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HERE WE GO
By Mike Donoghue
NSSA National Board President
The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press
(800) 427-3124, Ext. 1845
HAPPY NEW YEAR: With 2008 now upon us, I wish each and every one a wonderful, healthy New Year – with lots of good scoops.
We have much to be thankful for as 2007 wrapped up. I personally appreciate the phone calls, e-mails and letters this past year with ideas to keep moving NSSA forward. The NSSA belongs to you, the members. We want your thoughts.
THE NSSA AWARDS WEEKEND DATES CHANGED: The new date is Saturday, May 3, through Monday, May 5.
After the preliminary announcement about the 49th annual NSSA Awards Program went out, it was called to my attention that the date included Passover, a major Jewish religious observance. I asked the local NSSA Board to review the calendar again in the hopes that a better open date could be found. The sense I got from some members is that it would be good for the NSSA also to stay away from Mother’s Day, Easter and major sporting events that would draw away from Salisbury.
The local committee is hard at work making sure that the NSSA has another wonderful time in Salisbury, N.C. The city of Salisbury and Rowan County are well known for the red carpet treatment we receive every year.
Longtime Program Director Barbara Lockert is the point person when it comes to all aspects of planning and organizing the annual awards program. If you have any thoughts or wishes for the program this year, please let us know. You can reach us at: Barbara Lockert at sloegin@bellsouth.netor (704) 633-4275; or mdonoghue@smcvt.eduor (802) 660-1845.
NSSA VOTING IS UNDER WAY: By now all NSSA members should have received their printed ballot for the selection of the state and national sportscasters and sportswriters, along with the Hall of Fame nominees.
Just a reminder to members that the ballot must be postmarked by Monday, Jan. 7, and your annual $30 dues must be paid up to be counted. Any questions, please call Barbara Lockert at (704) 633-4275.
Some concerns have been aired about moving to electronic voting in future years. The National Board plans to discuss paper ballot vs. electronic voting before any changes are made on how the NSSA membership selects its winners.
PAUL “BEAR” BRYANT AWARD VOTING BEGINS JAN. 8: One of the benefits of being a dues-paying member is to vote for the 2007 Paul “Bear’ Bryant Coaching Award. The award is unique because it is the only coaching honor voted on after all the college football bowl games have been played. There is a quick turn-around, so be ready to vote.
Ballots will be available on a secure website beginning at midnight Central Standard Time on Tuesday, Jan. 8 after the BCS Championship game and will be due no later than 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time on Monday, Jan.14. Ballots received after this time will not be counted.
ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER: Thanks to the NSSA members and others who have sent along notes about the new electronic newsletter. We received some nice news tips and comments, along with some good suggestions.
One of my pledges when becoming national president was to answer the pleas from our dues-paying members for increased communication from the association.
The plan was to have three newsletters in the first year. With this newsletter, that goal has been met.
A special thanks goes to Ryan Dulude, a May 2007 graduate of St. Michael’s College, who helped create and design these three newsletters.
Is three times a year enough? Do you want shorter, more frequent newsletters?
While our constitution and bylaws place the NSSA President in charge of this member newsletter, this is really your newsletter. I have enjoyed putting the newsletters together, but I wish more items were sent in. Please send along items about yourself, your profession or any oddball items you like.
All NSSA members should be receiving the electronic newsletter by now. It also is posted on the NSSA website. If you know a member who is not receiving the newsletter, please let us know immediately.
THE ANNUAL NSSA BOARD MEETING: The annual NSSA National Board meeting is planned for 9:15 a.m. May 4 during the Awards Program. One major discussion item will be planning for the 50th NSSA Awards Program in 2009.
We have received some wonderful ideas, including expanding the program, possibly to four days. The thought of bringing back all the living NSSA Hall of Famers has been mentioned. Some ideas will take new money. Although raising money is the primary responsibility for our Executive Director Glenn Hudson, he certainly can use a hand with solid leads on possible sponsorships.
Update from Salisbury
By Glenn Hudson
By now I hope most of you have visited the NSSA’s new website at www.nssahalloffame.com. If you haven’t, now is a good time to stop by and visit. The directory is now up in the “member’s only” section, which is password-protected for the membership.
I would encourage all of you to keep this password to yourself out of respect for the privacy of your fellow members. By now you should have received this password by e-mail. Please check your listing in the directory and send any corrections to me at nssahalloffame@aol.com.
There is more work to be done with the website. You will see more improvements as we go along.
Also, there is new information about the Bear Bryant College Football Coach of the Year Award that is voted on by the NSSA membership. I hope each of you will keep this award in mind as the college football season comes to a close. Remember, this coaching award is the only one that is decided after all the bowl games are finished.
For those of you who haven’t received your Marriott VIP cards yet, Barbara Lockert has put together a list for me of new members and members who slipped through the cracks. I will get those from Marriott as soon as I possibly can. We also have some cards for members who have not paid their dues. These cards will be mailed as soon as the dues are paid. Don’t hesitate to contact me at 704/223-0385 if you have any questions.
Take care. We look forward to seeing you back in Salisbury soon.
The National Athletic Trainers Association is asking the NSSA membership for recommendations on possible topics that would be timely for the members at the annual awards program in May.
We appreciate that each year NATA has provided a solid educational component to the weekend program.
Send your ideas to nssahalloffame@aol.comand they will be forwarded to the NATA.
The annual request by the NATA for the “Story of the Year” will be mailed shortly and also posted on the NSSA website. The story must have been printed or aired in 2007. Good luck.
Seven finalists have been named for the 2007 Paul “Bear” Bryant College Football Coach of the Year. In alphabetical order, they are:
--- Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
--- Sylvester "Sly" Croom, Mississippi State University
--- June Jones, University of Hawaii
--- Mark Mangino, University of Kansas
--- Les Miles, Louisiana State University
--- Gary Pinkel, University of Missouri
--- Ron Zook, University of Illinois
The NSSA will elect the 22nd annual winner . The winner will be announced Thursday, Jan. 17, at the awards dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Houston. The seven coaches have each committed to attending the banquet, which benefits the American Heart Association.
There will be a small window of voting time for current NSSA members. The voting begins at midnight CST on Tuesday, Jan. 8, (following the BCS Championship game) and continues for one week. Ballots received after 11:59 p.m. CST on Monday, Jan.14, will be discarded.
Balloting will be done again this year on a secure website. NSSA members will receive an e-mail after the BCS game Monday night with the weblink to cast your vote. Details about each finalist can be found now on the Bryant Award section on the NSSA website: www.nssahalloffame.com.
Both NSSA President Mike Donoghue, who helped present the Bryant award last year, and NSSA Executive Director Glenn Hudson were added to the planning panel for the upcoming awards banquet.
Beginning this month (January 2008), Fox Sports Net (FSN) affiliates will air a special on the Bryant Awards, featuring interviews from the finalists, highlights from the awards ceremony and a tribute to Lifetime Achievement recipient Tom Osborne.
Osborne will be honored at the Houston banquet as the recipient of the annual Paul Bear Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes excellence in coaching on and off the field during a career. The former Nebraska head coach and interim athletic director retired after 25 seasons and three National Championships, along with the fifth-best winning percentage in Division 1-A history. Osborne and his wife of 44 years, Nancy, founded the Team Mates Mentoring Program in 1991, which pairs University of Nebraska football players and middle school students for one-on-one mentoring in Nebraska public schools.
THE NEW NSSA WEBSITE: We continue to get positive feedback on our new NSSA website. We will continue to massage it as we go along to meet the needs of the membership. If you have any thoughts to make it more user friendly or easier to navigate, please let us know.
The online membership directory is available through the members-only section and is protected by a password. We would ask any members seeing incorrect information or wishing to add their phone numbers to send along an e-mail.
We will be filling out the history section with lists of past winners and other information.
NSSA SPEAKERS BUREAU: The NSSA continues to receive requests for speakers at national, regional and state events to discuss the crafts of sportscasting and/or sportswriting, including new media issues. This is a great way to increase awareness of the NSSA and its benefits, and to promote it to potential new members.
Mike Corey, an NSSA National Board member and the voice of the Delaware Blue Hens, along with Jim Welch, the deputy managing editor for sports at USA Today, were invited speakers at the annual Society of Professional Journalists annual convention in Washington, D.C., in October.
They discussed sports fans’ desire to have all the latest news now! Whether it is from the daily newspaper, their favorite sportscast, on the web, blogging or as part of a game, pre-game or post-game show, how can it be done?
By all accounts, including the evaluation forms, it was a solid performance.
NSSA National President Mike Donoghue has been invited to present two sessions at the New England Press Association’s Annual Convention in Boston in February. He will speak on “Writing the Perfect Sports Story.” He also will lead “Best Sports Practices,” a roundtable discussion of the best way for sportswriters and sports editors to tackle tough assignments.
The NSSA also has a pending request from New York state. We may need to call on an NSSA member to assist with that presentation.
LOGAN NAMED TO GREATER SYRACUSE HALL OF FAME: Former NSSA National President Doug Logan, now in his 26th year on our National Board, was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in October. The Hall recognizes the top figures in sports in central New York.
Logan, who has won countless sportscasting awards, is best known by NSSA members as the man who introduces each state winner at the annual awards banquet. Logan served as the play-by-play voice of Syracuse University football and basketball for 19 years on WSYR radio. He also was sports director at WIXT-TV for 19 years. He now is general manager of Time Warner Sports in Syracuse.
DENMAN NAMED TO NEW YORK UNIVERSITY HALL OF FAME: Sportswriter Elliott Denman has been selected for the New York University Hall of Fame. Denman, a former member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic track and field team, went on to become one of the nation’s leading sportswriters on the sport. Denman has worked for several leading newspapers, including the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey. He also has served as a free-lance writer for papers including the New York Times, Boston Globe and Baltimore Sun. He has run in 29 consecutive New York City Marathons.
AMERICA’S MOST INFLUENTIAL SPORTS EDUCATORS: More than a half dozen sports journalists were included in the recently released list of the top 100 most influential sports educators selected by the Institute for International Sport. It also picked the 15 most influential Sports Education Teams in America.
The list includes a wide range of athletes, coaches, politicians, doctors, and sports journalists. Among them are Bob Costas, Frank Deford, Tom Farrey, Robert Lipsyte, Sandy Padwe and Alexander Wolff.
The list was the brainchild of the Institute’s Executive Director Dan Doyle as he prepared a book, “The Encyclopedia of Sport Parenting,” From the time the Institute announced the project in 2004, the organization received over 1,500 nominations for individuals and “teams.” After reducing the list to 200 individual finalists and 30 “team” finalists, a committee whittled the list to the 100 individuals and 15 teams.
For more information and see the full list, check the institute’s website at: www.internationalsport.com
LEATHERHEADS – THE MOVIE -- UPDATE: The football movie “Leatherheads,” which was filmed partially in Salisbury, N.C. and projected for release in December 2007 is now expected in theaters in April 2008.
The screen play was co-written by NSSA sportswriter of the year Rick Reilly and Duncan Brantley, but was re-written by George Clooney, who co-stars with Renee Zellweger. Reilly and Brantley will still get credit as writers after the Writers Guild of America denied Clooney a screenplay credit, according to the movie’s website. The romantic comedy wrapped up official filming on May 17, 2007, in Statesville, N.C., but additional filming was shot Sept. 29, 2007, in New Jersey.
INCREASING NSSA MEMBERSHIP: The NSSA is continuing to try to build its membership. We could double our membership if each member went out and signed up one sportswriter or sportscaster. A membership would make a nice gift to a new person in your profession or your office.
We hope to continue to increase the benefits in the coming year. One member benefit added last year was the Athletic VIP Card that provides discounts for staying at Marriott, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inns, Springfield Suites and TownPlace Suites.
The NSSA is the largest journalism association in the country that focuses on both sportscasting and sportswriting. The larger the membership rolls, the easier it is to negotiate for additional benefits.
AWARDS PROGRAM ON DVD: The NSSA still has DVD copies of the 2007 Awards program as it appeared on the local access television channel. If interested in a copy, please send a note, along with a $10 check, to: NSSA, P.O. Box 1545, Salisbury, NC 28145.
POSTAGE STAMPS HONORING SPORTS: The U.S. Postal Service is planning to release a couple of sports-related stamps in 2008.
“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” will honor one of the most popular sports songs of all time. The song will be 100 years old this summer. A passenger on a New York train, Jack Norworth, who had never attended a major league game, wrote the song after seeing a sign for an upcoming game at the Polo Grounds, the Postal Service said.
The Postal Service will continue its tradition of honoring the International Olympic Games. The Olympic stamp will be released in July in conjunction with the summer games in China.
HELPING WITH RESEARCH: The NSSA received the following request for assistance from Tony Gaier, 10873 Reed Road, Versailles, Ohio 45380, Home email: reiagt@voyager.net, Home phone: 937 526-4595. Please lend a hand if you can.
Here is the request:
I have been doing a research project on World War I era college football where I heavily utilize sportswriter information from newspaper accounts of that time.
My topic is centered on one team: the Centre College Praying Colonels of Danville Kentucky who over an 8 year period spanning 1917 to 1924 were a pretty good team nationally. They were a very small school, having only a couple hundred boys but were able to play and beat most of the bigger national powerhouse teams of the era. They had three Walter Camp First Team All Americans, and a very famous coach named Charlie Moran. By most sport historians, they got credit for the biggest football upset of all time, a 6-0 win over Harvard in 1921. Later that same season, they played in two post season Bowl games, in San Diego's Christmas Classic against Arizona & then the Dixie Classic in Dallas where they were the opponent of Texas A & M.
In the Aggie game, that was where the 12th Man Tradition of the Aggies originated when King Gill came down from the stands and put on an injured players uniform and stood ready next to Coach Bible to go into the game if needed. Gill never got into the game, but one of College football's greatest traditions was started with Bible & Gill's actions.
I been researching this topic real seriously for nearly seven years, doing a ton of microfilm, Sports Hall of Fames as well as Campus visits, of many of the Centre opponents back then.
In particular, some of the sportswriters that I'd like to find out more for preparing a detailed epilogue section include the following listed directly below. In particular there are certain ones that I hope to find out more so than some of the others and that includes Howard Reynolds, Bruce Dudley, Eddie Orcott, & John Russell,
In no particular order of importance:
Charles Betz, Louisville Courier Journal; Harry Bloom, Louisville Post; Morgan Blake, Atlanta Constitution Journal; Jack Carberry, International News Service writer; George Carens, Boston Evening Transcript; Ed Cunningham, Boston Herald; Bruce Dudley, Louisville Herald & Courier Journal; Jim Durfew (or Durfee?) from Columbus, Ohio; Bob Dundon, Louisville Times; Bob Dunbar, Boston Herald; Arthur Duffey, Boston Post; Robert Edgren, Philadelphia Bulletin; Henry L. Farrel, United Press Wire Services; Fred Farmer, San Francisco papers; Fred Haynor, Chicago Daily Times;
Also John R. Marsh, Lexington Ky papers; Eddie Orcott, San Diego Union papers; Al Piers, Louisville Herald; Howard G. Reynolds, Boston Post &/or Globe; John Russell, Chicago Herald American; Major Earl Smith, Fairmont, WV; Fred Turbeyville, (NEA) Newspaper Enterprise Association; George Trevor, New York Sun; Walter Trumbull, New York Herald; David J Walsh, Syracuse; Casper Whitney, Magazine Editor; Henry Watterson, Louisville Courier Journal
I have found information from Google, various book references and a nice website forum called Baseball Fever that had scanned obituary info. I could always supplement the information though. I do have some data already on the following:
Walter Camp; Bill Cunningham, Boston Post; Ed Dansforth, Atlanta Georgian; Walter Eckersall, Chicago papers; George Joplin, Somerset, Ky; Ring Lardner; Robert "Tiny" Maxwell; Frank G. Menke; Grantland Rice; Damon Runyon; Thomas P. Underwood, Lexington Ky Leader; Mellville Webb Jr., Boston Globe
Thank you for reading and considering. I hope to hear back.
The NSSA has lost a good friend.
We are sorry to report that Hank Palmer, one of the founders of the NSSA in Salisbury, died Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007 at the age of 90. Palmer and his wife, Petie, were supporters of the NSSA for 48 years.
Hank Palmer had served as a Rowan County Commissioner and on the Chamber of Commerce. He also was a strong supporter of many community activities in Salisbury.
Hank and his family were special hosts for many of the NSSA award winners. Please keep Petie and the entire Palmer family in your thoughts and prayers.
We at the NSSA also offers our thoughts and prayers for Mike McDuffie as he continues to fight for good health. Mike and his wife, Kathy McDuffie, like Hank and Petie Palmer, are what make our annual pilgrimage to Salisbury so special.
Don’t forget to send items for the next NSSA newsletter to: mdonoghue@smcvt.edu |