Saying goodbye to Shav

T.J. Simers writes his Christmas Day column about retiring L.A. Times auto racing writer Shav Glick. A very nice piece about an old-school newspaper guy -- but also a bit sad on one front. When asked what he'd tell an aspring young journalist, he replied: "Get out of the newspaper business." And this from a guy, Simers notes, who wouldn't be retiring if his health would allow him to continue.

Oregonian vs. the Blazers

Portland Oregonian sports editor Mark Hester writes about a dispute between the paper and the Portland Trail Blazers concerning Jason Quick's story evaluating the team after 20 games. Hester says the headline might have been stronger than the story and that the team's objection on that front "has some merit."

The Blazers' press release on the matter (via HOOPSWORLD).

Quick talks about it on his blog (scroll down to Dec. 14).

Globe to charge for sports content?

The Boston Phoenix reports that the Globe is considering a new service called "Sportsplus," and if they go ahead with it, it will be of unfortunate interest to loyal followers of teams in New England. Among the things they'd charge a subscription fee to get to?

a) Daily columns by Bob Ryan, Dan Shaughnessy, Jackie MacMullan or other Boston Globe sports columnists

b) Sports feature stories, pre-game and post-game analysis

c) Sports articles from opposing teams' newspaper web sites

d) Daily Blogs such as Reiss's Pieces, Extra Bases and Net Minderse) Game-time Blog by Boston Globe reporter

There's a lot more if you click on the link. I can't say I don't expect more of this in the future.

Get out of the vote

Tim Sullivan, columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune, says he will no longer vote for any awards. This discussion has been going on for some time in an ethics sense, but Tim also introduces that he's getting out of it at least partially because worrying about it is a pain in the ass.

Woody says goodbye

Denver Post columnist Woody Paige says goodbye to his readers -- this time for an indefinite time, he says -- in this column in Sunday's paper. Woody says he's going to stay in New York and do the ESPN thing. He had previously taken a leave (or leaves?) of absence but remained on staff. He does say toward the end:

"As MacArthur and The Terminator said, I shall return; I'll be back.

"I just don't know when."

Cutting deep

Jeff Jacobs writes about his angst over three colleagues at the Hartford Courant taking buyouts in this column in Saturday's paper. "All week I have been sick to my stomach, wondering why we lost three teammates to the harsh economic blade of 21st-century newspaper accounting," he writes. He also references a column by David Whitley in the Orlando Sentinel that notes that while Tribune Co. is cutting staff at many of its newspapers through buyouts and layoffs, it's also considering adding Rafael Furcal to the company-owned Cubs for $50 million.

Help for those at the Times-Picayune

A website has been set up to take donations to help the many displaced staffers at the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Click here if you want to help.

State of the L.A. Times

This isn't sports, but it's a biting analysis of the state of a former tour stop, the L.A. Times. It's written by former Times Book Review editor (amogn other things) Steve Wasserman and appeared on Robert Scheer's new site, truthdig.com.

People have been writing obituaries about various formerly robust sections and departments of the Times for a while now. Jim Washburn did this piece in OC Weekly more than three years ago.

The Times used to be a very cool place to be a part of. What's been happening there for a few years now is just plain sad.