Is Dan Shaughnessy The Most Hated Man in the City of Boston?

For as long as I can remember, Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy has been persona non grata throughout the city, viewed with the sort of contempt usually reserved for pederasts, drug smugglers and members of the band "Foreigner."

Not that the guy hasn't given us plenty of reasons to hate him. He's long embodied the "sports journalist as scorned nerd" stereotype, taking venomous swipes at the likes of Roger Clemens, Jose Offerman (whom Shaughnessy once referred to as "a piece of garbage") and Manny Ramirez. He also seems to represent everything that's bad about old school media, most famously illustrated in a column last March in which The Shaughn offered up a fictional correspondance between Curt Schilling and a pack of sycophantic, "basement dwelling" bloggers.

An excellent article in this week's Boston Phoenix examines the phenomenon that is Shaughnessy-hating, interviewing local bloggers, media types and sports fans to identify what it is, exactly, about Shaughnessy that makes otherwise law-abiding citizens want to throttle him with their bare hands. Needless to day, his detractors have no shortage of reasons, stooping even to that time-honored classic, "he's funny looking."

Consider this tale from "Cheryl" - a Rhode Island woman who regularly stays in a hotel near Shaughnessy's during spring training, and asked that her last name not be used. "Every year, I see CHB jogging," Cheryl wrote in an e-mail. "In 2006, I'm coming off a 6- or 7-mile fitness walk, and here comes CHB jogging toward me. He had just come out of his hotel and he was so bright red and sweating so profusely that I thought, 'Oh, God, if he needs CPR I'm not sure I'd offer. . . . . He's got that red curly hair and that white splotchy skin and he's all gangly.' "

Ponder this for a moment: a trained CPR practitioner thinks she might actually let Shaughnessy die if he dropped to the pavement in front of her. That's as bad as it gets.

Hey, say what you will about Shaughnessy; not unlike The Iron Sheik handing out copies of The Communist Manifesto, the guy has always known how to push our buttons. And sell newspapers.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-21-2007 @ 7:41AM

A.C said...

The way he looks is just gravy. The man hates the home team. He manages to fit in an insult for any member of the Red Sox, past or present in every colum. He is the only journalist that can make a win sound like a loss. He's just so negative and petty.

6-21-2007 @ 11:01AM

Mr. Simon said...

Curt, I applaud you and your career, and your accomplishments with the Red Sox. I've been an avid Red Sox fan for over 50 years now, but I'm not going to blow any sunshine up your ass. It's time, TO RETIRE ! Go out on top. Don't pull a Mohammed Ali. Your hurting us right now. And take Tim Wakefield with ya. You two can play golf, work your charities, assist, teach, coach, WHAT EVER, but it's time for you two to retired. Pard me for being so blunt. I don't mean to hurt any one's feelings, but please look at the overall picture. You 2 are healthy and can't even find any excuse's for your performance's of late. There is back up to cover you guys. Perfect time to throw your caps to the ground.

6-21-2007 @ 12:11PM

Alex Z said...

Boston fights back over Red Sox critic and his clichés

Boston, June 20, 2007 – The Boston Phoenix this week has identified the most hated man in Boston, and its Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy. Sports blogs across Red Sox nation are talking about Dan Shaughnessy's controversial segment in the March 26th Boston Globe regarding Curt Schilling's personal blog. Shaughnessy's work has caused uproar and backlash in the sports world. Adam Reilly's response to that article comes out in this week's Boston Phoenix, explaining why we shouldn't listen to him this time.

The complete story is attached, and you are also able to view the complete story here: http://thephoenix.com/Article.aspx?id=42259&page=1

Shaughnessy, a native of Groton, Massachusetts, has worked as a sportswriter for the Boston Globe for twenty years. He is a celebrated columnist, having been voted eight times as one of America's top ten sports columnists by Associated Press Sports Editors and named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year seven times. Shaughnessy is also the author of 11 books.

The Boston Phoenix, founded in 1966, is published each Thursday and distributed free in more than 1600 sidewalk and store locations. The Boston Phoenix is part of the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which includes editions of the Phoenix in Boston, Providence and Portland, ME, as well as FNX Radio Network, Mass Web Printing, Stuff@Night, People2People Group, g8wave mobile media and www.Thephoenix.com