Daily Item sports editor Steve Krause was honored with the Jack Grinold Media/Sports Information Director Award by MasterSports Inc. on Saturday. The award honors an individual who is actively involved in promoting football. It is named after Jack Grinold, a former Northeastern University sports information director.”It’s an honor for me and an honor for the paper,” Krause said. “Obviously, anything I get in regards to something like this has as much to do with the paper as it does me, for the staff and everyone who does what they do. Nobody does it alone.”For Krause, the award has an extra significance because he attended Northeastern during Grinold’s tenure, and because he describes Grinold as one of his mentors.”From a personal point of view, Jack Grinold was a great mentor to me and countless other people who went through Northeastern,” Krause said. “It’s enough of an honor to be recognized for what you do ? but it’s that much better if the award is named for someone who played such a big role in your life.”Krause is the fifth person – and only the second journalist – to have received the award since its inception in 2008. (The first journalist was Jocko Connolly of the Boston Herald in 2011.) The Grinold Award is one of six presented by MasterSports Inc., which is a charitable organization that awards scholarships to college, high school and youth football players in the name of fallen players and coaches; and provides instruction in football through its annual Coaches Clinic.Grinold himself was the first recipient of the award named in his honor.”He is a good guy,” said Krause, a member of the Northeastern Class of 1976. “I’m very happy to get it. I’m very pleased and honored it is an award with his name on it.”Krause worked for United Press International (UPI) following his graduation from Northeastern, and he joined The Item in 1979. He has served as Item sports editor since 1998.Rich Tenorio can be reached at [email protected].