Today in Great Sportswriting
As The Greatest Generation of sportswriters continues to lament the advent of sports bloggers, those unschooled nihilists who care not a whit for the word-smithing craft, I've often wondered exactly which Hemingways and Dostoevskys these sports bloggers are up against. Thus, I introduce a feature that will be repeated as often as I remember to repeat it: Today in Great Sportswriting, featuring the sort of crafty word-smithing that The Greatest Generation believes should satisfy the masses.
As always, I'll note that I'm not trying to be overly cruel, that I've written reams of swill in my day and will soon write reams more, and that there are hundreds if not thousands of sports bloggers who make Albom seem like Faulkner. Still, The Greatest Generation doesn't get to make this into a duel between Bill Plaschke and some illiterate 8th grade basement dweller, because Team Paper & Ink's roster goes a lot deeper than that.
Today's entry:
AURELIAN SPRINGS - Northwest Halifax junior Britney Whitehead drove up, got out of her car, put on her spikes, grabbed her iPod and was ready to go to work.
Although she had just left a three-hour band practice, Whitehead quickly turned her attention to the track. Not to mention that she forgot her practice clothes and had to run with pants on.
Whitehead took her instructions from Vikings track coach Mike Bebe and got down to business.
That's the type of focus and determination that got Whitehead to the North Carolina 2A Track and Field Championship this Friday in Greensboro on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.
Ha! A focused, musically inclined track star who runs with her pants on! Your move, sports bloggers!
By Dan Steinberg |
May 9, 2008; 10:53 AM ET
| Category:
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Posted by: DBKAlum | May 9, 2008 11:05 AM
You've made my heart proud with your commitment to HBCU sports, my friend.
Posted by: StetSports.com | May 9, 2008 11:50 AM
"Although she had just left a three-hour band practice, Whitehead quickly turned her attention to the track. Not to mention that she forgot her practice clothes and had to run with pants on."
Maybe I just completely misunderstand the proper use of "not to mention," but this article reads like the author wrote 10 independent sentences on notecards, shuffled them up in a random order, and then typed them in the sequence that came up.
Posted by: mrlogical | May 9, 2008 11:52 AM
I think you should remember to repeat this feature only when there is an actual debate going on between MSM writers and sports bloggers. To brazenly mix metaphors, it's like flogging the dead horse that is your dying medium.
Unless you really want someone to start a blog dedicated to mocking the Post. Then you can do this all the time.
Posted by: Lindemann | May 9, 2008 11:59 AM
To the contrary, I think this could become my favorite recurring feature around here.
Posted by: DevilGrad | May 9, 2008 12:42 PM
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26424271@N02/?saved=1
People waiting around block to get into Papa Johns.
Posted by: clevelandsucks | May 9, 2008 1:46 PM
I LOLed.
Posted by: Kid Bro Sweetz | May 9, 2008 2:10 PM
Tremendous.
Posted by: Chest Rockwell | May 9, 2008 3:16 PM
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It's still better than a KSK dick joke.