PFWA Newsletter VOL. XL, No. 1 Date: Tuesday, February 10 @ 14:08:05 Topic PFWA News Dear PFWA members: I know you’ll join me in thanking Alex Marvez for his service these past two years. His will be big shoes to fill, but I will do my best to build on the things he has started. I am sure I will lean on him a lot. I look forward to serving as your president the next two years and having Mark Gaughan as first-vice president and D. Orlando Ledbetter as second-VP. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer for his two years of service as second-VP. Mark is leaving the sports department. Onto the newsletter … Dear PFWA members: I know you’ll join me in thanking Alex Marvez for his service these past two years. His will be big shoes to fill, but I will do my best to build on the things he has started. I am sure I will lean on him a lot. I look forward to serving as your president the next two years and having Mark Gaughan as first-vice president and D. Orlando Ledbetter as second-VP. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer for his two years of service as second-VP. Mark is leaving the sports department. Onto the newsletter … SUPER BOWL REPORT The pool reports by John Czarnecki and Peter King (with Mike Reiss and Mike Sando capably filling in on Saturday) were extremely well done. Thanks John, Peter, Mike and Mike for taking the time to do that. Several PFWA members praised the emailing of quotes and having the quotes available on nflmedia.com during the week. It cut down on paper -- the housekeepers really liked that -- and allowed those of us who wanted to work out of our hotel rooms not to have to go back to the convention center to check on the quote sheets. The quote sheet distribution postgame might have been the fastest ever. Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star was among those who sent emails to the league office about the great job they did during Super Bowl week: “I just wanted to let you guys know what a great job the PR department did last week at the Super Bowl, from the ease of getting credentials through the post-game interview process and to the waves of quote sheets that were timely and thorough. In fact, the last two years, the performances by the PR folks have matched the quality of the games.” We did get some complaints about the music being piped into the press box after the game before the trophy ceremony began. The NFL is aware of it and has it on its checklist for next year. They also are aware of the security being unaware of where the various postgame areas were, such as the MVP podium. That, too, should be resolved in Miami. For an event this massive, it is hard to be perfect, as Alex said last year, but the NFL comes darn close during Super Bowl week. I mailed letters to Joe Browne, Greg Aiello, Randall Liu and Corry Rush formerly thanking them for the great job they did during the season and at the Super Bowl. GREAT GAME, GREAT TEAMS, GREAT WEEK We got really lucky at this Super Bowl with the two teams that got there. Thanks to the ownership, the coaches and the PR staffs of the Cardinals and the Steelers. These two teams do things as well as anyone in the NFL from an access standpoint. Believe me, I will point out to the other 30 teams about how open these two teams are, and it sure didn’t seem to hurt them on the field. I traded emails with Mark Dalton and Dave Lockett after the game. Both teams allow local beat writers to watch practice in its entirety. The Cardinals make their assistants available just about any time, and the Steelers make their coordinators available every Thursday. The Steelers’ position coaches are available upon request through the PR department. Dave wanted to add this: “You should also give credit to Coach Tomlin who preached to the team that they should embrace the interviews and everything that comes with the Super Bowl experience.” So thank you Coach Tomlin, not only for your cooperation at the Super Bowl but all season! Mark wanted to add this: “The head coach and the quarterback often set the tone, and there may never have been a PR person with a better situation than the one we have in Arizona. They deserve a lot of credit.” THE POLICY HAS TEETH I think sometimes we write off some players, thinking we’re never going to get some of them to talk. This is a story from last season: Arizona reporters could not get Larry Fitzgerald to talk after games. (He would talk during the week.) They first went to Mark Dalton, and when Mark couldn’t convince Larry to talk postgame, they called Alex to inform him they were calling Greg Aiello. Larry was told to talk by the league. That was in 2007. When he went back to his old ways in 2008, the Arizona writers again called Alex and then again called the league. On only the second complaint to the league, Larry Fitzgerald was fined $10,000 for not complying with the NFL’s media policy after games. He did not miss a media session the rest of the season, and as you know, was fantastic at the Super Bowl. There are media requirements, and the league will make sure that requirement is met. But you have to let us know when there is a problem. THANKS TO THE HOST COMMITTEE Thanks to the Tampa Bay Host Committee for the great party they threw the Saturday night before the game. John McClain was instrumental in starting this party five years ago in Houston. It has turned into the real “media” party of the week. This might have been the best Saturday night party we’ve ever had. The view was great; the food was better. For those who didn’t come, you missed it and should plan on attending next year. The PFWA donated $1,000 to the charity of the Host Committee’s choice. It selected Tampa Bay NFL Youth Education Towns (YETs). We also would like to thank Reid Sigmon, the executive director of the host committee, and Amanda Holt, the director of public relations, for the party as well as the great job the host committee did during the week. KUDOS TO THE COMMISSIONER I want to say thank you to Roger Goodell for attending our PFWA meeting in Tampa and to NFL PR chief Greg Aiello for setting it up. This is the third consecutive year the NFL commissioner has attended our meeting, which just punctuates his understanding of what we do -- how we can help him and how he can help us. There were a number of issues discussed, including: *Attempting to get both coordinators to talk every week, during the week, not after games only. *Teams playing games with the injury reports. *Trying to get a weekly release of fines. I already have had a follow-up conversation with Greg about what was discussed in the meeting. Thanks, too, to Dan Rooney for stepping into our meeting. I think this marks the first time an owner ever has attended one of our meetings. SCOUTING COMBINE Get ready for change, because things have changed. As you know, the RCA Dome is gone. In its place is Lucas Field. I have talked to Corry Rush about our new setup. Corry and Jeff Foster, the president of National Football Scouting, are doing everything they can to make it as good as the RCA Dome/convention center was for us. They are on board to serve, so please be patient as this is the first year in our new setup. We will be set up in the East Club area, marking the first time we’ve ever been located inside of the stadium. Corry said there is plenty of room. It is a similar to the setup at the RCA Dome, but there will be three podiums this year instead of two. Radio Row is outside our Club area. “The facility is good; it is definitely an upgrade,” Corry reports. There will not be fans or cheerleaders anywhere close to us this year. Last year, 300 players, 19 head coaches and 14 GMs were brought into the room for formal interviews. Corry is working on confirming this year’s podium schedule times for head coaches and personnel executives. As most of you have heard, there is more than one entrance for the coaches to enter. I know a lot of you come to get your coaches, including assistant coaches. One of the entrances leads by our area. Another does not. Corry says 60 PFWA members will be allowed to watch the quarterbacks and wide receivers skill sessions in Lucas Oil Stadium, the same numbers as last year. COWBOYS’ NEW STADIUM I toured the Cowboys’ new stadium Friday. Yes, it is big. Huge. The concourse is a quarter of a mile around. That’s not good news for us as the locker rooms are located at midfield on opposite sides. It seems like it will be difficult to get to both teams’ locker rooms after a game. The visitor’s locker room is actually closer to the press box than the Cowboys’ is. We did not get up to the press box, but Jack Hill, the stadium construction manager, pointed out where it is. It is about the same location along the field/end zone as the press box in Tampa, but it appears slightly higher in the stadium. The Cowboys’ postgame interview area is huge. Fans in the club level can look in on the press conference behind double-plated glass, so that should be interesting. There is a Courtyard Marriott within a short walk of the stadium. The Airport Marriott South is a short drive to the stadium. THANKS David Elfin of the Washington Times sent along his praise to Scott Berchtold and the Bills’ staff for setting up conference calls with Marv Levy and Jim Kelly and then agreeing to move them from Inauguration Day to the following day. “Further kudos to Scott for getting Hall of Fame finalist Bruce Smith as well as his former teammates, Darryl Talley and Steve Tasker, to call me,” Elfin said. Lee Rasizer of the Rocky Mountain News emailed his thanks to Broncos PR man Dave Gaylinn. “My paper didn't send us to the Pro Bowl, but from the AFC locker room, Dave got Brandon Marshall on the phone for a game story,” Lee wrote. SCHOLARSHIP AWARD Clark Judge announced the winner of our annual scholarship. This year's winner was Danny Daly, son of Dan Daly of the Washington Times. Danny is a freshman at Northwestern University and was a top student and co-sports editor at his high school newspaper, where he originated the idea of a pullout section for each of the paper's seven issues. For the first time in the paper's history it was awarded a gold-medal certificate by Columbia University, with the sports section getting a perfect 50-out-of-50 rating. "Much of the credit," said one of his teachers, "goes to Danny Daly." As has been the case lately, Daly won over several other qualified candidates. The field hasn't grown longer as the years have gone on, but it has gotten better. The scholarship is $1,500 each year for the winner, and we now have paid $124,500 since the scholarship began in 1987. We would like to thank Clark and our judges for the great job they do every year. 2009 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 20. To optimize exposure for our awards, winners will be announced on the morning of the draft. The awards are as followed: *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: 2003: Herm Edwards, New York Jets 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 *The Good Guy is for the player who best helped the media do its job. The four 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 *The Rozelle is for the PR staff that best helped the media do its job. The Seattle Seahawks are ineligible because they won last year. The past six winners: 2003: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2004: Houston Texans 2005: Philadelphia Eagles 2006: Cincinnati Bengals 2007: Houston Texans 2008: Seattle Seahawks *The Halas is for the individual in the NFL who overcame the most adversity to succeed last season. The past six winners: 2003: Robert Edwards, Miami Dolphins 2004: Sam Mills, Carolina Panthers 2005: Mark Fields, Carolina Panthers 2006: Tony Dungy, Indianapolis 2007: Drew Brees, New Orleans 2008: Kevin Everett, Buffalo *And the McCann goes to o¬ne of our members for long and distinguished service to the profession. The past six winners: 2003: Joel Buchsbaum, Pro Football Weekly 2004: Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News 2005: Jerry Green, Detroit News 2006: John McClain, Houston Chronicle 2007: John Clayton, ESPN 2008: Len Pasquarelli, ESPN The award representatives below are taking nominations ASAP via email: Horrigan: Bob Glauber (bobglauber18@gmail.com) Good Guy: Jeff Legwold (legwoldj@rockymountainnews.com) Rozelle: John McClain (john.mcclain@chron.com) Halas: Mark Gaughan (gggaughan@hotmail.com) McCann: Tim Graham (timgraham4@gmail.com) DICK CONNOR WRITING AWARDS Congratulations to all the winners. First-place winners receive $50, and everyone receives a certificate. My husband’s high school athletic secretary, Terri Duncan, does our certificates on her own time for next to nothing, so thanks to her for that. GAMES 1. Sean Jensen, St. Paul Pioneer Press 2. Sean Jensen, St. Paul Pioneer Press 3. Greg Bishop, N.Y. Times NEWS 1. Vito Stellino, Florida Times-Union 2. Paul Woody, Richmond Times-Dispatch 3. David Weinberg, Atlantic City Press FEATURES 1. Shalise Manza Young, Providence Journal 2. Sean Jensen, St. Paul Pioneer Press 3. Ralph Vacchiano, N.Y. Daily News Mark Curnutte, Cincinnati Enquirer COLUMNS 1. Bob Glauber, Newsday 2. Paul Woody, Richmond Times-Dispatch 3. Seth Wickersham, Espn.com ENTERPRISE 1. Randy Covitz, Kansas City Star Matt Crossman, The Sporting News 2. Bob McGinn, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 3. Mark Curnutte, Cincinnati Enquirer PFWA RELIEF FUND UPDATE Just a reminder that we are accepting donations to our newly established 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. THIS AND THAT The Browns laid off 18 employees last month, including director of media information Ken Mather and clevelandbrowns.com writer Steve King. … The 49ers laid off their Web writer, Chrissy Mauck. … The Colts laid off their Web writer, John Oehser. … Jason Jenkins, the director of public relations operations for the 49ers, has left his position. … Congratulations to Megan Manfull, who covers the Texans for the Houston Chronicle, and Jesus Ortiz, who covers the Astros for the Chronicle, on the birth of their third daughter. Sydney Irene Ortiz joins Kathleen and Maya. Sydney was born Jan. 22 at 6:25 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. … Condolences to the family of Warner Hessler. Hessler, 66, died in November after a battle with cancer. He covered 26 Super Bowls in his career. Hessler covered the Bills in the 1970s and the Redskins for about 20 years for the Newport News Daily Press before retiring after the 2003 season. … Condolences also to the Seahawks on the death of their Web reporter, Mike Kahn, following a battle with lung cancer. Mike was a former Colts beat reporter. He covered the NBA for years and was the executive editor of CBS SportsLine from its mid-1990s inception until several years ago. Charean Williams, PFWA President This article comes from Pro Football Writers Of America http://www.pfwa.org/members/ The URL for this story is: http://www.pfwa.org/members/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=83