By LARRY AMES
Ventura County (Calif.) Star

Tom Keegan doesn't mind working 50 to 60 hours a week as the new sports editor of the Lawrence Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.

After all, when his eight-minute commute to work is factored in, he's saving countless hours a week.

That's because Keegan spent an hour and 15 minutes to three hours a day driving each way from his home in Norwalk, Conn., to the ESPN studios in New York, where he was co-host of ESPN's "Wally and the Keeg Show" with Wallace Matthews from September 2002 to April 2005.

Keegan was job hunting when he ran into Matt McHale, assistant sports editor of the Los Angeles Daily News, at a Norwalk golf course. McHale, who was visiting his mother in Norwalk, told Keegan of the opening in Lawrence, but Keegan wasn't sure he wanted the job.

"I'm not an administrator," he told Keegan.

"But Matt said they were looking for a writing editor."

Keegan is a veteran journalist, having worked at such places as the Orange County Register, the National Sports Daily, Baltimore Sun and New York Post.

The Rochester, N.Y., native and 1981 Marquette graduate applied through Dave Smith, the legendary retired sports editor who had been hired by the Journal-World as its recruiter.

Keegan was hired and began his odyssey in Lawrence, a 20,000-circulation newspaper, in August.

As the hometown paper of the University of Kansas, Keegan has already traveled to Hawaii and New York.

He begins his air travels in Kansas City, 45 minutes from Lawrence.

Keegan is enjoying his experience and isn't concerned about the change in venue from the Big Apple to a small Midwestern community.

"The paper is a creative place and is cool," said Keegan, author of two books — "Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms" (the autobiography of 1930s pitcher Elden Auker) and "Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball" (an authorized biography of the legendary Tigers broadcaster).

Keegan's duties include writing, setting policy, dealing with the public and speaking to such organizations as the local Kiwanis. He's also started an online radio show at the innovative paper known for its extensive Web site.

He doesn't find writing for a smaller audience a problem.

"I think the smaller the place the better the opportunity for an original story," said Keegan.

"Story telling is what writing is about."

He is even pleased with the smaller readership because "penetration is greater. Everyone in town is reading the paper."

Keegan's wife, Angie, and their two younger children have adapted to life in Kansas. John, 21, and Andy, 18, are in college at Marquette. Jim, 15, and Ellen, 13, were "originally devastated," said Keegan, "but they've made a quick transition because Lawrence is a real friendly town."

Keegan admits the town's initial reaction to him was strained.

"Reader response at first was suspicion because some readers viewed me as some hotshot from the East Coast," he said. "Now a lot of people have asked me how I've learned the area so well. I tell them, 'It's a perfect fit because they picked the right guy.' "

Larry Ames is sports editor of the Ventura County Star and can be reached at (805) 655-5818 or lames@venturacountystar.com.

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Ann Arbor News: Hired Kevin Ryan as a full-time copy editor/page designer. Ryan was working part-time on the sports desk. He replaces Dave Holzman, who will design local news pages.

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Hired Phill Spiker from the Tulsa World as a page designer.

The Oklahoman: Hired Darnell Mayberry as the Hornets beat writer. He came from the Akron Beacon-Journal, where he covered the University of Akron and high schools. Andrew Gilman moved from the lead high school beat to the backup Hornets/NBA beat. Haley Riggs joined the staff as a page designer/copy editor. She is an Oklahoma graduate who previously worked at the Fort Smith (Ark.) paper. Kendall Matthews joined the staff as a copy editor/page designer. He is a Missouri graduate who previously worked at The State in Columbia, S.C.

Kansas City Star: Hired Derek Samson as the colleges editor, replacing Tom Bergeron, who left to become sports editor at the Newark Star-Ledger. Samson, previously The Star's prep columnist, had left the paper for a year to be editor of Conference Call, a magazine on the Big 12 Conference. Moved Brady McCollough from Johnson County reporter to high school enterprise reporter. Hired Candace Buckner from the Macon Telegraph to be Johnson County reporter.

Lincoln Journal-Star: Hired Clark Grell as assistant sports editor for design, replacing Matt Humphrey, who took the same position with the Orlando Sentinel. Grell formerly was the assistant sports editor at the St. Joseph News-Press.

Quad-City Times (Davenport, Iowa): Hired Mike Egenes of the Daily Dispatch and Rock Island Argus as assistant sports editor. The Times also hired Adam Soebbing as a sports copy editor.

St. Joseph News-Press: Hired Jeff Bartl as assistant sports editor. Bartl is a graduate of Western Illinois University.

Erie (Pa.) Times-News: Hired Duane Rankin to cover colleges and pros. Rankin previously covered colleges for the Greenville (S.C.) News. Hired Jason Snyder as a copy editor. Snyder was a copy editor at the Meadville (Pa.) Tribune.

Knight-Ridder Tribune: Promoted Tom Peterson from sports editor to assistant managing editor. He'll still be in charge of sports, but because of a reorganization will have the business, entertainment, travel and lifestyles and food section editors reporting to him.

The Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.): Hired Mike Batista as a sports copy editor. He was sports editor of The Newport Daily News in Rhode Island.

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Anniston (Ala.) Star: Sports editor Jimmy Creed is leaving the paper at the end of the year to become managing editor of The Jacksonville (Ala.) News, a weekly paper owned by Consolidated Publishing Co., the same company that owns The Star.

Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald: Hired Craig Peters, formerly of the Forsyth County (Ga.) News, as a sports writer.

Birmingham (Ala.) News: Hired Ray Melick, formerly of the Birmingham Post-Herald, as a columnist/general assignment reporter. Hired Jon Solomon of The State in Columbia, S.C., as a sports enterprise reporter. Hired John Reimer of the Mobile Press Register as a sports page designer. Promoted David Knox to assistant sports editor.

Miami Herald: Hired intern Sarah Rothschild, a 2005 Northwestern University graduate, as an auto racing/general assignment reporter. She replaces Cammy Clark, who will cover University of Miami basketball and running. Hired Kevin Scott, formerly of the Los Angeles Daily News, and Robert Cohn, formerly of the Tallahassee Democrat, as designers. Hired Chaka Ferguson, formerly of the Associated Press in New York, as a copy editor. Hired Tim Martin, a former copy editor at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, as chief agate clerk. He replaces Cory Nightingale, who became a copy editor in the international edition's sports department. Assistant sports editor Lydia Craver, who supervises the paper's special sections, baseball and hockey coverage, will oversee college football coverage. Preps editor Seth Lewis, who was on leave to study in northern Spain as a Fulbright Fellow in Journalism, returned to the paper.

Naples (Fla.) Daily News: Columnist Will Graves left to work for the Associated Press in Louisville, Ky., where his main duties will be covering University of Louisville football and basketball. Tom Hanson will leave Jan. 1 to become the main section columnist for the Bonita Daily News, the sister paper of The Naples Daily News. Andy Sodergren became a full-time sports copy editor after working on the news copy desk.

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Sports editor David Meeks was named city editor. Doug Tatum was promoted from deputy sports editor to sports editor. Kevin Spain, assistant sports editor/nights, was named deputy sports editor. Marcus Carmouche, assistant sports editor, was named assistant sports editor/nights.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Hired Sherry Skalko of ESPN.com as an assistant sports editor. Promoted Kathy Laughlin from copy editor to assistant sports editor. Hired Amy Beth Bennett from the Las Vegas Sun as sports photo editor. Steve Svekis, an assistant sports editor, is now the paper's consumer columnist. Steve Gorten moved from reporter covering high schools to the Florida Panthers/NHL beat. Shandel Richardson moved from Palm Beach County high schools to Broward County high schools. Hired Steve Zimmerman from the Miami Herald as a designer.

Herald Democrat (Sherman-Denison, Texas): Promoted sports editor Todd Hutchinson to news editor. Promoted assistant sports editor Bill Spinks to sports editor. Hired Adam Boedeker as a sportswriter from the Wylie News.

San Antonio Express-News: Hired Doug Pils and Terrence Thomas to its copy desk. Pils was a reporter/editor for the Associated Press in Little Rock, Ark. Thomas was assistant sports editor at the San Angelo Standard-Times.

Arizona Daily Star: Named Shannon Conner sports editor. Conner was night sports editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She replaced James Bennett, who was named editor in chief of the Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale, Ill. The Star and Southern are Lee newspapers.

Bellingham (Washington) Herald: Named Dave Rasbach sports editor. Rasbach, formerly a copy editor at the Riverside Press-Enterprise, replaces the recently retired Bob Carter.

Costa Mesa (Calif.) Daily Pilot: Hired James Lee as sports editor. He was previously the features editor. Lee was previously sports editor at the Rancho Cucamonga Voice and Claremont-Upland Voice weekly newspapers prior to coming to the Daily Pilot. Former sports editor Richard Dunn left to form his own business.

Riverside Press Enterprise: Hired Phillip Lewis as a copy editor. He was formerly a copy editor at the San Bernardino Sun. Hired Mark Thoma as a staff writer. Thoma, a 2005 Stanford graduate, was most recently working for MLB.com.

Sacramento Bee: Hired Paul Gutierrez of the Los Angeles Times to cover the Oakland Raiders, replacing Gregg Bell, who left for AP Seattle. Hired copy editors Chris LaMarr from the San Francisco Chronicle and Kathie Rosenthal from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Promoted Victor Contreras to assistant sports editor. Moved Martin McNeal from the Sacramento Kings beat to notes columnist. Moved Sam Amick to Kings beat. Moved Melody Gutierrez to preps enterprise/Sacramento Monarchs beat. Moved Debbie Arrington to full-time motorsports beat. Moved John Schumacher to Sacramento State and Olympics. Moved Scott Howard-Cooper to UC Davis and River Cats baseball. Moved Jimmy Spencer from clerk to Web writer/producer.

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Send personnel moves to Larry Ames by calling (805) 655-5818 or send an e-mail message to lames@venturacountystar.com.

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