Sporting News on life support

I think you're on to something dooley. nobody does sports like ESPN, in any format.

 

My point was ESPN's daily, constant flow of news made the team notes and game highlights in TSN irrelevant.

 

I know. I was complimenting your observation. Relax. It will come to you.

 

Hell, it stopped being the "Bible of Baseball" in the 1960s. TSN's baseball coverage was still very good into the '90s, but the reputation it built under Taylor Spink was long gone by the time I started reading it.

 

Word of the failure SN on the digital side is disturbing. I have several friends there and I'm praying things will work out. I know that Garry Howard is the editor-in-chief. He's formerly the assistant managing editor for sports at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I know the hounds will be released on this thread because he's not very well liked by a few SportsJournalists.comers.

 

Well, sir, you've just introduced the proverbial elephant in the room. I didn't think all the things written about Mr. Howard on this board could possibly be true, but as a former SN staffer I can tell you that it's even worse than has been written here previously. He is unprofessional, unqualified and a big reason for the demise. The best comparison I've heard is "the black Michael Scott" from The Office.

 

Couldn't agree more. It was like they weren't trying at times, running interviews with athletes instead of writing actual stories.

 

That's actually a damn good comparison.

 

I don't think Garry can be solely blamed for SN's failure, if the rumor is true. Lot of talent there. I truly hope things work out.

 

Yeah, I don't think any one person could possibly be blamed for TSN's failures. It was a brand that has seemed to be living on borrowed time for a few years.

If this is true, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see USA Today grab some of the TSN talent.

 

When I was a kid, before cable delivered games, living in a non-major league city, TSN was everything. Got my first issue in 1966, Willie McCovey on the cover (I think). I was eight. We drove from Ohio to Newfoundland and back. By the time we got back home the newprint was yellowed from the sun, but TSN was so dense with words and numbers, I was still reading it. And in the days before the interstate, and when the TransCanada across Newfoundland was still, in places, a gravel road (not to mention two eight-hour ferry rides to cross from Nova Scotia and back), that's saying something.

Don't think I'd be doing what I am now if not for that.

 

And you'll never forgive them (rimshot).