The Return of Leigh Montville

Van Everyman

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Weekly column in the Globe, starting today. Great move, IMO. I don't read SI with any regularity but the odd piece I've caught if his -- in particular, one he wrote during the B's run in '11 -- reminds me what an unbelievable bar the Globe Staff set a generation ago.

Do I detect the hand of Henry?

http://www.bostonglo...tbUN/story.html
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I said that it had been an honor and a flat-out pleasure to work that job for the Globe, to have had my picture at the top of that column. Exit, stage left. I was replaced by a couple of guys named Shaughnessy and Ryan.

Years passed.

I was Shaughnessy before Shaughnessy, I had to explain, the further removed I became from my time at the Globe.

Eyes would harden. Dispositions would become colder.

Except maybe I was a kinder, gentler Shaughnessy, I would add. Hah.
For the guy positioning himself as kinder and gentler, that's a nice little jab.

Overall, a nice column. I reserve full judgement until we see him write about actual topics, but even this appetizer shows the strength as a writer on display. I can think of very few other sportswriters these day saw who could hold my attention that long writing about nothing in particular on the strength of the writing alone.
 

Granite Sox

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Always loved his style.  So happy he's "back".  I'm choosing to interpret this as Montville taking the reins back from Ryan and signaling "This Is How It's Done, Boys and Girls (and Shaughnessy)".
 

Harry Hooper

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I'm reminded of Earl Weaver's explanation for returning to manage a horrible Orioles team in the mid-1980's. He said something like, "There's this big pile of shit, but under that shit is a lot of money."
 

Manramsclan

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Love this piece. 
 
This is a great move by the Globe. Does this mean Shaugnessy is out? If anything this means that his isn't the only voice coming from sports page, and that I welcome.
 
I don't understand "too late" either. The industry has changed so much that all this hopping around by guys actually benefits a paper like the Globe. If they can get some of the band back together, get a couple of fresh new voices I see no reason why it can't be the go to place for Boston sports news again. 
 
Hiring Britton and MacPherson alway from the ProJo would be a good start. I think those guys are great. Not that I particularly care what imprint any of these guys is writing under. I stopped reading the Globe sports page a pretty long time ago. 
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Manramsclan said:
Love this piece. 
 
This is a great move by the Globe. Does this mean Shaugnessy is out? If anything this means that his isn't the only voice coming from sports page, and that I welcome.
 
I don't understand "too late" either. The industry has changed so much that all this hopping around by guys actually benefits a paper like the Globe. If they can get some of the band back together, get a couple of fresh new voices I see no reason why it can't be the go to place for Boston sports news again. 
 
Hiring Britton and MacPherson alway from the ProJo would be a good start. I think those guys are great. Not that I particularly care what imprint any of these guys is writing under. I stopped reading the Globe sports page a pretty long time ago. 
 
It would be awesome if we read John Henry's memoirs in 15 years and he says the only reason he bought the Globe was to get rid of Shaugnessy.
 
I look forward to Dan covering High School volleyball real soon, then doing Obits, and finally working on classifieds
 

WilyVet

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"I am saving to buy a duck boat."
 
As someone who missed the Globe Sports' heyday, I'm intrigued.
 

Fred not Lynn

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It's getting shipped on a truck? What a disappointment, I much prefer a two week off - interstate adventure with the vehicle driven if not by Peavy himself the whole way, by a combo of Peavy and a crazy assortment of characters.
 

Harry Hooper

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Fred not Lynn said:
It's getting shipped on a truck? What a disappointment, I much prefer a two week off - interstate adventure with the vehicle driven if not by Peavy himself the whole way, by a combo of Peavy and a crazy assortment of characters.
 
 
Yeah, MLB Network should have had Millar do it.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Manramsclan said:
 
Hiring Britton and MacPherson alway from the ProJo would be a good start. I think those guys are great. Not that I particularly care what imprint any of these guys is writing under. I stopped reading the Globe sports page a pretty long time ago. 
 
They should hire Melissa Theuriau.
 
 

doldmoose34

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Wow I haven't stalked her in years. And my too late was in reference to the print medium and how to try to build it back, after all the NYT's plan the past few years was as sales per day fell they raise the per copy price to make up for it. I mean I used to buy the globe every day for decades, now I just buy the Sunday and scan Boston.com
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Boston Globe subscription numbers are UP 3% in latest readings, as web subscribers help push total readers up.
 
So as prices have risen, readership has stopped falling off, and adding quality content will only bolster that.  Imagine how many new subscribers (or old ones, returning) will occur when they dump CHB!
 

JimD

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Nov 29, 2001
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Lose Remerswaal said:
 
 
 
Too late for what?  If he can still write it's a great addition to the Globe.
 
It's hard to remember today how the Globe sports page was once the place to go for Boston sports news.  That was a gigantic advantage that could have been a difference-maker as competition grew in the Internet age (think how the Wall Street Journal still dominates financial coverage today) but instead was just completely pissed away.  Short of a massive John Henry buying binge to steal away the best reporters from every other outlet in town, the Globe/Boston.com is just another site (and one with a lousy app that never seems to work right).  It was barely in the top 10 of sites I was visiting daily during the Sox playoff run.      
 

Don Buddin's GS

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JimD said:
 
It's hard to remember today how the Globe sports page was once the place to go for Boston sports news.  That was a gigantic advantage that could have been a difference-maker as competition grew in the Internet age (think how the Wall Street Journal still dominates financial coverage today) but instead was just completely pissed away.  Short of a massive John Henry buying binge to steal away the best reporters from every other outlet in town, the Globe/Boston.com is just another site (and one with a lousy app that never seems to work right).  It was barely in the top 10 of sites I was visiting daily during the Sox playoff run.      
 
As a transplated New Englander living in Michigan, I used to make a weekly trip to Border's Bookstore (when there was such a thing) to read Gammons, Ryan, etc. in the Sunday Boston Globe sports section.  I was perusing it one day when the pastor from my church stopped to say hello and asked me what I was doing.  "Reading the Boston Globe sports section to keep up on things back home."  Why don't you just buy it, he asked.  When I showed him that the paper cost $6.00 he said "I don't blame you."
 
Thank God for the intrawebs!
 

berniecarbo1

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JimD said:
 
It's hard to remember today how the Globe sports page was once the place to go for Boston sports news.  That was a gigantic advantage that could have been a difference-maker as competition grew in the Internet age (think how the Wall Street Journal still dominates financial coverage today) but instead was just completely pissed away.  Short of a massive John Henry buying binge to steal away the best reporters from every other outlet in town, the Globe/Boston.com is just another site (and one with a lousy app that never seems to work right).  It was barely in the top 10 of sites I was visiting daily during the Sox playoff run.      
 
It wasn't just the place for Boston sports, it was the best sports section of any major daily in the country. The notes sections were off the charts as they covered the entire NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB with people like Gammons, Will McDonough, Kevin Paul DuPont and Ryan writing the friggin  notes columns!! All of these guys were regarded as the best or one of the top 3 writers in their respective sports. Add to that columnists like Montville, Ray Fitzgerald and Ernie Roberts (remember "thoughts while shaving")  not to mention on site coverge of things like the America's Cup and the Triple Crown, Bud Collins and tennis...the friggin list goes on. That group helped educate an entire generation of sports fans in Boston. They are the reason that Boston is regarded as one of the most informed, if not the most informed  fan bases in the country.
 
Other papers had a guy or two who could be in the same league as those guys, but the Globe's two deep was to other papers what Bama's two deep is to college football today. If only they could get back to something remotely close to that. I am sure JH has a grand plan to meld the Globe and NESN and Boston.com, etc. It could be a great thing down the road. We'll see.
 

Granite Sox

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berniecarbo1 said:
 
It wasn't just the place for Boston sports, it was the best sports section of any major daily in the country. The notes sections were off the charts as they covered the entire NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB with people like Gammons, Will McDonough, Kevin Paul DuPont and Ryan writing the friggin  notes columns!! All of these guys were regarded as the best or one of the top 3 writers in their respective sports....
 
Other papers had a guy or two who could be in the same league as those guys, but the Globe's two deep was to other papers what Bama's two deep is to college football today. If only they could get back to something remotely close to that. I am sure JH has a grand plan to meld the Globe and NESN and Boston.com, etc. It could be a great thing down the road. We'll see.
 
Your larger point remains, but KPD was the second teamer.  Fran Rosa was far and away the 'A' team...
 
From Rosa's obit:
 
 
In March 1966, the Globe announced his appointment as sports editor for the morning editions. Mr. Rosa and Ernie Roberts, who had just been appointed sports editor for the evening editions, began hiring talented writers who turned the Globe’s sports department into a powerhouse. Mr. Rosa was credited with bringing sports columnist Bob Ryan into the fold.
 
“What a legacy,’’ Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy said of Mr. Rosa. “When the Globe sports department became great, he was a crucial talent evaluator and a big part of it. Hiring Bob Ryan is all you need to know about that.’’
 
I hope Montville is still around, but I must admit I don't think he has re-gained his mojo just yet with the material he has written for the Globe during his return.