Who’s your columnist #2
Your comment must be posted no later than 30 minutes before the Tuesday Feb. 3 class.
You must include the URL of the column so that your classmates can read the column, too.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Pictured at right: John Harper of the New York Daily News (Sara Ronken will be following Harper this semester).
January 29th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Gary Parrish wrote a column this week about the “resignation” of Alabama head basketball coach Mark Gottfried.
Parrish gave facts and statistics to back up this claim that Gottfried was pushed out. He did not just quit — he was forced out of ‘Bama.
According to Parrish: “This happened because Gottfried started the season on shaky ground and did nothing to stabilize his position. He opened with a loss to Mercer, watched his starting point guard (Ron Steele) quit last week, fell to 2-3 in the SEC with Saturday’s loss to Kentucky and lost the confidence of his bosses and the fan base along the way.”
Gottfried was 12-7 this season and 2-3 in the Southeatern Conference when he resigned, quit, or was basically fired (whatever you want to believe).
Parrish then goes on to start naming possible replacements. He even mentioned a fellow CAA coach, Anthony Grant of VCU.
Parrish, just like the Alabama Crimson Tide waste no time in figuring out who could be the next head ball coach of the team.
He is a great columnist is continues to add his wit and hilarity into writing, while still reporting the news.
Here is a link to the column: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11304406
January 29th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
In his column this Wednesday, Rick Reilly writes about Lionel Rodia, who Reilly claims is the luckiest fan in America.
After getting laid off last year, Rodia, a Philadelphia native, began attending as many Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers games that he could….for free.
Rodia would dodge security at the games, bobbing and weaving till he finally made it inside.
When the Phillies won the World Series,
Rodia managed to finagle his way all the down onto the field, where he posed as a player on the team. He received a championship hat, t-shirt and a bottle of champagne on the way to the greatest night of his life.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3864246
January 29th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Brendan Murphy
Comm. 371-001
Sports Reporting
January 29, 2009
Woody Paige is a sports columnist for the Denver Post. I have not followed his writing for long, but I gained interest in his writing after seeing it more frequently. In his most recent column, “Bowl no longer spiked,” he humorously refers to the recent economic recession’s effect on the Super Bowl festivities. I enjoyed the column (URL below) because he creatively incorporates pop culture, specifically Paris Hilton, into his analysis of this week. Woody Paige points out how ridiculous the Super Bowl festivities have become and references Super Bowl events prior to the media getting far too involved, which is what is has become. Although Paige is working in Denver, I am going to continue to follow his writing.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
In this week’s column, Harper discusses the tension that still remains between Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and former Yankees manager Joe Torre. Rodriguez (or A-Rod) and Torre are in the spotlight together again, this time in regards to Torre’s new book, “The Yankee Years.” Coauthored by Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci and perhaps one of the most controversial behind-the-scenes sports stories of its time, “Years” spills on everything that the press could not. A-Rod—who Torre refers to as A-Fraud—has an entire chapter devoted to him, called “The Problem of Alex.” Harper discusses A-Rod’s reaction to the book, quoting his friends and fellow teammates while simultaneously leaving out any quotes from Torre or Verducci. It was an interesting column to read not simply because of the content, but also because Harper never outwardly states his opinion. Instead, he indirectly expresses his sympathy for the Yankees star through the use of the quotes that he chose to include in his column.
Harper’s column can be found at: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2009/01/26/2009-01-26_source_by_batting_arod_8th_in_playoffs_j-2.html
January 30th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
In his ESPN Magazine column for this week, Bill Simmons criticizes the overuse of the term “underrated” in today’s sports media. I agree with his argument and have given thought to his point in the past. If everyone agrees that a player is underrated, doesn’t that mean that he is actually properly rated?
He goes on to make the point that the two most overrated players in sports are Kevin Durant of basketball’s Oklahoma City Thunder and MLB free agent Manny Ramirez.
He claims that Durant is underrated because he does not get enough publicity playing for an underperforming, small-market team – and he is right. I am a casual NBA fan. Before reading this article, Durant did not stick out in my mind as one of the top few young players in the league today. But considering some of the statistics that Simmons puts forward in this column, it is easy to see why Durant is truly underrated.
Perhaps more debatably, Simmons argues that Manny Ramirez is another largely underrated player in today’s sports world. His evidence of this is the fact that Ramirez is still a free agent this far along in baseball’s off-season. I actually disagree with this point. Unlike Durant, casual baseball fans are fully aware of Ramirez’s astonishing statistics and ability to perform in the clutch. Teams have not signed him yet because they are wary of his personal baggage. I do not believe that this makes Ramirez underrated as a baseball player.
Here is a link to the column.
February 1st, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Bill Plaschke, consistently in the top ten of America’s sports columnists every year, began writing for the L.A. Times in 1987 and has been a staple of that magazine’s sports section, and a prime example of the excellence expected in this particular field.
His most recent story, “The Few, the Proud, the Cardinal Fans”, a revealing look at the forgotten Cardinal fan, with the familiar Plaschke personal touch that he’s famous for.
For example, take the concluding sentences:
“His license plate reads ‘1Cards1’.”
“Pretty easy to get, I guess nobody thought of it,” he said.
His e-mail handle is “1cardsfan.”
“Pretty easy to get that too,” he said.
Like wildflowers in the desert, Cardinals fans are resilient, adaptive, isolated.
I have denoted Donnelly, a Phoenix investment consultant, as the world’s greatest Arizona Cardinals fan for one simple reason.
I’ve never met another one.”
February 1st, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Diana Friedman
In his January 24 column, Tom Boswell again combines his wit with his analytical ability. He is not afraid of going after the big boys, as he attacks the Lerners’ ownership of the Washington Nationals.
One technique that he used that I particularly like is when he broke up his questions into separate paragraphs to emphasize his point.
This not only creates emphasis, but has the reader asking himself the same exact questions. By doing this, Boswell really creates a connection with his writing.
The URL is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012301740.html
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
http://www.freep.com/article/20090130/SPORTS01/90130005/1049/SPORTS01/Cut+by+the+Lions++Pittsburgh+s+Sean+McHugh+is+getting+the+sweetest+revenge
This column is about Sean McHugh, a former Lions fullback who started for the Pittsburg Steelers in the Super Bowl.
I like how Cotsonika starts the column off. He lets the reader know that “This is a rags-to-riches story. This is a lowest-low-to-the-highest-high, Lions-to-the-Steelers, worst-team-ever-to-a-Super-Bowl-team story.”
He reports on Sean McHugh’s incredible journey from being cut by the Lions in preseason all the way to January 30.
He writes in chronological order of McHugh’s season. This style makes it read like a fiction story which made me want to keep reading all the way to the end.
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Colin Fitzgerald
Leonard Shapiro wrote his column this week about the commentary skills of John Madden. Shapiro is correct in his assertion that Madden is the best in the buisness and remains spot on in his role with NBC. With his consise points Shapiro quickly moves beyond analysing just Madden’s performance and asseses the Super Bowl from the broadcast side. Referencing the number of cameras and detailing the numerous pregame shows activities. I like Shapiro’s style because he touches on so many subjects without making the column seem overcrowded. His analysis of Rodney Harrison is hilarious because his use of quotes perfectly conveys his feelings. Shapiro is at his best when writing about football and with the season over, I will have to look forward to more NFL coverage till next year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR2009020201978.html?sub=AR
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:32 am
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013101852.html
Mike Wise wrote his weekend column on the significance of the Capitals’ beat down of Prof. Klein’s beloved Red Wings.
Wise spoke to the point that if the Caps are going to be more than first-round participants in the playoffs, they need to win games against premiere teams, like Detroit. He also explored the prospect of D.C. becoming a hockey town like the motor city.
Wise recalled some of the situations that occurred in the game, but primarily focused on quotes from Bruce Boudreau, Alex Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov to make his argument. He also brought up the Capitals’ record against the upper echelon teams to reinforce the point that the Caps, with their win over Detroit, are on their way to the top of the league.
February 3rd, 2009 at 10:52 am
Woody Paige
Woody Paige’s most recent column is titled “Harrison Stars in Long Run”. The opening line asks the reader “who’s the boss?” of the Super Bowl. Paige goes on to try and answer his question, touching on Larry Fitzgerald, Santonio Holmes, Kurt Warner, Ben Rothlisberger, and, of course, Bruce Springsteen. He focuses specifically on James Harrison’s record breaking interception return for a touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half. Paige claims that if it were not for the heart pounding second half, and heroics by a couple of wide receivers, Harrison would have been the boss (or MVP). In the end Paige can’t bring himself to proclaim an individual the boss, finally settling with a more appropriate statement. “The Super Bowl was who was the boss.”
The Link: http://www.denverpost.com/paige
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Tom Verducci’s piece this week was about the book he co-wrote with Joe Torre, called “The Yankee Years.”
Torre has come under an intense amount of scrutiny for agreeing to take part in a tell-all book about the Yankees. He’s viewed in New York as a hero, and he’s seen around the country by baseball fans as something of a loving uncle or grandpa. The idea that somebody like Torre could take private conversations from the clubhouse and release them to the public in a money-making book, shocks people. He’s a first-class individual who cares deeply about the game.
Verducci, who did the grunt work for the soon-to-be-released book, posted a Q-and-A with another of Sports Illustrated’s writers this week.
He attempts to explain to people why Torre wanted to take part in this book. His basic point is that a book like this needed to be written. The Yankees were the most talked about sports team from 1996-2007, in one of the most talked about era’s of baseball history.
“The book frames the 1996-2007 Yankees around the macro issues and seismic changes in the game and business of baseball in that era, one of the most dynamic eras of change in the sport’s history,” Verducci said.
Here is the link:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/tom_verducci/01/30/torre.book/index.html
February 4th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Michael Rosenthal’s Jan. 27 column for Ring Magazine’s online blog found at
http://www.ringtv.com/blog/269/margarito_couldve_caused_tragedy/
concerned the alledged illegal conduct of Antonio Margarito’s corner in the much anticipated Margarito v Shane Mosley in the WBA welterweight championship which took place on Saturday Jan 24.
Before the match, Mosley’s trainer Naazimm Richardson, complained about the tape job on Margarito’s hands. A standard procedure before any match. The California State Athletic Commision present requested a retape at which point a flaky substance was discovered.
Rosenthal reports that the doctor present at the hand taping described the substance as resembling the plaster from casts.
The article opens with the description of the tragic story of Billy Collins Jr who in 1983 fought Luis Resto. Before the fight, Resto’s trainer had removed padding from his fighter’s gloves and also placed plaster of paris in the wraps. Collins lived the rest of his short life with permanaently blurred vision. Unable to fight he committed suicide by driving his car off a cliff at the age of 22.
The allegations against Margarito are already shedding doubt on the biggest victory of his life just months ago when he beat, then champion, Miguel Cotto. Cotto was famous for his unbeatable chin, but in the eleventh round of that fight, with a horribly battered face, and horrible cut over his left eye he took a knee, unable to withstand the punishemnet any longer.
Maragrito lost to Mosely badly on the night of Jan 24.
The California State Athletic Commission is still conducting their investigation. Maragrito’s gloves have been impounded and his boxing license has been temporarily suspended.
February 5th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Bill Plaschke, consistently in the top ten of America’s sports columnists every year, began writing for the L.A. Times in 1987 and has been a staple of that magazine’s sports section, and a prime example of the excellence expected in this particular field.
His most recent story, “The Few, the Proud, the Cardinal Fans”, a revealing look at the forgotten Cardinal fan, with the familiar Plaschke personal touch that he’s famous for.
For example, take the concluding sentences:
“His license plate reads ‘1Cards1’.”
“Pretty easy to get, I guess nobody thought of it,” he said.
His e-mail handle is “1cardsfan.”
“Pretty easy to get that too,” he said.
Like wildflowers in the desert, Cardinals fans are resilient, adaptive, isolated.
I have denoted Donnelly, a Phoenix investment consultant, as the world’s greatest Arizona Cardinals fan for one simple reason.
I’ve never met another one.”
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-super-bowl1-2009feb01,1,3795440.column