Jay Mariotti quits Chicago Sun-Times
Columnist and resident I-love-to-hear-myself-talk sports personality Jay Mariotti has abruptly decided to quit the Chicago Sun-Times.
Mariotti told the Chicago Tribune he decided to quit after covering the Olympics in Beijing because newspapers are in serious trouble, and he did not want to go down with the ship.
“I’m a competitor and I get the sense this marketplace doesn’t compete,” he said in the Tribune story. “Everyone is hanging on for dear life at both papers.
“To see what has happened in this business. … I don’t want to go down with it.”
His comments sparked a pointed response from his former employer.
Sun-Times Editor Michael Cooke said in an e-mail to CBS 2: “That’s Jay’s opinion. He has plenty of them. But the facts, of course, say something different. I’m going with the facts. Well, it’s turning nasty … and that’s typical of Jay to throw a bomb on the way out of a place that cared for him, nurtured him, paid him well for 17 years.
“The reason Mariotti showed up the Sun-Times 17 years ago was because the paper had the best sports pages in town. That was true then, and it’s true now.
“And as in all sports, when the star leaves, some other young star-to-be skates on to the ice. The Sun-Times has a deep bench of talent, and we’ll be using that depth.
“I am not hearing from grief-stricken fans,” Cooke said.
Cooke pointed to e-mails that he received from readers, including this one: “I wish to inform you that due to recent developments on the Jay Mariotti front, I will now read your newspaper. In fact, I picked one up on the way to work this morning. Not a half-bad rag, I must say. Bully on you.”
Mariotti said he plans to pursue opportunities on the Web, and continue his regular appearances as a panelist on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”
You have to love this comment by Cooke: “That’s Jay’s opinion. He has plenty of them.” The Sun-Times is going to do just fine without him. People read his stuff because they liked to disagree with him and anyone who watches “Around the Horn” knows that he just likes to stoke the fire.
I will say this about Mariotti, however – the guy doesn’t back down from players, coaches or GMs. (In his columns at least. Apparently he never goes into the White Sox clubhouse because he fears for his safety.) Sometimes he hits the nail on the head when he’s criticizing (i.e. Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo).
Jay – Welcome to the blogosphere!
My Chicago friends all hate Mariotti, and while I can understand why – he definitely has a tendency to stir up trouble for no reason – I found myself agreeing with him more often than not. Still, I’m disappointed that he chose to go out this way. He has to know that this was not the right call.
“the guy doesn’t back down from players, coaches or GMs. (In his columns at least. Apparently he never goes into the White Sox clubhouse because he fears for his safety.)”
Not quite. He doesn’t go to any clubhouse. Or press box. Or ballpark/stadia. His columns were all the same, written with the same lines. For example, when writing about the White Sox, he would mention the team’s record since July 2, 1996 (why this date, no one knows), call the manager the Blizzard (as in Blizzard of Oz; he thought it funny), the GM a cheapskate/moron (despite the facts) and demand trades that no GM in his right mind would make (his favorite: Cub pitcher Jason Marquis for Boston’s Coco Crisp, as if the Red Sox would stop laughing at Ken Williams long enough to okay that deal). He got his info from the Sun Times reporters. How anyone can ever attempt to commend his courage is a slur on all of the real reporters in the world. If you really want to know how he stands by his word, there is a column written by Eric Zorn of the Tribune, http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2005/10/jay_m
ariottis_y.html