Turn It Up/Turn It Down: June 15th-22nd

Week of June 15th-22nd

Every week I write a media column, giving the good, the bad, and the ugly of the week in media.  Print, radio, internet, and television are all considered.  Enjoy and as always, feel free to comment and nominate your favorites too...

The Good

Matthew Berry (ESPN.com) – The ESPN Fantasy Sports guru, also known as “The Talented Mr. Roto,” posted his famous Love/Hate column for the 2008 Fantasy Football season.  There is nothing like preparing for the Fantasy Football season before July!  Berry is very good at judging talent and organizes his analysis better than anyone in the business.  He also mixes humor and Hollywood in his work, one of the reasons he has such a wide fan base.

Albert Chen (Sports Illustrated) –Chen most recently wrote an inspiring piece on Cincinnati Red’s rookie phenom Jay Bruce and his unbelievable, down-to-earth personality, his admiration for teammate Ken Griffey Jr., and his potential to become a super star in the league.  Bruce was quoted as saying, in regards to Griffey Jr., “The other day we were talking about paintball and go-karts and I’m sitting there thinking, I’m talking to Ken Griffey Jr. about paintball and go-karts!” 

Chad Ford (ESPN.com) – The NBA Draft expert has been busy lately, updating his mock draft weekly and giving in-depth analysis of each prospect.  Ford, considered the Mel Kiper of the NBA, on Thursday wrote his best column yet.  He explained the Tier System teams use to evaluate talent and how it has worked in the past.

The Bad

Phil Rogers (Chicago Tribune) – One of the many columnists to submit his choice for the Chicago “2008 All-City Team,” he made one major mistake: the manager.  Roger’s decided Ozzie Guillen should lead the team made up of all Cubs and White Sox players, not the legendary Lou Piniella.  If ten random teams had just fired their managers and both Guillen and Piniella were available, I doubt any of those teams would hesitate to hire Piniella.

Israel Gutierrez (Miami Herald) – The newest member on ESPN’s daily show Around the Horn, gave his take on this years Boston Celtics team compared to the ones of past.  “This team would wipe the floor with those old Celtics [teams].  Larry Bird wouldn’t average 20 points in this league right now.”  I wonder if Larry Legend himself has anything to say about that.

The Ugly

Willie Randolph and Wayne Coffey (New York Daily News) – If you couldn’t get enough coverage of the Willie Randolph firing, check out this piece, compiled by Randolph himself.  Randolph gives a first account on how the process played out with his now former boss Omar Minaya and even finds time to quote Brian McNamee.

*Notes*

The Chicago Sun Times reached an agreement with columnist Jay Mariotti that will have him writing for the paper through May, 2011.