Monthly Archives: August 2014

How’d You Write That? Tommy Tomlinson

Posted on August 27, 2014 | Leave a comment

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For the second time on the MTTS podcast, we’re presenting our “How’d You Write That?” segment. The first time was with ESPN The Magazine’s Kevin Van Valkenburg on Episode 40, and it should be fairly obvious what this is all about. Before you listen to my interview with Tommy Tomlinson, make sure to read the this ESPN The Mag feature on former Kentucky star/NFL backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen, “You Can’t Quit Cold Turkey.”

In our chat, Tomlinson and I talk about how he crafted his lede and why he circled back to it a few times later in the feature, how Tomlinson established his tone for the story and why he wanted to write simply, and how he structured the entire article (this last portion really fascinated me, by the way). Plus, Tomlinson talks in detail about how he reported the piece and how he handled all the interviews around it.

Interviewed on 8-24-14

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Clark Judge, Talk of Fame Sports Network/former CBSSports.com NFL writer

Posted on August 20, 2014 | Leave a comment

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Clark Judge’s new project is fascinating to me, mostly because he, along with the Boston Herald’s Ron Borges and the Dallas Morning News’ Rick Gosselin, have started a radio show that deals strictly with the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the history of the game. Which I love. In our discussion, Judge and I talk about the niche the Talk of Fame Sports Network will fill, why baseball’s history is so idyllic while football’s history is less discussed, whether the Baseball HOF is better than the Pro Football HOF, and how difficult a landscape it is out there for writers who are looking for work.

Plus, we talk about the role and impact of the local sports columnist (as first discussed in Episode 43 with the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s Geoff Calkins). And whenever I get together with Judge, we can’t help but talk about prog rock and prog metal and why that genre of music gets a bad rap. This chat was no different.


Interviewed on 8-18-14

Here’s something similar:

We talked prog rock with Judge. And I talked heavy metal with CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora. And ska with Pietasters lead singer Stephen Jackson.

A correction:

During the podcast, I accidently said that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Akron, Ohio. Since I’ve actually been there, I, of course, know it’s actually in Canton.

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Jessica Luther, freelance writer/feminist activist

Posted on August 13, 2014 | 1 comment

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The impetus for my chat with Jessica Luther was her blog post on sportsgrid.com’s response to the demise of Sports on Earth, and she has a fascinating story to tell about how she marries her activism for feminist issues to writing about sports. In our chat, we discuss sportsgrid.com’s thought process on the use of click-bait, why it makes Luther sad and angry at the same time, and why she believes those kinds of websites contribute to what Luther calls the “rape culture.”

Plus, she talks about the process of writing a book on the intersection of college football and sexual assault, and Luther describes why she remains optimistic.

A quick FYI: In this episode, we talk a little about the Vanderbilt football sexual assault case. I wasn’t that familiar with it, but if you’d like a little background, here’s one of Luther’s pieces. Also, here’s her piece on her internal conflict on rooting for Florida State with Jameis Winston as quarterback.

Interviewed on 8-11-14

Here’s something similar:

I haven’t delved too often into women-in-sports-journalism issues on the podcast, but I still love Episode 22 with Claire Smith, a journalistic trailblazer and a current ESPN.com editor. We talk about her struggle to enter MLB clubhouses in the 1970s. Check it out.

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