Reilly's latest, 9/9

I liked the column personally.

One of the best moments of my life was watching my 50-year old father finally get his hole-in-one after 31 years of trying. Even better, both of his golf-playing sons witnessed it.

My brother aced one during a high school tournament when he was 16. That leaves me. And with my ability, it could be a long wait.

 

Rick is a very different writer now for a very different publication. In his heyday, he was the king of the takeout, penning emotional long-form pieces like The Citadel story and the one on the Marine brothers from Utah -- one of my all-time favorites in SI -- in a magazine that defined sports journalism. Now he's a columnist, paid to write 800-word opinion pieces for a magazine designed for readers with ADD. You can't compare the two. Is the stuff he writes now as good as the stuff he wrote then? No. Of course not. But something like "The Ultimate Price" isn't exactly the kind of thing he's paid to write anymore. He's a starting pitcher who's been turned into a closer. It happens.

And the 52-yarder is complete self-deprecation. It says, he's so pathetic at this pursuit, he has to settle for that. Rick is very, very good at making fun of himself. Strange that so many people mistake it for something else.

 

You pretty much nailed it, although I'd say he's less like a starting pitcher who became a closer and more like a starting pitcher who decided to retire early for a cushy job in the broadcast booth. I think the reason that people are disappointed is that he chose the less challenging path when he's obviously capable of so much more.

 

I'd say he's like Carlos Zambrano. He's so full of himself now that he'll never be great again.