The glamorous life of a sportswriter, Part a trillion

I did it at my first job because I wanted clips and experience. Covered a lot of pro sports two hours away in Phoenix, especially the Cards and Diamondbacks. I was in my early 20s, and looking back, the experience was beneficial. Learned a lot by watching how more experienced writers operated, and I was able to network and pick up some side gigs at the same time. But that was 20 years ago. Times and the business have completely changed.

 

In '68, a bunch of us went to cover the Olympics in Grenoble. Decided to go to the best restaurant in town. Now, the menu didn't have any prices, but we were all on expense accounts so we figured, fuck it, got drunk. Well, somehow there ended up being, I don't know, fifteen or sixteen of us at the table, and when the check came - ooooo, it was nine thousand dollars.

So, now we're all starting to point fingers, we're trying to figure out who invited who. And just when it was starting to get really embarrassing, this funny-lookin' old guy at the next table calls the maitre-d over.

Ehhhh, he did a couple of squiggly lines on a napkin, signed his name, winked at us - that was it. The old guy was Pablo Picasso, and that napkin paid our bill.

 

I did the same thing in the late 80s. I was young and single and covered a lot of pro events, mostly MLB and NFL, about two hours away for the experience and for no extra pay.

No way would I now turn an entire Sunday into covering an NFL game unless I was assigned and fully compensated.

 

This wins for best Olympics media story I've ever heard — and I've heard a bunch of good ones.

 

Crap. I hate being taken in by SOBs quoting movie scripts.

 

Lithograph, or it didn't happen!

 

When I interviewed in Fort Lauderdale in December 1985, the managing editor poked his head in Fred Turner's office and told him he was about $10,000 over travel budget --- for just the previous month. Gulp. Fred just shrugged it off.

That was a paper that played above its classification. Trips to the Goodwill Games --- in Moscow. To the America's Cup --- in Fremantle, Australia. To baseball's LCS and World Series (years before the area even had a team). To three tennis majors and three golf majors every year.