New Republic blogger hates the Wash. Post sports section

Sounds kind of like the rant of a bitter Maryland fan to me (and as Col. Jessup would say: "Is there another kind?"), but since some of you think the Post sports section is vastly overrated, I thought it was worth discussing. "The Plank," which is where this comes from, is a TNR blog where magazine staffers go to rant about whatever topic they so choose.

http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=54459

 

I doubt this is exclusive to the Post, but it raises a wider point. Why read a game story about a game you watched on TV? Who is it supposed to serve, the person asking "who won? what happened?" or the smaller group of people who want this kind of insight?

Of course, a top-quality gamer does both, but I would think there aren't many of those in any paper.

 

The Post blogger responds. Ouch!

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2006/11/the_new_republic_your_source_f.html#comments

 

Umm, I wouldn't call 5-4 Florida State _ which lost to Maryland the week before _ "resurgent."

 

I would call that a sufficiant and appropriate beat down. I don't think 90 percent of the people out there have any idea how hard it is to write a gamer that is decided in the final seconds and must be filed 30 seconds after the final gun. Personally, I think the Post should try to be a little more lax with its deadlines (this was not a night game), but it is what it is.

 

From top to bottom, there's no paper that can top the talent of the Post's sports staff.
Every time I'm in D.C., however, I'm struck by the lack of space and erratic nature of the section. It's got a paint-by-numbers feel, and if early deadlines are part of the reason, then it's management's fault. If they don't value sports as an important part of their package, the product will suffer.
Of course, Post circulation will continue to fade away, too.

 

Not sure it's a wider point or not. Depends how much analysis you get from the bubbleheads on air. If you just want a score, you can spin the dial at :20 and :40 and usually get it.

 

If it wasn't a night game, why was the deadline so inflexible? Anyone know?

 

Another edifying exchange, courtesy of the blogosphere. They deserve each other.

 

The New Republic -- home of Ruthie Shalit, playpen of Stephen Glass, dungeon run by Marty Peretz -- lost its credibility for media criticism a long time ago, and there is no writer alive more fundamentally boring than Judis, not one.