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May
3 - Let me be the first to say that Paul Attner is the man.
Last week he gave NFL fans a great look inside Green Bay's NFL Draft
war room and this week he provides an outstanding story on John
Elway's retirement.
April 12 - If you're not like my partner, Randy, who spends more time preparing for the NFL Draft each year than he does his own taxes, but you like to know potential sleepers and team needs before next Saturday's NFL guessing game, then this week's The Sporting News is for you. TSN breaks down and ranks nearly 200 players by position, gives each team's needs and wish list, and provides features on possible No. 1 pick Tim Couch and on why certain teams have better luck in the draft's middle rounds. Overall, it's an excellent primer for all football fans - those, like Randy, who have been doing mock drafts since January as well as those, like anyone else with a life, who have a casual interest in the draft. Kudos to TSN for continuing its comprehensive draft coverage this year, despite publishing its first draft guide a month ago. It's nice to see that TSN doesn't force its subscribers to buy a separate edition to get complete coverage of an event, which SI did in January when Jordan retired. [Click here to read Randy's review of TSN's draft guide.] There are, though, other noteworthy stories this week, such as a revealing interview with Piston Grant Hill, who talks about his relationship with Christian Laettner, his role during the lockout and his popularity (or lack there of) in Detroit. Michael Knisley also profiles Rockie third baseman Vinny Castilla, one of the game's most underrated players. That article was good; however, I was a little disappointed in Dennis Tuttle's look at filling out the lineup card. It wasn't quite as insightful as other articles that TSN has deemed "See A Different Game." Grade: A-. (George) April
5 - UConn's Jake Voskuhl and Duke's Elton Brand are on the cover
but the best articles in this week's The Sporting Newsare the first
person piece about Ricky Williams and Steve Harrison's story
on troubled McNeese State back Cecil Collins.
Grade: B+ (Randy) March 29 - In an issue that includes outstanding NCAA Men's Tournament coverage and a solid baseball preview, the best article this week is Michael Bradley's look at performance institutes for potential NFL draftees. Bradley follows former Michigan tight end Jerame Tuman as he tries to improve his speed, strength and agility in order to improve his standing with NFL scouts. Bradley describes Tuman's untraditional but effective workouts and then documents his success. But while Tuman has bettered his speed, strength and agility numbers, the ultimate grade will be if he improves his draft position. Overall, another excellent "See A Different Game" story by TSN. The Sporting News also does a good job previewing the NCAA Final Four and reviewing each regional (cough, cough, Sports Illustrated). TSN sees who can beat Duke in the Final Four, in an article similar to but more analytical than SI's this week. The magazine then provides notes and tidbits from each region, including an all-region team from each of the four locations. Again, though, my only complaint, echoing Randy's remarks last week, is that the magazine only devotes a third of a page to the NCAA women's tournament. This surprises me, considering that TSN often devoted one, two or more pages to the women's game throughout the regular season. As for the baseball preview, the best story is Michael Knisley's look at how Brave pitchers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux often get the benefit of the doubt from home plate umpires. While I enjoyed Knisley's work here, I was disappointed by his shabby season preview article. However, I was most disappointed in Mark Bonavita's examination of baseball's five-tool players. I found it condescending and tedious at times. For each of the five tools (hitting for average, hitting for power, running speed, arm strength and fielding ability), Bonavita gives a four-paragraph example to show the benefit of that tool. Like any average baseball fan needs to be told of the advantage of having Mark McGwire (named No. 1 player under hitting for power) at bat with two men on, one out and down by two runs. Bonavita should have focused more of his energy in describing what scouts look for in prospective five-tool players than in giving long, tedious and unnecessary examples of the benefits of being good in a certain tool. Finally, the magazine spends a half-page adequately previewing each team. For the record, TSN's Peter Schmuck predicts a Dodger-Yankees World Series but doesn't give a winner. Grade: B+ (George)
March 22 - This week's TSN features Don
Markus' unique look at the happenings in each regional.
Grade: B+ (More great stuff.) (Randy) March
15 - As true sports fans might expect, the best preview of
the NCAA tournament comes from The Sporting News.
Grade: B+ (Randy)
March 8 - The latest edition of The Sporting
News offers the best preview of the NCAA tournament.
Grade: B+ (Randy)
March 1 - This week's issue features an
outstanding cover piece with Bill Russell and Shaquille O'Neal
talking about life in the paint.
Grade: A ( Randy) Feb.
22 - This week's cover story is a Larry Wigge piece about Buffalo
Sabres goaltender extraordinaire Dominik Hasek. The article
is interesting and talks extensively about Hasek's unique style
between the pipes but doesn't provide a full picture of this great
athlete. Grade: B- (Randy)
Feb. 15 - With pitchers and catchers
preparing to report, The Sporting News again shows why it's baseball
coverage is the most unique of any publication. Grade: B. (Randy) Feb. 8 - Last week’s Super Bowl and this week’s NBA preview dominate this outstanding issue of The Sporting News. TSN does an excellent job reviewing last week’s big game and its implications. NFL senior writer Paul Attner explains how the Broncos, Falcons and the Jets are examples of the new NFL - one dominated by free agency and the "Czar Coach." It is an excellent analysis on the state of the league and even gives hope to fans of the NFL’s worst teams, such as my Eagles. However, if you desire more insight on the game, Dan Pompei does a great job of figuring out what went right for Denver and what went wrong for Atlanta, while Chris Jenkins forecasts the 1999 season for both teams. Pompei also neatly and effectively breaks down the top five quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL draft. But while the Super Bowl coverage is terrific, the real reason to buy this issue is for the NBA preview. If you are like me and are only now realizing that the season hasn’t started yet, that Michael Jordan has retired and that Latrell Sprewell is in New York, then this magazine is for you because it will bring you up to speed quicker than this year’s NBA preseason. TSN spends a half-page on each team, providing its schedule, roster and coach’s wish list. It also determines each team’s good and bad features, player on the spot and bottom line. Plus, it ranks the teams from No. 1 (Indiana) to No. 29 (L.A. Clippers), which are only two spots up from defending champ Chicago Bulls at No. 27. If that was all, that would be enough. However, this week’s issue also includes the seven winners and losers in the NBA’s short, frenetic offseason; a look at what you can expect this upcoming season from AQB favorite, Dave D’Alessandro; and an interesting interview with the new Rocket, Scottie Pippen, who says “I’m not going to miss the triangle,” which was the base offense for six championship Bull teams. And, as an announcer on a knife commercial might say, “But wait, there’s more!” TSN allows Mike Keenan, in his weekly NHL column, to question the timing of his firing as Vancouver coach, which was days after the Pavel Bure trade. In the intriguing column, Keenan writes “I just can’t understand why the Canucks decided to fire me at this time” but says nothing about the fact that only four teams have fewer wins than Vancouver. Also, Michael Bradley and Mike DeCourcy continue TSN’s fine college basketball coverage this season with Bradley’s piece on what makes a point guard great (he names Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves this year’s best) and DeCourcy’s column on the “down” year in college basketball. Grade: A+. (George) Feb. 1 - The Sporting News’ Super Bowl preview is adequate, highlighted by a terrific article on Denver coach Mike Shanahan. Senior writer Paul Attner describes how the rather conservative-looking Shanahan loves to play hard, which includes bungee jumping, cliff diving and race car driving. It is the best thing I have read about Shanahan this year. The rest of the preview is average. There is a decent story on Chris Chandler and a breakdown of Super Bowl XXXIII, which includes looks on what to expect when each team has the ball; predictions from TSN, Bill Walsh and Dallas Morning News writer Tim Cowlishaw; and X factors and special team matchups. Overall, it is a solid but not overwhelming effort. [Note: There is nothing specific on Bronco quarterback John Elway, despite being on the cover of this week's issue. Sure, he is mentioned in the Shanahan piece and in the Super Bowl Breakdown, but there is no separate article on him like there is on Chandler, who also adorns the front.] As for the rest of the magazine, the best story is the list of the 10 most overrated players and the 10 most underrated in the NBA. The list includes four Knicks - two overrated (Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson) and two underrated (Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell). While the story is fine, I wish it was written by TSN basketball writer Dave D’Alessandro, whom I prefer over any other basketball writer. For the record, New York writer Jeff Ryan has the byline. Finally, the magazine includes other decent but unexciting articles on Louisville’s decent start in college basketball this year, the unheralded career of Kings’ Luc Robitaille and the predictable letdown for the Cubs in 1999. What’s missing: The magazine, which tends to focus exclusively on the four major sports, ignores two huge sports stories from the previous week - the growing Olympic scandal and David Duval’s 59 in the final round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. While the magazine still may - or, rather, should - do something about the Olympic mess soon, TSN has to figure out how it can incorporate important deadline-breaking news on a nonmajor sport into the magazine. Right now, there doesn’t appear to be an easy place where TSN can neatly insert an item on something like Duval's amazing performance in its magazine without it looking out of place. Until it can do that and give proper coverage to the nonmajor sports, The Sporting News will always be a step behind Sports Illustrated. [Note: Next week is TSN's NBA preview.] Grade: B. A solid but not overwhelming Super Bowl preview. (George) Jan.
25 - Imagine my shock in picking up this week's Sporting News
and seeing Michael Jordan on the cover. Where is the football? Isn't
the Bowl on its way?
Other features of this week's issue include TSN's NFL Awards; fine football articles by Paul Attner (Falcons-Vikings) and Dan Pompei (Broncos-Jets); and Mike DeCourcy's college basketball column. Grade: B. Not bad. (Randy) Jan. 18 - Mike DeCourcy’s college basketball midseason report is the star of this week’s The Sporting News. If you have been too busy following the NBA (sic) and haven’t been keeping up with college hoops, this is an excellent primer on what you have missed. DeCourcy lists the surprises, disappointments, best moments, odd moments and provides a midseason mock 64-team bracket. He also takes the NCAA to task for not doing a better promoting the game, especially during the NBA lockout. A great job by DeCourcy and a great read for hoop fans - even if you have been watching a lot of college basketball this season. As for the pro players, TSN’s coverage of the NBA settlement was mixed. (Michael Jordan’s obviously retirement earlier this week obviously occurred after the issue was “put to bed.”) The magazine nicely started to stretch out readers’ NBA memories, which have been dormant for seven months, and get the basketball blood flowing by asking and answering (or at least trying to) three questions on each team. It was a nice way to jump back into the NBA swing of things. However, TSN didn’t provide a wrap-up of the settlement and what its implications are. In his “From the Editor,” Editorial Director John Rawlings wrote, “I could not have been less interested in the details of the bargaining between players and owners, and we reported only what we had to because I think most of you feel the same way.” I agree - to a point. I could care less about the minimum that a five-year veteran can make in 2001. However, I would have liked some perspective on the new NBA world that this agreement created. Will there be many free agents changing teams in the future? Will the players grow frustrated by a cap on individual salaries? Will the league be composed of a third of the players making the maximum, a third making the minimum and a third in between? I wasn’t looking for analysis of the agreement; rather, I wanted analysis of the future that the agreement will create. TSN’s NBA writer Dave D’Alessandro, whom I really enjoy, did have a great line about the upcoming free-agent period. “The league [NBA] will announce to the world what the new rules are pertaining to the free-agent market, which will be like explaining non-Euclidean geometry to a field mouse.” As for the rest of magazine, the NFL playoff coverage was satisfactory and included this interesting line from Dan Pompei. “If [Falcons coach Dan] Reeves survived the second-quarter officiating debacle without palpitations, he probably could survive a night with supermodel Heidi Klum.” Heidi Klum was on the cover of last year’s Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue (don’t ask how I remembered that). Of all the beautiful woman in the world that Pompei could have picked for that line, he choose an SI cover girl. I don’t know what that means, but I just found it interesting. Pompei later has a good column about if Mike Singletary or Matt Millen have what it takes to run a team. Speaking of columns, Bill Plaschke’s predictions for the beginning of the NBA season was very enjoyable. Finally, I found Mark Emmons’ look at muscle-building in baseball very odd. First, the timing (middle of January) is weird. Second, his contacts are even more suspect. He spends much of the article talking weights with the Angels’ strength and conditioning coach, Tom Wilson. Talking to a team’s strength and conditioning coach isn’t bad, the problem is talking to the Angels' strength and conditioning coach. Anaheim's past couple of seasons have fallen apart because of injuries, and the article never mentions any possible link - true or not - between the weight room and the team's rash of injuries. Oh, by the way, Emmons writes for the Orange County Register in California... Grade: C+. (George) Jan. 11 - The Sporting News impressed me this week with its amount of coverage on Monday night’s Fiesta Bowl. Although the long, penalty-filled game didn’t get over until Tuesday on the East Coast, TSN had plenty of postgame pictures, including the cover shot of Tennessee coach Phillip Fullmer holding the trophy and an emotional embrace between boyhood buddies Roland Seymour of Florida State and Raynoch Thompson of Tennessee. Tom Dienhart’s well-done story not only describes how Tennessee beat Florida State this week but also how the Vols won the national championship this season. Besides its Fiesta Bowl coverage, TSN also reviewed the other three Bowl Championship Series bowls, previewed next season and presented its college notes. Overall, TSN did a better job covering college football this week - and this season - than Sports Illustrated. As for the rest of the issue, TSN’s two stories on wild-card weekend in the NFL look ahead to this week’s games as much as they look back to last week’s. Neither one, though, is essential reading. Another nonessential item is TSN’s list of the 23 reasons why you should be suffering NBA withdrawal. The list is as obvious as the reason why the magazine chose the number 23. Of course, now with the settlement, the article should be 23 reasons to return to the NBA. A few good reads include Mike DeCourcy’s column on the resurgence of the Big Ten; Terry Hutchens’ look at Indiana’s basketball team, which for a change talks more about the players than about Bobby Knight; and Mike Keenan’s short introspective piece on whether he should be fired. Finally, TSN covers women’s college basketball - with its weekly top 25 and notes - better than the other magazines on this page and proves it again this week with its preview of the Tennessee-Connecticut game Sunday. Now if we can just get an article about the women’s game that doesn’t include Tennessee or Connecticut... Grade: B. Excellent Fiesta Bowl coverage in an otherwise thin issue. (George) Jan. 4 - The best article in this week's thin holiday week issue is a profile of Flyer center Eric Lindros, which follows Sports Illustrated's look last week. While SI focused more on Lindros, TSN suggests that both the team and Lindros' clan are at fault and that they need to work with, not against, each other. A good read from Jay Greenberg, who writes for the New York Post but used to write in Philadelphia. Another interesting article is Lenn Robbins' piece on Mike Jarvis and the surprising St. John's basketball team, which has improved despite losing two of its best players, Felipe Lopez and Zendon Hamilton. But other than that, it's a fairly quit issue. The NFL playoff preview and Peter Schmuck's examination of baseball's offseason winners and losers were predictable and uninsightful. The only other worthwhile reads are a few columns, such as Chris Jenkins on Viking coach Dennis Green, Mark Blaudscun's college football holiday gifts and Larry Wigge on the Coyotes surprising start. Grade: B-. Re-read last week's issue. Dec. 28 - This week's issue is dominated by a comprehensive 25-page bowl preview. If you are a college football fan, this issue is a must! It has previews to every bowl game, devoting a page each to the Sugar, Rose and Orange and 10 pages to the Fiesta Bowl. TSN breaks down every matchup between Tennesse and Florida State, and provides commentary on every starter on the two teams. If you plan on spending a lot of time during the holidays in front of the television watching the bowls, then get this issue and keep it close by throughout the playoffs. It is the most comprehensive bowl preview, other than AQB's Saturday Selections, of course! And if you want more from TSN, the magazine provides even more coverage of the lesser bowls at its website. While you refer to the magazine's bowl previews, there are a couple other good articles to check out, such as Don Markus' look at Rhode Island's Lamar Odom, who has taken the hard road to college hoops, and his coach, Jim Harrick, who has been reborn in Kingston, R.I. Markus did a nice job telling Odom's story, but I thought he glossed over Harrick's abrupt departure from UCLA over an improperly filled-out expense report. TSN featured Odom because he is one of its six players to watch in 1999, joining Dolphin cornerbacks Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison, Cardinal J.D. Drew, Cavalier Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Panther Ed Jovanovski and Nittany Lion linebacker LaVar Arrington. The list is interesting and highly subjective, but I liked the fact that the magazine reviewed and analyzed its choices for 1998. The kind of accountability impresses me. Another solid article is Paul Attner's examination of Vinny and the Jets (Are you tired of that phrase yet?). Attner describes how the Jet quarterback and the team have changed the league's perception of them and mentions that Testaverde eats with his parents at the old family home on most Tuesdays. Also, Dave D'Alessandro writes a funny column about the pearls of wisdom that those involved in the NBA lockout have said. To be honest, I'm not following the lockout that closely because I expect it to get settled near the deadline, whenever that may be. However, I have enjoyed reading D'Alessandro's columns, which have been informative and entertaining throughout the lockout. Finally, TSN provides a mock 64-team bracket for all those college basketball fans who can't wait until March. Grade: A. A nice Christmas present from TSN. Dec. 21 - The Sporting News made news this week by naming Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as its "Sportsmen of the Year." But so did Sports Illustrated. And as SI has done all year, it covered Sosa and McGwire better this week. (If you don't believe me, see Randy's glowing review above). That's not to say that Dave Kindred's story on McGwire and Sosa is poorly written. It's not. But it is more of the same old stuff - how great these two guys are, what a magical season it was and how baseball is now back. The only thing I gained from reading this week's piece was that McGwire wasn't surprised that Sosa won the MVP award but was surprised that he won it so convincingly. ("I thought it should have been closer than 30-2," McGwire said in the story.) Throughout the home run chase, Randy and I often noted the better job SI was doing in covering McGwire and Sosa. To see some examples of that, check out our reviews of TSN's Sept. 14 and 21 issues, as well as SI's Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 issues. If you want to see Kindred at his most effective, read his tribute to the late Archie Moore on the inside back page. Kindred's insightful stories and Moore's probing picture (he is staring straight at the reader) brings life to a man unknown to many young boxing fans but respected by older ones. Actually, everything but the Sportsmen of the Year story is very good this week. Chris Jenkins does an excellent job explaining the lessons that other teams learned from last week's Bronco loss. He effectively breaks down what the Giants did on offense and defense to give Denver its first loss in 19 games. Jenkins' article is much better than the game story found in this week's SI. Other stories well-worth reading include Steve Harrison's profile of the four Pitino protégés now coaching in college basketball, Larry Wigge's analysis of the best lines in the NHL (he continues his Flyer bashing) and Kirk Bohls' look at the tough road ahead for the new Oklahoma football coach, Bob Stoops. Grade: B. Read everything but the McGwire/Sosa story. (George) Dec. 14 - The Sporting News' annual list of the 100 most powerful people in sports dominates this week's issue, with the No. 1 slot going to Rupert Murdoch, as you probably already have heard. It's hard to argue with the selection, considering Murdoch owns all or part of five franchises in Los Angeles and New York (six if Cablevision, of which Murdoch owns a part of, buys the Yankees), three arenas/stadiums and, of course, the Fox sports empire. And don't forget his recent $1 billion bid to buy Manchester United in England. Actually, it's hard to argue with much of the list, as it is laid out in a fairly straightforward manner. If I had my druthers, though, I would probably drop down the following two on the list: Philip Anschutz (No. 18), owner of the L.A. Kings, three Major League Soccer and L.A.'s new Staples Center, and Bill Gates (No. 27). Meanwhile, I would move the following three up: David Hill (No. 30), the man in charge at Fox Sports; Sean McManus (No. 48), president of CBS Sports; and George Steinbrenner (No. 56), the Yankee owner who is placed behind Bronco owner Pat Bowlen (No. 42) and Seahawk/Trail Blazer owner Paul Allen (No. 45). C'mon, get real. Other news and notes on the list:
The top 10 are:
As for the rest of the issue, Paul Attner breaks down completely the Broncos running game. The thorough examination borders on tediousness after a while. Tom Dienhart does an excellent job breaking down the biggest loser from last weekend in college football, Kansas State, and places the blame squarely on the Wildcats. Meanwhile, Mark Blaudschun examines defenseless UCLA while defending the BCS. (An aside: While I agree with Blaudschun that the BCS system is fine at determining the national championship game, I think it has screwed up the rest of the bowl matchups with its designated slots for conference champions. Syracuse, with three losses, in the Orange Bowl? Kansas State goes from the Fiesta Bowl vs. Tennessee to the Alamo Bowl vs. Purdue? And tell me again why Ohio State and UCLA aren't playing each other? Blaudschun does not address these other issues in his column, which focuses solely on the Fiesta Bowl matchup. Click here to see the bowl television schedule.) Finally, TSN profiles the winners and losers from last week's Great Eight college basketball tournament, re-examines the National League West after all the recent transactions and investigates the lack of scoring in the NHL, given the latest rule changes (Don't worry, Larry Wigge writes, it will get better.). Grade: A-. A solid issue with plenty of good stuff to offer readers. (George) Dec. 7 - I was slightly disappointed in Paul Attner's cover story on John Randle, whom The Sporting News and NFL Films wired for the Vikings' Nov. 15 game against Cincinnati. I felt the magazine misrepresented the story as a get-on-the-field-with-John-Randle article, when in fact I found the best parts were about Randle off the field. The article, which is better described as a feature rather than "a TSN exclusive," describes Randle's poor upbringing, his modest living arrangements and his interests in music, movies and wrestling. It also touches on his quest for "the lawn of the year," which is what he may focus on after he retires. All that was more interesting to me than the game stuff, which I found mostly uninspiring. I think part of the reason was that Attner couldn't use the juicier stuff in a family magazine. Plus, he failed to inform at points were he had a chance. For example, Attner describes Randle's pregame warmup as "a full-throttle, gung-ho workout that depletes the amount of energy usually expended in games. No one in the league even attempts to copy this astonishing ritual." However, Attner never details what the workout is. Does he run? Lift weights? stretch? Attner leaves the reader wondering what Randle's pregame ritual is. But for whatever reason, the game stuff doesn't live up to the hype on the cover - "We put a mike on him for a whole game and, man, did we get an earful." TSN may have gotten an earful, but readers ended up with less than a pageful of good quotes. Maybe it's because I have seen so many pieces by NFL Films and others on Randle's on-the-field antics, but I was more impressed by what I learned about the player off the field than what he does on the gridiron. As for the other stories, the best is "Pac 10 Prominence," which gives ten convincing reasons why Pac 10 is the best conference in the country, but most of the other articles are lacking, especially a two-page testimonial to the greatness of Tennessee linebacker Al Wilson done by - low and behold - a Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Gary Lundy. I hope you kissed enough butt in the article, Mr. Lundy, to get whatever you wanted from either Wilson or the Volunteers. How can you call anyone the best nationally in his position when he has missed three whole games this year! Don't get me started... Finally, it was great to read again hockey writer Larry Wigge, who returned after recovering from a heart operation. However, he broke my heart when he informed me this week that my beloved Flyers are "too big and too slow to win in the playoffs." Grade: B (George) Nov.
30 - This NCAA basketball preview issue isn't as comprehensive
as The Sporting News College
Basketball annual, but it's certainly better than recent efforts
by Sports Illustrated (Nov. 23)
and ESPN's The Magazine (Nov. 30). Nov. 23 - Not much going on in this week's The Sporting News. As a matter of fact, I think the best stuff in this nondescript issue is in the back of the magazine. Allan Maki's look at Penguins star and new team captain Jaromir Jagr is very interesting. The story details how Jagr has matured and has revealed more of himself through his career. It also talks about two events that had a profound influence on Jagr - the Olympics and the some other mysterious event. No one knows what the later is, and Jagr will only say that he will tell in time. Hmm. As for the Olympics, Maki writes "the lessons learned in beating some of the best hockey teams ever assembled have not been wasted on Jagr." Hockey writer Helene Elliott adds to the hockey section with a good column about trends fans may not have noticed so far this season. Also in the back of the magazine is an intriguing story about junior college transfer Steve Francis at Maryland. TSN wonders if coach Gary Williams is making a mistake sticking with two-year starter, Terrell Stokes, instead of the much-publicized, exciting new point guard. But if the best stuff in a TSN issue in the middle of November is about hockey and college basketball, then you know it ain't a memorable issue. It's not that the other stories in the front of the magazine are uninteresting or poorly written, it's just that they left me with a feeling of "Eh." Steve Harrison profiles the Dolphins defense; NFL writer Paul Attner ponders how far the Falcons will advance in the playoffs (one win, he says); and Joe Hoppel examines the ignition of the Hot Stove League. There are also separate well-done game stories on Nebraska-Kansas State and Arkansas-Tennessee. The stories, written by Joe Posnanski and Tom Dienhart, are good, but it's just hard to get excited about an article on a game last week. Grade: B. (George)
Nov. 16 - This week's Sporting News'
cover story is about much-hyped Minnesota wide receiver Randy
Moss. Chief competitors Sports Illustrated (Sept.
7) and ESPN's The Magazine (Oct.
19) have already weighed in with features about the young star
but TSN's article, by Paul Attner, is the best feature I've read
about Moss. Grade: B+ - Attner's piece alone merits this grade. (Randy) Nov. 9 - The Sporting News' slogan is "See a Different Game," which it certainly helps you to do this with Paul Attner's excellent look at how the NFL grades officials. After reading this, you will come away with a greater appreciation of the zebras and the work they do. Attner describes how intensely NFL executives scrutinize each play of each game. The story says it can take officials up to eight hours to analyze one game, which is about the length of the Cowboys-Eagles game on Monday night. They watch each play numerous times, focusing on various parts of the field. Executives watch, rewind and change camera angles constantly in order to make sure the right call or noncall was made. One of the most interesting things to me was the sophisticated equipment used by the NFL. It would be like a dream ArmchairQB.com office with the latest high-tech monitors, big screens and videotape machines. For example, if someone has a controversial play from the game he is reviewing that it wants to ask others for their opinion, all he has to do is hit a button and the play is transformed to a large screen for all to see. (The picture on the first page of the article shows better what I am trying to describe.) There were a lot of things in the article that I didn't know (Did you know that the NFL pays the costs of a satellite television for its officials, so he can tape his work?) and was impressed by how much time and energy the NFL spends to try to improve its officiating and the officiating by others, i.e. announcers in the booth. There's an entertaining part about how NFL executives were cringing while reviewing an ESPN game, in which analyst Joe Theismann unjustly criticized the officials for a wrong call, when in fact the officials got it right. Finally, Attner had some fortunate timing with the story because he was reporting on the story during the week when the NFL was reviewing the four questionable calls in the Colts-49ers game, probably the most questionable officiating yet this year. The glimpse into how the NFL handled the review of that game was fascinating. My one complaint - I always seem to have one - is that I would have liked to have heard director of officials Jerry Seeman's opinion on instant replay. Is it needed? Does he like it? Would he want it? NFL analyst Bill Walsh says he is for it, a few pages after Attner's article. If you are an NFL fan, though, I highly recommend you read this article because I think you will have a new appreciation for the men in stripes. I know I did. As for the rest of the magazine, the story on the NFL Midseason Report, is extremely weak and probably less insightful than what was in your local newspaper this week. The article hands out the typical midseason awards, lists the surprises and disappointments, and makes predictions. Nothing, though, in the story will surprise or enlighten even the most average NFL fan. TSN does diminish the effect of the embarrassing two-page story with 12 pages of midseason reports on each team, determining each team's "burning issue," biggest surprise and disappoint, and its future. This certainly covers up the lame story, and will satisfy every NFL fan. Stories on the mobile quarterbacks in college and Tampa Bay Lightning rookie Vincent Lecavalier are average, at best. Finally, NBA insider Dave D'Alessandro and columnist Dave Kindred have some interesting things to say about the NBA lockout. I recommend both pieces. Grade: A- (George)
Nov.
2 - This
week's edition of The Sporting News features an interesting article
about the 1998 Yankees' place in history and a fine interview with
NBA commissioner David Stern, but the best piece is a Dennis
Dillon story about offensive line play. |
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