Jay has walked away from a job* that, ostensibly, was to pay him* almost $6,000,000 over three years. So money wasn’t the issue. He* walked away without notifying his only real friend and supporter at the Sun Times, Michael Cooke, of his decision. Way to keep those bridges burning Jay! And he* has walked into a brave new world that he* clearly does not understand.
Or, to be polite, we missed the memo that there are a plethora of web sites paying 7 figure salaries to bloggers. If there are, my resume’ is up to date. Hell, for a measly one mil a year I’ll split it in half and throw in Tyrone!
More importantly, for Jay, is the fact that he* will no longer have access to AP articles that he* can routinely copy and paste into his* daily drool. No longer will he* be able to take the hard work of a Chris DeLuca or Greg Couch and turn it into inanity.
Also, Jay has stated that he* will keep his job on Around the Horn (ESPN). However, there has been no supporting statement from ESPN on that precept. After all, “Chicago Sports Columnist” adds some validity, justified or not, to his bile. “Vernon Hills Blogger” might not command the national respect he* thinks. He* may have opened the proverbial can of worms with this move. Fans of national sports television can only hope.
Plus, I am sure that his family is thrilled to see Jay walk away from millions of guaranteed dollars in a tough economy so that he can seek his* fame and fortune alongside porn sites, gambling sites and us. By “thrilled” I mean it in much the same way as any sane person would cheer an outbreak of Ebola in their neighborhood.
The fact that Jay made a life altering decision based on the same amount of foresight and research that he* routinely puts into his* columns* surprises no one. The fact that he* laid waste to his* only claim to legitimacy does.
Fortunately for us, his* decision changes little here. We have a solid set of Chicago sports blogs going daily and we have a wealth of material to work with thanks to many other journalists*. Should Jay make good on his threat to maintain a Chicago base with his* new venture, we will report on it as well.
Tyrone will be weighing in with his thoughts in a little while. In the meantime, enjoy the respite, enjoy the moment and CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE FUN!!!!!!
Sports columnist Jay Mariotti has left the Chicago Sun-Times to pursue other opportunities. Mariotti, also a regular panelist on ESPN’s “Around the Horn,” joined the Sun-Times in 1991.
Chicago’s nightmare is finally over.
Captain Obvious returns to Chicago today and notices that he* was beaten to a story by a web site. I don’t know why he* was so upset about this or felt the need to weigh in with his* limited thoughts. After all, he* has been beaten to stories by dyslexic grandmothers who don’t speak English. Why should this story upset him* so?
Here’s the crux of the story; last week a web site posted a blog that stated the Bears had lied to fans and media and that they knew that Chris Williams was injured. Local sports radio jumped on the story and, eventually, Jerry Angelo held a press conference to discuss it. This is where the weird turned pro. As it turns out, the Bears knew about Williams’ back injury, just not the one that needed surgery. Angelo’s press conference sounded more like the ravings of a demented 9 year old rather than a professional General Manager in the NFL. And then Jay came back to town.
Hooray.
What we have here is the perfect confluence of events for Jay. A story that has already played out, a GM who (stupidly) sent him a memo stating that he was not a fan of our diminutive diva and a team that looks like it might be blessed with a 3-13 record if everything goes right.
Before we go on, I need to point out that I am not a fan of Mr. Angelo either. While his defensive picks in the drafts have been solid, I am convinced he has a 13 year old girl and a Ouija Board picking the offense. Even so, Chris Williams’ injury was no secret to any NFL team and several had him pegged to go high in the draft. Why? Because the injury he has has been played through by NFL lineman for years. It is something they would need to deal with, but it was not a deal breaker.
Okay, enough of that, let’s clear our reality goggles and look at things from Jay’s perfect 20/20 hindsight perspective (that still manages to get some facts wrong);
Never mind that he is the one who drafted left tackle Chris Williams in the first round while knowing the player had a herniated disc in his back, not the kind of injury risk worth taking when: (a) the Bears have an offensive line constructed from dental floss and marshmallow treats; and (b) Angelo has a woeful record of drafting during his seven years in power.
That would be wrong. As noted above, Jerry has been pretty solid on defense. Lance Briggs (drafted in 2003), Tommie Harris (2004) and Nathan Vasher (2004) are just a few of the defensive players that Jerry has drafted and, pretty much, any NFL team would gladly add them to their roster in a heartbeat. Although they might insist that Briggs get a driver. As to the Offensive Line, the fact that they are so porous is what made Williams worth the risk. But, that’s that silly reality again, so let’s move on.
In some attempt at fairness, the Bears have made the playoffs in 2002, 2006 and 2007 since Jerry has been GM. That’s not phenomenal, but it doesn’t suck either. To count the team’s previous 3, non-Angelo, playoff experiences you would have to all the way back to 1989.
Now, we turn our heads and cough and become enlightened by Jay’s medical knowledge;
But where Angelo blew it is when he shrugged off those three examinations as if they were frivolous when, in fact, the necessity of three exams only screamed potential trouble.
No, the three exams mean they knew there was a potential problem, checked it every which way including Sunday and were reassured by experts that the kid would be okay with this injury. See my note above as to why.
Anyway, Jay wouldn’t be Jay if he couldn’t toss a cute quote against the wall without offering anything intelligent to back it up, so we get this closer;
“I would do it again based on the information that we ascertained leading up to the decision, OK. I would do it again,” Angelo said of the Williams pick. `”We saw a concern, but it wasn’t acute. We didn’t see anything acute.’”
I see a bigger concern. And it is acute.
Yep, drivel.
Since Jerry has had a crap week, and I can sympathize right now, I am going to send him a JTJ T-shirt from my personal stash. Meanwhile, there is a thread rocking in the forum, so CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE FUN!
Excuse me for giggling. But it’s still quite funny imagining a young Jerry Angelo, meeting every Sunday with another Syracuse assistant named Nick Saban, playing “Hotel California” on a restaurant juke box at 7 a.m. while awaiting his scrambled eggs. I never thought of Angelo as a dark-desert-highway, cool-wind-in-my- hair, warm-smell-of-colitas kind of guy, but, hey, life surprises you. - Jerry Angelo’s Jilted Stalker, November 5, 2006
It must of been love. But it is over now.
What a shame that the back page ramblings are no longer archived free. It does make the research a tad tougher for us lowly Internet Creatures.
Undoubtedly, Mariotti would prefer that Chicago conveniently “misremember” (thanks Roger) the above gushing compliments of Jerry Angelo’s work during that not so long ago Super Bowl run. Of course, at that particular time, Angelo was nothing short of being anointed St. Jerry by the dwarf. The nature of the column* was a hyperbole laced congratulatory “attaboy” to Angelo for rebuilding the Bears from the ground up, mostly through the draft.
And now we get to read this:
Jerry Angelo is losing it. I know this because he recently wrote me a note that emphasized, ``I’m not one of your biggest fans.’’ Gee, I wasn’t aware the general manager of the Bears is supposed to adore me, as if my job is to run around all day yapping, ``Devin Hester, you are ridiculous!’’ Was he upset over my request that, as someone who has neglected offense and quarterbacks for years, he kindly give back one-half his salary as one-half a GM?
Yup, you read that correct. Of all people, Jay Mariotti has the audacity to accuse another individual of being over paid.
Really?
It took a bit of time but Jerry Angelo has now apparently joined ranks with Ken Williams and Jim Hendry by suggesting that the dwarf shut the hell up.
That might be a good sign. Just look at what happened to the White Sox back in 2005.
Now that the Olympics are mercifully over, the pundit wasted no time pissing off a local sports executive. With both the White Sox and Cubs in first place and temporarily immune from Mariotti diatribes, Chris Williams’ season ending injury sealed Angelo’s fate.
Hotel California is obviously no more for Jerry Angelo. Welcome to the Mariotti Bunker, modeled precisely after the Bates’ Motel.
We really are not that sure yet who will be shrieking more this upcoming football season; Jerry Angelo showering behind the curtain with a lurking knife wielding dwarf or Kyle Orton scrambling outside the pocket. Either way, the beleaguered general manager should soon be accepting a fruit basket and note of condolences from Kenny Williams.
These were my 13th Olympics, which might be a record for a writer still in his 40s, a span that started as a post-collegiate punk in Los Angeles and spun dizzily through the exotica of Seoul and Barcelona, the small-village chill of Albertville and Lillehammer and the distant wonders of Sydney and Athens. - Stay in China
Stop the press.
Jay Mariotti almost wrote a decent column*. And then old instincts too hard to resist mandate such an unnecessary moment of self congratulatory indulgence.
Michael Phelps is to 8 Olympic Gold Medals as Jay Mariotti is to attending 13 Olympics?
Sorry, no dice.
For those hellbent on stubbornly insisting to the bitter end that the Beijing Olympics were about sports and not an oppressive communist central government’s self anointment of being this planet’s true superpower, face reality please. Jay seems content that the United States has Michael Phelps. Big deal. China is in firm control of the future of our very own country via its rampant eagerness to collect American national debt. $43 billion sunk into a lavish two week extravaganza where any cynicism faced consequential imprisonment, was a mere drop in the bucket.
The disciples of a linguistic trainer for alternative primate companions couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Team USA may have won the most combined medals, but it was China that collected the most gold and above all the else, made it absolutely crystal clear to those not suffering from myopic false pretenses of western superiority, that it is front and center on governing the future direction of this planet.
Quite accurately, Jay Mariotti questions such a future. Once in a red moon, the dwarf does capably address the obvious. And despite nearly wasting his two week existence in Beijing, partial credit must be acknowledged for at least critically mentioning the messy Joey Cheeks visa fiasco, the ludicrous Chinese gymnastics kiddie corps scandal along with the peril of the general free world opting to continuing to purchase cheaper manufactured products labeled “Made In China” at the detriment of domestic enterprise.
Yet Jay too often opted the soft ball approach to these games. And no, he was not the only journalist to seemingly elect to write about endless Michael Phelps opuses at the expense of actual coverage of an even larger issue at stake.
Where does the world go from here?
Despite the global criticism and general denouncement of its human rights records, Big Red China merely shrugged its shoulders and exercised its will with the ho hum eagerness of a nation fully aware that it could do as it pleased whenever it pleased.
And the world voluntarily accepted with remarkably little resistance.
China doesn’t want any mentioning of Tibet.
No problem, says the world.
China doesn’t want any second guessing of its undeserving gold medal winning gymnastics squad.
No problem, says the investigating IOC.
China doesn’t want any comments on Beijing’s pollution issue.
No problem, says the ultimate sock puppet sellout, Jacques Rogge. What smog? That is mist!
Why question the methods of the devil when complying obedience is rewarded so handsomely? After all, Jay did marvel at his accommodations and penis laden cuisine.
Oppression won out.
Hitler could have only wished for such a similar result back in 1936.
Admittedly, I have watched very little of these Olympic Games, accounting for fewer front page posts authored by yours truly. However, while dutifully entertaining out of town guests for the weekend, it was paramount that the closing ceremony be watching in the Briggs living room.
I have no idea what the hell I witnessed watching last night on NBC prime time. Amidst the Mr. Garrison glow in the dark “It” machines, human crawling towers and fireworks choreographed to a beaming Jackie Chan lip synching performance, it was evident that the Chinese Government was content to overproduce the simple act of extinguishing a flame simply because it could.
The London Olympic Committee organizers must be already resigned to throw in the towel. Anything short of firing Queen Elizabeth out of a canon from the deck of British warship at sea to light the Olympic torch would be playing second fiddle to Beijing’s Siegfried & Roy Vegas Act interlaced with Fantasia II.
And for Chicago 2016?
I’d settle for a cigar chomping Mike Ditka riding on top of a firetruck circling Soldier Field and launching autographed footballs into the crowd. Special kudos to the local radio sports guys for envisioning such a hysterical opening ceremony.
Rick Telander was right about the White Sox, Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Fire and Cubs always being number one in our local hearts but perhaps wrong not to attend the Olympic Games and call a spade a spade. God knows objectivity of this farce from a true journalist was badly needed.
Nothing beats home.
U-S-A. U-S-A. U-S-A.
Forever.