Idiots Write About Sports

I’m not typically prone to engage old-media-vs.-new-media argle-bargle, largely because I think the whole bloggers-or-newspapers debate is based on a false premise. Who says you gotta pick one or the other? Isn’t a well-rounded media diet composed of getting your information from a multitude of sources, be it the kind printed on dead trees or the kind that flickers on LCD displays? That way you can get a wide variety of viewpoints and not necessarily be beholden to a single source with its attendant biases and predispositions.

Anyway.

Like I said, I’m not typically prone to this sort of thing, but I found this particular passage from T.J. Simers’ column striking for its these-damn-kids-with-their-InterWeb ethos:

From what I know about blogs, it doesn’t appear you need much more than someone who likes to hear themselves talk, who knows how to type and who also owns a computer. It’s not as if you have to interview anyone, or even attend a game, so long as you sound as if you know what you’re talking about — you know, kind of like sports talk radio.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone was feeling threatened this Thanksgiving morning.

Also, if you’re familiar with T.J. Simers, it’s kind of funny that he’d take issue with someone who likes to hear himself talk. But more funny in a sad, ironic way instead of ha-ha funny.

So I'm in Orange County for Thanksgiving at my in-law's, and I read this morning's Times and find myself incensed by Simers' column... for exactly the reasons Phil has detailed above. I compose an entire blog entry in my head about it, only to log in and discover that Phil has posted that blog entry for me. Thanks, Phil, for reading my mind.

Posted by Jason at November 24, 2005 10:51 AM

One other thought I had the moment after I clicked "post:" if the collective works of Simers and Plaschke are what you can expect from guys who go to the games and interview people, I'll take my chances with the computer guys who like to hear themselves talk, thanks.

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