What sportswriter misses (press box banter) and doesn’t miss (interviewing athletes) about daily sports grind

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Mike Nadel, a former columnist for Gatehouse News and one of the more entertaining gents in Chicago media, decided to share his views of the business on the fifth anniversary of his dismissal.

Writing on his blog, The Bald Truth (how did he ever come up with that name?), Nadel reveals what he misses and doesn’t miss about the daily sports grind. Fairly similar to my sentiments.

Under the category of doesn’t miss, Nadel writes:

Interviewing Jocks.

When my son was little, his friends would ask, “Does your dad get to talk to Michael Jordan?” I told him to respond: “No, Michael Jordan gets to talk to my dad.” It was a cute line, especially when delivered by an 8-year-old, but it wasn’t true. From 1995-98, I spent a huge portion of my life standing around waiting to be part of a big media scrum around Michael Jordan.

For the most part — and definitely by the time the new millennium had arrived — everything was packaged for the media. We were led around from one press conference to another. Comments usually were generic. I’d sit down to transcribe my tape and realize I hadn’t gotten one freakin’ quote worth using.

On the rare occasion that a coach or athlete said something remotely funny, the press corps would pretend to laugh as if Steve Martin and George Carlin were on stage trading barbs. It was embarrassing.

People thought we were lucky that we got to talk to these guys, but more often than not they had nothing to say. When we did get to cover an Ozzie Guillen or a Jeremy Roenick or even a Milton Bradley, it was like manna from heaven. Mostly, the routine became a chore. These guys didn’t particularly want to talk to us and, for the most part, I didn’t want to talk to them.

What Nadel misses:

The Press Box.

Basically, sportswriters are a bunch of adolescent goofballs. As we watch the Cubs collapse, the Bears fall apart and the Bulls implode, anything that enters our warped minds somehow finds its way out of our foul mouths. The amount of crapola we spew about the jocks we cover is topped only by the amount of crap we give each other.

I miss debating my peers about important issues such as our Hall of Fame ballots, which Chicago coach or manager would be the next to be fired, and whether Jay Mariotti was the worst human being we ever had encountered or just one of the bottom two.

Sadly, even before I was sacked, many of my best friends in the industry had been sent packing or been reassigned by their employers, so the press box wasn’t what it used to be.

Indeed, definitely agree with Nadel here. I also would throw in the camaraderie of being in the newsroom back when writers actually went into the newsroom. Easily my best memories of being in the business.

Anyway, there’s more good observations from Nadel. Definitely worth the read.

 

Weekend wrap: Changes for CBS’ NFL Today? Local TV cash further hampers balance in baseball

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Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports media….

NFL Today: Jason McIntyre at Big Lead writes CBS could make some changes to its pregame show, which trails Fox in the ratings.

Bringing in recently-retired tight end Tony Gonzalez to replace Shannon Sharpe. Gonzalez and CBS have been in talks about joining the show, but he’s West Coast-based, and the show is out of New York. Gonzalez is wrestling with the idea of weekly travel during the season. FOX’s show is based in LA and appears to be an ideal fit, but it can’t offer him a spot because it isn’t going to tinker with the show’s chemistry. Given the option of Fox Sports 1 or NFL Today on CBS, what would you do? The other issue is that Gonzalez and Sharpe or apparently close friends. Another option: Simply adding Gonzalez. But is six people on the set too many?

Younger announcers: Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing says in the wake of Kevin Burkhardt doing a playoff game for Fox, he would like to see other younger announcers get the opportunity to work big games.

Announcing jobs in sports is one of the few professions in society that isn’t continually based on merit.  Imagine if your productivity or quality of work dropped at your day job.  You would be demoted or even fired if your work suffered a great deal.  What about the sports that these networks cover?  The Super Bowl and World Series aren’t contested between the same two teams every year, so why should networks assign the same announcers week after week, year after year to their biggest sporting events?  Fans should ask themselves – is it really the birthright of Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Al Michaels, Bob Costas, Chris Berman and others to be in their positions as lifetime appointments?  Instead of a merit based system, once announcers climb the ladder to the top they stay there until they decide to walk away no matter how much criticism or praise their work may receive.

Baseball’s TV money imbalance: Jack Moore of Sports on Earth writes about how the big money going to some teams for local TV rights will throw competitive balance further out of whack in baseball.

The past three years have been the perfect time to strike and renegotiate a huge windfall for a franchise. The multi-billion dollar deals negotiated by the Dodgers, Angels, Rangers and now Phillies have all occured since 2010. The big question, though — one examined in great detail by Patrick Hruby on this site
last year — is when this bubble will burst. If teams like the Astros and Padres are already having issues getting cable providers to pay carriage fees, what will the market look like in five years when the Brewers, Royals, Pirates and Cardinals (all earning under $30 million in rights fees without an equity stake in the network) can finally renegotiate their TV deals?

This sounds like a question the fan who only cares about results on the field can ignore, but massive competitive balance implications rest on its answer. In leagues like MLB where players have free agency, studies have shown nothing — not a salary cap , not player drafts — leads to more competitive balance than more revenue sharing. And although MLB’s revenue sharing program will throw some of the new TV money down to the smaller market, late-negotiating clubs, it might not be enough to offset the growing gap in gross rights fee revenue and the non-shared money coming from club-owned equity stakes (like the one in Philadelphia).

SEC Network: John Ourand and Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal write about the subscriber fees for the new network: $1.30 per month within the SEC footprint.

Cable operators are certain to blanche at the network’s price tag, which is more expensive than other college conference channels like Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Networks.

Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts: Richard Deitsch of SI.com says they should become CBS’ No. 2 team on the NFL.

“I happen to agree with you,” said an executive at a competing network who works on the NFL. “Ian Eagle is a true pro, calls a great game and has more personality than he’s given credit for. Dan Fouts has always been underrated. But I bet they pursue someone new and pair them with [Greg] Gumbel as No. 2 team.”

Sports books: Seth Davis selects his top eight basketball books of all time for Men’s Journal. And No. 1 is…?

Davis’s favorite book is not a controversial choice. ‘A Season on the Brink‘ is John Feinstein’s magnum opus about the Indiana University basketball program’s 1985–86 season and a psychological profile of controversial coach Bobby Knight. The book created a new genre: fly-on-the-wall descriptions of a single team’s campaigns.

“He had the foresight and the ability to recognize that he had unique access to a unique human being,” Davis says. “To me, that book is a textbook on the power of access, which you don’t always get.”

Journ school: Michael Bradley, writing for the National Sports Journalism Center site at Indiana, says even with everything changing in the media world, the same fundamentals still apply.

It’s an exciting time to be studying – and teaching – journalism, because of the constant advancements and changes designed to keep up with improved technology and societal tastes. What can’t be ignored amidst the wave of the new is the enduring need for journalists to do their jobs properly, delivery methods be damned. If you can’t report, interview, cultivate sources, organize facts, and yes write, it doesn’t matter how many Twitter followers you have. You won’t be relevant or reliable.

 

Stuart Scott continues fight against cancer: ‘Sorry you’re not going to win this fight’

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Josh Krulewitz at ESPN’s Front Row writes about that Stuart Scott will be among the honorees in an “Evening with Heroes” celebration Saturday in Indianapolis.

Scott told Krulewitz:

“This is going to sound weird, but there is a really cool part about cancer and that’s the community of cancer fighters,” Scott said. “Whether you are battling cancer or you love or care about someone who is, there is a bond amongst us and it’s powerful. And every time you meet someone who is in the fight, you just want to hug them. That’s why all 600 people in the room Saturday will be part of something special.”

More from Krulewitz:

ESPN senior coordinating producer Gerry Matalon, who played a key role in ESPN hiring Scott 20 years ago, will be among the 600 in attendance Saturday in Indianapolis to support his friend and colleague. Matalon feels few are better suited to share their cancer story in an effort to help others.

“I can’t find a succinct way to truly describe my awe for how Stuart has battled,” Matalon said. “I am not there during his private moments, but publicly he has been an inspirational example of the awesome personal power of inner strength and determination.”

Scott, who works closely with The V Foundation for Cancer Research on many events and who was a 2011 recipient of its “Spirit of Jimmy V Award,” embodies the organization’s “Don’t Give Up. . . Don’t Ever Give Up” motto.

Said Matalon: “Stu has basically said to cancer: ‘You’ve found the wrong guy. I have a life to live. Sorry, you are not winning this fight.’”

Indeed, Scott is right about that. Truly inspiring.

 

 

News flash (or not): Sports journalism students don’t read actual newspapers

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George Solomon, the sports editor who built the great staffs of the Washington Post, now is helping to shape future journalists as director of the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at Maryland.

At some point, it will be a future without newspapers. In fact, many of his students know about newspapers only by reputation and not actual experience.

Solomon writes on the Povich Center site:

A requirement for 17 bright students in my Merrill College sportswriting class last  fall  included reading two sports sections a day. How many of the students read an actual paper over an online version? None, I’m sad to report, for about the fifth consecutive year.

I am teaching a sports media class this quarter at De Paul. We are examining all platforms of sports media. Wednesday, we focused on newspapers.

Citing Solomon’s column, I asked the nine graduate students how many read an actual newspaper on a somewhat regular basis. Optimistically, I put the over-under at two.

One student raised his hand.

It hardly is a surprise. The students all talked about the convenience of getting their news online. No walking out in the snow to get the paper. In fact, no paying for the paper.

They lamented the paywalls that now exist at many papers. They say they merely go elsewhere for free content.

However, at least for one week, my students had to read and evaluate actual newspaper sports sections for an assignment. I was heartened by some of the reaction: They enjoyed paper in their hands.

One student wrote: “Most websites tend to be more user-friendly and interactive but I found that the actual newspaper was more appealing.”

Another student liked a huge graphic portraying Carolina coach Ron Rivera as a riverboat gambler in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. It pulled him into the story.

The student wrote: “I was pleasantly surprised how happy I was with the Tribune’s creativity. Since the main focus was Ron Rivera’s gambling coaching style, I got a chuckle out of the picture of the former Bears linebacker at poker table wearing a cowboy hat.”

I used the Rivera story as an example of how pictures and graphics have a much more dramatic presence in a newspaper. Also in Sunday’s paper, the Tribune did a marvelous two-page spread on new Hall of Famers Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas. It featured compelling graphics showing their Cooperstown-worthy statistics. The online version didn’t have the same impact, simply because the scale is so much smaller.

Yet online definitely is where everything is going. Tribune sports editor Mike Kellams was a guest in the class Wednesday. His parting words were about the tremendous opportunities that exist for current and future journalists to be the bridge from newspapers to online. The template still is a work in process with all the various entities trying to figure out how to make it work from both the financial and journalistic standpoints.

As for me, while I start my morning cruising various websites, I still get the Tribune delivered to the door every day. I usually read it over lunch. Old habits die hard, I guess.

In his piece, Solomon writes of other old friends who still read actual newspapers.

For this, Plotkin, Jacobs and I deserve to have our pictures in a trophy case in the Newseum under the heading:  “Last Men Reading.”  Or, at least in the lobby housing the newspaper circulation dealers of America, if such a trade association still exists.

Hey George, I’d like to get my picture in there too.

 

 

 

 

 

Hollywood story: How Yahoo! Sports’ Wetzel and ESPN’s Scott became screenwriters; new movie with Cuba Gooding Jr. opens Friday

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My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University is on a couple of sports media types who have gone Hollywood. If only momentarily.

Here is the trailer for Life of a King, co-written by Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel and ESPN PR man David Scott.

Here’s an excerpt from the column:

*********

I’m thinking of writing a screenplay for a new movie. Here’s the premise:

It is a tale about a national sports columnist and a PR person from a big national sports network collaborating to write a movie. After nearly 10 years, Hollywood finally makes their film. Not only that, but the star is an Oscar-winning actor.

Nobody would believe it, right?

Well, my movie now would be based on a true story. Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel and David Scott, a director for communications at ESPN, have another title to add to their resumes: Screenwriters.

Wetzel and Scott are the co-writers, along with director Jake Goldberger, for the new film, Life of a King, which opens in theaters and on other platforms Friday. Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Eugene Brown, a real person in Washington D.C. who after serving 18 years in prison who went on to use chess as a means to keep inner-city kids off the streets.

After watching Life of a King for the first time, Scott had this reaction: “We did it. We actually made a real movie. And it starred an Oscar winner. I mean, that just doesn’t happen.”

Indeed, Wetzel and Scott’s movie story is as improbable as Brown’s. After meeting as classmates at UMass, they decided to write some screenplays. Eventually, they heard about Brown’s story and spent several days with him researching the project. Then they wrote the script.

That was 10 years ago. Nothing moves fast Hollywood, as the project had many starts and stops. The process took so long, Wetzel said when he watched the movie there were points where he thought, “I don’t remember writing that.”

Wetzel and Scott credit producer Jim Young for persevering to get the movie made. Ultimately, Brown’s inspirational story won out. Not only did it persuade Hollywood executives to make the film, it also enticed actors like Gooding Jr., Dennis Haysbert and LisaGay Hamilton to be part of it. This movie probably falls in the genre of “Remember The Titans” and “Coach Carter.”

“Eugene is a great guy and he’s a great story,” Wetzel said. “After spending 18 years in prison, I’m sure he never thought a movie would be made about him, lauding his good works…We had quality people in the film because it a good story.”

Added Scott: “Eugene is a guy who changed lives. Without him and chess, some of those kids wouldn’t be alive.”

*******

Here’s the link for the entire story.

 

Not done yet: Tim McCarver to call 30 St. Louis Cardinals games next year

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Tim McCarver said he wasn’t retiring. Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports he is going back to where it all started.

McCarver, 72, confirmed Thursday night that he has reached an agreement to do about 30 Cardinals games this season for Fox Sports Midwest.

“The deal has not been completed — but it will,’’ he said, adding that the dates he’ll be working still are to be finalized. “We’ll get it straightened out. I know I’ll be doing Cardinal games, I just don’t know the exact situation.’’

FSM general manager Jack Donovan was unavailable for comment.The pending move, which was reported in December in this space as being likely, follows the announcement this week that Cards radio broadcaster Mike Shannon will drop about 50 road games from his workload. FSM analysts Al Hrabosky and Rick Horton are to replace Shannon, 74, on a rotating basis on those radio broadcasts. That makes it easy to add McCarver to the TV side.

Great to see, and it will be a treat for Cardinals fans.

 

Programming alerts: New 30 for 30 on Tonya & Nancy; Greats recall greatest games on MLB Network

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A good night for sports viewing besides games.

ESPN’s new 30 for 30 is The Price of Gold, recounting the incredible saga of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding (8 p.m. ET). Interestingly, Kerrigan did not participate in the film. She will be part of a NBC documentary about it. Coincidentally, Kerrigan is working the OIympics for NBC.

Still even without Kerrigan, the film is terrific. Here is a link to Ben Koo’s review in Awful Announcing.

******

Meanwhile, more pleasant memories will be recounted on MLB Network. My Most Memorable Game makes it debut at 9 p.m. ET.

In tonight’s episode, Cal Ripken Jr. has a hard time staying composed while discussing Game No. 2,131.

Here’s the official rundown on the series from MLB Network:

*******

Major League Baseball legends recount unforgettable games in their careers in MLB Network’s new series My Most Memorable Game beginning this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET as Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. discusses the night in September 1995 he played his 2,131st consecutive game and broke Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig’s streak of games played.

Co-hosted by Bob Costas and Tom Verducci, My Most Memorable Game features Ripken, eight-time All-Star John Smoltz, and Hall of Famers Ozzie Smith, Bob Gibson, Johnny Bench and Tom Glavine as they relive the memories they have from a signature game in their storied careers.

Throughout the hour-long interview filmed in Cooperstown, New York in July 2013, Ripken talks about his emotions leading up to and during the game, being linked to Gehrig in baseball history, criticism he faced during the streak, the closest he came to missing a game prior to breaking the record, and the mentality needed to accomplish the feat.

My Most Memorable Game will continue throughout the offseason as Smoltz discusses his complete game shutout to win Game Seven of the 1991 NLCS (Jan. 23, 9pm ET), Smith reminisces about his walkoff home run to end Game Five of the 1985 NLCS (Jan. 30, 9pm ET), Gibson talks about his record-setting 17 strikeout performance in Game One of the 1968 World Series (Jan. 30, 9:30pm ET), Bench recounts his game-tying home run during Game Five of the 1972 NLCS (Feb. 6, 9pm ET), and Glavine relives his eight shutout innings to clinch Game Six of the 1995 World Series (Feb. 6, 9:30pm ET).

Not cool: Conflict of interests abound with Boston TV sports reporter dating Red Sox’s Middlebrooks

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Oh, the problems of mixing business and pleasure in sports media.

Kirk Minihane of WEEI.com has a piece on Jenny Dell, who covers the Red Sox for NESN. She now happens to be dating Will Middlebrooks.

Minihane writes:

On its own, who cares? Both are young, single, successful, attractive, well-liked by teammates and colleagues. Dell is hugely popular both among fans and people at NESN, and Middlebrooks has done much charity work in his short career with the Red Sox. And this is, last we checked, a free country. So let’s allow the kids some fun, stay out of the way, and see how it ends. Usually, I’m on board with that. As a libertarian that is exactly what I believe — I’m going to stay out of your business and you should stay away from mine. 

Except there’s the issue of conflict of interest.

Right. Reporters shouldn’t be dating the people they are reporting on. That goes for men and women. Minihane writes:

Put it another way: There is no way NESN’s coverage of the Red Sox can be taken seriously if Dell is allowed to return to that position. The already blurred lines will permanently be crossed. What’ll be next? Linda Pizzuti filling in for Jerry Remy? Tom Werner giving Tom Caron a night or two off?

Lots of times we don’t know right or wrong, but lots of times we do, and this sure is one. Now, it’s not wrong that Dell and Middlebrooks have feelings for each other. That’s life, the heart wants what it wants, all that. But a reporter cannot be in a romantic relationship with — much less living with — a player he or she is covering on a daily basis. That’s simply not how it works.

Minihane quotes another woman sports reporter in Boston.

Abby Chin is the sideline reporter for the Celtics on Comcast and had some interesting comments on the Dell-Middlebrooks relationship with an ESPN station in New Hampshire this week. “I just know for me and my mind-set, it’s not even an option,” Chin said. “I’ve crossed that pathway off completely. For me, personally, that’s how I deal with it. I’m not going to say that no player has ever hit on me, but it’s just not an option. I would immediately shut down any sort of request. It’s a bridge I’m not willing to cross. … Women in this business don’t get three strikes, they get one.”

Indeed, therein lies the problem for Chin and other woman sports reporters. Unfortunately, people tend to paint with a broad brush. What one woman sports reporter does can be a reflection on all of them.

This is not a good situation for not only Dell, but all women sports reporters.

 

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Forget about silly mascot, real Cubs story is about TV future; Is Fox a player?

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I have to assume the Cubs knew the roll out of their new mascot would be destroyed in the new media world. Keith Olbermann said it came with a proverbial “Kick me” sign. Then he did six minutes wasting poor Clark on last night’s show.

Posted for your viewing pleasure.

However, there’s another story taking place on the Cubs front that will have far more impact on the team’s future than the new mascot. The team currently is renegotiating its TV deal with WGN, which expires after this season.

In a Chicago Tribune column in July, I wrote that I heard Fox wasn’t a player in bidding for the Cubs rights at that time. I also said that could change.

Apparently, it has. Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago reports that the Cubs are in talks with Fox in a deal that could lead to new Cubs network in 2020.

Mooney writes:

Behind the scenes, sources say the Cubs are in talks with Fox about their broadcasting future, working on a deal that would end the WGN connection that built the team’s national brand and potentially lay the groundwork for a second regional sports network in Chicago.

The Cubs are locked into WGN for one more season, and Comcast SportsNet Chicago has exclusive cable rights through 2019. So one concept being discussed is a bridge deal that would put X-number of games on a local Fox affiliate during that five-year window, before taking the full schedule to a new channel in 2020.

At the very least, the presence of Fox gives the Cubs some leverage in the Chicago market. The team needs to figure out a way to cash in on the TV bonanza currently occurring for local TV rights. The Philadelphia Phillies recently signed a $2.5 billion, 25 year deal with Comcast Sports Net ($100 million per year)  that also includes an ownership stake in the station.

The Cubs are a bit hamstrung because they are negotiating a package for only half of their games; their cable deal with Comcast Sports Net Chicago runs through 2019. However, the Cubs have to strike now and for the future. Who knows if this sports cable TV bubble will burst?

So let everyone else laugh about the mascot. If you’re a Cubs fan, pay close attention to the much bigger story.

 

 

 

 

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Internet Baseball Writers Association wants to add its voice to Hall vote; Q/A with founder

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In the wake of the furor over the qualifications of several Hall of Fame voters in the BBWAA, I received a note from Howard Cole.

Cole is the founder of the Internet Baseball Writers Association. He believes his association fills a void and gives a voice to  many baseball writers on the Internet who can’t get into the BBWAA.

Like the BBWAA, it recently did its own version of a Hall of Fame vote. Too bad for Craig Biggio that Cooperstown didn’t use the IBWAA tally this year. He would have got in along with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas.

Unaware that such an association existed, I invited Cole to do a Q/A.

Please tell me about you and your experience as a baseball reporter.

I started BaseballSavvy.com in March of 2000, column writing until I landed a job as the Dodgers blogger for the Orange County Register in 2011. I have a similar position with LA Weekly now, and covered the Padres for a season at the Voice of San Diego.

Why did you feel the need to form this association?

While my frustration over the Hall of Fame candidacy of players like Jim Rice and Bert Blyleven was part of it (I wasn’t crazy about the work of various incarnations of the Veterans Committee either), I dreamed of a say in the matter. The public angst from writers with a vote that’s going around bugs me no end. I’d give a body part to science for the privilege some are complaining about now. And it’s not that difficult to fill out a ballot. A little appreciation of the vote is in order, it seems to me.

As a blogger “only,” I couldn’t get a sniff from the BBWAA, much less a credential, to save my life. I wanted a vote, even if it was a symbolic one. I’d been writing about baseball for 10 years at the time and lived for baseball since I could reach Vin Scully on the radio dial. I was tired of the references to bloggers as pajama-wearing low-lifes living in their parents’ basement, and knew plenty of Internet baseball writers — knowledgeable, dedicated, creative guys — who I imagined felt the same way.

Have you ever been part of the BBWAA? If not, have you ever applied to try to be part of the BBWAA?

I never applied because I knew, based on the BBWAA’s constitution, I had no chance. I did apply for MLB credentials — you have to start there — and was turned down. I have them now.

What is your view of the BBWAA?

It’s posted on our website that “The IBWAA seeks neither to replace nor disparage the BBWAA, but does offer distinctions,” and we will have fun at the BBWAA’s expense. C’mon, a paper ballot, snail mail, and a fax machine for last-minute voting? Spend a couple thousand bucks on a website and hire an intern to keep it live on the busiest days of the year. Oh, and do something about the extraneous “B” in your acroynym. Is it “Base Ball” or “Baseball”?

But look, in no way do I question the BBWAA’s best of intentions. I don’t question their love or understanding of the game, nor would I ever.

Why should the BBWAA expand its roll to include more Internet writers?

Well, there’s talk of actually reducing the Hall of Fame electorate, and I certainly get that. But this idea of tying a writer’s work to a print publication and requiring a certain number of games be covered in person doesn’t fly anymore.There are too many wonderful Internet baseball writers to even name in one sitting, and while I would never say that the IBWAA as a group is more qualified than the BBWAA, there’s no question in my mind that some of our members are more vote-worthy than some of theirs.

Who are some of the people in your association?

Jim Bowden, Jim Caple, Mark A. Simon and David Schoenfield of ESPN.com; Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports Hardball Talk, Bill Chuck of GammonsDaily.com, Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, King Kaufman, Bleacher Report, Jonah Keri, Grantland, Will Leitch, Sports on Earth, Bruce Markusen, Hardball Times, Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com, Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News, Wendy Thurm, FanGraphs, Eric Stephen, True Blue LA; Tom Hoffarth, J.P. Hoornstra and Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News; Pedro Moura, Orange County Register, Vince Gennaro, Kevin Kennedy, Ross Newhan and Joe Posnanski.

What is your view of what happened to the BBWAA with the recent last Hall of Fame vote?

I think they did well given the circumstances. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas are great choices, each of whom was selected by the IBWAA as well. We had Craig Biggio this year too, and Mike Piazza in 2013, but we haven’t elected Barry Larkin, so we’re nowhere near perfect either. A BBWAA writer voted for Armando Benitez, one of ours voted for Mike Timlin, but to be fair the Timlin voter was a high school student.

The Dan Le Batard thing was unfortunate, and the 10-candidate limit was a problem for some writers, but more than that I just think it’s increasingly difficult to get people to agree on things in this country. And a 75% consensus poses an even greater challenge.

What do you see as the future for your association?

An AFL-NFL-like result, perhaps, or maybe we just continue independently and advocate for a better idea. We decide things as a group, so I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Lastly, there are certain guys I’ve encouraged to join, Keith Olbermann foremost among them, and I wished they’d cave already, but I’m done recruiting.