Buzz Bissinger: Asshole Extraordinaire

[Akileese]

Seriously.What the fuck is wrong with this guy? In case you don't know, there's a war going on with bloggers and sports writers. The writers basically feel that all bloggers are pieces of shit (unfair generalization, but this seems to happen frequently) who since they don't have the necessary credentials, don't have the right to voice their opinions. Obviously this is a silly argument. I for one enjoy bloggers. They tend to be more honest (the right ones at least, there are some god awful blogs out there I won't lie) since they don't have deep ties within the team.



So yeah, there ya go. They basically took Will Leitsch and set him up for a firing line, which Braylon Edwards intelligently stayed out of. For those who don't know, Will runs Deadspin, Sports News without Access, Favor, or Discretion . I love Deadspin and I think Will is awesome. To his credit, he basically made Costas and Bussinger look like idiots. He had an answer for everything they threw at him. He probably knew this was coming.

I think this whole think was almost as appalling as the E60/Miguel Tejada thing. I mean, you don't bring someone on your show to swear at them and call them names (Bussinger I believe called him a piece of shit at one point). Shame on Costas for letting him pull that shit also. The whole thing was a disgrace.

Anyways, enough of my angry comments. What do you guys think about Sports bloggers? Do you find them more informed then a lot of the actual beat writers out there?

[kegkilla]

Originally Posted by Akileese

Anyways, enough of my angry comments. What do you guys think about Sports bloggers? Do you find them more informed then a lot of the actual beat writers out there?

i think they're pretty much the same thing... just people with opinions about sports that they want to air to the public. only difference is the writers get paid for it. considering that when you are going into the "sports writing" field there is no entrance exam to ensure that you know jack shit about sports i'd say the bloggers are on a pretty much level playing ground.

[Akileese]

I took this from Matt Cerrone at Metsblog. Matt is a really level headed person (and that says a lot since most Met fans are more out there than Yankee fans or Red Sox fans combined).

...if a team’s beat writer only filed his information on his blog, and did not do so in a newspaper, would it make him any less credible?…no, it would not…he is still a reporter…it is still his job to gather information so you and i have a better, more well-rounded view of what is happening with the team…sure, i do not need him to tell me what happened in the game, which i watched with my own two eyes, but it’s nice to know why things happen and what may happen, and he collects that insight – his work is important and will never be irrelevant…however, how his information gets communicated to the public is just a vehicle…if that vehicle changes - as it will – from a rolled up collection of paper to a one-page scroll on a computer screen, what is the difference…also, why does the reporter have to be employed by a newspaper, or some old-school media outlet…if a writer writes well, is respectful, professional and does her job well, why does it matter who signs her paycheck…

I think this is a true point and it's what most beat writers can't get away from. They think that no matter what kind of skill you have, if you don't have a diploma, you're not a real writer. It's incredibly short sighted of them and stubborn. I mean, in a changing world, why can't sports writers grow and adapt as well? Instead of being god fearing towards bloggers (and as I said and can't stress this enough, for every one blog that is very good, there are a dozen terrible ones) and go at them with pitchforks and torches, why can't they just except it and go about their business?

There will always be a place for beat writers as long as their are pro sports. No owner outside of Mark Cuban will open up his entire locker room to anyone guy with a laptop. It's just not going to happen. That being said, I just think a lot of the writers, guys like Bissinger, are being completely irrational and coming off as obnoxious. I mean, did he really have to swear at Leitch so much? You're suppose to be a professional man, act like one.

[Grimmlokk]

Bunch of links of sports blogger reactions.

Dan Shanoff: Buzz Bissinger vs. Will Leitch: The Day After

Also, good post by Big Daddy Drew(the aforementioned Big Daddy Balls=P) from a few weeks ago about why blogs are valid.

Balls Deep: Ricky Reilly, Billy Simmons, And The Follies Of Privileged Sportswriting

When I watched that video at KSK today I was more angry at Costas than Buzz. It was clearly set up as an ambush. Leitch was just the punching bag they wanted out there since he runs such a successful blog.

[kcxiv]

Its just jealousy. Thats all it is. Internet gave everyone the write to talk about whatever they wanted too and have it be read by virtually everyone in the world. 15-20 years ago, it wasnt like that. (captain obvious i know) Its the truth though.


Watched that video and i thought Will did good until the end when he asked him about the Leinhart picture. I am totally on the bloggers side, but to me it seemed like he was stuck and could only come up with, its funny. lol

[AladainAF]

Remember "Rathergate" and the CBS exec that blew up on how wrong the bloggers were because "they just write in their pajamas" all day long about topics they know nothing about.

Basically, that mentality has spread to the sports world. The bloggers will win this one too.

[Burf]

Originally Posted by Akileese

Instead of being god fearing towards bloggers (and as I said and can't stress this enough, for every one blog that is very good, there are a dozen terrible ones) and go at them with pitchforks and torches, why can't they just except it and go about their business?

There will always be a place for beat writers as long as their are pro sports. No owner outside of Mark Cuban will open up his entire locker room to anyone guy with a laptop. It's just not going to happen. That being said, I just think a lot of the writers, guys like Bissinger, are being completely irrational and coming off as obnoxious. I mean, did he really have to swear at Leitch so much? You're suppose to be a professional man, act like one.

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I just had to highlight those for comedy sake. Hopefully, this was a cut and paste.

[Akileese]

Originally Posted by Burf

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I just had to highlight those for comedy sake. Hopefully, this was a cut and paste.

Nope. Wrote it at 540 AM drunk off my fucking ass. Two typos is pretty good for someone with a ton of booze and no sleep imo.

[Burf]

Ahhhh, ok. To me, it read like you grabbed that from Matt Cerrone's blog.
I thought he wrote it!

Hey, maybe you should be a blogger?

[Akileese]

Originally Posted by Burf

Ahhhh, ok. To me, it read like you grabbed that from Matt Cerrone's blog.
I thought he wrote it!

Hey, maybe you should be a blogger?

I'm far too partial to blog. Believe me, I've tried. When I'm sober (and I'm usually not when I post here), I have some pretty decent writing skills. I think to be a really great blogger, you have to be calm when talking about sports. I just can't do that.

You can check to see if I took that from Matt's, but I'm almost positive it's my work.

[Kreugen]

I enjoy FIRE JOE MORGAN for bashing bad sports journalism.

[Akileese]

I LOVE FJM but sometimes I don't agree with them. They use logic and numbers and basically say people are idiots for adding in the human element of the game when there are occasions where it needs to be taken into account.

That being said, some of their stuff is hilarious. I personally enjoy their rants on Morgan himself since well, the guy doesn't watch baseball, yet he's an "expert". Classic.

[Kreugen]

The problem with that is you can't really prove how much a positive or negative personality really affects the performance of the other players. That, and its always the great players that are labeled bad influences and are supposedly bringing the team down. Sportscasters seem to love to elevate the average crappy white guy into a role of utmost importance.

Some of the shit they rant about is fucking gold though, and is so close to things I've found myself thinking through the years. Now, the Braves announcers that I'm used to hardly ever made me cringe, but most other broadcasts of any sport frequently have me slapping my forehead. "Walks are useless, stop clogging up the basepaths" being my favorite. All the "Moneyball" stuff is funny too, since the book was basically about having a limited budget yet fielding players that are better than 90% of the league for 10% of the price of a superstar, and spreading that budget around the whole team instead of dumping it into one or two players and having complete shit in the rest of the lineup. See the wild success of the cheap ass A's until they lost all those great players to big contracts. Since, you know, its the cheap teams leading their divisions that are ruining baseball, and not the $170 million dollar Yankees sitting in 5th.