In the final point/counterpoint of the year, incoming Sports Editor Andrew Morrison and Associate Sports Editor Kevin Arnold debate whether Mike Logan was really even a good Sports Editor at all.
As is tradition in the Daily Campus Sports section, it’s time to say farewell to our beloved outgoing Sports Editor Mike Logan in the only way we know how: by roasting him. It’s been a fantastic year for the sports section, full of excellent beat coverage across the board, a steady supply of fascinating in-depth feature stories, and unparalleled camaraderie. Ask Mike, and he’ll tell you he deserves all the credit. But in the final point/counterpoint of the year, incoming Sports Editor Andrew Morrison and Associate Sports Editor Kevin Arnold debate whether Mike Logan was really even a good Sports Editor at all.
Andrew: Look, as Associate Sports Editor for the past year, I wish I could say working with Mike has been an absolute pleasure. It hasn’t. For one, the kid thinks he’s way funnier than he is. The sports meetings are fun and all, but they’re mostly filled by Mike’s sorry excuses for humor. Yet he has instilled such a reign of terror that everyone has to pretend to laugh, otherwise risk being ridiculed in front of your friends and peers. Thanks to Mike, staff writer Sean Janos will probably be insecure about his hair for the rest of his life. Also, I’ve never worked with someone so unpredictable and emotionally unstable in my life. On late Thursday nights, I’ll receive “I love you” texts out of the blue, and then 30 minutes later he’ll be angrily yelling at me for the baseball recap coming in late. I’m never sure if he’s been at Ted’s for a little too long that night or if that’s just how his brain works. So no, after the immensely high bar set by his predecessors, Tyler Keating and Dan Madigan, I can’t say Mike has quite followed in their footsteps.
Kevin: One characteristic of every good editor that Andrew is overlooking is reliability, and Mike was no different. No matter the day or the time, Mike could be reached with just a text or call. Need to see him in person though? Make sure you check Ted’s first. He wanted to be there so consistently that he even dumped half his Monday night production shifts on me. You could also always count on Sunday night meetings going longer than you were probably expecting. Sunday nights are the premier time slot for high-profile sports on TV, and just when you’d think you could get back to the Cowboys-Giants game, Mike would come through with one of his timely “oh, and one more thing”s, keeping the entire section an extra 20 minutes for him to explain why he hates the latest Marvel movie. Reliability and consistency were the pillars of Mike Logan’s time as sports editor.
Andrew: Mike could be reached via text very easily, I’ll give you that. But that’s probably because he covered just one sport all year and wrote one—yes, one—column all year. That one column was his mandatory senior column, in which he talked more about Syracuse than UConn. The one beat he covered was women’s basketball which, I’ll admit, is a major achievement and significant time commitment. But it has inflated his ego even more than it was before, and trust me, it was already grossly inflated. He tells stories about his interviews with Geno as if they’re childhood friends. And yes, we get it, you’re best friends with Ray Reid now. And lastly, talking professional sports with Mike is essentially impossible. Imagine the most annoying Jets-Mets-Knicks fan you can think of. Now multiply that by 62 and you arrive at the insufferability levels of Mike Logan. But hey, I guess we can’t blame him when he cheers for three of the most inept franchises in sports.
Kevin: I don’t see the problem with boasting about having good relationships with top-tier sources. Mike, even though he wrote nothing about the soccer team, told us Ray Reid asked him to lunch. I wonder if that ever happened. Geno and Mike, when not talking about Katie Lou or Phee, were able to bond over their distinct accents. Mike’s fairly strong Long Island tone gives away his sports fandom from the get-go, and as a fellow Mets fan, I understand his spiral into insanity. I can only imagine the toll his brain has taken from having the Jets AND Knicks in his life, on top of the team from Queens. As Mike walks across the stage to get his diploma, I can only wonder what will be on his mind more, his time spent in Storrs, or the lack of time spent at *pauses to vomit* Syracuse.
Andrew and Kevin: All jokes aside, thank you, Mike, for being the best Sports Editor the section could’ve asked for. Even if it’s because we’ve bonded over our mutual incredulity with your sports takes, the section has become closer this year than it’s been in years. Your leadership has guided the section through controversy and turnover, and you maintained professionalism throughout difficult times. Your vision for the section, especially the emphasis on features and athlete spotlights, as well as the very successful Coaches Week, has raised the bar for DC Sports content. We wish you, as well as the other graduating members of the staff, Steph, Matt, Luke, Connor, Mariana, Neil and Chris, the best in the future. Thanks for making the section what it is today.
Andrew Morrison is the sports editor for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at andrew.morrison@uconn.edu. He tweets at @asmor24 Kevin Arnold is the associate sports editor for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at kevin.arnold@uconn.edu.
