Media Review: Dan Shaughnessy

by Ian Tasso

Editorial. Photos by AP News.

It’s the perfect combination of knowledge and passion; old-fashioned knowledge - the kind you only get from watching, watching and watching some more - and pure unadulterated sports passion.

And that’s why I love SI.com's piece by Dan Shaughnessy.

It’s a piece that centers on the Boston Celtics’ crushing 90-89 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, touching on the importance of the loss in and of itself, and the ever revealing fact that the Celtics may be entering the twilight of their title aspirations.

It’s well crafted – and that’s why I like it so much. Instead of coming out and bluntly drubbing the Celtics' effort, Shaughnessy gathers the facts at hand and forms a valuable conclusion at the end – the Celtics’ window is closing.

And he does it by blending facts with emotion.

It’s a tough line to straddle, this barrier between passion and the truth. If you stray too far on either end, the piece loses its luster. Too heavy on the facts, and people feel as if they’re doing homework; but lean too much on the passion, and you’re heading into the territory of a senseless rant, rather than a well crafted sports column.

But that’s what makes this piece such great journalism. You can tell he’s done the research – citing Boston’s unhealthy 6-8 record in January, Garnett’s unsightly 43-years of basketball age, and plenty more information sprinkled throughout the piece like oregano from a top-flight chef. You can also tell he knows what he’s talking about, dissecting the game’s final quarter with the skill of a former player. And finally, you can tell it means something to him.

In the final paragraph, where he describes his copy of the 1969 S.I. issue in his home office, you can tell this Celtics business hits him hard. And that’s the best part of the entire piece.

The entertainment value is also there. Shaughnessy cracks jokes about the Celtics and the AARP, poking fun at their weary bones. And he presents it all in a cynical ‘almost-the-end-of-the-world’ tone that resonates well with the state of Celtics Nation.

The reason he can sense this feeling so well?

Because it’s in him too.

You can feel it in his words and you can see it in his concern. Some argue this passion has no place in sports writing - it takes away from the facts, they say.

But for me, this type of passion is tightly woven in the genes of the best pieces. For me, it’s impossible to write a column on a painful 90-89 loss to the Lakers and not have it come out soaked with it.

And that’s part of the reason Shaughnessy’s been so successful in his Boston-based career.

Because this city lives sports - we eat, breathe and sleep sports. And he does too.

You can see it. He’s one of us. And that’s the most powerful weapon a sports writer has at his disposal.

After all, mass-persuasion becomes a hell of a lot easier when you’re wearing the same uniform.