The fact that the White Sox are celebrating Mariotti's resignation will only serve to inflate his enormous sense of self-importance.

"We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days," Cooke said. "A paper, like a sports franchise, is something that moves into the future. Stars come and stars go, but the Sun-Times sports section was, is and will continue to be the best in the city."

That's fecking awesome.

"We'll miss him...you know, like the way you miss the petrified cat vomit you never cleaned up when someone else finally gets rid of it for you. Like, 'Hey, didn't there used to be petrified cat vomit on the rug over here?' Gone now. Huh."

A very entertaining article, but if Mariotti was so hated and his importance so marginal, why did the Sun-Times recently offer him an extension?

That was a great takedown by Cooke, but considering that the Sun-Times employed and empowered Mariotti for years, considering that they signed him to a lengthy and lucrative contract extension just a few months ago, I find the paper's sudden discovery that Jay is an idiot and a bully sort of laughable.

"We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days," Cooke said. "A paper, like a sports franchise, is something that moves into the future. Stars come and stars go, but the Sun-Times sports section was, is and will continue to be the best in the city."

That's pretty incredible. Sounds like the paper misses Mariotti in the same way that baseball misses Barry Bonds!

I like to think that several fistfights broke out when trying to figure out who would get to write this column.

A very entertaining article, but if Mariotti was so hated and his importance so marginal, why did the Sun-Times recently offer him an extension?

Umm, because the people running the paper (who gave him the extension) were thinking something like 'This guy is on ESPN every day, we gotta keep him around here', where as the people who work with him every day or anyone who has ever read one of his articles or watched him on ATH thinks 'This guy is a jackass, how does he still have a job?'.

if Mariotti was so hated and his importance so marginal, why did the Sun-Times recently offer him an extension?

The people on the floor hated him. The suits upstairs liked him (he sold newspapers). So when he offered to quit, his editor gleefully took him up on the offer.

Wow, burn.

Why did he quit?

Wait a minute has McCain announced his V.P. yet?

Not once in the last eight years can I recall seeing Mariotti in the Cubs' or Sox' clubhouse. With a press credential that allowed him access to every major sporting event and every major figure, he hasn't broken a single story in that time. He says Chicago is a weak market, the competitive edge gone. He has only himself to blame.

When Lou Piniella was hired by the Cubs, the Sun-Times reported it first. Mariotti had no role in that major story. He says the market has gone soft. If that's true, he played as big a role in the softening as anyone else.

He called his colleagues soft, forgetting we're the ones who had to face his targets on a daily basis. We were the ones who had to deal with the anger that he was too cowardly to face himself. We got the quotes that made up the bulk of his columns.

In spinning his story to the Chicago Tribune, Mariotti depicted the Sun-Times as the Titanic, and it was clear the self-proclaimed tough guy was knocking over the old women and children to be the first to jump ship.

''I'm a competitor, and I get the sense this marketplace doesn't compete,'' said Mariotti, who will remain a regular contestant on an ESPN game show.

''Probably the days of high-stakes competition in Chicago are over. To see what has happened in this business ... I don't want to go down with it.''

Stand-up guy to the end.

I don't think I've ever seen this sort of thing written about a fellow journalist, if you want to call Mariotti a journalist.

Wait a minute has McCain announced his V.P. yet?

Well, it'd still be a better pick than Lieberman.

well i would say that as bad "teammates" go, mariotti makes barry lamar look like every other ballplayers' BFF

http://i33.tinypic.com/213lx0h.jpg

So when he offered to quit, his editor gleefully took him up on the offer.

What would be really funny is if Mariotti assumed they wouldn't "let" him quit- they'd beg him to stay- afterall they had offered him an extension...

I know someone in real life who did that, threatened to quit unless he got A, B and C, he honestly believed that he was too valuable to his employer for them to let him go without giving him at least some of what he wanted... He was canned on the spot... After he left the room his assigned secretary smiled and said "hallelujah".

I was a temp there- and so he called me two days later (I guess he figured corectly that I didn't socialize with anyone who worked there)- had they taken out an ad to replace him? (I didn't know at the time, but the answer was yes- they had been planning to fire him- his ultimatum merely accelerated the time frame) were they planning to ask him back soon if he didn't come crawling back? (I told him I didn't know), Did anyone stick up for him? (I equivocated as best I could, it wasn't so much that no one stood up for him, it was hard to think of anyone who hadn't thrown dirt on him).

Oh, and the Sun-Times today is confirming the Deadspin story that Mariotti quit in a hissy fit over not getting to write on the Obama story, so Mariotti is basically a liar.

''I'm a competitor, and I get the sense this marketplace doesn't compete,'' said Mariotti, who will remain a regular contestant on an ESPN game show.

I guess this is is a technically accurate description of his role with Around the Horn, but the way the author words it makes the sentence a delightfully coy insult. Jay Mariotti, Regular Game Show Contestant. Brilliant.

By the way, Jay says the internet is where it's at now. What website is going to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars to write for them? The only candidate I could imagine is ESPN.

By the way, Jay says the internet is where it's at now.

Which is rich, coming from him. He's been one of the biggest "bloggers are stupid losers and I'm a real journalist" guys out there. Now he wants to get paid to blog.

hope the paper will publish the ratio of pro and anti mariotti letters/emails

i am waiting for the story "mariotti is a fraud who poops his pants"

we all knew mary otti is a whining liar. you talk about prima donnas

hope the paper will publish the ratio of pro and anti mariotti letters/emails

There's a poll on the Sun-Times website. 75% of respondents (of which there are over 10,000) say they won't miss him.

http://i33.tinypic.com/213lx0h.jpg

Wow. I thought I disliked Mariotti, but apparently his coworkers despised him!

What website is going to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars to write for them? The only candidate I could imagine is ESPN.

Unfortunately that's probably true. Says a lot about the Worldwide Leader doesn't it?

I wonder if Mariotti simply wakes up today and goes "What the hell did I just do?" and blames it all on jet lag from China. I believe that he must have had an offer on the table from someone else or he really is an idiot. I would be surprised if ESPN picked him up in a high profile position considering how they basically kicked Woody back to the curb.

Oh, and the Sun-Times today is confirming the Deadspin story that Mariotti quit in a hissy fit over not getting to write on the Obama story, so Mariotti is basically a liar.

Mariotti would fit in here. He doesn't go into clubhouses and wants to talk politics.

The fact that the White Sox are celebrating Mariotti's resignation will only serve to inflate his enormous sense of self-importance.

The fact that the White Sox are celebrating Mariotti's resignation while continuing to employ Hawk Harrelson strikes me as inconsistent.

believe that he must have had an offer on the table from someone else or he really is an idiot. I would be surprised if ESPN picked him up in a high profile position considering how they basically kicked Woody back to the curb.

I think he's that arrogant that he thought he was indispensable.

I would be surprised if ESPN hired him. They already have one gas bag on tv in Bayless, they don't need another. And, they're paying Reilly and Simmons a ton, I can't believe they'd sign another huge money guy.

The fact that the White Sox are celebrating Mariotti's resignation while continuing to employ Hawk Harrelson strikes me as inconsistent.

Why? The Hawk is biased, sure, but everyone seems to like the guy. Besides Mariotti, has anyone ever had a problem with Hawk during his time as announcer?

Besides Mariotti, has anyone ever had a problem with Hawk during his time as announcer?

No, and as much as fans from other teams dislike him, a majority of White Sox fans (and that's his audience) like Harrelson.

''I'm a competitor, and I get the sense this marketplace doesn't compete,'' said Mariotti, who will remain a regular contestant on an ESPN game show.

That is awesome. I can't imagine he'll remain on ATH too long without a regular gig.

Does anyone read ESPN anymore? I find nearly every writer there insufferable.

That is awesome. I can't imagine he'll remain on ATH too long without a regular gig.

Not true. Woody Paige is still regularly on

That is awesome. I can't imagine he'll remain on ATH too long without a regular gig.

Does Jackie McMullan (sp) work for a paper anymore?

Does anyone read ESPN anymore? I find nearly every writer there insufferable.

I find their website almost innavigable.

Wow. I thought the picture in 14 was photoshopped, but it's not:

Welcome home, Pete

Does anyone read ESPN anymore? I find nearly every writer there insufferable.

I really like LZ Granderson, though you've got to root around the Page 2 attic to find him. Other than that, just some of the baseball guys who aren't behind the pay wall.

No, and as much as fans from other teams dislike him, a majority of White Sox fans (and that's his audience) like Harrelson.

Really? The four diehard fans I talk about the Sox with can't stand him. Neither can I. Is it the casual fan who enjoys Harrelson?

I do think Hawk brings some insight that other PBP men miss (he is particularly good at discussing swing mechanics). However, the small positive is outweighed by the numerous negatives associated with the rest of his schtick.

Does anyone read ESPN anymore? I find nearly every writer there insufferable.

I'll admit to still liking Bill Simmons. It helps that I was a regular reader back when he was still on Digital Cities, and I'm willing to give him a lot of credit for working his way up in the industry through an unconventional route. He's also the reason that I found out about this site - he used to regularly use the old baseballprimer.com and baseball-reference.com in his daily links.

I don't really read any of the others anymore, especially since most of them require a paid subscription.

However, the small positive is outweighed by the numerous negatives associated with the rest of his schtick.

He's the only man in any way connected to MLB that has any talent for nicknaming. For that reason alone, I'll let him stick around.

That is awesome. I can't imagine he'll remain on ATH too long without a regular gig.

Not true. Woody Paige is still regularly on

Is he? Who knew? I haven't watched that show in maybe 10 months.

I find their website almost innavigable.

Me too. Haven't been there in ages.

Is it the casual fan who enjoys Harrelson?

Them, and older fans ( > 50) like him, too.

I wouldn't mind him if he were a color man rather than doing BPB. Is there really a big difference between him and Ron Santo, other than that Santo provides less analysis?

He's the only man in any way connected to MLB that has any talent for nicknaming.

Unfortunately, he hasn't done much in that department in several years.

I'll admit to still liking Bill Simmons.

You, sir, are unwelcome at my Christmas dinner.

Really? The four diehard fans I talk about the Sox with can't stand him. Neither can I. Is it the casual fan who enjoys Harrelson?

I'm a diehard fan and I love the Hawk. Why? He's funny. I love the catchphrases, I love the nicknames. He's there having fun. It literally is like listening to a guy you would watch the game with at a bar. Is he great for fans of other teams? Not at all, but that's not his audience.

I'm firmly in the group that thinks most announcers that die-hard fans would want or like would be the most boring announcers on the planet. I don't need someone to sit there and recite stats to me, and I don't need a detailed PBP. The game's on tv, I can see the PBP.

(Note: I know I'll get flamed by the typical posters of "Vin Scully's who'd I want announcing games". Fine. There's only one Vin Scully, there's 30 teams. Not all of them can have him)

Is there really a big difference between him and Ron Santo, other than that Santo provides less analysis?

Santo's "loved" and Hawk is mocked.

Unfortunately, he hasn't done much in that department in several years.

That's true. But we can always hope for a bounceback season and he'll provide the next Big Hurt or One Dog.

And, really, what other hope do we have?

That's true. But we can always hope for a bounceback season and he'll provide the next Big Hurt or One Dog.

And, really, what other hope do we have?

Carlos Quentin's performance, appearance, and gameplay is screaming for a nickname.

I hate "Dirty Thirty." Sounds like a MILF porn to me.

You, sir, are unwelcome at my Christmas dinner.

Dammit. And I bet you're having turkey with all the fixings too.

You, sir, are unwelcome at my Christmas dinner.

Despite all of our differences, you'd be surprised how well Primates get along with each other at meetups; even with alcohol flowing.

Which is rich, coming from him. He's been one of the biggest "bloggers are stupid losers and I'm a real journalist" guys out there. Now he wants to get paid to blog.

There was a trenchant anonymous comment in the paper that went like this: "Jay was never a true sports journalist. He was more of a glorified blogger. Even though he had access, he didn't go to the locker room or interview athletes. His entire column was his opinion of other people's articles."

As this has happened before (back before he was more well-known), it wouldn't surprise me to see him back soon. There's a lot of venom being spewed his way by colleagues, but I'm sure he already knew what they thought and cried all the way to the bank.

I hate "Dirty Thirty." Sounds like a MILF porn to me.

How can you hate MILF porn???

Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings are still fun, almost the same as his great Sunday Baseball pieces for the Inquirer, and free Law is always nice, but what would a non-insider even read at ESPN?

Dirty Three is a GREAT band.

Ordinarily, the professional media is nothing if not a clandestine lot.

This is the nastiest piece I've ever seen written about a departed colleague.

I was frankly embarrassed to live in a city that employed a no-talent hack such as Mariotti as a page 2 columnist. The guy never wrote a insightful or well-reseached piece in all the years I've read the papers here. He'd merely wake up, pick the day's target out of his cookie jar (Jerry Angelo, Blackhawks front office, Cubs front office, Notre Dame, Reinsdorf, Guillen, or Jerry Krause) and slap together eight hundred words ripping them. Easy work, most guys with an English degree could knock that off in the fifteen minutes before closing time.

For me, the world is a better place today. A small amount of justice - be it self-imposed or otherwise - has been served.

Mariotti would fit in here. He doesn't go into clubhouses and wants to talk politics

.

I resemble that remark.

Santo's "loved" and Hawk is mocked.

Pat Hughes is Randy Moss, and Santo is Daunte Culpepper. Ron has some broadcasting skills, but there are holes in his game that would be exposed without the greek god of play-by-play sitting next to him.

Is there really a big difference between him and Ron Santo, other than that Santo provides less analysis?

Ultra-homer, blatantly cheerleading color men are endearing. Ultra-homer, blatantly cheerleading play-by-play men are fecking annoying.

And having a set strike-out call is obnoxious.

Is there really a big difference between him and Ron Santo, other than that Santo provides less analysis?

There's an immense difference. For starters, Hawk is always whining about something or knocking an opponent, whereas Santo is rarely negative, if at all.

Marriotti is not only a tool, he's King Tool. As an English major and amateur writer myself, I find the fact that he wasted his obvious talent (and I do honestly think he has quite a bit) on the wretched garbage he would scratch out four times a week. Na-na-na, hey hey, goodbye indeed.

Is there really a big difference between him and Ron Santo, other than that Santo provides less analysis?

AFAIK, Hawk's hair is all his.

A very entertaining article, but if Mariotti was so hated and his importance so marginal, why did the Sun-Times recently offer him an extension?

Umm, because the people running the paper (who gave him the extension) were thinking something like 'This guy is on ESPN every day, we gotta keep him around here', where as the people who work with him every day or anyone who has ever read one of his articles or watched him on ATH thinks 'This guy is a jackass, how does he still have a job?'.

Sounds about right. I have a friend who was a marketing director or whatnot for the sox in the 80's and 90's. When Hawk was the GM he had the office next to him. Anyway after Harrelson left and had been gone for awhile the higher ups went into a meeting asking the execs if it would be ok to bring back Hawk Harrelson. To a man they said no, we don't want him back. The higher ups said "oh" and brought him back anyway.

As an English major and amateur writer myself, I find the fact that he wasted his obvious talent (and I do honestly think he has quite a bit) on the wretched garbage he would scratch out four times a week.

What do you find about this fact, Mr. Writer? ;-)

AFAIK, Hawk's hair is all his.

And his feet.

Hawk is always whining about something or knocking an opponent

Harrelson almost never knocks an opponent. If anything, he's too complimentary of other teams, because it gives him an excuse when the White Sox get beat.

What he does do too much is whine about umpiring. He ####### and moans pretty much every time a close call goes against the White Sox. And he's getting worse about that, and it's getting aggravating.

It's clear that many people at the Sun Times have been hoping and praying for years that this day would come & they're none to shy about showing their glee. Normally I'd find that unprofessional, but few things in this world are less professional than Jay Mariotti's crud, so it's strangely appropriate.

Harrelson almost never knocks an opponent. If anything, he's too complimentary of other teams, because it gives him an excuse when the White Sox get beat.

He whines about other teams being lucky or getting breaks constantly. The Tigers guys are homers, but they are fun and have a good rapport. Hawk is way over the annoying-homer line.

Apparently Mariotti was taking his negotiating style from Richie Phillips.

He whines about other teams being lucky or getting breaks constantly. The Tigers guys are homers, but they are fun and have a good rapport. Hawk is way over the annoying-homer line.

Is it possible that your opinion whether Announcer X is annoying or a homer has a lot to do with whether you are rooting for or against the team for which Announcer X works? I expect that I would find your Tigers announcers to be pretty annoying if the Tigers were playing the White Sox and the White Sox were losing.

Maybe. I'm sure Rod and Mario annoy people. But compared to, for example, the Twins or Indians guys, Hawk is on a whole other level.

As a fan of an NL team, I actually kind of like Hawk Harrelson the few times I see him call a game. Does it really bother people that announcers for team X tend to root for/be biased toward team X? That's what was so great about Skip Caray!

Does it really bother people that announcers for team X tend to root for/be biased toward team X?

I think there's a line between being biased/rooting for and being fair. You can be clearly favoring the team you root for, but still be generous with giving their opponent credit, being willing to criticize your own teams failings, and not acting as if anything that doesn't go your teams way is some sort of injustice.

The annoying part isn't that they root for the home team but that they can become totally blind by their allegiance. Hawk is particularly bad about this in that he will ignore practically everything so that he can shout at the top his lungs that his team is getting railroaded on a call. Hell, even Ron Santo will backtrack admit he is wrong when he sees the replay or has the rules explained to him. Hawk won't even do that, he'll just keep railing about the injustice of it all.

Cognitive Dissonance.

I thought the link in #14 was just of a screen capture of something. No - that really is the banner at the top of today's Sun-Times print edition. WOW!

McCoy:

That is BS!
Dadgummit!

Love,
Hawk

For me, the world is a better place today. A small amount of justice - be it self-imposed or otherwise - has been served.

I felt the same way when Screamin' A Smith was demoted from columnist to reporter by the Phila. Inquirer. Funny thing, I think they carried him for about 3 months, during which SAS did no reporting AFAIK, and eventually Smith was just simply gone.
I was fearful that he would become the ace of ESPN (even more reason not to watch) but they seem to be limiting his exposure these days to basketball.

YOU DAGGUM RIGHT THIS GAME'S GONNA BE UNDER PROTEST!!!

Harrelson was always a controversial figure in the media. Here is Jerome Holtzman's description of Harrelson from the 1970 Sporting News Official Baseball Guide. (Harrelson had staged a brief retirement when traded from Boston to Cleveland. He eventually relented when the Indians doubled his salary.)

"His popularity was due to his off-the-field manner. He was baseball's crown prince of the Mod Set, one of the new phenomena of the times, and had an immense following, mostly of teen-age girls who would squeal and scream when in his presence.

"He wore his hair long in the style of the Beatles, and dressed in the new fashion. His wardrobe was both exquisite and spectacular. He estimated he had 50 or 60 suits, 30 or 40 pairs of shoes, and 'hundreds of shirts and sweaters - I never counted.' His shirts and sweaters bore, at breast level, his insignia 'The Hawk'. In the opening paragraph of his autobiography, published in mid-season, Harrelson admitted that when he looked at himself in the mirror, he was pleased with what he saw, and would say, 'You handsome sonofagun, don't you ever die.'...

"...one becomes aware that the reporters seldom mentioned his batting average, but inevitably described what he wore. Historians may wish to know that his costumes usually included multi-colored bell-bottom slacks, white cowboy boots, white belt with big brass buckle, turtleneck sweaters, and sometimes an oversized Ascot tie. Beautiful, he was!...

"...Harrelson joined the Indians on April 23, and was greeted at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport by 400 of his new fans, despite a driving rain, and near freezing weather. Magnificent in his russet-checked Edwardian suit, he emerged from his plane to the roar from the Mod fans who spilled out of the terminal building shouting "We love The Hawk!" A voluptuous model presented him with a bouquet of flowers, and then a kiss. In response, The Hawk took off his orange-tinted glasses and held two fingers aloft, flashing the V-sign for Victory and Peace."

I pay ESPN's extortion so I can read Neyer and Law, but I swear if they hire Mariotti onto their website I will immediately quit going there.

See, Hawk might be an #######, but for White Sox fans: he's our #######. Many of us that grew up during the early 90's with the Sox will forever remember the dynamic duo of Hawk and Wimpy, and although Wimpy was forced out by Hawk and management, at least Hawk is still around.

Hawk is passionate and gets excited, that's about all I ask for as a fan. I don't care if doesn't know sabermetrics or the nuances of the collective bargaining agreement: he gets excited when the team is winning and pissed when they are losing -- just like all us other White Sox fan do.

Does anyone read ESPN anymore? I find nearly every writer there insufferable.

Until the people at my office decided to run our fantasy football league through the ESPN site, I hadn't been there in probably 2 years. I link directly to the league page now, so I don't have to run the risk of getting sucked in to the impossible vortex that is their front page.

And this is just about the funniest #### I've seen. His own newspaper is leading the charge. If this were professional wrestling, Mariotti would be back in 3 months as a mega-heel, egging everyone on to hate him and cranking out columns about how awesome he was.

Roger Ebert piles on:

Link

Magnificent in his russet-checked Edwardian suit,

well who isn't magnificent in one of those??

I'm a Cub fan, and I can admit I sorta like the Hawk. Most of the time I "watch" the Sox, I'm on my treadmill playing PS2. Maybe I need an obnoxious announcer as background.

I thought the link in #14 was just of a screen capture of something. No - that really is the banner at the top of today's Sun-Times print edition. WOW!

I think it's pretty clear that the editors are trying to prove to the powers-that-be that the paper will be just fine without Mariotti.

Wow, even Roger Ebert is willing to go double-barreled on Mariotti? That's some seriously bad juju he must have accumulated over the years.

Sweetest line: "The fact that you saved your attack for TV only completes our portrait of you as a rat.

Awesome, Roger.

P.S. Living on the South Side over the last three years, I've sort of gotten used to Hawk. I find homer-rific announcers to be pretty annoying, but Hawk's grown on me like fungus. And although he'll never be much as a baseball announcer (or GM for that matter), he absolutely does not deserve to be compared to Mariotti.

Wow, even Roger Ebert is willing to go double-barrel on Mariotti? That's some seriously bad juju he must have accumulated over the years.

Is anyone going to go near this guy?

Also, on the ESPN thing, I forgot that Kornheiser absolutely hates the guy. He is "He who must not be named" to Kornheiser. Mr. Tony is pretty unhappy, well always, hiring Mariotti may push him out of MNF and ESPN.

Roger Ebert piles on:

Congratulations, Jay Mariotti. You have become the new Rob Schneider (longtime Ebert fans will get the allusion).

Ebert only tore Schneider's movie a new #######. And Schneider sent Roger flowers when he was in the hospital. Mariotti isn't even good enough to be the Deuce Bigolow: European Gigolo of sportswriting.

I don't have the paper in front of me, but I think the "Believe It" headline on today's S-T actually refers to Obama's nomination, not to Mariotti.

I'd be happy to be proven wrong, though.

Is anyone going to go near this guy?

Someone will hire him. He might have to take a pay cut to keep working, but he'll get a job writing or talking about sports for someone. He's a lazy hack, by all accounts a despicable human being, and his opinions have the weight of a gnat's ####, but he gets readers.

"You have become the new Rob Schneider..."

Oh, god, I loved that review.

Link, in case you missed it. The fireworks start about halfway through.

Also, on the ESPN thing, I forgot that Kornheiser absolutely hates the guy. He is "He who must not be named" to Kornheiser. Mr. Tony is pretty unhappy, well always, hiring Mariotti may push him out of MNF and ESPN.

Why do I have the feeling that, if it came to it, ESPN would choose Mariotti over Kornheiser?

How can you hate MILF porn???

That's the problem...I now associate the beauty that is the MILF genre with Nick Swisher. Needless to say my Internet viewing habits have been irrevocably altered.

Harrelson almost never knocks an opponent. If anything, he's too complimentary of other teams, because it gives him an excuse when the White Sox get beat.

What he does do too much is whine about umpiring. He ####### and moans pretty much every time a close call goes against the White Sox. And he's getting worse about that, and it's getting aggravating.

I agree wholeheartedly on both points.

So Simers is apparently a nice guy away from the keyboard. Mariotti appears to be even worse away from it than on it.

Reader reaction. Some of those are pretty funny.

Telander's reaction from the Reader

Telander's reaction from the Reader

Telander wondered, "Why, if you have somebody like this, do you wait for him to quit? Why don't you just cut him? I will never know. The good thing is that this is a chance for rebirth. This is joy. A whole shitload of guys called me last night joyous! Ding dong, the witch is dead! I want to get everybody together. I want to have a team meeting. I want to give a fiery pregame prep talk and I want us to come charging out of the locker room with our guns blazing, not slinking out like a bunch of dirty little rodents." He said, "Even on a sinking ship, if we're going down let's go down standing up and not on our knees."

Wow. I knew that most sports fans hated Mariotti, but apparently he didn't even have many friends in the industry.

As an English major and amateur writer myself, I find the fact that he wasted his obvious talent (and I do honestly think he has quite a bit) on the wretched garbage he would scratch out four times a week.



What do you find about this fact, Mr. Writer? ;-)

Awesome. +1 to you, sir. Clearly, I shouldn't be writing at work while I am distracted. ;)

Is it possible that your opinion whether Announcer X is annoying or a homer has a lot to do with whether you are rooting for or against the team for which Announcer X works?

Frankly, no. A homer is a homer is a homer. Some are more useless and obnoxious as announcers than others. Ron Santo is useless and annoying and I wish and hope that the Cubs win the WS this year so that he can retire and Pat Hughes can get a competent color guy.

That having been said, I would rather listen to Ron Santo give Hlllary, Bill, and Biden's speeches from this week back-to-back-to-back than listen to one inning of Hawk-announced White Sox baseball. He's not a competent announcer on any level. And I need point out only the fact that the LEAD PBP MAN goes DEAD SILENT for long stretches of the 8th and 9th innings of imminent White Sox losses to be able to push him over the "useless" line.

And I need point out only the fact that the LEAD PBP MAN goes DEAD SILENT for long stretches of the 8th and 9th innings of imminent White Sox losses to be able to push him over the "useless" line.

I can see how that would be a problem in radio, but Harrelson only works television games. We can see what's going on on television; we don't need constant play-by-play. I'd be happy if they got rid of PBP on television altogether.

I can see how that would be a problem in radio, but Harrelson only works television games. We can see what's going on on television; we don't need constant play-by-play. I'd be happy if they got rid of PBP on television altogether.

Your larger point of the relative necessity of PBP announcers on TV vs. radio is one I don't disagree with. However, as long as the White Sox are paying Hawk to provide PBP, then he should provide PBP throughout the ENTIRE game, even when things are not looking good for the home team. Even my dad, who's been a Sox fan for over 50 years, thinks it's obnoxious.

I haven't seen this kind of giddiness since the Berlin Wall fell.