Lodge notes: Weiss, Lopresti, Clark leave longtime jobs

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Dick "Hoops" Weiss left the New York Daily News after 20 years, though he will continue to cover major college events for the paper. He also continues to freelance for Blue Star Media, www.georgeraveling.com, the American Athletic Conference and Basketball Times – and has agreed to be part of the studio panel for the Big Ten Network.

Mike Lopresti retired in May after 31 years as a columnist for USA Today. He will continue to freelance for various newspaper in Indiana and is working with Skybox Publishing of California, which publishes historical books on sports teams and programs.

Bob Clark retired after 36 years as a fulltime employee with the Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore., where he covered each of the past six Oregon coaches for at least one season. Clark also continues to freelance.

Jeff Goodman, former of CBS Sportsline, was hired as an on-air reporter for ESPN-TV. Goodman also contributes on college basketball at espn.com. … Ron Higgins, a 28-year veteran of the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, returned to his hometown of Baton Rouge, La., to cover LSU and the Southeastern Conference as a columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Nola.com. ... Lenn Robbins, who had covered colleges for the New York Post since 1997, left the paper to write exclusively for BrooklynNets.com and BarclaysCenter.com.

After 13 years with the Louisville Courier-Journal, C.L. Brown will cover North Carolina for espn.com. ... Brendan F. Quinn, who won two ASPE awards in only seven months of covering Tennessee for the Knoxville News-Sentinel, joined MLive.com to cover Michigan. … Ben Frederickson, formerly of Fox Sports Midwest in St. Louis, has joined the Knoxville News-Sentinel as the Vols' beat writer. … Lew Freedman was named sports editor of the Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune. ... Ryan Thorburn, who spent 13 years at the Boulder Daily Camera, now covers Oregon football for the Eugene Register-Guard.

USBWA Executive Director Joe Mitch, who spent most of the 44 years of his professional life in athletic administration, was honored with the CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award in June. Ken Davis was inducted in June to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Davis' third book, "100 Things Kansas Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," was recently published.

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Nominations being taken for USBWA awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the following USBWA awards to be presented next April.

HALL OF FAME: Established in 1988, the USBWA honors past and current members for their contributions to the organization and for their achievements in sports journalism. To be eligible, an individual must have a minimum of 20 years experience as a sports writer or college athletics administrator dealing with basketball. Send nominations to USBWA Executive Director Joe Mitch at mitch@usbwa.com.

KATHA QUINN AWARD: This award is presented in honor of the former sports information director at St. John's University who waged a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer before passing away in 1988.The award recognizes individuals for their service to the media and for the inspiration they provide to those in the sports journalism profession. Send nominations to Malcolm Moran, a past president and member of the USBWA Hall of Fame, at moranma@indiana.edu.

MOST COURAGEOUS AWARD: The USBWA presents a male and female award, honoring a player, coach, official or administrator who demonstrates extraordinary courage while facing adversity in life. First presented in 1978, it is the USBWA's oldest award. Send nominations to Ed Graney, USBWA third vice president, at egraney@reviewjournal.com.

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Burlison resigns as VP, replaced by Graney

Citing time constraints and possible conflicts of interest, Frank Burlison tendered his immediate resignation as the USBWA's Second Vice-President on Oct. 8.

Burlison, named to the USBWA's Hall of Fame in 2005, was serving his second year as an officer following two years before that as the representative for the USBWA's District IX.

Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports will move from Third Vice-President to Second Vice-President. Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal will assume the duties of the Third Vice-President.

Burlison has covered college basketball for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and FoxSports.net and two years ago created his own scouting service, BurlisonOnBasketball.com.

"I find it not only a large constraint on my time to perform any and all USBWA duties, now and especially over the next two years," Burlison wrote in his resignation, "but I also feel that it is mostly a large conflict of interest (given that he is paid by college programs) … that reflects poorly on the organization."

Present and past USBWA presidents noted that Burlison played a large role in the organization's efforts to retain courtside seats at future NCAA Tournaments.

"Frank has been a great asset to USBWA and our work on the issues we've confronted the past couple of years," said USBWA President Kirk Wessler. "You don't lose a Hall of Famer from the core group and not feel it. But I respect his decision, given the nature of his business. It's another example of his professionalism. We thank him for his service."

In the March 20123 issue of The Tipoff, past USBWA President John Akers wrote: "Burly brought passion and – significant in these days of down-sizing and defunct newspapers – the deepest appreciation for this profession that we represent."