Michael Schur and Will Leitch have commented about their appearances on last night's Sports in the Media segment on last "Costas Now", and I consider both pieces to be of the "must-read" variety.
Leitch accurately notes, it was clear from the start that this was never going to be a roundtable exchange of ideas. This was a chance for Buzz Bissinger to get some things off his chest, swear a lot at how profane the Internet is, and browbeat someone he clearly doesn't have any respect for, on any level.
To me, the most humorous part of last evening's event was Bissinger reading an excerpt from a "Balls Deep" column by Big Daddy Drew to illustrate his point that blogs are worthless. Considering who was there last night (Michael Wilbon, Joe Buck, Costas), I'm sure, as Leitch mentioned, that Bissinger got plenty of "fist pounds" for scoring one for the old guard last night.
They apparently don't know how the Internet work.
By ranting, raving and swearing (a lot) about his disdain for blogs and bloggers, Bissinger did Deadspin, Big Daddy Drew and all the blogs that Bissinger and his ilk find objectionable, a tremendous favor last night by showing just how threatened they are by this medium. Reading an excerpt from a "Balls Deep" column isn't going to shame the author into hanging up his keyboard, it's going to embolden him to write more columns that may cause Bissinger's head to literally explode.
Michael Shur's response was pretty simple: There are good blogs and there are bad blogs, just like there are good books and bad books, and you shouldn't dismiss either medium based on the worst examples of their kind.
NFL News and Notes
Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News likes Felix Jones, but would've preferred Rashard Mendenhall. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and his father will speak at a dinner benefiting cancer research.
New York Giants quarterback Jared Lorenzon's heart skipped a beat when the Giants drafted quarterback Andre Woodson. The Giants will visit the White House today.
Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News thinks the plan in Philadelphia is to trade cornerback Lito Sheppard.
Thomas Gafford and rookie JJ Jansen will compete for the Green Bay Packers long-snapping duties this summer.
Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press gives some reasons for Minnesota Vikings fan to hold off on ordering those Super Bowl tickets.
The Detroit Lions didn't draft Caleb Campbell because he's a feel-good story.
David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune has 10 things he now knows about the Chicago Bears that he didn't know last weekend. (Although unless Chris Williams is playing guard, I don't think #5 is going to happen in Seattle on August 16th.)
Former Troy State and Florida State defensive tackle Chris Bradwell will tryout for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend.
The New Orleans Saints have signed undrafted UNLV defensive end Jeremy Geathers, the son of "Jumpy" Geathers, the Saints second-round draft pick in 1984.
Free agent defensive tackle Ian Scott signed with the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday.
The Atlanta Falcons will give safety Nick Turnbull a third chance to make the team. Turnbull was waived by Cincinnati earlier this week.
After using a 6th round pick on long-snapper Tyler Schmitt, it's no surprise that the Seattle Seahawks would release snapper Tim Lindsey on Tuesday.
Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee has some San Francisco 49ers-related draft notes, but more importantly, agrees with my assertion on Monday that Adam Schefter "sucked all the suspense" from this draft.
The St. Louis Rams released troubled tight end Dominique Byrd on Tuesday. Byrd has had various off-field incidents since being drafted in the third round in 2006.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had some thoughts on the size of rookie contracts: "It's kind of nuts that you pay draft picks in the top 10 as if they were free agent veterans on their second contract and have been to a Pro Bowl."
For playing eight games in Toronto over the next five years, the Buffalo Bills will receive $78 million dollars (Canadian). (With today's conversion rate, it's a hair under $77 million dollars US.)
New York Jets rookie tight end Dustin Keller's former head coach thinks Keller is "underrated as a blocker".
Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor survived another night on "Dancing With the Stars".
Pittsburgh Steelers fifth-round pick Dennis Dixon will be limited in mini-camp this weekend.
The Cleveland Browns signed a whopping 23 undrafted free agents on Tuesday, including Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann.
Football players aren't just part of a team, they're a part of a community, writes Rick Maese of the Baltimore Sun.
Thirteen undrafted free agents signed with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday, including Boston College safety Jamie Silva and Rutgers defensive end Eric Foster. (Both should have been drafted.)
Paul Kuharsky of the Tennessean takes a look at the trends from Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt's first two drafts.
The Houston Texans agreed to a one-year deal with veteran guard Fred Weary. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (not the NYPD) thinks that Ephraim Salaam will be the starting left tackle in September.
San Diego Chargers assistant general manager Buddy Nix has retired. The Chargers signed veteran offensive tackle LJ Shelton on Tuesday.
Brian Xanders signed a three-year contract to be the Denver Broncos' assistant general manager.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Tamba Hali will be moving to the right side and assuming Jared Allen's role as the team's primary pass-rusher.
Former Oakland Raiders running back Dominic Rhodes had restructured his contract with the stipulation that if Oakland drafted a running back, they'd grant him his release.
Showing posts with label Sports in the Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports in the Media. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
HBO's "Sports in the Media"
Tonight, HBO aired a live edition of "Costas Now" featuring round table discussions on how the various media outlets contribute and have changed the way we listen, read and watch sports, and how the athletes themselves feel about the media.
Since this is a blog, I'll focus on solely the "Internet" aspect of it.
There's a belief out there among established sportswriters that because bloggers don't work for major news outlets, and don't possess the press credentials that allow them access to the athletes they're writing about, that they shouldn't be taken seriously, and possibly shouldn't be allowed to write at all.
To me, that attitude is downright ignorant of the changing tide in sports journalism.
Newspapers, as we know them, are dying. To me, as someone who grew up with the hopes of one day writing for one, this is sad. Most major newspapers haven't adapted to the changing times and as circulations dwindle, they're hemorrhaging money and layoff hundreds of employees because their readers simply want their information in a faster and more convenient way.
This is where blogs can be very useful.
A prime example of how blogs have become so vital to sports fans is this:
Right now, the Seattle Mariners are having difficulties scoring runs. For the last few days, it's been rumored that their top hitting prospects in AAA-Tacoma, Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien, are on their way up. In fact, before tonight's game, Mariners manager John McLaren said they'd be called up "sooner than later", which was reported on sports radio, the FSN pre-game show and in the blogs in the Seattle Times.
Tonight, during the Mariners-Indians game, the great Mariners blog USS Mariner reported that both Clement and Balentien weren't in the Tacoma Rainiers lineup, which is a prime indicator that they're on their way up to the Mariners.
Without the Internet, and without blogs run by fans and writers who are passionate about the subject, fans simply wouldn't be as informed as they are with it.
Are there websites that lean more negative? Of course they are, but as there is with most everything else, the choice to read those sites is entirely yours.
If you find those sites objectionable, and characterize them in your magazine columns as the works jobless wannabes who sit in their mom's basement spouting off whatever hair-brained garbage enters their minds to the masses, does nothing but fuel the negativity you are complaining about in the first place.
This blog will make the occasional snarky comment, but the purpose of it has always been to share my thoughts and opinions, in a respectful manner, on what goes on in and around the National Football League.
And that's not going to change.
Since this is a blog, I'll focus on solely the "Internet" aspect of it.
There's a belief out there among established sportswriters that because bloggers don't work for major news outlets, and don't possess the press credentials that allow them access to the athletes they're writing about, that they shouldn't be taken seriously, and possibly shouldn't be allowed to write at all.
To me, that attitude is downright ignorant of the changing tide in sports journalism.
Newspapers, as we know them, are dying. To me, as someone who grew up with the hopes of one day writing for one, this is sad. Most major newspapers haven't adapted to the changing times and as circulations dwindle, they're hemorrhaging money and layoff hundreds of employees because their readers simply want their information in a faster and more convenient way.
This is where blogs can be very useful.
A prime example of how blogs have become so vital to sports fans is this:
Right now, the Seattle Mariners are having difficulties scoring runs. For the last few days, it's been rumored that their top hitting prospects in AAA-Tacoma, Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien, are on their way up. In fact, before tonight's game, Mariners manager John McLaren said they'd be called up "sooner than later", which was reported on sports radio, the FSN pre-game show and in the blogs in the Seattle Times.
Tonight, during the Mariners-Indians game, the great Mariners blog USS Mariner reported that both Clement and Balentien weren't in the Tacoma Rainiers lineup, which is a prime indicator that they're on their way up to the Mariners.
Without the Internet, and without blogs run by fans and writers who are passionate about the subject, fans simply wouldn't be as informed as they are with it.
Are there websites that lean more negative? Of course they are, but as there is with most everything else, the choice to read those sites is entirely yours.
If you find those sites objectionable, and characterize them in your magazine columns as the works jobless wannabes who sit in their mom's basement spouting off whatever hair-brained garbage enters their minds to the masses, does nothing but fuel the negativity you are complaining about in the first place.
This blog will make the occasional snarky comment, but the purpose of it has always been to share my thoughts and opinions, in a respectful manner, on what goes on in and around the National Football League.
And that's not going to change.
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