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'Blogger' By Name Only

bennyandtom posted 4/25/2008 from ballhype.com

Shall we play a game? 

Choose which column you'd prefer to read:

Column A: Intelligent, provocative analysis with a slice of wit

Column B: Pithy piece that makes sweeping generalizations

What if I told you Column A was written by a blogger? Would that change your decision?

Well, if you’re a blogger-berating soldier in the old guard of sports coverage, maybe you choose to make that quick change … just because it’s written by a blogger.

It’s OK. I know that word can be pretty scary sometimes. I mean, even the very definition of blogger in the dictionary is vague and somewhat off-putting.

The stigma has been out there; it is no secret. But events in recent history have brought the stigma to the surface. First, it was Mark Cuban’s restrictions. Then Bob Costas took his shots. Surely, they can’t be looked at as originators of the fear. They’re not alone in their skepticism.

Access credentials are undoubtedly tougher to come by for bloggers than, say, a syndicated columnist. Respect is harder to earn when you’re tapping away at a site outsiders have never heard of. It’s an uphill battle, no matter how powerful your voice may be.

But the truly disconcerting issue has to do with the rampant misconceptions about sports blogs in general. It’s apparent that a large portion of traditional sports culture doesn’t even read the best in breed, so how can we expect them to know the wide variety of content that lies within the pages?

Take the FanHouse as a microcosm of the blogging melting pot, so to speak. Sure, you have your eye candy and instigating gossip. But you also have wonderfully in-depth analysis such as Matt Watson’s turn in the NBA Rotation and Stephanie Stradley’s law-meets-sports breakdown of the Matt Walsh agreement with NFL.

Hmm, on second glance, those look like columns – not “posts”.

And maybe that’s the crux of the matter: the incorrect assumption that blogs are like the quick bites of fast food in the devouring cycle of sports coverage.

When, in fact, a blogger can put something out there that packs more punch than some of the renowned national pundits.

“It's one thing if somebody just sets up a blog from their mother's basement … and they're a pathetic get-a-life loser,” Costas told the Miami Herald.

I’m sure that was the remark that stung the most.

Guess what, Mr. C. I hammered out fantasy expert analysis from my mother’s basement. Not saying it was the ideal situation, but everyone has to start somewhere.

I’d wrap up a 13-hour shift of logging video highlights for a sports news company, drive home at 1AM, and toil until dawn in front of a DVR and a computer monitor. I poured my pride into columns that were featured on ESPN.com and SI.com … most of which were typed on the sustenance of Lean Pockets and a love for writing.

Writing … a skill that reporters and columnists hone every day in newspapers and magazines, where they get the benefit of the doubt. Not just based on merit. The title holds a level of distinction too.

What if the definition of a blogger simply read “a person who writes daily”?

Uproar! Too generic!

After all, if bloggers were writers alone, we’d have no path to a neat pigeonhole.

But perhaps that’s what needs to be done to rattle generalizations. Or maybe people just need to take a closer look at some better examples, and realize it’s not just “Internet sports discourse.” There are some damned good writers out there too.

So give blogs a chance. I swear they’re not all as scary as mother told you …

From her basement.