Sports Writer, Harrisonburg, Va.

Heard this was filled by a college stud from in-state.

 

Fucking stud or just a stud?

 

Get his or her ass in there so he/she can cover the Bridgewater/VMI ping-pong match of a basketball game later this week. I'm expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of a 175-130 game.

 

Is VMI angling for a spot in the ODAC or something? A regular season game against Bridgewater and exhibitions against Washington & Lee and Emory & Henry, which runs a VMI-style offense of its own (VMI won that one 152-118). To say nothing of regular season games against Lees-McRae, Southern Virginia and Virginia Intercoursemont.

What, was Eastern Mennonite booked?

 

I suggest that Duton cater the post-game dessert table.

 

Not sure, but if true, I know the kid and think he'll do a good job. Not IDing him because I don't want to overstep my place, but he strung for one of my old papers and his stuff was pretty good there. They wanted to bring him on full-time, but then Harrisonburg came calling.

 

Mystery Meat is correct, we did hire a college kid who's not only in-state but in-town. Matt Stoss is currently the editor in chief at the Breeze, JMU's student paper, and he'll work part time with us until his editorship is finished around March. Or maybe it's until he graduates. I can't remember. One way or another, he will eventually fill this position full-time. He's been stringing with us for a while, and even though he isn't finished with school yet, we didn't want to let a good writer get away.

 

That's the info I had, but I didn't want to let the kitty out of the bag prematurely (sup BYH). He's a good guy whose dad, a TV reporter in Richmond, is also good folk. He knows how lucky he is to have his first job locked in at a strong paper four months before gradution in a time when many gifted writers have to wait four months after graduation to even get an interview with the Butthole River Gazette-Shopper.

 

There's an opening at the Butthole River Gazette-Shopper?
Y E S!

 

And may I add that his dad Rick is one of the nicest people you will ever meety along a football sideline. Congrats kid. Do the old man proud.

 

I talked to Matt last week and am very happy for him.
As the guy who enjoyed his work as an intern for two summers, let me offer kudos to Harrisonburg on a great hire. Matt could have come down to our little shop (Petersburg) and strutted around with the whole, "My dad's on TV," or "I'm better than here." He didn't.
Still a college guy when away from the office, he was mature and professional while at work. He had a great attitude (he claimed to enjoy the one youth baseball tournament we cover, even when I told him he didn't need to suck up) and wrote like a staff member.
He was good enough for us to make him a part-time staffer and flip him a few bucks one summer.

 

I heard he often beat children and sold crack while boozing it up on the way to and from the office in cars that he stole from retired widows.