former boston globe sports writers former boston globe sports writers

Humor is one of his stronger tools, and his self-effacing brand plays well in the market. But thats probably as it should be, and the relevant point is that hes not afraid of numbers, or of learning more about them. very in your face, with a lot of good information. Ryan replied, "I'll tell 'em what they ought to know!" The best part about following Trotter is the information he gets straight from NFL players. If these was one man to follow on Twitter, my vote would go to the legendary Rich Eisen. The truth is that ESPN does a fine job at covering the NFL and their analysts, like John Clayton, provide great information on Twitter. Ryan probably sneaks on the list for consistency, if nothing else, but Im just a fan of his writing style. He has great knowledge about players, coaches and organizations as a whole. Today, the paper's sports section remains synonymous with Ryan, now semiretired, and his fellow columnist Dan Shaughnessy. If you happen to be a big fan of the New York Giants, Ralph Vacchiano should be your main man. The picks were not the real attraction. As a former vice president of officiating, he often provides quality information regarding penalties and challenges. He was football coach at CM for 19 years and although his '72 team lost to Swampscott High, they rebounded to win Division 2 titles in 1973 and 1978. Seriously, move onto the next slide already. Nor that they would not build relationships with fans of same. After the game, George Steinbrenner appeared in the Red Sox clubhouse. I wasnt saying I wouldnt include him in the discussion, because obviously, I did include him by bring his name up. A note on bias: I lean towards statistics, clearly, but not exclusively. I think he does, and so do you. Help Select The Best All-Time Boston Sports Columnists, View BostonSportsMediaWatchs profile on Facebook, View 100226618267166606506s profile on Google+, A Fathers Day Miracle (for NESN to run again and again), Infamous Moments - McDonough Punches Clayborn, Distraught Arnold Wishes He Left WEEI When He Had The Chance, Remembering Tony Conigliaro the Sportscaster, Where Are They Now - 1510 The Zone Personalities, Tom Coughlin's Encounter with Bill Belichick after Super Bowl XLVI, #6 The Death of Will McDonough (and others), Formula 1 Presents Unique Opportunities for Disney Advertisers, ESPN Continues All-Women Led NBA Game & Studio Broadcasts in Celebration of International Womens Day on March 8, NCAA Womens Ice Hockey Post-Season Play Takes Center Ice on ESPN Platforms, LaLiga, Bundesliga and Eredivisie on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, Mar. Best Red Sox minor league coverage this side of the excellent soxprospects.com, and easily the best amongst mainstream media outlets. Plus her basketball writing was the best. Overall, hes a tremendous asset to the market and one that I look genuinely forward to reading, even if I dont really appreciate the baseball cards. Theres little question that Abraham brings a lot to Red Sox coverage generally and the Globe specifically. Both funny concepts that were brilliantly executed. Back then, the paper had a must-read sports section featuring, among others, Peter Gammons, who pioneered the baseball notes column; Bob Ryan, whose knowledge of the Celtics playbook rivaled that of the teams head coach; the late Will McDonough, an NFL insider from Southie who was one of the first print reporters to appear regularly on television; Leigh Montville, a wordsmith who eventually moved on to Sports Illustrated; and Jackie MacMullan, a pioneering female columnist and feature writer whos still one of the greats. All-Pro tight end Russ Francis, nursing an injury, wasnt going to play much, so he brought his guitar to Tampa. Bill Barnwell writes with a unique view of the NFL and he shares that same view on Twitter. As a result, the list of young, talented sports reporters who have moved on from Boston media grows longer every year: There's the NHL executive Chris Snow (the Globe ), the NFL Network's Ian. Ernie Roberts. As far as his Friday football picks, the one that stands out the most for me is his one and only college pick when in November 84 he not only called the correct final score, but had Doug Flutie winning the game with a Hail Mary pass as time expired. Ray Fitzgerald (just gave my copy of his terrific Champions Remembered to my twelve-year-old nephew). Whiny, petulant, entitled, self-importantno, it's not Boston fans we're talking about, it's Boston sportswriters. Injuries, contracts, trades and more are all likely to be covered by Clayton via Twitter. I grew up in the Montville, Fitzgerald, young Ryan, young Shaughnessy and so missed the older guys like Keane and Claflin. Always. There has to be a willingness to put yourself out there and make statements without knowing what youre talking about, Rich Levine, an online columnist for CSNNE, told me. ), Automattician. The crossword clue possible answer is available in 12 letters. Not thrilled to say it, but Borgess boxing writing probably should be up for consideration. It would be a bad idea to follow me on Twitter. Right Bruce? And an honorary mention of Will Mc. It's great to watch a tactician go to work on a team he loves, and the breaking news and insight that Volin gives is awesome. Weaknesses: Doesnt stand out in a crowded market place, lacks a clear niche advantage versus the competition. Like Finn, Abrahams outlet the Boston Globe is unfortunately aggressive with its late 90s, AOL-style pop-under ads. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. As a young reporter at the Des Moines Register (I was raised a Red Sox fan in Iowa by my Malden-born and Manchester, Conn.-raised father), I had access to the sports wire services. Peter Gammons isnt officially ranked here, because that exercise would be pointless. And if I must say so myself, his work generally turns out rather awesomely. Priority on this list, with a few exceptions, is given to writers focused exlusively on the Red Sox. When I asked Cowens how it felt to have finally achieved the goal of winning a title, he said, For me, the fun was in the doing. If you want to know about the "what-ifs" and "coulda-beens," the ESPN Rumor Central has all you need. By advantaging data at the expense of overheated speculation, McAdams voice has always been one to listen to and look forward to. We all love rumors about the NFL, and who to better bring them to you than the rumor central for media giant ESPN. His wit and snark and brutal honesty had my attention from the first column. So it remained 2-0, not 4-0, when Bucky Dent broke his bat on a running fastball from Mike Torrez, then launched a slider into the screen. With Boston trailing, 4-3, in the bottom of the ninth, I left the press box and went to Fenways Level 3, where Sox CEO Larry Lucchino was scribbling on a yellow legal pad, composing an apology to Sox fans. Of course, you're likely to get complaints about the quality of looks at the Playboy Mansion, but it is definitely worth it for the NFL business information you'll receive. Ray Fitzgerald hands down. It was still a year of magical thinking. Obviously, a lot of young lads weighing in here who do not remember the very best Boston once had Dave Egan, Record; Austen Lake, American; Bill Cunningham, Post and later Herald; Harold Kaese, Transcript and later Globe; Jerry Nason, Globe; Bill Liston, Post. How about John Gilloly(sp) or Huck Finnegan or Bob Coyne (cartoonist). Great stuff. He is easily the least well known of all sportswriters on this list, but he absolutely deserves to be followed on Twitter. For the National Football Post, Bunting covers every prospect and big event related to the NFL draft. As an NFL writer for the New York Times, Battista specializes in news regarding the New York Giants and New York Jets. Setting the larger question aside, however, there remains the issue of McAdams tone and language following the Okajima incident. We're talking about one of the best in the business. The first two rounds were a slog, with Boston struggling to win each in seven games against the Hawks and the LeBron James-led Cavaliers, respectively. Could this get any easier? Shaughnessy wrote. Its good to have him back from the national beat. Analysis is frequently emotionally driven. I thought she brought the human interest angle into her columns. Twitter has taken the world by storm. I miss reading her. Hes forgotten more about this sport than most of us will ever know, and as such he remains the once and future #1. Nick Cafardo, former Boston Globe sports columnist, poses in this undated photo. Chris Mortensen has been around the league for a long time which makes him a wealth of information. Which leads to the logical conclusion that he understands exactly what his place is in the market, and is filling it intentionally. He'll tell you exactly what he thinks about a situation, which is usually correct, and he does a great job at interacting with followers. Few people provide quality draft content on Twitter like Josh Norris. As a Boston Globe staff writer for almost 20 years, Shira reported on all four major Boston professional teams, the NBA Finals, the World Series, the Olympics and the Boston Marathon. True, its more often basic metrics like OPS+ rather than, say, xFIP or WAR, and he remains skeptical when it comes to the accuracy of modern statistics. If there is any doubt, Ray Fitz wrote the two greatest columns in the history of marathons. sometime in the late-80s. You have to not give a shit about ultimately looking like an idiot or saying a lot of things that you regret.. He also happens to be rather hysterical on Twitter. He'll often repeat what a guy like Todd McShay or Mel Kiper, Jr. said and give you his take. There is willful mediocrity alongside innovative brilliance, with the inevitable faux-populist vitriol bubbling to the surface every so often. He's a highly respected journalist. And Horgan was terrific. Another name for consideration, though how about Bud Collins? Good usage of both historical precedent and numbers to form and/or supplement his arguments. Egan, who was nastier than Borges without the knowledge. He also covers NASCAR for the paper. McAdam and several of his colleagues publicly called him out on this behavior, justifying their actions with claims that it was affecting Okajimas teammates. Robert Bob P. Ryan is an American sportswriter, born on the 21st day of February in the year 1946. You are basically obligated to follow him if you're an NFL fan. Like Murray Chass and other traditionalists, Cafardo is aggressively old school, with his antipathy towards modern analysis regularly on display. How could you omit Steve Buckley? During the 70s, Leigh Montville wrote a weekly pro football picks column on Fridays in the Globe. I maneuvered my way onto the field, 20 feet from Tom Brady, who, hands atop his head, looked incredulous as confetti fluttered onto his jersey. Usually, sports reporters give more. A great place to learn and grow as a writer. Dave Cowens was renowned for his intensity, but he played with particular passion in Game 7 of the 1974 NBA Finals versus the Milwaukee Bucks because he felt he had let his team down with a 5-for-19 showing in a losing Game 6. While these types of stories have the capacity to be poeticGammonss lyrical piece after Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is considered the modern standardtodays versions rarely rise to such levels and, in the end, just end up rehashing hours-old events (as if the highlights werent immediately available online). The current hacks shouldnt even be on the list, they spend too much of their time primping and preening for the TV cameras. Michael, his mother scolded him when her son emerged to board the team bus, youre gonna give me a heart attack.. The Celtics proud franchise was in the midst of an NBA championship drought. Strengths: Finns a writer first, which means content well above replacement value. They called him. I meant that some of YOU (meaning the readers) might not think he deserves to be considered. if for no other reason than the NFL had few secrets when he was around. While politics, finances and other areas of interest are certainly prominent on Twitter, nothing is as huge as the world of sports. Its just that too many of our sportswritersahem, sports personalitieshave become adept at using these 21st-century tools to serve up what is little more than the same old slop. Constructs arguments rather than arguing opinions. Meanwhile, the sharp minds over at the national website Pro Football Focus informed their readers that the Texans blitzed on 48.8 percent of their plays, a decision that allowed Brady to pick their defense apart. He also mentioned Ray Fitzgerald (I think) holding up a note in the press box during the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, with two men on and two outs and the pitchers spot due up, that had the words Bernie Carbo scribbled on it, and then he said both of them nodded at each other from across the room. Montville and Ryan. Sharp, witty, outspoken. Hes mentioned a few times that he feels obligated to cover off the field issues only to the extent they affect play on the field; as someone with no desire to hear about the pecadilloes of wealthy grown men, I appreciate this. Jackie McMillan The Lady has her stuff together, especially on that basketball court..Hail Jackie, just keep it going girl! Hes an exception on this list because he covers all of the major teams, not just the Red Sox, but hes included because I value his thoughts on the team. Glenn Stout told me that, 20 years ago, he might have been able to come up with a dozen Boston sports-media personalities. Likewise, a bit more depth of metrics in the Buchholz vs Wakefield decision would have benefited his analysis. Reporters will almost universally argue that it does, but what they typically dont address is how much of the need to report it is driven by frustration with or dislike for the player at issue. The streets of Cambridge are flooded, and not because of the rain. Matthew Berry is Mr. Fantasy Football for ESPN. Ron Guidrys velocity wasnt what it had been, so Lou Piniella took eight steps from right-center toward the right field line. a lot of your list were beat writers and not columnists. Todd McShay is the other draft wunderkind for ESPN. To this day, I remember it. The . It didnt feel that way for Sox fans. Secondly, McDonough. Demonstrates an overreliance on certain friendly sources (e.g. Will McDonough, a former Boston Globe columnist of 44 years, was the only Globe sportswriter to be nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Another Pulitzer winner with New England ties is Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein, who won for commentary. He seems to break the biggest stories, have all the inside information and is able to give great insight into the league as a whole. While Benjamin Volin mainly tweets about information regarding the Miami Dolphins, the information he does give is purely genius. For instance, after the Patriots earned a spot in the AFC Championship game by beating the Houston Texans in January, the Herald dutifully recapped the series of events in the game, sprinkling in quotes like Tom Brady saying afterward, Im tired, man. (One would think so!) Im not naive enough to expect something erudite and grounded to ever sell well on a volume basis; Mencken, better than any of us perhaps, understood this. Who represents the pantheon of Boston sports columnists? None with more panache than Brady. Its a similar story over at the Herald, where old mainstays like Gerry Callahan and Steve Buckley continue to occupy top billing. My list of those inducted on the first ballot would match yours Montville, Fitzgerald, Ryan. . The product hasnt been remotely Polly Anna-ish, but the criticism and concerns were always grounded in fact. I never really considered McDonough a columnist, but more of an information guy. Cherrypicks and prooftexts facts to buttress arguments that would otherwise be unsupportable. His piece on Tom Brady after Super Bowl XLVI was pure genius. Differentiated content within the local market. In the dugout, Sox manager Terry Francona winked at Roberts. Jim Trotter is what I like to call a serial tweeter. I think he is worthy of the best. My time will be spent elsewhere, on writers with more substantive agendas to pursue. And while hes not in the camp attacking statistics, neither has he embraced them the way that peers like Speier have. Sports, Doug Farrar has everything you could want from a journalist. Finn, on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air. Enter a Crossword Clue Sort by Length The Hall of Fame tennis writer and TV commentator Bud Collins, who helped popularise the sport during his decades-long career, died at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts on Friday after a long. Nothing good in sight now it's all TV illiterates and the worst of all, the ESPN circus. And I write for a living. 36, NBC SPORTS CONTINUES COVERAGE OF HORSE RACINGS 1/ST RACING TOUR FROM GULFSTREAM PARK AND SANTA ANITA PARK THIS SATURDAY LIVE AT 4 P.M. The mood on Main Street outside the Lake Placid arena that afternoon in 1980 was defiant, almost militant. While that type of honesty is certainly refreshing, if you cry easily, you may want to stay away from his tweets. His media outlet, meanwhile, has its share of technology issues, from frequent bad links from Twitter to mobile redirection issues. Leigh Montville was like an artist with the typewriter. The good old days are gone as far as Boston columnists are concerned. National writers (Law, Olney, etc) are excluded from this ranking, though I may do a similar national list at a later date. More perhaps than any of the other writers on this list, Abraham gets the difference in tone between traditional outlets and blogs. he bill liston, a beat writer, bob chick whalen. Bestmuddy waters these days. Michael joined the Boston Globe in September 2019 covering the intersection of sports with business, politics, entertainment, technology, and many more. Proud Golden Tornado. The US hockey team was about to play the Soviet Union in the Olympics but their countrymen seemed ready to go to war. Weaknesses: The move to CSNNE has lowered his visibility for this fan. For being such a respected writer, King has quite the sense of humor on Twitter. It sounds absurd looking back, it was! Still miss that Sox postgame show he, Upton Bell, and Joe Fitzgerald used to do on 38. Why did Cafardo give Beckett the edge? All of which is to say that I owe Peter Gammons a debt that cannot be repaid. On the plus side, hes got excellent context for the market, having covered it for so long. As the lead NFL writer for Bleacher Report, Josh Zerkle has established himself as a unique talent in the writing world. Bill Simmons, the ESPN media mogul and star columnist, has often complained that he never felt like he, or any young, aspiring writer, had a fair chance to break into covering Boston sports. Cafardos willfull ignorance, then, is regrettable. My first paid journalism gig was writing about high school sports at the Globe, and it was the perfect way to learn how to do the job of a sports reporter. Peter Gammons WOW!! Will McDonough Fabulous, witty, candid, funny, yet called it VERY much like is was.I miss this guy! Maybe Tim Horgan doesnt deserve to be considered, so dont include him, there are no rules here other than they need to be the best. Massarotti, however, is less than grounded by facts. His defense of the gamer the post-game writeup which is about as useful as an appendix these days is one example of his affection for the way things used to be done. 1) Ray Fitz. Later that week, the New-Hampshire-based sports-media critic Bruce Allen summed up the entire episode. While he retweets quite a bit, Caplan also does a good job at providing depth into team situations and team needs. The first two rounds were a slog, with Boston struggling to win each in seven games against the Hawks and the LeBron James-led Cavaliers, respectively. Honorable mention too to John Updike, who only did two, but man . Austen Lake did pretty well after joinging the sports beat from being a straight type columnists. Strengths: Tenured reporter with excellent contacts. Rehashing games, for example, is something that can be done by a variety of third parties: its non-differentiating for writers. He and his fellow Boys of Winter played the greatest one in Games history and I wrote about it from the overflowing press box. LOVED reading his work. Leverages his strengths and advantages well. Solid reputation in the market both for integrity and rationality. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . Accepting at face value his contention that beat writers dont root for teams, its nevertheless unreasonable to expect that they dont root for people on those teams. Clockwise from left: Marvin Hagler; Dave Cowens and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; a crowd; Kevin Garnett; the 1980 Miracle on Ice; and Dave Roberts' iconic steal. I loved Ernie Roberts column, especially his Thoughts While Shaving segment. He's an insider type of man who has a great understanding of the game of football. Engaging and open to dialogue; hes responded to a couple of mentions on Twitter, which in my experience is rare. Respect for the profession of sportswriting, then, I do not lack. Wetzel is one of the classiest and most talented writers currently covering the NFL. Like his more experienced colleagues, has not actively embraced statistical analysis although he has not taken a line against them, either. I always enjoyed Jackie MacMullan,but I didnt see her listed. These days, theyre all trying to be loud and provocative so they can become fixtures on TV and radio. Historical sportswriters [ edit] Les Biederman Furman Bisher Jimmy Cannon Henry Chadwick George W. Daley Dan Daniel Pierce Egan Charley Feeney Larry Felser Mary Garber Halsey Hall Arnold Hano Sid Hartman W. C. Heinz Zander Hollander Jerome Holtzman James Jerpe [1] Leonard Koppett Sam Lacy John Lardner Ring Lardner Fred Lieb Tim Murnane Jack Murphy (LogOut/ However, they are also some of the funniest sports-related content on the planet and definitely worth a read. In a perfect storm of Boston Sports, he made his big splash just as Fred Lyn,n Jim Rice and the rest of the 75 cast were making theirs, just as a young TV-38 gambled on putting on 80 games instead of the dozen that the VHF stations would show, just as a then-fresh Dick Stockton was giving a slightly cynical air to play by play. Chad Finn, who like Speier and national writers such as Will Carroll, has enjoyed favorable attention from Gammons, is one of the remaining bright lights for me at the Boston Globe. This search result is here to prevent scraping, On the Market: A Rustic-Chic Home on a Ski Trail in Vermont, On the Market: A Newly Built Farmhouse in Concord, Silver Dove Afternoon Tea Opens in Downtown Boston, The Real, Essential Backstory of the MLK Statue The Embrace', Widowmaker Brewing to Expand from Braintree to Brighton in 2023, What the Boston Athenaeum's $17 Million Renovation Looks Like, Careers and Internships at Boston Magazine. He's. But when Adam Vinatieri booted a field goal as time expired, our citys sports landscape shifted permanently. Since columnist Michael Holley left the paper for a radio gig at WEEI eight years ago, its hard to think of a single distinctive voice the paper has developed and held on to. Andrew Brandt has been around the NFL for quite some time. Senior staff writer and columnist Kevin Paul Dupont. But the least I would expect from a sportswriter, particularly in an age where the commentary is growing more sophisticated at an accelerating rate, would be some basic logic to offset the emotionally driven opinions. He was middleweight champion of the world after stopping Englishman Alan Minter on cuts with a TKO at 1:45 of the third round at Wembley Arena. it was the best. Now you have to wrestle with whether what youre doing is interesting, Speier said, or a bit of a nuisance., Its not as though the local sports press exists in a total time warp. Kapler). Good or bad, it doesnt matter, he wrote on his website, Boston Sports Media Watch. Incredibly, it happened. As reported by the New York Times, the Globe's political writer, Robert L. Healy, and Jack Driscoll, the editor of The Evening Globe, recruited Mr. Barnicle to write a column. Long experience in the market. I just look at this as something for my portfolio of basketball experiences. And I regard this first Celtics championship I was privileged to cover as a highlight in my portfolio of journalistic experiences. (Businesses: Want to donate a prize and get mentioned? The NFL Twitter account of the world's greatest sports website (too much?) I freely admit to liking his old weekend thoughts/notes. Bud Collins makes whatever he writes about interesting, regardless of whether it would be interesting outside his column. The following is a partial list of sports writers. For those who did not have the pleasure, it was just that a pleasure. 17. The information he provides on Mocking The Draft is great stuff, as are his tweets regarding the NFL draft. Comcast Sports hasnt made the same effort that WEEI has to establish relevancy, and because Comcast competes with other media outlets McAdams ability to make relevant market media appearances is limited. A fellow Boston Globe writer named John Powers once noticed that Ryan didn't include many quotes in his game stories. While this is probably good for Bradfords career, the decline in coverage is bad news for Red Sox fans. Meanwhile, sports talk radio station WEEI has stuck with many of the same hosts theyve had since the 90s, like Callahan, John Dennis, Glenn Ordway, and even Mike Adams. View all posts by Bruce Allen. If your favorite team is in the NFC West, and you aren't following Mike Sando, you may be clinically insane. There are two things that I really like about Evan Silva on Twitter. We dont need our writers to root for the Sox, but it would be nice if they didnt actively encourage Yankee fans. (Illustration by John Ueland), Passans story was still fresh in Sullivans mind. Apart from the benefit it saw as an outlet for one of the rival factions during the Red Sox front office schism, the Herald Sports Sections fortunes have been in decline for years. Shauhnessy Got to absolutley love the contraian "curly red-head".!!! As one of their top NFL analysts, Clayton is always up to date on the biggest happenings around the league. With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the sixth, Thurman Munson signaled for a slider down and in on Fred Lynn. Austin Lake, who I loved but can not really give a concrete reason.. He continued to write columns for The Evening Globe, then the Boston Globe, until 1998. All the Boston teams did back in 2002 often in spectacular fashion. (LogOut/ Hes got the talent to do the job, clearly, but is either unable or unwilling to reconsider his perspectives in light of new teachings. Gammons and McDonough were great reporters. Sando has all the information you could ever want about the NFC West, and he does a great job at keeping you up to date via Twitter about the happenings in that division. Russ Lande is another NFL draft guy, and he may be one of the most well respected ones of the bunch. Saturday mornings were never the same after he retired. By Peter Abraham, Bob Hohler, Bob Ryan, Dan Shaughnessy, Michael. However, she's always good for league-wide information and is certainly worth following. Craig Ellenport has been around the NFL for a long time.