A perfectly hateful column from Bob Kravitz on the eve of the Super Bowl

[Piotr Rasputin]

He spotlights the fact that Sean Payton was a "SCAB!!!!!"

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100206/SPORTS15/2060333/1034/SPORTS15/Kravitz-Payton-s-start-a-shocker

I know . . . some would say this is "JOURNALISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

But you'd feel differently if you read the nice homer coverage from the Star, including beat jockey (and unfortunate Joe McDonnell lookalike) Phillip B. Wilson's preview and real-time game chat, in which he openly wondered why the Saints were getting away with so much holding. I wonder if this column is written with this tone if Jim Caldwell had been a "SCAB!!!! . . err . . .replacement player!"

I always take notice when media show how out of touch they are on this whole "SCAB!!!!!!!!!!!" issue. The average fan doesn't care, and players know they shouldn't comment on it after what happened during the baseball strike.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Seems like the gist of that story is that no one cares except for Kravitz's righteous indignation.

 

[Ace]

Disagree. Interesting angle -- something fairly rare for a Super Bowl story or column.

 

[JayFarrar]

Weird bit of work from Kravitz.

I can only assume he went fishing and thought it would be something that would get former and current players stirred up. It didn't, so he backpedaled and worked his own feelings into it.

Is the Star a union shop? It would be interesting to see if Kravitz is writer's guild and if he's a had a leadership position. Or participated in stikes at previous union shops or withheld a byline in protest.

I strong suspect he's talking out of his ass, but that's just a guess.

 

[playthrough]

Definitely a change of pace from the rest of the Star's coverage. Found it a little weird as a day-before-the-game column, but that's probably not a big deal either.

And yes, it is a union shop.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

This storyline has been available for years and years.

Jim Zorn and Rick Neuheisel were scabs too, there wasn't an inquisition when their careers took off.

 

[cwilson3]

Yea, it is interesting, but would have have written it about a coach from the Colts the day before the Super Bowl?

 

[Ace]

Yea, it is interesting, but would have have written it about a coach from the Colts the day before the Super Bowl?

Is there some expectation that they would treat the hometown team like every other team in the league?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Disagree. Interesting angle -- something fairly rare for a Super Bowl story or column.

Not:

http://jacksonville.com/sports/columnists/gene_frenette/2010-02-05/story/sean_payton_follows_road_from_scab_to_saints_folk_h

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/fl-saints-notes-super-bowl-0205-20100204,0,913827.story

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Somewhere, Baltimore fans with throbbing memories of Skokie Bob are laughing.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

Disagree. Interesting angle -- something fairly rare for a Super Bowl story or column.

Not:

http://jacksonville.com/sports/columnists/gene_frenette/2010-02-05/story/sean_payton_follows_road_from_scab_to_saints_folk_h

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/fl-saints-notes-super-bowl-0205-20100204,0,913827.story

Note the date of publication on those two, and on Kravitz' screed.

 

[Ace]

Disagree. Interesting angle -- something fairly rare for a Super Bowl story or column.

Not:

http://jacksonville.com/sports/columnists/gene_frenette/2010-02-05/story/sean_payton_follows_road_from_scab_to_saints_folk_h

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/fl-saints-notes-super-bowl-0205-20100204,0,913827.story

So what is the issue?

That it ran on Super eve? That the Star wouldn't have written the same story about the Colts coach? That Kravitz had an opinion in his column?

That he was being a meanie to a nice guy coach?

The Star probably have their Super Bowl week stories planned out for a month.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Disagree. Interesting angle -- something fairly rare for a Super Bowl story or column.

Not:

http://jacksonville.com/sports/columnists/gene_frenette/2010-02-05/story/sean_payton_follows_road_from_scab_to_saints_folk_h

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/fl-saints-notes-super-bowl-0205-20100204,0,913827.story

So what is the issue?

That it ran on Super eve? That the Star wouldn't have written the same story about the Colts coach? That Kravitz had an opinion in his column?

That he was being a meanie to a nice guy coach?

The Star probably have their Super Bowl week stories planned out for a month.

That the column isn't rare.

 

[Ace]

Disagree. Interesting angle -- something fairly rare for a Super Bowl story or column.

Not:

http://jacksonville.com/sports/columnists/gene_frenette/2010-02-05/story/sean_payton_follows_road_from_scab_to_saints_folk_h

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/fl-saints-notes-super-bowl-0205-20100204,0,913827.story

So what is the issue?

That it ran on Super eve? That the Star wouldn't have written the same story about the Colts coach? That Kravitz had an opinion in his column?

That he was being a meanie to a nice guy coach?

The Star probably have their Super Bowl week stories planned out for a month.

That the column isn't rare.

Rare in the context of Super Bowl stories with a bit of a different angle. Obviously, it's not unique.

 

[cwilson3]

Yea, it is interesting, but would have have written it about a coach from the Colts the day before the Super Bowl?

Is there some expectation that they would treat the hometown team like every other team in the league?

Guess not, but yea that's the idea. He couldn't even get his sources to agree that Payton was a bad guy. It just wasn't that convincing in the first place and he's the only one telling me Payton's a bad guy. Just seems like he's going out of his way is all. Not the first time someone's done that, probably won't be the last.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

Deadspin loves them some Kravitz . . . OK, maybe not.

http://deadspin.com/5466115/worst-piece-of-journalism-from-super-bowl-xliv--indianapolis-edition

 

[writingump]

This seemed a little "homer-rific" to me as well. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought this way. And this from a guy who's never seemed like a homer -- until then.

 

[BillyT]

He *was* a scab.

 

[WaylonJennings]

I'm not quite sure what the issue is. Kravitz, for example, absolutely tore up Indiana's hire of Kelvin Sampson the day it was announced. Everybody in Indianapolis gripes that he's "too negative." His track record is not one of being a "homer." Would the same column run if Jim Caldwell had been a scab? Yeah. Months and months and months ago.

 

[Guybehindtheguy]

Uhhhh, Zorn wasn't a scab. He was a 10 year vet when the strike hit.