Judd, I think I'm finally convinced that you have lost control of your mental faculties. I know you love to rank things. I know you love to come up with odd criteria for ranking things. But most of these guys are, dare I say it, rank.

Joe Soucheray, for example. Dark Star. Sid Hartman's been mailing it in since the Lakers went to L.A. And Jim Souhan is trusted and well-respected like our president is.

Aren't you supposed to be coming up with the Twin who is most like the Secretary of HUD or something?

Great article and i liked the how you came up with the grading system. I was a bit shocked that you put Paul Allen in the Silver and Dan Barreiro in the Bronze and Jim Souhan as honorable mention. I felt that Dan B. has put his time considerably more than Mr. Allen. For many years he used to write for the trib? So you really think Paul Allen deserves a higher rank than Dan Barreiro? I also noticed that you didnt have Steve Ascheburner (forgive the spelling)...well like you said it just one guys opinion is this comment. Fun article me'booy
efe!

a couple of thoughts...1)what about the Common Man?...his insight is unlike any other...2)Ron spelled "SCHARA" is wonderful...but I have to agree with Mr. Iyamba on Barreiro, then again that's all he listens to...LOL...

Interesting piece, although where is Chad Abbott? Granted he is not actually a writer, but hasn't he been at the foundation of many of those on the list?

Keep up the good writings spice boy. Must've been a slow day in sports if thats all you had to write about. A bunch of "scribes" that nag nag nag and "nay say" about MN sports clubs. This is the fairest place allright, the fairest place of fair weather fans and sports beat writers.

Interesting concept. A couple of my own random thoughts on some of these folks....

Reusse is a great writer but sometimes his cranky old coot shtick gets to be too much for me. Souhan's good when he's not laying it on too thick with the outdated puns. I took a Sports Journalism class with Jay Weiner last semester, he's a funny and good-natured guy who clearly loves traditional media but has a refreshing ability to embrace the technology wave -- much of our work was contributed through a class blog. (Totally random, but my classmates and I always joked that Weiner looked like a cross between Waylon Smithers and Al Franken.) Weiner had Rachel Blount come in for a Q&A one day, and it was cool to get her perspective. I'd agree with your assessment of her as an extremely underrated columnist.

I loved this article!!!
Have to admit there are more than a few names
I don't recognize but never the less quite entertaining.

Is Rachel Blount really the only female of note?
We see the rise of pretty faces on ESPN but did any other women make the list for good old MN before your final cut?

And the booby prize has got to go to Eric Perkins. Are they kidding with this guy? I can't bare to watch him. Get him off of the air!

Beau stole the words off my keyboard! so many articles read and broadcasts heard and it is flip flop they're good or bad and tabloid bull shi*!

Do rankings always cause controversy? Sean Jensen, for me, is pound-per-pound the best in town. That guy is gold, well, should've been... Love the Ron Shera nod. One thing though, what about Sid? Always underappreciated- the man is an icon and a local legend. You forgot mini-Sid as well. Surely the Twolves commentator deserves at least a few props. The KFAN bunch always seem to share the same opinions, when they get around to talking sports. I think they listen to each other and stroke each other in the KFAN break room all day in some sort of Caligula-esque thought orgy. Bareirro and Chad Hartman eat the bread every afternoon. Out.

Great Comments. Thank you, readers, for taking the time. To reply:

CP Fan- I think you're right: I am losing my marbles. At the onset of the season I bought an Everett jersey, and people on my block said, "We got Carl Everett?"

Court Paper- Thanks for the spealielng correction. Dan Cole was no doubt on the list, and given the sound impact he has had with Minnesota golf, I bumped him up a few slots. I always enjoy his show, but, to be candid, I find myself turning the dial after about 45-minutes.

Twins Fan- Nice point. I'll readily admit that I forgot to include mention of the fact that I did not review the work of producers, editors, behind-the-scenes people. I miss Chad Abbott's presence on P.A./Dubay as- aside from being a longtime and talented KFAN producer- I always felt he leant a lot to the show after he became more comfortable on the mike.

Nick N.- Although I've never met Mr. Weiner, I've always heard that he is a very smart, funny and well-spoken guy. I haven't read much of his sports-business writings over the years, but I think he's great with the Olympics, and from time-to-time I'll come across something solid he's done for a national outlet, like ESPN.com.

Sugar Pop- Excellent point. Among the other women I researched were Kelsie Smith, who does a fine job covering the Twins for the Pi Press, and Marney Gelner, whom I have long felt has a very upbeat and likable presence on FSN.

Ben- I went out on a date with his sister-in-law once, and made the slip of reffering to him as "Frankenstein." Alas, I never heard from her again ...

i love the comments about sid hartman, more contacts than..... you are really a talent, and someday i will look for your name on some young writers list.

Is there really a top 20 without Kevin Harlan?

I agree with the duke, "more contacts than lens crafters, more columns than Rome" - now that's fun writing...
The beautiful thing about sports columnists and commentators is that everyone has their favorites, as well as those who they despise; the fact that cuban brings up the notion of Kevin Harlan not making the list shows that MN is knee deep in talent.
Although I will say that MN has great sports coverage from a myriad of talented folks, it does not start and stop there...having lived in Madison for 5 years and being an avid reader of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, I will say that they have the best NFL coverage (namely Packers) that I have ever seen along with some fun, fun personalities that write for them. I was also a big fan of the Chicago Tribune, a newspaper that always has great baseball (Cubs) coverage and basketball (Bulls) coverage from a wide range of comical figures (read Bernie Lincicome).
Now living in LA for almost 9 years, I really enjoy Plashke, TJ Simers and Christine Daniels (formerly Chris Daniels) from the LA Times along with a plethora from the airwaves (Dave Dameshek, Colin Cowherd - ESPN radio).
So rest assured, while MN has a ton of good talent, I feel strongly that the rest of the country has their share of entertaining figures, as well - but most importantly - they all give us what we want most - more sports talk!

Mark Cuban and Ryan- Unfortunately, Kevin Harlan no longer calls T-Wolves games since he's been working national telecasts with TNT. When he was here, however, I am in great agreement that he was fantastic. I listended to a great many of his games on the radio when the Wolves were terrible 9the other time, not this time), yet he still had the unique ability to make the games entertaining- and not just with some "Rock the Rim!" crap. Rather, he has a genuinley quick and creative sense-of-humor that sadly gets lost in the cable work. And Ryan: great call on Lincicome, Plashke, and Daniels.

I couldn't agree more with Ben, "Perk at Play" is a nightmare!!! If I have to see him rolling around a gymnasium floor or wearing some
absurd outfit while running in circles ever again I might loose it!!! Really I just change the channel when his segment starts :)

Um, hello, Michael Russo? Every one of his blog entries gets dozens if not hundreds of responses, his readers liveblog every game, he's frequently on local TV and radio and gets quoted by opposing team's beat writers on a regular basis. His everyday coverage of the Wild is (by a wide, wide margin) the best the team receives, either in the papers or any other media venue. He knows the game better than anyone, he's respected by the players and the team's staff, and he makes himself totally accessible to his (significant) readership. How on earth does Kevin Gorg, who is almost certainly the weakest link of FSN North's hockey coverage, make the list while Russo gets left off?

Midwest Product- The dozen or so individuals I mentioned who were not listed-- Russo was one of them. He's no doubt a fine sportswriter with a strong following. Personally, I'm more prone to follow hockey in person or watch it on my bookie's plasma-- but that's just me. I read Russo's Sunday work during the season, and admittedly don't read much hockey coverage on the web. As per Gorg, however, the guy is a former hockey player and successful women's college coach who seems to be everywhere today: radio, FSN, Canterbury Park, and in the Star Trib where he makes the picks. He just seems very versatile to me. Nothing against Russo. He's the tops. I suppose I just have a lean toward the ponies.