Deadspin
Good morning. As you may know I, A.J. Daulerio, will be handling the bulk of today's content on the site. If you'd like to send along tips or complaints, please send them to ajd@deadspin.com
We'll start off today with a few housekeeping items: As flattering and jarring as it was to hear Bob Costas pronounce my name correctly on last night's "Costas Now", I cannot take credit for the piece he quoted and attributed to me. No, that Rick Reilly story Costas was grousing about was written by Big Daddy Drew — or, sorry "Big Daddy Balls." I was being scolded by proxy. Either way, I was honored to be associated with such a tremendous column, but he should be given all the credit.
Also, I'd feel like I was being remiss if I didn't point this out. Last week when Will found out that he would be appearing on the panel with Buzz Bissinger, it was obvious that any kind of "Town Hall" discussion last night's "Costas Now" intended to be was not going to exist. Obviously, Bissinger has an uncanny ability to be a mean-spirited dick when he's fired up about something. However, as we vividly saw last night, his mania tires out and succumbs to the inevitable comedown. It was during that comedown that Bissinger eerily changed from frothing lunatic to old, wistful writer, openly worried that Will Leitch, the floppy-haired kid sitting next to him, who is personally responsible for giving the world essays about Rich Garces' tits and photos of drunk athletes, would one day supplant anything he's ever done in his life. Bissinger is also a wonderful writer, who has the ability to channel all of that scatterbrained, passionate energy and transform it into something fantastic. That will never go away.
One more thing: Hopefully, last night's train wreck will finally put an end to this whole sports media/mainstream media battle against the sports blogging community. This has always been, in my opinion, a completely rudderless debate from both sides: These are two entirely seperate media. Bloggers are not putting newspaper columnists (or print media) out of business — bad newspapering is. These two worlds don't have to co-exist and were never intended to be that way. To me, blogging and internet writing, by and large, is rooted in comedy and opinion. That's it. One doesn't invalidate the other.
I originally turned to writing on the web almost 10 years ago because, as a struggling journalist desperately trying to break into mainstream media, I had no other outlet to develop a voice, a style, or an opinion on anything through my various jobs that my crappy Communications/English double-major from La Salle University afforded me. As much as I'd hoped that covering the local zoning board meetings or the municipal bond market would be pave the way for me to one day write for publications with a larger audience, it was not going to happen. I had to squash my own grapes, so to speak, and, thankfully, all of that hard, unpaid work done on my free time outside of those other jobs finally gave me some opportunities (and paychecks) I don't feel any guilt about whatsoever. And going this route certainly doesn't make me (or anyone else) unqualified to have an audience or earn a living this way.
Alright, enough — let's go do what we do best.
Comments
Bissinger should've played the Ankiel card.
I believe it's "two entirely separate media." Way to give Bissinger more ammunition, damn you!
I had to squash my own grapes, so to speak...
I do that too sometimes when I go to sit down in front of the laptop to write something - hurts like a bitch.
Well put, AJ. Do you have some shots of Rich Garces' tits?
Um..just asking.
AJ made it through an entire post without mentioning Philly.
It was nice of Costas to allow Will to bring his own special chair to the show made out of his mom's couch's springs so he'd feel at home.
This just in:
Will is disingenuous per Dan Patrick
And Will could write sports if he really wanted to.
You said "tits"...hee hee!
Daulerio as the voice of reason?
/Flees to the mountains
Hopefully, last night's train wreck will finally put an end to this whole sports media/mainstream media battle against the sports blogging community.
And someday the Cubs will win the World Series.
*slow clap*
Now do us proud, A.J. Daddy Drew.
BOOBIES!
PENIS!
BOOBIES!
LOL ROFLMAO FTW!!@!@
For a brief second, I thought Bissinger was going to bring up the Chris Benoit post. Just glad he didn't.
@pr0FF3ss0r_j3rkwh3at:
I am not picturing Dan Patrick patting Will on the knee and telling him that if he works really hard, in ten years, he may get to write a book.
Really well said. As much as I'm enjoying AJ and Will taking the high road while proving (once again) they can write as well as anyone out there, I really hope BDD is going to tear Buzz a new one...while proving he also has a knack for the written word.
Alright, enough - let's go do what we do best.
Quote the Simpsons and discuss if we'd hypothetically have sex with pictured women?
@Secret Identity: QMGWTFBBQ!!!!!!!11!!!!1!!!one
...Lets go do what we do best.
It's Dick Joke Wednesday!
@Doyle McPoyle: don't forget interrupt posts with soccer game updates.
@Whitey Fisk:
La Salle University...Philly by Proxy
So, looks like I missed a hell of a pissing match last night. Damn jury duty.
Good lord, Bissinger went from being one of my favorite writers to a complete douchebag in less than 20 minutes.
Wow AJ, well said. Did Will leave you some of his Midwestern forthrightness in the fridge while he's away?
(No seriously, that's pretty much what I have been wanting to say about this whole thing, but I lacked the background to frame it in the proper context. Well done.)
I would be more vehement in my defense of Will if his book had been better.
wait till bissinger finds out what a smokey tornado is
@Lupicas!XofullofBile: In all fairness, he did mention La Salle University (aka Balls' State).
"I had to squash my own grapes"
written like a true Italian
You can't be so reasonable and well spoken AJ, you're from Philly.
now it's Big Balls Deep
this is why I don't listen to sports radio now
@Civil Negligence: I meant @Whitey Fisk: .
Ahhh, who has two thumbs and is a star commenter? It's this guy!
Will the NHL Closer today feature any picutres of Rich Garces with a Mayor McCheese head?
Squashing your own grapes doesn't work all of the time:
@Peter Cavan: That seems like poor timing considering how Costas and Buzz gave Will the shaft yesterday.
Alright, enough - let's go do what we do best.
I'm not sure if they'll let me light my own farts where I'm typing right now.
Will must still be in bed with a percocet hangover.
Being talked on Dan Patrick show right now at cnnsi.com
Not that I am listening or anything...
And how fortunate are we to have this medium so we can learn about Santonio's "hog" or Jay Buehner's zit at the shaft of his penis!
let's go do what we do best
Woo-hoo taint pics!
@Reasonable Doubt for a Reasonable Price: Go ahead. The kids in the ICU will think it's hilarious.
To not get too meta today (wait, too late), Orson with a fine piece on this topic on this as well:
[www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com]
Maybe you could extend an olive branch in the form of a commentor invite.
Anyone else find it sad how Dan Patrick was practically begging for a job?
commentator dumbass
I must confess, I'm the one who stole Buzz's eyebrows.
Well said, AJ, as usual
Fuckfaces.
@Yostal: Define "fine."
Yea, but what is Buzz's Connectedness Index?
Is last night's clip anywhere on teh intertubes? I had a date with GTA4 and missed it.
Is there any video of this fiasco floating around?
@Yostal: BDD responds: [kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com]
Still haven't seen it. I'm too cheap for HBO. But it sounds shameful.
Between this, GTA IV and Favre's Madden screed, seems technophobia is runnin' wild all over.
Hey AJ,
While at LaSalle did you ever play video games with the L-Train?
[theangryt.com]
@DennyCrane: Somehow, I'm thinking that will only be the opening salvo.
Shall we play a game?
To a certain extent you almost cant blame these guys. How many people react well to obsolescence? The few who see whats happening will try to write better columns, re-educate themselves about the sports they cover and give us what we want: informed reporting, not wistful "back in my day" garbage.
The others apparently go bananas on HBO. Unfortunately I don't have HBO, but it sounds like great television.
Its journalistic Darwinism and Buzz is the State of Tennessee.
@DennyCrane:
Affirmed.
@DennyCrane:
Ever since KSK moved, I can't read it at work. Internet monitoring = FAIL
I found the whole thing curious. I'd concede every negative thing Costas or that Buzz guy has to say about blogs and answer - so what? Just because you don't value them doesn't mean they don't have value. If you don't value them - don't worry about them - and kindly shut the fuck up about it. We may be mean-spirited basement dwelling miscreants, but that isn't a crime. You're not our parents, our bosses or our judges or on our juries. So what makes you think you get to be our executioners?
Someone needs to interview Bissinger's 16-year-old son and ask him about what went down last night.
I think the fact that both Buzz and Costas were quoting from the exact same post should tell us quite a bit about the "fairness" of this little dog and pony show.
Will, you seem a little down on your accomplishments. For a Communications/English major from LaSalle, you are doing quite well for yourself.
It's more than a little depressing to see writers decry an entire medium that provides opportunities for writers to write. I think it proves that many of these guys only value their own stake in the game, and not the game itself. They come off--accurately--as profoundly selfish.
@DennyCrane: Oh my god. That was beautiful. Like a flawlessy, profoundly detailed Albrecht Durer drawing. Of a wart on an engorged cock.
@Afino: The name of the post is "Man Oh Man, Do I Love To F-k Horses." That tells you everything you need to know.
Skip to the 5 minute mark.
Bissinger = HYPOCRITE
[www.790theticket.com]
It was interesting the way Costas and Bissinger attacked Will for running the Matt Leinart photos, asking him if he would be willing to go through someone's trash to get material for the site. Apparently it didn't occur to them that the point of the photos wasn't so much that Leinart was partying, but that he was partying with underage girls.
I think the whole "us vs. them" mentality is exacerbated by people on both sides of the line. Just sayin'.