New SI - Santana

[Guy_Incognito]

About 6 months after I let it lapse, I just renewed & last week's NASCAR extravaganza made me wonder why - not a single thing in there I would have even clicked on to read for free.

This week's came today. And it's not looking great yet. I read Selena Roberts in the back, and I'll take your word for it that she was good at the Times - I rarely read her there. The column on Clemens & Lance Armstrong had a perfectly fine point, but was terrible to read. Clumsy, heavy handed, trying to hard (there was one nice image - the raindrops) etc. I won't be surprised if the firejoemorgan is the best thing I read, and I don't generally read that for free. Anyone want to buy 50/52 of a subscription?

Am I being too pessimistic? Eventually, after reading about them here I was able to get the Joba piece & the Majerus one too on line. I'm not interested in them sending me soft core porn in my magazine, but even if I was, they put that on the site too. What on earth am I paying for?

 

[dooley_womack1]

I'm not interested in them sending me soft core porn in my magazine,

Guy's soulmate:

 

[PHINJ]

Never been a fan of S.I.

 

[TwoGloves]

I was thinking about getting a subscription. Then I read this post and remembered why I let it lapse.

 

[playthrough]

As long as I'm breathing, I'll get SI. They could run box scores on every page and I'd still thumb through it out of habit.

In the mag's defense, the pigeon racing story a few weeks back is one reason to stick with it, that was a completely offbeat take on something fresh. But as a strike against...those stories are far too rare.

 

[BYH]

Cover jinx!!!!

 

[Double Down]

I haven't read the dunking story yet, but I thought it looked very interesting. I like Ballard's work.

 

[21]

Another odd column by Selena. Hard to understand what's going on there.

 

[Sandman]

I haven't read the dunking story yet, but I thought it looked very interesting. I like Ballard's work.

It's fantastic. Great use of first-person in the lede -- gets his point across without making it all about him.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/the_bonus/02/20/dunking0225/

 

[Guy_Incognito]

I haven't read the dunking story yet, but I thought it looked very interesting. I like Ballard's work.

It's fantastic. Great use of first-person in the lede -- gets his point across without making it all about him.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/the_bonus/02/20/dunking0225/

Glad to hear it - I'm looking forward.

 

[Joe Williams]

I haven't read the dunking story yet, but I thought it looked very interesting. I like Ballard's work.

It's fantastic. Great use of first-person in the lede -- gets his point across without making it all about him.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/the_bonus/02/20/dunking0225/

I like the way that piece starts, too. But when I scrolled down and saw "1 of 6", I couldn't go on. To me, the idea of clicking five times to get through the whole thing is more off-putting than having it run in one long scroll.

I'm not even in the coveted 18-34 demographic, but I seem to have their short attention span when it comes to a piece being run across too many pages. And, while this isn't the reason I object (mostly, I object because it's tedious and a time commitment to plow through six), it seems like a bogus way to get more "clicks" in some absolute sense.

Guess I should opt for the "printable version," if that's an option.

 

[Joe Williams]

Of course, I just realized that I was griping about the Web treatment of the story, while this thread is about the print magazine. Sorry.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

Never been a fan of S.I.

Never?

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Have they changed their evil ways?
(Welcome back, Winger!)

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

Well played on "Evil ways." And it's good to be back.

(Though, to be fair, I feel like we have this exchange about three times a year, in between my long absences.)

Hopefully I'll contribute something substantive to the discussion about the magazine when it arrives in my mailbox, which could be today.

 

[heyabbott]

As long as I'm breathing, I'll get SI. They could run box scores on every page and I'd still thumb through it out of habit.

In the mag's defense, the pigeon racing story a few weeks back is one reason to stick with it, that was a completely offbeat take on something fresh. But as a strike against...those stories are far too rare.

If you've got time to read a story on pigeon racing, then SI is probably for you.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Watch it, 'yab.

 

[ServeItUp]

You thought the piece by firejoemorgan.com was the best in the issue? You cannot be serious... he lost me at VORP (and didn't bother to elucidate the acronym). Who, besides fantasy baseball geeks and seamheads, knows what VORP is?

And will they be soliciting submissions from BLOGS! as a matter of habit? Their answer to that will determine whether I re-up in October.

 

[BYH]

Watch it, 'yab.

Holy crap (get it?) that's funny.

 

[mike311gd]

Watch it, 'yab.

Holy crap (get it?) that's funny.

Amazing.