May 11, 2008 - May 17, 2008

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Twin Cities Sports Media Medals

Filed under: MLB

After ten years as a writer, I've learned (among myriad other tenets) that there is no substitute for being a learned reader and researcher of other people's work. And the lay of the Minnesota sports landscape has no shortage of talent. Of the countless places I've been fortunate enough to live, visit, or vacation in my days -- I've long held the belief that my hometown of the Twin Cities provides a better arc of sports coverage than any other destination where I've picked up a sports page, watched a broadcast, listened to a ballgame, scrolled through local websites, or purchased a book penned by a native scribe.

And given the vast research that has encompassed the fine opportunity to tackle this Twins project for 2008, I've found a heightened sense of my attentions magnified toward those whose work I personally find most poignant. That said, I thought it might be fun to create a list of those who ascend to the zenith of our Minnesota sports bread basket. After researching and revisiting the work of close to 100 local talents (94 to be exact) who are presently working in town as writers, radio/television broadcasters, and prognosticators-- I organized a 30-point grading scale with the following breakdown to see who came out on top:

Experience (10 points possible): Basically, a point awarded for each year working in Minnesota.
Talent (10 points possible): Again, just one guy's opinion here.
Gig (5 points possible): Gauging the height of the podium from which they work.
Buzz (3 points possible): Recognizing how many different media in which the person works, combined with how often other people in the field reference their work.
Influence (2 points possible): What is their influence on the present, and future, of Minnesota sports media?

And while there are surely some omissions on this list (13 other fine talents in fact, who were a point or two shy-- Sean Jensen, Jay Weiner, Dick Bremer and John Bonnes among them), I whittled it down to the top 20%. Again, one guy's opinion here. Comments -- of concurrence or of dissent -- are of course always welcome. Eschewing further pause, here are the medallists of Minnesota sports media, noted in ascending order:

Honorable Mention

Jim Souhan
-trusted and well-respected multi-medium vet who is at his best during baseball season.

Kevin Gorg
-Rapidly-rising, he's great with both hockey and horses.

Bob Sansevere
-Radio and Sports page fixture.

Aaron Gleeman
-Closer to Bill James than Henry James, but has surely branded more (well-deserved) name recognition in his 20's than anyone on this list.

Brad Zellar
-Versatile veteran freelancer and author who has a penned a veritable laundry list of outstanding magazine and web articles. Great with baseball.

LaVelle E. Neal
-Skilled and highly-knowledgeable baseball writer who will have no shortage of opportunities to extend his voice to radio and television in ensuing years.

Bronze Division

Ross Bernstein
-Churns out quality sports books at the rate of four per day. Truly a fine purveyor of Minnesota sports history.

Dan Barreiro
-Fine sportswriter who has shifted to purely radio work. Political, smart, and with a very strong following.

Stew Thornley
-Major thread in Minnesota baseball mosaic. Unique voice, original ideas, and he loves dead Hall of Famers.

Dark Star
-Polarizing veteran voice -- beloved by some, bemoaned by others. But hell, when I'm his age, I'd love to have the lifestyle: staying up late, talking sports, going to the track.

Rachel Blount
-Despite my equine bias, I'll still call her the most underrated sportswriter in town.

Silver Class

Paul Allen
-Active, fun, and funky. Deserving of his 17 jobs, and his voice is the perfect match for both Adrian Peterson highlights and photo finishes.

Neal Karlen
-Probably the most talented writer here. Subjects range from religion to pop culture to sports. His "Leaning Toward Fargo" is one of the most timely Minnesota books ever written.

Britt Robson
-Like Zellar in his versatility. Sharp and smart veteran with an acute proclivity toward basketball insights.

Sid Hartman
-No list would be complete sans the local luminary. Has more contacts than LensCrafters, more columns than Rome.

Gold Circle

Joe Soucheray
-All those window stickers mean something. May have a greater following than anyone herein.

Ron Shara
-Veteran outdoors presence and excellent storyteller.

Patrick Reusse
-Has never ceased hustling for a great story, his work generates the most reaction, and he scribes a few lights-out columns month-in, month-out. Radio work is also well-respected.

Mark Rosen
-Very likable and trusted broadcast vet, and his Sunday night show proves consistently insightful and entertaining.

Posted by Judd Spicer at May 15, 2008 9:09 AM | Comments (18)

 

Mr. Tom Brady, meet Mr. William of Ockham

Filed under: NFL

Tom Brady ripped ESPN yesterday, saying that the network's coverage of the Patriots' spying controversy is manufactured controversy. Can't we just keep news of our organization's illegal spying on opposing teams in the past, Brady asks? He alleges the typical media sensationalism.

Let's hear from Mr. Brady directly:

MR. BRADY: "I think it's a way to really sell newspapers, and all the ESPN stations, they've got to fill the air, too... It's just kind of the environment right now, though. I think that's the way that guys make it. They just say the craziest things. That's what ESPN has become. ESPN, to me, is like MTV without the videos, ESPN is without the highlights."

To rebut these comments, we've resuscitated William of Ockham, the 14th century Franciscan friar whose principle, "Occam's razor," states that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is the most likely true explanation.

What say you, sir?

MR. OCKHAM: "The most successful NFL franchise in recent memory cheated. They admitted to the cheating. But because new information had come to light indicating the cheating might have been more widespread than previously indicated, the story got more press. Q.E. fucking D. May I go back to the grave now?"

Mr. Ockham, you've been most helpful. Mr. Brady, please go back to impregnating models and leave the media criticism to Ben Bagdikian.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 14, 2008 6:06 AM | Comments (4)

 

Secretary of Agriculture: Livan Hernandez

Filed under: MLB

This is likely not the first place you're visiting on the site for political news and notions. However, this is of course an election year. And given the formidable relationship between sports and culture, I'd be remiss not to include the occasional nod (or at least the illusion thereof) toward what may prove to be the most critical election year of our lifetimes.

That said: Now back to sports! Every 25-games or so, I'll be appointing a member of our favorite club to the Minnesota Twins Cabinet. The process will be both rigorous and exhausting--lots of paperwork, stamps, filing, Notaryies, approvals, vetoes, gin, filibusters, quills, Red Bull, and probably some parchment paper in there somewhere.

Without further pause, the first appointment of the 2008 campaign is:

Livan Hernandez- Secretary of Agriculture

While due consideration of this appointment was given to Livan's paunch and neck fat, the stamp of approval was ultimately punched because above all else, Livan is eating a lot of innings for the Twins. Entering Monday night's nationally televised showdown with Boston, Livan has logged an impressive 51.2 innings in his first eight starts, placing him 10th in the A.L. in innings consumed. A mere 12 outs separates him for 3rd in this category.

In his eight starts, Hernandez, at 5-1, has a victory for each neck roll, and it should be readily noted that the Twins are 7-1 in those games. Toss out his April 27th performance against Texas (2 2/3 innings), and the guy has gone at least 6 innings in every start. His last was a complete game victory against the White Sox on May 7th.

At his present pace, Livan would finished the season with roughly 228 innings pitched, which would be tied for the fourth most innings labored by a Twins pitcher since the millennium.

And while many a local bard has wanted to compare Livan to Twins' stop-gaps of yore such as Sidney Ponson, Ramon Ortiz, Terry Mulholland, Rick Reed, and Sean Bergman, the 13-year veteran Hernandez is pacing to win half the games in a lone season as those chestnuts did for the Twins in their combined tenures.

Lastly: Don't look for Livan to slow. Of his 139 career victories, 55 have come in the months of July and August. And out of his 2422.2 innings pitched, 844.2 have come in those same summer months, with 18 career complete July/August games to boot.

Livan has proven more rubber-arm than rubber-chicken since the Twins inked him to a deserved $5 million contract in the off-season. For anchoring the rotation with moxie, manhood, and veteran mechanics, Livan Hernandez is hereby appointed the Secretary of Agriculture for the 2008 Minnesota Twins Cabinet.

Posted by Judd Spicer at May 12, 2008 5:32 AM | Comments (10)

 

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