What constitutes a "helluva sports editor?"

[disgruntledgrunt]

True, but venting was theraputic.

 

[Moderator1]

True, but venting was theraputic.

I hear you.

 

[SF_Express]

My second sports editor was literally hired from from where he worked as an assistant manager at a grocery store. Somehow, he had worked at the paper as a clerk at some point and had a friend there. Whatever.

He was a decent human being. And that was it.

And I have no lack of ego in saying this: The hard thing for several of us on the staff was that we were all about 10 times more talented and insightful than the guy in charge. And that guy would do something like -- aw, hell, he did it to me: He sent me down to Miami to cover the Steelers-Cowboys (Jackie Smith) Super Bowl run-up. And then he parachuted in on game day to do the game story, which was simply awful.

He eventually left the business, which is as it should have been.

 

[mike311gd]

I have no idea.
But I've only had TWELVE in my THIRTY-NINE-year career.
I will say that a couple of the assistant sports editors were terrific and better than the SE we worked under.

I've had six in almost four years.

 

[Birdscribe]

And I have no lack of ego in saying this: The hard thing for several of us on the staff was that we were all about 10 times more talented and insightful than the guy in charge. And that guy would do something like -- aw, hell, he did it to me: He sent me down to Miami to cover the Steelers-Cowboys (Jackie Smith) Super Bowl run-up. And then he parachuted in on game day to do the game story, which was simply awful.

He eventually left the business, which is as it should have been.

The guy I worked for in New Mexico was just like this. Lied to get me out there, threw me to the wolves when I did get out there in terms of dumping as much work on me as he could... then -- since he had been promoted to ME, but still liked writing sports -- would parachute in and cherry-pick stories. Especially if he needed a trip to Albuquerque.

Or he'd give them to one of the news reporters -- since I was a one-person department -- and make me design and edit five pages for the Sunday paper. He did this, knowing that design work was my weakness and that I could write circles around anyone -- including him -- on the staff.

Aside from lying his ass off to get me out there, the most classless thing he did -- and given his track record, this was a pretty big matzah ball to bite off -- was to "forget" to submit my entries to the Panhandle Press Assn. writing contest.

Not surprisingly, he won one of the awards in a category I would have buried him in if my stories had been submitted.

Needless to say, when it comes to describing "a helluva sports editor," this guy laps liberally from Fenian's Lake O' Fail.

 

[SF_Express]

Aside from lying his ass off to get me out there, the most classless thing he did -- and given his track record, this was a pretty big matzah ball to bite off -- was to "forget" to submit my entries to the Panhandle Press Assn. writing contest.

Man, is that low.

The aforementioned guy helped get us all entered in the Florida contest, at least -- but couldn't understand why he never beat the people who worked for him.

 

[Ace]

Worse. While I don't much care for him, I - and everyone else on staff - don't respect him, either personally or professionally.
This isn't a podunk daily, this is a 100,000+ paper.
I might not like you, but if I respect you, I can live with that.
This guy does nothing for his staff to earn their respect.
As I said, an empty suit.

If he wears a suit, he's ahead of 99 percent of other sports editors, though.

 

[Tom Petty]

Most SEs want to hire someone who they can just let do their thing and I hardly blame them for that. The ones like Fannin and Burke and Hoppes work with the writers to make them better. That's what separates the good SEs from the great ones.

so, mizzou, are you saying a good sports editor is someone who can spot coachable talent?

 

[GeorgeScott]

Top 15 in the past 20 years, in no particular order:

Fannin; Fred Turner; Mike Sherman in Oklahoma; Greg Brownell in NY; Greg Swartz in SF; Glen Crevier in Minneapolis; Emilio In D.C.; Jeff Otterbein in Hartford; Chet Fussman in Jacksonville; Joe Sullivan in Boston; Anger; Jerry Micco in Pittsburgh; Van McKenzie; Pat McLoone in Philly and Chris D'Amico in Newak.

 

[SF_Express]

Top 15 in the past 20 years, in no particular order:

Fannin; Fred Turner; Mike Sherman in Oklahoma; Greg Brownell in NY; Greg Swartz in SF; Glen Crevier in Minneapolis; Emilio In D.C.; Jeff Otterbein in Hartford; Chet Fussman in Jacksonville; Joe Sullivan in Boston; Anger; Jerry Micco in Pittsburgh; Van McKenzie; Pat McLoone in Philly and Chris D'Amico in Newak.

Great list; I personally think Dwyre belongs somewhere in there and, of course, Doria and Dave Smith were active in newspapers in that time as well.

 

[GeorgeScott]

Can't disagree w/ you, SF; Dwyre big-timed me a few times so I guess I hold a grudge; and I think Doria and Smith were both historic figures, but Doria has been out of papers for most of the past 20 years. That was my thinking. Smith? No question.

 

[shotglass]

Pizza for the department.

That's my kinda sports editor.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

I'd add Burke, John Rawlings (just under the 20-year bar), Henry Freeman, Jim Colonna, Dave Robinson and Phil Laciura while the Detroit papers slugged it out pre-JOA, Jay Searcy, Pete Wevurski, Ken Tingley, Tom Patterson, Tim Ellerbee (especially for Anderson, SC).

 

[buckweaver]

Dwyre big-timed me a few times so I guess I hold a grudge

Funny how these things work. Only occasion I've spent much time around Dwyre, he couldn't have been more gracious. He had a whole room of people to talk to afterward, and my girlfriend and I couldn't push him away if we tried. He asked all about us and our careers in journalism, and we talked shop for 15 minutes. His wife had to finally come over and pull him away from us because she had an appointment to get to. He apologized for ending our conversation so suddenly. Just an incredibly pleasant experience.

 

[slappy4428]

I'd add Burke, John Rawlings (just under the 20-year bar), Henry Freeman, Jim Colonna, Dave Robinson and Phil Laciura while the Detroit papers slugged it out pre-JOA, Jay Searcy, Pete Wevurski, Ken Tingley, Tom Patterson, Tim Ellerbee (especially for Anderson, SC).

Dave Robinson once told me that I was one of the top two for a job, but didn't get it because they "opted for minority hiring."
I always regretted not taping that phone call.

Robinson/Slappy=Zimanek/Hoops McCann

 

[get_me_rewrite]

George's List is excellent.

As for Frank's, I don't know dave robinson. Where was he? Frank's list is good. Really like the inclusion of Tom Patterson. great guy.

 

[Fran Curci]

Dave Robinson was very good as Free Press sports editor from mid-80s to early 1990s, and then was an AME or DME and later, of course, took a buyout. I think he was part of the Miami Herald stable of editors before that.

 

[Joe Williams]

Top 15 in the past 20 years, in no particular order:

Fannin; Fred Turner; Mike Sherman in Oklahoma; Greg Brownell in NY; Greg Swartz in SF; Glen Crevier in Minneapolis; Emilio In D.C.; Jeff Otterbein in Hartford; Chet Fussman in Jacksonville; Joe Sullivan in Boston; Anger; Jerry Micco in Pittsburgh; Van McKenzie; Pat McLoone in Philly and Chris D'Amico in Newak.

Great list; I personally think Dwyre belongs somewhere in there and, of course, Doria and Dave Smith were active in newspapers in that time as well.

I'd throw out five from your first list, stick in two of SF's and still want five of my own nominating in that list of "15."

This sort of thing is impossible, unless a bunch of us have worked for the same bunch of them.

Wonder what the record is here, for most SEs worked with/for/under so far in a career. Anyone? Anyone? I've had 10, a meager number I'm sure.

 

[JakeandElwood]

I've had two and I've been in the business for less than eight months.

 

[spnited]

What both of them do, also, is they not only respect their editors on the desk, but they respect their beat people, and don't micromanage. They also will go to war for their staff. Or at least they did.

That, to me, is what being an SE is all about. Bring in good people, trust your people, let them do their jobs, and push them to do their jobs better.

And, when it's needed, go to war for your people.

That about sums it up.


Except ... no respectable sports editor would let a writer get away with "helluva." Is it really so hard to use the English language and write hell of a ...?