FWAA Writing Contest Winners the FWAA's 10Th Annual Best Writing Places in Each Category Will Receive a Contest Results Are Listed Below
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FWAA writing contest winners The FWAA's 10th annual Best Writing places in each category will receive a Contest results are listed below. All cash award as well as a plaque for the October 2002 winners will be recognized at the first-place winner and certificates for sec- FWAA's annual Awards Breakfast on ond and third places and honorable Vol. 40, No. 3 Jan. 3 in Phoenix, Ariz. The first three mentions. COLUMNS Inside this issue: 1st place: Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times 2nd place: Jon Solomon, Anderson Independent-Mail 3rd place: David Jones, Harrisburg Patriot-News Honorable mention: Dennis Dodd, CBS SportsLine.com; Steve Ellis, President’s column 2 Tallahassee Democrat; Wright Thompson, New Orleans Times-Picayune ENTERPRISE Column winner: 1st place: John Canzano, Fresno Bee 3 2nd place: Jon Solomon, Anderson Independent-Mail Steve Henson 3rd place: Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat Honorable mention: Vaughn McClure, South Bend Tribune; Adam Thompson, Denver Post; Ed Graney and Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union Tribune; Enterprise winner: John and Joe Schad, Orlando Sentinel 4 Canzano FEATURE 1st place: Jason King, Kansas City Star 2nd place: Bruce Feldman, ESPN The Magazine Features winner: 3rd place: Tom Dienhart, The Sporting News 6 Honorable mention: Brian Landman, St. Petersburg Times; Mark Wangrin, Jason King San Antonio Express News; Ted Miller, Seattle Post-Intelligencer GAME — IMMEDIATE DEADLINE Game, loose deadline 1st place: Vahe Gregorian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch winner: Malcolm 8 2nd place: Wright Thompson, New Orleans Times-Picayune Moran 3rd place: Richie Rosenblatt, Associated Press Honorable Mention: John Bohnenkamp, The Hawk Eye; Tommy Hicks, Mobile Register; Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times Game, immediate deadline winner: Vahe 9 GAME — LOOSE DEADLINE Gregorian 1st place: Malcolm Moran, USA Today 2nd Place: Brian Landman, St. Petersburg Times 3rd Place: Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune Honorable mention: Ron Musselman, Toledo Blade; John Helsley, FWAA Lodge Notes 12 The Daily Oklahoman; Charles Dye, The Daily News, Longview, Wa. Page 2 THE FIFTH DOWN President Kelly Whiteside USA Today First Vice President President’s column Wally Hall Arkansas Democrat-Gazette During the Eddie does. Most conferences are concluding their calls the week of Nov. 18, even Second Vice President Robinson Classic a Dick Weiss few weeks ago, though plenty of their schools have regu- New York Daily News Steve Richardson lar-season games Nov. 30 and in some cases, Dec. 7. Executive Director and I met with the Steve Richardson Fiesta Bowl's Shawn Dallas Morning News Schoeffler to review Media access has also shrunk at media operations for Notre Dame with the arrival of coach Ty- 2002 Directors the national champi- rone Willingham, formerly of Stanford. Maybe it's a Pac-10 thing. As of this writ- Shelly Anderson onship game. As Pittsburgh Post-Gazette expected, the Fiesta ing, there is no access on Sundays and David Teel Bowl is certainly Mondays, unless there are “special cir- Daily Press, Newport News ready for us. cumstances,” we're told. There is a press (Va.) KELLY conference on Tuesdays. Imagine if Kurt Caywood WHITESIDE The media hotel you're the South Bend Tribune and have Topeka Capital-Journal will be the Phoenix to fill Tuesday's paper with Saturday's Stewart Mandel Airport Marriott with postgame comments. This is Notre CNN/SI a room rate of $109. The head coaches Dame, a program the entire country is Eric Crawford interested in. Reducing access is a big Louisville Courier-Journal press conference will be on Dec. 12, and Wright Thompson media day will be on Dec. 31 at Sun step backward. Both Lou Holtz and Bob Kansas City Star Devil Stadium. At all the press confer- Davie spoke with reporters on Sundays Brian Landman ences, ASAP Sports Reporting will com- following game days and were available St. Petersburg Times pile the quotes, which is a helpful addi- to the media after practices on Mondays Ted Miller tion to those reporters who may miss the and had press conferences on Tues- Seattle Post-Intelligencer early press conferences. For those of days. Under Willingham, the team prac- Rob Biertempfel you who cover the Final Four, ASAP tices on Sunday and has Mondays off. Tribune Review (Pa.) Sports, which transcribes every word ut- Please let us know if access is being cut Darryl Richards back anywhere else as well. foxsports.com tered, is a regular there. Andy Bagnato Chicago Tribune On game day, Jan. 3, there will be In other news, ESPN Magazine and Ken Davis telephones at every third seat. The Fi- the FWAA are collaborating on a College Hartford Courant esta Bowl promises that the losing coach Football Courage Award. The award will Chris Fowler and two players will be available immedi- be similar to the Most Courageous ESPN ately following the game, followed by the Award presented each year by the US- Herb Gould winning coach and two players. Last BWA. The idea is the handiwork of Chicago Sun-Times year at the Rose Bowl, there were prob- ESPN Magazine's Gene Wojciechowski. Brian Higgins Each year the winner will be announced Oakland Tribune lems with postgame stats, which were in the magazine in December and will Natalie Meisler distributed an hour after the game. The Denver Post Fiesta Bowl has promised that quick receive a trophy at the FWAA’s annual Dan O'Kane quotes and quick stats will be available meeting and awards breakfast at the site Tulsa World immediately. So far, so good. of the BCS championship game. A head Tim Peeler coach, assistant coach, student athlete, Greensboro News & Record Now to more immediate issues. For a administrator or support staff member is Greg Pogue conference that complains of being over- eligible. If you have any nominations, Daily News Journal (Tenn.) looked by everyone outside the Pacific please e-mail Gene Wojciechowski at time zone, it sure doesn't help that the [email protected]. Ex-Officio Pac-10 didn't begin its coaches confer- ence call until Sept. 17. Just about every Enjoy the rest of the season. Jim Daves other conference began its conference University of Washington Maxey Parrish call the last week of August. Also, some CoSIDA FWAA members have wondered why conference calls end before the season THE FIFTH DOWN Page 3 Columns: Steve Henson Comment by the judge, Gene Duffey: Well written, good STEVE HENSON – Los Angeles Times quotes and excellent analysis. Age: 45 Colleges: San Diego State (B. Cory Paus is a little boy. A.), Pepperdine. His UCLA coach says so, comparing the quarter- Background: Hanson came to back's failure to inform him about two alcohol-related the Times in 1985 to help launch driving convictions to a child deserving forgiveness after the Valley Edition as a reporter behaving immaturely. and editor. He wrote takeouts on a wide range of stories before Paus is a grown man. taking over the UCLA football He proved it after the Bruins' 27-0 loss to USC on and basketball beat two years Saturday, standing in front of a microphone and calmly ago. When he’s not writing about answering a barrage of pointed questions that stopped sports, he coaches youth base- just short of "Are you a drunk?" and "Are you a liar?" ball. Paus is a little boy. He held the childlike notion that he could hide a terri- trailing, 24-0, the Bruins had gained 58 yards in 35 ble secret against all odds because he was in mortal fear plays. of the consequences, the disappointment on the face of his coach and in the voices of his parents 2,000 miles "Obviously, he was under a lot of duress and didn't away. perform well," Toledo said. And when his secret became public, it hurt everyone But the coach refused to second-guess his decision close to him. Despite protestations to the contrary, the not to suspend Paus for the drinking-and-driving epi- fact that Paus' convictions came to light Thursday night sodes or for hiding them from him. clearly contributed to the Bruins' dismal performance two "There are a lot of means of punishment besides sus- days later. pension," Toledo said. "Obviously, he's being punished Paus is a grown man. now." He withstood a pounding at the hands of a revved-up If punishment is being peppered with questions, Paus Trojan defense, getting sacked five times and every time accepted plenty. When a UCLA official attempted to cut coming back for more. He threw for 45 yards on seven- short the group interview, Paus wouldn't allow him, say- for-15 passing, yet laid no blame on his fumble-fingered ing, "I'll answer more, I'm cool." receivers or his linemen, who made like matadors. He was so cool, in fact, it begs a question: Why didn't This is not a mystery. The sandy-haired Chicago na- he simply come clean at the beginning of training camp tive is like a million other 21-year-old college students — and put the issue to rest? a man-child, an enigma, a walking, talking contradiction. "It was a position I got myself into a long time ago The boy in Paus cost the Bruins dearly, so much that and I've been dealing with it my own way," he said. "I the man in him could not overcome the damage. thought it would be in the best interest of the football team not to talk about it. I almost made it through the "I don't think it had an impact on tonight's game — for season." me," he said. Paus said he told several teammates about his con- But for teammates already emotionally drained from victions, which will result in a four-day jail term in Janu- coping with tailback DeShaun Foster's ineligibility, the ary, a hefty fine and a suspended driver's license.