I was at the Sports Illustrated office today, speaking with Richard Deitsch, SI.com’s excellent media critic, about blogging. He was asking me about why I blog, what I like about blogging, etc, when I uttered a sentence I’d never before said aloud: “The blog is my vent.”
There. I said it. The blog is my vent. My chance to moan, to whine, to complain, to gripe, to rip. If you read my work on SI.com, I’d say 80 percent of the columns are either neutral or positive. OK, maybe 40 percent. But, if you come here, I’m pretty harsh. Randy Johnson is a jerk. Brit Hume is a tool. Sarah Palin stinks. On and on and on and on. Whine after whine after whine. Why? Because it feels good to get stuff off my chest. For 11 hours per day, I sit in a coffee shop, working on my book. I love the gig—absolutely love it—but it can be extremely isolating. Hence, every so often I feel the need to scream. Or, to blog.
I understand the criticisms, and I genuinely appreciate most of them. The only one I don’t like is when people say, “He’s a typical writer—going off on things he doesn’t even care about.” I make this promise to anyone here: If I blog about it, I believe it. Pirate fans clearly think I’m a tool, but the Nady trade was terrible. Big Unit fans object, but he is not a particularly nice man. Those are my opinions, and the blog is my opportunity to express them.
That said, maybe I’ll try being more positive. The salad I just ate was lovely. I’m very happy for Andre Dawson. My cell phone seems to be working. Heinz Ketchup is great atop burgers. My mother and father are wonderful. The Knicks are playing great. George Clooney deserves an Oscar for Up In The Air. Snoop Dogg’s new single rocks. The New Jersey Nets will … will … will … will …
Damn. They suck. They truly suck.
Hell, I tried.
