Jay Mariotti will not be missed by his editor
Posted on August 27th, 2008 – 1:57 PMBy Michael Rand
We were trying to stay out of the Jay Mariotti fray — after all, we would hate to make him more famous — but the statement from Chicago Sun-Times Editor in Chief Michael Cooke put the story over the top. Here is what Cooke had to say about the resignation of Mariotti:
The Chicago Sun-Times had the best sports section in the city before Jay Mariotti came to town — that’s why he signed up with us — and his departure does not change that. … The Chicago Sun-Times and suntimes.com will continue to have the scores and the stories before anyone else, anywhere, and the deepest and most comprehensive stats and standings. We wish Jay well and will miss him — not personally, of course — but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days.
In other words, don’t let the door hit your ego on the way out.
Deadspin has had very fine coverage of this story all day; RandBall colleague Casey C. also noted the hilarious manner in which the story was broken:
1. Mariotti sends resignation e-mail to Sun-Times publisher.
2. Mariotti calls Tribune to give them the story.
3. Tribune e-mails Sun-Times editor for reaction; he has no idea:
When asked whether Mariotti had resigned, Sun-Times editor Michael Cooke responded, “You’re kidding?”
Mariotti, of course, sees newspapers as a dying industry and wants a slice of the Internet pie now — his reason for leaving the paper. We’re sure he’ll find quite a following in the land of tubes, where a new generation of readers can’t get enough of him.
35 Responses to "Jay Mariotti will not be missed by his editor"
The Chicago Sun-Times had the best sports section in the city before Jay Mariotti came to town — that’s why he signed up with us— and his departure does not change that. and we will again now that he is gone.
Fixed!
Hey, Jay. You’ve got something behind your left ear. You should get that looked at.
The more you look at that picture, the creepier it gets.
Another fallen soldier in the Bizzinger Army.
How long before MariottiBall takes off at the Strib? Sorry Rand back to the St. Cloud Times for you.
Barry Melrose circa 1995 called he wants his hair back.
Damnit, jama, I was just gonna say he looks exactly like Barry Melrose minus the actual knowledge of sports.
Jay Mariotti : Top shirt buttons :: Lynndie Englund : Abu Ghraib prisoners
I think there’s a party behind his left ear!!! But I can’t see it through all the business up front…
Dan: Thank you for properly making the joke that I could not…
Sansevere and Russo beware. The Sportswriter Cosa Nostra is crumbling.
Is Reusse the next to go?
(please, please, please, please…)
CS said: Sansevere and Russo beware.
Sansevere’s one thing, but why are you anti-Russo, who I’d say is the best beat writer in town?
Dave
Patience, you have to start at the top with Sid the anti-kid and work your way down.
His picture looks like something Chris Penn would have submitted while auditioning for the starring role in “The Principal II - James Belushi didn’t call back”
Jon
Don’t make us come over there. How dare you?
Per the Deadspin, he resigned because they let Rick Telander write a column about Obama instead of him. Words cannot express how grateful I am to not have to read Mariotti’s political commentary.
INVIZABUL BOLO TYE
Dave that might be your best post of the day. +1
Jon, I believe Clarence was commenting on their shared heritage, not their ability.
Right. That went completely over my head.
According to the Deadspin post, Mariotti was due $6M over the next three years. To borrow a catchphrase from some dude who used to write for ESPN.com, I will now light myself on fire.
To borrow a catchphrase from some dude who used to write for ESPN.com, I will now light myself on fire.
Richard Pryor worked for ESPN.com?
/going to hell
So, he signed a contract to give him $6m over the next 3 years, then quit because he was worried about job security?
Is Rand trying to creep his way into AV, or the very least as a Viking Beat Writer? This weeks Good Sports looks eerily familar, to last weeks.
The smugness of his photo makes me think he has at least 3 collars popped when he goes out.
I sat through Good Sports in the hopes it would end with in a three-way, Native American leg wrestling death match. Alas, no such luck. Just a lot of Rand’s squinting and uninspired beat writer hairstyles.
See this? This is my new haircut.
except to say he will continue doing his regular stint on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”
ESPN responded by saying: “Right. We don’t even have sports writers on that show. Why would we keep a wanna-be blogger on it?”
uninspired beat writer hairstyles
Redundant.
Just a lot of Rand’s squinting and uninspired beat writer hairstyles.
Add a few empty bags of Cheetos, Reusse wearing a “Keep the Paper in Newspapers” T-shirt, and Sid blowing bubbles, and you have yourself the Thursday morning sports staff meeting.
Add a few empty bags of Cheetos, Reusse wearing a “Keep the Paper in Newspapers” T-shirt, and Sid blowing bubbles, and you have yourself the Thursday morning sports staff meeting.
Ah, the smell of boiled coffee and stale farts. Strib aromatherapy
From the Chicago Tribune article linked in Rand’s post: “Sun-Times sports editor Stu Courtney declined to comment as well.”
Implied, but not noted, was that the Sun-Times sports editor was busily looking up details on Tom Gugliotta for a Minneapolis Sports Blog.
Stu: Hunted Down.
My investigative research thunder STOLEN by a new Randball post coming out just as I typed that last comment. I smell collusion.
Things Douchebags Do:
1) Pop their collars
2) Show off their tribal arm band tattoos
3) Fiddle with their Bluetooth headsets
4) Talk about what a douchebag Jay Mariotti is
