An Interview with Cal Fussman

“I’ve always felt people are more apt to give good answers when they’re relaxed, and that they can become relaxed when they see that you’re relaxed.

My goal is always to make people forget they’re being interviewed.”

“Walk into an interview with 100 questions in your head. Do not bring in any notes. Notes remind people that they’re being interviewed. Use two tape recorders so you can relax and won’t have to look over and check that they’re running properly.”

“I rarely ask a question that can be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.”

Cal Fussman: Interviewed on January 13, 2010

Position: Writer at Large, Esquire

Born: 1956, Brooklyn, New York

Education: University of Missouri, 1978, BJ

Career: Freelance writer. Work has appeared in GQ, ESPN The Magazine, The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, Time, Life, Discover, Inside Sports, Sports Illustrated and numerous publications around the world. Worked briefly out of college for The Miami Herald and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Spent a couple of years at Newsday in the early ’90s.

Personal: Married, three kids

Favorite restaurant (home): Nate ’n Al Deli, Beverly Hills, “great breakfast vibe.”

Favorite restaurant (away): Le Bernardin, New York, “French seafood doesn’t get any better in America.”; Bartolotta, Las Vegas, “Italian seafood doesn’t get any better in America.”

Favorite hotel: La Mamounia, Marrakech, “made me feel like Winston Churchill”; The Gritti Palace, Venice, “made me feel like Somerset Maugham”; The spa at The Encore, LasVegas, “a very relaxing place to write”

Author of: MY REMARKABLE JOURNEY, the autobiography of Larry King; DOUBLE OR NOTHING, with Tom Breitling, the story of two guys who met over a veal parmigiana hero while in college and went on to make two one-hundred million dollar deals in Las Vegas; AFTER JACKIE, an oral history of the minority ballplayers who followed Jackie Robinson into the major leagues; THE GUEST WHO THREW TOMATOES, children’s book.

Excerpted from Cal Fussman profile of Muhammad Ali, Esquire, Oct. 1, 2003:

http://www.esquire.com/features/sports/ESQ1003-OCT_ALI_rev

HIS RESPONSES to questions were always short and simple, and sometimes profound.

“What was more important, saying, ‘I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong’ or not stepping forward when your name was called for draft induction?”

“The action,” he whispered.

“You’ve made a lot of people smile and laugh for a long time. But what makes you laugh?”

“Something that’s funny.”

“What is goodness?”

“My mother.”

“What’s your definition of evil?”

“Unfriendliness.”

“What did you learn from trying to come back from retirement at age thirty-eight, when you were badly beaten by Larry Holmes?”

“Stay around too long and you get whupped.”

“What makes you most proud?”

“My family.”

But sometimes there would be no response.

“Do fears diminish with time, or do they increase?”

Nothing.

“What are your biggest regrets?”

Silence.

Q. What’s the short history of Esquire’s “What I’ve Learned” column?

A. For about a dozen years, Esquire has been running the wisdom of people who’ve lived extraordinary lives in their own words under the heading “What I’ve Learned.”

The column has given me a chance to sit down and ask any question to: Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, Johnny Depp, General Tommy Franks, Rudy Giuliani, Ted Kennedy, John Wooden, Bobby Bowden, Donald Trump, Larry King, Lauren Hutton, George Clooney and others including the father of open-heart surgery, the first man to break the sound barrier, and the founder of the Internet.

Q. What’s the difference between a great interview and a so-so interview?

A. After a great interview, I celebrate over a wonderful meal. After a so-so interview, I don’t feel like eating.

Q. What part of interviewing is perspiration and what part is inspiration?

A. To me, the key is relaxation.

I’ve always felt people are more apt to give good answers when they’re relaxed, and that they can become relaxed when they see that you’re relaxed.

My goal is always to make people forget they’re being interviewed. This would obviously be a little more difficult if I was working with a camera. But I recently experimented with a camera, and my experiences have only amplified my approach.

Sometimes I do a lot of homework before the interview to enable my subject to relax. But I’ve been placed in the exact opposite situation. Esquire recently asked me to go out and interview a guy named Gerry. All I knew about Gerry was his name and his address. I didn’t recognize him when he came to the front door. Which is exactly what the editors at Esquire were counting on.

Gerry was Gerry Butler, an actor who’d starred in 300 and a few other recent successes. The editors wanted to see what would happen when an interviewer showed up at a movie star’s house with no idea who he was.

I had no idea that they were expecting a cover story (August, 2009). But I just treated the experience as if I’d met Gerry on a train. We had a great time. Because I was relaxed, he could laugh. It’s much easier to open up when you’re laughing.

Q. What kind of questions work best?

A. Why? How? I rarely ask a question that can be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’

Q. How do athletes compare with non-athletes as interview subjects?

A. Depends on the setting. I would never want to interview an athlete in the locker room. There is something about a locker room that makes people think in clichés. In a relaxed setting, one-on-one, an athlete should be just as interesting as any other human being on the planet.

Q. What makes you cringe when you hear other interviewers?

A. When they turn the interview into a combat zone in order to look important.

Q. How would you coach a young sports media person to be a good interviewer?

A. Walk into an interview with 100 questions in your head. Do not bring in any notes. Notes remind people that they’re being interviewed. Use two tape recorders so you can relax and won’t have to look over and check that they’re running properly. Oh, and make sure they’re always loaded with fresh batteries.

Q. What would you have written about the Jim Brown interview that could not be conveyed in your format?

A. I don’t think the Jim Brown interview would’ve been better in narrative prose. But it would’ve had more impact if it had been on film. His expressions and the tone of his voice would’ve added a lot.

Q. Did you actually ask Yao Ming about fortune cookies?

A. I first met Yao in China back in 2000. I noticed at the time that there were no fortune cookies in China, and that Chinese people were intrigued to hear about them. So it made sense to get Yao’s impression nine years later.

Q. What did you ask Sting to get him on the subject of tantric sex?

A. Working without a camera gives me many advantages. Many of my questions start out with stories. I told Sting about a time when I went to a tantric sex seminar. So I wasn’t interrogating him about a subject that might make him suspicious or uncomfortable. I was asking him about a common experience.

Q. Leslie Nielsen gave you this: “There are many lessons my father gave me. But there was one that always stuck with me: He said to me, “Just remember, never say ‘That is.’ Say ‘That’s.'” What did it feel like to receive wisdom from Leslie Nielsen?

A. People who make me laugh are some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. Their minds move very quickly. You have to be smart to be funny, and smarter still to pretend to be dumb and funny. So I expect wisdom from people who make me laugh.

Q. You are posed with Nelson Mandela in your Facebook photo. What’s the story behind that?

A. I met Nelson in Ireland at the Special Olympics while working on a profile about Muhammad Ali. Ali was a hero of mine growing up, and it can be scary to meet your heroes because they can disappoint you. But Ali went beyond my expectations. When we met with Nelson, it was as relaxed as hanging around with an old friend.

Q. What sports media do you consume and why?

A. I find myself more and more gravitating to ESPN.com. I read everything that Gary Smith of Sports Illustrated writes. And it’s great to come across a book like Andre Agassi’s OPEN.

Excerpted from Cal Fussman “What I’ve Learned” interview with Leslie Nielsen, Esquire, March 18, 2008:

http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/leslie-nielsen-0408?click=main_sr

It was a boy’s name first.

One thing a person won’t do when he’s laughing is try to beat you up.

When I was a boy, I delivered newspapers on my bicycle at 64 below. The worst part is, I wanted to impress the girls, so I had to look good. I couldn’t wear a hat with earflaps. I had to sport the wave. So I’d put some water through my hair and push that wave up over my forehead. Then I’d step outside and splicccchhh — it would freeze.

On the Arctic Circle, where I grew up, laughter is part of the food of the day. Nobody wants to hear you say, “Gee, it’s really cold.”

There are many lessons my father gave me. But there was one that always stuck with me: He said to me, “Just remember, never say ‘That is.’ Say ‘That’s.'”

If you’re going fishing, make sure you don’t bring your sperm-whale line with you. A sperm whale goes down to twenty-five hundred feet and can hold its breath for eighty minutes.

Even if you did catch a sperm whale, when you put it in the boat, he’d sink it.

It took me a long time to realize that I came from a dysfunctional family. But, you know, at least I had the revelation.

I remember as a young man seeing Death of a Salesman, with Lee J. Cobb. When the play was over, nobody in the audience moved. All you could hear was a little sniffling. The silence was just overwhelming. It was a remarkable demonstration of the power of the theater. I’ll never forget that. Never.

Yes, it’s true, I’ve been called the Laurence Olivier of spoofs. I guess that would make Laurence Olivier the Leslie Nielsen of Shakespeare.

(SMG thanks Cal Fussman for his cooperation)

An Interview with Randy Galloway

“I’ve said for years that the art of writing is not my strongest point. My strength is having opinions and a work ethic and liking what I’m doing. Because as you know a lot of sportswriters don’t like what they’re doing.”

“I have been told I write like I talk, particularly from people in other parts of the country. They say I’m the only guy in the country who writes like I talk. I don’t know if that’s good or not. But I’ve tricked them so far for 40 years and I want to continue to do so.”

“I’m a fan of people. I want these people to do well, but you have to separate that from being a fan of the team in how you report.”

Randy Galloway: Interviewed on October 10, 2006

Position: Columnist, Ft. Worth Star Telegram; host, ESPN 103.3 FM

Born: 1943, Mayfield, Kentucky

Education: Sam Houston State, North Texas State

Career: Dallas Morning News 1964 (part-time), Port Arthur News 1965-66, Dallas Morning News 1966-1998, Ft. Worth Star Telegram 1998 -;

WBAP radio 1985 -2002; ESPN 103.3 FM 2002 –

Personal: married, two daughters, four grandchildren

Favorite restaurant (home): Bob’s Steak and Chop House, Dallas – “best steak going and they throw in a carrot, too”

Favorite restaurant (road): Joe’s Stone Crab, Miami Beach – “never miss it when I’m there – stick with the stone crabs – hash fries are the best”

Favorite hotel: Edmonton, Fairmount Macdonald. “Old restored hotel. Best hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Great bar, great rooms, great service.”

Q. You wrote yesterday, “McNabb missed nothing on Sunday. Bledsoe missed the boat. Even the dock, actually.” How do you come up with lines like that?

A. I don’t know. I’ve heard this all my life – how do you think of things to write? How do you do what you do? The answer is I don’t know. I never figured that out. It’s something I always wanted to do – one side of my family was in the newspaper business for three generations. I grew up around the newspaper business. My mother, Margaret Galloway, wrote for the Morning News and then smaller papers – women’s news. My uncle, Danny Bingham, was a political writer for the old Nashville Banner. My Aunt Jen was with small papers in Kentucky – she wrote for the women’s section. My grandfather, George Bingham, was a publisher in Kentucky. So it was something I was around – the combination of that and loving sports – I guess I just morphed into a sportswriter.

I can remember the first time I read a Blackie Sherrod column – in eighth grade – Blackie had worked on the Fort Worth Press with Bud Shrake and Dan Jenkins and Gary Cartwright – a Hall of Fame staff – but by ‘57 he had come to the Dallas Times Herald. I came home and saw his column and said, “That’s what I want to do”. We all grew up trying to write like Blackie. If you were smart you realized you were making a fool of yourself and changed in a hurry. Blackie’s style was unique. He had his own version of the English language – a good version – his style could grab the reader.

Q. How would you describe your style?

A. I’ve said for years that the art of writing is not my strongest point. My strength is having opinions and a work ethic and liking what I’m doing. Because as you know a lot of sportswriters don’t like what they’re doing – I love the hell out of what I’m doing. I’ve never been scared to give an opinion. That’s carried me a long way down the road as opposed to just being a pure writer. You don’t have to have Blackie Sherrod’s kind of talent – but you have to find your style and go from there. I can think of three guys who are just terrific writers, but it kind of stops right there. I know guys who – if they could write like they talk – they would be the best in the business, but it never comes across.

I have been told I write like I talk, particularly from people in other parts of the country. They say I’m the only guy in the country who writes like I talk. I don’t know if that’s good or not. But I’ve tricked them so far for 40 years and I want to continue to do so.

Q. Do you write in a Texas idiom?

A. Yes. Because that’s the way I talk. No doubt about that. What I talk to students they ask if my style would work in LA or Miami or New York – I say I don’t know. Luckily I grew up here and never had to leave to do what I want to do. I like living here. Blackie said he was asked that all the time. The Morning News was a country newspaper with little emphasis on sports in the 1960s – then in the late 1970s there was a boom – our 20-man sports staff expanded to 100 in two years – Dave Smith brought in writers from all over the country. Gary Myers came from New York and Gary asked me if Blackie could take his column and be as big in New York and I said yeah, but he had doubts it could happen. Blackie was a Texas guy who did it here.

It’s a blessing I never had to do that. A great part of all this is being here and the emphasis on sports here and on newspapers and TV and radio and the amount of money spent. You couldn’t ask to be in a better place, particularly if it’s your home.

Q. Has your radio work impacted your print work?

A. Great question. I worry like hell and have for years. I’ve been doing radio for 20 years. The last thing I want is for someone to say Galloway is not giving the same effort on print because of radio, or vice versa. You serve two masters – it’s a huge responsibility in both areas. If it impacts you so that you’re not concentrating on one as much as the other you really have a problem. It’s an ongoing worry for me. When I started radio my editor at the Morning News, Dave Smith, was against it, even though the executives favored it because of the publicity for the paper. But Dave never liked it and it probably led to a falling out after a number of years – we’re all right now. Dave was worried about control and about what I would say on the radio. When I left for the Star Telegram in ’98 he was asked that in a radio interview – “Did Galloway break stories on radio that should have been in the paper?” – and he said “Absolutely not”. He said I was way too professional for that – I really appreciated him saying that. Frankly, newspaper is always the first priority.

A good example is when Buck Showalter was fired (as Texas Rangers manager) last week. I got a call in the morning before the announcement. I called our beat guys and other columnist. I told our beat guys to get it online now. As soon as the Star Telegram got it up online I could go with it on air. So you can play both ends – you can serve both masters because of the newspaper website.

In the newspaper business today you don’t hold a story. I like for people to wake up in the morning and fall down with a huge headline – the proverbial scoop. I’m old school – you hit the competition and the reader over the head. Well, that’s gone. You got a story now it’s going online. I’m uneasy with that but such is the nature of the beast.

Q. So you’re on the clock for 24 hours?

A. I was a baseball beat man for 10 years and I tell people no way I could do it now. You are on the clock for 24 hours a day if you are a beat man. My admiration for beat people always has been at the highest level, and even more so now. Covering baseball in the 70s you had one cycle – once the game was over and the paper went to bed at midnight you didn’t have to worry about anything. If you got beat you couldn’t answer for 24 hours – at midnight you were totally off the clock.

Q. What do you read?

A. The Internet – greatest device ever invented for sportswriting. Ten years ago when it surfaced as a tool I was one of those saying “Never”. Now I don’t know how I survived without it. Every day I deal with all the websites, sportspages.com, espn.com, SI.com, Fox and CBS and various other websites.

Q. What about blogs?

A. I don’t read the blogs and never have.

Q. Magazines?

A. I’m ashamed to admit, no. I read SI, but not as religiously as I once did. For 30 years when SI came out I read it, but now I’m more likely to read SI.com.

Q. Must reads?

A. Peter King and Don Banks at SI.com. Tom Verducci (SI) – I love his work. Bill Simmons – I’m glad he’s back on ESPN.com. The Dr. Z stuff (SI.com). Marc Stein (ESPN.com) for basketball.

Q. You wrote in a column that that “professional journalists cover the real world”, implying that sportswriters are not professional journalists. Do we detect a bit of existential angst?

A. I’ve always considered sportswriting – God bless it – a great way to make a living and have a lot of fun. It’s a noble endeavor but not one that ranks with what’s going on in Baghdad or in the White House.

Although having been in it long enough I can say that things have changed a heckuva lot in the jock kingdom. Beat guys have to be police reporters, financial experts, shrinks and everything else – so a lot has changed. I’ve always tried to keep sports in proper perspective based on what we cover – that line was a friendly shot at a friend of mine – he’s in TV – who always is saying, “I’m a professional journalist”. Okay, I’m not – I just make a living at this.

Q. What kind of personality does it take to succeed in sports media?

A. You have to have a trust factor with people you cover. That includes an openness that I’m not out here to burn you but to give an opinion on what’s going on and why it is happening. And while there will be things you won’t like I’m going to try and write it strictly from a business standpoint and not a personal standpoint.

People don’t like to have bad things written about them particularly if it’s personal. I’ve had people mad at me for years over something that was written. Now you see the sports media with all the blogs and e-mails – we’re almost held to the same standards as the athletes by the readers. So the criticism comes in aimed at us and I’ve seen people in our business become touchy over that criticism. I like it. My e-mails pile up like crazy. I used to say I would never do the e-mail thing but now of course I can’t live without it. I love it – particularly those who are critical. I learn from it – it holds us to higher standards, so to speak.

Q. Do you have to be a fan to do your job?

A. I do think you have to like sports. People always ask me if I hate the Cowboys – they want to know why I’m so critical of the Cowboys. I write more about the Cowboys that any other team although the Mavs are coming up to that. A lot of fans don’t want to read critical stuff. My answer is that I grew up here and I was here the day the Cowboys were founded in 1960, so I’ve watched this team grow.

I’m a fan of people. I want these people to do well, but you have to separate that from being a fan of the team in how you report. Anybody in our business is lying if they say I don’t care what the New York Giants or the Cowboys do on a Sunday. It can work both ways. I loved being in Philadelphia two days ago and watching Donovan McNabb and how that game worked out. I could have cared less who won that game, but I liked what McNabb did compared to the other guy (Terrell Owens). It was justice.

Q. It’s been said that sportswriters root for good stories. Is that true?

A. To a certain degree. Do I always want a good story? Yes. But I’m not necessarily agreeing with all of that. That leads to almost a talk show mentality – I’ve done one of those for years – and I call Mondays “overreaction Monday” after a Cowboys game. Around here it’s said when the Cowboys win newspaper sales go up, but when they have a game like Sunday (38-24 loss to Eagles) I got a helluva lot more response through e-mails or radio than when they beat Tennessee 41-7 the week before. Do I want a good story – yeah. Do I hope it develops like Sunday – yeah. It wasn’t a good Cowboys story but it was a good McNabb story.

(SMG thanks Randy Galloway for his cooperation)

Embracing a strange moment

RANDY GALLOWAY

In My Opinion

My clumsy man-hug moment of the year came the other night.

Actually, I can’t remember another man-hug moment – ever – at least not while on a newspaper clock.

But with the Mavericks having won the NBA’s Western Conference, and now headed for The Finals, Avery Johnson had just finished his postgame media session Saturday night in Phoenix.

As he departed the podium, I was standing next to the interview room door.

Avery walked by. He was, well, pretty damn happy.

Admittedly, so was I. Happy for Avery. For Del Harris. For Ro Blackman. For Keith Grant, a Day 1 employee of the Mavericks from 1980.

People that you know and like, I got no problem being happy for their success.

Anyway, I gave Johnson a smile.

Understand that it was one of those “manly” atta-boy smiles.

The next thing I know I’m wrapped up in a man-hug.

Not handling it well (it’s probably a generational thing), I uttered something like, “Good for you, man.”

Keeping it manly, don’t you think?

But my friend, Radio Boy, he will read this, and then I will get the Journalism 101 lecture.

“You, as a professional journalist,” Radio Boy will Voice-of-God me, “cannot be going around man-hugging people that you cover.”

I didn’t. I was on the receiving end. Didn’t mind at all, actually.

And “professional journalist?”

Save that for the people who cover the real world. Say Baghdad. Or the White House. I write sports.

Maybe you noticed, I do have my favorites. Never denied that, and never failed to make it obvious.

Avery happens to be one of them. So is Big Nellie, now and when he held the same job.

In Arlington, I’ll take a happy man-hug any day from Rudy Jaramillo and Bobby Jones.

At Valley Ranch, the same goes for, yes, Jerry Jones. Don’t be shocked or disappointed.

Nobody has ripped Jerry as much as I have over the years, and will again, just as soon as this Eldorado Owens stupidity blows up on him.

But to say I don’t like Jerry, personally, that’d be a lie.

If I was into man-hugging, the list would be extremely short, but I’d man-hug anybody I wanted.

I guess, however, it’s that generational thing that prevents me from thinking along those lines.

But at times in this job, you also have to do the clumsy “forced” man-hug.

That’s in print, not in person.

On the list of people I’d never man-to-man hug, Mark Cuban would be up there pretty high. Not in the John Hart range. Or the Bill Parcells range. But way on up there.

And for Cuban, I’d say the feeling is mutual.

But in the category of “forced” man-hug in print, I refer to a column in this space from May 21, or before Game 7 of the Spurs series.

The general theme was “The Curse of Cuban.”

Something along the lines of how a once-free spending owner was being torched in the postseason by guys he refused to pay. The irony of it all.

Michael Finley had just hung a punch on the Mavs in that series’ Game 6, forcing a finale in San Antonio.

Steve Nash, of course, had done it one May ago in the playoffs.

I was wondering, in print, if some bad hoodoo-voodoo, thanks to Cuban, had cursed the Mavericks.

Now we know, however, that Finley was survived, and Nash was survived this time in the conference finals, and I am hereby revoking the Curse of Cuban idea.

(No, I do not count the Heat’s Antoine Walker as part of the hoodoo-voodoo connection. Actually, that was Big Nellie’s failed experiment.)

In this job, you’ve got to keep score on the people you owe.

Cuban, I owed, based on that particular column.

If I’m lucky, this will be last forced man-hug ever involving Mark.

But with Avery, this kind of unforced stuff is OK.

I’m just real picky about my man-hugging partners.

Randy Galloway’s Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.

Just saying ‘No’ well worth this expense

By Randy Galloway

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

841 words

7 September 2006

The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram

Tarrant

1

English

Copyright (c) 2006 The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram. All rights reserved.

I’d do it for a million bucks.

By the way, that’s a million dollars a week.

Let’s see:

Fifty-two mil annual income. IRS gets over 40 percent. At current gas prices, and with 800 horses under the truck hood, being on the road constantly between Valley Ranch, downtown Dallas and Arlington, that’s another million gone.

I’m figuring take-home at just over $30 million. That’d put me at about a yearly break-even point based on the wife’s credit cards and my continuing bad habits.

But in the name of charity, I’d do it anyway.

I’d hire out as the “No Man” for our local trio of jock kingdom owners.

Jerry, Tom and Mark, they’ve all got plenty of Yes Men.

Some of which are even so-called media members.

But what our three rich locos really need, at the split cost of $333,000 a week (plus loose coins), is a No Man.

For a million bucks a week, I could have been there for Jerry in late winter, telling him, “No, dammit. Shut up, and listen to me.”

This was pretty simple, really. Mr. Jones’ Cowboys won nine games a year ago but missed the playoffs after crashing down the stretch.

Now, the NFL, it’s the easier league for a quick turnaround, the easiest league to be an instant title contender.

So what did the Cowboys need to get that done in ’06?

The right kind of No Man would have said, “Jerry, forget the goofy receiver. Throw all your off-season money at the offensive line and a big-time kicker. If you can win nine games with what you had, how many Ws can you add with what you need?”

Of course, the Yes Men applauded lovingly in the background as Mr. Jones did it his way.

At least, however, he did get the kicker, but now we wonder if it was the right one. Yet, as the new season approaches, the offensive line is the one area that could wreck the team.

And Mark? Well, if Jerry is considered hopeless when it comes to common sense, then Mr. Cuban is a terminal case.

If anyone ever needed a No Man, it’s Mark.

No, you don’t personally hijack the NBA Finals. No, you don’t turn the biggest local moment in basketball history into some kind of ego insanity trip.

Shut up, Mark. I’m your highly compensated No Man. Listen to me. Move away from it, including the baseline. Get your butt outta there.

It’s about the players, about the coach and the coaches. It’s not about you.

And so the Mavericks, maybe the best overachieving team ever around here, ended up being labeled nationally as a bunch of whiners.

It’s not what that team was about. It’s not the way that team should be remembered.

But Mark, without a No Man, ended up putting his personal stamp on his team. A stamp of disapproval in national eyes and, ahem, Bennett Salvatore eyes. That’s really unfortunate. As unfortunate as losing four straight in The Finals.

Then there’s Tom.

What are we going to do with Mr. Hicks?

Basically, he’s well-intended, but also desperate for a No Man.

Tom went on the radio with Norm Hitzges this week and gave opinions on his baseball team.

He said the Rangers’ players lacked mental toughness and clubhouse leadership.

No, Tom. No.

The No Man could have saved you.

If an owner wants to name names, then fine. But by offering a blanket clubhouse indictment in these two key areas, that means Hicks included, well, let’s just concentrate on one of many players who doesn’t lack mental toughness or leadership.

Michael Young.

Shut up, Tom.

Among others, you insulted your best overall player, and one of the best in baseball.

And the time is coming, in two years, when Young’s contract is up. Don’t think he won’t remember that.

Listen to the No Man, Tom.

You are an owner who is making a minimal financial contribution to payroll, at least by baseball standards.

Throwing rocks. Living in a glass house. Not a good combo, Tom.

The right kind of No Man would have been in your ear, telling you what to say and how to say it.

But you don’t say what you said.

The Rangers lack a lot of things, but I don’t see mental toughness by the players being even in the top 10.

Don’t listen to people who are telling you what they think you want to hear.

Listen to your No Man.

I don’t work cheap, but I will say No.

Randy Galloway‘s Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.

Randy Galloway, 817-390-7760 rgalloway@star-telegram.co

/103.3 FM.

An Interview with Aaron Gleeman

“We recently posted a two-paragraph Help Wanted ad on Rotoworld, looking for a couple of part-time baseball writers for the upcoming season, and received over 800 applications within 72 hours, many of them from veteran journalists…the pool of people interested in getting involved with fantasy sports is massive.”

“Writing about fantasy sports requires tons of opinions and predictions, so it’s fairly easy for people to judge how much of an expert you really are after a while…My finest moment is probably touting Johan Santana as the next big thing back in 2002. To this day people who own him in keeper leagues still thank me.”

“Since joining Rotoworld I’ve interacted in person or via e-mail with most of the beat writers covering MLB teams for newspapers, and save for a few examples they’re generally extremely outgoing and fantasy friendly.”

Position: Senior Baseball Editor, Rotoworld; Contributor, NBCSports.com; Blogger, AaronGleeman.com

Born: 1983; St. Paul, Minnesota

Education: University of Minnesota School of Journalism; left early for job with Rotoworld

Career: AaronGleeman.com 2002-present; Insider Baseball 2003-2006; The Hardball Times 2004-2006; Rotoworld 2005-present; NBCSports.com 2006-present

Personal: Single

Favorite restaurant (home): Yangtze, St. Louis Park, Minnesota, “my favorite spot for Chinese takeout. Awesome hunan chicken.”

Favorite restaurant (away): Greasy Tony’s, Tempe, Arizona, “best Philly cheese steaks outside of Philly, with the added touch of using napkins and silverware from other restaurants.”

Favorite hotel: Bellagio, Las Vegas “Stayed during the most recent winter meetings, defeated the $2-$5 no-limit game, and decided the whole place was way, way too nice for a bunch of baseball writers”

Aaron Gleeman, posted on aarongleeman.com, February 19. 2009:

http://www.aarongleeman.com/

I’ve been blogging about the Twins (and other things) since August 1, 2002, which is the equivalent of a few centuries in blogger years (they’re like dog years, but with fewer flea shots and more typing). In fact, this blog is so old that when it launched Ron Gardenhire was a rookie manager, his team was trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 1991, and there was exactly one Twins blog
even on my radar. Oh, and I was home for the summer following my freshman year of college.

In the half-dozen years since then Gardenhire has won 557 games, his team has gone to the playoffs four times, this blog has had 4.9 million visitors, and the “Twins blogosphere” has expanded to include literally dozens of sites. Several of the best, longest-running Twins bloggers have sadly hung up their keyboards
over the years
, but a new Twins blog starts up seemingly every week and never before has there been this much Twins coverage available to fans.

At some point during the past six-plus years I’ve linked to just about every Twins blog, but the medium has expanded so much so quickly that it’s impossible to keep up with everything and everyone. My daily reading routine typically includes around a dozen Twins blogs, and with spring training starting up
and another season thankfully around the corner it seems like a good time to give them some attention that goes beyond the sidebar links. So, in no particular order here are my favorite current Twins blogs …

Q. Can you describe and explain your work for various outlets?

A. My primary job is Senior Baseball Editor for Rotoworld, which involves writing columns and player news blurbs, editing our annual Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide magazine, and coordinating the site’s baseball coverage. I’m also a frequent contributor to NBCSports.com, shooting videos and writing columns. And I’ve been blogging about the Minnesota Twins and other stuff at AaronGleeman.com since 2002.

Q. How does the work of fantasy sports media differ from that of non-fantasy sports media?

A. The big differences are that we’re typically not out covering live events or interviewing athletes and our focus is on individual performances rather than team success. No fantasy owner cares if the Nationals just dropped their 100th game, because he’s interested in whether Ryan Zimmerman went 0-for-4 or 2-for-4. Our coverage is representative of that and tends to revolve around analysis and projection more than reporting and recapping.

We also need to cover every team rather just focusing on one beat and tend not to get caught up in “intangibles” because whether or not David Eckstein is truly a “scrappy gamer” doesn’t really change his actual numbers. Oh, and we don’t worry nearly as much about who’s dating Madonna.

Q. Can you give us an idea of the size of fantasy sports media? How difficult is it to break into?

A. Fantasy sports is definitely a multi-billion-dollar industry at this point. I just saw a study showing that something like 40 million Americans play fantasy sports on a regular basis. In terms of breaking in, it’s pretty tough. We recently posted a two-paragraph Help Wanted ad on Rotoworld, looking for a couple of part-time baseball writers for the upcoming season, and received over 800 applications within 72 hours, many of them from veteran journalists. It’s an area that continues to thrive while some other forms of media have declined and the pool of people interested in getting involved with fantasy sports is massive.

Q. How is a fantasy sportswriter’s performance measured? Your proudest moment as a fantasy sportswriter?

A. Writing about fantasy sports requires tons of opinions and predictions, so it’s fairly easy for people to judge how much of an expert you really are after a while. We rank players constantly and do projections for everyone’s stats, so it’s tough to get away from your performance, right or wrong. My finest moment is probably touting Johan Santana as the next big thing back in 2002. To this day people who own him in keeper leagues still thank me.

Q. Your thoughts on continuing in fantasy sports media or moving into non-fantasy media?

A. I’ve bounced back and forth quite a bit already. I co-created The Hardball Times and wrote hundreds of “real baseball” columns there while serving as the site’s editor-in-chief, and my blog has never been about fantasy sports. I’m also fortunate that Rotoworld and NBCSports.com both allow me to branch out beyond strictly fantasy topics on a regular basis. At the same time, I really enjoy fantasy sports and the audience is probably more passionate and knowledgeable than the average sports fan, so it’s a great job.

Q. What is the attitude of non-fantasy media toward fantasy media?

A. I’d say it’s a bit like the attitude mainstream media members have toward bloggers. Some look down on the whole thing, but the sheer number of people involved/interested in the medium has that number shrinking every day. Since joining Rotoworld I’ve interacted in person or via e-mail with most of the beat writers covering MLB teams for newspapers, and save for a few examples they’re generally extremely outgoing and fantasy friendly.

Q. What is the pressbox credential situation for fantasy media?

A. My guess is that getting credentialed is pretty tough for a lot of fantasy media, but being part of the NBC Sports family gives Rotoworld access that smaller sites can’t secure. We don’t typically cover individual games, but I’ve been credentialed for the MLB winter meetings several times and our Senior Football Editor, Gregg Rosenthal, is part of the media throng at the Super Bowl.

Q. Who owns Rotoworld and how much traffic does it get?

A. NBC owns Rotoworld. On a monthly basis Rotoworld averages two million unique visitors and 40 millions page views.

Q. Who and what do you read and watch for your sources of information?

A. Player news blurbs have always been the driving force behind Rotoworld and those come from our staff constantly scouring every possible source of information for news and notes. That includes every major newspaper and website, plus the never-ending blogosphere. We source everything, break the information down into an easy to digest format, and add our own analysis.

Q. Do fantasy sports, with their emphasis on individual stats, erode team partisanship among fans?

A. Absolutely. I’m sure there are some Red Sox fans who refuse to draft Yankees on their fantasy teams, but trying to balance that is part of what makes fantasy sports so great. There’s nothing more amusing than a Minnesotan watching the Vikings play the Packers while rooting for Greg Jennings to catch a touchdown.

Q. Which coaches are fantasy players wary of and why?

A. Prior to being fired recently Mike Shanahan was enemy No. 1 for fantasy football players. Denver almost always had productive rushing attacks under Shanahan, but since Terrell Davis retired he rarely stuck with one running back for long and seemed to enjoy being coy with the media about who would be getting the carries in a given game. He’s a tremendous coach, but the members of fantasy football nation who devoted roster spots to Selvin Young, Tatum Bell, Peyton Hillis, Michael Pittman, Ryan Torain, Andre Hall, and P.J. Pope last season probably won’t miss Shanahan.

Q. The NFL says fantasy football is not Internet gambling because it is “a game of skill”. Internet gambling or game of skill – which is it?

A. Definitely a game of skill. It’s sort of like poker in that while there’s plenty of luck involved in the short term, ultimately skill emerges over the long haul. If you’re trying to win, joining a fantasy football league with Gregg Rosenthal should be avoided every bit as much as sitting down at a poker table with Phil Ivey.

Aaron Gleeman, posted on Rotoworld.com, December 11, 2009

http://blogs.rotoworld.com/matthewpouliot/

–

You know things are officially coming to a close when you’re sitting in the media room watching hotel employees take down the MLB logo backdrop from the press-conference stage. Even if some huge move happened right now, there would be nowhere to announce it and only a handful of reporters to cover it. In other words, the winter meetings are over. This was my second trip to the winter meetings and there were far more big moves this week than two years ago in Orlando, although there are still plenty of big names without homes and big rumors swirling …

* A.J. Burnett appears to be deciding between the Braves and Yankees after both teams upped their offers multiple times this week. A couple more increases and he’ll be closing in on a $100 million deal, although my guess is that the Braves will eventually bow out.

* For now at least the Cubs are done talking to the Padres about Jake Peavy, but I’d be shocked if we don’t hear plenty about general manager Kevin Towers trying again to deal him before spring training. I’d still bet on Peavy being on another team come Opening Day.

* If speculation about Mark Teixeira wanting to play close to home are true then he’s deciding between the Nationals and Orioles. If instead he merely wants to be on the East Coast then the Red Sox may be the front-runners. And if all of that talk is overblown and he’s simply looking to cash in for as much as possible the Angels are still very much in the mix. Wherever he ends up, it sounds like it’ll be for more than $150 million.

* There’s been very little talk about Manny Ramirez, aside from Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti saying today that he remains a) very interested and b) unwilling to hand out a four- or five-year deal. Several teams may eventually shift their focus from Teixeira to Ramirez, but for now the Dodgers are still the most likely destination.

* Derek Lowe will almost surely sign with an East Coast team. For now the Phillies and Yankees appear to be leading, but if the Red Sox come up with a competitive offer I’d bet on Lowe returning to Boston.

* If my reading-between-the-lines skills are worth anything, then the Twins will trade Delmon Young before spring training. Possible destinations? Let’s say … Seattle, Philadelphia, Colorado, and San Francisco.

* And last but not least I’ve learned plenty of important lessons this week. Among them: Lou Piniella likes to bet on horses
, sometimes clubs will make you a member
even when you don’t want to join, everything at the Bellagio is extremely high-end except for the toilet paper
, being let into a team’s hotel suite
isn’t as exciting as it may sound, $12 pizzas taste the same
as $3 pizzas, Ken Williams is the pied piper
of newspaper writers, Johnny Chan is just as intimidating in person
, and Greg Maddux is a class act
.

My hope is that you enjoyed reading my coverage of the winter meetings as much as I enjoyed writing it, so thanks for all the comments and e-mails. And don’t forget to check out Rotoworld’s constantly updated player news page
for all the latest news, rumors, and analysis, because the offseason moves definitely don’t stop rolling in once everyone checks out of the Bellagio.

(SMG thanks Aaron Gleeman for his cooperation)

An Interview with Mark Gonzales

“I always feel bummed out if I miss out on a story. I don’t beat myself up like I used to but I don’t feel good if I miss a story.”

“I’ve never thought of myself as a feature columnist because I don’t have the touch some people do. I enjoy the competitiveness of the beat and the daily interaction. I like beating someone.”

Mark Gonzales: Interviewed Aug. 27, 2006

Position: White Sox beat reporter, Chicago Tribune

Born: 1961, San Jose, Ca.

Education: San Jose State, BJ, 1985

Career: Peninsula Times-Tribune, 1980-89; San Jose Mercury News 1989-99, Arizona Republic 2000-2005, Chicago Tribune 2005 –

Personal: married
Hobbies: Reading, fitness, travel

Favorite Sports Movie: The Longest Yard

Q. How would you describe your job?

A. All encompassing. One that just doesn’t start at the ballpark. It starts from the time I get on the computer or read the paper in the morning to getting to the park with some kind of plan. I try to get to the clubhouse with a plan of attack where I’m not reliant on what somebody may say. I want to initiate the news unless something jumps out. I’m not only reporting what happens but also what it means and how it might impact next week or next month.

Q. What are the pressures of your beat?

A. I try to be as competitive as possible. With Internet coming on and websites, basically 24-hour news, you’re always on guard. I always feel bummed out if I miss out on a story. I don’t beat myself up like I used to but I don’t feel good if I miss a story. Those are the pressures. I enjoy writing on deadline, writing concisely, getting to the point and not wasting words. It really forces you to narrow in on what’s the most important thing the reader wants to know. Or something the reader will be surprised to find out. If you miss out on something it really stands out. So you’re really forced to narrow in on something quickly.

Q. How much is your performance measured on breaking news or beating the competition?

A. A significant amount. People want to know what’s going on with a particular team or player or trend and therefore you’re held accountable to stay on top of that as well as give them something they can’t find by other means. You have to kick a lot of tires to do this job right.

Q. What’s your typical day at the ballpark?

A. I always check the lineup first thing. If the lineup changes there might be a particular reason. I take a head count in the clubhouse before batting practice. The Sox are finishing a streak of 24 games with out an off day. When I go to work Tuesday I’ll find out why one guy raised his average, and another guy had his drop, and if the long stretch had anything to do with it. So you’re following up before the manager speaks. I’m in fact-gathering mode before the manager speaks.

Q. Do you watch your competitors?

A. I might take a glance. On other hand if I have to worry what they’re doing all the time that’s kind of a sign of insecurity on my part. I have to feel locked in and secure – yeah I’ll take a glance but I’m not going to eavesdrop.

Q. Which outlets do you worry about?

A. It’s usually the other newspaper. I’m in a town with two all-sports talk radio shows – they have reporters out there – you do have to be aware of that – and be aware that one is the flagship station and rights holder and they might be entitled to more access than you. That’s ‘The Score’ – WSCR 670 – which is in the first year of a five-year deal.

Q. Has WSCR broken news?

A. One time this year (starting pitcher) Jose Contreras had lower back problems. The suspicion was raised that the news came from the son (Ozzie Guillen Jr.) of the manager who has a Spanish-speaking talk radio show. Ozzie’s oldest son is a good kid but it did raise eyebrows. He’s entitled to whatever employment he chooses and in some ways it’s a coup for the station.”

Q. Is the beat reporter’s job more precarious than ever?

A. Yes. There are more and more avenues for news to come out. I got an e-mail from reader who asked if the Sox traded for (reliever) David Riske because he had got a call from realtor who wanted to rent a room to a David Riske. It turned out it was true. They announced the deal later that day.

Q. Do you post breaking news as soon as you get it?

A. We’re encouraged to put it on the website. Earlier this season, during a day game between the Cubs and White Sox, Michael Barrett apologized to AJ Pierzynski for punching him six weeks earlier. I sent it to the website and it was posted at game time, 2 p.m. It’s pretty much a 24-hour deadline, even if it’s not earth-shattering news. If Paul Konerko hasn’t played for three days and then he’s in the lineup they want that posted right away. Our Cubs writer sent a text message from the dugout recently when Mark Prior was put on the DL and they posted it right away.

Q. Do you always feel on the clock?

A. In the off-season I make sure I’m off when I’m off. I work with good people. Dave van Dyck backs up both teams and can serve as a national writer. When he’s working I don’t worry. During the season it’s tough to step away. Last night I was off and I stayed home and watched the game. Today was a good day to get away from it and I took a walk with my wife, although I did tape it. Usually they give the beat writers home weekends off as much as possible. The flip side is I have to work more in the off-season. Next month we’re on the road for 13 of the first 17 days.

Q. Is it harder to be a beat reporter than a columnist?

A. Tough question. For me I’m not so sure. Few columnists can really write colorful columns with great detail on deadline. It’s a tough art to master. The good ones do their homework. Some people have the touch and some don’t. I’ve never thought of myself as a feature columnist because I don’t have the touch some people do. I enjoy the competitiveness of the beat and the daily interaction. I like beating someone. But I’m always looking ahead. If you sit back and enjoy it chances are you’ll get beat the next day.

Q. What do you read?

A. I’m always checking out BaseballAmerica.com for minor league information and other amateur baseball developments of interest to me. I forget to tell you, I keep a day-by-day book on players to follow trends that often develop into a note or even a story. For diversion, the first websites I read are the LA Daily News and LA Times for USC football stories.

Q. Writers you admire?

A. Tracy Ringolsby (Rocky Mountain News) – he’s solid and thorough. Hal McCoy (Dayton Daily News) is a colorful writer as well as a good reporter. He can really write with flair – for all the years he’s covered the Reds he’s never gotten stale. Mark Whicker (Orange County Register) really does a good job of writing on deadline with a nice touch and a knack for very good reporting. We have a very good staff but I’d sound biased if I mentioned it.

Q. How do you develop sources?

A. It starts with trust. Trust is very important. You have to let people know you as much as you want to know them. A lot of this job is interacting and talking to people. You can talk to a source for 10 minutes and maybe not use anything but if you can get that person to know you that’s a pretty good foundation. Not just the manager and GM – baseball is so all-encompassing – you need to know the vice-president of marketing and the farm director and the amateur scout – it really helps to know everybody. I feel I’ve benefited by staying in contact with people from teams I used to cover. Sometimes I find the best information on the team you cover comes from people with teams you used to cover.

Q. Do you need a thick skin?

A. More so than ever with e-mails. Sometimes fans let you have it, even though they might not know the whole story. We have this thing called “Ask the White Sox Writer” – it’s posted online – I’ve had fewer than five nasty comments. The questions generally are insightful. It’s been fun.”

Q. Did it help you that your first season on the White Sox was their championship season?

A. I was lucky. I knew (GM) Kenny Williams – I covered him when he went to Mt. Pleasant High School in San Jose. I knew a few of their scouts and front office people – so I had a good start there. It was fortunate coming in to deal with a manager like Ozzie (Guillen), and the players were very good to work with.

Q. Ozzie has had his problems this season. How do you work with him?

A. You have to be direct with him. He’s probably better with the beat writers than the beat writers are with him. I don’t know where all this evolved but he really takes an interest in the beat writers, because we’re there with him most of the time. Not to say he doesn’t care about columnists. He does, as long as they’re fair. If a columnist takes him to task he’s okay as long as the columnist shows up and asks him directly and is fair.

Q. How did you handle the Mariotti slur? (Guillen referred to Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti as a “fag” after a critical column.)

A. That was an interesting situation. Our national baseball writer (Phil Rogers) was there and he decided I should write it. I had to telephone our sports editor and tell him what was going on, so they said write five inches on it. It was a national story in the sense that the degree of hatred in the word that was used really brought it to the forefront.

Q. Did your opinion come through?

A. Not at all.

Q. Do clubhouses shut down on writers?

A. I’ve seen it happen to a couple of guys. It’s very uncomfortable.

Q. Are most clubhouses civil to writers?

A. It varies clubhouse to clubhouse. Last year’s was the best one I’ve ever come across. When I covered the Diamondbacks one or two guys made it difficult. On the whole it was okay but you’d be surprised how much difference one or two guys can make.

Q. Advice to journalism students?

A. Just keep kicking tires and seeing what’s out there. There’s always going to be an emphasis on news and writing. You see people who don’t want to do it for the long run yet there’s always a need for beat writers. There are two openings now – the Angels job on the Orange County Register and the Cubs beat on the Sun-Times. I don’t see people who like to do this for a long time. Some don’t like the travel. Some feel their niche is writing rather than reporting. I see more people doing this for two or three years and moving on. There is a burnout factor.

Q. What about you?

A. No. I enjoy this now. If I lose the competitive feeling maybe it will be time to move on but I haven’t felt that.

(SMG thanks Mark Gonzales for his cooperation)

An Interview with Derrick Goold

“I was built to be a beat writer…I like the idea you wake up each day not really knowing what’s ahead that day…I love the challenge that under duress you have to come up with a voice…I don’t mean inventing a voice under duress – I mean staying true to your voice under duress.”

“If ten sportswriters are in the same room they might not have one trait in common – except curiosity. And confidence probably – you see varying degrees of confidence. Maybe you have to have resolve in knowing what you write is… correct. Sometimes when you’re being thrown a lot of spin you have to have the resolve that you know what the story is.”

“Albert (Pujols) has developed some assumptions about the media and every reporter that approaches him has to get through those assumptions first. Being respectful of his schedule is a start. Asking engaging – and not even “soft”, but pointed questions – helps. Patience and persistence can pay off, but not as much as picking the right day and the right topic.”

Derrick Goold: Interviewed on January 31, 2007

Position: Cardinals beat reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Born: 1975, Elgin, Ill.

Education: University of Missouri, 1997, journalism and liberal arts.

Personal: Married, one child.

Career: New Orleans Times-Picayune 1097-2000; Rocky Mountain News 2000-2001, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2001 –

Favorite restaurant (home): Tanner-B’s, St. Louis “inventive Americana – nice old bar appeal, good ambience, creative comfort food”

Favorite restaurant (road): Jacquimo’s, New Orleans “a sportswriter haunt – to get to your seat you have to walk through the kitchen – it ‘s cruel because you cannot order everything you see – just a fun place – if they run out of tables they pull up a pickup truck out back and seat you”; J.G. Melon’s, NY “best burgers I’ve found on any beat I’ve covered – NBA, NHL, or MLB – recommend the cottage fries and two burgers – splurge – they are that good.”

Favorite hotel: Renaissance Harborside, Vancouver “ a great hotel – overlooking the water – you can walk to the city – wonderful”

Derrick Goold excerpted from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 14, 2007.

While nowhere near as intensive as the pre-game mummy treatment David Eckstein needed to play in the World Series, the little shortstop that did had some prep work to do before Saturday’s autograph marathon.

Lessons learned from signings and blisters past, he clipped and filed the nails on his right hand and meticulously wrapped each fingertip in a Band-Aid.

Eckstein then signed for more than five hours.

The Cardinals are considering their approach to having him sign something a little less rigorous in the near future.

The World Series MVP and two-time All-Star is entering the final year of the three-year deal he signed with the Cardinals before 2005. Assistant general manager John Mozeliak confirmed Saturday that the team has had preliminary discussions with Eckstein’s agent about a new contract. The chats were to gauge if the shortstop is interested in an extension, one that would most likely be negotiated during spring training.

Q. Nice segue from a signing session to Eckstein’s contract – were you happy with that story?

A. I may have muffed it. There’s a possibility I buried the lead in that story.

Q. The news element was lukewarm – aren’t you being hard on yourself?

A. I second-guess myself constantly. I pick apart sentences – trying to see if they can be more muscular. Sometimes there’s no reason to.

Q. So style important to you?

A. There are two elements to the job – reporting and writing. Usually the better the reporter the better the writer. If anything voice and style has become more important because readers can get play-by-play, and stats and scores online – in any mode they want. What they get from the Post-Dispatch has to be more – and part of that has to be quality of writing. I would lie if I said I didn’t agonize over some sentences or smirk when I get a sentenced right, because style is important. A nice compliment to get is when people say ‘I know you wrote this without reading the byline’. I would like to be known as an excellent writer. Not saying I will be – but that’s a goal.

Q. Will the Cardinals re-sign Eckstein?

A. They’re going to talk to him about an extension – it will happen during spring training. The Cards have a pretty good track record of working out an extension with their own guys when they make it a priority. Both guys realize if it’s done early in the season it’s mutually beneficial. Eckstein has been an All-Star here and he was MVP on a World Series team. He was the engine of a lot of things they do and Cardinal Nation has a crush on him. There are a lot of reasons why it makes sense to work it out – I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

Q. How do you cover Albert Pujols, who is not usually talkative?

You try and cover him as best you can. Being around him on a daily basis, you do get a feel for his schedule — when he’s on his way to hit, when he’s on his way to eat, and when it’s best to attempt to get some time with him or a comment from him. He describes the ballpark as “his office” and creates a cocoon around him because he can.

Albert, however, will surprise you. He’s just as likely to curse at you or yell at you as he is to sit down and talk for a long time about several subjects. Last year, he was standing at his locker, chatting with a throng of media and he brought up drug-testing and steroids and even condemned reporters who question his age. It led to a story that essentially opened with Pujols saying he was clean and that MLB could test him every day. The year before, another reporter and I engaged in a long conversation with Albert about why he dislikes the media and how he was learning to become a leader in the clubhouse.

Albert has developed some assumptions about the media and every reporter that approaches him has to get through those assumptions first. Being respectful of his schedule is a start. Asking engaging – and not even “soft”, but pointed questions – helps. Patience and persistence can pay off, but not as much as picking the right day and the right topic.

Q. You recently put together a list of the Cardinals top 30 prospects for Baseball America – how much time did it take?

A. Lots. I spent weeks working on it. You’re dealing with a massive amount of information. I’m the type of guy who always feels there’s one more call to make – I probably push it too far. It’s a long process.

Q. Are you paid fairly for your time?

A. Interesting question. You get paid well enough. Benefits compensate the rest. I’m one of the Cardinals beat writers, and knowledge of the minor league system is important to my career, and my job, because it helps around the trade deadline, and it helps understand what’s going on in spring training, and it puts you in touch with the younger players. These are players who will be on the team in three years and when they land in the clubhouse I will know them. That’s a tangible benefit. It puts you in touch with members of the organization you should talk to but you’re so consumed during the season you don’t, even though it shouldn’t be that way. It’s valuable to me to be in touch with these people regularly – there are things you can learn – there’s no such thing as an empty interview. Every opportunity you have to talk to somebody about the team of the future is beneficial to covering the team now.

Q. Is covering the beat more intricate than fans realize?

A. It’s not just covering the games and knowing how to figure out an ERA. Sometimes it’s reading a CBA – there are a lot of intricacies to covering a team. Part of it is the fact that the Cardinals are important to the city – there is limitless interest in the Cardinals – not only all the way down to the minor league system but also in their business side and the details of the new stadium, and what some of the guys do with their charities. There’s really no such thing as over-covering the Cardinals.

Something people may not realize is how varied our days can be. One of the reasons you get into sportswriting is you cover not only games but also features and enterprise and you also have the possibility of covering cops and courts. Last year I covered a lawsuit here in St. Louis – in federal district court – about stats and fantasy baseball. I covered a ‘murder for hire’ trial – Mike Danton in hockey. I like the fact that you have to be tested under deadline fire but also have a chance to develop a long takeout feature. Sometimes it makes for a frenetic day as you cover all the things at once, but that goes with it, too.

One thing young sportswriters don’t realize is how many hats you have to wear, and the instant expertise you have to develop. The only way is to get experience. You can’t prepare for some things you have to cover. I found myself at a medical school library looking up wrist surgery for one story. It’s part of the thrill. Look at baseball right now. How many sportswriters ten years ago would have thought they would have a working knowledge of pharmaceutical reports and the definition of precursors? How many sportswriters ten years ago would have thought about whether there’s a blood test or urine test for HGH? That’s the job – it’s fascinating.

Q. Are you saying there’s no blueprint for the job?

A. I go speak at classrooms and they ask what kind of education you need. Education is fantastic but you can be a sportswriter with a political science degree as well as a journalism degree. Experience is the key. That’s the deal.

Q. What kind of personality does it take to succeed as a sportswriter?

A. A lot of different personalities can succeed. If ten sportswriters are in the same room they might not have one trait in common – except curiosity. And confidence probably – you see varying degrees of confidence. Maybe you have to have resolve in knowing what you write is not only going to be entertaining and have style and voice but that it’s also right and correct. Sometimes when you’re being thrown a lot of spin you have to have the resolve that you know what the story is. How that manifests depends on the person.

It helps to have passion – sometimes for newspapering – sometimes for the sports you cover – but somewhere in there you have to have passion because the hours and demands are so much. Passion is what drives you. Some guys have passion for the game they cover and some have passion for the job of journalism and sometimes guys have passion for both.

Q. What about you?

A. Probably passion for both. I know that newspapering is in my blood. The sports I grew up with and am most comfortable around is baseball – and always has been. Those were two constants. If you peel back my life before I realized what was going on it was starting a school newspaper, and watching baseball and having my dad hit line drives to me any chance he had.

Q. Where did you grow up?

A. Outside Boulder – Louisville, Colorado. I started a newspaper at my elementary school just for kicks, and I worked on the newspaper in high school, and on The Maneater at Missouri. I wrote for the Maneater and drew cartoons all four years.

Q. How do you balance this passion for your job with the rest of your life?

A. Good question. I’m not sure I do a good job – maybe I should pass the phone to my wife. It can be a 24/7 job. There’s no prescribed time for news to break and it’s a competitive business. You’re not just competing with what’s on the news that night or the in the paper tomorrow morning, you’re competing with what could be on a website 15 minutes from now – there’s a element of not just having the pulse of news but of being able to quicken the pulse of news – so you get that story out before anybody else.

A scoop in the paper is fantastic but it’s becoming more rare. The competitive nature of this business means there’s a 24-hour call to action – you deal with that in addition to the time commitment of being at the ballpark, which is 3 o’clock to whenever the game ends. And now thrown into the mix is all the mult-media stuff required of reporters – radio to TV to online – those are additional time commitments. Most reporters will spend time in the morning catching up and making beat calls like in the days of yore – you don’t lose that element of keeping up with scouts and G.M.s and things you need to know to parlay into a Sunday story or notes or a long-range feature. It’s become kind of a scattershot job – it can steal an hour there or a day there – and there’s really no off-season.

I’ve been asked if this off-season was harder because the Cards won the World Series. Yeah, maybe so, because there were more enterprise and feature stories to do, and more general thematic stories. But actually the work wasn’t all that different. I’m still trying to break news around the clock – there’s no off-season dead period.

Q. Do you get a vacation?

A. The last three years my wife and I have stolen some vacation time in January. We’ve been going out of the country so my cell phone doesn’t work. We got back from London a week ago. We have a little kid now, almost nine months old. You learn to treasure the time you do have but also to maximize what you can do. The cell phone helps – you’re not shackled to the desk during the free agency period. This year you could exchange text messages for an interview – I had never done that before. You can’t quote it, but at least you can keep up with what’s happening. Now you’re starting to see interviews with e-mails.

Q. What’s your paper’s policy about using e-mails in interviews?

A. My experience is that you write it was from an e-mail. There are times you are sent a statement via e-mail and you write what the person said. If it’s an e-mail in and of itself you write that it came from an e-mail.

Q. Writers you admire?

A. The SI guys – Gary Smith and Tom Verducci – both have a tremendous turn of phrase. (ESPN’s) Buster Olney’s book was fantastic – he has a nice touch with feature stories. Joe Strauss and Rick Hummel (Post-Dispatch) – it’s hard to find two guys who write better game stories. I’ve had the pleasure of working with the last two Spink winners (Hummel and Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News) in my last two jobs. I love Michael Lewis’ new book.

Paul Sullivan at the (Chicago) Tribune has a wit I’m jealous of. We got Gerry Fraley on board here and he’s strong. John Shea (SF Chronicle). Nick Cafardo and Gordon Edes (Boston Globe). If you’re looking for baseball coverage – for depth and expertise – you have to swing by the Globe. It’s tremendous what they do – probably what baseball coverage should aspire to be. I like to think we do a good job at the Post-Dispatch but if you look at the breadth and depth of coverage they offer a hungry, hungry fan base it’s very strong. I would be remiss not to mention the guys in Denver – Jack Etkin (Rocky Mountain News) as a national writer has such a strong feel for the game – he has such a great scope for the leagues. Troy Renck of the Post is a dogged reporter – the competition there makes both papers better.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo. He finds stories off the beaten path that more people should look for. Another Yahoo writer, Josh Peters – I worked with him at the Times-Pic – broke the story on the unnamed (SF Chronicle) informants in the Bonds case. He is one of the most inventive and unrelenting investigative reporters I’ve worked with – very nimble with sources but also able to find the information – he uses every entrance to get information. The other guy is Jeff Duncan (Times-Picayune) – the Saints beat writer – go back and look at his coverage of Katrina – at what he did staying on when everybody else evacuated. He’s the best example of the chops a very good beat writer brings to the table. Beat writers are journalists – you can throw them into whatever needs to be covered – and he is one of the best.

I’m partial to beat writers. A book agent talked to me about something that never came to fruition – they said to me ‘we’d be more comfortable if you were a magazine writer’. I said, ‘great, but you’re really missing something – there are a lot of great writers covering beats’. You might miss their great story because they’re asked to write dozens of articles and their high batting average reveals how truly great their writing is – and that’s lost too much.

There are a lot of beat writers out there who are exceptional writers and their body of work shows it – but if you pick the Thursday they had to write a rain delay story and file it 30 minutes before the game was done and that’s the story you read and judge them on – or a notebook – don’t confuse that with their ability. There’s more going on than just an ability to convey news and the nuggets of the day. These are quality writers – part of the reason is they get more practice than anybody. A lot of strong writers developed their voices by being a beat guy.

Q. Is the beat hard on your health?

A. It can be. You can eat a bad diet – you might be eating pretzels while writing at the airport. But I have a hard time going into that litany without saying that we get paid to cover a game we enjoy. We’re away from our families for seven or eight weeks for spring training, but at the end of the day we’re still covering a game. We get to see history, sometimes on consecutive days and at most places we have a good seat for it. And every day we get to chronicle it – it’s worth the 5. a.m. flights.

Q. You like being a beat writer?

A. I was built to be a beat writer – that’s just how I feel. There’s a prolific-ness – it’s a skill to be prolific – and I like the variety you find in beat writing. I like the idea you wake up each day not really knowing what’s ahead that day. You can be scouring police reports – one day I wrote a story on the oldest living ballplayer – Roland Stiles – and I was at his apartment having him tell me stories about pitching to Babe Ruth. Two weeks later I was doing a Q&A with the Cards’ top prospect. It’s a fascinating job.

I love the challenge that under duress you have to come up with a voice, while also under space constraints. You have to make a 12-inch story sing, and it’s easier to make a 30-inch story sing than a 12-inch.

Q. But isn’t your voice a constant – something that doesn’t have to be re-invented for each story?

A. I don’t mean inventing a voice under duress – I mean staying true to your voice under duress. You’re not conjuring a voice on a daily basis. The challenge is can I write it fast and well.

In sports a voice is more accepted, even though they call it the playpen, the form is better for voice than if you’re covering a City Council meeting. I remember covering a DUI – a guy was killed the day after his wedding invitations went out – and I was thinking this is not where I want to be. Should you write that story with style? Sure, and also with compassion, but I would much rather turn a story about a shortstop.

Q. Are blogs your competition?

A. I don’t know. I just did a survey for a professor at Ole Miss – about professional journalists who have blogs – some still writing for a paper and some who have left. If I say that blogs aren’t competition I don’t mean it to come across as a slight, but I do think blogs can be something we learn from. Blogs can be so specific – some Sabr-metric, some rumor mills, some personalities, some informative. Some are expanding now to fill the holes in our coverage – in that sense maybe they are competition. But more so they should be a lesson in what niches we aren’t covering and how maybe we should cover those. There’s no place in the paper for ‘my life as the Cardinals beat reporter’ – that’s not a forum we can contend with nor should we be.

The beauty of blogs is offering a medium and a voice – an outlet that wasn’t there before. That said, some blogs are covering minor leagues and doing interviews with minor league players and breakdowns of minor league lineups. Could we do a better job of covering the minor leagues? That’s something we talk about improving. Part of the thing that spurs me to ask that question is that blogs have looser rules than newspapers, so there are some things they can do before us and write without repercussions. I have seen many inaccurate news reports on blogs that they don’t apologize for that in the paper would have been more than a correction. It’s such a different medium it’s hard to call it competition. But we have something to learn from it.

Q. Do you read blogs?

A. Sure, some. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t have a feel for what fans are talking about. All of these things are tools we can use. They’re going to come across some stat you didn’t know, or link to some article you didn’t find. The newspaper isn’t a monolith – it’s part of the city – we would be remiss if we didn’t access fans. If you get a question that spurs a story, that’s fantastic.

(SMG thanks Derrick Goold for his cooperation)

Describe your pool of reliable sources?

How will your job be affected by the cards winning the world series?

What’s the hardest part about covering the cardinals beat?

Answering e-mails. Not awful. How many? Hard to say depends on what going on with cards or what we wrote recnelty. Can change. You find hotbutton topics – you find certain times – dtrade deadline tends to bring out the most – people try to float urmos to you or by your or get you to confirm or refut a rumor. Or they like to giv eyou opinion on what card should do.

How do you ask tough questions?

What’s your policy on using non-attributed information?

Who can you go to in the cards clubhouse?

Sports

Eckstein works hard autographing

By Derrick Goold ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

625 words

14 January 2007

Derrick Goold excerpted from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 14, 2007.

While nowhere near as intensive as the pre-game mummy treatment David Eckstein needed to play in the World Series, the little shortstop that did had some prep work to do before Saturday’s autograph marathon.

Lessons learned from signings and blisters past, he clipped and filed the nails on his right hand and meticulously wrapped each fingertip in a Band-Aid.

Eckstein then signed for more than five hours.

The Cardinals are considering their approach to having him sign something a little less rigorous in the near future.

The World Series MVP and two-time All-Star is entering the final year of the three-year deal he signed with the Cardinals before 2005. Assistant general manager John Mozeliak confirmed Saturday that the team has had preliminary discussions with Eckstein’s agent about a new contract. The chats were to gauge if the shortstop is interested in an extension, one that would most likely be negotiated during spring training.

“Right now we’ve had just peripheral talks,” Mozeliak said, elaborating on a question he was asked during his session with fans at the 11th annual Winter Warm-Up. “Nothing has been set in stone. I think just moving ahead at some point we’re going to have to look into it.”

Eckstein said: “I would like to have the opportunity to explore something. That’s something that the Cardinals will have to want to talk about. So we’ll see. I love this place. It is very family-oriented, it is very much a family.”

The Ecksteins have made this weekend a family affair.

In addition to his wife and her parents visiting St. Louis this weekend, Eckstein’s mother Patricia, father Whitey and two sisters – Susan and Christine – have a booth at the Warm-Up, selling David’s book, “Have Heart.” Eckstein rewrote the book after winning his second World Series. The publisher, Builder’s Stone Publishing, is actually the Eckstein family.

“It’s more than just David’s story; it’s our family’s story,” Patricia Eckstein said. “We’re here because we do everything as a family.”

Said David Eckstein: “My family doesn’t get to do a lot of things together. This is a good holiday to get out and get together.”

The Ecksteins as a family feel adopted by Cardinal Nation, with Patricia being asked to pose for photographs and people recognizing Whitey and her at the airport as far back as the final weekend of old Busch Stadium. Winter Warm-up was a new experience for them, and they manned their booth as Eckstein signed some 400 autographs, amidst posing for photos, talking on a fan’s cell phone and offering to sign something else to spur the bidding at a live auction.

He then met with the media and said he’s all healed.

Before each World Series game, Eckstein underwent a series of treatments to bind and salve his various injuries. He received a cortisone shot in his left shoulder and his entire left side was wrapped. He also had daily acupuncture.

After he drove off with the MVP award, rest was prescribed. The shoulder has mended. The hamstring ache that bit into his September is long gone. The strained oblique that put him on the disabled list has vanished and he began swinging a bat on Dec. 26.

“Everything feels great right now after taking the extra time off,” Eckstein said.

Baseball

You just ranked the cardinals top 30 prospects – how did you report that?

That’s for bb amrercia. Free lance is par tof opportunity and repsonsiblity, oine of free lance jobs I hae that I enjoy – I gerw up reading bb amreica – writi8ng for prospect handbook – asked me to write fr it for first time – probably more than I thought it would be to be honest

I started going through stats – making notes on every player – wasn’t best orgnazioatn – I have stack of 3 by 5 cards to organize my access to players – one for each player – jotting down n otes on them, stats I saw or interviews I dd – most I talked to through year – minor league reporets for p-d or org roeproets for BA – talked ot as many ppl with oponins, minor league magrs, scouts, officals, reviews from scouts and reviww from managers, anonymous stuff that helped shape more detailed scouting reports, – cast a wide net and get as much info as you can – not only number son bb card – some finer point numbers – balls in play , whips – things you cant ge tin boxscore- how many pitcher they threw, how mnay consstntely. Now many major league qulity pitches, what is he learning. Is he starting with oine pitch and will he morph into reliever by double a o tripel a – you cant get this from one person – dissserivce talking ton e perison – sometimes conflicting – everybody does not see same thing in perispec t- very few unaminous op on prpesepct – you got with who you trust – sometimes a blend of diff opionons – obiovu concsnesus about rasum – diff op on picher like trey hearne – tremenoud production but in his words but in his words doenst light up radar gun

Do cards have a list one to 30?

Probably not. They might if they wanted to do it as exercise. But going to deal with depth chart rather tan pure ranking. Little reason to rank pitchers alongside pos players. Lots of reason to keep depth chart. What would org get from top 30. chris perez and haime Garcia are top 5 prospects but guys who are rnaked lcoser to 20 or 30 range much closer to majors than either of htos etwo. Prospects youre reanking what has gjy done but also what can he do. Org has to think this guy has done this stuff and is in positon to do this by this date. They’re thinking what need do we need to address in 07. not to say they don’t think ahead. But it’s more adepth chart and a schedule of arrivals and less a ranking of whose the best in the org.

But it’s great for a parolor game. Gets everybody talking and enc more knowledge of system as whole. Player si didn’t rank but I disc becuasea I was tyring to find out if they belonged in top 30.

How many overall were considsred?

I went through all draft picks – you cull it down – about 40-45 names belong on there and then you shave it down to 30.

An Interview with Rick Gosselin

“This whole business is built on who you know. My network has expanded with special teams coaches and draft rankings and games-lost-by-starters charts. I’ve never wanted to be in a position where people don’t take my call…they always take my call, partly because they know I might give them something.”

“One of the problems with the industry today is that young writers coming in want instant gratification. If they take a coach out for dinner they want something they can write about. I knew people ten years before they gave me anything to write about.”

“When Pete Rozelle was commissioner the media was almost a partner. Now they push us aside and say we don’t need you anymore – we don’t need newspapers to write about us. We’ve got NFL.com – our fans can get access that way. Little by little they push us farther away.”

Rick Gosselin: Interviewed on October 12, 2006

Position: NFL columnist, Dallas Morning News

Born: 1951, Detroit, Michigan

Education: Michigan State University, BA, 1972

Career: United Press International: Detroit 1973-1974, New York City 1975-76, Kansas City 1977-85; Kansas City Star 1986-89; Dallas Morning News 1990-

Personal: single

Favorite restaurant (home): Esparza’s, Grapevine TX, “Mexican – in converted funeral parlor – best Margaritas in town – that’s saying a lot for Dallas”

Favorite restaurant (road): Pascal’s Manale, New Orleans, “barbecue shrimp – always a staple – off the garden district”

Favorite hotel: Marriott Marquis, New York City, “I love Broadway – that’s right in the heart of it – NFL draft was in it in the 90s – you could walk to any Broadway theater – the Great White Way – I love the vibe of NY.”

Honors: Dick McCann Award, Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2004; Huddle Report No. 1 ranking on predicting Top 100 draftees for 2006 draft (87 of 100); Huddle Report No. 1 ranking on 2006 Mock Draft

Q. You wrote yesterday, “If I’m buying an NFL ticket this week, here’s how I spend my money?” When was the last NFL ticket you bought?

A. I have Dallas Stars season tickets so I do pay to see sports. I’ve covered the NFL for 30 years and I can’t remember the last time I sat in the stands for a game. I have my Stars season tickets and I go to an occasional baseball game.

Q. A writer is paid to go to a game. How can a writer speak as a fan?

A. I’ve tried to champion the cause of fans in my writing. I’ve criticized the NFL long and hard about all TV timeouts. In that column you cited I had a comment by Bert Bell – he said if we start valuing the TV audience more than the paying public we’ll be in trouble. I said “Sadly, that’s come to pass.” These games drone on and on because of TV timeouts. I grew up when there weren’t stoppages – they just played the game. Now there’s a bad precedent in moving the starting time to accommodate TV – one o’clock games are moved to 8 p.m – to make sure TV gets good games on Sunday night. But if you’re a fan who flew in for a one o’clock game maybe your flight out is at 8 and you can’t change it. When I go to Stars games I sit there for TV timeouts and experience what fans experience for football games.

Q. Is there a danger in relating too closely to fans? What about professional objectivity?

A. I’m of the belief that fans are what make this game great. They drive the interest and revenue made by the clubs. Fans read my stories. Everything we do – playing games or writing about games – is for the fans. The NFL has to take better care of fans. They’re now paying $30 to park in some places.

Q. What’s the difference between a professional writer and an amateur writer?

A. Access. I have access to the principals. I can talk to Jerry Jones, Tony Dungy, or a player. Because of that I like to think I have better insight than the average blogger. It’s a big thing for newspapers in general. What we hang our hat on at the Dallas Morning News is covering the Cowboys every day. We have people in that building every day. We know the owner, coaches and players and we have insights no one else has. When I go online to read about the baseball game in Oakland I go to the Detroit News because they have the insight into Jim Leyland and the players.

Q. What is your system for reading the news?

A. There’s an overload now. You can spend all day reading the Internet – I’ve taken a step back. I try to find what is pertinent – the story of the day. If it’s steroid I go to the San Francisco Chronicle. Baseball – the Detroit News; Terrell Owens – the Philadelphia Inquirer. You can read the Internet from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. There’s so much out there I’ve become more selective – I don’t blindly read everything. I probably read less on the NFL than other sports because I have access. I can call coaches and G.M.s – I don’t have to read about it.

Q. How should a fan read about the NFL?

A. Sportspages.com is a pretty good traffic cop and can point you in the right direction. NFL.com is a good starting point in the morning – it tells you if players are hurt or benched. If somebody on the Eagles is benched I find out on NFL.com and then go to the Philadelphia Inquirer to find out why. Most teams have two or three correspondents on NFL.com. Club websites have a lot of manpower. They have access – their writers are on the other side of the wall with the club people.

Q. Are writers for club websites journalists?

A. Each club decides that. The Bengals hired Geoff Hobson, who was the best beat guy on the Bengals, and told him to cover them like the newspapers do. He does a great job aggressively pursuing signings. Other reporters are told to not step on toes – let’s just get our information out to the public. There’s no standard for team correspondents. Some just do light features.

Q. How can fans make those distinctions?

A. True fans – Cowboys fans – read everything. No matter what I write I have a 50-50 divide. People here think I’m a Cowboys hater but outside of Dallas they think I’m a homer. We have a knowledgeable fan base. A lot of our fans are into fantasy football.

Q. Do fantasy football sites have better information than newspapers?

A. I don’t play so I don’t spend a lot of time reading fantasy football sites. But if a guy isn’t sitting in a building how is he coming up with inside information. You see those fantasy football ads – “inside information” – I’m not sure how they get that stuff. I know how hard we work and if we can’t get it how can they? These guys aren’t in the building so how else can they get their stuff if not from what we’re writing.

Q. Why do people pay fantasy sites?

A. Everybody is trying to get an edge – they’ll pay if they think they’re getting an edge.

Q. What does your job entail?

A. I’m the NFL columnist. I cover the other 31 teams. We have five or six people in the Cowboys building every day. I go to a dozen training camps in the summer. I pick the best story of the week and go to that game. A lot of what I do is Cowboys driven. For instance, in training camp I talked to young Philadelphia receivers and corners about what they learned from T.O. If there’s a Cowboys hook readership will be greater. So I cover the league but it’s often related to the Cowboys or the state of Texas.

On top of that I do a lot of analytical statistics-oriented things – a lot on the NFL draft.

Q. How do you cover the NFL draft?

A. I don’t get into draft coverage until the season ends. I’ll talk to scouts and personnel people at the start of the process to get a feel for the board. Then I’ll focus on position coaches, and as we get closer I’ll talk to G.M.s and coaches and fine-tune the list. I don’t worry about mock drafts – I want to focus on position boards – the top 20 at skill positions for instance. I’ll deal with offensive coordinators, G.M.s, coaches and even friends of mine in college football. The more opinions I get give me a better feel for the player. Most people are honest with me – especially early on when you don’t have an idea of how they fit. I’m constantly fine-tuning. If it’s tight end I’ll call tight end coaches. From mid-March to mid-April I fine-tune it, to figure out what rounds they go in – then I put it together. I probably talk to over a 100 people in the NFL.

Q. How do you measure your success?

A. I do a top 100 board – I rate the top 100 players in the draft. I’m putting out there who I think will be the first second and third round guys. There’s a lot of luck in mock drafts – one trade and the dominoes fall in different directions. But there’s no luck in the top 100 – either you know or you don’t. Since 1998 I’ve had the best top 100. My 100 generally hits 80-plus on the list. The Huddle Report ranks everybody. You can look at the Huddle Report. ( http://www.thehuddlereport.com/top100/index.shtml)

Q. The Huddle Report ranked you No. 1 for the 2006 draft. Can you take that to your boss?

A. (chuckle) The Morning News likes it but there’s nothing extra in my paycheck – trust me on that.

But it’s in a lot of draft rooms on the day of the draft – I can say that. People are aware of what I do and how I do it.

I also have one of the tougher grade cards – a majority of my grades are C, and some are F. There are only six or seven great drafts in NFL history, so I’m not giving out 20 A’s. Everybody starts with a C. Generally I give out two A’s, one A plus and one A, to the two best drafts. Come January I will re-grade the draft – and I’ll put out my April grade against the January grade. I hold myself accountable – which is not done a lot in this business. I owe it to these people – it’s one of the reasons I’ve got credibility in this league.

Q. How do you build credibility?

A. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I’ve known some of these people for a long time – I knew John Fox when he was an assistant coach at Kansas in the early 80s. One reason I got this job in 1990 was that I knew the young staff at Oklahoma State headed by Jimmy Johnson. So when they hired me I walked in with ready-made sources. One of the problems with the industry today is that young writers coming in want instant gratification. If they take a coach out for dinner they want something they can write about. I knew people ten years before they gave me anything to write about. They know I’m trustworthy and they tell me things. I get a lot of inside information on drafts – information that’s credible – from relationships built up over time. If I started today covering the NFL draft I wouldn’t have that insight. I could devote 24 hours a day for the next year and I wouldn’t come close to what I know from spending three months on it.

Another thing I do is the Special Teams Report. Frank Ganz, the Chief special teams coach in the early 80s, gave me the formula. He gave me 10 categories and I’ve added over the years to where it’s 22 categories. I started doing it on a regular basis when I got to the KC Star in 1986. Most special teams coaches will call me after they’ve been eliminated – it comes out the week after the Super Bowl. It takes a lot of cross checking – we run it on the Sunday of the Pro Bowl – then after that I’m on to the draft. After May 1 I take some time off.

People give me information because I give them back – they benefit from things I have. Most reporters want something – they want information – but when coaches call me I can give them special teams rankings and they can benefit from that. If you’re a personnel director and you want to draft a running back you can call me and ask how I have my running backs stacked. You know I’ve been talking to a lot of people. You’re getting a feel for what other people think.

The week after the regular season I do a chart on ‘games lost by starters due to injury’. I go through each play-by-play chart and figure out which starters were missing and when and how many were based on injury. Now I’m getting calls from trainers. They can take my chart to the club and say “Look, we’ve got one of the healthiest teams in football.” That benefits trainers and strength coaches.

Q. What does it get you?

A. Access. I can e-mail a trainer. I was doing a story on pads and I e-mailed a trainer, and boom, he sent something back. Most clubs won’t let you talk to trainers. But I have access because I have given them something in the past.

This whole business is built on who you know. My network has expanded with special teams coaches and draft rankings and games-lost-by-starters charts. I’ve never wanted to be in a position where people don’t take my call. I don’t call on a weekly basis – I call coaches two or three times a season. They always take my call, partly because they know I might give them something. I chart officiating – penalties called by what crews. I give that to coaches if they ask. So I take but I also give.

Q. How’s the access for media covering the NFL?

A. It’s said. When I covered the Chiefs in the late 1980s – a one-paper town – I had complete run of the building. That was before the NFL declared media the enemy. I could walk wherever I wanted. I remember in 1989 sitting in a room watching the game tape with Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher. Now you can’t even talk to assistant coaches with most teams. One GM said to me “How did this happen?” All of a sudden the idea was to close the media out. The network I built was built on assistant coaches. If I was writing a story on a wide receiver I could go to the wide receiver coach and say “this is what I have” and he could say “you’re off base”. We no longer have that access, which is why some stuff gets into print that’s wrong – there’s no check and balance system. You can’t run it by coaches because they’re denying you access. I learned everything from assistant coaches. They always had time for me – now there is no time.

Q. Why has access been reduced?

A. They don’t need us. Look at the TV numbers. Every seat was sold the first five weeks of the season. They’re getting record ratings. They’ve got NFL.com and NFL network – they’re creating their own media. When Pete Rozelle was commissioner the media was almost a partner. Now they push us aside and say we don’t need you anymore – we don’t need newspapers to write about us. We’ve got NFL.com – our fans can get access that way. Little by little they push us farther away. The pressbox used to be at midfield on the mezzanine level – now it’s at the corner of the stadium or at the top. Luxury boxes have the good positions. It’s tough for guys like me who became a reporter trying to cover the league one way and now you can’t get players or coaches. Lots of times you only get the head coach in a press conference forum. I don’t know if I could have become the NFL writer I became under these ground rules.

How do you develop sources? I always felt developing as head coach or a GM as a source was a waste of time. I got to know the guys coming up and they knew me when they moved on to the NFL. It’s not an instant gratification business. If you want to be good at it you have to invest the time.

Q. How would you describe your writing style?

A. Writers can educate or they can entertain. I’m heavier on the education side. When someone reads a story of mine I want them to say “I didn’t know that”. I do my own research – I’m not part of a notes network.

Dave Smith, who hired me at the Morning News, gave me one of the best bits of advice about quotes. He would say, “You can write it better than they can say it – don’t become hostage to quotes in stories”.

Another thing Smith told me – the backbone of any good newspaper is beat coverage. That was one of the reasons he hired me. I always admired the grinders – so did Dave. You need a strong Cowboys presence in this city. He made sure we had one.

(SMG thanks Rick Gosselin for his cooperation)

Giants use bye to reinvent wheels

12:24 AM CDT on Monday, October 9, 2006

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New York Giants spent September building an identity as a passing team – and losing their identity as a playoff contender.

The defending NFC East champions ranked second in the NFL in passing through the first month of the season but were 1-2 in the standings.

Their bye came in the first week of October, and it gave the Giants two weeks to relocate their true identity. So guess who’s back running the football?

“That’s who we are,” Giants left offensive tackle Luke Petitgout said. “That’s what we do.”

Instead of trying to ride the arm of Eli Manning, the Giants rode the legs of Pro Bowl halfback Tiki Barber to a 19-3 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Barber turned in his best game of the season – 23 carries for 123 yards. It also was the first 100-yard rushing effort allowed by the Redskins in 12 games dating to November, when LaDainian Tomlinson lit them up for 184 yards.

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More importantly, the ability of Barber to gouge the Redskins allowed the Giants to control the ball and keep the clock running. During one stretch at the close of the first half and the start of the second, the Giants snapped the ball on 28 consecutive downs.

New York spent almost 35 minutes on offense, which kept the vaunted Washington offense off the field. The Redskins entered the game with the NFL’s third-rated offense but managed only 10 first downs and 164 yards in 25 minutes.

To succeed against the Redskins, the Giants knew exactly where to run – at the right side of the Washington defensive line manned by undersized end Andre Carter.

The Redskins gave Carter a seven-year, $32.5 million contract in free agency this off-season, including $10 million in bonuses, to rush the passer. But the Giants seemed intent on making him tackle – and he didn’t.

Barber swept left end on the first two plays of the game for 13 total yards and didn’t stop attacking Carter the entire day. Barber gashed the right side of the Washington defense for runs of 18, 13 and 10 yards.

The Giants called 17 running plays at the right side of the Washington line, and Barber gained 102 of his yards. Carter did not make a single tackle in the game.

“I wasn’t paying attention,” said Petitgout, smothering a smirk. “We just ran the play that’s called. Mum’s the word. It’s a long season.”

DRAFT RECAP

Bush finally breaks out

Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy in 2005 for the electricity he brought to college stadiums.

Bush was instant offense for Southern California, which is why the New Orleans Saints grabbed him with the second overall pick of the 2006 NFL draft. He averaged 7.3 yards per rush for the Trojans, 13.6 yards per catch and 12.7 yards per punt return.

Bush was compared to Gale Sayers for his offensive versatility and big-play ability. He averaged a touchdown every 15 touches in his college career and spewed out 93 plays of 20 yards or more.

But the Saints had not seen that electricity in NFL stadiums through the first month of Bush’s career. He managed only two plays of 20-plus yards in his first four games and both were receptions – a 23-yarder against Green Bay in September and a 32-yarder against Carolina in October.

Bush did not score a touchdown in his first 99 touches in the NFL. But touch No. 100 was a doozy. It was what the Saints – and all of New Orleans – had been waiting for.

Bush electrified a sellout home crowd with a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in the waning minutes Sunday, propelling the Saints to a 24-21 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That gave the surprising Saints sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 4-1 record.

The Saints didn’t need Bush to be the focal point of the offense. Deuce McAllister is a veteran Pro Bowler still in his prime. He turned in his first 100-yard rushing game of the season Sunday, pinning 123 yards on the Buccaneers.

Having McAllister gave the Saints the luxury of spotting Bush – like Southern California did with LenDale White.

And Bush has been productive in that capacity. He leads the Saints with 34 catches, including a career-best 11 on Sunday. He also ranks second to McAllister with 170 rushing yards and has been the primary punt returner.

The only thing Bush hadn’t done in his brief NFL career was score a touchdown. Until Sunday.

IN THE HUDDLE

Observations from Week 5:

•Rookie quarterbacks are 0-3 in their NFL starting debuts this season with Arizona’s Matt Leinart and Tampa Bay’s Bruce Gradkowski both losing Sunday. They join Week 4 loser Vince Young of Tennessee. Rookie quarterbacks have lost 11 consecutive starting debuts, including those by No. 1 overall picks Alex Smith in 2005 and Eli Manning in 2004. You have to go all the way back to November 2004 to find a rookie quarterback who won his NFL starting debut. Incredibly, it was Drew Henson of the Cowboys – and he was yanked at halftime of that start.

•The Kansas City Chiefs are in second place of the AFC West with a 2-2 record. But they’d be leading the NFC West at 2-0 with victories the last two weeks over San Francisco and Arizona.

•Speaking of the Chiefs, Larry Johnson saw his streak of 100-yard games come to an end Sunday at Arizona, sort of. For the first time in three games he failed to rush for 100 yards – but he did post his first 100-yard receiving game of the season.

•Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans with 66 seconds left spoiled Chicago’s shutout bid in a 40-7 victory. It also was the first touchdown pass allowed by the Bears this season.

•The Tennessee defense failed to post a sack for the second consecutive week and the third time in four weeks. The Titans have only seven sacks all season – and the inside push is gone with the suspension of tackle Albert Haynesworth.

•Terrell Owens failed to win his homecoming game Sunday against the Eagles, but LaVar Arrington succeeded up the road in New York. Playing against Washington for the first time in his seven-year career, Arrington made one tackle and broke up a pass in the Giants’ 19-3 victory over the Redskins. “We needed to get back on track no matter who we were playing,” Arrington said.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Third missed FG

Neil Rackers was automatic as automatic can be in 2005 when he kicked an NFL-record 40 field goals in 42 attempts for the Arizona Cardinals. But through five games this season he has more misses than he did in all of 2005 – three. He missed two in the second game against Seattle and a third Sunday against Kansas City. All three misses came from beyond 50 yards. Rackers pushed a 51-yarder wide right in the closing seconds that would have sent the game against the Chiefs into overtime.

An Interview with Jay Greenberg

“New York is more competitive and I’ve worked in probably the three most competitive markets in North America. Philadelphia had three dailies for half the time I was there. This takes it to another level – it’s more competitive and cutthroat. The Post and Daily News are out to drive each other out of business.”

“It’s easier to be much more critical in a market like New York than St. Louis or Pittsburgh. There is so much more of a tradition of criticism – it’s accepted that the papers will be tough.”

Jay Greenberg. Interviewed August 17, 2006.

Position: Columnist, New York Post.

Born: 1950, Johnstown, Pa.

Personal: Married, two children

Education: University of Missouri, BJ, 1972.

Career: KC Star 1972-75, Philadelphia Bulletin 1975-78, Philadelphia Daily News 1978-89, Sports Illustrated 1989-91, Toronto Sun 1992-94, New York Post 1994-,

Author of: “Full Spectrum: A History of the Philadelphia Flyers”, 1996

Favorite Restaurant (home): Luchento’s, Englishtown NJ. “All the northern Italian staples, well-seasoned, a lot of fish and chicken options, which is what I eat mostly, and big portions.”

Favorite Restaurant (road): Al’s, St. Louis. “They did the Morton’s thing – no big menu, big tray with the unprepared selections – long before Morton’s.” The Common Plea, Pittsburgh.

Favorite Hotel: Fisherman’s Wharf Marriott, San Francisco.

Jay Greenberg excerpted from the New York Post, July 19, 2006:

BRILLIANT is how Alex Rodriguez self-described his Sunday, when he started a difficult double play to get Jaret Wright out of a first-inning jam, made another throw that trapped a runner in a rundown and hit a two-run homer during a Yankee victory that for one day chased his boo birds away.

But just like the idiots in the beer commercial, Rodriguez’s next bright idea was to sun himself on a blistering Monday in Central Park and wind up shirtless in The Post, several pages ahead of his three errors and 0-for-4 culminating in a bases-loaded strikeout.

“I only laid out for 10 minutes with my daughter and my wife, wish it could have been longer,” said Rodriguez yesterday after joking how good he looked in the picture.

“It can’t be hot enough [for me].

“It’s Central Park, [photographers] are out there every day.

It’s my back yard, what are you going to do?”

Go to his private club would be one suggestion.

Uh, we mean the one with the pool, not with poker tables, or maybe a writer with a tape recorder running while Rodriguez tells the world how much harder it is to be A-Rod than it is to be Derek Jeter.

That was a long time ago in Seattle, but also was the tip of the iceberg of his self-indulgence.

If the guy can’t help himself with the fans with an eighth-inning homer to beat Boston or to win a playoff game, he can at least do the little things that don’t put his common sense in question and draw the target larger on his back.

The Yankees pay Rodriguez $25 million a year to report in optimum condition to do his best, including nights hot enough for the trainers to have posted a reminder about hydration, diet and “limiting workouts.” Being from Miami, Rodriguez probably does have more tolerance of the heat, but to flaunt that leaves he and the Yankees tolerating supposition that he played the game fried. Not what they need, and not what he needs, with so much negativism swirling around him.

Q. Which story of yours triggered the strongest response from readers?

A. I did two Yankee games back to back in July – in the first one Alex Rodriguez made three errors. As I was preparing to do the write-through for the final edition, I get a call from my office. We have a picture of Alex with his shirt off sunning himself in Central Park. I’m to mention that in my piece. It was a scorching day. I didn’t think it was good idea for him to be out there – especially with signs in the locker room to protect yourself from excessive heat. He said he was out there for 15 minutes – the person who sold us the photos said he was out for an hour. He said he was from Miami and loves the heat. I didn’t necessarily draw a connection between his three errors and being out there but it was inferred. There was a lot of negative reaction to story – most people thought it was silly point. People drew comparisons to drugs and all the really bad things he could have been doing. I was surprised at how negative the reaction was – eight or nine to one against.

Q. How do you handle e-mails from fans?

A. I answer it. As long as it’s respectful and someone is making a reasonable point and tries to understand what I was thinking. I think they deserve an answer.

Q. Can you compare working in the New York market to other markets?

A. New York is more competitive and I’ve worked in probably the three most competitive markets in North America. Philadelphia had three dailies for half the time I was there. This takes it to another level – it’s more competitive and cutthroat. The Post and Daily News are out to drive each other out of business. The quality of beat work here is the highest of any place. In Philly I competed against Al Morganti for years – we went at each other pretty hard. You go into the Yankee clubhouse, as soon as it opens people are there watching each other to see who’s going to who. People do not let each other out of their sight.

To a degree the tabloid nature of it accentuates the competitive level. Everybody is looking for the back page and headline. Other places you looked for the story. Here the emphasis is making a headline.

Q. Do beat reporters have to take a different approach than columnists?

A. When I was a beat guy I pulled my punches. As a beat guy you prided yourself on knowing who was playing well and who wasn’t – I wasn’t’ protecting anybody and I was objective about the team. When I did criticize it wasn’t with the edge I do as a columnist because I don’t need them now. I try to be fair. But I’m not as careful as I was about offending people. If they get mad at me they get mad at me. I don’t’ have that kind of scoop pressure that beat guys have. If they are sarcastic and caustic people aren’t going to tell them as much. That’s an occupational hazard of doing a beat. Columnists shouldn’t have to worry about that. Only about making a reasonable point.

Q. Should columnists show up the next day?

A. I can’t always because I do a lot of things. I try to if I’m there. It’s overrated because p.r. guys have our numbers. They can call me if they want to. Or I’ll be there in six days or seven days. It’s amazing how non-confrontational they can be. It’s easier to be much more critical in a market like New York than St. Louis or Pittsburgh. There is so much more of a tradition of criticism – it’s accepted that the papers will be tough. If they’re mad at one guy they’ll talk to the other guy. There are more choices here. They don’t necessarily feel their reputation is being damaged as much.

Q. Is it harder to work in a one-paper town?

A. It might be. Bernie Miklasz (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) has said that. I think it is. There is more of a booster mentality in those towns. I remember doing the Kansas City Scouts. When I was critical there was more of a reaction than in bigger cities. The fans were afraid the team was going to leave town.

Q. How do you get your sports information?

A. I spend at least an hour to two hours reading the New York papers, almost cover to cover. I read all the columns. Game stories I kind of skim. I read the leads of games stories. I look for quotes in game stories, and go online to get later editions. I go online to a degree, but I’m not an internet junkie as much as others. I may read the top 10 on sportspages.com. Sometimes I scan the columns on espn.com.

Eventually I catch up to better pieces in SI. I used to subscribe to Sporting News but dropped it. Too much Nascar, I can’t stand it.

Q. Columnists you admire?

A. Mark Whicker (Orange County Register). I think there are a lot of us very good at what we do but I think he might be the only genius. Ray Ratto (San Francisco) Chronicle).For diplomatic reasons I won’t mention the New York guys. Growing up I thought Roy McHugh in the Pittsburgh Press was good. Joe Posnanski (KC Star) is good. Gene Collier (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) is very good. I like Ian O’Conner (The Journal News, USA Today) and Dave Hyde (Sun-Sentinel).

Q. Beat reporters you admire?

A. George King at the New York Post, the Yankee guy, it’s amazing how much information he gets. Larrry Brooks, our Rangers guy.

Q. Hardest sport to cover?

A. My background is weakest in basketball because I did hockey for years. I don’t have the background in basketball I have in other sports. My greatest degree of comfort is in baseball – which I grew up with – and hockey which I covered for a long time.

Q. Which league or sport is most writer friendly?

A. It probably varies more by teams than by leagues. I used to think that baseball players were most difficult and hockey players were best. But that was probably me. I don’t find baseball players more difficult than other athletes. The NFL has spectacular access at the Super Bowl, but during the season there’s a big drop off. The NFL has more control freak coaches. You get 45 minutes and you’re lucky if the players are there for 15 minutes. From an access standpoint the NFL is probably the worst. Also, in some NBA situations you can’t get in the locker room after the practice.

My biggest lament about all this is I see a big difference from 1972 to now in locker rooms. There’s so much more electronic media, and women are in the locker room. Being able to just talk to a guy while getting dressed is almost gone. They want to be dressed because there are cameras, and women are around. It’s much much more formalized.

Baseball if you get a guy alone before the game other reporters will respect that and not interrupt. But after the game with cameras going and players wanting to get out you’re virtually guided around from player to player wherever the players are.

Q. How does the quality of reporting compare to when you started?

A. It’s better. The quality of sportswriting is so much better. There used to be so much pedestrian writing and borderline cheerleading. Guys were doing beats for 30 years and didn’t want to dig. Even in one-paper towns I don’t see that. Quality of writing and information is just better. People just dig and are much more aggressive.

Q. What are the pros and cons of the sportswriting lifestyle?

A. More nights than most jobs. I think more people take better care of bodies than when I got into business. Alcoholism was more rampant then than now. I don’t’ know of too many problem drinkers now. It takes a patient wife who understands that you’re working a lot of weekend and nights. It’s going to take time away from your kids. I enjoy the travel.

Q. How stressful are deadlines for you?

A. Deadlines do wear on you. Deadlines at the Post are the hardest I’ve had. I was a PM guy in the first part of my career. I had to re-invent myself as a deadline writer. I’ve gotten more comfortable with it, but that is the part I like the least.

My first deadline is 7:30 pm. The second one is 10:45. The last one is midnight to 12:15. The middle one is very hard – writing off the game – we’re expected to write off the game – if your early angle isn’t holding up you have to let it go. When the game goes in another direction in the last two innings those are nights you feel you earn your money. The Idea is to get something half decent for 10:45 and then go to locker room and you put it into English. The clock ticks and it wears on you. I root for fast games. You also learn a second gear. You develop a kind of formula for doing it – mine involves using more quotes – it’s easier to write transitions off the quotes. The moost exciting games for fans are hardest for us. If you have to rewrite on the final edition it’s really stressful.

Q. How many columns per week?

A. Two to four. I’m contracted for four, but space has shrunk considerably. Some weeks I do three or two. I’d like to do more but there just isn’t space.

Q. Can columns double as a column and game story to save space and manpower?

A. There are situations where I’m by myself and I’ll write a game column with more game detail. But for most part if I’m by myself, which happens in football games, I’ll write a game story instead of column. But a game story is so subjective in our paper it’s doesn’t make a lot of difference.

Q. Advice to students?

A. It’s no different now than 20 years ago. Just write and develop a style. Write as much as you can, read as much as you can.

Q. Should students work on both print and electronic skills?

A. There are more electronic outlets now. I’ve always looked at writing as my thing – I don’t speak as well as I write – I’ve never thought of myself as an electronic guy – some do both – some have crossed over for good. I don’t think you have to do both. Radio and TV jobs are more transient – there’s more pressure – if you do a good job writing you’re not going to be as subject to the whims of what you look like and sound like. Writing is a more stable career.

Q. How do you develop sources?

A. Make the calls. Introduce yourself. And just be around. There’s no substitute for working and calling. Develop a trust – don’t betray anybody’s confidence. Now I’m in so many different places. I never developed better sources than I had in hockey. I was a beat guy and I was around. Even today I still have better sources in hockey than anything else.

(SMG thanks Jay Greenberg for his cooperation)

An Interview with Helene Elliott

“At a lot of places the hockey beat is a place to test young writers and see if they can handle something bigger.”

“What bothers me is when people call blogging “citizen journalism.” I’ve seen stuff written about me on blogs that’s just inaccurate.”

“If you are an mlb.com correspondent and you start writing things critical of Bud Selig do you think you would keep your job? It may not be edited by MLB but MLB would remember what you wrote. When it came time to pick the correspondents for next season they would go in another direction.”

Helene Elliott: Interviewed Sept. 12, 2006

Position: Columnist, LA Times

Born: 1956, Brooklyn, NY.

Education: Northwestern, BJ, 1977.

Career: Chicago Sun-Times 1977-79, Newsday 1979-89, LA Times 1989 –

Personal: married

Hobbies: “who has time?”

Favorite sports movies: Pride of the Yankees, Slapshot

Honors: Hockey Hall of Fame, 2005, Elmer Ferguson Award for distinguished writing

Q. Is it true the Times is not covering the Kings and Ducks on the road?

A. Correct. We have a new sports editor (Randy Harvey) who believes that the numbers do not justify the expense and space for hockey in the paper. He sees hockey as a niche sport.

Q. Did you have any input?

A. No. He’s the boss. I’m the worker bee. I was upset. Anytime the sport you cover is downgraded in the eyes of your boss, my reaction was ‘wait a minute, he’s telling me I’m wasting my time’. But when you look at a paper like the LA Times where the sports section has shrunk so badly over the last 10 years or so, and look at all the pro and college teams we have to cram in, plus horse racing, the NFL, Olympics, participatory sports – there’s just so much space and you have to make some tough decisions.

Q. What was the reaction by the NHL?
A. I’m told it was a topic at the recent p.r. meetings for the entire weekend. I covered the Stanley Cup finals this year. Of the 30 teams in the league more than half were not represented by reporters at the finals. Anaheim had nobody. Atlanta, Buffalo – nobody. Boston – only the Globe was there. Columbus wasn’t. Chicago and Colorado – only some of the games. Neither Detroit paper sent a reporter to the finals. Nobody from Newsday, nobody from the New York Post. Nobody from Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Jose, or Washington. Nobody from Tampa Bay – the defending Cup champions.

Q. Breathtaking. What’s the NHL’s spin on it?

A. The league said newspapers aren’t as important as they used to be – they lack immediacy – all this kind of nonsense. They should have been panicked.

We’re seeing shrinking sports sections. When I came out to California there were six or seven department store chains that would buy five to eight pages of ads per week. Now those stores have consolidated, so you don’t have all those stores buying ads. You don’t have the independent car dealerships buying ads. You don’t have the pages and ad space, therefore sections are shrinking. Editors have to make choices. Also, this was an Olympics year. Some papers spent their money going to the Olympics.

Q. Is your NASCAR coverage increasing?

A. Yes. We brought somebody in from the business side specifically to cover it.

Q. Will NASCAR be covered more than hockey?

A. No. The Ducks are going to be good. We’re going to go to more games if they’re in it. Chris Pronger’s first game back in Edmonton – we’ll cover that. Kings coach Marc Crawford’s first game back in Vancouver – we’ll do that.

We have two hockey teams, two basketball teams, USC and UCLA – just to much – plus we cover the NFL extensively. It’s like trying to put 20 tons of fertilizer into a 10-pound bag every day. If I’m the NHL I’m worried about NASCAR – absolutely. I’m worried about a lot of things.

Q. Overall, how is the NHL doing after the lockout?

A. The league still has a lot of problems. The decision to go with OLN as the US cable outlet could be a huge mistake. Commissioner Bettman said OLN gives the league great treatment, but it doesn’t matter if nobody can get OLN. Last spring the Ducks made it to the Western Conference finals but an astonishing percentage of cable homes in Orange County couldn’t get OLN. It had exclusive rights to the conference finals. So the core audience couldn’t watch its home team. That’s incredibly damaging. Plus they came back from the lockout and did all these wonderful rules changes to increase scoring and limit the things that bog down the game and then they go on a stupid ad campaign. They don’t know to market their strength, which is the players.

In many ways the league is where it was before the lockout. It got back its core audience, but it’s facing the same problem it did before – how to get casual fans to become hockey fans. Attendance came back, but that wasn’t the problem, it was TV money and expanding into areas not traditionally hockey areas, in the south and west. It’s getting the casual fan to notice the speed and skill of the game and translate it into TV audience.

Q. Would you advise young journalists to aspire to the hockey beat?

A. We’re seeing in a lot of places that the hockey beat is a jumping-off beat to something better. Jason Laconfora (Washington Post) started as a hockey writer, then was promoted to the Redskins – he’s risen in the star alignment. At my own paper Mike Bresnahan was the Kings writer for a season and was promoted to the Lakers. The Lakers and Dodgers arguable are the top two beats at this paper. At a lot of places the hockey beat is a place to test young writers and see if they can handle something bigger.

Q. How do you feel about that?

A. I don’t know. It is what it is. It’s reality except for Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia and a few other cities. Hockey is not the premier beat, and if you’re an ambitious young reporter you want to be covering the sport and team that gets the most attention. It you’re in a city like Nashville or Columbus where there aren’t that many pro beats it’s a plum assignment.

Q. Why do you cover hockey?

A. I’m a general columnist now. As of Labor Day.

Q. Congratulations.

A. Thank you, I think. I always loved hockey. I found hockey players the best players to deal with – the least spoiled and least selfish. You don’t see NHL players refusing to talk like athletes in some other sports. They’re more accessible, more down to earth, less spoiled by the cult of personality you find in other sports.

Q. How long did you cover hockey?

A. Since 1980 on and off. I was hired by the LA Times as a baseball writer and I did the Angels for three seasons and the Lakers for a season, but I always seemed to go back to hockey.

Q. Your reaction to winning the Hockey Hall of Fame writer’s award?

A. I was stunned. Totally surprised. I never expected it.

Q. Did you have difficulty as a woman covering hockey?

A. Early on I dealt with the locker room issue, but hockey teams were probably among the first to grant equal access to female reporters. For a number of years the Maple Leafs wouldn’t, but even they came around. The players are so good to deal with they don’t care about gender – they’re so happy to get some exposure and get the game out to the public.

Q. As a general columnist will you shy away from hockey columns?

A. No. I did one yesterday (September 11^th) on Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis being killed on Flight 175 out of Boston. During the summer the Ducks signed a kid from the LA area who had played youth hockey in the area – it wasn’t just a hockey column – it was indicative of a trend we’ve seen here, of kids playing the game after Gretzky came here. You see more California kids in college hockey and in the junior leagues in Canada. I’m not going to shy away from hockey columns but I won’t do every column on hockey – there might not be enough going on to warrant that. But if there is a hockey column to do I’d probably get first call on it, as opposed to Plaschke or Adande.

Q. Writers you admire?

A. Phil Hersh of the Chicago Tribune – he’s so versatile and enthusiastic and he finds quirks and angles you don’t see very often. Scott Ostler (SF Chronicle) is clever and an easy read. He’s so funny – you can be funny without trying hard.

Q. Where do you get your information?

A. I’m a newspaper reader. I’m also online quite a bit for out-of-town papers. For hockey I go to the Canadian newspaper websites or TSN, the Canadian TV network. I go to sportspages.com and branch out from there. I’ve got many bookmarks.

Q. What about blogs?

A. Not that many. I go to fan websites sometimes. Depends on how much time I have. You can get too engrossed in blogs and reading when you should be out there talking to people.

Q. Can you characterize the general quality of blogs?

A. It varies really. What bothers me is when people call blogging “citizen journalism.” I’ve seen stuff written about me on blogs that’s just inaccurate. One wrote that I got my job because my father was in the business – my father had nothing to do with journalism. There’s a lot of inaccurate stuff out there. Some are accurate and raise good questions. A reporter wants to know what fans are thinking and asking and going through a fan website can be useful.

Q. Can you name one or two?

A. Letsgokings.com. That’s one I look at about the Kings.

.

Q. Are sports journalists working harder than 25 years ago?

A. I would say so. It’s like being on the job 24/7, if not for the paper then for the website. It used to be if your event finished too late for the paper you could go home and go to sleep. Now you do it for the website. If there’s no room for a notebook or column or feature you do it for the web. There is this eternal search for content.

Plus our job has changed – we’re dealing with labor and contractual matters like the hockey lockout and baseball strike. You have to be able to write economics. You have to know what you know and what you don’t know. Our job probably encompasses more than every before.

On top of that some blog says the Kings or Ducks are doing something and you have to react to that. Or you have to react to the team websites. Or the athletes’ own websites, which they use to make announcements.

Q. Are writers for the league websites doing real journalism? Mlb.com for example?

A. It’s an arm of Major League Baseball. If you are an mlb.com correspondent and you start writing things critical of Bud Selig do you think you would keep your job? It may not be edited by MLB but MLB would remember what you wrote. When it came time to pick the correspondents for next season they would go in another direction.

Q. How should readers approach league sites?

A. With healthy skepticism.

(SMG thanks Helene Elliott for her cooperation)

An Interview with Mark Fainaru-Wada

“Sure, we’ve taken grief for what’s come out publicly about the source situation. I’ve wanted to scream at the top of my lungs to set the record straight.”

“I became obsessed with the story – it took hold of a different part of me…I constantly worried about getting beat – I would wake up paranoid and panicked about getting beat. It became consuming in a way my family was not prepared for.”

“Two times I got mad about the legal thing – once was thinking about being in jail while Bonds broke the record. The other related to my kids.”

Mark Fainaru-Wada: Interviewed on March 13, 2008

Position: investigative reporter, ESPN

Born: 1965, Los Angeles

Education: Northwestern, 1989, BJ

Career: Knoxville News-Sentinel, LA Daily News, The National, Scripps Howard News Service, SF Examiner 1997-2000; SF Chronicle 2000-2007, ESPN, 2007 –

Personal: married, two children

Favorite restaurant (home): Boulevard Restaurant, SF, “favorite spot of my wife and mine – we go there on anniversaries or moments we want to celebrate – the fois gras is great”

Favorite restaurant (away): Aunt Kizzy’s Back Porch, Marina del Ray, Ca., “great southern place in a shopping mall introduced to me by the guys from the San Jose Merc when I was on the Stanford beat”

Favorite hotel: Valley River Inn, Eugene, Oregon “beautiful little hotel right on the river – I stayed there when I was covering the Pac 10 – it’s cool and the food is good”

Author of: Game of Shadows, with Lance Williams

Mark Fainaru-Wada, excerpted from espn.com, March 8, 2008:

…When she returned from Australia, Jones graced the cover of Vogue as the picture of femininity and strength, sporting a form-fitting, sequined red dress. A headline proclaimed her “THE NEW AMERICAN HERO.” Inside, along with photos taken by Annie Leibovitz, a story announced, “Hail Marion: Marion Jones isn’t just the fastest woman in the world — she’s determined to be the greatest female athlete in history.”

Jones is now wearing government-issued garb for telling not one, but two separate sets of lies to federal officials. First, she lied to agents working on the BALCO case about her performance-enhancing drug use. Then she lied to a separate constellation of law-enforcement types about her involvement in an unrelated check fraud scheme.

Perhaps the most stunning aspect about Jones’ dissembling is the extent to which she worked to maintain her public persona, to give her adoring fans the impression that she was a victim. The lies and the attacks on her accusers were relentless, both from her lawyers and from her own mouth, and they revealed a woman whose nerve seemed to know no bounds. That stance four years ago, coupled with her eventual guilty plea last October, has served to cast doubt on just about every other athlete who insists he or she never touched a performance enhancer in their life — including the recent similarly adamant denials from Roger Clemens.

In many ways, Clemens’ tactics in dealing with allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs seem to come straight out of Jones’ playbook. He has forcefully and unequivocally denied that he has ever cheated; he has sued his accuser; he has lobbied politicians and employed a powerful Washington lawyer/strategist. Simply, he has gone on the offensive. And now he’s the target of a perjury investigation led by the FBI.

Jones’ public denials began in earnest in April 2004, when the San Francisco Chronicle published a story linking her to performance enhancers from BALCO. Her attorney, Joseph Burton, called the piece “character assassination of the worst kind.”…

Q. Will there be a sequel to Game of Shadows?

A. No sequel is planned. The story continues obviously, but we’ve done what we’re going to do from a book standpoint. The weird part is that HBO bought the rights to the book, so conceivably there will be a movie. That’s surreal, and really flattering. What’s really encouraging is that they hired Ron Shelton to direct, and he seems really interested. We’ll see what happens.

Q. Who should play you?

A. Nobody. People keep asking that. I’m praying they stick strictly to the book. The more Lance (Williams) and I get asked the more I try to ignore it because it’s too weird. The thing that’s cool is that the story could get told to a broader audience. The guys at HBO like Ross Greenberg seem really interested in talking about the broader issues – the impact of this stuff – and telling the story about the use of these drugs and Rob Garibaldi, the kid who killed himself, and looking at the folks at USADA as heroic. I think they have a grasp on telling the story in more than a sensationalist way.

The whole thing is out of my sphere or knowledge so I’m just stepping back and watching. Every now and then we get e-mailed some questions and we try to provide answers as best we can.

Q. If there were a sequel to Game what would it include?

A. The last update for the paperback was after the ’06 season. Obviously a lot of stuff has happened – the Bonds indictment, the Clemens saga, more Congressional hearings, more revelations about other players. It’s a story that does not seem to want to end even though I keep thinking it’s going to end. It’s a great story, the story of a lifetime and I’ve had a blast covering it and working with Lance. But it would be nice to work on something different after 4 1/2 years of working on the same story.

Q. What would be the end?

A. Good question. I always thought, for our purposes at the Chronicle, Bonds was at the end of the story. It seemed like the natural place where we would stop covering it. The Bonds case would play out and there wasn’t a lot of reason to chase other ancillary parts. Lance went to D.C. to do Clemens, but it’s not like the Chronicle will spend its energy chasing all the angles.

Now that I’ve moved (to ESPN) there’s a desire to continue chasing pieces of it. The question becomes, at what point do you decide ‘okay, we’ve done enough of this, let’s move on to something else’. When TJ (Quinn) and I got hired we recognized we had stuff we could add to ESPN’s coverage and we both hoped we could do stuff together outside of the steroids world. I’ve been there four months and in that time the story just exploded again. I started the day Bonds was indicted and then the Clemens stuff came out. It’s not like it’s slowed down.

Clearly cheating is not going to disappear. And this notion that baseball is clean now that it has a policy – which has plenty of loopholes in it – is a false notion. There are holes in just like there are holes in the NFL policy. Which doesn’t mean you cover these stories non-stop. Bonds and Clemens remain the last two central pieces of the story. After they play out you might have another federal investigation that touches another sport or other big names – just because cheating is so pervasive.

Q. What does it take to be an investigative reporter?

A. A lot of people are more qualified to answer that than I am. You have to have an interest in the area you are covering and be willing to dig and dig. Most good reporters think that way anyway – some people say there’s no difference between an investigative reporter and another reporter. On one level that’s true – we should all be investigating the areas we cover. But at the Chronicle we had a national investigative team that was afforded the time to dig. A huge part is having that commitment from your media entity. At the Chronicle it was ridiculous – they gave us free reign to cover this and other else for four years. It was a major commitment at a time the newspaper was shrinking and resources were scarce. Phil Bronstein recognized the importance of investigative reporting and having the time and energy to do it.

There was no magic to the story we covered. We worked sources the way people work sources. I tend to be anal – when I can call five sources I call ten or twelve. It’s a matter of being patient and continuing to push.

Q. Did the story return enough value to the Chronicle to justify the cost?

A. That’s a good question from a financial standpoint. The Chronicle had one of the biggest circulation declines recently. If that’s a gauge on value I guess people would argue not. We know we lost readers by virtue of people being Bonds fans and canceling subscriptions.

Was it worth it in the journalism sense that we did stories of public interest that weren’t being told and that were part of a discussion of eliciting change? It seems that’s what reporting should be about – informing readers and the public. It sounds Pollyanna-ish at a time when newspapers are bleeding like crazy. It’s not something Lance or I thought about – we just covered the story. Not only did we have the luxury of not thinking about the bottom line, nobody came to us and said we shouldn’t be covering this story, despite being in San Francisco and the Chronicle having marketing connections to the Giants – nobody said boo about that. There was never a question about going ahead with it once we got into the story and saw it was worth it.

Q. What was the impact of the Balco story on your personal life?

A. It was difficult. I’m always loathe to complain – we had a great job and got to do great stories and I wouldn’t change any of it. I felt like I used to have a good balance in my life in terms of work and home. I did investigative in sports and I thought I did relatively decent work but I also had a decent balance about it – I was able to leave m work at the office and get home and spend time with my wife and kids and not be immersed in my job. I wasn’t traveling that much. But when Balco happened that went out the window.

I became obsessed with the story – it took hold of a different part of me. The story was weird, too, because it was an investigative project and also a daily story. It became our beat. I constantly worried about getting beat – I would wake up paranoid and panicked about getting beat. It became consuming in a way my family was not prepared for.

When my wife met me I was in the middle of a break from journalism – I was teaching high school English after the National folded. This wasn’t what she bargained for. She has been incredibly understanding and so has the rest of my family. I’m not complaining. We had a great story to chase and we got to chase it and we had all the support we could want from the paper. Save for the legal crud it’s been a blast.

Q. How did the legal part affect you? (Fainaru-Wada and Williams were sentenced to 18 months in September 2006 for refusing to disclose the source of leaked grand jury testimony. Their sentence was dropped in February 2007 when defense attorney Troy Ellerman admitted that he leaked the information.)

A. I would advise anybody to avoid it all cost. It was the part of this that was sort of surreal. I’m good at denial – I spent a lot of time putting my head down and trying to get through it. The support we got was ridiculously great. The Chronicle was incredible – it spend ungodly amounts of money supporting us. Lance was a steadying force. He’s a calm dry Midwesterner and I’m a somewhat neurotic excitable Californian. He was a steadying force for both of us.

Q. Did you think you would serve time?

A. I’m good at denial. I spent my time not thinking about that happening and hoping it would go away. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I thought about it every day we were facing the subpoena. After the sentencing hearing in September (2006) it became more real to me. I thought the lawyering was remarkable and that Eve Burton, Hearst’s general counsel, was doing everything to make our case. But the law seemed crappy and once we had our sentencing hearing we were going to end up in (jail) after our appeal was exhausted in March.

Two times I got mad about the legal thing – once was thinking about being in jail while Bonds broke the record. The other related to my kids.

Q. Your feelings the day Bonds broke the home run record?

A. I was out of the country on vacation and head about it through an e-mail. It all seemed inevitable to me – at that point it was obvious it was going to happen. There were so many aspects to the way it was playing out. It was obvious fans in San Francisco were embracing it – at least many were.

All of the people who loved Bonds said the story was about us going after Barry. The reality is we were just covering a story that Bonds happened to be central to. He was the most famous athlete in the story and he was directly connected to two men at the heart of the conspiracy. Now he’s subject to a perjury indictment. It’s not like we made Barry part of the story. We never begrudged what he was doing.

Clearly we wouldn’t be talking about a home run record if he hadn’t taken the drugs. Part of this has to do with Barry’s issues with the media and the presumption that the reason for the story is because he’s mad at the media and has been targeted by the media. We’re never going to convince those people that that’s not the case. Of course it’s not personal. We covered a story launched by the federal government. Unfortunately for Bonds it went straight to him.

Q. Play the role of a shrink. Why did Marion Jones and Barry Bonds lie to grand juries while Jason Giambi did not?

A. Interesting question. Lance and I have been loathe to offer opinions on stuff we couldn’t base on facts, so I’m reticent to answer that. I do think, not just about Bonds or Marion, but broadly speaking, that athletes live in an entirely different world than we do. They’re making millions of dollars and being treated as heroes, which is just so far removed from the normal existence of anybody else that perhaps it contributes to why they feel compelled to be defiant in certain ways.

Look at Marion’s stance – it’s so utterly bizarre. Her defiance was so intense she almost believed what she was saying. Part of it was the belief that they were doing nothing wrong. It’s just part and parcel of the way sports are and the way they’ve been treated. That’s a really broad brush. Not that I or anybody else could get inside their head. I mean, here’s Marion Jones, one of the most famous female athletes in the world – a heroic figure to girls everywhere. She’s made millions, and now she’s confronted with the prospect of being exposed as a fraud. I don’t know how any of us would react to that.

Q. What are your thoughts on Troy Ellerman?

A. We never have talked about sources. We made promises and kept those promises.

The one broad thing I’ve said and Lance has said repeatedly is that we got help from a lot of people on the story. It covered four-plus years and there were sources on all sides of the story. One universal thing was the belief that the case was being prosecuted upside down – that the athletes were skating – that the government by treating it like a traditional drug case to get the dealers was missing the point. The athletes were not guys buying crack on corners but multi-millionaires making more millions by virtue of using drugs. People who helped us on those stories universally sent out that message.

It’s very frustrating. Lance is so much better dealing with it than I am. I read too much and take too much personally. Sure, we’ve taken grief for what’s come out publicly about the source situation. I’ve wanted to scream at the top of my lungs to set the record straight. But it’s a combination of our lawyers advising us to talk about what’s important and to not say the wrong things and trying to ensure that the government doesn’t come back down on us.

One thing I know is that the way the story is portrayed in public is not a set of facts I’m familiar with. From the very beginning of the story in September 2003 as we began to contact sources the immediate focus was on (Victor) Conte and (Greg) Anderson and Balco and the athletes receiving immunity. Certainly after the indictments were handed out and the names redacted, our sources were like, “what the hell is going on – athletes should be held accountable.”

Q. That came from all sides?

A. From all sides. We dealt with the government side, the defense side, athletes, agents, others in the case who knew about it – all different spheres of sources are addressed in the story. There was a consistent theme throughout – why on earth are these athletes’ names being protected?

Q. Will you ever be able to write the complete story on how Balco was reported?

A. I don’t know if anybody cares. There are certain people who are interested – some who want to take shots at us about it. Some think it’s about the messenger, but does anybody really care about how we got this person or that person to talk? It’s such an inside baseball kind of thing. I’m happy to talk about it to the extent we can, but for the most part reporters don’t talk about source relationships. We have talked repeatedly about the dynamic of how we got people to talk.

I’m not going to break promises we made or talk about things beyond what we’ve deemed acceptable to talk about. I don’t mean that in a haughty or condescending kind of way. I don’t think you’ll find a reporter who will talk about source relationships. We did what reporters have done forever.

As it related to the grand jury we didn’t break any laws. Nobody accused us of that. We didn’t do anything unethical or immoral. We got truthful stories that were newsworthy and published them, not with careless disregard, because we believed they had value and were truthful.

Q. How much should readers know about sources?

A. It’s important as best you can to reveal as much as you can about sources. Nobody wants to use anonymous sources. It’s not like we wanted to use them to get these stories – we’d love to have people on the record. It’s just not the nature of investigative stories, and certainly not this one. But when you use them you want to tell as much as you possibly can. As a reporter you want to recognize possible biases and motivations.

The important thing is that our stories were based on documents that were part of the federal investigation. Early on in the story we were told by sources that Bonds was using these drugs. Essentially rules were laid down by our editor that we were not going to write a story about Bonds using drugs based on anonymous sources saying he did. It wouldn’t have been fair. We needed to see a document. In this case after the indictments were handed out the government handed over more than 30,000 pages of documents and evidence and discovery to defense attorneys, including 2,000 pages of grand jury testimony. It was material to be used in preparing for trial.

That’s the other sort of legal inside thing our lawyers point out when people say we trampled on Barry’s rights. You go before a grand jury not because you’re promised confidentiality. You go because you are subpoenaed and you promise to tell the truth and there’s a chance that if it goes to trial that stuff will become public. If you talk to the lawyers they all believed it was going to come out. In this case the grand jury had completed its business and had indicted four men. The material was not under a grand jury cloak but was discovery for defense as it prepared its case. That was all part of our process in getting to those documents. It was people wanting a promise of confidentiality because they wanted to whistle-blow on a story playing out behind a curtain.

From Associated Press, February 14, 2007:

SAN FRANCISCO — Attorney Troy Ellerman swore under oath that he wasn’t the source for media leaks of secret grand jury testimony of elite athletes discussing steroids. He even went so far as to blame the government for sharing the transcripts with two San Francisco Chronicle reporters. Ellerman kept quiet for more than two years as the reporters, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, went to the brink of imprisonment for refusing to divulge their source.

And it turned out he was the source all along.

Ellerman, who represented two key figures in the BALCO steroids investigation, admitted in court papers filed Wednesday that he allowed Williams and Fainaru-Wada to view transcripts of the grand jury testimony of baseball stars Barry Bonds
, Jason Giambi
, Gary Sheffield
and sprinter Tim Montgomery.

The Chronicle published stories in 2004 that reported Giambi and Montgomery admitted to the grand jury that they took steroids, while Bonds and Sheffield testified they didn’t knowingly take the drugs. The leaked testimony also was featured prominently in the writers’ book, “Game of Shadows,” which recounts Bonds’ alleged use of steroids.

A federal judge ordered the reporters jailed after they refused to divulge their source, but they have remained free pending an appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ellerman’s plea deal states that federal prosecutors will no longer try to put the reporters in prison, but Williams and Fainaru-Wada still declined to discuss the case.

“As we have said throughout, we don’t discuss issues involving confidential sources,” they said in a joint statement.

Ellerman’s attorney, Scott Tedmon, could not immediately be reached.

Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, called it one of the best possible outcomes for journalism.

“Ultimately, the reporters did not have to go to jail and they did not have to compromise on ethics, and that’s a good thing,” Scheer said. “All the press can promise, and it’s not a lot, is that we’re not going to give you up.”

Ellerman agreed to plead guilty to four felony counts of obstruction of justice and disobeying court orders, and to spend up to two years in prison and pay a $250,000 fine. A judge still has to approve the terms of the plea agreement; no hearing date has been set.

Ellerman briefly represented Victor Conte, the talkative founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative who went to prison for steroid distribution and has long been a prime suspect in the grand jury leaks.

He later represented BALCO vice president James Valente, and it was while preparing Valente’s defense against steroids charges that Ellerman became a key source for the two Chronicle reporters.

Conte and Valente were among five men who pleaded guilty in an earlier phase of the investigation.

“I find the fact that Troy Ellerman has admitted to leaking the BALCO grand jury transcripts to be outrageous,” Conte said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “This man was an officer of the court who was highly paid to provide the services of a criminal defense attorney. Instead, he chose to serve his own agenda and act in a way that was tremendously damaging to his own clients.”

Ellerman, a 44-year-old resident of Woodland Park, Colo., is commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

In March 2004, he signed an agreement that he would not disclose grand jury testimony given to him to prepare the defense. But in June of that year, he allowed Fainaru-Wada to come to his office and take verbatim notes of Montgomery, and the Chronicle published a story about the sprinter’s testimony on June 24, according to court documents.

After telling Judge Susan Illston that he was angry about the leak, he filed a statement with the court swearing that he wasn’t the source. And in October 2004, he filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against Valente because of the leaks.

The following month, he again allowed Fainaru-Wada to take verbatim notes of the grand jury transcripts, this time of the testimony of Bonds, Giambi and Sheffield, the court papers show.

Prosecutors said a “previously unknown witness” they did not identify approached the FBI and offered to help prove that Ellerman was the source.

Larry McCormack, former executive director of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and a private investigator connected to the BALCO investigation, confirmed to The Associated Press late Wednesday that he was the one who tipped off FBI agents.

“Doing illegal things and watching people go to prison behind it and thousand and thousands of dollars being spent on it … I didn’t think it was right. I told Troy that several times,” McCormack said.

“I feel bad for Troy and his family, and I wish he’d never done this to begin with,” he added.

San Francisco U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan said the plea deal should end speculation that his office was a source of the leaks,

“I’ve maintained from the beginning that neither the agents nor the federal prosecutors involved in the BALCO case were the source of any grand jury leaks,” he said. “I’ve always had the utmost confidence in this team’s integrity.”

Besides Conte and Valente, chemist Patrick Arnold, Bonds’ personal trainer Greg Anderson, and track coach Remi Korchemny have all pleaded guilty in the BALCO probe. Korchemny and Valente were sentenced to probation and the others were each sentenced to jail terms no longer than four months.

Bonds has never been charged, but suspicion continues to dog the San Francisco Giants
slugger as he chases baseball’s career home run record.

He told the grand jury he thought Anderson had given him flaxseed oil and arthritic balm, rather than the BALCO steroids known as “The Clear” and “The Cream.” A federal grand jury is investigating him for possible perjury and obstruction of justice charges.

(SMG thanks Mark Fainaru-Wada for his cooperation)

An Interview with Ken Burger

“I’m not a fan of fans… I’m constantly trying to figure out from a sociological standpoint how they get to the point where they care so much…They hook into the images of teams and I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“People wonder what it’s like to be a sportswriter and I tell them it’s not what they think – they think we’re out tailgating. It’s like being the designated driver at happy hour – you’re the guy working when everybody else is partying.”

“When I was a kid the big football players impressed the girls because they were fast and strong and I was none of those. Then I figured out I could write and that’s how I show off. That’s how I seduced all five of my wives.”

“You can’t walk around worrying about the next column – if you do you’ll never find it…I try not to think too much. I just write. It’s all I can do – my wife knows I can’t even change a light bulb.”

Ken Burger: Interviewed on March 23, 2007

Position: Executive Sports Editor and Columnist, Post and Courier, Charleston, SC

Born: 1949, Allendale, SC

Education: University of Georgia, 1973, journalism

Career: The Record, Columbia, SC 1973-79; The State 79-82; public relations 82-83; Charleston Post and Courier 1984 –

Personal: married; three children, one grandchild

Favorite restaurant (home): “any restaurant in Charleston”

Favorite restaurant (road): Waffle House, anywhere in the southeast “you can get in an out in 22 minutes when driving from Birmingham to Charleston – and the food is fine”

Favorite hotel: Holiday Inn Express, anywhere “they’ve got everything you need, they’re new and clean”

Ken Burger’s “A Sobering Trip Through the Madness”, from the Post and Courier, March 18, 2007:

Bars still smell the same.

They still reek of stale beer, Pine-Sol, cigarette smoke and that acrid odor of spent testosterone that hangs in the air like sadness after the fact.

It’s been 9,360 days, give or take a day-at-a-time, since I was a regular. And they’ve definitely gone upscale and added a lot of television screens during my absence.

The advent of wall-to-wall sports has simply added another dimension to the genre. Now there are TVs everywhere you look and people are encouraged to let their particular passions punctuate what once was a quiet, peaceful place to drink.

But underneath, it’s still a bar.

Each day the patrons add another layer to the mix, and on some days it multiplies depending on the rationalization rate. That’s the amount of money you have in your pocket multiplied by the number of reasons you have to drink.

Saturday was the daily-double.

Not only were the sports bars filled with folks watching games, they had the extra incentive of it being St. Patrick’s Day, our national drinking holiday.

All over the Lowcountry, people of all ages spent their Saturday afternoon in sports bars where they could watch our national basketball tournament in high definition on TV screens as big as basketball courts.

Joints today are strictly high-tech. They soften up the brain electronically as well as chemically.

One place had 67 television screens broadcasting every game being played on the planet. All at once.

The owner said his cable bill was $30,000 a year. But worth it. People flock to these places because other people flock to these places.

So I decided to join them.

At least in spirit.

My drink of choice these days is caffeine-free Diet Coke. I know, people look at you funny, but not as funny as when I drank alcohol.

If offered a drink I politely decline. I know better. I don’t have an off button. If I drink I’m likely to wake up a week later in Key West engaged to someone named Sookie.

So I refrain.

And watch.

And listen.

Four sports bars.

Four hours.

Madness, indeed.

All the bars had specials.

Cheap chicken wings.

Half-price pizzas.

Cheap martinis.

Green beer.

It doesn’t take long for all that to take effect. Drunk people become really interesting when they’re in a sensory-overload environment.

Interesting, of course, is a nice word for obnoxious.

Not all of them. Just some of them. Well, enough of them to make you wish Xavier had actually beaten Ohio State in overtime. But you can’t have everything.

This is what being a sports fan has become in America today. It’s all about taunting and high-fiving and fist-pumping and pretending to do play-by-play when you really don’t know what you’re talking about.

It’s about getting the best seat at the bar and wearing your team colors and yelling louder than the guy next to you and letting everybody know that you’re a bigger fan than he is.

Sports bars, in fact, have become the cartoon reality of sports radio. Everything is overdone. Everything is overstated.

But that’s what we like.

That’s who we are.

Well, maybe not all of us.

As I walked out of the last bar, the bright sun temporarily blinded me to the fact that I had just wasted a beautiful afternoon of my life.

Just like the old days.

Q. Why did you write the sports bar column?

A. I needed a column. I’m not on the road doing the playoffs this year – we don’t have a dog in the fight – and with four columns a week I’m always looking for something. Every now and then you think of something that’s not interviewing people – you do some writing. So I was out looking for a column – that’s the answer.

Q. Your thoughts on writing about something as personal as alcoholism?

A. I’ve never had a problem about that. I love this paper and town and readership – they’ve allowed me to be a writer in a town that’s not a big sports town. They’ve given me freedom to write and I’ve never been shy about talking about real life and myself. My readers always respond to my columns about myself – there’s a list of them. I wrote about my bankruptcy and how I finished dead last in my college class.

Q. Your description of sports fans was harsh. Why?

A. I’m not a big fan of fans. I’m not a fan and never have been. I didn’t grow up a sports fan. When I got hired as a sportswriter it was a great fluke of nature. I had never written a sports story. I got out of J-School at Georgia with poor academic performance. I was an alcoholic in college, which makes academic achievement tougher to attain. I was hired as a sportswriter for The Record in Columbia, South Carolina, and it kind of changed my life. Doug Nye, who is still around, hired me because of my writing, not my sports knowledge. I’m not a sports expert to this day.

After six years I got out of sports and became a business writer and a political writer – I was the Washington correspondent for our paper in the mid 1980s. I never thought I’d get back to sports again, but when I came back after two years in Washington they were looking to put me somewhere and I didn’t know exactly where. They wanted to make a change in the sports department and I said that might be fun and they asked if I would like to be the sports editor and I said yeah. I started running a 20-man department but I really wanted to write a column. After a year I was cut loose to write. It’s the perfect job – all I do is write. I don’t have to put the paper out, hire or fire, or design the pages. I don’t have any excuse not to be good at this.

Q. It’s refreshing to hear a sportswriter admit to not liking fans.

A. I’m not a fan of fans. I’m curious about fans. It’s a double-edged sword. I really appreciate their passion – that’s what makes sports great to write about. If they didn’t have passion we wouldn’t have jobs. I really admire and love their passion. But I’m constantly trying to figure out from a sociological standpoint how they get to the point where they care so much. Why do they care so much about what five guys do on a basketball court, or eleven guys on a football field. They hook into the images of teams and I’m still trying to figure it out.

People wonder what it’s like to be a sportswriter and I tell them it’s not what they think – they think we’re out tailgating. It’s like being the designated driver at happy hour – you’re the guy working when everybody else is partying. You see fans at their worst or best, inebriated and their passion runneth over. I pick on ‘em a lot because they’re fun to pick on.

Q. How do your readers take it?

A. Most people think it’s somebody else – it’s the other guy that’s crazy. Their level of behavior is fine. I enjoy all of them – I have a wonderful relationship with readers and fans. This is a big South Carolina Gamecock area – we’ve got Gamecock fans falling off the trees here. I got a call from a Gamecock fan after my first cancer column. He said “We’re Gamecock fans and we don’t agree with what you say but we don’t want you to die or nothin’.”

Q. Tell us about your cancer columns.

A. I’m writing a series on my prostate cancer. I was diagnosed on February 2^nd. I’m 57 and in good health and good shape and then I get a test back. It takes a day or two to get over. Then I went to my editor Bill Hawkins and said I want to write about this. He said are you sure? I said yeah – and this is newsroom humor – “it hits right in our demographic.” It’s a good story if I live and a better one if I die. He understood, being in the business for 30 years.

The response has been truly overwhelming from the four or five columns I’ve written. My wife says I now have another fulltime job, answering e-mails and talking to people. Everybody says it helps them when I write about this and I hope it’s true. I want men to get their check-ups – our stupidity is what kills us.

Q. Your cancer columns are running in the health section – why not the sports section?

A. That decision was made early on. The first one ran 1-A and we decided the rest would be in Health and Science, where they belong. They may not garner the readership of sports or 1-A but people certainly have found them. I’ve got all I can handle with prostates. I’ve heard from everybody who has it throughout the Low Country. It’s like buying a red Corvette and you think you’ve got the only one until you pull up at a light and see three others. I didn’t realize how many others have been through this – and they all want to help and tell stories – and I’m the conduit now.

Q. How many sports columns are you writing now?

A. Three a week, as I move up toward surgery. Surgery is April 17 at Johns Hopkins – they’re taking the prostate out, and hopefully that will be it. I’m doing the Masters and Heritage back-to-back before I go in. Those are my favorite two weeks of the year. I scheduled the surgery after.

Q. How does one become a good writer?

A. I don’t know. I think writers are born. I’ve been in love with writing since I was a young boy, when I wrote poetry and everything I could get my hands on. I was from a small town in rural South Carolina – this was in the segregated south – with dusty roads and the whole thing. I tell my friends I don’t look under the hood to see how it works – it just works. It’s a physical high to sit down and write – writing is the part of my job I enjoy the best. I’m writing when the game is going on because writing is the part I love. Everybody bitches about deadlines but we wouldn’t do this if we didn’t love getting high on adrenaline and getting pumped to do 750 words in 25 minutes and trying to make them sing. They don’t always line up like they’re supposed to but you do your best – I love it. With the power of words you can make somebody cry or laugh.

Thank God they invented the daily newspaper for people like me and Joe Posnanski and Geoff Calkins – we would be like tenor trumpet players – going around scrounging a gig here and there. How about a nut graf? Or a segue graf? I can write you a lead? But because of the paper we have regular jobs and insurance and expense accounts. It’s an amazing thing and I don’t know how it happened to me. You have to be at the right place at the right time with the right stuff, and the stuff can vary depending on where you are.

I get away with what I do because it’s Charleston, SC. I couldn’t do it in New York City. This is not a big pro town where people live and die with the teams. Because of this market I can write about anything. We cover our bases with the college teams and the Panthers, but half of my columns are about anything I want to write about. I’m extremely lucky to have that freedom.

Q. You are known to be more descriptive than opinionated.

A. I can be. I love words. They can do studies about readership but I still think people like to read good writing, whether it’s sports or about prostates. I really enjoy the fact that I get to write about something people want to read, and that they enjoy it. That’s all this is. When I was a kid the big football players impressed the girls because they were fast and strong and I was none of those. Then I figured out I could write and that’s how I show off. That’s how I seduced all five of my wives.

Q. When did you go on the wagon?

A. August 15, 1980. I showed up late and drunk for my daughter Courtney’s third birthday. It wasn’t the first time, and I went to AA the next day. I haven’t had a drink since. But I understand I’m a recovering alcoholic. I don’t preach about it but I do write about it – the human part of it – and people can relate to it.

Lots of people out there have drinking problems and family members with drinking problems – it’s epidemic. I don’t write about it that often but people who have read me a long time know it. Sobriety is the best thing that happened to me – I’d be dead. I was headed down a dead-end road like all alcoholics. It’s just a matter of when they pull up.

Q. Who do you read?

A. Not anybody regularly. I don’t want that to sound like it probably sounds. We all do the same thing differently. I know most of the columnists around the country – I’ve met this great fraternity of writers, all trying to do it the best they can. My way is a little different because I don’t know much about sports and don’t try to be an expert. I read other people’s columns when I’m in their towns.

Q. Where does your inspiration come from?

A. No idea. When you’re a columnist you’re always looking for a column, 24 hours a day. I’ll be driving down the road, or whenever, and sometimes it’s just a word, or a turn of phrase, or an event, that spurs an idea. I try to find some meaning in all of this. That sounds big time, but there’s got to be some lessons in this, some meaning.

We’re all a bit of a poet and philosopher. I used to think anybody can do it, but now I don’t think so. You have to have a voice that comes from somewhere. I just don’t look under the hood too much because I might screw it up.

Red Smith said, “God is good, God will provide.” My philosophy on writing is you don’t ever panic in this business. You can’t walk around worrying about the next column – if you do you’ll never find it. You have to trust that something will happen or some issue will come up, and if all else fails just write the hell out of something – write the most beautiful thing anybody ever read. I just start it up and let it go. I think you can over-think your talent. I try not to think too much. I just write. It’s all I can do – my wife knows I can’t even change a light bulb.

I wrote a column about living in a world of writers, a descriptive piece about the world we live in. It was kind of fun to write – I heard from a lot of writers. I’m flattered that a number of my peers check on my column now and then. The most flattering thing in this business is if another writer says you are a good writer, because another writer knows.

(SMG thanks Ken Burger for his cooperation)

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Ken Burger is a native of Allendale, S.C., and a graduate of the University of Georgia. In the mid-1980s, Burger was the Washington, D.C., correspondent for the paper. He has been executive sports editor since 1987, writing an award-winning sports column that has been hailed as the best in the country by the Associated Press Sports Editors three times. He has been named South Carolina Sportswriter of the Year several times and in 1999 was honored as South Carolina Journalist of the Year.