# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/21 "2010-08-31T23:57:07Z")
What, no votes for Bill Plaschke? šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/22 "2010-09-01T00:29:28Z")
Obviously not currently writing but Hunter S. Thompson had a column on [espn.com](http://espn.com) Page 2. I know you could hunt out the old columns for a while, donā€™t know if they are still there. His columns were only peripherally about sports but pretty entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/23 "2010-09-01T00:31:27Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Obviously not currently writing but Hunter S. Thompson had a column on [espn.com](http://espn.com) Page 2. I know you could hunt out the old columns for a while, donā€™t know if they are still there. His columns were only peripherally about sports but pretty entertaining. He was a sports writer for" Rolling Stone" and absolutely the best. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/24 "2010-09-01T00:48:44Z")
Iā€™ve got a few: Frank De Ford, George Vecsey, Dave Anderson, Tom Verducci. I wish I had the chance to read Jim Murray. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/25 "2010-09-01T02:01:04Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I hated Lupica from Day One, and heā€™s only gotten worse. > > Iā€™ll vote for Joe Posnanski. Me too. > [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > 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 itā€™s kind of stale. It was stale 20 years ago. > [@mhendo](#): > > What, no votes for Bill Plaschke? šŸ™‚ I was going to nominate him for the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/26 "2010-09-01T02:26:57Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > > [@astorian](#): > > > > Iā€™ll vote for Joe Posnanski. > > Me too. Third/fourth/fifth/whatevered. > [@](#): > > > [@mhendo](#): > > > > What, no votes for Bill Plaschke? šŸ™‚ > > I was going to nominate him for the worst. Not as long as Murray Chass is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/27 "2010-09-01T02:28:18Z")
And Iā€™m putting in a negative vote for Rick Reilly. That guyā€™s a total hack. He digs around for smaller town stories already written, and highlights them. Thereā€™s not a single original thought in that manā€™s head. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/28 "2010-09-02T01:10:34Z")
I liked Red Smith as a kid (me, not him). ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/29 "2010-09-02T01:56:10Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > What, no votes for Bill Plaschke? šŸ™‚ I opened this thread specifically to fight with anyone who nominated him. [FireJoeMorgan.com](http://FireJoeMorgan.com) really handed it to that hack, and has poisoned me against Plaschke forever. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/30 "2010-09-02T02:02:21Z")
I enjoy Posnanski a lot, and George Vecsey for the New York Times. I like Bill Simmons. He does overplay his hand sometimes and his Boston angst can get painful at times, but heā€™s a funny sportswriter (which is very rare) and I enjoy what he does. I did admire Dr. Zā€™s knowledge a great deal and itā€™s too bad heā€™s not able to write these days. Peter King gets a lot of insider access but I thought Brett Favre played him. I read his column every week but heā€™s just not a very good writer, and it grates on me sometimes. I donā€™t care if heā€™s not a poet, but there are just too many sentence fragments and other bits of weak style and it makes it a less enjoyable read for me. And I donā€™t need to hear his opinions on TV, coffee, and other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/31 "2010-09-02T02:02:38Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > And Iā€™m putting in a negative vote for Rick Reilly. That guyā€™s a total hack. He digs around for smaller town stories already written, and highlights them. Thereā€™s not a single original thought in that manā€™s head. Wasnā€™t he the guy that pulled that pathetic stunt with Sammy Sosa about steroids? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/32 "2010-09-02T02:29:38Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > > [@Munch](#): > > > > And Iā€™m putting in a negative vote for Rick Reilly. That guyā€™s a total hack. He digs around for smaller town stories already written, and highlights them. Thereā€™s not a single original thought in that manā€™s head. > > Wasnā€™t he the guy that pulled that pathetic stunt with Sammy Sosa about steroids? Yes. Although I donā€™t see what was pathetic about it. Sosa made an empty bluff about how heā€™d take a steroid test if anyone gave him the chance, and Reilly offered to take him up on it. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/33 "2010-09-02T03:45:24Z")
I like Michael Silver at Yahoo sports. His Trippinā€™ Tuesdays column gets surreal at times. But I think everybody at ESPN the magazine is cool. I like KC Joyner, but his articles are hit or miss. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/34 "2010-09-03T22:03:24Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > > [@Yookeroo](#): > > > > Wasnā€™t he the guy that pulled that pathetic stunt with Sammy Sosa about steroids? > > Yes. Although I donā€™t see what was pathetic about it. Sosa made an empty bluff about how heā€™d take a steroid test if anyone gave him the chance, and Reilly offered to take him up on it. Lame grandstanding that oozed self-righteousness. Heā€™s a douche. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/35 "2010-09-03T23:27:40Z")
Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders (and occasionally the New York Times). Smart jokes, and he really knows his stuff. The last section of [this article](http://www.footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/2009/walkthrough-made-not-born) (ā€œThe Development Secretā€) might change the way you look at rookie prospects. I also like Bill Simmons; you can pretty much disregard any serious analysis coming from him (except perhaps in basketball), but heā€™s usually a fun read, which is the most important thing. He had Al Michaels on his [podcast](http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/clipArchive?showID=bsreport) the other day (8/30), I could listen to Al Michaels shoot the shit about sports and broadcasting for a month. Rick Reilly is buffoon. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/36 "2010-09-06T19:32:40Z")
Stephen Brunt of _The Globe And Mail_. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/37 "2010-09-07T00:33:44Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > > [@Marley23](#): > > > > Yes. Although I donā€™t see what was pathetic about it. Sosa made an empty bluff about how heā€™d take a steroid test if anyone gave him the chance, and Reilly offered to take him up on it. > > Lame grandstanding that oozed self-righteousness. Heā€™s a douche. ā€˜Iā€™ll take a drug test if someone offers oneā€™ is grandstanding self-righteousness. It seems like a reasonable turn of the screw to me. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/38 "2010-09-07T02:23:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > > [@Yookeroo](#): > > > > Lame grandstanding that oozed self-righteousness. Heā€™s a douche. > > ā€˜Iā€™ll take a drug test if someone offers oneā€™ is grandstanding self-righteousness. It seems like a reasonable turn of the screw to me. Sosaā€™s douchbagginess doesnā€™t absolve Reilly of his douchebagginess. But since this thread is about sportswriters, Reilly is a douchebag. ---
**Author:** ![peekercpa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/39 "2010-09-07T02:28:35Z")
greg easterman - tuesday morning quarterback. gives me something to look forward to on tuesday while i am eating my breakfast tacos. plus there are cheerleader pics that are sfw. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988/40 "2010-09-07T02:56:35Z")
Iā€™ll second **Lebowski** on DeFord. He understands that sports are part of the greater culture, which gives him a level of perspective that your average sports columnist - who has to deliver on a series of set tropes and platitudes - canā€™t afford to have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-sports-writer-news/551988.md?page=3)