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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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 OPINION 
2

Web Didn't Kill Sportswriting; Lame, Humorless Writers Did

Writers today just don't know how to have fun

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(Newser) – When the working day is done, sportswriters just wanna have fun—or at least they did 50 years ago, when hot-type dinosaurs like Gary Cartwright and his gonzo cohorts roamed Dallas in capes and leotards pretending to be Italian acrobats. But today’s mirthless philistines are doing more to butcher sportswriting than the digital undertaker, Cartwright grumbles in Texas Monthly.

They “don’t talk about books they’re going to write or mountains they intend to climb or the useful idiots they’re obliged to engage in the course of daily ordeals,” Cartwright says. They’re “absolutely giddy in the presence of bad puns and double entendres, but irony stops them cold.” Another old-timer slamming the new guys as unoriginal: How’s that for irony?

Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel, center, speaks to sports writers during the 2007 Big 12 Conference football media day.
Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel, center, speaks to sports writers during the 2007 Big 12 Conference football media day.   (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)
16th August 1951: English boxer Randolph Turpin filming his manager, Jack Solomons, Leslie Salt and the Express sports writer, Peter Wilson.
16th August 1951: English boxer Randolph Turpin filming his manager, Jack Solomons, Leslie Salt and the Express sports writer, Peter Wilson.   (Getty Images)
Sports writers Michael Wilbon and J.A. Adande arrive for the ESPN The Magazine Next Party.
Sports writers Michael Wilbon and J.A. Adande arrive for the ESPN The Magazine Next Party.   (Getty Images)
Sportswriters have lost their sense of fun, Gary Cartwright argues.
Sportswriters have lost their sense of fun, Gary Cartwright argues.   (Shutter Stock)
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The greats of yesteryear have been replaced by dabblers, hacks, and homers, glorified fans with press credentials that permit them to leech onto some sports outfit. - Gary Cartwright, Texas Monthly

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2 comments
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Yourself
May 14, 09 10:50 AM CDT
Another thing that killed newspapers are useless articles made up of one sentence paragraphs. Not to forget horrible reporters and the fact that most news sources these days are just too biased. it's rather unfortunate. Reply
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TerrifiedCitizen
May 14, 09 1:09 PM CDT
BigNewz is no longer objective and takes political sides every chance it gets... as said before by others, we have to go to news sources outside the country to find an unbiased truthful report. In fact, that's where Newser should go to find reports about our government... no worry for the time being about higher source costs and from the commentary I've seen, most of its readership are free thinkers who would welcome a less restricted viewpoint. Reply
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