Category Archives: Sportswriters

Going back home: Writing sports media column for Chicago Tribune; starts next week

by Ed Sherman
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After nearly five years, I am going back home again. At least as a contributor.

Beginning next Wednesday, I will debut a new sports media column in the Chicago Tribune. The column will run every other Wednesday at ChicagoTribune.com and in the paper.

Since leaving the paper in 2008 after 27 years, I haven’t missed covering games or being at big golf tournaments. However, I did miss one thing: Being able to say I was with the Chicago Tribune. So I am looking forward to being able to do that again and being able to reconnect with a lot of friends.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support of the Sherman Report. The site just celebrated its one-year anniversary, and it is growing every day. I recorded my biggest month ever in April in terms of page views.

Also, in

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At a crossroads: Sportswriter wants to write, but tough job market has him thinking about alternatives

by Ed Sherman
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It is hardly news to say that the job market for sportswriters, young and old, is challenging these days.

However, I was struck by a conversation I had with Adam Lazarus this week. Last fall, I did a Q/A with Adam on his excellent book, Best of Rivals, which chronicled the quarterback battles between Joe Montana and Steve Young in San Francisco.

However, despite writing that book, which was his third, Adam said he hasn’t been able to land a full-time job. He lamented that he may have to do something else if he can’t land anything on the sportswriting front.

The other options hardly are appealing. Adam wants to write and cover sports.

I know Adam is hardly alone. In an effort to provide a snapshot at what is happening within the profession, I asked Adam to give … Continue Reading

Q/A with Michael Hiestand: Veteran sports media reporter signs off at USA Today; looks ahead to next chapter

by Ed Sherman
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As many of us in the business know from first-hand experience, Monday is the first day of the rest of Michael Hiestand’s life.

Last Friday, Hiestand wrote his last sports media column for USA Today. The veteran of 24 years at the paper decided to take a buyout.

Hiestand already knows the next few days might be a bit disorienting.

“Yesterday was Sunday,” Hiestand said. “I’ve worked on almost every Sunday since the Reagan administration. To take a Sunday off was a big deal. Yesterday, I’m thinking, ‘Shouldn’t I be at a Christening or something?”

The good news is that Hiestand is planning his next move. In his final column at USA Today, he stressed he isn’t saying farewell to the business:

But after my final USA TODAY Sports column, the last thing I want to do is decamp to

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Huge outpouring of support for Dick “Hoops” Weiss; among layoffs at New York Daily News

by Ed Sherman
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It’s hard to imagine a better guy, let alone a better reporter, than Dick Weiss on college sports.

So that explains the huge outpouring of support for “Hoops” when the news broke yesterday that he was among the layoffs at the New York Daily News.

Here are some of the Tweets:

Jay Bilas: No writer is more ingrained in the game’s fabric than Dick “Hoops” Weiss. While some Tweet through games, he watches the game…

Armen Keteyian: Hoops Weiss, an institution with all the right principles. His work taught others how to report. Keen eye. Completely respected. Sad day.

Herb Gould, Chicago Sun-Times: I am stunned that my dear friend Dick `Hoops’ Weiss is out at NY Daily News. No better person, nobody knows Hoops better. #IdontGETit

Dan Wetzel, Yahoo!: Can’t imagine Daily News w/o Hoops Weiss. From first days … Continue Reading

AWSM denounces Cherry’s idiotic remarks about women in lockerroom; CBC tries to distance itself

by Ed Sherman
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Given the views Don Cherry expressed over the weekend, you can assume the blowhard also isn’t in favor of women having the vote.

Cherry turned the way-back machine to 1985 (or 1885) by saying he isn’t in favor of having women in the locker room during his weekly segment on CBC. It occurs at the 2:23 mark of the video below. Watch the priceless reaction of co-host Ron MacLean, who knows Cherry just stepped in it.

Cherry was responding to a woman reporter in Vancouver, Karen Thompson, pressing Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks about a slash he dished out that did not receive a penalty. Keith got upset about the line of questioning, and suggested that Thompson should be a “female referee.”

Awful Announcing has the audio and recap.

Keith made a poor choice of words by saying … Continue Reading

You can’t name another sportswriter who had greater impact than Wendell Smith; 42 movie didn’t tell his complete story

by Ed Sherman
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One of the best things about the new movie, 42, is that it has exposed a new generation to Wendell Smith.

The movie actually understated Smith’s role in bringing Jackie Robinson to the big leagues. In fact, without Smith, it is possible the world never hears about Robinson, or at least in the context we know of him today.

It was Smith, an African-American sportswriter, who pushed for the integration of baseball in the late 30s and 40s. It was Smith who recommended Robinson ahead of other Negro League stars to Branch Rickey.

Go ahead and name another sportswriter who had a greater impact on sports and society than Wendell Smith. You can’t.

I wrote a column about Smith’s legacy for Indiana University’s National Sports Journalism Center site. It contains Smith’s own words from a first-person chapter in Jerome … Continue Reading

AP reporter recalls covering Jackie Robinson’s first game; ‘Day sent chills up my spine’

by Ed Sherman
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Thanks to Marty Chase for passing this along.

John Rabe of Southern California Public Radio did a piece on Jim Becker, the last surviving member of the press who covered Jackie Robinson’s first game in Brooklyn in 1947. He covered the game for the Associated Press.

People will get one view of history with the movie 42. Here’s another from a reporter who was there 66 years ago today:

Although he was a cub reporter, the AP assigned him to accompany a beat writer to New York for the event because Becker was from LA and was familiar with Robinson from his college days.

Becker says he arrived at Ebbets Field about an hour and a half before the game started, and went down onto the field to watch batting practice. “The players were coming out of the Brooklyn

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Master tweeter: Dan Jenkins excels in 140 characters; Golf Digest editor talks about working with him

by Ed Sherman
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Quite simply, the best thing going on Twitter is an 83-year-old man who struggles to operate a computer.

Dan Jenkins is back tweeting at the Masters this week. He is a must follow. You’ll never read a better use of 140 characters in social media.

It’s all about witty insights, biting sarcasm, and laugh-out-loud punchlines for Jenkins. Basically, Twitter is an extension of what he’s done for his entire career.

The week is young, but Jenkins already has zinged poor Colin Montgomerie:

Saw Colin Montgomerie looking for gifts in the golf shop, but they’re already out of majors for guys who have never won one.

Michael O’Malley, executive editor for Golf Digest, assists Jenkins with his tweets at golf’s four majors and the Ryder Cup. He definitely has the best seat in the house.

I asked O’Malley for his observations … Continue Reading

Basketball writers president: Many wondering whether they will return to Final Four

by Ed Sherman
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Last Friday, I did a post on the NCAA trimming floor seats for the media from 200 to 72.

As you’d expect, the move didn’t go over well. I received an update from John Akers of Basketball Times and president of the United States Basketball Writers Association.

From Akers:

“Well, yeah, there were definitely complaints. There were four seats in each of the corners near courtside, just above the handicapped areas, where many reporters could not see because fans were standing. So that’s 16 of the courtside seats, and most of them turn out to be bad ones. And there were many longtime writers who wound up in the auxiliary box and felt disrespected. Combine that with a $295 hotel rate, and there are many writers who are wondering whether they will come back.”

I followed up with Akers, asking … Continue Reading

Losing turf: Media moved out of floor seats for Final Four; Down from 200 to 70

by Ed Sherman
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It won’t be business as usual for many writers at the Final Four. Grumbling is sure to be at an all-time high.

The media loses again in the futile battle to maintain its turf. The NCAA has decided to reduce floor seating for reporters from in the neighborhood of 200 to around 70. The ousted members will be shipped to various spots of the Georgia Dome. More than likely, many of them, ticked off, will decide to watch on television from the press room.

Actually, this has been the routine for writers at venues for the entire tournament. NCAA officials told the United States Basketball Writers Association that it had other uses for those prime floor locations.

According to USBWA president John Akers of Basketball Times, the situation could have been worse. The media could have been booted off the … Continue Reading