“No Chance” for Mercy for Reporter

Even before Sunday night’s game between the Cubs and Cardinals was postponed due to the death of Cardinals’ pitcher Josh Hancock, the series had gotten off to a rocky start as early as Friday morning. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch article poked fun at the Cubs’ history of futility and declared that they had “no chance” of ever winning the World Series. Cardinals’ manager Tony LaRussa took exception to the article and refused to answer any questions from the Post-Dispatch reporters during a press briefing later that afternoon. During the war of words that followed, the P-D writer denied any wrongdoing, and instead, put all the blame on his editor. “I don’t assign the stories,” he said. “I’m only doing my job.”

First of all, slamming any team, even if it is meant to be light-hearted fun, is poor judgment. Both the writer and his editor should take responsibility for that. But what bothered me more was the reporter’s snotty and arrogant attitude during the press briefing. I have some words of advice for this guy: As long as your byline appears in the column, you are responsible for everything you write. Wiping your hands clean and putting all the blame on your boss or editor is irresponsible.

Sports reporting is a tough job. So just do what your mom told you to: play nice.

Me and "My Boys"

I don’t watch much TV and generally don’t watch sitcoms, but I actually found one I could relate to. “My Boys,” which premiered on TBS last night, centers on a young, cute female sports writer named P.J. who covers the Chicago Cubs for the Chicago Sun-Times. Her closest friends are guys, and when the gang gets together to play poker or drink beer, they talk about dating and relationships. But despite her looks, her male friends, and her job as a sports reporter, P.J. has a hard time meeting guys to date. When I saw the previews for the show, I thought, “My God, this is me. This is my life.” Naturally, I had to tune in to see what the show is about.

There’s a lot of voiceover commentary throughout the show, and P.J. tries to draw comparisons between dating and baseball. Some comparisons are a bit of a stretch. Others, however, do make sense, such as trying to read signs of interest from a potential date much like reading the signs a coach is giving a player whether to steal base or not. If you miss the sign, chances are you’re thrown out at second base or picked off at first. Neither is a promising way to get a relationship off and running, if you get my meaning.

P.J. is a character I can relate to. We both love sports, and like P.J., my closest pals and baseball buddies are guys. While we don’t get together to drink beer and play poker, we have learned much from each other about relationships. And like P.J., it’s a lot easier for me to talk to a guy about sports than it is to, well, reach first base.

When she meets Bobby, the new beat reporter for the Chicago Tribune in the first episode, there is an immediate attraction, and viewers follow their awkward relationship through the ensuing episodes.

However, the show does lack logic and realism at times. For example, as a beat reporter, P.J. probably would be interviewing the players and coaches before or after the game, but we never see her doing that. When she shoots the bull with the other beat reporters after a game, they don’t talk about the game or the players. I would think that would be part of the day-to-day business of sports writing. I know it would be in my world. And wouldn’t a beat reporter travel with the team to cover road games? The show has yet to cover that. It’ll be interesting to see how the show’s writers attempt to handle the difficulties of dating, let alone having a social life, while you’re on the road most of the time.

Also, during the first episode, she and her guy friends get together to watch a Bears game on TV. Obviously, it has to be September, right? We all know it can’t be later than that because the Cubs never play in October. So if it’s September, why would any major newspaper start a new beat reporter at the end of the season? Why not introduce the Bobby character at the beginning of the baseball season, or even better, in spring training? Why introduce the story and these characters when the baseball season is nearing an end? How will the show’s writers handle P.J.’s off-season when she’s not at Wrigley Field covering her beat? It seems more logical to begin the show and story line during spring training.

Overall, I think “My Boys” has great potential, and I like the premise of the show. But it does need some tweaking. While the characters are fairly well developed, I’d like to see a little more depth to them. The writing is a bit weak, and some of the conversations among P.J. and her friends seem stilted at times. Yet there is an undeniable charm about this show. Besides, the guy who plays P.J.’s college friend Brendan is an absolute hottie.

All Quiet on the Sidelines

I always thought it would be fun to be a sideline reporter for a football or baseball game – to be closer to the action on the field, interview players and coaches and be a part of a live televised sporting event.

While sideline reporters have become commonplace on most network broadcasts, particularly ESPN, it’s been all but eliminated on CBS, according to a report on Chicago Tribune. After Bonnie Bernstein left the network after last season, CBS decided not to replace her. So there has been no sideline reporter for NFL games on CBS this season.

CBS Sports President Sean McManus says the move is intended to put the focus back on the broadcasters in the booth. He added that his crews have access to the same information as the sideline reporters and get all the information they need from the NFL and the teams. “To hear a sideline reporter say something the analyst also has access to, we thought that takes away from the overall presentation. If I want to hear a perspective on the game, I’d prefer to hear it from Phil Simms than a sideline reporter.”

Bernstein says the first inclination is to take it personally, but “ultimately, you have to view it as a business decision. A good sideline reporter, if you keep your eyes and ears open, can offer some valuable insights,” she says.

McManus thinks most viewers have not noticed. He’s probably right. I know I haven’t noticed, but then I watch most of the pro games on Fox.