SPORTS AND POLITICS, TAKE TWO….Is the deep subject area expertise of sports writers a good model for political reporters to aspire to? I say no, and today a Genuine Scientist has my back:
I’m pretty much with Kevin on this, though his comment does remind me of the one good purpose served by shows like ESPN’s Around the Horn: namely, as a reality check.
….It’s good to watch every now and again….because it’s a reminder about the real quality of punditry. When you hear Woody Paige or Jay Marriotti say something jaw-droppingly asinine about Barry Bonds or Tiger Woods or whoever, remember that these guys are at the very top of their profession.
And the next time you find yourself getting torqued off by the latest from Krauthammer, or Brooks, or Hitchens, or Dowd, or whoever, remember that they occupy exactly the same position within their profession that the yammering jackasses on Around the Horn do in theirs. And their grand pronouncements about How Things Are are exactly as meaningful and useful as Woody Paige’s thoughts about instant replay.
OK, I admit this is pretty far afield. We’ve gone from baseball to all of sports, and from reporting to punditry. But I haven’t linked to Chad in a while, and I figured this was a good chance. Go read the whole post, and then stick around and catch up on the latest doings in the world of physics. He’s even got geeky polls!
