Globe Columnist Presents Williams' Deford Awards
WILLIAMSTOWN — Senior James DiCosmo of Fair Lawn, N.J., and junior Jacob Cerny of North Miami Beach, Fla., were named winners of the 19th Frank Deford Award on April 14 in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall at Williams College.On hand to present the awards and to address the gathering was Boston Globe sports columnist and associate editor Jackie MacMullan. MacMullan is also a frequent contributor to ESPN's "Around the Horn."
The Deford Award, believed to be the only award of its kind in the nation, honors the top student assistant or assistants in the Williams College Sports Information Office.
DiCosmo has worked for Williams Sports Information for four years and has developed into an integral member of the stat crews that worked the football, men's and women's basketball and baseball games. He is also a co-captain 2B on the Eph baseball team.
"James is like clockwork, always on time, always ready," quipped Dick Quinn, sports information director. "He always had his staff ready to perform at each home game and his talents are close to being irreplaceable."
Cerny was discovered in assistant director Kris Dufour's sports journalism winter study class.
"Jacob is another one of a long line of tremendously capable people we've had work for us who can handle any sport and is willing to take on any task, and fill in for other students who run into a scheduling conflicts," said Quinn. "Jacob quickly became our go-to-guy and to date he has covered eight Eph teams and he has done so most impressively."
MacMullan spoke about championship deadlines and how she had just nine minutes to write about Game 6 of the 1986 World Series and then had all of 11 minutes to write about the Red Sox World Series title in 2004.
Hired out of the University of New Hampshire upon graduation, MacMullan said it has been a pleasure to go from being the only woman reporter in the locker room to now being among several woman writers in a locker room.
MacMullan, a nationally acclaimed sports writer, columnist, and author, said she has achieved more "recognition" of late from her appearances on "Around the Horn" than from her writings as people seem to feel that they know her just by seeing her on TV.
MacMullan expressed a hope that some of the young people in the audience would go on to save newspapers, which are struggling in the Internet age.
MacMullan announced to the dismay of the crowd that this is her last week at The Boston Globe. She has decided to take a break from her current schedule and spend time at home with her two growing children saying, "that I've been to a lot of great games in my career, but I don't want to miss any of my kids' games, and I'm really looking forward to the May 19 field trip to Sturbridge Village."
MacMullan will not be giving up sports writing or appearing on TV entirely. But her reporting schedule will be based on her family's schedule.
