Sometimes I Hate Sportswriters

[soccer10k]

On "Around the Horn" and "PTI" today, they talked about the Cubs and nobody thinks the Cubs are any good this year and Wilbon even said that "sweeping the Cardinals in April doesn't mean a thing." They all think that the Cardinals are still easily the class of the NL Central. I'm not saying the Cubs are for sure going to win and they should be the favorites, but what happened on Saturday and Sunday normally doesn't happen to us. Normally if we fall behind against a good pitcher, our bats stay asleep and we lose the game. Normally a player in a slump gets a meaningless hit with nobody on base to get out of it. Normally when we get gifts like three straight walks to start an inning, we ground into a double play or hit a sac fly and the inning ends with us scoring at most one run. Normally when the calls don't go our way, our team folds. But none of that happened this weekend.

 

I'm trying to look at the 2004 Red Sox as the example. They were supposed to lose to the Yankees. Usually Rivera closes out his saves. Usually the Yankees (re: Aaron Boone) get the big hit against the Sox. Usually the Red Sox end up losing. But in 04 that didn't happen. I know the White Sox lost for 88 years also but they didn't have a bigtime rival they had to overcome like the Red Sox with the Yankees and the Cubs with the Cardinals. After all, the Cards have won the most World Series titles (9) in the NL.

 

Here's hoping 2006 Cubs = 2004 Red Sox

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I've narrowed my TV watching to:

 

1. Cubs games

2. My Name Is Earl

3. Sopranos

4. Idol

5. Big Love

 

To hell with the rest.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Watching programming on ESPN is bad for you.

[soccer10k]

Watching programming on ESPN is bad for you.

 

I expect Mariotti to say that the Cubs suck but I figured Wilbon would have something good to say about the sweep. He has been known to wear Cubs attire on the show.

[Yeti]

if you are watching "around the horn" and PTI you clearly have too much time on your hands

[Banedon]

I like PTI cuz the guys are pretty funny, but I certainly take their sports opinions with a grain of salt (or two or three).

[snoodmonger]

I like PTI cuz the guys are pretty funny, but I certainly take their sports opinions with a grain of salt (or two or three).

 

seconded

[soccer10k]

if you are watching "around the horn" and PTI you clearly have too much time on your hands

 

I am a college student and I only have 1 class on Mondays.

[soccer10k]

I like PTI cuz the guys are pretty funny, but I certainly take their sports opinions with a grain of salt (or two or three).

 

seconded

 

But I would think that Wilbon's take on the Cubs would be a bit more serious than their other opinions.

[MikeyLikesCubbies]

I've narrowed my TV watching to:

 

1. Cubs games

2. My Name Is Earl

3. Sopranos

4. Idol

5. Big Love

 

To hell with the rest.

 

Looks alot like mine, except no Idol, and you've gotta keep the TV on another half hour after Earl. "The Office" is the best show on TV. (I like Big Love, but I'm really sick of seeing Bill Paxton's ass every week, and still no nudity from Margine.)

 

Oh, and I agree soccer10k, but I doubt they've watched the games ans I doubt anyone in the national media is gonna jump on our bandwagon right away.

[mhuber92211]

I've narrowed my TV watching to:

 

1. Cubs games

2. My Name Is Earl

3. Sopranos

4. Idol

5. Big Love

 

To hell with the rest.

 

U are forgetting some truly great shows like The Unit, Veronica Mars, The Shield and 24

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

I say let the sportswriters keep doubting this team. For one, it puts less pressure on the guys to perform. Afterall, we all know how they handled the pressure to win in 2004. And it also gives the Cubs the underdog feel to them. I think this team plays better when no one thinks they can win, and they have something to prove.

 

Never, ever, ever watch Around the Horn. Any show that would willingly give Mariotti a spot is not worthy of television. PTI is alright sometimes, but yeah, I don't take any of their opinions seriously.

[Crash]

PTI is a great show. Kornheiser and Wilbon are a lot of fun and don't take themselves too seriously. However, Around the Horn is darn near unwatchable, which is what happens when you take some of the worst sports writers in America and let them talk on national TV.

[Andy]

Mariotti actually said that anything could happen and was the only one to even consider the possibility, so let's not all hate on him here. He also commended the Trib for doing a good job at not letting the new bleachers affect the ambience in his Face Time, BTW.

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

Mariotti actually said that anything could happen and was the only one to even consider the possibility, so let's not all hate on him here. He also commended the Trib for doing a good job at not letting the new bleachers affect the ambience in his Face Time, BTW.

Give him a week and he'll completely contradict everything he said today. A couple weeks ago I believe he said Lee probably won't even be the best first basemen in Chicago, and two days ago he said Lee is the best player in baseball and told Pujols and ARod to prove him wrong.

[Warpticon]

Sometimes I hate sportswriters.

 

Other times, I'm asleep.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

All I watch is the Cubs, Lost, and any UFC bouts.

[Chris]

I love PTI.

[Post Count Padder]

PTI is a great show. Kornheiser and Wilbon are a lot of fun and don't take themselves too seriously. However, Around the Horn is darn near unwatchable, which is what happens when you take some of the worst sports writers in America and let them talk on national TV.

I concur. I don't get to watch PTI all the time, but I do watch it occasionally, and I enjioy it everytime I do get to watch it. Kornheiser is my idol, and Wilbon's good too. They are pretty amusing and that makes for some good entertainment. Around the Horn is terrible though. It was like they tried to copy the success of PTI. It's awful, and I cringe when I hear Marriotti talk. It was only slighty more watchable when Max Kellerman was the host and he and Woody Paige were goin at each other. But that was only very mildly amusing.

[Banedon]

I like PTI cuz the guys are pretty funny, but I certainly take their sports opinions with a grain of salt (or two or three).

 

seconded

 

But I would think that Wilbon's take on the Cubs would be a bit more serious than their other opinions.

 

He's just a pessimistic Cubs fan. He'd love to be wrong in this case I'm sure.

[stitchface]

Well, it was only a series in April. I think the fans really felt a change because there seemed to be a role reversal in the series where the Cubs inevitably came back and won. If I were a sportwriter, I wouldn't see any reason to change my evaluation based on just those three games however - to do so would be ridiculous. I would respect those writers more for holding to their opinions. However, I do think the series exposed the Cardinals achilles heel - their bullpen.

[soccer10k]

Well, it was only a series in April. I think the fans really felt a change because there seemed to be a role reversal in the series where the Cubs inevitably came back and won. If I were a sportwriter, I wouldn't see any reason to change my evaluation based on just those three games however - to do so would be ridiculous. I would respect those writers more for holding to their opinions. However, I do think the series exposed the Cardinals achilles heel - their bullpen.

 

That was my point. I figured somebody would have noticed it - especially since Sunday's game was nationally televised and would have criticized the Cards. But even Wilbon said the Cubs weren't going to win the division because the Cards still stood in the way.

[TCMike]

That was my point. I figured somebody would have noticed it - especially since Sunday's game was nationally televised and would have criticized the Cards. But even Wilbon said the Cubs weren't going to win the division because the Cards still stood in the way.[/b]

 

Look at it from an unbiased point of view. We beat the Cardinals this weekend generally due to timely home runs and sufficient pitching. While the Cards, still waiting to play in a new stadium and starting the season with 6 games on the road. Yes, they have a weak bullpen, but 3 losses in April matter little in the dog days when things count; them headed to the playoffs while our only solace is a winning season series against them. An early- season sweep is nice, but it's no proof that the Cubs are exponentially better than predicted.

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

Weaker bullpen I can understand. But we just so happened to catch Izzy on an off night on Sunday. He's the one guy on that team that is usually lights out. But I have a feeling he's going to be a little bit more overused this year if LaRussa keeps bringing him in for the final 6 outs and not the final 3.

[CuseCubFan69]

They should rename Around the Horn and simply call it what it is....Morans From Outer Space.