The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, and mine is simple: I am obsessed with the media. Living in Chicago, I am exposed to so many media outlets that I find it hard to do anything else but read, listen and react. Whether it be radio, print, or television, the media controls a majority of my day. Here are a few of my favorite types of media in Chicago:
Radio
ESPN
"Mike & Mike" - Top sports radio show in the country and are seen live on cable television daily.
"Waddle and Silvy" - Very entertaining show that is a must-listen for me each day.
The Score
"Mully and Hanley" - Perfect combination of Chicago talent. Bulls and Bears experts. One is a Cubs fan, the other a Sox fan.
"The Me Show with Laurence Holmes" - Under-rated show with great Bears insight.
Sun Times
Jay Mariotti - You love him or hate him, and I love him. He will stop at nothing to put the White Sox, and anyone else who he doesn't like, in the worst light possible.
Greg Couch - Uses a different writing style that reads fast. Sometimes hard to figure out what his point is.
Mike Mulligan - Respected columnist who knows the Bears organization better than any writer in Chicago.
Brad Biggs - Dedicated to being at the right place at the right time and getting it out there as fast as possible.
Chicago Tribune
Dan Pompei - NFL columnist who does a lot of research and isn't afraid to go against the grain.
Phil Rogers - Chicago's most respected baseball writer.
Teddy Greenstein - Media specialist who is a fantastic writer and writes must-read columns weekly.
Paul Sullivan - Great sense of humor and the players trust him and give him the better inside information.
David Haugh - Little bit of a homer, but always gets the scoop first.
Agreements? Disagreements? For those who have listen to these shows and read these columnists, who do YOU dislike; always have to read/listen?
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4 months ago
Hey Sam, I know exactly what you are talking about. I love Maritti as well and also think Greenstein is a fantastic writer. But I think Morrissey and Downey have their moments of greatness with the tribune and deserve some props.
Nice work. Got to love the life of chicago sports fans.
4 months ago
I can't believe you skipped over Mike Downey and Rick Telander. Jay Mariotti is a sensationalistic writer (I won't call him a journalist) and the worst of his kind, only because Skip Bayless doesn't write in Chicago. Telander, on the other hand, is a classy and well-traveled journalist, who's willing to jump outside the realm of sports sometimes. I don't read the Trib much, but the times I've read Mike Downey and Rick Morrissey, I've enjoyed their columns.
Mariotti is like watching the early Simpsons: enjoyable to laugh at for the adults, but I wouldn't show it to my kids.
from 4 months ago
I like Telander sometimes, but his articles can be like mild salsa - the same taste every time. If Telander would go out on a limb more his material would be a little more relavent to me. I still like him though.
Downey can stop writing for all I care.
4 months ago
Anyone who thinks Mariotti is a respectable journalist knows nothing about true sports media, and journalism as a whole. He is a joke. Why do you think no professional franchise respects him and he is afraid to even go into the White Sox locker room.
from 4 months ago
Mariotti is a Cubs fans best friend and a Sox fans wrost nightmare. I said you either love him or hate him. No sports franchise respects him because he finds the stories out that they don't want to go public. He creates controversy and discussion, and as long as he has something to write, I will read it.
4 months ago
I like Mariotti! He isn't afraid to speak his mind, and whether you disagree or agree with him, you read him. He's an editor's dream. Ka-ching.
4 months ago
I think you're amongst the first people I've known to like Mariotti. I'm pretty neutral when it comes to him. I definitely don't hate him. If nothing else, he's very entertaining on Around the Horn
from 4 months ago
He is such a funny writer to be a fan of, especially from a Cubs fan-White Sox hater standpoint. He for the most part is right about Reinsdorf and his strange ways. I'll admit, sometimes Mariotti will pile on a subject and can come off as beating a dead horse.
4 months ago
Just be glad you don't have to put up with Judd Zulgad, Jim Sauhan, Sid Hartman, Joe Christensen, or the other clowns at the Star Tribune or Pioneer Press.
from 4 months ago
Andrew, I went to U of Minnesota for one semester before tranfering, so I know how bad the Minnesota media is. All I did in my dorm room was listen to live streams of ESPN 1000 in Chicago. That radio in Minnesota, KFAN, is about as lousy a station as there is.
Once in a great while, I will read Sid Hartman, but I don't do it unless I come acorss a headline that really intrigues me.
from 4 months ago
I don't know if I ever want to read Hartman again...lol.
4 months ago
I like Mariotti, whereas everyone else here at work hates him. Typical.
I enjoy Mac, Jurko and Harry at times, but their schtick has gotten old and stale, so now I just listen to my iPod.
4 months ago
Was anyone around for the crap they call the "Huge Show" with Bill Simmonson. I've heard rumors that this A-hole used to be on in the Chicago area. If so I would love to hear what you think or how we in Grand Rapids can get rid of him.
4 months ago
I hate that Gordon Wettemeyer or however you spell his name in the Sun-Times. I've sent him e-mails and he never gets back to me. More importantly, he is such a suck ass for Jim Hendry.
4 months ago
Paul Sullivan kills Wittenmeyer. I have had my question posted twice on chicagosports.com's "Ask Paul" section. If you are interested, go look and you can see "Sam W. from Lake Bluff, IL"
4 months ago
I think Morrisey and Downey are absolutely brutal. They're talented, but I just feel like they're total morons.
I like Phil Rogers, and I really liked Sam Smith doing the NBA when he was still with the Trib.
Bill Simmons on ESPN will always be the best in my book.
from 4 months ago
Dan, you're like my clone! I love Sam Smith too, and you can still read him at sportingnews.com. He writes probably once or twice a week, and its still mainyl on the Bulls.
Simmons is king to me too, and is my all time favorite writer. I even made his LINKS column once!
4 months ago
Man, Sam, making the Links is like my dream. Congrats! Do you listen to his podcasts? They're hilarious. JackO is the man!
from 4 months ago
Dan, here is the LINK article in case you were interested, scroll to the bottom where it has the last 12 links: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/links/080303
And yes, I listen to every single podcast and agree 100% that the ones with JackO are the best
4 months ago
I like your love for Mariotti - he is hands down my favorite columnist. I live in CT when im not at school at IU, but I manage to read his articles in the Sun-times every day.
from 4 months ago
Kevin, Mariotti and Bill Simmons are my two favorite. Living in Chicago and having s subscription to the Sun Times is something I take for granted. I have Mariotti delivered to my door every morning before school!
3 months ago
ESPN Radio, is terrible.
The Score is what's best for a Chicago Sports fan.
I'm not a particular fan of the Mully and Hanely Show, mainly because they discuss things that don't interest me too much (particularly basketball)
Bores and Bernstien is the keynote show on The Score. I also like the Murph Show, and the Me Show is also good when it comes on.
But I have never felt compelled to listen to anything being discussed with ESPN Radio-Chicago. All of the broadcasters don't have any kind of substantiated stance. I believe they only say what they want fans to say. I used to listen to the Dan Patrick Show in between commercials of the B&B show.
3 months ago
Mariotti has no clue what basic journalism ethics are, and surely isn't an objective writer in the least. One of the basic tenants I learned in my journalism classes was to report on the story, not become the story. Too often, Mariotti has seen his name in the headlines, instead of keeping it in the byline. I have no respect for a writer who constantly strives to create headlines and be a part of the story, rather than report on them.
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