Ed Odeven of The Japan Times recently engaged Ron Higgins of the New Orleans Times-Picayune in a question-and-answer session on his 30-plus year career and the world of sports writing today.
Higgins, a current FWAA Board Member, was the 2008 FWAA President when he was still at the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He is now back home in Louisiana where he is a columnist for NOLA.com and living in Baton Rouge.
Irv Moss of the Denver Post, center, receives a commemorative football in recognition of his Lifetime Achievement Award from 2015 FWAA President Lee Barfknecht, left, and Tim Simmons of BFI Events, right. Photo by Melissa Macatee for the FWAA.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.— Longtime Denver Post writer Irv Moss received the FWAA Lifetime Achievement Award on Monday morning during the association’s annual awards breakfast at the College Football Playoff title game media hotel.
Moss, 81, is a graduate of Denver West High School, and has covered events in the state of Colorado for 60 years.
2013 FWAA President Chris Dufresne
Chris Dufresne, president of the Football Writers Association of America in 2013, will be honored as the FWAA’s Beat Writer of the Year and receive a commemorative football at our annual Awards Breakfast on Jan. 11 at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort and Spa.
Dufresne also recently retired after 40 years at The Los Angeles Times. CLICK HERE to read his Farewell Column, published on Dec. 8 in The Times.
2013 FWAA President Chris Dufresne
All the news that’s fit to print — in 140 characters. Chris Dufresne, president of the Football Writers Association of America in 2013, announced on Twitter this week that he is leaving the Los Angeles Times.
“News that will thrill some, sadden others: Buyout application accepted today from L.A. Times. Sorry, 140 characters can’t wrap up 40 years.”
Dufresne, a long-time national football and basketball reporter, started at the paper when he was 18 years old. His departure will come within the next couple of months.
(Editor Note: John Bianco from the University of Texas passes this along on one of the top sports movies of the year).
A major motion picture celebrating college football, character and competition is set for a national release this Friday, Nov. 13. “My All American” shares the inspirational true story of University of Texas football legend Freddie Steinmark, an underdog who played a critical role on Coach Darrell Royal’s 1969 National Championship team. Written and directed by Angelo Pizzo, the writer of iconic sports films “Hoosiers” and “Rudy”, the film tells the tale of one of Royal’s most beloved players who always put family, team and school first. In the end, Freddie leaned heavily on the support of his coach and teammates when faced with a life-changing challenge.
“It is an outstanding and compelling movie, true stuff,” said Steve Richardson, executive director of the Football Writers Association of America. “Sometimes you watch these kinds of movies and what is happening on the screen is not what happened in real time. This is pretty close if not right in line with history. Hollywood didn’t need to enter in, I don’t believe. Plus, I think the characters on the screen blended right into the movie. It is an excellent way to spend a couple of hours of anybody’s day.”
Crafting a realistic story was a critical element in the planning of this film. Many of Steinmark’s Longhorn teammates and the critical characters in the film were on set helping ensure that the film was authentic. Former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy served as a football consultant while his brother, Case, played Arkansas quarterback Bill Montgomery and UT All-American Jordan Shipley played Longhorn wide receiver great Cotton Speyrer in the film.
Comment by the judge, Steve Richardson: Thoughtful, well-researched piece on UT’s Charlie Strong. This story got way below the surface and explained why Strong is the way he is. It explains his life every step of the way from his childhood to becoming the CEO of one of college football’s traditional powers.
Sports Illustrated
Pete Thamel, Sports Illustrated
Charlie Strong opens his eyes. It’s 4 a.m. He rises, dresses and, without caffeine, drives 20 minutes to the Texas football facility. On Mondays he runs south to downtown via Red River Street and returns on Guadalupe Street. On Tuesdays he heads through neighborhoods to the north. The routes vary each day, but the goal remains the same — shave a few seconds off his time from the week before.
He does not always succeed, but Strong still bangs out five miles at a nine-minute clip, straining to outrace some previous version of himself. He has done this for his entire career, through 14 coaching jobs at eight universities — three decades spent pushing himself forward while running in loops. And yet even when he has reached his destination, Strong cannot help but do what he has always done, so he runs just as hard.
Last winter, after going 23-3 during his final two seasons at Louisville, Strong landed what many consider the best coaching gig in the country, signing a five-year, $26 million deal at Texas. If everything is big in Texas, the task of reviving the football team is no exception. The Longhorns went 18-17 in the Big 12 under Mack Brown over the last four seasons; this year they didn’t have a player drafted by the NFL for the first time since 1937. And Strong’s hiring as the program’s first black coach carries with it a social significance that matches the breadth of his improbable journey. “Could you ever believe,” Strong confided to a friend recently, “that I ended up at Texas?”
Brad Pye Jr., a sports journalist, broadcaster and long-time member of the Football Writers Association of America, was honored by the City of Los Angeles recently when it named the gymnasium at Saint Andrews Recreation Center after him in recognition of his many contributions to the Department of Recreation and Parks Boards Board of Commissioners.
Pye was the first African-American president of the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks Board of Commissioners.
Councilmember Bernard C. Parks said Pye “had been on the forefront of dealing with youth activities and recreation and park facilities for decades.”
Click here to read the entire story by Cora Jackson-Fossett of the Los Angeles Sentinel.
For those who haven’t heard, long-time Denver Post sports reporter Tom Kensler has decided to take a buyout and retire.
The following is an email blast Tom sent to dozens of his friends and colleagues on Tuesday:
A quick shout out to some of my pals (and sorry to those I mistakenly left out):For those who have not heard, I have eagerly accepted the Denver Post’s voluntary buyout package.
Tom Kensler
It appears my termination day, as HR calls it, will be Monday (June 29th). But because I am in midst of a stretch of accrued time off, I have filed my final piece for the Post.
I soon will turn 64, so the buyout comes at a good time for me. And I figure 38-plus years in the business, including almost 26 years with the Post, is enough.
It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I had planned to work another to years, to my 66th birthday. But with my seniority at the Post, I will receive a year’s salary in the buyout settlement. Post also paying its portion of health insurance for a year, so continuing coverage through COBRA won’t take a big hit.
The year of benefits will take me to within weeks of age 65 and Medicare eligibility, so it all made sense.
Please keep in touch. Pam is still working, and we plan to remain in Arvada America, as we like to call it.
My cell phone is 303-725-8556. Email: tomkens@aol.com. I’ll always be up for chatting about old times and hope our paths cross often.
For those who live out of state, it must be time for a vacation to Colorado. Be sure to call me if you come this way. I love playing tour guide. I know where the good craft breweries are and also mountain destinations.
I have cherished our friendship.
Tom
Bud Withers
FWAA member Bud Withers announced his retirement on Friday April 10 with the following e-mail blast to friends and colleagues:
Hey folks: Just a note to say that this is my last day of work at the Seattle Times. I’m retiring after 45 years in this biz, and it’s mostly been a blast. I’m able to go out on my own terms, which in this industry these days, is a distinct blessing.
I don’t plan to disappear, but my e-mail address is changing to casabudman@gmail.com. My cell remains 206-794-4027. I’ve enjoyed working with and around you, and if you’re in this neck of the woods, don’t hesitate to look me up. I know where the good bars are . . .
Cheers,
Bud Withers
Click here to read some of Bud’s recent stories for the Seattle Times.
The Fifth Down 