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Our weekly look at some of the best and most interesting things I've seen over the last 7 days
THE DEMISE OF SI
While not baseball-specific, legendary sports writer Austin Murphy, wrote this piece for The Atlantic about the demise of Sports Illustrated, which was in the news this week for reasons that help explain the aforementioned demise of an iconic publication and an iconic brand.
If you’re a sports fan of a certain age, you know the rarified air SI once occupied in the world of sports media. SI used to be where the most brilliant writers and legendary photographers told the most compelling stories from across the sporting landscape weekly. I started reading (and collecting) SI in the 1970s and remained a faithful subscriber for decades.
Like countless other sports fans, I couldn’t wait to see who’d grace the SI cover each week.
I couldn’t wait to read what amazing tale Frank DeFord or Joe Posnanski or Dan Jenkins or Michael Farber or Jackie MacMullan or Gary Smith or Leigh Montville or Ron Fimrite or Grant Wahl or Douglas Looney or Sally Jenkins or Stewart Mandel or Alexander Wolff or Jack McCallum or Dr. Z or Steve Wulf or especially Rick Reilly would spin in the latest issue.
Over the course of decades, no one wrote about Major League Baseball like Sports Illustrated’s Peter Gammons or Tim Kurkjian or Steve Rushin or (still) Tom Verducci.
And each December, I couldn’t wait to see who SI would deem its Sportsman of the Year, for decades one of the greatest honors in sports.
Like so many things these days, Sports Illustrated just aint what it used to be. The real SI is sorely missed by anyone who who ever rushed to his or her mailbox every Thursday in anticipation of the gift that was each weekly edition.
HALL PASS?
The winner of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2024 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to a major league broadcaster for career-long excellence and contributions to the game, will be announced Wednesday. While any of the 10 finalists would be worthy recipients, I’m pulling for Joe Castiglione, who has been the voice of the Red Sox for the last 41 seasons and with whom I worked during my time in Boston.
Steve Buckley of The Athletic wrote this terrific profile of the voice of summer in New England for more than 4 decades.
A MULTI-PURPOSE FACILITY FOR THE NEW MILENNIUM
From Front Office Sports: The SSG Landers of the Korean Baseball Organization are building a new ballpark that integrates a mall.
TIME FOR A CHANGE?
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune spoke with Andre Dawson about his desire to have the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque changed from the Expos, with whom he broke in to the big leagues, to the Cubs, the club with which he’s most associated.
One of the classiest men in Baseball, Dawson returned to the Cubs organization as a special assistant in November of 2017, after Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter fired him from a similar role with his hometown Marlins. As one who marveled at watching Dawson play right field at Wrigley Field during my college days in Chicago in the late 1980s, it was a privilege to work with Hawk during the years we were both with the Marlins.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Baseball America takes a look at how Major League Baseball continues to get younger.
BROADCAST BLUES
Fangraphs tackles the biggest economic issue facing Baseball, the demise of the regional sports network model, which threatens a massive source of revenue for clubs.
ICYMI
In case you didn’t check out VFTB daily, here’s what you missed this past week:
As we continue our 10 Burning Questions series, a look at how the Marlins could improve their offense for the 2024 season.
A look at connections between the 12 newcomers on the latest Hall of Fame ballot and the Marlins.
While you’re here…
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Regarding the RSNs, there appears to be some impetus for changes to benefit fans. When I am in Louisville, the Reds are blacked out on MLB.tv, so I only miss the Marlins when the Reds are opponents. In Jacksonville, it's untenable. I can drive up to Cincinnati, but usually opt for the AAA Bats during those games. I can watch the replays at my leisure (if the Marlins win or something interesting occurred). I've heard many people have much more widespread blackouts to contend with.
I must agree with our friend, David Samson, that the Hall will not set a precedent by honoring Dawson's request.