Current State of Sports Writing

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Current State of Sports Writing
Started by nicefellow31, Nov 27 2013 09:20 AM
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#1 nicefellow31
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 09:20 AM

So last night I'm reading an article in the Washington Post on my favorite team, the Washington Redskins. One of the columnist, Mike Wise, wrote an article saying that firing Mike Shanahan is not the answer to to the Redskins' problems. Ok. Then I got to this part of the story. He is talking about Aldrick Robinson, a smallish receiver that has breakaway speed.

Quote
On offense, Aldrick Robinson is said to “stretch the field,” meaning in NFL parlance he is a burner, a guy who has the speed to get behind any defensive back and haul in that long bomb from Griffin. You know what? So was Bob Hayes, but he couldn’t catch.

What? So I took to twitter and sent him this.

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@MikeWiseguy Imagine what his career would have been if he could catch http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/membe ... ayerId=276


Now I wasn't expecting a reply and if I did get one, I expected him to say something like "he shouldn't be. Overrated, etc." However, he sent me this.

Quote
@nicefellow31 I'm thinking I should fix that for the Internet version. Thanks.

So apparently, he didn't know that Bob Hayes was in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. No type of fact checking or anything. Amazing.

#2 Mark L. Ford
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 09:43 AM
People shouldn't toss out remarks like "but he couldn't catch" unless they're certain.

#3 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 11:19 AM

I sent him an article that I did once about the controversial 'Mel Gray' catch in the 1975 St. Louis Cardinals-Redskins game and said that in Washington this play is always known as "The Catch". Wise is from the San Fran area. He e-mailed me saying that Dwight Clark's i

#4 nicefellow31
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 11:29 AM

TouchdownTimmy, on 27 Nov 2013 - 11:19 AM, said:
I sent him an article that I did once about the controversial 'Mel Gray' catch in the 1975 St. Louis Cardinals-Redskins game and said that in Washington this play is always known as "The Catch". Wise is from the San Fran area. He e-mailed me saying that Dwight Clark's is the "only" play known as "The Catch". I sent an e-mail back to him saying "Not to a generation of fans in Washington D.C. my friend."

You are correct about that. If you recall, Jim Hart signed on to be a backup QB for the Skins in 1984. When he got to town, one of the 1st questions the local media asked him was, "did Mel Gray really catch that ball?" 9 years after the play!

#5 NWebster
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 02:53 PM

As a Steeler fan I always thought SI going from Zimmerman to King was kinda like going from Bradshaw to Malone. Zim was the best, insightful, knowledgeable, and an excellent writer. King's only real value is in his "access".

#6 JWL
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 04:04 PM

Well, hell, if the Redskins fans are calling it a catch, then it was a catch.

It didn't look like a catch to me, but if it is good enough for Redskins fans, it's good enough for me.

The Gray play in question was similar to a fumble in the Jets-Falcons game in 1992. In that tilt, there was a fumble. A referee saw the ball roll under Jessie Tuggle and ruled that possession would go to Atlanta. Never mind that Tuggle did not actually recover the fumble nor did a whistle blow. The ball happened to be underneath Tuggle's body and the ref looked at that very moment in time and decided it was good enough. That was as much a fumble recovery as Mel Gray's drop was a catch.

#7 Reaser
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 04:15 PM

NWebster, on 27 Nov 2013 - 2:53 PM, said:
Zim was the best, insightful, knowledgeable, and an excellent writer. King's only real value is in his "access".
and he played football, which is a good credential to have.

#8 Todd Pence
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 05:46 PM

As anyone who lives in the area is aware, the Washington Post has the worst standard of journalism in the sports department of any major city newspaper. They are notorious for employing "writers" who probably couldn't get positions on the staffs of most high school papers. Mark Giannatto and Alex Prewitt are two of the most dire examples. And, of course, their flagship columnist is Thomas Boswell . . .

#9 Mark L. Ford
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Posted 27 November 2013 - 06:34 PM

I remember when Tony Kornheiser made the Bolivian Olympic team so angry, they boycotted the 1984 games in Los Angeles. He intended for his column to be funny, but it was lame (something about "Bolivia Newton-Johns" and the athletes having to deliver beer to pay for their expenses). At least he met his deadline, I guess.

#10 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 28 November 2013 - 02:47 AM

Todd Pence, on 27 Nov 2013 - 5:46 PM, said:
As anyone who lives in the area is aware, the Washington Post has the worst standard of journalism in the sports department of any major city newspaper. They are notorious for employing "writers" who probably couldn't get positions on the staffs of most high school papers. Mark Giannatto and Alex Prewitt are two of the most dire examples. And, of course, their flagship columnist is Thomas Boswell . . .
I live in the area and don't think that they are bad at all. Boswell is the only columnist that I know who questioned whether Jose Canseco was on PED's when he was with the Oakland Athletics in the late 1980's. Former columnists Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon are on "PTI" (and Wilbon does ESPN's NBA studio show) which is a few steps above high school journalism. If neither of them had credibility, they would not be on those shows. I mean they really do get a lot of big names on the program and to their credit call out ESPN from time to time.

Since TK and Wilbon stopped writing for the paper I don't read it as much anymore. Hell, I don't read any newspapers anymore. However, from what I've read from Wise he's okay. Not the late Shirley Povich who is the standard at that paper, but okay.

Besides ,if you had to cover teams that have been lousy for over 20 years you'd run out of stuff to write too. In Washington every season for the Caps, Redskins and Wizards is "Groundhog Day". It's actually quite boring.

#11 rhickok1109
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Posted 28 November 2013 - 10:21 PM

TouchdownTimmy, on 28 Nov 2013 - 02:47 AM, said:
I live in the area and don't think that they are bad at all. Boswell is the only columnist that I know who questioned whether Jose Canseco was on PED's when he was with the Oakland Athletics in the late 1980's. Former columnists Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon are on "PTI" (and Wilbon does ESPN's NBA studio show) which is a few steps above high school journalism. If neither of them had credibility, they would not be on those shows. I mean they really do get a lot of big names on the program and to their credit call out ESPN from time to time.

That show has no credibility. It's a farrago of loudmouthed nonsense. I didn't anything could be worse than the typical radio sports talk show until PTI arrived. Perhaps it's improved since I quit watching, but I tend to doubt it, given the obnoxious personalities of Kornheiser and Wilbon. I barely remember Wilbon as a columnist, but Kornheiser was terrible (about on a par with the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy) and he certainly didn't show any improvement during his stint on MNF. (I could never understand why he was brought back for a second year.) He also showed a total lack of integrity with his comments about the Post after he left.

#12 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 29 November 2013 - 11:22 AM

rhickok1109, on 28 Nov 2013 - 10:21 PM, said:
That show has no credibility. It's a farrago of loudmouthed nonsense. I didn't anything could be worse than the typical radio sports talk show until PTI arrived. Perhaps it's improved since I quit watching, but I tend to doubt it, given the obnoxious personalities of Kornheiser and Wilbon. I barely remember Wilbon as a columnist, but Kornheiser was terrible (about on a par with the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy) and he certainly didn't show any improvement during his stint on MNF. (I could never understand why he was brought back for a second year.) He also showed a total lack of integrity with his comments about the Post after he left.

I disagree with you Rhickok about "PTI" and I am far from an ESPN man. In fact I'm not a fan of it or talk radio. You may know more about its credibility because you work in the field, That's fine. I like the show. It's the only thing on ESPN that I do watch.

As a writer, I don't think that Korneheiser was terrible just different.As for Monday night, well let's just say that the program has not been the same since its heyday and never will be as times have changed.

I thought Wilbon wrote too much about Chicago (and he still talks too much about it), but did and still does make some good points, As for him being obnoxious I did see him at Redskins training camp and he was more than generous with his time.which is more than I can say for the late George Michael of "Sports Machine" fame who wanted nothing to do with anybody. Wilbon stayed and signed autographs until he was forced to leave and carried on a conversation with a young handicapped boy while doing it. He may not always be this way, but was that day. And for me that image means more than anything that I see on a TV screen.

I don't follow the Post or any othe paper that much anymore. I read more about the local high schools in the local paper actually. It's nothing against any of the writers or papers. To each his own. It's just my way of cutting out the noise just as I do with TV.

#13 Todd Pence
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Posted 29 November 2013 - 05:58 PM

I used to really like Wilbon, but I’ve soured on him in recent years. He’s transformed over his career from a keen and insightful commentator into a supercilious jerk.
One of the major factor in the Redskins’ struggles during the past two decades has been the Washington media’s complete lack of perspective. Every Redskins win is treated as the foundation for a dynasty, every loss as a disaster that the franchise will never recover from.
It really is comical at times. When Jim Zorn began his coaching career with a 6-2 start, the Post writers were all trumpeting him as a coaching wizard and calling Snyder a genius for hiring him. In a classic case of Orwellian historical revisionism, these exact same writers a year later were deriding Snyder for the hire, and referring to Zorn as a “substitute teacher” who was in over his head. But this is typical of the front-running, ship-bailing mentality of the paper.
The Post buries its coverage of NFL games other than the Redskins in the back pages, and is equally as abysmal in its college football coverage. High school football coverage is a mess, and gives preferential treatment to D.C. and Maryland over Northern Virginia. If you live in NOVA, good luck even finding a score, much less a game writeup in Saturday morning’s paper. The Post helped keep baseball out of DC for 33 years by giving home market coverage to the Baltimore Orioles. They also inexplicably treat Virginia Tech, 217 miles away, as a “local” team. Norman Chad’s weekly Monday column is about the paper’s only saving grace.

#14 rhickok1109
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Posted 29 November 2013 - 09:22 PM

Todd Pence, on 29 Nov 2013 - 5:58 PM, said:
I used to really like Wilbon, but I’ve soured on him in recent years. He’s transformed over his career from a keen and insightful commentator into a supercilious jerk.
One of the major factor in the Redskins’ struggles during the past two decades has been the Washington media’s complete lack of perspective. Every Redskins win is treated as the foundation for a dynasty, every loss as a disaster that the franchise will never recover from.
It really is comical at times. When Jim Zorn began his coaching career with a 6-2 start, the Post writers were all trumpeting him as a coaching wizard and calling Snyder a genius for hiring him. In a classic case of Orwellian historical revisionism, these exact same writers a year later were deriding Snyder for the hire, and referring to Zorn as a “substitute teacher” who was in over his head. But this is typical of the front-running, ship-bailing mentality of the paper.
The Post buries its coverage of NFL games other than the Redskins in the back pages, and is equally as abysmal in its college football coverage. High school football coverage is a mess, and gives preferential treatment to D.C. and Maryland over Northern Virginia. If you live in NOVA, good luck even finding a score, much less a game writeup in Saturday morning’s paper. The Post helped keep baseball out of DC for 33 years by giving home market coverage to the Baltimore Orioles. They also inexplicably treat Virginia Tech, 217 miles away, as a “local” team. Norman Chad’s weekly Monday column is about the paper’s only saving grace.
What you say about the Washington media sounds is quite true of the Boston media, as well. They over-react to every win and loss. A couple of years, the Boston media, led by Dan Shaughnessy, were virtually unanimous in wanting to get rid of David Ortiz. Now all those same people are celebrating him as the second of coming of Babe Ruth.

I can't quite agree with your criticism of their coverage of the Orioles, though. I grew up in Wisconsin before the Braves arrived; Wisconsin papers covered the Cubs and White Sox as if they were the home teams. Would you say that they kept major league baseball out of Milwaukee? By the same token, papers in Minnesota covered the Packers as they were the home team. Would you say that the kept pro football out of Minnesota?

#15 TouchdownTimmy
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Posted 30 November 2013 - 02:02 AM

Todd Pence, on 29 Nov 2013 - 5:58 PM, said:
I used to really like Wilbon, but I’ve soured on him in recent years. He’s transformed over his career from a keen and insightful commentator into a supercilious jerk.
One of the major factor in the Redskins’ struggles during the past two decades has been the Washington media’s complete lack of perspective. Every Redskins win is treated as the foundation for a dynasty, every loss as a disaster that the franchise will never recover from.
It really is comical at times. When Jim Zorn began his coaching career with a 6-2 start, the Post writers were all trumpeting him as a coaching wizard and calling Snyder a genius for hiring him. In a classic case of Orwellian historical revisionism, these exact same writers a year later were deriding Snyder for the hire, and referring to Zorn as a “substitute teacher” who was in over his head. But this is typical of the front-running, ship-bailing mentality of the paper.
The Post buries its coverage of NFL games other than the Redskins in the back pages, and is equally as abysmal in its college football coverage. High school football coverage is a mess, and gives preferential treatment to D.C. and Maryland over Northern Virginia. If you live in NOVA, good luck even finding a score, much less a game writeup in Saturday morning’s paper. The Post helped keep baseball out of DC for 33 years by giving home market coverage to the Baltimore Orioles. They also inexplicably treat Virginia Tech, 217 miles away, as a “local” team. Norman Chad’s weekly Monday column is about the paper’s only saving grace.
You mean to tell me that the Redskins struggles have been caused partly by the media? What writers write has hurt the team on the field?

The Redskins have done enough to lose on their own and continue to do so. Poor management seems to be the biggest problem with them.

As for the Post keeping baseball out of Washington they had nothing to do with that. That was all MLB owners. In my opinion if not for the MLBPA Washington still wouldn't have a team as the Montreal Expos would have folded. Washington was the only city left that could support a baseball team and put money in the owners pockets thus they got the Expos.

And if the Post is so bad there is always the option of not reading it.

#16 NWebster
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Posted 02 December 2013 - 09:34 AM

A pretty good piece on Dr. Z.

http://nfl.si.com/20...ruly-everybody/

#17 nicefellow31
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Posted 02 December 2013 - 11:40 AM

Todd Pence, on 29 Nov 2013 - 5:58 PM, said:
They also inexplicably treat Virginia Tech, 217 miles away, as a “local” team. Norman Chad’s weekly Monday column is about the paper’s only saving grace.

Yes. I grew up thinking that Virginia Tech was in Northern Va. or someplace close. Imagine my surprise when I finally got old enough to look Blacksburg up on a map. UVA is far closer and don't garner that type of attention.

#18 evan
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Posted 02 December 2013 - 12:14 PM

Not to pile on The Post, but what the heck ... a few weeks back I noticed in the sports section from Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, that the right-hand columns for the Maryland-Florida State article and the Navy-Air Force article are transposed. You can see a picture of the mistake at this listing, which is mine that I have on E-bay now, in case there are any "error newspaper" collectors out there ...

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1558.l2649

Anyway, I just thought I'd bring this up so you can add bad proofreading to the litany of ills that plagues the Post. It continues every day. In yesterday's Sunday sports section in the NFL preview page, they had the Cincinnati-San Diego game starting at 1 p.m. EST, which would have been 10 a.m. local time in San Diego.

#19 luckyshow
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Posted 02 December 2013 - 12:25 PM

Newspapers still have proofreading? If so, they should fire all of them, considering how many corrections they constantly make, print every day, every week. A weird thing in the New York Times is when they seem to print articles with everything originally written, included connecting words that were crossed out and changed. So sometimes tenses are doubled up. As if both the original words and the substituted corrections are thrown in together.

I doubt there is proofreading anymore. Or even editing, per se...

#20 rhickok1109
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Posted 02 December 2013 - 06:32 PM

luckyshow, on 02 Dec 2013 - 12:25 PM, said:
Newspapers still have proofreading? If so, they should fire all of them, considering how many corrections they constantly make, print every day, every week. A weird thing in the New York Times is when they seem to print articles with everything originally written, included connecting words that were crossed out and changed. So sometimes tenses are doubled up. As if both the original words and the substituted corrections are thrown in together.
I doubt there is proofreading anymore. Or even editing, per se...

When you refer to the NYT, don't you mean their on-line edition? They do that to be completely transparent about changes that have been made. More websites should do something like that, rather than silently making changes.