Category Archives: Sports Illustrated

New Sports Illustrated book: Ranking NFL’s greatest; TO No. 6 receiver?

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In recent years, Sports Illustrated has published these magnificent coffee table books on baseball, football, basketball, hockey and golf. Terrific writing, and pictures, unforgettable pictures.

Yet SI barely scratched the surface of its vast inventory. So naturally the magazine decided it was time to do more.

Its latest book is Sports Illustrated: Football’s Greatest. The premise is a select panel of SI’s NFL experts (including Peter King, Jim Trotter, and Don Banks) ranking the top 10 in various categories.

In the no-surprise department, Joe Montana is No. 1 for quarterback, and Jim Brown is the best running back. However, Terrell Owens at No. 6 for receivers? And Hines Ward 10th? Do you think that Arrowhead in KC is the second best stadium in the league?

Of course, you won’t agree with the choices, and that’s the point. Debate is a big part of it.

The foundation of the book is the writing and pictures. You’ll read classic excerpts from Paul Zimmerman, Dan Jenkins, Frank Deford, Roy Blount Jr. and John Schulian, among others.

The real stars, though, are the pictures, especially the vintage shots from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. I loved the photos of players in the mud. In one of the opening pictures, you couldn’t even make out the No. 32 on Brown’s uniform.

The game looked so much grittier back then. There’s a terrific shot of Jack Lambert’s pants, stained with blood. Says it all about that era of football.

I had a chance to talk with Bill Syken, who edited the book for SI. Here’s my Q/A.

What’s behind doing another book, besides a terrific excuse to roll out more of those pictures?

We go back to 1954. The magazine and the league rose at the same time. This is a way for us to take of that great writing and pictures. Coming up with top 10 lists allows us to organize it and to take advantage of our depth of knowledge.

Talk about the pictures. Why are those old pictures so striking?

In picking out the photos for the book, we tried to figure out why the ones from the 50s, 60s and 70s all looked so great and capitivated us. Is it something about the fabric of those uniforms and the way the light hit them? There’s a picture of the ’62 Packers. The colors just pop out. It’s really pleasing to look at.

You also had some great shots of players’ eyes. The intensity of Dick Butkus; Jerry Rice’s concentration while catching a pass.

When we look at a picture in the dark room, one of the great things you see is a player’s eyes. If we can’t see his eyes, the photo is disqualified.

Talk about the writing in the book. What was it like to sort through all those stories?

If there was one category that was interesting, it was picking excerpts for best franchise. I knew we had all the big games covered, and players. But franchise is a bit more abstract. So it was great to find this description of the Packers (from Bud Shrake) from a man in a sauna in Green Bay going to his first game. Or Frank Deford, talking to Richard Nixon about the Redskins.

Terrell Owens sixth best receiver?

We have Cris Carter eighth, and he can’t get into the Hall of Fame. It’s an interesting category. It is the one where the statistics have changed the most.

The great thing about going through the lists is trying to see which guys are going to be slotted in the middle. Who’s coming in 9th or 10th? Who isn’t going to make the top 10? When you consider the credibility of the people voting on these list, it’s hard not to get caught up in it.

What’s next in the series?

If we do another one, the forerunner will be baseball.

 

 

 

 

 

Boomer ka-boom: Sports Illustrated’s Deitsch blows up Berman, Stockton

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It’s hardly news that somebody is ripping Chris Berman. Who isn’t?

However, it is worth noting when ESPN’s biggest mouth gets obliterated by the nation’s largest sports magazine.

Richard Deitsch made sure he won’t be receiving any holiday cards from Berman. In his Media Circus column in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, Deitsch ranked the best and worst of NFL announcers.

Under worst is “Chris Berman and anyone.” Deitsch writes:

“In a shameless attempt to sate a longtime employee’s desire to call an NFL game, ESPN foisted Berman on the football public for the Chargers-Raiders opener. Naturally, the broadcast featured predictable grunt-speak (“The Raaiddddaazz!”), outdated references (he name-checked former Raiders running back Marv Hubbard, who last suited up in 1977), and on a sack by San Diego’s Donald Butler, Berman bellowed, ‘The Butler did it in the conservatory with the lead pipe!’ As Dr. Z (Paul Zimmerman) once wrote about Joe Theismann, another broadcast butcher, ‘Personally, the whole thing makes me sick.'”

Yep, King Richard, you sure did take that lead pipe to Berman.

As for Deitsch’s other targets on the worst list, he probably should steer clear of Tony Siragusa (“Too much shtick and too little substance”) and Dick Stockton, whose constant mistakes are tarnishing his career.

On the best side, Deitsch lists Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth (“If only this pair could call every game”), Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts (“Underrated”), and Brad Nessler and Mike Maycock.

Agree on the bests.

 

 

How much longer will new Sports Illustrated editor actually put out a magazine?

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Last night, my bedtime reading was the latest edition of Sports Illustrated. Not on my Ipad, but the actual magazine.

With the news that Newsweek is ceasing to publish in a magazine format, it made me wonder how long that also would be the case for SI?

I think we’re still years away from SI becoming completely digital. Then again, this week’s edition felt thin and the magazine recently made some cuts in staff. Also, new initiatives seem to be geared toward the online experience.

SI seemed to say as much by appointing Paul Fichtenbaum, who for eight years ran Sports Illustrated’s Web site, as the new editor of the Time Inc. Sports Group. He replaces Terry McDonell.

Fichtenbaum told Richard Sandomir of the New York Times:

“Everything going forward has to have a digital overlay to it because that’s where the industry is going,” Mr. Fichtenbaum said in a telephone interview. “We have a really strong print product, a lot of subscribers — more than three million who love the magazine — and what we need to do is make sure they love SI in whatever form the world takes us. Our magazine is rock solid.”

Later, Sandomir wrote:

Mr. Fichtenbaum said that the print magazine would further extend its efforts in enterprise journalism, while letting SI.com handle daily sports news. “That’s one of the things we can do to differentiate ourselves from our competitors,” he said. “The magazine can do those interesting, unique stories that are hard to come by.”

I hope the magazine remains viable. Call me old-school, but the pictures look better in print. And I like the feel of a magazine in my hands.

Yes, it is hard to imagine SI disappearing as a magazine. Then again, 10 years ago, who would have thought Newsweek as a magazine would be on its way out in 2012?

 

Cover story: Sports Illustrated stands by reporting in Mathieu story; Nelson suit against SI dismissed

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Update: A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson against SI. Details below.

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Tyrann Mathieu is on cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated. However, it is not exactly the way he envisioned.

A piece written by Thayer Evans and Pete Thamel focuses on the personal problems that have the LSU star on the sidelines this year. It contains some allegations that Mathieu might have broken some NCAA rules. It could derail a return to LSU next year.

The most interesting part of the piece is that it includes quotes from his father, who is serving a life sentence in prison for murder.

Mathieu declined to be interviewed in the story and claims SI harrassed him. From Fox 8 in New Orleans:

Sheila Mathieu calls the article “unfortunate” and says she can’t understand why Sports Illustrated would respond so viciously to a family’s decision to keep private matters private.

“They twisted things and cobbled together details from past articles because we wouldn’t sit down with them,” she told FOX 8 Sports.  “We have always believed in being a tight-knit family. God first, family second, work and school third. That’s what Tyrann is doing now, and he’s on an avenue to success, making good grades and putting his life in order.”

A Mathieu family lawyer wrote SI, asking the magazine to leave him alone.

Demand is made that you cease and desist from any attempts at making contact with Mr. Mathieu or any member of his family.

There also are allegations that Sports Illustrated tried to bribe a promoter to get damaging material about Mathieu. Knowing SI, I have to say that notion is ridiculous.

Here’s Sports Illustrated’s response:

Sports Illustrated stands behind the reporting and the facts of the story. These absurd allegations are completely fabricated and with obvious motive.

Thamel did a podcast with SI’s Richard Deitsch. Thamel said that even though Mathieu isn’t playing, he still is “the most interesting player in college football.”

“People are fascinated by Tyrann Mathieu,” Thamel said.

Thamel didn’t discuss the allegations by Mathieu in the podcast. He said he and Evans covered the story through interviews and by using their sources at LSU.

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Meanwhile, in other legal news involving the magazine, Nelson won’t get his day in court against SI. From the San Marino Tribune:

A judge today tossed a defamation lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson against Time Inc., the parent company of Sports Illustrated, and a reporter concerning an article critical of the player and the Bruin program.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy agreed with attorneys for the media conglomerate and reporter George Dohrmann that the complaint concerning the Sports Illustrated story “Not the UCLA Way” infringed on their clients’ right to free speech. She also found that Dohrmann had numerous sources to back up the facts in his article.

“This man spent a lot of time and talked to a lot of people,” Murphy said.

Nelson’s attorney, Olaf Muller, declined to comment outside the courtroom. He argued during the hearing that Murphy was incorrect in her finding that Nelson, although a college athlete at the time, was nonetheless a limited public figure who had to demonstrate that Sports Illustrated and Dohrmann acted with malice toward him.

Muller said Nelson was an amateur who did not even have a publicist.

Defense attorney Daniel Petrocelli also declined to comment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Brooklyn: Telander visits with Albert King and Fly Williams in new Sports Illustrated show

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Want to give a shout out to old friend Rick Telander. A long time ago, he wrote a classic book, Heaven is a Playground, about the culture of basketball in the rough streets of New York.

Now with Brooklyn serving as the new home for the Nets, Telander, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, tracked down two playground legends, Albert King and Fly Williams.

His story will be showcased on the latest edition of Sports Illustrated Saturday at 1:30 ET on NBC.

From SI:

As the NBA season approaches, the spotlight may shine brightest on Brooklyn, NY when the Nets open in the new Barclays Center. SI contributor Rick Telander heads to the borough for a closer look at its legendary street ball culture. He speaks with two of the all-time playground legends Albert King and “Fly” Williams. The pair represent the dichotomy of the Brooklyn basketball story. King went on to collegiate and NBA stardom. Williams became one of many who fell victim to the drug culture. Williams says “I got a taste of that money and I didn’t know how to live no more unless I had that type of money. So what was left for me was the streets.”

The show also features segments on Dale Earnhardt Jr., kickers and unsung postseason heroes in baseball.

From SI:

“I felt this responsibility to deliver… that I wasn’t doing my part.,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. tells Sports Illustrated senior writer Lars Anderson in a rare one-on-one interview. Anderson sat down with Earnhardt Jr. prior to Earnhardt’s accident at Talladega Superspeedway where he suffered a concussion and will miss the next two Sprint Cup races. The interview covered the driver’s transformation from racing’s most popular star who hadn’t won a race in 143 starts to competing for the Sprint Cup. You’ll hear from Earnhardt on his renewed approach to the 2012 season, the responsibility he feels to his fans to perform on a high level and how he remembers his father today.

The new episode of “Sports Illustrated” on NBC presented by Lexus debuts Saturday, October 13, 1:30 p.m. on NBC. As a preview to the show, SI’s Lars Anderson and Lee Jenkins will participate in a Google+ Hangout, moderated by NBC’s Erik Kuselias, on Friday, October 12 beginning at noon ET. Anderson and Jenkins will discuss their segments, and offer viewers an opportunity to ask questions about each of the stories. Visit: (https://plus.Google.com/+SportsIllustrated) to join the conversation.

Also featured on “Sports Illustrated” is “Confederacy of Kickers” – an exploration of the intense world of college field goal kickers, a place where dreams are made and lives are crushed, SI senior writer Lee Jenkins reports. You’ll hear from Philip Brabbs whose first career field goal (after two misses) was one of the biggest in Michigan football history; Florida State’s Dan Mowrey whose missed 39-yard game-tying attempt against then No. 2 Miami was dubbed ‘Wide Right II” and Oregon State’s Alexis Serna who missed a game-tying extra point in OT against then No. 3 LSU costing his team a major upset. Serna went on to successfully convert his next 144 PATs, a Pac-12 record. Says Mowrey on the fateful kick: “I remember striking the ball and before I even picked my head up – you hear people talk about getting in an accident and seeing your life flash before your eyes – I’m thinking what the?… What have I just done?…. My brain kinda just shut down for a moment.”

Finally, SI senior writer Tom Verducci talks about unlikely October baseball heroes: 1992 Blue Jays’ C Pat Borders; the 1969 NY “Miracle” Mets infielder Al Weis; the 1956 Yankees’ Pitcher Don Larsen and Verducci’s personal favorite Billy Bates – a late season call up of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. Bates had just six regular season hits but found himself in Game 2 of the World Series and down 0-2 in the count against dominant A’s closer Dennis Eckersley. He smacked an infield hit and eventually scored the game-winning run. The Reds went on the win the Series. Bates never played another game in the majors.

 

 

Sports Illustrated’s top 100 to follow on Twitter; includes Jose Canseco, Kevin Love, Jim Irsay, Mark Cuban

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Lists, lists. We love lists, yes we do.

Sports Illustrated is out with its top 100 to follow on Twitter. From a sports perspective, that is.

Since staffers weren’t included, SI’s very own Richard Deitsch, a voluminous tweeter with 55,000 followers, isn’t on the list. You should put him on yours if you follow sports media and other interesting things.

Also, yours truly didn’t make the list. Surely, I must have been No. 101. You can follow me at @Sherman_Report.

Arian Foster, with 234,000 followers, looks interesting. A sample tweet:

“It’d be cool if ‘quantum physics’ was trending.”

 

 

Has Peter King lost his mind? Picks Denver and Peyton to go to Super Bowl

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Wow, Peter King really is drinking the Peyton Manning Kool-Aid. In fact, I wonder if somebody slipped something in that Kool-Aid.

In the Sports Illustrated NFL preview edition featuring “Gronk” on the cover, King selects Denver to win the AFC and Manning to be name the NFL MVP.

However, he ruins the happy ending of this fairy tale by predicting Green Bay to win the Super Bowl.

From the SI release:

Can senior NFL writer Peter King(@SI_PeterKing) correctly predict who plays in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years? King was on the money two seasons ago when he said the Packers and the Steelers would reach football’s promised land.  His prediction last year didn’t pan out, but after a three-week road trip through more than 20 training camps, King predicts the Packers will take down the Broncos 33–30 in Super Bowl XLVI.

That’s a lot of faith in a 36-year old quarterback who sat out last year after undergoing four operations. And playing with a new team.

King is a big guy. Wonder if that limb he’s sitting on will support him?

By the way, King also has Manning winning Comeback Player of the Year. Duh.

 

New Sports Illustrated TV program to debut tonight; Writers go on air to tell stories

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As the lines continue to blur in the new media world, Sports Illustrated is taking its writers to television.

A new show, simply named Sports Illustrated, is set to debut tonight at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on NBC Sports Network.

Here’s the promo:

The program doesn’t have a host or narrator. Instead, the first installment uses SI writers Tom Verducci, John Wertheim, Jack McCallum and Sarah Kwak lending commentary and context with the subjects telling the story. Also, unlike HBO’s Real Sports, the SI writers aren’t shown doing the interviews.

From the release:

“Sports Illustrated” Presented by Lexus is, a monthly, hour-long sports magazine TV show produced by NBC Sports and Sports Illustrated. The show will deliver the magazine’s DNA of award-winning storytelling through feature segments, original reporting and commentary from SI’s trusted journalists. Emmy Award-winning Red Line Films has been tapped to produce the show.

I have to say there’s an ESPN E:60 feel to the show. The SI writers are shown in black-and-white with the camera moving in that new age way.

Obviously, the stories are wonderfully shot. You wouldn’t expect anything less from SI. However, I found it curious that they didn’t do at least one of the segments on a well-known superstar for its first show. Maybe a little LeBron, Michael Phelps, or dare I say, Tebow?

Not all that much star power here, with the exception of McCallum’s flashback piece on the ’92 Dream Team.

In an interview with Street & Smith’s Sports Business Daily, John Ourand talks with Time Sports Group president Mark Ford about the show.

It includes this passage:

Q: It sounds like it will look a lot like ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” and HBO’s “Real Sports.”

Ford: You never try to duplicate what someone else is doing. We have a lot of respect for HBO and “Real Sports.” What we’re going to do is what we do well. We’re not patterning ourselves after anybody. We are patterning ourselves behind what our brand is about. We want to maintain that integrity. It won’t be a documentary. It will be storytelling, and we hope it will be interesting and exciting. Everything I’ve seen to date looks pretty good.

Here’s another video clip and a rundown of the show:

 

War and Peace in Jackson’s Gym: The soul of one of America’s fastest-rising sports can be found in a desert octagon where mysticism mingles with disciplined mayhem. Mike Winklejohn, a former kickboxing champion and Muay Thai champ, plays the heavy while Greg Jackson, the son of pacifists, embraces a less strident approach to teaching. Together, they have produced some of the MMA’s biggest stars. Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Jon Wertheim has the story.

The Bundy Project: The development of prized Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy is quite extraordinary. He squats 500 lbs. throws a 100-mph fastball, drinks broccoli-and-barley smoothies… while under the watch of pitching guru Rick Peterson. Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Tom Verducci reports.

The Story of Alex Meyer: Training at historic Walden Pond, Meyer has overcome personal obstacles and the death of friend and former champion, Fran Crippen, to make the 10K open-water U.S. Men’s Olympic team competing in the London Olympic Games. Sports Illustrated Writer-Reporter Sarah Kwak reports.

The Point After: The Greatest Game Nobody Saw: An impromptu scrimmage ahead of the Olympics pitted Michael Jordan’s team against Magic Johnson’s in a grudge match where agendas and ego were given their fullest expression. No journalist was closer to the Dream Team than Sports Illustrated’s Jack McCallum, and he explores “The Greatest Game That Nobody Saw.”