Wow. 3 more years just for being an obtuse moron.

Reminds me of the '04 elections.

Is Mariotti still in the league?

It appears comments are open on the Sun-Times Mariotti piece.

No, sir, Mayor Daley no longer dines here, sir. He's dead, sir.

Five years? I thought they gave you five years?

The Sun-Times is dead to me. #### them.

He's a fraud who poops his pants.

OK, now I have to post the whole thing, for those new to the site. Author unknown.

SAMMY SOSA IS A FRAUD WHO POOPS HIS PANTS

by Jay Mariotti

Thau shalt not cheat. That's the first thing they taught you in little league. Hustle, play hard, worry about winning if it makes you play better, just have fun if it doesn't. Have fun, play within the rules, shake the other team's hand after the game, and we'll go for a tasty freeze afterward.

But don't cheat.

I don't know if they have little league down in the Dominican Republic, but Sammy Sosa must have missed that day of class.

Sammy was a hero to so many.

He was a hero to Edna Terwilliger, who has faithfully attended every home game since 1923 in spite of her blindness and the Cubs' listlessness.

He was a hero to Roberto Sanchez, a native of San Pedro de Macoris, who works the overtime shift at the meat packing plant just so he'll have the extra cash to come to come see his countryman in a game or two over the weekend.

He was a hero to my son, Jay Jr.

He'll be a hero no more. Sammy Sosa is a fraud and all of his accomplishments are forever tainted. The 500 home runs, the smile on his Hall of Fame plaque, the race against McGwire during that magical summer of 1998.

Tainted. Forever.

Just when it looked like everything was coming together for one glorious season, with Dusty in the dugout and Prior on the mound and the Yankees coming to town for the first time in seventy years. Just when it looked like it was safe, for the first time in a long time, to believe in this franchise. Just as the calender had turned to June - Cubs fans dug in, waited for their pitch -

And took a collective beanball to their head.

Sammy Sosa is a fraud who poops his pants.

There is no joy in Wrigleyville today.

-JM

But does the Sun-Times have three more years to give?

But does the Sun-Times have three more years to give?

An excellent question. So at this point I'm forced to remind everyone that despite the low quality of Mariotti's work in oh so many ways, one thing he apparently does well is get talked about, generate hits, sell papers.

No, I can't stand him either. I like Rick and Neil and Paige and Carol and a few others, though, so as long as they can keep riding his coattails, I guess it's a trade I'm willing to make.

But does the Sun-Times have three more years to give?

An excellent question. So at this point I'm forced to remind everyone that despite the low quality of Mariotti's work in oh so many ways, one thing he apparently does well is get talked about, generate hits, sell papers.

No, I can't stand him either.

Roger Ebert does the same thing for the Sun-Times, but comparing his work to Mariotti is like comparing Harry Kalas to John Sterling. Both sell their product well, but that's where the similarity ends.

For some reason, when I first read the headline, I read this as "they're giving him three years to start turning out better work, or he's fired."