Wojo's A-Rod column trumps Reilly's by a country mile

Of the columns I read, there were four categories:

1.) A-Rod is still evading the truth. I think he's a dirtbag, and you readers should, too.

2.) A-Rod ought to be punished by doing (this completely absurd idea that will never, ever happen, like erasing his stats).

3.) Bud Selig is the real douche in this ugly saga. You know that, don't you?

4.) Well, look at Derek Jeter. Now there's a real American. Maybe he can work in Obama's cabinet during the off-season.

Sanctimonious, yes. But more than that, boring.

Now I sympathize with the columnists because I really can't think of a fifth option, except for something even more lame, like getting insights from A-Rod's Little League coach or Ben Johnson.

Really, opinion writing is superfluous on this type of story. No paper is going to let you write the truth -- that Yankees fans won't care, especially if A-Rod has a good year, and fans of other teams would boo him if he'd been caught eating granola. So it's all just blah-blah-blah. The really radical thing would be to write news stories and sidebars and give the opiners the day off.

 

I just like the fact that Frank used "douche."
And, he is correct on all fronts.

 

Yup. Not the point, but agreed. Because of some amazing timing, I thought for a brief second that my Yardbirds mp3 had a Blackberry commercial at the end. Fuck the push video. Let us click.

Not only that, but some code in the video makes Firefox think that stopping it is a clickjacking attempt. So something that shouldn't even be playing when you get to the page now takes several clicks to stop.

 

I believe Frank was also correct in all fonts.

 

Frank, why'd you have to be a buzz kill and come up with something that makes sense like that? Don't you know by now that the voice of reason usually is overlooked on this site?

And as for your last point, I agree, that would be very radical, especially now with newsrooms growing smaller and smaller. The "more with less" approach does not allow for well-researched news stories and sidebars like the ones you propose, unfortunately.

But in Gene's defense, he is paid to opine and I just felt he did a much better job conveying his thoughts than Reilly, which sadly has not been that difficult to do these days since Riles jumped to the WWL.

 

I haven't read or seen a lot of columns or opinion pieces that lower the boom on fans/fanboys/ever adoring public who -- regardless of how much juice these guys do -- will bitch, whine and yet show up in huge numbers once the season begins.
A-Roid knows it, owners know it, players know it and everybody else knows it and that's why they usually put a great spin and bullshitting "oh, forgive me" and "i was so young and so naive and stupid" and....etc., etc.
Because when all of the ESPN, 60 Minutes and whatever talking head piece is in the can, life will go on as usual.
It's as much about greed on the part of the fans as it is with these athletes/megabucks' producing pro franchises.
Sure, that doesn't justify the crap these athletes do at all. Not one bit. But you can't have it both ways. Either quit buying tickets, wearing A-Rod's jersey, chasing down jocks for signatures and showering them with adoration or accept the fact that far too many screw up like the rest of the human race.
Too many of us have to be entertained 24/7 or we don't know what to do. That's just the way it is, way it will continue to be...roids or not, fans could care less for the most part, as long as they are entertained. fine. but quit bitching about it or stay away from the parks.

 

Never thought the day would come, but the past two weeks in a row, I've quit reading Reilly's column midway through. Someone called him too cutesy in an old thread. They're right. The goofy rhyming metaphors and all that just ain't cutting it with me, and I don't think I'm the only one.

Oh well.

 

Sneed...you're not the only one. I have quit reading Reilly because of the continued "cuteness." if he was doing a Q and A with Satan, 99.9 percent of it would be "cute."

 

And yeah, I don't get the point of all these opinions getting flung around out there. Bloggers can do that. I've done that on my blog. But to get paid for stuff like that?

I'd like to hear stories from ARod's past, stories that have formed him into this narcissistic dude everyone is saying he is, this guy who has apparently ruined baseball.

And as far as the sanctimonious bullshit call....I'm a college baseball player. There isn't a decent ballplayer at this level trying to get to the next level that hasn't at least entertained the idea of steroids or HGH. Wondering if it can make you this much better or turn that double into a bomb or amp your fastball from 87 to 93....of course guys will consider it.

So nerds behind computers who haven't lived that really ought not condemn those who have, and who do.

ARod was wrong. Folks who use PEDs are wrong. But we, too, are wrong to place ourselves on pedestals hurling stones at them. They, too, are people. People make mistakes.

 

I think he thinks that it appeals to the younger demographic ESPN reaches. And maybe it works for many. The guys on my baseball team loved the beer pong column when I emailed them the link. But for journalists who have a clue....he's just not the inspiration he once was.

 

Sneed......amen.

 

Sneed, you make some excellent points. I just think you could have made them equally as effective without the "nerds" remark.