FWAA writing contest winners The results from the FWAA’s 15th Game Media Hotel in New Orleans. August 2007 annual Best Writing Contest, which is Places 1-3 will receive certificates and sponsored by Insight, are listed below. cash prizes, while honorable mention Vol. 45, No. 3 All places will be recognized at the winners receive certificates. First-place FWAA’s annual Awards Breakfast on winners also receive plaques. Jan. 7, 2008, at the BCS Championship Inside this issue: GAME First place: Ian R. Rapoport, The Birmingham News President’s column 2 Second place: Pete Thamel, The New York Times Third place: Chris Dufresne, The Los Angeles Times Honorable mention: Rich Kaipust , Omaha World-Herald Column winner: 3 LOOSE DEADLINE Ted Miller First place: David Barron, Houston Chronicle Second place: Christopher Walsh, Tuscaloosa News Game winner: Third place: Dennis Dodd, CBS SportsLine.com 4 Honorable mention: Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans, The New York Times; Ian R. Rapoport George Schroeder, The Oklahoman FEATURES 2007-08 Best Writing First place: Pat Forde, ESPN.com Contest Rules and 5 Second place: Kyle Ringo, Bolder Daily Camera Procedures Third place: Bob Condotta, Seattle Times Honorable mention: John Henderson, Denver Post; Kelly Whiteside, USA Today Features winner: 6 COLUMN Pat Forde First place: Ted Miller, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Second place: John Adams, Knoxville News Sentinel Third place: John Henderson, The Denver Post Honorable mention: Tom Dienhart, The Sporting News Enterprise winner: Kalani Simpson, Honolulu Star-Bulletin 11 Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News Christopher Walsh ENTERPRISE First place: Christopher Walsh, Tuscaloosa News Second place: Ron Higgins, Memphis Commercial Appeal Spot news, loose Third place: Kevin Scarbinsky and Ian R. Rapoport, The Birmingham News deadline winner: 15 Honorable mention: Brian Davis, The Dallas Morning News; David Barron Pete Thamel, The New York Times Page 2 THE FIFTH DOWN President Mike Griffith Knoxville News Sentinel President’s column First Vice President No cheering in the ing all he accomplished despite interfer- Ron Higgins Memphis Commercial Appeal press box. ence from previous regime members that We’re all profes- were still affiliated with the Auburn pro- Second Vice President sionals, we all gram. George Schroeder know the deal, and Terry will join his father, Bobby, on the Eugene Register-Guard 999 out of the sidelines at Florida State this year to “re- 1,000 journalists acquaint’’ himself with the routine. Executive Director I’ve run across in As Terry Bowden introduced the likes Steve Richardson the college football of Emmitt Smith, Mike Rozier, Carl Eller, world abide by it. Charlie Ward, Bruce Smith and Steve 2007 Directors Some of us get so Emtman on a South Bend Saturday Eric Bailey conditioned we night, I watched each cross the stage Tulsa World can’t even man- and wondered: Why isn’t this on televi- Craig Barnes age applause at sion? South Florida Sun-Sentinel MIKE our kids’ school Instead, folks saw a major soccer Chip Brown ball games. promotion crash as superstar David The Dallas Morning News GRIFFITH Bob Clark But then came the Beckham fell over his feet for 14 minutes Eugene Register-Guard College Football on ESPN. Chad Cripe Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies Somebody, perhaps ESPNU or Fox Idaho Statesman July 21 in South Bend, when I found my- Sports, could have covered the College Buddy Davis self clapping as the game’s former Football Hall of Fame event in Academy Ruston Daily Leader greats took the stage. Award fashion. It’s worthy. It’s entertain- Scott Ferrrell The Boston Globe's Mark Blaud- ing. It’s fan friendly. Shreveport Times schun, the ol’ Bulldog of the press box, It appears to be TV friendly, too, with Robert Gagliardi Wyoming Tribune-Eagle sat beside me as the Bert McGrane college football season just around the Eric Hansen Award winner and was pounding his corner, the backdrop of Notre Dame and South Bend Tribune hands together, too. plenty of film footage of the enshrinees in Bob Holt Clapping at a sports-related event the vaults. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was somewhat exhilarating; perhaps it It was fun seeing Emmitt Smith in a Mike Huguenin was just remembering what it felt like to Gator uniform again and watching Rozier Orlando Sentinel be a fan of the game we’ve chosen to tear up opponents in his Husker red. Steve Irvine invest our careers in. For the first time, I saw how Bruce Birmingham News In this day and age of reduced sports Smith made sacks as a Hokie and later Michael Lewis Salt Lake City Tribune travel and expense budgets, and consid- got a refresher course on how Charlie Andrew Logue erably less access to athletes and Ward played point guard as the Semi- Des Moines Register coaches than many of us were once af- noles’ QB before moving on to the NBA Tom Luicci forded, it was a healthy boost for career and distributing the ball in much the Newark Star-Ledger ambition. same fashion. Matt Markey It was also a good reminder of why Bobby Bowden used his time on Toledo Blade we decided it would be worth it to sweat stage to talk about how kids have Brett McMurphy the odd weekend hours and travel, along changed, and how parents are failing. Tampa Tribune with the finicky editors (we like to pretend Some were critical of Bowden’s re- Jeff Metcalfe Arizona Republic we don’t need them, but we do), to be- marks the next day, but that doesn’t Robbi Pickeral come college football writers. mean Bowden wasn’t spot-on in his Raleigh News & Observer Terry Bowden was the master of analysis. Carter Strickland ceremonies for the College Football Hall In fact, kudos to Bowden for using his Atlanta Journal-Constitution of Fame enshrinement dinner, and he time to extend a meaningful message to was as peppy and entertaining as when his audience – limited as it was – rather Ex-officio he held press conferences while going than drop names and thank everyone Charles Bloom 11-0 as Auburn’s head coach in 1993. from Pensacola to Jacksonville to Miami. SEC/BCS liaison Terry’s a fellow FWAA member, but The most disappointing turn from the Joe Hornstein he’s working to get a head-coaching job event came the next morning when Central Florida again. I've wondered why he hasn't got- ESPN chose to run a list of 12 “notable’’ ten back into coaching sooner, consider- (Continued on page 5) Page 3 THE FIFTH DOWN Column: Ted Miller Comment of the judge, Mickey Spagnola: Not only TED MILLER – Seattle Post- was this very opinionated and well written, but I’m Intelligencer guessing the writer was brave enough to take an un- AGE: 37 popular stance, though one he believed in. Seeing things COLLEGE: University of Rich- a tad differently from everyone else makes for good col- mond umn writing. BACKGROUND: Miller, an Atlanta native, spent two years By TED MILLER at the Marietta Daily Journal Seattle Post-Intelligencer before heading south to the Now wait a second here. Folks are mad at Dennis Mobile Register. He covered Erickson for leaving -- no, betraying! -- Idaho after a Auburn for two years and was meager 10-month stint to take over at Arizona State? named Alabama Sportswriter Are you kidding me? of the Year for 1998. He moved to the Seattle Post- Say the following sentences out loud: Intelligencer in 1999, starting as the Washington foot- Dennis Erickson turned down a chance to quadruple ball beat writer, then adding Pac-10 and national col- his salary. Dennis Erickson turned down a chance to lege football responsibilities. He will cover the Pac-10 coach a sleeping giant in the Pac-10 to stay at WAC for ESPN.com for a sixth year this fall. He was named doormat Idaho. Dennis Erickson decided to continue to a sports columnist for P-I in March 2006. He has live on the frozen tundra of Moscow, Idaho, instead of earned three APSE top-10's with the P-I, twice moving to the resort community surrounding Tempe, in enterprise and a third-place for features. He has Ariz. Dennis Erickson didn't want to coach a perennial been a runner-up three times in the FWAA Best Writ- bowl contender that could win 10 games next fall be- ing Contest for game story, columns and enterprise. cause he relished the challenge of leading a program Miller enjoys travel and eating and drinking and read- that hadn't posted a winning record since 1999 and will ing. Although he reports that he tends to be grumpy, never, never, never reach a major bowl game. he has been married for five years to Chandra. All because he felt -- sniff, sniff -- loyal to the wonder- ful folks at Idaho who hired him in March 2006? That's what you wanted to happen? That would have If Idaho is worse off for having hired Erickson -- and it been the right thing for Erickson to do, the ethical thing, most certainly is -- it is Spear's fault for making a bad the act that would earn him giddy kudos in the media? decision when replacing Nick Holt last February. Again: Are you kidding me? When did being stupid Recall: After two seasons and five wins, Holt bolted become a laudable quality? Idaho as though his hair were on fire, first to the St. If Erickson had turned down Arizona State and Louis Rams then back to USC. Spear, though in a jam stayed at Idaho I would have driven to Moscow and with spring practices just weeks away, nonetheless beaten him with a stick.