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What am I missing in Wojnarowski vs. David Kahn?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by The Basement, Sep 13, 2011.

  1. The Basement

    The Basement Member

    Forgive if this is being discussed elsewhere and point me to the running thread if there is one already - but this caught my eye as Adrian Wojnarowski begins and ends this column with calling David Kahn a "bad" and "lousy" sports writer when he was at The Oregonian.
    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski_rick_adelman_twolves_091211

    At first, I thought Adrian was just using Adelman's point of view of Kahn on the beat, but his closing paragraph made me think it's the writer's as well:
    David Kahn still has his office, his business cards, but a lousy sportswriter turned farce of a GM is back where he started: trying to win Adelman’s respect, trying to stay an insider on the coach’s team.

    I wasn't even a teenager during those "glory days" of the Blazers so I have no frame of reference here. Is it widely known to be true that Kahn was an awful beat writer? Or does Adrian just not like the dude?
    I found it odd that he would find it necessary to attack Kahn in this fashion, rather than just hammer him for being a terrible GM.
    Can someone fill me in on Kahn's obviously well-known issues as a writer (they have to be right? For it be used so prominently in a national column?) or his beef with Woj?
     
  2. silvercharm

    silvercharm Member

    David Kahn was not a lousy sportswriter. Big ego, yes. Somewhat arrogant, absolutely. But he was a quality writer who put a lot of time into his craft. This must go way back to a personal confrontation between Woj and Kahn. Otherwise, Woj is way off base and pulling one out of his ass.
     
  3. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/He-wrote-it-Samples-of-David-Kahns-writing-from-his-days-at-The-Oregonian-97152646

    Seems pretty lousy to me.
     
  4. Liut

    Liut Well-Known Member

    "Bad" and lousy" i.e. sportswriter are a little over the top, IMHO.

    I like the hook, though. Damn good piece on Kahn's basketball acumen and state of the franchise. He's a bad and/or lousy GM.
     
  5. Den1983

    Den1983 Active Member

    Yeah that's pretty awful. I still don't know what the relationship between Wojo and Kahn is, but that was an awfully brutal column if you're Kahn.
     
  6. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    I think Kahn is a dick, but if someone dug into my archives, they'd find some shitty shit too.

    As I imagine it would be for any writer.
     
  7. silvercharm

    silvercharm Member

    Easy to cherry pick the worst-of from any sportswriter. I worked with him. Kahn was above average. As a GM, different story.
     
  8. this is just as good a column/story without the personal shots. The dynamic alone, from Adelman's POV -- finally gets his chance to be in this position.

    Lord knows there's a coach or two out there who hates me (or you), and would rub his hands at the thought.

    The shots at Kahn may or may not be true, but are unnecessary either way. The piece doesn't need it.
     
  9. FileNotFound

    FileNotFound Well-Known Member

    What, Woj is supposed to go easy on Kahn because Kahn was a sportswriter once? Whether Kahn was a hack or not at the keyboard might be open to question, but two things are true: 1/Adelman didn't like him and 2/Kahn has been a disaster as a GM. The column didn't seem like a cheap shot at all.
     
  10. spud

    spud Member

    Whether Kahn was or was not a good sports writer is not germane to the story, other than to help Woj air some some of his laundry.
     
  11. Den1983

    Den1983 Active Member

    Whoa, whoa, whoa. No one said anything about the Germans. Let's not go crazy now.
     
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