Columnist mugs in SI

I've chimed in about the new design changes in SI recently, but another one is bothering me: New column sigs.

SI used to have simple photos, which I was fine with. Then with the next-to-last redesign, they had black-and-white dot-matrix looking mugs, which were a little artsy but still looked like the actual writers.

In the last month, they've gone to an artist's rendition type of mug, which honestly looks like something between a police sketch "the columnist is white, about 6 foot, in his late 30s, with a penchant for pop culture references" and illustrations from a closed courtroom.

I like Chris Ballard, but his current mug looks very little like the last mug they used. If Dateline's Chris Hanson guest-starred on "Prince Valiant" in the Sunday comics, that's what it would look like.

Just bring the photos back. The writers aren't so unattractive they can't have a simple pic with their column.

 

SI's probably doing it that way so the writers won't be so identifiable. You know, so that chick that's tormenting Nowitzki -- and Tony Banks before him -- won't bother them.

 

Dan Patrick looks like the Joker

 

Loved Poz's story on Cleveland - but couldn't believe the SI.com excerpt about Jeff Garcia being ready to take over for Jamarcus Russell if he falters in in L.A.

L.A.?