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The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) will be presenting The 2008 Barneys (their writing awards) at their annual dinner on Friday, June 12, 2009. Interested fans can watch live on the internet starting at 6:00 PM et at the GoFight Live! website.

Norm Frauenheim of Arizona will be recognized with the 2008 Nat Fleischer award for "Excellence in Boxing Journalism. Currently Frauenheim works as a columnist for 15 Rounds.com and is a contributor for the Ring Online. Before that, Frauenheim worked at the Arizona Republic for over 30 years. Frauenheim retired from the newspaper this past Aug. 31 but his body of work left a lasting legacy. Frauenheim started covering boxing in 1988, when he was assigned to follow the career of Phoenix's Michael Carbajal. Frauenheim reported on Carbajal as he won a silver medal in Seoul, and continued to do so for the junior flyweight's hall of fame career as a professional.

In addition to covering boxing for the Republic, Frauenheim reported on several more Olympics and was the beat writer for the NBA's Phoenix Suns. His last assignment was the 2008 Bejing Olympics. His primary beats were Michael Phelps, wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo and boxing.

BOXING EVENT COVERAGE

First Place
STEVE FARHOOD, “RJ Still Doing It His Way,” Boxing Monthly, February, 2008

Second Place
DON STRADLEY, "Looking Good Has Never Been Harder,” The Ring, May 2008

Third Place (tie)
RON BORGES, “Not A Rock, He’s Limestone,” Thesweetscience.com, July 18, 2008

WILLIAM DETLOFF, “Hopkins-Pavlik,” The Ring, January 2009 (on newsstand in November 2008)

T. K. STEWART, “Walking In A Hatton Wonderland,” Boxingscene.com, November 21, 2008

Honorable Mention: Adam Berlin, FightBeat.com; Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News; David Greisman, BoxingScene.com; Ronan Keenan, Thesweetscience.com; Shawn Krest, BoxingScene.com; Kiernan Mulvaney, ESPN.com

BOXING COLUMN

First Place
DAVID P. GREISMAN, “The Prices They Pay: Of Warriors and Tragedies,” Maxboxing.com, May 12, 2008

Second Place
FRANZ LIDZ, “Damon Feldman’s Celebrity Boxing Federation," Conde Nast Portfolio, December 2008

Third Place
JAKE DONOVAN, “Boxing Needs New Faces, Not Another Facelift,” Boxingscene.com, January 23, 2008

Honorable Mention: Brett Conway, Maxboxing.com; Matthew Hurley, Secondsout.com; George Kimball, Boxingtalk.com; David Mayo, Grand Rapids Press; Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times; Don Stradley, ESPN.com; Michael Swann, 15rounds.com; John Whisler, San Antonio Express News; George Willis, New York Post

BOXING NEWS STORY

First Place
BERNARD FERNANDEZ, “Olympic Education Center KO’d By Budget Cuts,” Philadelphia Daily News, January 29, 2008

Second Place
MICHAEL SWANN, “Hi There, Welcome To Wal-Mart,” 15rounds.com, November 11, 2008

Third Place
GEORGE KIMBALL, “Luis Resto – Billy Collins Redux,” Boxingtalk.com, 2008

Honorable Mention: Lyle Fitzsimmons, Sportsnetwork.com; Norm Frauenheim, Arizona Republic; David P. Greisman, Maxboxing.com; Thomas Hauser, Secondsout.com; David Mayo, Grand Rapids Press; Ron Ross, Trufanboxing.com; Don Stradley, ESPN.com; Sean Sullivan, Boxing Digest; John Whisler, San Antonio Express-News George Willis, ESPN.com

BOXING FEATURE (Under 2,500 words)

First Place
DON STRADLEY, “The Nonparail,” The Ring, June 2008

Second Place
JOSEPH SANTOLIQUITO, “New Faces: Danny Garcia,” The Ring, November 2008

Third Place
RON BORGES, "Do You Know Who I Am?,” Boxing Monthly, April 2008

Honorable Mention: Bobby Cassidy, Newsday.com; Nigel Collins, TheRingOnLine.com; William Dettloff, ESPN.com; Brian Doogan, Sunday Times of London; Steve Farhood, Boxing Monthly; Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times; Eric Raskin, The Ring; Michael Woods, TheSweetScience.com

BOXING FEATURE (Over 2,500 words)

First Place (tie)
CARLO ROTELLA, “And Now, The Biggest Entertainer in Entertainment,” New York Times Sports Magazine,” June 7, 2008

MICHAEL RIVEST, “The Color of Boxing,” The Ring, December 2008

Second Place
FRANZ LIDZ, ”Oscar de la Hoya – Fighter and Promoter,” Conde Nast Portfolio, November 2008

Third Place
THOMAS HAUSER, “John L. Sullivan Revisited,” Secondsout.com, 2008

Honorable Mention: Ron Borges, Boxing Monthly; Brian Doogan, Sunday Times of London; Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News; Thomas Gerbasi, Maxboxing.com; Jack Hirsch, Boxing News; Kevin Iole, Yahoosports.com; Joseph Santoliquito, The Ring

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

First Place
RON BORGES, “The Dying Art of Matchmaking,” Boxing Monthly, June 2008

THOMAS HAUSER, “HBO - 2008,” Secondsout.com, May 28, 2008

Second Place
BRIAN DOOGAN, "I Took Steroids to Bulk Me Up and It Led to a False Positive HIV Result,” Sunday Times of London, January 6, 2008

Third Place
DON STEINBERG, "DVD Pirates Filling Their Shelves – And Customer Orders,” ESPN.com, May 13, 2008

Honorable Mention: Bobby Cassidy, The Ring; Bernard Fernandez; Philadelphia Daily News; Norm Frauenheim, TheRingOnline.com; Michael Hirsley; ESPN.com; Shawn O’ Donnell, Eastsideboxing.com; Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times; John Whisler, San Antonio Express

JUDGES:

TEDDY GREENSTEIN, Chicago Tribune
TOMMY HICKS, Mobile Register
MARK KISZLA, Denver Post
DOUG KRIKORIAN, Long Beach Press Telegram
BOB SANSEVERE, St. Paul Pioneer Press
AILENE VOISIN, Sacramento Bee