# Who's your favorite sports writer (news)? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 30, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988 "2010-08-30T11:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/1 "2010-08-30T11:05:53Z")
I added the “news” caveat to create a distinction between novelists (although there is some cross-over.) I’m asking about your favorite reporter or columnist from an actual newspaper (!), website or blog. My favorite is probably Mike Lupica (who is one of the cross-overs, but I’m talking about his columnist work here) even though I don’t always agree with him. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/2 "2010-08-30T12:17:29Z")
I hated Lupica from Day One, and he’s only gotten worse. I’ll vote for Joe Posnanski. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/3 "2010-08-30T13:10:42Z")
This is a good topic, because people’s favorites will frequently be a local guy that none of the rest of us have heard of. For instance, I love the writing of Jim Ingraham, who covers the Cleveland Indians for the Willoughby News Herald and Lorain Morning Journal. His writing is both smart AND funny, which is a tough combination to beat. For example, here’s his story for yesterday’s Indians/Royals game: [Link](http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/08/30/sports/nh2961160.txt) > [@](#): > > When the Indians and Royals play each other, you can throw their records out the window. Most years, you can throw their seasons out the window, too. Because, goodness knows, anything goes. The Royals’ 6-2 win over the Indians on Sunday was another visit to Crazy Town. > > “It was hot out there,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, “and a lot of things happened.” > > A sampling: > > The teams combined to make six errors, led by Royals first baseman Kila Ka’aihue, who had two errors for every apostrophe in his last name. Both errors came on the same play. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/4 "2010-08-30T13:19:05Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > This is a good topic, because people’s favorites will frequently be a local guy that none of the rest of us have heard of. For instance, I love the writing of Jim Ingraham, who covers the Cleveland Indians for the Willoughby News Herald and Lorain Morning Journal. His writing is both smart AND funny, which is a tough combination to beat. For example, here’s his story for yesterday’s Indians/Royals game: [Link](http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/08/30/sports/nh2961160.txt) > > > [@](#): > > > > When the Indians and Royals play each other, you can throw their records out the window. Most years, you can throw their seasons out the window, too. Because, goodness knows, anything goes. The Royals’ 6-2 win over the Indians on Sunday was another visit to Crazy Town. > > > > “It was hot out there,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, “and a lot of things happened.” > > > > A sampling: > > > > The teams combined to make six errors, led by Royals first baseman Kila Ka’aihue, who had two errors for every apostrophe in his last name. Both errors came on the same play. Good stuff. With almost all writers available online now it would be great to find out about some we may not be reading. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/5 "2010-08-30T16:10:44Z")
We have Mitch Albom in Detroit. He is very good. Also wrote a couple best sellers one which became a movie. He writes about other things than sports too. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/6 "2010-08-30T16:16:30Z")
Posnanski is my current favorite sportswriter. His books are quite solid too (Soul of Baseball in particular). ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/7 "2010-08-30T17:08:23Z")
Bill Simmons - the Sports Guy from [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/8 "2010-08-30T17:28:37Z")
I, too, enjoy Posnanski quite a bit. I loved Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman from SI, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be returning to writing after suffering several strokes nearly two years ago. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/9 "2010-08-30T17:30:10Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > Bill Simmons - the Sports Guy from [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com). Except his entire world is in Boston. ESPN is supposed to be national but he warps it all into Beantown and the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/10 "2010-08-30T17:33:12Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > > [@Wargamer](#): > > > > Bill Simmons - the Sports Guy from [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com). > > Except his entire world is in Boston. ESPN is supposed to be national but he warps it all into Beantown and the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox. That’s not entirely accurate. He does talk about Boston teams a lot (he got his start as “The Boston Sports Guy”) but he does a lot of NBA/NFL stuff that encompasses the whole sport. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/11 "2010-08-30T17:38:32Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > > [@Wargamer](#): > > > > Bill Simmons - the Sports Guy from [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com). > > Except his entire world is in Boston. ESPN is supposed to be national but he warps it all into Beantown and the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox. Put me into the anti-Simmons column too. His five favorite topics are 1. Bill Simmons, 2. Bill Simmons, 3. Bill Simmons, and 4th (tie) Red Sox/Celtics. That, and I think he gets paid by the word. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/12 "2010-08-30T20:00:44Z")
I would say Gregg Easterbrook at ESPN, though I am admittedly tired of the Christmas Creep items. Yeah, some stores put out Christmas stuff absurdly early. It was funny the first time, but now it’s kind of stale. I have to say that I’ve also always liked Len Pasquarelli’s writing, even though I disagree with a lot of what he says and he is, by many accounts, an old, cranky jackass. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/13 "2010-08-30T20:21:38Z")
[Andrew Beyer](http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,40,00.html) is the most entertaining and influential horse racing handicapper of our time. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/14 "2010-08-30T22:02:26Z")
I don’t like Bill Simmons either. He writes from the perspective of an immature 24 year old fanboy, which I am most decidedly not. Denver has some well known sportswriters, but I mostly can’t stand their schtick. Exhibit A, Woody Paige. Rick Reilly is from and lives in Denver and graduated from CU, and I used to really like him. Now I can’t stand him. His columns all read like retreaded material, and his bizarre references to decades-old pop culture are jarring. The one guy that I make it a habit to read regularly is Mark Titus of the Club Trillion blog. He was a walk-on basketball player at Ohio State University and wrote his columns about life on the end of the bench on a very good team (As a Wisconsin alum it hurts me to write that.) Club Trillion refers to the stat line in the box score when a bench player plays one minute, but scores zero points, assists, steals, etc. A one follwed by nine zeroes. He graduated last year, but has continued the blog, and his many followers are eagerly awaiting his column describing his tryout for the Harlem Globetrotters. (Titus is extremely white.) [http://clubtrillion.blogspot.com/](http://clubtrillion.blogspot.com/) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/15 "2010-08-30T22:13:52Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > We have Mitch Albom in Detroit. He is very good. Also wrote a couple best sellers one which became a movie. He writes about other things than sports too. I used to love to read Albom, But now that he is the king of Schmaltz I just can;t take him seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/16 "2010-08-31T04:13:19Z")
Love me some Club Trillion, but my vote is and will forever be Rick Reilly. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/17 "2010-08-31T19:38:31Z")
“News” is pushing it, but [Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles](http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/) is consistently hilarious and insightful. I don’t know how he does it. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/18 "2010-08-31T21:20:14Z")
Local I vote for Jeff Schultz at that Atlanta Journal Constitution… When I was growing up in Chicago it was Rick Telander. Lupica and Albom blew it with me with that godawful ESPN show… National I enjoy Peter King… I think he uses his ability as an insider and even has the temerity to admit when he was wrong about a player… Ask yourself… when has Lupica or Mariotti admitted when they were wrong? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/19 "2010-08-31T23:43:43Z")
I also liked Mike Downey before he moved downward to LA and Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/20 "2010-08-31T23:45:18Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > We have Mitch Albom in Detroit. He is very good. Also wrote a couple best sellers one which became a movie. He writes about other things than sports too. > > I used to love to read Albom, But now that he is the king of Schmaltz I just can;t take him seriously. He has written some solid columns lately but not about sports. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988.md?page=2)