Clark: Sports attracts talented storytellers

Poynter's Roy Peter Clark plugs the Sports Journalism Summit next month and writes about the future of sports journalism, where he predicts great writing -- no matter how long -- will continue to draw readers. He marvels at the success of ESPN's Bill Simmons and writes about the allure of blogs: "The blogger's edge often comes from the rejection of political correctness and mainstream sentimentality. I'm down (or up?) with that. What I can't abide in the feedback loop is crude incivility, expressed by anonymous voices in the form of barbaric racism, sexism, xenophobia, or homophobia."

Shooting from the hip

Margery Eagan of the Boston Herald observed in a column today that while Celtics analyst Cedric Maxwell's comment about a female ref needing to "go back to the kitchen [and] make me some bacon and eggs" may have put egg on his face, it was likely a sentiment shared by many who feel threatened by a woman's ability to bring home the bacon in sports.
Eagan points out that Brian Lam of the NBA referees' association said this kind of comment was a first, unfortunately, about a female ref. Let's also hope it's a last, even if it might reflect the fears of many who believe women really don't belong in sports.