Apart from being a profession filled with laziest sacks on the planet, sports writers are known for their dogged drive to get the most gain, or irritation, via the least amount of effort.
What we have here, at least on the surface, is a finely crafted piece of journalistic effort:
Here you will find the most recent musings of Gene Mr. Wojciechowski, the “senior national columnist for ESPN.com”, whatever that means. He delights in pimping and punking the various teams in the NFL, comments on players, estimates performances, judges values, and provides his view on the outcomes of the season. All teams are covered.
How to tell that your NFL team is not respected:
Indication #1: 34 words
Despite the accurate inclusion of Marvin Lewis as a vulnerable coach, he cites a mis-fact as support for his view (research anyone?) by stating ML’s flip-flop on Henry will be part of ML’s downfall. Anyone viewing or reading about the presser dealing with the return of Henry who did not think ML’s behavior and mannerism clearly illustrated his disgust with the situation is an ignorant buffoon. Gene? Does this sound familiar? When someone yells out “Hey, ignorant buffoon!” do you naturally snap your neck and look at the person yelling?
Indication #2: 13 words….and I quote:
“Quarterback Carson Palmer deserves better than this. Too bad he won’t get it.”
13 words. An entire off-season of drama, draft and dallying summed up in 13 words. This was the shortest write-up of the 32 teams. STL was next lowest with 17 words. But 13? That is not journalism…that is pure laziness.
I am not saying the above is untrue, it is simply incomplete. As in, too lazy to write more than two sentences about a team no one respects.
As with a moldy piece of cheese, it is not all bad. The unspoiled nugget about Reggie Bush/Mario Williams (No. 4) is actually quite decent. Simply cut off the moldy edges of the article and that part is consumable, whereas the assessment that Pittsburgh will win the AFCN is not just misguided, it shows a clear lack of understanding of the state of the Steelers. Shabby O-line, aging Hines Ward, hurt Polamalu, depth issues at most positions…heck, they are a lock to take the title!
To be sure, Mr. Wojciechowski is peddling hot air and smoke as the 2008 NFL Season rev’s up. Soon, there will be ample stories for “Mr. Senior National Columnist for ESPN.com” to half-ass his way through and games to mis-write about. Until then, it is just way too easy to laze ones way into Thursday, when the SB Defending Giants will host the Redskins, aka, respected teams.