oscar Robertson Player of the Trophy and the Henry Iba picture of him with legs spread-eagledExecutive rebounding a Directoryears ago by donating one of his kidneys to her. Coach of the Year Award. basketball. ***** The Oscar Robertson Trophy took on an entirely new The sculpture will become a permanent fixture in the Kudos to the seven USBWA members who participated look this year with the presentation of a sculpture of Oscar USBWA’s player of the year program. The breakfast, the on a panel for the sportswriting seminar held for student newly redesigned trophy and anticipated increased television journalists at this year’s Final Four. The United States Basketball Writers Association exposure are all expected to elevate name recognition of the USBWA Hall of Famer and past president Dave Dorr, award and take it to a level that hopefully will rival the retired from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was masterful as 1818 Chouteau Avenue Wooden Award. moderator for the panel that included Jim O’Connell of the St. Louis, Mo. 63103 The Oscar Robertson Trophy should really be the Associated Press, Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News, premier player of the year award in college basketball. Of Robyn Norwood of the Los Angeles Times, Steve Wieberg Visit us at: www.usbwa.com all the awards out there named after greats – Wooden, of USA Today, Vahe Gregorian of the St. Louis Post- Naismith and Rupp – the USBWA’s Oscar is the only one Dispatch and Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review Journal. 314-421-0339 named after a player, the others being coaches. Carp pinch hit for Malcolm Moran at the last minute when Fax: 314-421-3505 Fax: 314-421-6120 Next year’s breakfast has all the makings of being just Moran was unable to attend due to weather-related problems as successful – if not more so – than this year’s event.