interesting angles. Tough to include Borges since he was being paid by Don King productions to broadcast and comment at PPV championship fights that he would also have to write columns on for the Globe. The phenomenon of reporters seeking revenge on players through the pen is hardly new, especially in Boston. When the Globe made me the first woman to cover the NFL as a beat in 1976, I had no idea what to expect. As the lead NFL writer for Bleacher Report, Josh Zerkle has established himself as a unique talent in the writing world. Ernie Roberts, the bespectacled, gentlemanly editor used the region's smaller newspapers and college. Turd one would think that this was Bruces attempt at playing to the masses after last week but you just never know. Hes forgotten more about this sport than most of us will ever know, and as such he remains the once and future #1. The Celtics proud franchise was in the midst of an NBA championship drought. Type 1 diabetic. Winning titles was nothing new for John Havlicek and Don Nelson, but for Cowens, veteran rebound ace Paul Silas, and young backcourt stars Jo Jo White and Don Chaney, it would be a career first. The primary goal for reporters seems no longer to be merely producing great and interesting work. View all posts by Bruce Allen. Leigh Montville (I learned how to fly a few minutes before midnight on Oct. 27, 2004.), 2. Voice is balanced, neither strident nor fawning. a scout for the Pirates, and don gillis had a sports discussion program on whdh, 850 on your dial, called the voice of sports. While Ralph Mancini specializes in NFL draft coverage, he still has a great sense of the league as a whole. He spent the beginning of his career actually working for NFL teams and has since turned back to writing about them. Rehashing games, for example, is something that can be done by a variety of third parties: its non-differentiating for writers. He knows players, people and teams and whether they'll fit together nicely or not. Sports, Doug Farrar has everything you could want from a journalist. His work, fortunately, commands the same respect. sometime in the late-80s. There is willful mediocrity alongside innovative brilliance, with the inevitable faux-populist vitriol bubbling to the surface every so often. a lot of your list were beat writers and not columnists. Gammons and McDonough were great reporters. I once interviewed him for my high school newspaper, in about 1966. very nice guy. One of them was Eruzione, the teams irrepressible captain. What more could you ask? He also happens to be rather hysterical on Twitter. Boston Globe Magazine Annalisa Quinn. Engaging and open to dialogue; hes responded to a couple of mentions on Twitter, which in my experience is rare. Austin Lake, who I loved but can not really give a concrete reason.. He is so classy and so informative that following him on Twitter is something that absolutely needs to be done. If your favorite team is in the NFC West, and you aren't following Mike Sando, you may be clinically insane. There are few people on Twitter who are as in-the-know about the NFL as Adam Schefter. All of which is fine, and none of which is my concern: it would be absurd to suggest that because Abraham took a new job, he should sever all ties from his years on the Mets and Yankees beats. Usually, sports reporters give more. If you're into that fantasy football thing, Michael Fabiano is a man that you must follow. Strengths: With MLB resources behind him, enjoys a substantial multimedia advantage over his peers, if not a similar local relevance and immediacy. Strengths: Tomase shows some creativity, rather than just rehashing news that has already been covered by one of the dozen other media members in market. While controversy does little for me personally, however, Im cognizant of its role in selling newspapers. Hes mentioned a few times that he feels obligated to cover off the field issues only to the extent they affect play on the field; as someone with no desire to hear about the pecadilloes of wealthy grown men, I appreciate this. Since columnist Michael Holley left the paper for a radio gig at WEEI eight years ago, its hard to think of a single distinctive voice the paper has developed and held on to. Erudite, clinical, and with a wide range of interests beyond baseball, which he wasnt afraid to bring to the column. Constructs arguments rather than arguing opinions. Youre gonna get a letter in the mail from the little fat ones mom as soon as he tells her about this slight. Ray Fitzgerald hands down. 36, NBC SPORTS CONTINUES COVERAGE OF HORSE RACINGS 1/ST RACING TOUR FROM GULFSTREAM PARK AND SANTA ANITA PARK THIS SATURDAY LIVE AT 4 P.M. Always. As a young reporter at the Des Moines Register (I was raised a Red Sox fan in Iowa by my Malden-born and Manchester, Conn.-raised father), I had access to the sports wire services. }Customer Service, Vice President, Innovation & Strategic Initiatives, Senior Assistant Managing Editor, Express Desk, Senior Assistant Managing Editor, Production, Senior Assistant Managing Editor for Audience Experience, Senior Assistant Managing Editor for culture, talent, and development, Assistant Managing Editor, Hiring and Development, Manager of Programs and Operations, Opinion, Love Letters Columnist and Features Writer, Director of Visual Strategy for Globe Opinion, Editor, Sunday real estate and realestate.boston.com, Assistant Business Editor for News Innovation, Senior editor for multimedia storytelling, Editor of the Great Divide education team, Editor-at-large in Globe Opinion, former editorial page editor. ET ON CNBC AND PEACOCK. I always enjoyed Jackie MacMullan,but I didnt see her listed. Hes better than that, I believe, regardless of what Okajima did or did not do. Will McDonough, Bob Ryan, Leigh Monville..no one else is close. very in your face, with a lot of good information. He's an insider type of man who has a great understanding of the game of football. Differentiated content within the local market. One thing worth noting that Ive always appreciated from Edes has been his respect for the privacy of the players. Loved the fact that he could really master the but, after all, its just a game air without getting pompous about it (Hello to the Toy Department referencers out there!). If youre a halfway decent beat writer in this town, said Mike Felger, cohost of the afternoon show on The Sports Hub and a CSNNE anchor, youll get on Comcast, or NESN, or Sports Hub, or EEI., Felger, of course, should know. New York ran the score to 5-2, but the Sox clawed to within a run by the ninth. There are times when Albert Breer gives more information about his personal life than you want, but it's definitely worth hearing about his latest ski trip to get his inside NFL information. . And hes certainly competent at doing so. #ada-button-frame { What actually came out when I had the honor of shaking his hand was, well, a bit less eloquent. (LogOut/ LOVED reading his work. Dave Egan of the Record-American known as the Colonel. he used write lists, very funny and informative. Thats what I planned to say if I got the chance to meet him at the Hot Stove, Cold Beer event in April. His analysis e.g. Deceptively good stylist, too. Whether its been in print or as a guest on WEEI and such, McAdam has exuded calm in a sea of irrationality. Particularly those that trace him back through the Herald to the Eagle-Tribune. Maybe you have your reasons for putting Gammons on the list. I also liked tim horgan. Not to mention comprehensible. How did the sports media in this town, once the envy of the nation, become so awful? (Illustration by John Ueland), Passans story was still fresh in Sullivans mind. Borges, a Globe sportswriter for 24 years who was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year four times and is a regular guest on a local sports radio station, was also barred from broadcast. Simply put, Speiers as good as youll find in this market at present, and if comments like Gammons are to be believed, would stack up well across the pool of national writers. Clockwise from left: Marvin Hagler; Dave Cowens and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; a crowd; Kevin Garnett; the 1980 Miracle on Ice; and Dave Roberts' iconic steal. The crossword clue possible answer is available in 12 letters. Everything had been skewed against the visitor from Brockton, Massachusetts Minter in his Union Jack trunks, the promoters with their sly tricks, the nationalistic crowd that rioted at the end but the two judges had made the final decision. How about John Gilloly(sp) or Huck Finnegan or Bob Coyne (cartoonist). Glenn Stout, the editor of the Best American Sports Writing series and . All due respect to the guy b/c hes good at what he does but hes not an all-time great. Demonstrates an overreliance on certain friendly sources (e.g. It was the final crescendo to a season in which the Red Sox and Yankees, two historical rivals, ended with identical records. Priority on this list, with a few exceptions, is given to writers focused exlusively on the Red Sox. 1) Ray Fitz. Ernie Roberts. If you're a human and see this, please ignore it. Today, the paper's sports section remains synonymous with Ryan, now semiretired, and his fellow columnist Dan Shaughnessy. Strengths: Excellent national context with broad coverage across the league. WEEI.coms Alex Speier, who specializes in incorporating advanced stats into articles meant for the average fanand who is therefore one of the citys few inventive sportswriterstold me that everything has changed now that readers no longer depend on print for all their news. His property, Boston.com, is amongst the most egregious abusers of pop-under advertisements of any property on the web. The picks were not the real attraction. It was still a year of magical thinking. He is loaded with information in every facet of the game and shares it willingly on Twitter. Strengths: A versatile reporter adequately conversant in modern baseball statistics, one with contacts that bridge the traditionalist / new school divide in front offices. They are sure to cheer you up. Its good to have him back from the national beat. All the Boston teams did back in 2002 often in spectacular fashion. Good God. Strengths: Tenured reporter with excellent contacts. The following is a partial list of sports writers. The current hacks shouldnt even be on the list, they spend too much of their time primping and preening for the TV cameras. display: none; In 2007, the year in which Sabathia won the Cy Young, Cafardo gave him a fourth place vote, with Beckett getting the nod for #1. Ron Guidrys velocity wasnt what it had been, so Lou Piniella took eight steps from right-center toward the right field line. Hes an exception on this list because he covers all of the major teams, not just the Red Sox, but hes included because I value his thoughts on the team. I covered every postseason game. I still can see him vaulting over the dasher, heading for open ice, taking a pass from the corner, and scoring the shocking goal that capped off the Miracle on Ice. Not include Tim Horgan.Are you nuts or just too young to appreciate a good writer.Look up some of his columns.A great writer who never distorted the facts.He was the vboice of the fan in his era.Ray Fitzgerald was also another great writer. Globe staff 1. He's a highly respected journalist. It didnt feel that way for Sox fans. Senior staff writer and columnist Kevin Paul Dupont. For some audiences, tainted by his mistake in moving forward in publishing spygate claims without proper substantiation. I swear that is a real article on that website. In the dugout, Sox manager Terry Francona winked at Roberts. I know tennis was his main thing, and Ive never been a big tennis fan, but he certainly had the longevity, wrote engagingly about his love, and became a nationally-known figure. ", "Sports News | New York Sports | New Jersey Sports", "Post-Gazette.com - Sports Columnist Mark Madden", "Post-Gazette.com - Sports Columnist Stan Savran", "San Francisco Bay Outdoors with Tom Stienstra", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_sports_writers&oldid=1121166930, This page was last edited on 10 November 2022, at 21:30. The player-media relationship was much more relaxed back then. He loves the game of football and has a great sense of humor. Ryan would be my call at number three, but Ive always looked at him as a great analyst someone who can break down a game. The commentary that accompanied each pick was hilarious. It set the stage for Kevin Garnetts (pictured) Anything is possible! yell after winning the Celtics first title since 1986. His mailbags are enjoyable, and his columns are informative, but theres little that sets him apart in the way that, say, Finns humor or Speiers diversity does. Strengths: An original innovator in the Boston media landscape, brought an evolved approach to the market, properly leveraging his access to provide differentiated coverage. Second-to-last sentence should read: and the Globe HASNT BEEN THE SAME . It set the stage for Kevin Garnetts (pictured) Anything is possible! yell after winning the. Excellent radio voice, as well. And why should he change? For the second consecutive year, Boston Globe writer Dan Shaughnessy submits a Hall of Fame ballot with only Jeff Kent marked, ignoring David Ortiz. This would help eliminate the legions of nitwits and cowards who shred anything and everything in their path while hiding in their mothers basements. As the public relations man for the NFL, McCarthy is an elite source for the most secretive information. If thats the case, theres no question, the king is Ray Fitz. He was that good. Leigh Montville. Marring this reputation, if only slightly, was an incident last season in which Okajima essentially ducked commentary following an ugly appearance, which is reportedly his custom. Still miss that Sox postgame show he, Upton Bell, and Joe Fitzgerald used to do on 38. Im sorry, but leaving him off is like leaving Lawrence Olivier off a Best Actors list because he only did Shakespeare, really.. TV, radio, and the Internet all have a big presence in the media landscape. Its a similar story over at the Herald, where old mainstays like Gerry Callahan and Steve Buckley continue to occupy top billing. While Brian McCarthy isn't technically a sportswriter, he definitely acts like one on Twitter. Whiny, petulant, entitled, self-importantno, it's not Boston fans we're talking about, it's Boston sportswriters. While that type of honesty is certainly refreshing, if you cry easily, you may want to stay away from his tweets. Send me an email. However, when you need a good break from your day and need to know if Tom Brady was mentioned more than Eli Manning on SportsCenterlast week, Deadspin is the place to go. The US hockey team was about to play the Soviet Union in the Olympics but their countrymen seemed ready to go to war. I just look at this as something for my portfolio of basketball experiences. And I regard this first Celtics championship I was privileged to cover as a highlight in my portfolio of journalistic experiences. Just a name that probably should be on the list for some consideration, Jackie MacMullan(sp?). If you want to see some of Zerkle's crazier side, I recommend you follow his alter-ego, @PUNTE. Glenn Stout told me that, 20 years ago, he might have been able to come up with a dozen Boston sports-media personalities. Glenn Stout, the editor of the Best American Sports Writing series and a longtime New Englander, says, a place like the Globe hasnt had a turnover of voices in 20 or 30 years.. Honorable mention too to John Updike, who only did two, but man . Some sportswriters just cover the draft or just cover the games, but Brooks can literally do it all. But the Celtics took care of the Pistons in six, setting up a showdown with their rivals, the Kobe Bryant led-Lakers. He is hilarious and absolutely needs to be followed for his unique take on situations. 17. And an honorary mention of Will Mc. A fellow Boston Globe writer named John Powers once noticed that Ryan didn't include many quotes in his game stories. I would no doubt vote Haggerty, Haggerty and then Haggerty. One single writer and the subtle, self-contained perfection of the game itself, of course was all it took to turn a rooting interest into a lifetime of obsession. While he doesn't spend as much time on Twitter as others on this list, the information he does tweet is simply amazing. Minutes earlier, I had stood in the back row of the Superdome as the St. Louis Rams roared back from a 17-3 deficit to tie the game. There has to be a willingness to put yourself out there and make statements without knowing what youre talking about, Rich Levine, an online columnist for CSNNE, told me. He seems to break the biggest stories, have all the inside information and is able to give great insight into the league as a whole. He also mentioned Ray Fitzgerald (I think) holding up a note in the press box during the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, with two men on and two outs and the pitchers spot due up, that had the words Bernie Carbo scribbled on it, and then he said both of them nodded at each other from across the room. Not an industry innovator. Ill also have a prize for a random commenter in this list, but I havent picked out what it will be yet. Montville, Ryan & Fitzgerald& Larry Whiteside should be included on list. Ya Im an old dog but I know what I like. Let me first say that Deadspin isn't for everyone. As the editor of Shutdown Cornerfor Yahoo! Theres good money, after all, in broadcast. The BU grad is the Boston Bruins beat writer for the Boston Globe sports section. The planets are aligned and the tomato cans are in place.. Check it out. Historical sportswriters [ edit] Les Biederman Furman Bisher Jimmy Cannon Henry Chadwick George W. Daley Dan Daniel Pierce Egan Charley Feeney Larry Felser Mary Garber Halsey Hall Arnold Hano Sid Hartman W. C. Heinz Zander Hollander Jerome Holtzman James Jerpe [1] Leonard Koppett Sam Lacy John Lardner Ring Lardner Fred Lieb Tim Murnane Jack Murphy 7. If you happen to be a big fan of the New York Giants, Ralph Vacchiano should be your main man. Miller isn't afraid of telling you exactly what he thinks. Theres little question that Abraham brings a lot to Red Sox coverage generally and the Globe specifically. I think he is worthy of the best. 5 John Feinstein - The Washington Post. As for numbers, Abraham will use them, but perhaps not to the extent he should: his dismissal of Miguel Cabreras value, for example, was curious. Jackie MacMullan remembers Larry Bird once saying, Bob Ryan, hes as famous as we are. Butover time, the citys sports punditocracy has expanded to include not just the truly wise, like Ryan, but any sportswriter willing to blow hot air. A professional sportswriter should be speaking to the talk show callers rather than arguing as one of them, in other words. . Bestmuddy waters these days. As an example, Im not including those who divide their time between baseball and hockey like Joe Haggerty (CSNNE) or Joe MacDonald (ESPNBoston). It would be a bad idea to follow me on Twitter. Of course, you're likely to get complaints about the quality of looks at the Playboy Mansion, but it is definitely worth it for the NFL business information you'll receive. Baseball could not, would not be the same w/o PG's insights and observations sending lots of warm wishes for MANY more years of PG's vision, intutiion and knowledge! I'm the Twitter equivalent to a gnat. Accepting at face value his contention that beat writers dont root for teams, its nevertheless unreasonable to expect that they dont root for people on those teams. I think he does, and so do you. But sad to say, the quality of the current scribes is uneven. All-Pro tight end Russ Francis, nursing an injury, wasnt going to play much, so he brought his guitar to Tampa. He continued to write columns for The Evening Globe, then the Boston Globe, until 1998. Michael, his mother scolded him when her son emerged to board the team bus, youre gonna give me a heart attack..