More quality sportswriting

[austro]

Just so you Houston folks don't think you've got the market cornered on Pulitzer-caliber sportwriting, check out Kirk Bohls' quality piece (registration required) in the Austin American-Statesman this morning.

It's more of the same old stuff, conveniently omitting some of the more important facts that tie McLane's hands. My favorite part:

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Billy Wagner and Jeff Kent and Carlos Beltran left for a reason.

Why, yes, they did.  Billy and his big mouth got traded, Kent got a ridiculous 11th-hour offer from LA that nobody in their right mind would match, and Carlos has Satan for an agent and never for one minute intended to stay in Houston.  I guess those are reasons, but probably not the one that Bohls is trying to insinuate.

[VirtualBob]

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Just so you Houston folks don't think you've got the market cornered on Pulitzer-caliber sportwriting, check out Kirk Bohls' quality piece (registration required) in the Austin American-Statesman this morning.

It's more of the same old stuff, conveniently omitting some of the more important facts that tie McLane's hands. My favorite part:

Quote:
Billy Wagner and Jeff Kent and Carlos Beltran left for a reason.

Why, yes, they did.  Billy and his big mouth got traded, Kent got a ridiculous 11th-hour offer from LA that nobody in their right mind would match, and Carlos has Satan for an agent and never for one minute intended to stay in Houston.  I guess those are reasons, but probably not the one that Bohls is trying to insinuate.

The only reason Bohls is in Austin is because his ego is so big it wouldn;t fit in the state if he were not near the middle of it.  I keep hoping there will be an opening for a "quality sporstwriter" in central Aalaska (or better yet, central Asia).

[Fredia]

which would leave among other things i am sure dog sledding and sumo wrestling..neither of which one of his columns might be condusive for his health

[otterj]

Maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate, but are there any sportswriters that people here actually like?

[Nate in IA]

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Maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate, but are there any sportswriters that people here actually like?

Tracy Ringoslby up in Denver at the Rocky Mountain News is decent.

[No? in Austin]

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Maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate, but are there any sportswriters that people here actually like?

Jay Mariotti makes me laugh.  Rigolsby is very accurate and in-depth.  Ken Rosenthal is close to being like Rigolsby.  Hal Bodley can be very good at times.  Bernie Milkaz (in St. Louis) is a take-no-prisoners-these-are-the-facts type that is refreshing to read. Jason Whitlock in Kansas City is getting really good at baseball writing every year.  Hal McCoy in Cincinnati has been one of the best for a very long time, but he has retired recently because of his failing eyesight.  The death of Hal Lebovitz in Cleveland took out on the best all time.

[Jacksonian]

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Maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate, but are there any sportswriters that people here actually like?

Jay Mariotti makes me laugh.  Rigolsby is very accurate and in-depth.  Ken Rosenthal is close to being like Rigolsby.  Hal Bodley can be very good at times.  Bernie Milkaz (in St. Louis) is a take-no-prisoners-these-are-the-facts type that is refreshing to read. Jason Whitlock in Kansas City is getting really good at baseball writing every year.  Hal McCoy in Cincinnati has been one of the best for a very long time, but he has retired recently because of his failing eyesight.  The death of Hal Lebovitz in Cleveland took out on the best all time.

I don't know if this is common or not, but Rosenthal once admitted to me that he will not check his facts if his deadline is too near to do so.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

I'd be lying if I said Justice has never written an article I liked, but most of the time he comes of as a whiney self-important hack. Other than my utter contempt for Mike Lupica, I don't really like or dislike any sportswriters. Occassionally a blind squirrell will find an acorn. Some are definitely more consistant than others. I'm glad someone does it. It's writing about sports. I don't expect literary acheivement.

When it comes to reading sports opinion pieces I think that guys like Frank DeFord or Rick Riley have an advantage by only having to write one column a week. Giving them greater selectivity. When they write about a sick or retarded kid scoring a touchdown, or a degenerate gambler turned minister, it resonates in a way that an article of the same subject matter by a daily columnist can't.

[Taras Bulba]

Jim Molony.  I also think Alyson Footer does a very fine job and is respected by the players.  She isn't lazy.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

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The death of Hal Lebovitz in Cleveland took out on the best all time.

Damon Runyon, Ring Lardner, Jim Murray, Red Smith, Shirley Povich, and Grantland Rice, were pretty good, and would also have to be at the top of any best of all time list. My personal favorite was Jim Murray.

[Foghorn]

I like opinion pieces where the opinion of the writer is based upon a careful review of the facts, givens and current understandings of a situation.  Where the opinion is reached last, after the review.

I dislike opinion pieces where the opinion is given, and then the search for suitable facts that support that opinion commences.

I like pieces where the subject of the piece is engaging and interesting.

I dislike pieces where the author puts himself as part of the story.