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reilly column

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by budcrew08, Oct 25, 2008.

  1. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    Seconded. I was so happy that Sweetness got his ring, but never understood why Payton never got a shot at a touchdown given the late-game situation.
     
  2. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member


    Being one of the most well-known sportswriters in the country has its privileges. You get to meet a lot of famous people, you do a pile of great stuff and the money (for me at least) is redonkulous.
    But like famous athletes, I have my naysayers. But unlike Big Tom on Line 3 from West Pacoima calling in to The Team 910 to rip Eli Manning on your AM dial, my naysayers are my peers.
    From the Website SportsJournalists.com I learned the following:
    I'm mailing it in. Check.
    I'm making too much money. Check.
    I used to be great. Check.
    Too many of my columns follow a predictable formula. Check.
    Well to start with, and I mean this with all sincerity. I really don't care. I've got a hot new wife, I fly to whatever great sporting event I care to cover, I make a lot of money and I have the cache of working for ESPN but don't have to live in Bristol, Connecticut. (Ain't life great?)
    It's not that I don't value the opinions of the SportsJournalists.com crowd, sitting around in their underwear, making witty comments under the "byline" of their favorite cartoon characters or a longtime scrub middle-infielder. (They are fairly similar to my editors except for for the fake name thing).
    But the reality is, I'm doing TV now. I'm dressing better. People read my stuff not because it is good, but because it is easy to read, doesn't take a lot of concentration and because I, Rick Reilly, wrote it.
    We're in a scared new world of journalism these days. Remember "names make news?" well, instead of the names "in" the article, all that matters these days is what the name is on the top. Mine.
    People know me. I'm witty. It says so on my book jackets.
    Well, I can tell by my egg timer I've spent way too much time writing this column. Gotta go shoot an ESPN promo with Greg Oden. We're doing a takeoff of Sanford and Son. See, he's going to play Redd Foxx and I'm going to be Lamont. It's going to be hilarious.
     
  3. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    Two thumbs up.
     
  4. BillyT

    BillyT Active Member

    Do you write country music on the side?
     
  5. BillyT

    BillyT Active Member

    Ben: Can you explain that a little more?

    I will say I do not read him much any more, but his was always the first page I turned to in SI.

    I really enjoyed the book, too.
     
  6. pseudo

    pseudo Well-Known Member

    Damn, that's solid.
     
  7. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Outstanding, Dan O!
     
  8. silentbob

    silentbob Member

    Totally agree. I used to read Reilly every week, but since he's moved to ESPN, I think I've read him twice. And I'm on ESPN.com several times a day and subscribe to the magzine. .... Whatever he wants to do, he's earned it. The man was among the best -- and still is on his best days -- for well over a decade. I just dont think his heart is in the writing side of it anymore. That said, if I were to list the country's top 10 sports columnists -- maybe even the Top 5 -- his name would be on the list. That's how talented he is.
     
  9. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I like your column better. Do you make $3.2 mil a year?
     
  10. BigRed

    BigRed Active Member

  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

  12. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

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