Rod Frisco goes out on own terms

The king of prep writers (especially in football and wrestling) in Pennsylvania takes a buyout. A class act. Yet another blow to the business.

From the Pennlive.com high school football message board:

I have accepted a buyout offer from The Patriot-News; my last day as a full-time reporter will be Dec. 31.
I appreciate your kind words, and I'll just say two brief things.

(1) The decision to take the buyout at this stage, well before I am financially prepared for retirement, is very personal and somewhat complicated. But it has nothing to do with The Patriot itself. The Patriot-News is a first-rate employer and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work there the last 25 years.

(2) Do not worry about the quality of the people who will be handling football, wrestling and track at The Patriot-News. Our other staffers do an outstanding job, have excellent knowledge and will do a first-rate job of covering scholastic sports.

I will still have a hand in the wrestling coverage during the transition; Jeremy Elliott will be the new wrestling beat reporter. He will be up to speed quickly and do a fine job. The one casualty this year might be the District 3 rankings, but we're not certain about that yet.

Folks, it has been an absolute pleasure serving the readers of The Patriot-News for the past 25 years. I have been extremely fortunate to have the readership the Patriot-News (and now pennlive) has provided. Thank you.

And I won't be very far away. As noted, I'll still be doing some wrestling coverage, especially the post-season tournaments, this season.

Again, folks, thanks for everything.

rod

 

I don't know "Rod Frisco" (and I assume that's a porn name), but it's nice to see someone leave without bitterness.

I hope this transition works out well for him.

 

Frisco is one of the best people I've worked with in this business.

It's our loss.

 

Ditto, as far as I'm concerned. Another great one out. Really depressing.

 

Good for him to leave on his own terms. Never read the guy's work or met him, but by the sounds of it, the industry lost a great journalist, and that's never a good thing.

 

Rod Frisco's knowledge of high school wrestling in Pennsylvania (where high school wrestling is king) was mind-blowing. You could spit out any name from the past 25 years and he could tell you all about them. He really was the go-to guy for Pennsylvania wrestling.

Rod is not the only one to leave the Patriot in the last couple years. They are just yet another paper that has seen its staff dwindle.

 

Rod is one of the best in the state, no question. Underrated is his coverage of track and field too. Obviously football and wrestling were his bread and butter. There are rumblings another member of the staff is also on the way out due to taking a buyout as well.

 

Rod is definitely good people. Had pleasant run-ins with him during my 10 years now in Pa. Sad to see him go, but happy to see him go on his terms. Some big shoes to fill in Harrisburg.

 

Tom Duncanville and Chris Plano are getting mighty nervous.