Outlined against a blue-gray web server, there's been abewildering panorama of criticism with the launch of the heraldedsports website Grantland.com, much of it coming even before the June8 launch. It's been like ...
Naw, we can't come up with the proper pop-culture analogy.Perhaps there's a well-paid Grantland writer who could better pullthat one out of a prehistoric thesaurus.
Is there fear, jealousy or qualified scoffing as this newest formof online sports journalism led by Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmonsstarts to take shape? It has brought out the best in stuffypontification.
From Sam Eifling of the Columbia Journalism Review: "Simmonswouldn't be my first pick to lead a literary renaissance, even if hehas managed to assemble editors resembling an Algonquin Round Tableas envisioned by an airport Waldenbooks. At best, Grantland so faris jaunty revelry for the sporting life and for culture at large. Atworst, it threatens to go down as the Manhattan Project of navel-gazing."
From Nicholas Jackson, an associate editor at The Atlantic: "Thenew site is doomed, and I suspect ESPN's executives will recognizethat in only a month or two even if they refuse to admit it untilmillions of dollars have been spent."
From Tom Scocca of Slate.com: "God bless anyone who goes on anaggressive editor-and-writer hiring spree, and good luck to allinvolved, but really. 'Grantland.' As in Grantland Rice (the early20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose,according to his Wikipedia entry). What, was ErnestHemingway.comtaken?"
Over at Deadspin.com, the feistiest (if not unfair) dailypostings find something to rake Simmons' staff about. Too much of itcould be interpreted as borderline stalking, sending out an ant-buzz. But it has raised the point: "So far, the single most bafflingthing about Grantland: Who cares what (a certain writer) feels. It'slike someone replaced the clear glass in the press box with a one-way mirror, pointed inward. Watch the writers watch themselves."
Kelly McBride of the Poynter Review Project, which is the defacto ombudsman for all goings-on at ESPN, recently wrote whileGrantland "is crafted for the 'too-school-for-cool' crowd," it haslacked "a sharp focus and self-discipline" that is needed "to keepthe audience engaged in long(ish)-form literary journalism.
"At its best, Grantland is clever and funny, for smart people whowant to be intellectually challenged and entertained at the sametime. At its worst, it is a bunch of hyperbole and aimless columnsthat lack a clear focus."
Simmons seems to unfocus well on the premature backlash. He couldhave explained his position a bit more cleverly after Week 1, but hesaid he "woke up on Father's Day and discovered the site was beingpointed to a domain service. So you can never feel safe, I guess,"he said in an email.
Sounds like sabotage.
Simmons has compared Grantland to the way Disney studios has itsMiramax division - a place for content a little more edgy, outsidethe lines but high quality. There's another smart comparison:ESPN.com owns Grantland (and Disney owns ESPN).
But Simmons has the freedom to create paragraphs as long as hefeels they need to be. Even if not everyone is crazy about it.
"I don't care about reviews. We've only been up for two weeks,"he said. "It's like reviewing the first bite of a hot dog orsomething."
Now there's an easy-to-digest analogy.
But then, with some stories, we have needed 30 screen scrolls -an incredibly thorough opening-day piece about the demise of TheNational back in the 1990s was more than 13,000 words past the firstbite. Can readers of fine, high-brow sports literature on theInternet machine be expected to hang in there long enough withouttheir eyes glazing over?
"I would never limit the scope of the site to 'high brow' or'long form' or any of that stuff," Simmons said. "Once we get ourtwo blogs going, our only goal is to have original angles andquality writing about sports and pop culture every day. That's it.
"We just want to be entertaining. You can be entertaining in 700words or 7,000. As long as people come to the site every day notknowing what to expect, I'm happy."
Fans want Scully's voice on biggest stage
An online petition asking Fox Sports to pretty-please include theDodgers' Vin Scully as part of their 2010 World Series broadcast hassnowballed to more than 5,000 cyber signatures as of Thursdayafternoon - or five times more than were on it just a couple daysearlier.
Hey, could this thing work?
Jimmy Traina of SI.com's "Extra Mustard" points out an onlinepetition once got Betty White to host NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
He added, "I don't want to be a buzzkill, but if we're beingrealistic, Fox isn't going to tell Joe Buck to stay home while theylet Vin call the Fall Classic."
Fox doesn't have to. It could have Scully join the team of Buckand Tim McCarver and perhaps do the middle three innings. Or middlefive. Or middle seven.
The Scully petition (www.petitiononline.com/ScullyWS/petition.html) actually was started in New York by Mets blogger MattFalkenbury, who has promoted it by saying it makes sense to have"the greatest baseball announcer in the history of the game get onemore shot at the big stage, to go out in style."
The 83-year-old Scully, who last called a World Series in 1988for NBC, told us in an email Thursday: "I appreciate the honor, butthe Series broadcast is none of my business."
Stay tuned. Fox's decision-makers are talking among themselvesabout a strategy to see if this can work. It's far from over.
WHAT SMOKES
Based only on the premiere episode this week of Golf Channel's"Feherty," we want more. We need more. But we don't want to pushhost David Feherty too hard to take off from his CBS golf coursereporting. During his first monologue, the bipolar and recoveringalcoholic said: "I struggle daily with addiction and mental illnessbut take my meds and I'm OK today. ... But hey, what's the point ofdoing this show if I can't challenge conventional wisdom ... or makea TV executive soil his trousers." Without giving out ratingsnumbers, Golf Channel said only that the debut show was the "most-watched series premiere in the cable network's 16-year history." Thesecond of the 12 scheduled episodes comes in what will be theregular time slot, at 9 p.m. Tuesday, featuring actor Don Cheadle ina piece taped recently at the Edgemar Theatre in Santa Monica.
WHAT CHOKES
The chances NBC could surprise us and bring in ESPN's Dick Enbergto call one of next weekend's Wimbledon final matches? Doubtful,right, Ted Robinson? Yet it would be a fitting tribute, consideringthis is the 32nd and last trip Enberg plans to make to the All-England Tennis Club. The 76-year-old said he won't go home with abroken heart. He is calling games for the San Diego Padres for thesecond year. And missing it. "It's nice to have two loves, to haveenjoyed each for her own charms, all the whole one has the time andlongevity to stay the course for the rest of my useful time," Enbergsaid via e-mail from England. "I'm inspired by the continuingsuccess of Vin Scully and Jerry Coleman," Enberg said. "Hopefully, Ican be as productive as I move forward. Baseball, unlike any othersport, allows that. Nevertheless, I'll really miss Wimbledon.Without fail, it has allowed me to fall in love every time I visit.And I'll embrace that." Enberg will call the U.S. Open for CBS inSeptember, then focus only on baseball moving forward.
DNONLINE: More media notes on Tom Hoffarth's blog:www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth
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