Who’s your columnist #13

Your comment must be posted no later than 30 minutes before the Tuesday April 21 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.

This is the penultimate columnist discussion of the semester.



11 Responses to “Who’s your columnist #13”

  1.   bmurphy6 Says:

    Brendan Murphy
    Communication 371-001
    Sports Reporting/Klein
    Who’s your columnist #13
    Michael Wilbon

    “Wizards Need Coach Who’ll Flip on Arenas” focuses on the recent head coaching vacancy. The Wizards are coming off a 19-63 season and in desperate need of turn-around. Fans are buzzing after Flip Saunders verbally committed to the Wizards.

    Considering his successful resume with Detroit and Minnesota, this is all well and good…

    But, Wilbon disagrees with the soon-to-be hiring and I agree.

    Arenas proves to be a handful at $111 million and needs someone to remind him he is the key ingredient, but not the only. Wilbon makes a convincing case for Avery Johnson. Although Saunders will lead Washington the only direction to go, up, I feel Johnson would be a perfect fit.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/13/AR2009041301563.html?sub=AR

  2.   Ben Libby Says:

    Ben Libby
    Communication 371-001
    Columnist #13
    Bob Ryan

    Wow. What can I say?

    Bob Ryan writing about the Boston Bruins!

    In a sports world full of Boston Celtics, Red Sox and New England Patriots, it’s understandable that the Bruins aren’t paid enough attention.

    Then, Ryan comes out with this piece applauding the play of Bruins following their big win over the Canadians to extend their series lead to 2-0.

    On the otherhand, Ryan doesn’t know much about the sport as his analysis rests on the play of individuals, when in the game of hockey team play ultimately decides the game’s fate. Touching upon the team is more important that lauding the play of players such as Bergeron, Kobasew, and Savard. If I was a player I wouldn’t be happy if the “team” was applauded rather than single individuals.

    On the other hand, I thank Ryan for stepping beyond his boundaries and placing the Bruins on a pedestal, which they deserve to be on.

    While the Celtics and Red Sox played on the same day, it was the Bruins who made front page and that hasn’t happened in more than 10 years in Boston.

    I have to thank Bob Ryan for that.

    http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2009/04/19/the_sweet_sounds_of_serenade/?page=2

  3.   Fox Parker Says:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/19/AR2009041902275.html

    In Mike Wise’s column this weekend he used “I” and “me.” WHAT?!

    Yes, Wise did something we are told to almost never do. He also used quotes from a Russian friend/colleague. The quotes added a different feel to his column WHICH was different in an of itself (I know, I still haven’t said what it was about).

    The column compaired the 1980 USA hockey team’s unlikely win over the USSR to the Rangers stunning the Caps… Yea, its a bit of a stretch.

    Wise does make some interesting points–the Caps wear a home red reminiscent of Russia in the 1980 Olympics–and he also displayed a surprisingly expansive knowledge of hockey. Surprising because the man grew up in Hawaii; I here there is not much ice there.

    If you really like hockey and/or want to read some wild s%^! about how the Capitals are this decades USSR this is the column for you.

    This is a very unique column if nothing else.

    I suggest you all read it!

  4.   joe Says:

    Joe Grimberg
    Comm 371-001
    Sports Reporting/Klein
    Who’s your Columnist
    Rick Mease

    In Rick Maese’s recent article, he writes about the possibility of the Baltimore Ravens acquiring wide receiver Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals.

    Maese uses recent quotes from Bolden to show that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning to the Cardinals.

    Bolden says that he doesn’t necessarily want to be traded but wants the “situation to be resolved”.

    Maese writes that besides the possibility of the Cardinals re-signing Bolden, the only team that would be willing to give the Cardinals what they want for Boldin—first and third-round picks in this year’s draft—is the Baltimore Ravens.

    Maese lists a number of teams including the Giants, Eagles, Dolphins and Redskins that might be interested in Boldin’s services. Maese explains why each of these teams is not willing to give the Cardinals two draft picks for Boldin.

    Leaving the Ravens as the only team willing to give the Cardinals what they want. According to Maese, the Ravens have one major hole to fill: at wide receiver. Maese writes that the Ravens could use their draft pick (26th overall) to nab a wide receiver. However, Mease concludes that wide receiver is “among their (the Ravens) least successful positions in the draft”.

    Maese argues that the Ravens yielding a third-round pick for Boldin would be worth it. Maese’s reason is that this year’s draft is largely about adding depth for the Ravens. No big lose for the Ravens if they decide on trading the third-round pick, in addition to the first-round pick.

    Maese says that the Ravens are already one of the better teams in the NFL. Maese believes that the Ravens are ready for another playoff run and need Boldin to help them reach the next level. Boldin would also help make the Ravens’ young quarterback Joe Flaco even better.

    For Maese, the trade is a no-brainer.
    “In this league, you go with the sure thing whenever possible. And in Boldin, the Ravens would be getting a player who represents the difference between a team that wants to be among the league’s elite, and one that is.”

  5.   joe Says:

    http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-sp.maese19apr19,0,3964312.column

  6.   Sara Ronken Says:

    This week, Harper provided a play-by-play of the Mets-Brewers game for his readers. However, he wrote it much differently than the average numeric and statistical game story. In between every play he recounted, he added a bit of his own commentary that expressed his opinion on how and why that play happened the way it did. It made for a much more interesting read on a game that happened many hours prior to when the column was published.

    This column can be found at: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/columnists/harper/index.html?page=0

  7.   Grant Paulsen Says:

    Grant Paulsen
    Comm 371-001
    Columnist – Verducci

    This week Tom Verducci reported on the new Yankees Stadium.

    Having been at the stadium’s inaugural game, Verducci wrote a commentary on the stadium. He wrote about how it looks, how the Yankees tried to bring some history with them when they moved, and he also pointed out that the fans who were at the first-ever game were there more for the history than the game.

    One of the caption’s next to his story read, “The new Yankee Stadium is an impressive place, but the crowds didn’t rise when CC Sabathia had two strikes on a hitter.” I thought that was pretty interesting.

    Verducci’s angle was something to the effect of “this $1.7 billion facility is beautiful, but you can’t buy ambiance. He went on to say that ‘atmosphere’ could come, but that there were lots of people at game-one who weren’t really there for the game.

    Here is an excerpt:

    “Only time will tell, as its opening day hinted, if the Yankees lost something in gaining such an elegant manor. For as much as the Yankees planned for and built a worthy heir to its two forefathers, neither money nor architects can create the atmosphere that makes a building a ballpark. For one day, and even before the Indians turned a pitchers’ duel into a 10-2 rout with a nine-run seventh inning, Yankee Stadium sounded nothing like the old place. It sounded much quieter, much more refined.”

    Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/tom_verducci/04/16/verducci.yankees/index.html

  8.   Diana Friedman Says:

    Diana Friedman

    In Tom Boswell’s Sunday column titled “Facing Off with an April Curse” he talks about the Capitals playoff series against the Rangers.

    What I liked about this particular article is that he highlights a particular fan that was in attendance at Saturday’s game. This brings Boswell right into the throws of action.

    By reading this, we know he was actually at the game. He wasn’t just sitting at home. We have talked in many classes about how important this is, maintaining this type of beat reporting even when you become a columnist. Boswell’s article proves he has in fact held onto this.

    URL:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041802233.html

  9.   Evan Says:

    A few posts before Angel Cabrera’s relatively surprising victory at the 73rd annual Masters in Augusta, GA, Bill Plaschke as well as most of America watched Tiger Woods.
    Nine months after his reconstructive knee surgery, Woods comes back to a cheering crowd waiting for him to cement his status as the greatest ever.

    “All Signs Point to Tiger” is a good, reflective article that although now seems a bit moot that we know the victor at this year’s Masters, is still worthwhile.
    Tiger is more to some than an American golfer, he’s a deity of the crisp, green fairways of Augusta.

    http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-masters9-2009apr09,0,4756704.column?page=2

  10.   Mike Foss Says:

    Ay!

    I guess 4/20 got to me! (Just kidding).

    Rick Reilly followed Kobe Bryant around two weeks ago. Bryant is a superstar. Staff waiting on him. Chauffeur at his disposal. But beyond the frills and the glitz, Bryant is a fierce competitor, willing to do anything for another title.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4068270

  11.   Eric Vitoff Says:

    Bill Simmons is not an average sports columnist. He often makes a point to mention that he writes his column from the perspective of a fan, and not that of a sports writer in the press box.

    He is a shameless fan of the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. He often writes long columns about these teams, from the perspective of a fan.

    In this past week's column, he reacts to the recent news that his beloved Celtics will probably be without star Kevin Garnett throughout the playoffs. He is clearly saddened and troubled by this news, because he knows it means a sharp drop in the Celtics' chances of winning the title again this year.

    It is a good article. Check it out 😀

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090416&sportCat;=nba

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