Writing and ESPN-Speak

The New York Times' Julie Bosman weighs in on the study by the University of Missouri's Scott Reinardy that shows that sports writing has been increasingly affected by the boo-yahs and diaper dandys of ESPN TV. This has been fodder, as usual, for discussion on sportsjournalists.com as well.

It would have been a bit better, of course, had she not mispelled his name throughout, necessitating a correction (bottom of link).

One more thought ...

...on Bamberger and Wie.

I've decided after much thought that what happened to her was unfair, because anybody else making that drop wouldn't have been under nearly as much (any?) scrutiny, and nobody would give it a second thought. But because of all those media types following her, she was second-guessed in a manner that wouldn't have happened to anybody else.

And I don't think that's in the spirit of equity. So I think reporters ought to stay out of it, and let the players and the rules officials figure out violations. And now that I think about it, I think TV viewers ought to stay out of it, too.

Writers and golf and rules

There's an interesting debate going on about whether Michael Bamberger of Sports Illustrated crossed the line by playing a fairly prominent role in the disqualification of Michelle Wie in her first professional golf tournament. Bamberger queried her about a drop from an unplayable lie on Saturday, and then asked tournament officials about it. After taking her out to the spot, it was determined she dropped incorrectly, and she was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. As you might expect, they're weighing in heavily at sj.com in two places: here and here.

I'm squarely on the fence on this one. I think if the information got out because of a reporting inquiry, then Bamberger did little wrong. However, if he simply was the person blowing the whistle on a rules violation, I'm not sure he belonged in the story.

There's probably a little bit of truth in both. It's not an easy situation.

The Crosby Chronicles

Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch, in his Media Circus, writes about the Toronto Globe and Mail's Shawna Richer write full time about Penguins rookie phenom Sidney Crosby this season. Interesting stuff.