Your Top 10 sj moments

TP left fairly recently, sometime in May or June. I'm assuming he is in the other sandbox.

 

Really unclear why it was necessary to barf up this little hairball on a great thread about the best of SJ. Lame.

Otherwise, can't stop laughing at some of these memories....so fun to see this thread again. Bubbler's post on the previous page really sums it up for me. Hard to take seriously some of the current histrionics if you remember the days when a picture of a cheese cracker or the Great Gazoo could get you a timeout. 8)

 

the salad years were between 2003-2006.

a romp in the hay was fantastic, which led to the whole human resources shtick.

helping zeke fashion "the grumpty dance" for spnited's birthday.

being directed to the words and works of jones and jgmacg.

anything bucky wrote on baseball.

mikey's piece on the difference between the principals on sbtb and (shit, i forgot theother show, can i get some help?)

even some of the "piss and vinegar" had its merit.

 

and i need to add: slappy's college football poll.

 

I was on my extended hiatus (read: didn't have time/internet for SJ) back when this thread originated. I'm sad I missed the first go-round.

No matter how much or little time I spend on SJ, I do love many of you fondly and have many favorite moments -- from threads, PMs and the Seattle outing.

I've made a few close friends through SJ and I'm so thankful to have them in my life. Six years and six months after registering, I still come back and spend time here ... the only other people/things I've kept around in that same span in my life are a couple friends and my family. SJ was there when I clashed with a couple early bosses; when I swore off the profession for a future at the McDonald's drive-thru and/or teaching; when I came crawling back into journalism; when I made an ass of myself at the daily paper I worked at for 2.5 years; when I needed amazing new friends and experiences to celebrate my amazing new job; when I needed a shoulder to cry/lean on or a person to listen; when I needed a special someone in my life and then, again, when I needed a distraction from that ending; when I needed focus, inspiration or just to do something other than clean/pack/unpack/eat/workout/sleep/work; when I tried to keep up with dooley's early post-padding and failed miserably; when I decided to start a war with 21 and somehow lived to not tell about it; when I posted on the "Men, women and sports" thread, where I got one of my first PMs from the person who has become one of my dearest friends, on or off the board; when I needed to make anti-shoutouts on a Tuesday; when I watched with amazement and disgust the continued demise of the ink-related sports world; and when I just wanted to go someplace where (almost) everybody knew my name.

Thanks.

 

8) Was it about the first SJ novel?

 

One of the novels. :-[ silly lil' ducky

 

Well, don't quote me, but you were probably right.

 

'Twas a fair point, though.

 

They're all 'fair points' until that crowded glass house is buried under stones.

 

Well, as someone who has now been around the various interations of this site for close to a decade, I've tried to recall some memorable moments, in as best as I can figure chronologically (and sorry, but these go to eleven):

1. The general board implosion on the sportspages.com forum. A bunch of people first figuring out this discussion board concept on the internets and the mayhem and catastrophe that ensued. Kind of like learning to drive; there were bound to be some bigtime car wrecks. And if you think the conflicts on here now are uncivil, back then they would equate to an all out barroom brawl. Or a full scale military conflict.

2. The Penn Station fight. One poster calling out another to meet at Penn Station for some fisticuffs. Almost the first SportsJournalists.com outing.

3. The Wallace Matthews thread. The first realization about how this place was much more than just a little discussion board and how it was becoming ingrained within and impactful to the industry.

4. Hello All from Jonathan. A cheery query from a newbie across the pond who was summarily trashed, diced and sliced back to merry ol' England. First problem was the topic was soccer, which in those days did not receive the tolerance on here it does today, but rather was regarded with considerable contempt and disdain. Looking back, the treatment of that poor soul was probably not one of finer moments, but the hilarity of how this group could skewer and barb a topic, a poster, a theme in general were on display in the finest colors.

5. Tennis Mom Interview. Still one of my very favorites. A poster asked for some serious advice on how to deal with interviewing the mom of a tennis player and a Penthouse Forum broke out. A great example of one poster after another picking up the story and advancing it with twists, turns, kinkiness, fetishes and completely unexpected results.

6. The Kansas thread. Ack. I think this was the thread where people just posted picture after picture for about 100 pages. Michael Doleac’s finest moment.

7. The Charlie Brown thread. Another one good for 100 pages or so, Charlie Brown.

8. The Katrina thread. Starting with a cute little thread title, Katrina and the Waves, it followed the storm across Florida (which few people even remember today in the aftermath) through to the Bayou and all the stuff that did and didn’t happen later. A fantastic thread to read to follow how we reacted as events unfolded—a true time capsule of a horrific event.

9. The Imus/Rutgers thread. One of the more emotionally charged and diametrically opposed threads. Somehow managed to stay on the tracks for a number of weeks and 30+ pages. I know I pissed some people off on that thread, but also learned some things from others’ points of view on there as well. This is an example of how this site can allow us, no, force us to learn and grow by hearing how others view things.

10. Virginia Tech tragedy. Another one where it’s amazing to look back over the thread to see how it unfolds from what might be an isolated shooting to the full fledged carnage that took place. And made all the more real with the impact it had on those with friends and family close by.

11. Where’s Poindexter? A great example of the feature I like best about the site: true zaniness, silliness and good humor. Let’s be careful out there!

A few others that deserve honorable mention:

Chris L’s postings of pages and pages of album covers of 70s European rock bands no one had ever heard of. Still makes me chuckle to this day.

Bubbler’s ATF threads. Starting with the Bubbler/BYH one to the most recent re-countdown. A good read every time.

Any music thread, for that matter. The variety of opinions, the love/hate passion for certain bands, such as a trio from Canada for example.

The love, sorrow and consideration this place shows when someone or something is lost. Tripp McNeely, editorhoo. The Rocky Mountain News. Our interaction is for the most part virtual, but times like those speak to this being a 9,000+ member family.

It’s interesting how ingrained this place has become in my daily existence on this earth. It’s funny—when a major news story breaks, I’ll often think. “well, that’s going to get big play at SportsJournalists.com” or “ I wonder what’s being said about X on SportsJournalists.com). And I’ll often come here first to see reaction/opinion/news to these stories as opposed to looking somewhere else. In looking back, I think that 9/11 occurred during one of the board’s down times, because that would have been an unbelievable thread to experience here.

Cheers all.

 

Just came across this, and wanted to provide some extra info
Coincidentally, John's brother, Mike Rutsey, is a sportswriter. He covers the Blue Jays for the Toronto Sun.
Sadly, John passed away a couple of years ago.