Jay Mariotti Is Devoted To The Art Of Prose

So the other night, in a dark cold lonely room, Jay Mariotti sat alone, doing a little math. He realized that he was required to deliver a certain number of columns by the end of April and, lo, he had already put together the requisite amount. Therefore, even though the next three months include the NCAA tournament, the NFL Draft, the Masters and Opening Day ... Jay's gonna take the next few months off.

"Certainly the paper misses him," Editor Michael Cooke said, "but we have a lot of bench strength." Mariotti will continue to appear at the paper even if he's not in it, coming into the newsroom to tape his regular "Around the Horn" appearances for ESPN. But his regular targets can rest easy knowing hunting season doesn't resume for a couple months.

We think it's the perfect indictment of what ESPN has done to newspapers that Mariotti will be coming into the newsroom to impersonate a columnist for a paper he's not writing for. But hey: Not that we mind! Take all the time you need, Jay!

Sun-Times' Trials Aren't Limited To Courtroom [Chicago Tribune]