Change in Beat Writers for the Courant | The Boneyard

Change in Beat Writers for the Courant

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hardcorehusky

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Looks like there was a shake up in the department and the 4 writers have been shuffled. Des going to High School Sports and Mike Anthony the new Football beat guy.
 

Chin Diesel

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If my memory serves correct, Anthony got away from the men's bball beat because of the time it takes away from family.

Maybe he's ready to get back in to the grind.

None of these guys are getting rich writing sports for the Courant. Their middle class ham and eggers and if the paper gives them the choice to rotate beats without pay decreases, why not do it?

Regardless of the reasoning behind the change, for UConn fans, this is a win. Des was a step above Coursesne (sp?) in his disdain for covering UConn. Anthony, again if my memory is correct, was proactive and looked for interesting stuff above and beyond what fans already knew about the team.
 
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he only person who hates all things UCONN more than Corchesne, is Joe Zone on Channel 3. But for the auto racing fans out there, Corchesne does an amazing job with his outfit covering New England racing, and modified series.
 
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Looks like there was a shake up in the department and the 4 writers have been shuffled. Des going to High School Sports and Mike Anthony the new Football beat guy.

Stratford's Matakevich Drafted By Steelers

>>We close with an announcement from Courant sports editor Jeff Otterbein, who writes: "As the manager of the sports team, I am fortunate to have MVP-type writers who can play multiple positions. So you'll see some new bylines on some of what we cover, but you'll recognize their style. Each of these writers has done many things well for us over the years and now they get new challenges: Paul Doyle will cover the UConn women's basketball team, Desmond Conner the state college scene, Mike Anthony UConn football, and John Altavilla adds minor league baseball and hockey to the Connecticut Sun. These guys can hit it out of the park."<<
 

ShakyTheMohel

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Dez seems like a nice enough guy....but he was surprisingly thin skinned. He didn't seem to get along with RE, was too enamored with PP, and seems somewhat indifferent towards BD.

It's probably a good time for a change. It never felt like Dez had the passion to deliver anything other than standard articles on the team. And it felt like his relationship with UConn fans was strained.

Good luck to Dez. Looking forward to reading Anthony' perspective.
 
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Dez is a good person. And he does know the program. But he never really seemed juiced about or he never thought it was his job to be juiced. And that showed. Best to him on his new assignment.
 
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Looks like there was a shake up in the department and the 4 writers have been shuffled. Des going to High School Sports and Mike Anthony the new Football beat guy.
Looks like Dez is actually going to be covering the state college scene in general. Seems like that may be a better fit since he can show his passion for more than just one school or sport now. ;)
 
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If my memory serves correct, Anthony got away from the men's bball beat because of the time it takes away from family.

Maybe he's ready to get back in to the grind.

None of these guys are getting rich writing sports for the Courant. Their middle class ham and eggers and if the paper gives them the choice to rotate beats without pay decreases, why not do it?

Regardless of the reasoning behind the change, for UConn fans, this is a win. Des was a step above Coursesne (sp?) in his disdain for covering UConn. Anthony, again if my memory is correct, was proactive and looked for interesting stuff above and beyond what fans already knew about the team.
I have talked to Mike a few times at the local sports bar. Nice down to earth guy. I think someone told me he moved to another town so I have not seen him in a couple of years. If I remember correctly at the time he left the basketball beat writing position he was in the process of getting married. I'm sure they are all settled in by now and the football position involves a lot less traveling than basketball.
 
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Dez is a good person. And he does know the program. But he never really seemed juiced about or he never thought it was his job to be juiced. And that showed. Best to him on his new assignment.
I have a very hard time with the good person comment. He pulled the race card when I criticized Warde for not doing a good job scheduling out of conference games on his blog and sent me personal emails as well. Caught me by surprise as he actually came out to tailgate with TheJerk and I before a game 4-5 years ago. It was when he tore is Achilles' tendon so he could have been more thin skinned than normal. There is zero truth to the race criticism that he accused me of and I took great offense to it. I'm sure anyone would. It's a shame because I got along with the guy and haven't spoken to him since email or in person.
 

31GuardTrap

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Dez as a dud was locked in for me on the plane heading down to the Maryland game in 2012. He look sat my buddy and I (proudly displaying our UConn football attire) chatting about the game and what to do before and after and actually says to us in a serious tone...."You guys headed to Maryland for the UConn game?"
Nope....just for the plane ride back and forth.

Here's your sign.
 

HuskyHawk

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Dez as a dud was locked in for me on the plane heading down to the Maryland game in 2012. He look sat my buddy and I (proudly displaying our UConn football attire) chatting about the game and what to do before and after and actually says to us in a serious tone...."You guys headed to Maryland for the UConn game?"
Nope....just for the plane ride back and forth.

Here's your sign.

He doesn't believe the team has any fans. I think that's his base problem.
 

huskypantz

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I can live with typos, but the Syracuse thing was really unfortunate.
It really was the combination of the Cuse bias seeping out from time to time and the nonchalant attitude. I want the beat writer to show a little emotion, make me at least believe you're vested in your job if not the team or university. Dez gave the impression that he was merely along for the ride, an innocent bystander who sometimes rubbernecked but rarely (if ever) stopped at the scene of the accident.
 
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I always enjoyed Anthony's articles when he was covering the men's team. Glad to see him returning and I look forward to his coverage of the team.
 
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Dez was an unmotivated, uninspired journalist with very poor quality work product but really picked up his game last year. I give him credit. Even so, there is no way to hide a lack of passion for the team. I hope he keeps working hard and improving his craft. It makes a difference.
 

mikedog10

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Dez was an unmotivated, uninspired journalist with very poor quality work product but really picked up his game last year. I give him credit. Even so, there is no way to hide a lack of passion for the team. I hope he keeps working hard and improving his craft. It makes a difference.
I'll second that. Besides, I never would have made it through the dark days before I discovered the Boneyard without his blog.
 
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Dez was an unmotivated, uninspired journalist with very poor quality work product but really picked up his game last year. I give him credit. Even so, there is no way to hide a lack of passion for the team. I hope he keeps working hard and improving his craft. It makes a difference.

Uninspired and unmotivated couldn't be farther from the truth. Des tried more things to get UConn football info out there than most every journalist in the state. The live chats with special guests is the biggest example of trying something different.

He did more interviews with assistant coaches than anyone else, as far as I can remember.

His biggest problem, and it's really not a problem outside of this room, was he didn't bleed blue. He was also too sensitive to handle the knuckleheads that frequented his blog and his apparent connection with PP (to much Syracuse in his blood) led to him being a bit more tolerant of PP's failures for sure.

With all that said, Des, as a person, is exceptional in terms of his actions for helping others. We probably should cut him some slack.
 
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