New U-T Sports Editor Boasts San Diego Coverage in His Blood: Sportswriter Dad

Joe Musgrove’s return to San Diego to pitch for the Padres was a staple storyline of their latest division title season.

Ryan Finley is aware of it nicely.

Now Finley resides the identical form of dream.

The College of San Diego Excessive Faculty graduate, who continued his journalism training on the College of Arizona and have become a sportswriter and editor in Tucson, is coming dwelling as nicely.

On Jan. 9, he’ll begin work as sports activities editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune after holding the identical title on the Arizona Day by day Star for nearly 9 years. He succeeds Jay Posner, whose final day was Friday.

“Tucson’s nice, and the Star has been dwelling for practically half my life, [but] the chance to return to San Diego and work at my hometown paper was too good to cross up,” Finley advised Instances of San Diego. “My mother lives there, as does a sister, a brother, their spouses and 5 of my nieces and nephews.”

Finley, 42, follows within the footsteps of his father, Invoice Finley, a sports activities staffer at The San Diego Union and sister afternoon Tribune from 1965 to 1984.

“Ryan doesn’t want my recommendation, however we talked about [the U-T job],” Invoice stated this week through electronic mail. “I requested if he wanted any typewriter ribbons or my outdated Thomas Brothers map guide from the ’80s. He stated they don’t use these anymore? Truthfully, I learn each papers daily and the U-T made an excellent rent right here.”

Says Ryan: “The U-T has been part of my life because the day I discovered how you can learn, and in some ways it’s the paper that I evaluate all others to — even now. I can’t wait to get began.”

Ryan’s twin brother, Pat, is within the newspaper sport as nicely — masking the Bears for the Chicago Solar-Instances. (Pat interned on the U-T throughout grad faculty 20 years in the past.)

Ryan and his spouse, Kim, have three younger boys — 8-year-old twins and an 11-year-old.

U-T employees was knowledgeable of the rent earlier this week. A public announcement is deliberate for January, says editor in chief Jeff Gentle.

The elder Finley coated the Padres, San Diego State Aztecs and nationwide school basketball. Ryan will boast a deep bench of veteran beat writers plus the 76-year-old dean of San Diego sports activities — Nick Canepa.

Ryan says he is aware of Canepa by way of his mother and father and labored alongside prep sportswriter John Maffei when Ryan was a part of the North County Instances’ workplace in Temecula simply after school.

“Jay and I communicated for years through electronic mail and Twitter, serving to one another out if somebody wanted a photograph,” Ryan stated, noting how loads of San Diegans find yourself taking part in collegiately at Arizona.

The previous and future U-T sports activities editors commiserated concerning the Padres, he stated, “however we hadn’t actually talked till the interview course of started.”

He added: “I actually hope I can lean on Jay, and he has been gracious sufficient to supply as a lot assist as I would like. … I’ve been struck already by how he championed his reporters. If you happen to labored for Jay, Jay had your again.”

An outdated biography advised of how Ryan Finley, as a USDHS senior, was sports activities editor of El Cid, the campus paper.

He positioned within the high 10 of over 200 entries on the Better San Diego highschool write-off, the bio stated.

“At all times a sports activities fan, Ryan had the uncommon alternative to be the youngest journalist masking the 1998 California State Basketball Championships in Sacramento, … contributing to each El Cid and the native Southern Cross,” the Catholic diocese paper.

The bio continued:

As soon as reaching Tucson, Finley was employed to the [University Daily] Wildcat employees, the one freshman on the sports activities desk. His first 12 months on the paper noticed Ryan cowl every little thing from lacrosse to hockey to males’s basketball.

Between the months of October and March, Ryan coated the Arizona Icecats, the varsity’s hockey staff. The expertise noticed Finley make frequent appearances as a between-periods visitor on KNST (790 AM) whereas masking the staff. Ryan was additionally the youngest journalist on the press desk for Arizona males’s basketball video games, including characteristic tales to Monday’s protection.

Finley says it’s too early to speak about protection plans.

“I’d like to jot down periodically, if it helps the part,” he stated. “I’ll co-host the Scorching Lava podcast (concerning the Padres with Kevin Acee), which I contemplate a perk of the job.”

He says he hasn’t missed an episode over time. (It started in 2018.)

“I feel the Padres have the items to be VERY good, once more,” Finley stated. “For somebody who grew up going to video games through the ‘Hearth Sale’ period, I’m fascinated by their go-for-broke strategy and willingness to spend.”

Proud papa Invoice, who went into public relations after his U-T years, retired 5 years in the past from a job on the College of Arizona.

“I now work with the Tucson Competition of Books and write a guide column for the Day by day Star,” he stated. “Keep in mind the outdated joke? Journalism is like leukemia — it will get in your blood.”

Ryan advised of his dad being excited for him.

Wrote Ryan: “Did he actually ship you some quote about typewriters?!”