[CHRONIC] Dick Justice voted Texas Sportswriter of the Year

Haha, so true.

 

I'm not sure why or what that's supposed to mean. I think most people here who have read my takes on Houston media would know I've been fairly critical, especially when it comes to the Chronicle. I'm no homer.

I do too, but I have a bigger problem with the requirement of putting a square peg (column writer) in a round hole on a daily basis. Newspapers have a ton of problems if they want to survive, and it starts with the need from managers to deploy their resources as best they can, which the Chron isn't. Either way, maybe I'm just a traditionalist, but I respect the lead column writer job enough not to judge a guy who does that too much by stuff unrelated to his actual job description.

 

I don't mean anything by it. I just had this gut feeling that you would defend Dick Justice. I don't mean it as an insult by any means.

 

Oh, that's alright. Yeah, I didn't take it as an insult, I just thought you were insinuating that I always defended the Chronicle, and I was definitely a little surprised at that. My mistake.

 

Nope. I think I've cheered you on before when you attacked some media outlet for their failure to accept stats. (may have you confused with someone, but I'm pretty sure it was you...)

 

Justice is a decent read when it comes to baseball and the Astros.

All other sports he is just like the clowns on "Around the Horn" or 610 callers taht flip-flop every other day.

 

What's the criteria? He's unwatchable. His style is better suited for newspaper reporting. No surprise he won.

 

So these are TEXAS awards? And Houston won both of those categories?

 

Berman is great, Justice is barely tolerable. Perhaps what I like least about Justice are his reactions to comments on his blog posts. He comes off as a baby that can't take criticism.

 

John Lopez immediately, and I immediately, came to mind. That guy.... wow, I don't like that guy. I mean, I don't dislike him personally because I don't know him, but his opinions on sports are sometimes so obviously biased that it's appalling. I'm not even going to waste my time talking about him anymore.

 

What does Stephen A Smith have to do with anything? I'll answer: None. If you think Justice is a good writer, fine and dandy. I don't.

FWIW: I listen to Stephen A. Smith about once/year because I watch Sportscenter about that often. Like most talking heads on ESPN, he is irrelevant to me. So is Justice's blog, which I could care less about. I read several NFL & NBA blogs but not his.

I've been a newspaper junkie all my life. Our family subscribed to two daily newspapers when I was growing up. But about 2 years ago, I gave up on the Chronicle for several reasons, one of which was the sports section (Justice being part of the problem). Long story that I won't go into.

Justice may have credibility with players, but this is one reader he doesn't have cred with. Perhaps the two conflict somewhat.

 

Oh, make no mistake...he flip flops on the Astros just as much.

I particularly liked his late afternoon blog about how the Astros should sign Pudge followed by article in the paper the next morning about how they should not. I'm not sure what changed overnight.

 

apparently, he's just purposefully full of **** in his blog.

 

The fact that one of those entities (blog) is a complete joke to him, whereas the other (column) is what he takes seriously and what he's paid to do. I'm not saying that's right or how I would handle it, but that's how it is.

And A_3PO, the reason I made the SAS analogy was your statement about local newspapers losing their relevance. Maybe you're the exception to the rule, but by and large, fans are going to turn to media to find out things about their teams. Maybe it won't be in the format of a printed newspaper -- we'll see. But local reporters will always be important, and I don't see national types (SAS) making them irrelevant.

 

That's fine. But he flip flops in articles, too.

It's not life-changing stuff...it's not that important. But I'm not a fan.

 

Absolutely, I agree. Just pointing out the column/blog distinction since a lot of people seem to be missing that.

 

I'm guessing RJ is the most prolific writer in TX... maybe they just felt bad for him

 

i think that's a little too convenient and cutting him much too much slack. he's an absolute moron if he doesn't understand - and respect - the inherent link between his column content and his blog.

i agree that his blog is often steeped in sarcasm that's sometimes difficult to "get". but to suggest every blog post of his is a joke is just not true.

he's a good writer, unquestionably. people confuse opinions and/or knowledge and/or style with his talent and those have nothing to do with one another. he's far and away the best on that staff. (feigen would rank beneath the staff intern, btw - how is he still employed? arguably the worst writer i've ever tried to read.)

my issue with justice is his approach: he's lazy. and his columns reflect that. he's always behind the curve, drawing conclusions too many of us did three days ago. and he's petty - his veiled stumping for dan riley was pretty obvious and made him look like a mouthpiece. and, of course, he baits the LCD, recognizing he'll get a bigger reaction from them than he would if he set his standard higher and tried to really be insigthful.

 

Oh, of course not. I wasn't suggesting that. It's just that the vast majority of the more controversial topics are. He knows how to get a rise out of people, which brings hits and comments, which is what the Chronicle wants out of their blogs, so...

Great point. I always see Justice compared to the DMN's Tim Coliwshaw since they're the two biggest-name Texas sports columnists, and it always amazes me how most of the people I know claim Cowlishaw is a better writer. imo, that's laughable. Cowlishaw does a better job of towing the middle and not offending people, but as a writer, I find him boring. Justice is worlds better.

Sorry for the off-topic rant, guys, but as a journalist, Ric nailed a point that bears repeating.

Completely agreed -- I can't stand when he does that. You should drop in on some of the numerous "casual fan" debates I've had regarding that with Mr. Clutch in the Astros forum. But I've learned to live with it, because that's the way 99.9% of this indutry is these days. It's all relative.

 

i lived in dallas for 10 years and read quite a bit of coliwshaw - very defintion of bland. if justice wasn't so lazy, if he wasn't content to lean on a single source without any consideration of their own biases (like he did with riley in his ripping of rick smith), if he took time (as much alloted, given his profession) to consider the bigger picture... i think people would have a greater appreciation for his skills as a writer because i think he'd be elevating his craft.

he draws my ire with his stuff on the texans; it's so simplistic and basic, so myopic and knee-jerk: he's a click above a caller on the monsters of the midday show.

so, sure - he's a moron BUT... he's a great *writer* - big difference.