Houston Chronicle

A birdy tells me that Joe left on his own accord. He had planned on leaving and "asked" to be a layoff so he could get the severance package.

But, I'll add, the birdy was not Joe.

 

Glad to hear Joe at least got to choose part of his destiny. I guess that counts as a moral victory. Thanks.

 

Megan Manfull takes Rice; not clear if she will continue doing Texans.

http://blogs.chron.com/owls/2009/03/crash_course_on_rice_athletics.html

 

Megan's one of my best friends. She's very good, and she'll do a great job.

 

I used to work with Steve Campbell, and he is a very talented writer with a great eye and ear for his words, if you know what I mean.

I"m not saying he's the greatest writer who ever lived or anything like that, but having him cover the UH beat is like hiring Rembrandt to paint your kitchen.

 

I worked at the Chron from 1998-2002 and knew mostly all the people let go in Sports. Murph is one hell of a basketball writer and, in my opinion, a real good soul. That may be too deep here on the SportsJournalists.com board ... but it's my truth and on here, hell, let it roll. Feel sad to read of all the blood letting going on at 801 Texas Ave. My heart does go out to all. ...

 

I don't think she's still doing Texans. From what I understand, Brian McTaggart, their backup Astros writer, is now their backup Astros/Texans/Rockets writer. Who needs an offseason, anyway?

 

It's patently obvious to me that Hearst's intention is to get out of the newspaper business, and that the way Hearst intends to do this is to make its product so undesirable that it is doomed to fail.

Oh, and one note: There are no stockholders in the Hearst Corp. It is not a publicly traded company.

 

Blinebury apparently found some quick work already, writing for nba.com:

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/fran_blinebury/03/26/fran.20090326/index.html

 

Fran had already been freelancing for NBA.com for a while now. Curious to see if this becomes a full-time gig.

 

Well, I'm sure he's getting paid more. Pay in this business usually increases along with your workload.

 

Is there a bluer blue font you can use? Not sure the sarcasm was laid on thick enough.