The demise of SI

I remember listening to Dan Patrick when he used to be on ESPN Radio. He was decent. But now, I can't stand to read these interviews in the magazine. I'd rather read another story than a radio transcript. But that may just be me.

 

Recycling beats working, it says here.

 

That is very true. Few guys are willing to open up to them because of that. Reading between the lines of the Shaq story, you can tell there was limited access. All done in the training room.

 

Access has become the most overrated quality in journalism of all kinds, but especially sports, since it's rough translation is "the picture he/she/they want you to see." How much access to Shaq do you need to do a story? It's not like he's unknown, or that he can avoid speaking altogether. If I NEVER read another "Here's a slice of Joe Jock's life right after he won the big game" story I'll be a happy man. And since I control that issue, I will be happy -- by skipping them.

 

A few years ago I bought a collection of Sports Illustrateds on eBay. They were all between 1976-79 (this was before SI Vault came into existence.) I bought it because George Plimpton is/was my favorite author, and I also wanted to learn about other writers who were at the magazine at the time ... Frank Deford, Pat Putnam, Ron Fimrite, Robert W. Creamer, et al.

One thing of which I noticed SI doesn't do much anymore is stories/topics that took more than one issue to fully explain. In 1976, Deford wrote a series that lasted three weeks on religion in sports. It was fascinating, and I'm not that religious.

Think SI would ever follow a guy around a race track today? In 1979, it did, and Douglas S. Looney's first nine paragraphs of his story is one of my favorite intros:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1095280/index.htm

And, George Plimpton's 1970 story about Ali's return to the ring against Jerry Quarry is my favorite of all time. Plimpton doesn't write about the fight, but rather the day of the fight. Can you do that today? I'm sure, but it hardly happens, which makes this excellent reading. If you read this, be sure to take note of Ali's exchange with a truck driver ... brilliant.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1084326/index.htm

 

I wonder how much mouthwash Farber had to gargle after he was done writing that Crosby story from two weeks back. Hideous suck job. And what was with the ridiculous cheap shots at Ovechkin? You can't write a glowing, dick-sucking piece on Sid without taking pot shots? I thought I was reading PittsburghPenguins.com.

 

Bowie no longer exists as a live racing center, but if that story had run in SI anytime over the past five years,
it would have been in the running for the best story
of the year.

 

You know, I almost stopped myself on that reference because I didn't recall it as being Penn -- seemed much later in the season, for one thing -- but I didn't, and now wish I had that one back.

 

Patrick is a vapid airhead. Try listening to his radio show and it takes less than 10 minutes to see that massive ego on display.

In contrast, Mike and Mike, who are on at the same time, are eminently more easy to listen to.

When it comes to Patrick in SI, I echo what others have said. Bad call by an editor in the first place to include him in the mag. All but indefensible so many months in to the "experiment." I like his board operators and booking guys much better.

 

If Reilly/Patrick had been a straight "trade", it would
be known as the epic "bad deal for both clubs".

 

Yeah, that was pretty awful.

I do think the quality of storytelling in SI has significantly decreased. And the great, truly talented writers never write much anymore. SI used to be the class of sports writing for many years, and now it's just in the pack.

 

whew....that explains why my issue had Braden on the cover and why I don't recall seeing Shaq.