Morrissey vs. Mariotti

Jay had this one coming...his endless attacks on Tribune writers for being Cub homers and apologists qualify as throwing the first stone(s)...he never hesitates to crow about how he's the ONLY voice in that city, the ONLY one brave enough to take on the big stories, the ONLY one who....etc etc etc. Time for someone at the Trib to swipe back.

 

Tempting, yes, but why take the bait? The only way you can win a fight with this bully is to ignore him. He's an attention hound of the highest order, so don't give him any more attention, and he'll wither.

I'm sure that, as we speak, Mariotti is working on his next 1,500-word piece, in which he defends himself by saying that you don't need to be in the locker room to speak truth to power, about how Morrissey and the Trib don't have to worry about confrontations because they kowtow to the Cubs, etc.

 

Sells papers.

Play on.

 

Wasn't suggesting this was payback....but Morrissey doesn't strike me as a guy who attacks anyone for the hell of it. Just saying he had no reason to hold back or temper his remarks, as you might with a colleague who had shown you professional respect in print.

 

God help me for agreeing with 21, but she's dead-on here.

It's not that Mariotti avoids the clubhouse because he doesn't want to get ripped; he ALWAYS avoids the clubhouse. During the '03 NLCS, the man was always roaming between the press box and media dining room at Wrigley, but was nowhere to be seen in the interview room after the game. His "leg work" for columns consists of having someone swipe him a copy of the media notes after each game.

And this is far from the first time he's been accused of this.

After the Tim Floyd debacle with the Bulls, Crumbs Krause called him out in the middle of the press conference for writing so many scathing columns despite not attending a single practice or press conference since MJ retired.

 

I enjoyed the column, and I like Rick a lot.

But it does bring to mind 2muchcoffeeman's post on the Jeff Pearlman thread.

"It's like wrestling with a pig. You get covered with mud, and the pig likes it."

 

I've always been interested in the folks who ask:

Do readers care about the media?
Do they care that Jim Rice was a jerk to reporters?
Do they care that Shaq left the locker room without talking?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes.
Bruhman was right. Jay Mariotti is a public figure, especially in Chicago. He's fair game.
Why do you think the Washington Post runs a media column?
Why do you think ESPN reports that Michael Irvin got caught with marijuana?
If a sports editor in any town gets charged with DUI, readers will -- and should -- read about it the next day.

Bickering between high profile columnists might be the best reading of all. They are the faces and voices of their respective products. Readers arent just interested in this. Readers eat this stuff up.

 

I like dreamin' cause dreamin' can make you mine. I like dreamin', closing my eyes and feeling fine. When the lights go down, I'm holding you so tight. Got you in my arms and it's paradise 'til the morning light. I see us on the shore beneath the bright sunshine. We've walked along St. Thomas beach a million times. Hand in hand, two barefoot lovers kissing in the sand. Side by side, the tide rolls in. I'm touching you, you're touching me. If only it could be. Chorus Through each dream how our love has grown. I see us with our children and our happy home. Little smiles, so warm and tender looking up at us. Blessed by love, the world we share Until I wake and reach for you And you're just not there. I like dreamin' 'cause dreaming can make you mine. I like holding you close and touching your skin Even if it's in my mind. Oh, sweet dream baby, I love you. Oh, my sweet dream baby, you're in my dreams every night.

 

enjoyed morrisey's column... but you might also wanna take a gander at telander's piece in the sun times... telander's swipes are an inside job, taken with precision and very destructive. morrisey worked the head. telander worked the body.

 

Telender's take. Perhaps a few subtle shots in there at his collegue. Thought he did a nice job of actually talking to two of Ozzie's "many" gay friends by getting their numbers from Guillen's cell phone. It's not the sort of thing you can do sitting in your office, I guess.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/telander/cst-spt-rick23.html

 

Long-time Trib columnist Melissa Isaacson weighs in:

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_nottobemean/

 

As someone who has dislike Mariotti for many years, I'm loving this. Morrisey did a great job. Telander as well. Isaacson needed to throw her $0.02 in and made good points. I'm also glad they took an unofficial group approach to calling out Mariotti for being what we called in college a "butt reporter".

And yes, this is news, so it should be discussed as such.