Rick Reilly leaves Sports Illustrated - now confirmed by NYT

Price is a superb writer, but I don't think he fits the back page slot. He's better at the long form than the 800-word column. Richard Hoffer is probably the best essayist they have on staff. I'd love to see them give him the job, but I doubt they will.

 

I'm sure it's tempting for columnists: They can write 100,000 words if they wish, and there's unlimited space and all but unlimited freedom. Would certainly feed ego, but I have a feeling in the end, craft will take a hit, as the old adage of less often being more will long be forgotten.

 

In case anyone was wondering: I did not see Rick Reilly at the LSU game Saturday.

Oh, and Luggies, it's quote-end quote, not quote-unquote. You don't unquote it at the end.

 

So "quote, disquote" probably isn't right either?

 

Deadspin's Leitch to SI for Reilly's gig?

http://www.danshanoff.com/2007/10/si-hire-deadspins-leitch-to-replace.html

This guy is agitating for the move. Being 37, which is like a dinosaur, I don't see what all the fuss is over deadspin.

Is this quote even close to being accurate???

Also worth noting that the guy who wrote it is tight with Leitch...

 

Re: Deadspin's Leitch to SI for Reilly's gig?

I'm pretty sure it was discussed on the 'reilly leaving' thread, but I'm not sure SI is ready to step THAT far out of the box.

 

Re: Deadspin's Leitch to SI for Reilly's gig?

the disclaimer this guy offered at the end--that he is a close friend of leitch's--was one i had been eagerly anticipating since about midway through his column, since only a friend of leitch would advance this argument as if it were a halfway realistic scenario.

 

The New York Post had a bit about Reilly today, similar stuff. But it talked about Gary Smith and ESPN apparently took another run at him, but he signed a new deal, apparently worth about $600,000 per year for three or four 10,000-word stories a year.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10242007/business/new_sporting_life_of_reilly.htm?page=0

 

"SI was said to be willing to go as high as $1.5 million a year - or $7.5 million over the life of the next five-year contract - to keep him happy. But with Time Inc. unable to offer Reilly a TV network gig, he was a goner - jumping at the reputed five-year, $10 million package offered by ESPN."

These are the exact same figures we reported Friday. SI went $1.5 ... ESPN got him for $2 million per.

 

WHAT!?!?! A sportswriter chased the money and didn't accept a fair value at a place that nurtured him along for 20-odd years??

Blasphemy.

 

Re: Deadspin's Leitch to SI for Reilly's gig?

I'm a Deadspin fan. But as someone noted on the Reilly thread, Leitch just isn't a good enough writer to fill that slot. (Even if he wanted to.)

 

To be fair, the thing that really got him was the regular TV gig, the one thing SI couldn't match. Although money is always a factor.

ESPN will never get Gary Smith because Smith doesn't care about being famous, the way Reilly does. I'm sure he also has the good sense to realize his 10,000-word pieces would be wasted on ESPN Mag's short-attention span readership.