Mayweather-Pacquiao: It’s Sparring Session Tall Tale Season!!
If nature abhors a vacuum, the news media hate empty space even more — especially with the Internet’s bottomless news hole, and especially with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally set to meet in the most discussed, dissected and analyzed fight of our generation. Any #PacWeather talk is good talk, because empty web pages aren’t an … Continue reading
Doping in Sport: Are non-White Athletes Born to Cheat?
A couple years back I took a blood test, and after reading the results the doctor asked me if I had been taking statins without telling her. I hadn’t, and asked why she asked that question. She said my levels of low density lipoproteins (aka bad cholesterol) were astoundingly low, and registered at levels usually … Continue reading
Nate Thayer and The Shame of Page View Journalism
Take a second and click on the link below, which details award-winning writer Nate Thayer’s dealings with The Atlantic, which was looking to re-publish a story he had written about basketball diplomacy, and Dennis Rodman’s highly publicized trip to North Korea. Read it all. A Day in the Life of a Freelance Journalist—2013. Two quick … Continue reading
Doesn’t that look like sex? A goodbye post
No, not for good — but you can consider this my pre-emptive out-of-office autoreply. Tuesday morning I fly to Miami for a few days of warm weather and beaches and food trucks and salsa. Plans include catching up with old and new friends, watching the O’Jays at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, and possibly seeing … Continue reading
Manti Te’o: Reflections and more questions
A week after Deadspin broke the news that the most heart-wrenching story of the college football season — the tragically shortened romance between Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o and leukemia-stricken girlfriend Lennay Kekua — was in fact a massive hoax put over on media and football fans alike, we still have more questions than … Continue reading
Newspaper Paywalls: How the Globe & Mail pushed me into Apple’s Arms
I’d like to thank the Globe and Mail for dragging me into the 21st century. I’m hitting “send” on this post from my new iPad, but until a month ago the idea of owning a tablet didn’t excite me. Didn’t need or even want one until the Globe’s relentless indifference to my needs as a … Continue reading
Here’s the thing about Lolo Jones
First, a disclaimer: If you follow this blog or know me personally you know I’m more than a passive observer of any 100-metre hurdles race at the world class level. I make that fact clear only to make this one clear: my thoughts on this particular topic are mine and mine alone. The opinions expressed … Continue reading
Media: Black-on-Black or White-on-white, a crime is a crime… right?
For all the transformation the news industry has undergone in the last decade and a half, one hackneyed axiom on our priorities remains unchanged. If it bleeds, it still leads. So when mass shooting erupted in Toronto (two dead, 23 injured at a block party) and Colorado (12 dead, 70 injured in a packed theatre) … Continue reading
The P Stands For “Panelist” — My speaking gigs this week
When I retired from All Balls Don’t Bounce active duty I told you guys I’d be busy, and honestly I’m probably getting less sleep these days than I was two month ago. Not that I mind it. I’m able to put a little more time and brainpower into the 9-to-5, which is great news for … Continue reading
The “P” stands for Persistence, Promotion of Self
I don’t know if life was trying to send me a message, but I spent the first few weeks of my new job as a business reporter at the Toronto Star writing stories about ex-journalists. First came a Q&A with former freelance writer and current personal finance guru Gail Vaz-Oxlade, and shortly afterward I caught … Continue reading
Morgan Campbell: A Writer on Sports and More 