What's Driving Me Crazy About Sportswriting?

What's driving me crazy about sportswriting?  Everyone.

I just read an article by Randy Galloway, my favorite local columnist in Dallas/Fort Worth, in which he complained about the Texas Rangers not making any moves at the trade deadline. 

He made good arguments, and it was an interesting read, but in the end, he offered no better ideas from his view in press row.  Just a lot of stating the obvious with no real insight into the situation.

I also just read an article by one of our own on the Bleacher Report, which I refuse to promote.  It lacked credibility for making false or assumed statements (which the community here has policed in the comments section) and contained numerous grammatical errors.  It was the worst of amateur sportswriting/blogging.

I am now writing an article, in which I am complaining about what is wrong with sportswriting, so I've got to disclose that I'm part of the problem as well.

Not only do I get on here and mail in an article from time to time, but I read this refuse in my ever-increasing thirst for knowledge, or at least information.

So how do we fix this?

• Tell the truth!  To me, nothing is more damaging in providing information and analysis to the public than assuming events will happen before they do or intentionally lying in a story.  If the public can't trust us, we lose the audience that is our reason for writing.
• Write for Quality!  The Bleacher Report has lots of great statistics to encourage new writers, and none is more impressive than seeing how many articles someone has written.  More important than that though, are the articles that are well-thought and insightful, usually these articles generate numerous comments and spark debate.
• Participate in the Community!  To me, community participation is the best feature of social media because everyone knows that word of mouth is the most powerful way to endorse content that is true and quality.  Comments are the real way to separate treasure from trash in this new world of sportswriting, and like the Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."  The more we check up on each other, the better quality our product will be.

Sportswriting is growing and experiencing some growth pains, and while I still think writing is always improving, the truth is, I'm going to read it all anyway.  I just hope, whether it's a professional or an amateur, that I gain knowledge and not just more information.