Newspapers

Published September 21, 2021

‘We lost Coach tonight’: Remembering Paul Kreke

September 21, 1996. Twenty-five years. It simultaneously feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago. I was lounging around the house on a Saturday night, having relinquished my job as sports editor of The Quincy Herald-Whig three weeks earlier to assume a new role as the newspaper’s news editor. It was a promotion that meant having nights and weekends off for the first time in nearly 20 years, counting my time as a sportswriter for the Columbia Missourian at Mizzou. So I was hanging out with my kids instead of sitting in a stadium press box somewhere preparing to write about…

Published June 25, 2021

Schuckman one of the best

The hiring process in any business is a lot like standing in a batter’s box: Sometimes you swing and miss, sometimes you manage a double and sometimes you hit it out of the park. Matt Schuckman was a home run twice during my tenure at The Quincy Herald-Whig – first as a part-time sports clerk several weeks shy of his 16th birthday 32 years ago and then as a full-time sportswriter 10 years later. Matt grew from the gullible high school senior who John Potts and I convinced it was imperative that he bring his date to the newsroom on…

Published May 23, 2021

This just in: Overwork can be deadly

A report from NPR last week caught my eye. The World Health Organization reported that working long hours poses an occupational health risk that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year. No kidding. A study published last week showed that people working 55 or more hours each week face an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to people following the widely accepted standard of working 35 to 40 hours in a week. The global study found that in 2016, 488 million people were exposed to the risks…

Published May 18, 2021

A legendary sports columnist retires

Sports columnist Thomas Boswell will be retiring at the end of June after 52 years with the Washington Post. Boswell, 73, is known primarily for his coverage of baseball. He appeared several times in the Ken Burns series Baseball, sharing commentary into the history of America’s pastime. He has authored seven books, including “Why Life Imitates the World Series” and “Why Time Begins on Opening Day.” Both of those books are in my personal library. Wrote Boswell in a farewell column of his decision to finally unplug the laptop: I’ve spent my life having a long, rich conversation with friends…

Category: Newspapers

‘We lost Coach tonight’: Remembering Paul Kreke

Schuckman one of the best

This just in: Overwork can be deadly

A legendary sports columnist retires