Derek Jeter And The Art Of Saying Nothing

On Wednesday I learned that John Breen had died.

Many people do not know who Breen was, but for anyone who studied journalism at UConn the man is a legend.

Professor, advisor, mentor and friend, Breen molded generations of journalists, teaching them to go about their profession with grit and dogged curiosity.

Breen's passing naturally had me thinking back to my days at UConn in the early 1990s and all that I learned. One of the first and most basic lessons I learned was that when a journalist covers a meeting or a press conference, the news is not that there was a meeting or press conference. Rather, the news is what is said or done at that event.

Pity the poor journalists who have to cover Derek Jeter.

Jeter is the master of speaking without saying anything of substance.

USA TODAY

Wednesday, a week after announcing on Facebook that 2014 is going to be his final season, the New York Yankees shortstop met the media for the first time.

And said absolutely nothing of substance.