Simpson scores another award with Glanville story

The Star-Bulletin columnist's effort is selected from 77 entries in the Best of the West contest

Star-Bulletin sports columnist Kalani Simpson won first place in Sports Reporting in the Best of the West journalism contest.

He was honored for a story that described how a trip to Iraq and Kuwait changed the life of Jerry Glanville, defensive coordinator for the University of Hawaii football team.

The contest draws more than 2,000 entries each year from journalists in 13 states. Unlike most journalism competitions, where entries are judged according to the size of their newspaper's circulation, all papers -- big and small -- are judged together in Best of the West.

The Sports Reporting category had 77 entries. Second place went to Andy Boogaard of The Fresno Bee, and there was a tie for third between Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Greg Bishop of the Seattle Times.

Here's what the judge said about Simpson's winning entry: "I didn't buy it at first, having known the Glanville schtick before. But through great pacing and reporting, the writer swept me up, and I believed every word by the end. A masterful example of taking a well-known subject and turning it on its head to see a different angle."

Simpson, a Big Island native, joined the sports staff at the Star-Bulletin in 2001.

Here is a link to his story on starbulletin.com: https://archives.starbulletin.com/2005/07/24/sports/story1.html.