Mark Cuban has an interesting take on my local NBA columnist, Sam Smith. I don't really pay attention to what Sam Smith writes about the Mavericks, but since quite a lot of Smith's columns deal with trade possibilities for the Bulls, I assume much of it is speculation, nothing more, nothing less.
David Aldridge still is one of the best NBA reporters, and ESPN.com was foolish to let him go.
Chad Ford on the other hand, just seems like a bit of dofus. I'm not a paid subscriber to ESPN, and have no intention of becoming one, especially if Ford and Bill Walton are the main 'draw'.
There is a new idiot on the sports scene - Blog Maverick - www.blogmaverick.com:
Sam Smith is still clueless. I got to speak to him face to face when we played in Chicago and told him so. It was a pleasure to do so. He didnt really argue when I suggested that he misleads people into believing that what he writes is fact rather than his opinion. I guess I shouldnt be surprised. ...
There is another writer that I dont correspond with , or talk to, that has taken upon himself to write what he thinks Im thinking. The new moron in town is Chad Ford of ESPN.com
To think that ESPN let David Aldridge go for this. David Aldridge checked his facts. David Aldridge would email me in the middle of the night asking one last time if he had his facts correct, or if it was something that couldnt be commented on, to let you know what he was going with to make sure he got it right.
I remember one time David and I got into a disagreement about what fans thought about the game,its players and costs. I told him that I thought fans loved the game, and all he had to do was talk to them to find out. He did. He went and sat in the stands and talked to the customers of the NBA and asked them what they thought. When they told him they thought the game was fun and affordable, he wrote just that. With quotes from the fans.
So instead of a Aldridge, a reporter with great relationships around the NBA and access to information, they go with a guy, who at least in my case doesnt take the time to email me and ask. Its not like he cant find my email.
Its not a suprise. Like Sam Smith, he is just one of the guys who would rather not let facts get in the way.
The irony of it all, is that he writes for the ESPN Insider section of the website.The sad part is that ESPN.com charges for access to what he writes. This guy is so far from the inside of whats going on, that ESPN should be embarrased to take subscription money from its members.
Oh, and Peter Vescey is fun to read. He does write for the NYPost, so gossip is part and parcel of their corporate mandate.
