Who’s your columnist #9

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18 Responses to “Who’s your columnist #9”

  1.   ssokler Says:

    Bob Ryan’s Sunday column is about Memphis Coach John Calipari and is called “Calipari unleases the underdogs”.

    Ryan descirbes the four NCAA basketball number 1 seeds as three pedigree schools and a mutt, Memphis.

    Ryan’s Boston audience knows Calipari because he used to coach UMass and took them to a Final Four in 1996, beating Georgetown and Alan Iverson to get there.

    Ryan’s columun is sympathetic and humorous and will be even better if Memphis wins today.

    The url is http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2008/03/30/calipari_unleashes_the_underdogs/

  2.   Elliot Says:

    “Upon Inspection, New Home Has Some Sweet Aspects to It”

    By: Tom Boswell

    Tom Boswell’s story absolutely makes you want to purchase a ticket and go see a National’s baseball game as soon as possible.
    With great writing and descriptions of the team’s new ballpark, it sounds like like no game will be a bad game. Boswell describes how the park is absolutely going to bring in more fans compared to RFK Stadium.
    He explains that the golden age of ballparks has begun. Where it isn’t just about the game anymore, its also about the venue, and Nationals Park is most definitely up there as an awesome place to enjoy a Major League Game. He furthermore states that baseball has survived because of the glorious ballparks and that many of the parks have saved the game from its worst self.
    National Park will keep every fan happy and entertained. With great seating room, great views, the biggest scoreboard there is, upon unthinkable varieties of food, this park is top notch.
    Boswell is great at getting the reader more and more excited about the new park because he describes it in every way that a baseball fan wants to hear. Such as:

    “Get ready to be dazzled-just like so many other cities.”

    “so many varieties of food it’s silly to list them.”

    “Home plate is as close to the stands as the rules allow” (AWESOME!)

    “…the “transparent” facade makes the park a glowing beacon after dark.”

    And most importantly, for all fans, Boswell suggest that they do not enter National Park ready to judge and grade the ballpark, but rather to just gape and take in all the new and amazing features of the ballpark that is finally in our nation’s capitol.

    see more at:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008032902217.html

  3.   Jeremy Says:

    Jayson Stark’s latest column concerns the Atlanta Braves and his perception that they are severely underrated. According to Stark they have the best shot at winning the National League east, and have a great shot at winning the World Series.

    I find this particularly amusing because I watched the Nationals beat them in their season opener yesterday 🙂

    At any rate, Stark’s article examines the strengths of the Braves, detailing why he believes they will win it all. The argument seems very one-sided, with Stark’s one real concession being that the Braves are highly susceptible to injury. I suppose that in an opinion piece like this I can accept that he wants to focus on the positive. The article didn’t seem to suggest that the Braves have no weakness, but simply that he wasn’t concerned with them.

    Stark’s column is, as usual, quite humorous, and draws the reader in. In particular i enjoyed his references to the Braves in terms of their manager. He also humorously worked in a sarcastic suggestion that he should be considered for a Pulitzer prize.

    Check it out:
    http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview08/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id;=3320120

  4.   Dechele Says:

    “Is Michael Beasley worth tanking for?”

    By: Scoop Jackson

    Scoop Jackson did not write a new article this week so I read one of his older articles that relates to March Madness.

    This articles discusses how some NBA teams should purposely lose games in order to get the #1 pick in the NBA draft and draft Michael Beasley.

    He also discusses whether or not Beasley is worth doing something like this for.

    His article gives both the pros and cons to drafting Beasley since there are quite a few teams in the NBA who are in need of a forward like him.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jackson/080307

  5.   Latonya Says:

    “Fight gets personal between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Bob Arum”

    BY Tim Smith

    This column discussed a lawsuit against between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his former promoter Bob Arum.

    This would have been a standard who, what, when, where, why and how, but Smith used his own language and writing style to make this story interesting for the reader.

    Here is an example, “This could get ugly before it’s over, making it the heavyweight slugfest of the year.”

    I liked this line because it showed that Smith is comfortable in his writing style and he isn’t afraid to be bold with his words.

    Another example was the lead, “Without fanfare, which is a rarity in boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. filed a lawsuit against his former promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, in Clark County (Nev.) District Court two weeks ago.”

    It gave the who, what, when and where, but “without fanfare” took it a step further. I like that Smith is into making his stories different from just your average sports columnist, but he still gives the basic information.

    Here is the link:

    http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2008/03/19/2008-03-19_fight_gets_personal_between_floyd_maywea.html

  6.   Robert Says:

    “Ozzie ready to come back strong,” by Chris De Luca

    De Luca writes about that the comeback that Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen expects for his team after a disappointing 2007 season.

    Last year, expectations for the White Sox were high following a second place finish in the AL Central. But the club slipped into mediocrity, finishing the season in fourth place with a record 69-93.

    De Luca writes that Guillen was not on top of his players in 2007 like he was in the past. But De Luca also mentioned that Guillen is not going to let that happen again.

    For the last two seasons, the White Sox were considered to be among the contenders to win the AL Central. This year, Cleveland and Detroit have been widely predicted to win the division. It will be interesting to see how the White Sox adapt to their underdog role in the division.

    Here is the link:
    http://www.suntimes.com/sports/deluca/869012,CST-SPT-deluca31.article

  7.   Eric Says:

    Flashback: Lions QB Rodney Peete is just happy to be in NFL

    By: Mitch Albom

    Albom’s article is an interesting read. Where he finds ways of explaining the material in a systematic way. Always you can find some kind of pattern in Albom’s writing.

    In this article in particular there are examples of him using illusions to tie into the story for the enjoyment of the reader. After all that is one of the most important parts of being a good journalist is for clarity, concise, and enjoyment.

    The transitions are very fluid and systematic which make his writing style enjoyable and easy to follow.

    The way in which Albom closes his article is with a great quote to recap the ups and downs of his subject. With this he ends with a strong note in an end cap of a question.

    You can find the article here-
    http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080310/SPORTS01/80309042/1082/col01

  8.   Josh Says:

    Clayton is writing about what is to come of the spy gate situation in the NFL. More rules and discipline for all the teams in the league are expected to be talked about in the annual owners meeting.

    Kraft wants to put this situation in the rear view, but he nailed it in the quote. In today’s age anybody can make any kind of allegation but it needs to be proved. Referring to the Walsh (former patriot tape employee) allegations.

    We will see what happens. I hope for the sake of the organization and the league that this issue can be put to rest. It seems unlikely, but we shall see. They had an incredible run without the big finish but at least they showed beyond a shadow of doubt they could win the right way.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3322568

  9.   Nadia Says:

    Royals win by playing it Hillman’s way.
    -Joe Posnanski

    Reading this blog I paid a lot of attention to the opinion that was put into a column.

    I have come to the conlusion that I do not believe I would be able to write both a column and an news story both in one sitting. Having to keep your opinion completely out of it for a news story and then writing mostly opinion for a column I would go crazy.

    Posnanski is very good at doing it though. He expresses his opinion but bases it with facts and statistics so that you don’t even realize you are reading an opinion rather then the facts.
    None the less I was not a big fan of the Royals article, bust mostly that is just because I am not a big fan of the Royals. And neither did it seem was Posnanski.
    http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/554993.html

  10.   DannyU Says:

    A ‘Storybook Ending’
    Homer Gives Nationals a Memorable Close to $611 Million Stadium Opener
    By:Dave Sheinin and Daniel LeDuc

    My regular columnist is Wilbon, but he did not have anything new this week. I chose this article because it was about the biggest story over the weekend.

    The actual column is a pm lead, basically describing the why and how aspects of the Nationals home opener. Sheinin and LeDuc do a good job capturing the feeling at the stadium on Sunday night. With descriptive analysis of the game, the crowd and even the concessions, the article does a good job of retelling not only the story from the game, but the feeling from it also.
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/30/AR2008033002412.html

  11.   Brittany Says:

    “Cyclist’s Trial Could be Preview”
    By: Peter King

    This article discusses how Barry Bonds focus has gone from studying pitchers to studying cyclist’s Tammy Thomas’ perjury trial.
    Bonds and Thomas have almost identical charges against them regarding the steriods scandal.
    Bonds’defense believes by watching the prosecutors moves during Thomas’ trial will be a golden opportunity to having insight on how Bonds’ trial will play out.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/03/23/bc.bbn.athletessteroids.ap/index.html

  12.   Carlos Says:

    “Reign delay for our Rox”

    By Woody Paige

    In today’s article, Paige is really excited that the Rockies’ season opener at St. Louis got rained out in the bottom of the third with the Rocks down 5-1. No one is happier than pitcher Jeff Francis that the game never happened, since there was something wrong with his mechanics, making it impossible for him to find the strike zone.

    Paige makes his comments interesting again this week: Francis, the Rockies’ Ace of Club, couldn’t find the plate with a GPS. It’s a mulligan.

    Paige’s column starts of with Woody calling for celebration because the Rockies are undefeated in 2008. Towards the end, he’s pleading his team not to lose.. lots of exclamation marks and excitement for the season.

    “Play ball!”

    http://www.denverpost.com/paige/ci_8765201

  13.   Dylan Cavalheri-Gaiteri Says:

    “Bruins have their share of flaws entering brutally tough Final Four”

    Gene Wojciechowski writes about Ben Howland’s experience entering the final four and how this is his third straight one. Wojciechowski talks about how at times UCLA can be quite effective and how other times they can be taken down to the wire. Wojciechowski says how this could be a potentially very exciting final if UCLA and UNC make it, since it would pit UCLA’s freshman phenom, Kevin Love, against the consensus Player of the Year in Tyler Hansbrough.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id;=3320052&sportCat;=ncb

  14.   Mike Coppinger Says:

    Leaving Behind A Webb Of Intrigue
    By Bill Simmons
    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080328

    Simmons writes about how much better Chris Webber could have been, if just a few things have happened.

    I love when Simmons writes his what-if columns. Always a good read.

    First scenario is if Webber stayed with the Magic and was paired with Shaq. They would have been a great tandem.

    Also, if Webber stayed with the Warriors under Don Nelson.

    Ultimately, as Simmons notes, C-Webb will go down as one of the 75 greatest players of all-time. But he could have been so much better.

  15.   Will Says:

    “Kansas-Davidson Game was Great but Less Fulfilling” By Jason Whitlock

    This week Whitlock writes about the Kansas-Davidson game and how that all that really matters in the end is winning. He writes about how the win for Kansas was, by far the ugliest game of the weekend but that in the end a win is a win.

    What makes this story so interesting is how a good portion of the story is written in the second-person. Only an experienced columnist such as Whitlock can pull something like this off. I didn’t even think about that the story was written in second person until the second read because it is done so effortlessly.

    You can read the story here:
    http://www.kansascity.com/sports/columnists/jason_whitlock/story/553584.html

  16.   ambar Says:

    “IOC Needs to Step In Or Perhaps Move On”
    By Sally Jenkins

    In this article, Jenkins talks about why she believes Beijing is not the place to host the Olympics. She says the Chinese government is fundamentally unfit to host the Olympics due to the violent police action in Tibet as well as other events that have occurred in the past two weeks.

    She argues that the Olympics should not be political yet shouldn’t be evil. She calls for the IOC to quit hiding behind the notion that the Olympics are apolitical and to make the Chinese government live up to its word, and to the Olympic charter and spirit.

    This article was particularly interesting to me because she was extra opinionated. I could almost feel the passion she feels towards this subject.

    Here is the URL:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/25/AR2008032503207.html

  17.   ambar Says:

    “IOC Needs to Step In Or Perhaps Move On”
    By Sally Jenkins

    In this article, Jenkins talks about why she believes Beijing is not the place to host the Olympics. She says the Chinese government is fundamentally unfit to host the Olympics due to the violent police action in Tibet as well as other events that have occurred in the past two weeks.

    She argues that the Olympics should not be political yet shouldn’t be evil. She calls for the IOC to quit hiding behind the notion that the Olympics are apolitical and to make the Chinese government live up to its word, and to the Olympic charter and spirit.

    This article was particularly interesting to me because she was extra opinionated. I could almost feel the passion she feels towards this subject.

    Here is the URL:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/25/AR2008032503207.html

  18.   stephen ball Says:

    Mike Wise’s article last week was about University of Maryland women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese.

    I’m really starting to notice Wise’s affinity for the turtle. Over the past month, there have been 2 articles on Georgetown, 1 on American, 1 on George Mason, and at least 5 on the Terps!!!!

    We’ll definitely have to take him to task on this in class this week. If he shows up, my guess is that he was already committed to speaking at UMD that day.(totally kidding of course)

    Although I’m giving Wise a hard time, the story, as always, great.

    One of the things that I’ve really come to appreciate about Wise’s columns are his ability to tell the home town news story without being a homer.

    Each Wise article is about a local sports PERSON, not athlete or celebrity. Yes they all tie into sports, but there is far less opinion than there is story telling. Something I truely appreciate.

    In an age where print, radio, television, and the web are saturated with the “talking heads” of sports journalism, it’s a refreshing change.

    Wise doesn’t make himself the story, or his opinion. He doesn’t spend columns or “talking points” discussing his personal rivalries with others and doesn’t jump on or off the bandwagon.

    Here’s his article…

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/27/AR2008032703921.html

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