Wilbon vs. Steinberg: Who ya got?

I believe that no paper should print a "(City) as a hellhole" column. When Jim Murray did them he was talented enough to pull them off. No one today has the talent to do them and they are invariably stale.

 

Unless you're in Starkville. Then anyone can write one.

 

If you are hanging DC's hat on the MLS, this does not say too much about the Betway. The MLS is what, the 17th best soccer league in the world?

 

Chicago and New York have eight zillion people. That makes up for the workaholics.

And so does the history. The D.C. teams have a long way to catch up on the front.

[quote author=93Devil]If you are hanging DC's hat on the MLS, this does not say too much about the Betway. The MLS is what, the 17th best soccer league in the world?[/quote]

Not hanging DC's hat on it, just pointing out that it's something ESPN and company forgot. I think the mag also should've looked at the Mystics to see what went wrong -- they used to have a far livelier crowd than the Wizards. I'm not kidding.

It's a really diverse sports town. You could have an international soccer game in RFK every week and draw good crowds for most of them.

 

Do you live in a Northern Virginia soccer complex?

 

Anyone who thinks Steinberg is a homer doesn't read him regularly. In fact, I suspect one of the reasons Steinberg took issue with what Wilbon said (and by take issue what I really mean is wrote a mild tweak on his blog) is because Steinberg interacts with real blue collar fans all the time. He knows real DC as well as anyone. And he throws plenty of barbs at various targets. He constantly tweaked the Nats before they were good for all their various failings. He zinged Snyder plenty when Snyder tried to shut people up. Hell, Chris Cooley had him over to his apartment when the Skins tried to ban Steinberg from practice.

Steinberg is a very good journalist who truly doesn't care a lick about being a celebrity. I have no interest in criticizimg Mike. But Steinberg is really good at his job. And he's good people too.

 

He's a homer in the sense that he takes up fans' rights and speaks for the fans. He would admit that, mostly because it's what he does. It's who he is. And it's a damn smart niche, one that allowed him to get the jump on bloggers before the boom and the turn toward respectability. He is Washington's top sports voice, even more than Tom Boswell. (The part of me that reads his Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran stories at least three times a year just cringed, but it's true.)

 

Yeah, but how good is the college football in NY, Boston, Philly, Chicago or Cleveland? They don't give a rat's ass about Maryland, Rutgers, UConn, Temple, Northwestern or whatever.

 

Agree. That subject is the domain of lazy-ass columnists and writers.

 

Leitch on this feud and how being a star changes journalists.

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/39663802/