Dear PFWA members:
It is hard to believe another season has come and gone, but it has. Congrats to the Saints for winning their first championship and to the Colts for winning the AFC. It was a nice week with you guys.
Now, it’s onto the combine, the owners’ meetings and the draft … and then finally the offseason. I am in Vancouver for the Olympics and have left the combine in the capable hands of Mark Gaughan, our first VP, and John McClain, our PFWA commissioner. I officially would like to thank John for all of his hard work at the combine annually on behalf of the PFWA. He has done what he does for too many years to remember now, all for the low, low salary of nothing with an occasional pat on the back...
VOL. XLI, No. 2 February 17, 2010
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear PFWA members:
It is hard to believe another season has come and gone, but it has. Congrats to the Saints for winning their first championship and to the Colts for winning the AFC. It was a nice week with you guys.
Now, it’s onto the combine, the owners’ meetings and the draft … and then finally the offseason. I am in Vancouver for the Olympics and have left the combine in the capable hands of Mark Gaughan, our first VP, and John McClain, our PFWA commissioner. I officially would like to thank John for all of his hard work at the combine annually on behalf of the PFWA. He has done what he does for too many years to remember now, all for the low, low salary of nothing with an occasional pat on the back.
I also would like to thank our officers Mark, Darryl Ledbetter, Mike Sando and Howard Balzer for all their help this season. For those of you who don’t know, Darryl is an attorney. (There is a joke in there somewhere I am sure.) His knowledge has been invaluable this season. He also paid his own way to Miami to attend our PFWA meeting and our Saturday night party.
SUPER BOWL REPORT
The pool reports by John Czarnecki and Peter King (and Ashley Fox and Charles Robinson capably filling in on Saturday when John and Peter were in the Hall of Fame meeting) were extremely well done. Thanks, John, Peter, Ashley and Charles for taking time to fill a valuable service for our organization.
The team PR folks who volunteer during Super Bowl week did a great job. At the risk of forgetting someone, I specifically would like to thank Bob Hagan, Tom West, Scott Berchtold, Mark Dalton, Charlie Dayton, Neal Gulkis, Jim Saccomano, Jeff Blumb, Sarah Quick, Jancy Briles, Peter John-Baptiste, Bob Lange, Ted Crews and Zack Bolno. Everything ran smoothly from what I heard. We had minimal complaints. For an event this massive, it’s hard to be perfect, but they are darn near close to perfect. I have reserved a special shout out to Harvey Greene and his staff, including Fudge Browne. They are Super Bowl veterans and left no stone unturned in trying to make it the best Super Bowl ever. Special thanks also to Randall Liu and Corry Rush.
Mark Gaughan had these words of praise: “The set-up for media in the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center was excellent. The extensive number of broadband cables in the media center was much appreciated. The set-up in Sun Life Stadium is problematic given the limited press box seating. There was a problem in the auxiliary press box. The tech workers did not or could not string the broadband cables in parts of two rows. The NFL boosted its wireless capacity for the game, but the wireless still was a bit spotty due to the number of people "flooding the wireless pipeline." The wireless reception in the media workroom was excellent. Bottom line: the broadband cables at each seat in the press box area are very important. Lastly, the NFL did a good job shooing players into the post-game interview tent. Colts players came in within 12 minutes of the end of the game.”
TREASURER’S REPORT
We're off to a good start in 2010 thanks in part to our strong membership push in January. The PFWA entered Super Bowl week with about $24,000 in checking, $10,600 in an automatically renewing CD and $1,300 in our relief fund. We donated $1,000 to charity through the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee following the PFWA dinner. We have set aside another $6,000 to pay annual PFWA scholarships. A big thanks to those who have renewed.
For those that have not yet paid $50 annual dues, you can do so by visiting pfwa.org, clicking on the payment link and using access2007 for the password. Tip: The payment site requires Internet Explorer.
Membership chairman Sean Jensen reported that we are working on the Marriott VIP cards. Marriott has informed us that they are in the process of evaluating the program.
THANKS TO THE HOST COMMITTEE
I heard much praise about the Saturday night party. It was not as well attended as past parties, unfortunately, because of the timing of the Hall of Fame announcement. But it might have been the best, with great food and better company. It was a nice way to wind down the week. John McClain was instrumental in starting this party six years ago in Houston, because of concerns with getting dinner reservations the night before the Super Bowl. It has become the only real “media” party of the week.
Harvey Greene, along with the South Florida folks, including host committee president Mike Zimmer, director of communications David Silverstein and events manager Nikki Fiedler, coordinated and hosted the dinner, which included raw oysters, crab legs and sea bass. So thanks to them for everything during the week, including the dinner. As I told them, it was obvious to me why the Super Bowl keeps returning to South Florida every few years. They are old pros and know how to do a Super Bowl right.
The PFWA donated $1,000 to the charity of the Host Committee’s choice. It selected the families of the Super Celebrity Fishing Classic. During Super Bowl week, the Host Committee honored the NFL players lost off the coast of Florida in a boating accident last year. The money will go to the charity or foundation of the family’s choice.
KUDOS TO THE COMMISSIONER
We again had the honor and privilege of hosting Commissioner Roger Goodell at our PFWA meeting in Fort Lauderdale. Thanks to Greg Aiello for setting it up. This is the fourth consecutive year that Commissioner Goodell has attended our meeting, which again illustrates his understanding of the job we do. There were a number of issues discussed, including:
*Attempting to get specific guidelines written into the rules for assistant coaches other than coordinators. As it stands now, we are to have “reasonable” access to assistant coaches. At least seven teams have read “reasonable” to mean “never.” What I am going to propose is that they are required -- at a minimum -- to talk once during the offseason at either an OTA or a minicamp, once during training camp, once every four games for a total of four times during the season as well as every week their team is in the postseason. We also would like wording in the rules that prevents teams from dictating what can be asked. At least one team sets guidelines about what can’t be discussed, and it’s a long list.
*Allowing blogging and tweeting at training camp practices open to the public.
2011 SUPER BOWL
Tony Fay, the communications director for the North Texas Host Committee, updated us on plans for the 2011 Super Bowl. The media will stay at a Sheraton in downtown Dallas. It is attached to the Dallas Convention Center, providing easy access to the media center. The NFC team will be in Irving and the AFC team in Fort Worth.
SCOUTING COMBINE
The media workroom will be located in the East Club Lounge at Lucas Oil Stadium, the same as last year.
Player groups will be available for interviews on the following days:
*Thursday, Feb. 25 -- Offensive linemen, kickers, punters, long snappers, tight ends
*Friday, Feb. 26 -- Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers
*Saturday, Feb. 27 -- Defensive linemen, linebackers
*Sunday, Feb. 28 -- Defensive backs
The combine has become a major event on the NFL calendar and receives extensive media coverage. The NFL expects to credential about 400 media members this year, according to Corry Rush. Media covering the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine for any or all of its four days must apply for credentials at NFLmedia.com. In the left column of the site’s homepage, click on “Event Credentials.” on the next page, click on “2010 NFL Scouting Combine.” The deadline to submit credential applications is Wednesday, Feb. 17. Please submit your application ASAP if you haven’t already.
Credentials can be picked up at Lucas Oil Stadium, just inside the “Combine Media Entrance” at the East Gate located off Capitol Ave. Hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. beginning Thursday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 28. CREDENTIALS WILL NOT BE DISTRIBUTED AFTER 10 A.M. EACH DAY.
Last year, 250 players, 24 head coaches and 15 football executives were brought into the room for formal interviews. Corry Rush and Randall Liu are working on confirming this year’s podium schedule times for head coaches and personnel executives.
The official player invite list is posted on nflcombine.net.
The NFL is allowing 60 PFWA members into the workouts Sunday, Feb. 28, to watch the quarterbacks and receivers skill sessions in Lucas Oil Stadium, the same numbers as last year. Email Mark Gaughan if you are interested.
2010 PFWA AWARDS
It’s time to submit nominees for our annual awards. Nominations are due ASAP, please. Immediately thereafter, we will open voting and send an email with the five nominees in each category. Voting will close April 18. To optimize exposure for our awards, winners will be announced on the morning of the draft.
The awards are as follows:
*The Horrigan is for the person (not a player or team PR staffer) who helped the media best do its job last season.
The past six winners:
2004: Ozzie Newsome, Baltimore Ravens
2005: Rich McKay, Atlanta Falcons
2006: Floyd Reese, Tennessee Titans
2007: Steve Alic, NFL media relations department
2008: Mike Holmgren, Seattle Seahawks
2009: Dan Rooney, Pittsburgh Steelers
*The Good Guy is for the player who best helped the media do its job.
The five previous winners:
2005: Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers
2006: Tiki Barber, New York Giants
2007: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
2008: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
2009: Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
*The Rozelle is for the PR staff that best helped the media do its job. The Arizona Cardinals are ineligible because they won last year.
The past six winners:
2004: Houston Texans
2005: Philadelphia Eagles
2006: Cincinnati Bengals
2007: Houston Texans
2008: Seattle Seahawks
2009: Arizona Cardinals
*The Halas is for the individual in the NFL who overcame the most adversity to succeed last season.
The past six winners:
2004: Sam Mills, Carolina Panthers
2005: Mark Fields, Carolina Panthers
2006: Tony Dungy, Indianapolis Colts
2007: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
2008: Kevin Everett, Buffalo Bills
2009: Matt Bryant, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
*And the McCann goes to one of our members for long and distinguished service to the profession.
The past six winners:
2004: Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News
2005: Jerry Green, Detroit News
2006: John McClain, Houston Chronicle
2007: John Clayton, ESPN
2008: Len Pasquarelli, ESPN
2009: Peter King, Sports Illustrated/NBC
The award representatives below are taking nominations ASAP via email:
Horrigan: Bob Glauber (bobglauber18@gmail.com)
Good Guy: Jeff Legwold (jlegwold@denverpost.com)
Rozelle: John McClain (john.mcclain@chron.com)
Halas: Mark Gaughan (gggaughan@hotmail.com)
McCann: Tim Graham (timgraham4@gmail.com)
DICK CONNOR WRITING AWARDS
Here are the winners of the writing contest. All will receive certificates, with first-place winners receiving $50. Start gathering stories now for the next contest, which will cover the period from post-Super Bowl 2009 through this past Super Bowl.
GAME STORIES
1. Dave Weinberg, Press of Atlantic City: Birds go from bad to worse/Reid benches McNabb, but Kolb also flops in lopsided loss/36-7
2. Jarrett Bell, USA Today: Winning factor for Steelers? Poise
3. Bob McGinn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hopes snatched away/Late-game collapse crushing (for Packers)
NEWS
1. Greg Bedard, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Devastated town begins healing with field
2. Jarrett Bell, USA Today: What’s next for NFLPA/Sticking to Upshaw’s plan
3. Tie
Dennis Waszak, Associated Press: Jets’ fade costs Mangini his job
Dave Weinberg, Press of Atlantic City: Eagles coach Johnson has cancerous spine tumor
COLUMNS
1. Tom Danyluk, Pro Football Weekly: Nothing artistic about Raiders’ Week Nine debacle
2. Howard Balzer, Gridiron Gateway: Sunday Will Never Be the Same (Rams let Isaac Bruce leave)
3. Jim Corbett, USA Today: Ravens’ ailing Brigance inspiring team’s run
FEATURES
1. Dennis Waszak, Associated Press: Jets lineman an inspiration to epileptics
2. Kerry Byrne, Cold, Hard Football Facts: A brief, fact-filled history of the NFL passing game
3. Matt Crossman, The Sporting News: The amazing story behind Antonio Cromartie
ENTERPRISE
1. Kerry Byrne, Cold, Hard Football Facts: Epic all-time franchise rankings
2. Curtis Eichelberger, Bloomberg News: Everett Walks From Broken Neck Saved by Hypothermia Treatment
3. Tie
Kerry Byrne, Cold, Hard Football Facts: Upshaw, reconsidered
Randy Covitz, Kansas City Star: The Man in Black
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
The winner of this year’s scholarship is Andrea Glauber, the daughter of Bob Glauber and a freshman at the University of Maryland. She was an A-student in high school and will pursue an English degree at Maryland, with the possibility of a double major in journalism. She also plans to join the school's newspaper and study in England her junior year. Andrea already is a member of the global communities program, a two-year living and learning curriculum that brings together students from various countries to form an international community and study international relations. Andrea beat out runner-up Donald Hunt of Philadelphia, who was qualified but had the misfortune of encountering a formidable competitor. Scholarships are awarded annually to sons or daughters of PFWA members, with eligible candidates in their last year of high school and preparing for their first year of college. Applications are available from Clark Judge (cjudge@nyc.rr.com). Thanks to Clark and his committee for all the work they do.
PRAISE WORTHY
The Vikings did an incredible job with the quote sheets during the divisional playoff game against the Cowboys. They typed up -- word for word -- everything uttered at both podiums, including both coaches and both quarterbacks. Great job Bob Hagan and staff. … Elwyn Henderson of The Gilmer (TX) Mirror also sent along praise to the Vikings, saying they went “above and beyond the call of duty” before that divisional game. Elwyn got to the stadium early and found that his press pass wasn’t at media will call. Vikings PR assistant Evan Koch escorted Elwyn to his seat and delivered his pass, preventing Elwyn from standing out in the cold. … Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News sent along praise to Scott Berchtold, Chris Jenkins and the rest of the Bills’ media relations staff: “On the day Chan Gailey was introduced as head coach, they provided quotes from Bill Cowher, Dan Reeves and Jerome Bettis. They also got players (Lee Evans, Marcus Stroud and Geoff Hangartner) on the speaker phone, so we could get their reaction to the hiring. They also quickly transcribed everyone’s quotes, including Gailey and GM Buddy Nix. The Bills generally do a good job of helping out the local media, but they went above and beyond the call of duty on this one. The quotes and conference calls saved us from having to track down people for their comments, which would have cut into our writing time. A big thanks to them.” It’s nice when PR staffs get praise, but it’s special when their own beat writers are the ones giving the praise. Hats off to the Bills.
THIS AND THAT
ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas was instrumental in renaming the Panthers’ Good Guy award to The Tom Berry Good Guy Award after Tom’s death last year. The award went to Carolina fullback Brad Hoover, with Pat presenting Brad the award after the final regular-season game. Pat said, “Many thanks to Charlie Dayton and the Carolina staff for helping put together the presentation of the inaugural Tom Berry Good Guy Award by the Carolina chapter of the PFWA. The award is named after Tom Berry, the long-time columnist and Panthers writer for the High Point (N.C.) Enterprise. Berry covered the team from its inception to his death just before the start of the season and truly was a good guy. The award was voted on by members of the media who cover the team on a regular basis and is meant to honor the player who is most helpful in allowing the media to do its job. Hoover has always excelled in that area, but his winning the award carried even deeper meaning. Hoover grew up near High Point, and Tom covered him throughout high school, college and his professional career. Local television stations and newspapers were nice enough to cover the presentation, and it got good play throughout the media. Hoover was nice enough to deliver a few very kind words about Tom as he received the award. Charlie Dayton and the Carolina PR department went out of their way to help make this whole event a tremendous success.”
Chris Harry, formerly of the Orlando Sentinel, now is a senior NFL writer with AOL. He also will do takeouts. Congrats, Chris! … Brian Allee-Walsh of NewOrleans.com/Sports received the prestigious Bob Roesler Award for excellence in media coverage of football, primarily for his work in covering the New Orleans Saints, by the Touchdown Club of New Orleans. Allee-Walsh was chosen from an extensive list of nominees. Allee-Walsh spent 32 years with the Times-Picayune, including the last 23 covering the New Orleans Saints and NFL. Allee-Walsh said he was humbled by the honor. … The Cincinnati Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America has named cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall the Bengals 2009 Most Valuable Players while quarterback Carson Palmer has been named the recipient of the organization’s “Good Guy” award. The voters are the beat writers who cover the team on a daily basis. Hall and Joseph established themselves as one of the top cornerback tandems in the league. Each had six interceptions this season, a career high for both. Hall led the team with 27 passes defensed and Joseph had 25. While the voters also considered Cedric Benson’s season in which he ran for 1,251 yards and set a team record with six 100-yard games, they felt that in a season in which the defense was at the forefront that a defensive player should be the MVP. It is the first time that a defensive player has been selected, and the first time there have been co-MVPs. Palmer received the organization’s “Good Guy” award for his continual access to the media throughout the season whether he is playing or injured. Hall, Joseph and Palmer will receive their awards on the first day of offseason conditioning workouts in late March.
PFWA RELIEF FUND UPDATE
Just a reminder that we are accepting donations to our emergency relief fund. Please make checks payable to the PFWA and send them to Mike Sando at 16908 13th Ave. CT E, Spanaway, WA 98387. His email is mikejsando@gmail.com. As you probably know, Brian Allee-Walsh of the New Orleans Times-Picayune was instrumental in starting this fund for us last fall. It is designed to help members affected by natural disasters.
Regards,
Charean Williams, PFWA President
