The Other Shoe That Won't Stop Falling

[Edgy MD]

Philly Daily News baseball writer Bill Conlin, who I remember as a veteran of epic wars with The Ed Kranepool Society (among others), has been accused of being a child molester in the rival Philly Inquirer.

Conlin is the 2011 recipient of the J. Taylor Spink Award*, and the BBWAA has come weakheartedly to his defense.

Conlin offered to retire and The Daily News immediately accepted.

* The award usually allows people to describe the recipient as a "Hall of Fame baseball writer," though technically that's not true. And besides, Bill Madden won it last year.

[A Boy Named Seo]

BBWAA deservedly caught some shit and released another release RE: Conlin.

http://bbwaa.com/conlin-statement-2/

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I was just going to note: Tracksuit complains about the tepid BBWAA statement and they issue a harder one.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Very fucked up. Conlin always struck me as a creep, though not in that way. The Inquirer story has a chilling excerpt from his pontificating on the unlikeliness of child molester witnesses to follow through.

Conlin basically was a big fat opinionated dinosuar, the worst kind of old white newspaper scribes.

[metirish]

Creep, rival papers but they share the same web space? The Daily News has a full front page pic of the creep.

http://phillydailynews.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

[Edgy MD]

But exactly the kind of smug blowhard --- pedophilia aside --- with a knack for survival that the Spink Award seems to honor way too often.

[metirish]

I don't know if the Penn State scandal/abuse has empowered victims but there seems to have been a snowball effect since then.

[Benjamin Grimm]

metirish wrote: Creep, rival papers but they share the same web space? The Daily News has a full front page pic of the creep. http://phillydailynews.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

The two papers haven't been "rivals" in years. They're owned by the same company, have the same headquarters, and use the same printing presses and same delivery trucks. The only thing separate (that I'm aware of) is the editorial staff.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I remember reading (and not particularly liking) Conlin many years ago in The Sporting News. In the years I've been in the Philadelphia area, I've been a reader of the Inquirer but not the Daily News. I wasn't even aware (until today) that Conlin was still active. (And now, of course, he's not.)

[Benjamin Grimm]

Oh, and it's also worth pointing out that one of the four accusers is Conlin's niece.

[Edgy MD]

It's also worth pointing out that their families seem to generally back their stories. One of the victims claims to have gotten a 10-page letter of apology, which I imagine would be a bomb if she could produce it.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Creep, rival papers but they share the same web space? The Daily News has a full front page pic of the creep. http://phillydailynews.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx The two papers haven't been "rivals" in years. They're owned by the same company, have the same headquarters, and use the same printing presses and same delivery trucks. The only thing separate (that I'm aware of) is the editorial staff.

My bad, but I've understood from my Philly friends that reader loyalties divide them. I guess that's a dated perspective.

[metirish]

Surely they vie for the same readers?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I think they have what's called a joint operating agreement. They run as separate bizzes, have separate sales and edit staffs but share labor at the printing press and delivery trucks, etc.

[A Boy Named Seo]

How fucked is it that he was seemingly (allegedly) busted more than once, confronted on it, and was basically just told to knock it off??

I don't know if the Penn State scandal/abuse has empowered victims but there seems to have been a snowball effect since then.

Yes. From his niece (one of the accusers) in the article:

Blanchet, now a prosecutor in Atlantic City, and the others said they were speaking out now because the alleged sexual assaults and cover-up at Pennsylvania State University brought back painful memories and reminded them of the secrecy that shrouded their own assaults.

[Guest themetfairy]

When NBC10 reported the story on this morning news, they referred to the two publications as sister papers.

[HahnSolo]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Oh, and it's also worth pointing out that one of the four accusers is Conlin's niece.

Her name is Kelley Blanchet. I believe I once sat on a jury for a case she prosecuted in the Bronx (this would have been December 1992).

[Fman99]

He's gross.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

A.J. Daulerio, late of Deadspin, shares an account of his e-mail conversation with Conlin (with whom he semifrequently corresponded, apparently) the day before the story broke.

He was going to get a lawyer, he said, but he also didn't want to be silent. He wanted to defend himself and he wanted to know if he could possibly do it on Deadspin if and when the story came out. There, he reasoned, he could reveal his true feelings, without fear of insulting any dead-tree readership with profanity. Besides, he said, he might not have another outlet once the story hit anyway... Me to Conlin (10:50 p.m.): So you don't want it out there before the grave , newspaper version hits? Sent from my iPhone Conlin to me (11:10 p.m.): No, because that makes it a transparent move to cover my ass and which could be construed as a tactical plea bargain. In either case, I will have no choice but to either retire or resign from the Daily News. My "old, red, eyes," as you described them in your generous piece in PhillyMag, have seen more than enough. I will be 78 in May and should have fucking retired 12 years ago. But because I continued to attract more readers on average than any writer on either paper they gave me a sweetheart deal I could not refuse. But I make enough in pension and SS to walk on my salary to retire comfortably. I just do not wish to exit with an undeserved "P" on my chest. If the piece this beatch writes paints me as a Jekyll-Hyde without identifying the "accusers," their names need to be out there next to mine�since they bought houses from my wife, drank my vodka the night of her viewing and decided after 40 years it was Sandusky Time to come out.

[Edgy MD]

Gosh, bgolly. I was worried he was gonna kill himself (and I hope he still doesn't), and instead he's looking to open up and let fly.

How strange that he's looking to the nu media world to save him.

[A Boy Named Seo]

How bout this one, from that same exchange?

I need to see if they name names. I'm sure the accusers were promised anonymity. I do not think that late middle-aged women who decide they were groped 40 years before deserve the same protection as minors. Particularly when there are no court-imposed gag orders. Or charges of any kind. They can toss my good name out there while alleging a crime that was never charged? Fuck that.

He references Sandusky another time, too, but doesn't say that he's not a creep like him, only that he's different and more important than him. Disgusting and an egomaniac.

I am a lot bigger to the Daily News than Sandusky ever was to Penn State. But I don't have 19 years of heinous molestations involving children in my care that were covered up at many institutional levels.

[Edgy MD]

I know. You can slice that so many ways.

I have 30 years of artful molestations involving children in somebody else's poor care that I covered up on my own, thank you very much.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I remember thinking he was an asshole when I read him in The Sporting News all those years ago.

I see my impression was accurate.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Another woman comes forward.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Make that 2 more.

[Edgy MD]

The "Bill? I Never Would Have Guessed!" columns start rolling out.

When you indulge assholes, you entitle them, and make them think they're untouchable.

[soupcan]

I'm in touch with about 100 of my fraternity brothers from Syracuse via an email group. Recently we were discussing the Bernie Fine situation and one of the guys who is an educator added the below email. I thought it would be apropos to post here.

First, I'd like to commend Scott for raising this topic. It is and will remain among the most emotionally charged issues of our time and there were many reasons for NOT bringing it up. One in 6 boys are sexually abused by age 18, according to research, so I would assume it affects many of us directly or indirectly. I am <> disappointed with Boeheim's initial comments about the victims being liars. To make those statements in the media has prevented other victims of Bernie Fine to NOT come forward. This compromises the investigation. It is irresponsible. It does seem that third time's a charm, ie JB's comments after the Florida game. He's finally getting the picture of how devastating child sex abuse is to the development of the victim boys and the adult men they become. A good resource for learning more is http://www.malesurvivor.org/ Moving forward, and in the interest of being balanced men, I'm issuing this challenge to you: When a child, boy or girl, is in your presence and the topic of Sandusky/Penn State or Fine/SU comes up on TV or news or discussion, look for an opportunity to tell the child that you understand how difficult it is to keep a secret, that you would want a child to trust you enough to tell you they have been sexually abused if it happened to them, and that you would believe them, and that you would help. In short, you understand, you believe, you will help. It seems simple but to the child it is not. Something that may be more helpful than a wisecrack with your kid is this book by Norman Friedman titled "Inoculating Your Children Against Sexual Abuse. Here is the Google Books link: http://books.google.com/books/about/Inoculating_Your_Children_Against_Sexual.html?id=l3U5fSzBNQwC I've read the Sandusky grand jury report and listened to the Fine victims and one thing is clear and undisputable: Both men groomed their victims, both men abused their power, both men had access and opportunity. This is what children need to understand. Very few children are abused by strangers. It's the uncle, the older cousin, the older friend, the father, the step father, the scout master, the parish priest, the coach, the employer, the neighbor, the teacher. Scott asked how I feel about it: I feel sucker punched. I didn't expect this to come from my own camp. I am needing Boeheim to give me some hope that "the program" wasn't put above the children.

[Edgy MD]