NEW ARTICLE: Volin on Mac Jones: “The kid needed to be humbled” - UPDATED: Claims people "in the building" agree on Mac and Judge advocating for Zappe

[Steve102]

Buckley is over at 'The Athletic' though....

Which I have to pay for if I want to read.

 

[Ian]

WEEI has this article on Volin, who sucks, and that other idiot who only writes about sports media. Riemer. It's to the point I don't even want to click onto their site. They are so bad. Hot takes and media commentary. Jesus H. Gone are the days of Will McDonough, Peter Gammons, Steve Buckley and Bob Ryan. Alex ****in Riemer and Trollin' Ben Volin. Sports media sucks. Boston used to be great. Now it's bereft of talent.

I'm actually a little annoyed with Reimer. He lifted the quotes I transcribed in the Easterby article and didn't even link/mention us. He even ended up with almost the exact same title but changed it in terms of how it shows up on Social media. But if you read the article, the title is nearly identical, and on the quotes I transcribed, the punctuation is also the same. He just added and changed some minor things:

Mine:

Jack Easterby Apparently Once Claimed He Left New England Because Kraft Wanted Him to 'Clone Bill Belichick'

Just when you thought you've heard it all, it sounds like former Texans executive vice president of football operations and New England character coach Jack Easterby spouted some bizarre claims during his time in Houston.

www.patsfans.com

His:

Houston radio host: Jack Easterby says he left the Patriots because Robert Kraft wanted him to ‘clone Belichick’

The Houston Texans fired Jack Easterby Monday, leading radio host Landry Locker to share some perplexing tidbits about him, including that he says Robert Kraft told him he wants to “clone Bill Belichick.”

www.audacy.com

It's not even open to interpretation because ours was posted a full day earlier. What's ironic is I spotted it on NESN where they used the quotes and had "as transcribed by WEEI".

It's just annoying, especially since I went out of my way to try and keep them in the Patriots news feed on our local media news page after they dropped their RSS feed. We send them thousands of referrals each month. Between this and what the guys did on the radio, I'm definitely thinking of pulling it since being a nice guy over the years hasn't gotten me anywhere.

 

[Hyped]

And why isn't Breer getting flack as well? The Dude is spewing the same crap...did he get it from Trollin' Voiln?

 

[Dingleberry]

And that is why Ernest Hemmingway is so great. He cut through the crap and moved the story line along. I remember watching a piece on Hemingway on Biography many years a go and the thing that still stays with me was they showed examples of his process where he'd write a few pages than then spend HOURS paring down what he wrote. He was working hard to see if he could use one word instead of 3 and still tell the story he wanted.

Unfortunately, like you, I constantly fail to do what I admire most.

"If you see an adverb, kill it. While you're at it, kill 90% of your adjectives as well"

Mark Twain agreed. I just can't help myself though.

 

[Hyped]

Which I have to pay for if I want to read.

Yup. They gave me a discount during the pandemic....I signed up for like 50% off...then renewed again this year. At least, 6-7 articles a week....4 by Graff (new beat writer from Massachusetts who covered the Vikings until taking over Jeff Howe's spot) and 3 by Buckley...mostly focusing on historical stuff. And the Celts coverage is very detailed...down to the defensive calls/switches they make. Also, another value is their annual fantasy football preview as well as NFL draft preview articles.

A little pricey....but it is the way sports media is going....its either that or be spammed with ads and hot takes.... thank god Reiss is still freely available on ESPN (they just paywalled Bill Barnell and before that Matthew Berry until he bolted elsewhere).

 

[patfanken]

I'm actually a little annoyed with Reimer. He lifted the quotes I transcribed in the Easterby article and didn't even link/mention us. He even ended up with almost the exact same title but changed it in terms of how it shows up on Social media. But if you read the article, the title is nearly identical, and on the quotes I transcribed, the punctuation is also the same. He just added and changed some minor things:

Mine:

Jack Easterby Apparently Once Claimed He Left New England Because Kraft Wanted Him to 'Clone Bill Belichick'

Just when you thought you've heard it all, it sounds like former Texans executive vice president of football operations and New England character coach Jack Easterby spouted some bizarre claims during his time in Houston.

www.patsfans.com

His:

Houston radio host: Jack Easterby says he left the Patriots because Robert Kraft wanted him to ‘clone Belichick’

The Houston Texans fired Jack Easterby Monday, leading radio host Landry Locker to share some perplexing tidbits about him, including that he says Robert Kraft told him he wants to “clone Bill Belichick.”

www.audacy.com

It's not even open to interpretation because ours was posted a full day earlier. What's ironic is I spotted it on NESN where they used the quotes and had "as transcribed by WEEI".

It's just annoying, especially since I went out of my way to try and keep them in the Patriots news feed on our local media news page after they dropped their RSS feed. We send them thousands of referrals each month. Between this and what the guys did on the radio, I'm definitely thinking of pulling it since being a nice guy over the years hasn't gotten me anywhere.

Pull the plug on this clown, Ian. Stop rewarding lazy reporting. It's OK to be a little selfish sometimes.

 

[Ian]

Pull the plug on this clown, Ian. Stop rewarding lazy reporting. It's OK to be a little selfish sometimes.

I'd be pulling the plug on the whole station, but that's sort of where I'm at right now.

 

[Steve102]

I'm actually a little annoyed with Reimer. He lifted the quotes I transcribed in the Easterby article and didn't even link/mention us. He even ended up with almost the exact same title but changed it in terms of how it shows up on Social media. But if you read the article, the title is nearly identical, and on the quotes I transcribed, the punctuation is also the same. He just added and changed some minor things:

Mine:

Jack Easterby Apparently Once Claimed He Left New England Because Kraft Wanted Him to 'Clone Bill Belichick'

Just when you thought you've heard it all, it sounds like former Texans executive vice president of football operations and New England character coach Jack Easterby spouted some bizarre claims during his time in Houston.

www.patsfans.com

His:

Houston radio host: Jack Easterby says he left the Patriots because Robert Kraft wanted him to ‘clone Belichick’

The Houston Texans fired Jack Easterby Monday, leading radio host Landry Locker to share some perplexing tidbits about him, including that he says Robert Kraft told him he wants to “clone Bill Belichick.”

www.audacy.com

It's not even open to interpretation because ours was posted a full day earlier. What's ironic is I spotted it on NESN where they used the quotes and had "as transcribed by WEEI".

It's just annoying, especially since I went out of my way to try and keep them in the Patriots news feed on our local media news page after they dropped their RSS feed. We send them thousands of referrals each month. Between this and what the guys did on the radio, I'm definitely thinking of pulling it since being a nice guy over the years hasn't gotten me anywhere.

I would. They are awful. I agree with @patfanken

 

[Thelonious]

And that is why Ernest Hemmingway is so great. He cut through the crap and moved the story line along. I remember watching a piece on Hemingway on Biography many years a go and the thing that still stays with me was they showed examples of his process where he'd write a few pages than then spend HOURS paring down what he wrote. He was working hard to see if he could use one word instead of 3 and still tell the story he wanted.

Unfortunately, like you, I constantly fail to do what I admire most.

Hemingway represents ONE way to write well, a way to be admired. There are others. Would you literary ideologues deprive us of Shakespeare, Goethe, Faulkner, Pyncheon, Blake's prophetic works, Cormac McCarthy, Mann, Nabokov, etc, etc? Nonsense of the most esthetically childish kind. My bona fides? Ivy league degrees in literature & philosophy, 40 years teaching both, still teach writing in adult ed setting.

 

[Steve102]

Yup. They gave me a discount during the pandemic....I signed up for like 50% off...then renewed again this year. At least, 6-7 articles a week....4 by Graff (new beat writer from Massachusetts who covered the Vikings until taking over Jeff Howe's spot) and 3 by Buckley...mostly focusing on historical stuff. And the Celts coverage is very detailed...down to the defensive calls/switches they make. Also, another value is their annual fantasy football preview as well as NFL draft preview articles.

A little pricey....but it is the way sports media is going....its either that or be spammed with ads and hot takes.... thank god Reiss is still freely available on ESPN (they just paywalled Bill Barnell and before that Matthew Berry until he bolted elsewhere).

It's really the convenience of it. You could buy a paper for what, 50 cents? A buck and a half on Sundays? Someone always had a Globe or Herald laying around. I don't want an inbox full of their chit, and I really don't want to commit to it as a "subscription" any more than I wanted to buy the paper every day.

I won't give ESPN the clicks. Hate 'em.

 

[Ian]

I would. They are awful. I agree with @patfanken

Just sucks. I live in a world where I sort of figured doing the right thing and helping everyone would pay off someday...yet, here we are. And I always include "according to ... " , "so and so wrote this morning ... " , etc. A lot of good that does.

Definitely irks me. But with Chris Price and Ryan Hannable gone (both of whom wrote for us at one time), I think it's time to pull the plug.

 

[Dingleberry]

Hemingway represents ONE way to write well, a way to be admired. There are others. Would you literary ideologues deprive us of Shakespeare, Goethe, Faulkner, Pyncheon, Blake's prophetic works, Cormac McCarthy, Mann, Nabokov, etc, etc? Nonsense of the most esthetically childish kind. My bona fides? Ivy league degrees in literature & philosophy, 40 years teaching both, still teach writing in adult ed setting.

Absolutely not! Although Faulkner makes my testes shrivel, but that's another story.

Just wanted to defend the writing in the Patsfans articles. "Simplicity" should be a compliment rather than a criticism.

 

[Steve102]

Just sucks. I live in a world where I sort of figured doing the right thing and helping everyone would pay off someday...yet, here we are. And I always include "according to ... " , "so and so wrote this morning ... " , etc. A lot of good that does.

Definitely irks me. But with Chris Price and Ryan Hannable gone (both of whom wrote for us at one time), I think it's time to pull the plug.

Riemer is the absolute laziest writer. He writes about what other people write or say. He's awful. He's at the very best a gossip columnist, nothing more.

 

[patfanken]

Hemingway represents ONE way to write well, a way to be admired. There are others. Would you literary ideologues deprive us of Shakespeare, Goethe, Faulkner, Pyncheon, Blake's prophetic works, Cormac McCarthy, Mann, Nabokov, etc, etc? Nonsense of the most esthetically childish kind. My bona fides? Ivy league degrees in literature & philosophy, 40 years teaching both, still teach writing in adult ed setting.

I don't think I implied for a second that the terse style that Hemmingway preferred was the ONLY way to write great literature. I am CERTAINLY not an ideologue and I am a bit offended that you had that take. You "Volinized" me.

On the other hand, it is a pleasure to know that there is a poster out there with your credentials. I may be back to you when I need to check on any literary references I want to make. Thanks in advance.

 

[Thelonious]

Absolutely not! Although Faulkner makes my testes shrivel, but that's another story.

Just wanted to defend the writing in the Patsfans articles. "Simplicity" should be a compliment rather than a criticism.

I cherish simple writing, among other sorts: I really do. I am impatient, though, with ideologues in any arena, literature included. You inadvertantly kicked the rocker on one of my particular hobbyhorses is all, and, as on old curmudgeon now, I bark when you kick my little pony.

 

[Thelonious]

I don't think I implied for a second that the terse style that Hemmingway preferred was the ONLY way to write great literature. I am CERTAINLY not an ideologue and I am a bit offended that you had that take. You "Volinized" me.

On the other hand, it is a pleasure to know that there is a poster out there with your credentials. I may be back to you when I need to check on any literary references I want to make. Thanks in advance.

Please see my post to Dingleberry, which is as close to an apology as an old curmudgeon can get.

 

[Zuma]

Riemer is the absolute laziest writer. He writes about what other people write or say. He's awful. He's at the very best a gossip columnist, nothing more.

Volin is exactly the same. All he does is report original content of others. When he does post something original himself...it's incorrect...like now.

 

[patfanken]

Yup. They gave me a discount during the pandemic....I signed up for like 50% off...then renewed again this year. At least, 6-7 articles a week....4 by Graff (new beat writer from Massachusetts who covered the Vikings until taking over Jeff Howe's spot) and 3 by Buckley...mostly focusing on historical stuff. And the Celts coverage is very detailed...down to the defensive calls/switches they make. Also, another value is their annual fantasy football preview as well as NFL draft preview articles.

A little pricey....but it is the way sports media is going....its either that or be spammed with ads and hot takes.... thank god Reiss is still freely available on ESPN (they just paywalled Bill Barnell and before that Matthew Berry until he bolted elsewhere).

Speaking of ESPN, which tangentially allows me to take this off topic for a sec. Has anyone else had a problem with their site recently. For some reason when I go to it, the page pops up but within 4 or 5 seconds the page becomes "unresponsive". Is it the site or perhaps my computer? Pardon for the interruption

 

[Dingleberry]

I cherish simple writing, among other sorts: I really do. I am impatient, though, with ideologues in any arena, literature included. You inadvertantly kicked the rocker on one of my particular hobbyhorses is all, and, as on old curmudgeon now, I bark when you kick my little pony.

I am with you on that. Shakespeare was actually my concentration in grad school...more for the linguistics than the literature.

I joke a little about Faulkner. The 2 page, 1 sentence paragraphs kicked my arse a little in 10th grade though.

 

[zydecochris]

Hemingway represents ONE way to write well, a way to be admired. There are others. Would you literary ideologues deprive us of Shakespeare, Goethe, Faulkner, Pyncheon, Blake's prophetic works, Cormac McCarthy, Mann, Nabokov, etc, etc? Nonsense of the most esthetically childish kind. My bona fides? Ivy league degrees in literature & philosophy, 40 years teaching both, still teach writing in adult ed setting.

Well said, there are different styles of excellent writing. I thought I remembered you were a creative writing expert and long time teacher. Thank you for what you continue to do, education is a vital service to the community that is appreciated by too few IMHO.

As an aside completely apart from creative writing, peer-reviewed scientific journal articles or books also have different writing styles in different fields also. In physics and many of what I would call the "hard" sciences (only because such sciences have arguably less ambiguity than those involving us complicated human beings), what Ken said about Hemingway (cutting every possible word out) is almost always the case. One starts out with a longer draft document and then one spend weeks if not months agonizing to eliminate every single word possible for the final journal article or book submission. I constantly tell my graduate students "Less is More! Less is More!" as I ruthlessly edit out words to make things more concise.

However, there are other fields where that simply isn't the case, even for non-creative writing. History comes to mind as an example, all of those details and extra words add context and depth to the writing. I've had a few nephews that write books and journal articles in fields like history, and I've learned that I have to keep my mouth shut, what is "too many words" to me is excellent writing and just the right amount of words in history.