By Shawn Krest

The BoxingScene.com Thursday morning column will not go on as scheduled. The writer, Shawn Krest, was not able to meet his contractual word count limit by the 10PM deadline and has elected not to go forward with the piece. Below is his statement:

“I apologize to all the fans and to BoxingScene.com. I guess I procrastinated a little too long before starting with my research, and by the time I was ready to start writing, there just wasn’t enough time left to put something together.

“When I was in college, I had no problem pulling all-nighters. I remember once I threw together a twenty page English paper the night before it was due and managed to get an A minus. But the years have taken a toll on me, and late hours writing just take too much out of me. By the time I met my word count requirement, I would have been too tired to turn in an effective writing performance. Have you seen the list of physical problems that can result from lack of sleep? Illness and irritability, puffy eyes and general soreness. In short, I could have gotten sick if I stayed up late to finish my work. So I didn’t. Better safe than sorry, right?

“I was tempted to let my writing coach fiddle with Microsoft Word so that it displayed the correct word count, even though I actually fell far short. I also thought about going forward and putting our a product that, while short of the word count, would still offer some consolation for my readers. In fact, if I’d done that, BoxingScene.com was willing to pay me, even though I didn’t live up to my end of the bargain. In the end, I rejected both of those options and watched the season premiere of Bones instead.

“I apologize to all the members of Team Krest. I realize that you all worked very hard, but there’s only so much that an entourage of 12 can do to pull this off. I apologize to each of you: My writing coach, my idea guy, the guy that keeps track of my deadlines and plans my writing schedule, my brother-in-law, who carries my laptop into the coffee shop ahead of my entrance, and of course, my hype man, who keeps me motivated by shouting ‘You wrote the heck out of that line!’ ‘Punctuate, young man, punctuate!’ and ‘That’s the grammar, Champ!’

“I realize that I’ve complained for years about how I wasn’t given a fair shot to display my writing skills and that this column could have put me in consideration for a writing award. I also remember when I had a shot at a writing award earlier this year, but I’d have had to use the computer at the public library, and I didn’t feel like driving all that way. Gas is expensive, you know, not to mention traffic jams. And don’t even talk to me about red lights.

“And, yes, after I decided that the travel made my last article too inconvenient, I announced that I’d be switching to shorter columns, with word counts that would be easier to hit. I’d already had to shorten things up twice in the past. Two years ago, I was late with an article. And sure, today was supposed to be my…first column at the new word count.

“What can I say? I like to sleep. Some people like to eat, even when they should be trying to lose weight. I’m an overnapper. Sometimes, between articles, I let my sleep schedule balloon up to 18 hours a day. I may not be able to stay up all night like a college kid, but I can still sleep like a teenager.

I also enjoy television. Sure, I could have worked on the column before last night, but Gossip Girl was on Monday. Tuesday is 90210 night. Throw in Oprah, hurricane coverage on the Weather Channel, and four hours of ESPNews a day, and it doesn’t leave much time for…well…my job.

“In short, I apologize for letting everyone down. I realize that it was unprofessional. I’ve learned a valuable lesson the hard way. I understand that some of you might be angry. You might even call me…a lightweight.”