Monday, March 22, 2004
Ranting Maverick
Stepping aside from the Tourney for a moment (I guess we found that Cinderella, welcome to the ball UAB), I want to just nominate Mark Cuban for SportsRanter of the year. If I could ask any sports personality to write for SportsRant.net, it would be Mark. Only he’s beaten me to the punch and published his own blog – BlogMaverick.com (which will be henceforth linked from this site).
So what is so great about Cuban and his blog? We’ll start with Mark himself. Is he loud and obnoxious? Heck yeah, and I dig that about him. Is he hyper-focused on the officiating issue? Sure, but that and the issue of foreign players in International competition are both things that directly affect his investment in the Mavericks team. The Mavs were the Golden State Warriors for many years before Cuban took over, and now they are perennial contenders for the throne. Sure they are still working on that whole “defense” thing, but nobody’s perfect. Another reason to like Cuban: I believe him. He seems like the kind of guy that says exactly what is true because there really is no reason not to. The NBA can fine him, but he’s willing to pay the fines because he considers it a reasonable cost for getting truth out despite what the league and/or media would like him to say.
And oh does he light into the media. That brings us to the next reason I like Cuban. He’s grasped the concept of fan interaction. Much like Curt Schilling did when he logged onto SOSH (Sons of Sam Horn – a Red Sox message board) and talked with fans before signing with the Sox. Tearing down the wall of separation between fans and players, owners, or any member of the team is something that could very well usher in a new era of sports. And there is a crying need to bridge the gap because there is just too much lost in the translation when the mainstream media (ok, even with the non-mainstream media like us) get involved. Writers take comments out of context either by mistake or deliberately trying to make a story out of nothing. Some just make things up as if writing for the Enquirer and get rewarded handsomely by all the attention and notoriety they get. Sam Smith (who Cuban calls a “malicious liar” in his blog) and Peter Vescey are both jokes who haven’t even bothered to feign journalistic integrity. Worse, there are more “respectable” members of the media who start doing similar things to get attention. Most knowledgeable fans can distinguish between a writer “looking for a scoop” and rumormongering. Still, the truth gets lost out there amidst the noise and it is sad to see.
All of which is why we started SportsRant in the first place. Like Cuban, we were tired of reading bogus stories churned out in cookie-cutter fashion while remaining aloof and separated from the common sports fan. I don’t have a problem with media members. I’m sure they are doing their job the best they can. But the product is all too often stale and unsatisfying. So we raise a toast to you Mr. Cuban. Rant on. We are listening.
So what is so great about Cuban and his blog? We’ll start with Mark himself. Is he loud and obnoxious? Heck yeah, and I dig that about him. Is he hyper-focused on the officiating issue? Sure, but that and the issue of foreign players in International competition are both things that directly affect his investment in the Mavericks team. The Mavs were the Golden State Warriors for many years before Cuban took over, and now they are perennial contenders for the throne. Sure they are still working on that whole “defense” thing, but nobody’s perfect. Another reason to like Cuban: I believe him. He seems like the kind of guy that says exactly what is true because there really is no reason not to. The NBA can fine him, but he’s willing to pay the fines because he considers it a reasonable cost for getting truth out despite what the league and/or media would like him to say.
And oh does he light into the media. That brings us to the next reason I like Cuban. He’s grasped the concept of fan interaction. Much like Curt Schilling did when he logged onto SOSH (Sons of Sam Horn – a Red Sox message board) and talked with fans before signing with the Sox. Tearing down the wall of separation between fans and players, owners, or any member of the team is something that could very well usher in a new era of sports. And there is a crying need to bridge the gap because there is just too much lost in the translation when the mainstream media (ok, even with the non-mainstream media like us) get involved. Writers take comments out of context either by mistake or deliberately trying to make a story out of nothing. Some just make things up as if writing for the Enquirer and get rewarded handsomely by all the attention and notoriety they get. Sam Smith (who Cuban calls a “malicious liar” in his blog) and Peter Vescey are both jokes who haven’t even bothered to feign journalistic integrity. Worse, there are more “respectable” members of the media who start doing similar things to get attention. Most knowledgeable fans can distinguish between a writer “looking for a scoop” and rumormongering. Still, the truth gets lost out there amidst the noise and it is sad to see.
All of which is why we started SportsRant in the first place. Like Cuban, we were tired of reading bogus stories churned out in cookie-cutter fashion while remaining aloof and separated from the common sports fan. I don’t have a problem with media members. I’m sure they are doing their job the best they can. But the product is all too often stale and unsatisfying. So we raise a toast to you Mr. Cuban. Rant on. We are listening.
