  Gplimpton Member Username: Gplimpton Post Number: 96 Registered: 05-2007 |
Seems like the Freep has slowly but surely been pushing Michael Rosenberg into the "top spot" as the sports writer. Albom is frequently below the fold it seems, while Rosenberg is getting top billing. And I can't say I blame the Freep, seeing as Albom's work has been getting more and more cliche and mundane, lacking anything clever or sharp. Rosenberg makes me chuckle, and I get the impression he's a lot more real than Mitch. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 184 Registered: 10-2006 |
Did you see Albom's latest column on Les Miles? Albom is really starting to make a fool of himself. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20071201/COL 01/71201027&&imw=Y | ||
Eric Member Username: Eric Post Number: 1024 Registered: 11-2004 |
Albom's been making a fool of himself for years with the shallow he tripe churns out. | ||
Jtw Member Username: Jtw Post Number: 195 Registered: 06-2005 |
i can't believe anyone still publishes mitch albom. once you write a fake story, you lose all credibility in the industry. treacle, all of it. | ||
Mommydearest Member Username: Mommydearest Post Number: 8 Registered: 08-2007 |
If you want to read a hilarious opinion of Albom's writing, see www.sweet-juniper.com regarding Thanksgiving. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 305 Registered: 06-2007 |
Rosenberg's humor sometimes reminds me of old Dave Barry columns.Ridiculous and Absurd, but a good escape from the straight facts everywhere else on the page. Sports writers tend to be the least clever of all writers,so the fact that Rosenberg has a silly side gives him an edge. He can do very serious sports columns as well as lighthearted fare. Albom comes off as cranky, like he's always got something to complain about, whereas Rosenberg just wants to let loose and be entertaining in his non-sports writings. Its refreshing. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 512 Registered: 05-2004 |
This happens when someone goes "Hollywood". | ||
Higgs1634 Member Username: Higgs1634 Post Number: 229 Registered: 10-2005 |
quote: And of course, if UM hadn't botched the hiring of Miles, we would have been treated to a sappy article on how he is the second coming of Bo. But, since Miles is staying at LSU, we get a "hit" piece on how he wasn't MEEEEEEchigan material. Just retire Mitch...please. | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 395 Registered: 12-2006 |
Albom will forever toe the company line when Michigan is involved. He owes them everything. Without his sales numbers for his Fab Five book, he probably doesn't get "Tuesdays with Morrie" published and promoted the way it was. He doesn't get the made for TV movie, he doesn't get the successive best sellers he produced. He kept quiet even though he had enough access to be aware of all the transgressions that occurred during the Fab Five years (which is probably why the let him have so much access to the team). Because of that, he will continue to religiously waive his maize and blue flag until the day he dies and will try to find ways to spin any situation into a positive for "Big Blue". | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 758 Registered: 11-2006 |
I've noticed that as well. Personally, I like both writers although I can see why people are fed up with Albom. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5850 Registered: 08-2004 |
Spiritofdetroit... that's especially true if you spend much time listening to Albom on the radio...  | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 759 Registered: 11-2006 |
Thats true... Ive never been able to listen to his radio program... although I do enjoy some of his columns | ||
Hockey_player Member Username: Hockey_player Post Number: 390 Registered: 10-2003 |
What is it you enjoy about them? The cliches? The syrupy sentimentalism? The third-grade writing level? The mawkish heavy-handedness? | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 761 Registered: 11-2006 |
Well, clearly people like them... There is a reason he is a writer for a major paper in a major sports town. There is a reason he has a radio show, is a regular contributor to ESPN, and is a best-selling author.... Enough people must like him... Many of his columns - despite the cliches - send a needed message. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 964 Registered: 11-2003 |
Albom was spot on with the column regarding Les Miles. Those UofM supporters concerned with the program's "tradition" and "integrity" are lucky that the Les Miles hiring fell through. There are dozens of football coaches out there who will maintain UofM as a Top 10 program just as well or better than the self-important blowhard who will stay - for now - at LSU. Albom got it right. | ||
Hockey_player Member Username: Hockey_player Post Number: 393 Registered: 10-2003 |
Clearly people enjoy soap operas too, but it doesn't mean they're well written. People enjoy hot dogs too, but it doesn't mean they're nutritious. But OK, I'll bite - what's the message? | ||
Gplimpton Member Username: Gplimpton Post Number: 99 Registered: 05-2007 |
Les Miles didn't do anything to prove he won't "uphold the integrity" at MIchigan, which some would say is an oxymoron. All Les did was say "no" to Michigan. And for a university that doesn't like to hear that, it threw a temper tantrum. It should end any day now. | ||
Higgs1634 Member Username: Higgs1634 Post Number: 231 Registered: 10-2005 |
Will all those that are now bashing Miles be singing that same tune when he lights up OSU? | ||
Dhugger Member Username: Dhugger Post Number: 275 Registered: 03-2005 |
Albom is to busy doing movies produced by Oprah. (Not kidding about this. He has a new made for TV movie coming out soon.) I find his books both cliche and mundane as noted above. OK so my vision is tinted by the fact that he SCABBED during the newspaper strike 10 years ago. Detroit is the quintessential big city/small town I always say. When you burn somebody we never forget. | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 396 Registered: 12-2006 |
Gplimpton is spot on. The UM arrogance (that they swear doesn't exist) was on full display and the thought of actually being told "no" was simply counter to everything they were taught to believe. Michigan needs to face fact. If you want it, you have to pay for it. Right now LSU is as good a job if not a better job than the UM position. He's playing for national championships and Michigan (through their mouthpiece, Mitch Albom) had the nerve to get upset when he declined an offer that was for less money than what he stood to make at LSU. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 965 Registered: 11-2003 |
quote:Miles is the one who threw the tantrum. He literally called a press conference a couple of hours prior to the SEC Championship where he refused to take questions but instead pointed his finger and lectured the media and whined about all the distractions the search process had created. The news conference occurred only after he had completed a behind the scenes coup where he squeezed an extension and several millions of additional dollars out of LSU. He's a hypocrite and a bit of an asshole. Come to think of it, UofM deserved him. No, just kidding. | ||
Gplimpton Member Username: Gplimpton Post Number: 101 Registered: 05-2007 |
In this instance, he had a right to lecture the media. Why? Because they were reporting false information hours before the biggest games Les has coached. If he let it stand, then his team would be devastated, and play as such. Les did exactly what he should have done, he put the rumors to rest and he electrified his team. And guess what? It worked. | ||
Mayor_sekou Member Username: Mayor_sekou Post Number: 1756 Registered: 09-2006 |
All I know is Kirk Herbstreit from ESPN looks like an asshole for reporting on Miles defection. Did he go to Michigan I wonder? Oh and GO BUCKEYES!•• C'mon show the Big 10 some love. lol | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 3340 Registered: 02-2004 |
He continues at the Free Press mostly because they owe him and they own him. Not his writing, not his personality. | ||
Titancub Member Username: Titancub Post Number: 99 Registered: 08-2006 |
I enjoy his sentences. Which sometimes aren't. Sentences. Just phrases. That are repeated every other paragraph for some kind of artistic. Emphasis | ||
Gplimpton Member Username: Gplimpton Post Number: 102 Registered: 05-2007 |
Those are so damn annoying and not in the least bit original or clever. They are simply stupid, stupid stupid. They are simply stupid stupid stupid. Stupid. | ||
Andyguard73 Member Username: Andyguard73 Post Number: 268 Registered: 03-2006 |
Mayor_sekou, you're kidding about Herbstreit going to Michigan right? He's a former Ohio State quarterback who may have saved John Cooper's job by salvaging a tie against Michigan his senior year. Although he always seems to show respect for UM on air, a Michigan man he is not. | ||
Aaron Member Username: Aaron Post Number: 136 Registered: 12-2004 |
"All I know is Kirk Herbstreit from ESPN looks like an asshole for reporting on Miles defection. Did he go to Michigan I wonder?" Is that a joke? Seriously. | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 2774 Registered: 07-2004 |
I am amused by the hatred toward UM here. So far the response from UM toward the whole thing has been to wish Miles well............. so where all this crap about arrogance and temper tantrum comes from is a mystery as it sure aint coming from UM...................it really is about the transparency of some here. As for Albom, don't read him if you don't like him.I agree with some things, disagree with others, find him annoying at times as well as compelling at times. He is the franchise. Best seller , national presence, my guess is the free press is delighted to have that and him. | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 397 Registered: 12-2006 |
Citylover, That's not true and you know it. The general response by the Michigan fanbase has been VERY negative toward Les Miles ever since he announced that he wasn't interested. Leading the charge like a jilted schoolgirl was Mitch Albom. Add on top of that, his latest column where he's preaching the doom and gloom of football in the state of Michigan because the Wolverines and Lions have had recent setbacks. Instead of praising the lone bright spot, a resurgent Michigan State, he adds this jackass comment, "No offense, but when the football operation that seems most solid is Michigan State's, you're not having a great week." | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 2775 Registered: 07-2004 |
The fan base not the U jimbo.......... I would have liked miles but there are other good candidates out there. As for MSU being the lone bright spot you are being generous. Mich is going to the better bowl game and had a better year.However I am impressed by dantonio and if they let him stay things will be very good at MSU. | ||
Higgs1634 Member Username: Higgs1634 Post Number: 232 Registered: 10-2005 |
quote: That may be true, but weren't they supposed to be in that Nat'l championship game? I seem to remember Mike Hart saying something about that somewhere. | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 398 Registered: 12-2006 |
Citylover, Compared to what expectations were, I would argue that MSU is the lone bright spot. Most people predicted MSU would finish with 4 or 5 wins. They currently have 7 and are going to a bowl game in Florida. Even in their defeats, MSU showed fire. They lost 5 games by a combined 28 pts. What MSU did this year totally blew expectations out of the water. Now let's look at UM. Sure, they are going to a better bowl game than MSU, but compared to expectations, this season was an abysmal failure. Michigan returned 3 Heisman candidates in Henne, Hart, and Manningham plus a top 5 pick in next April's NFL draft in Jake Long on offense. They also returned several key members of a defense that was near historically good in 2006. Going into this season the goals for Michigan were possible BCS title, Big Ten championship, and beating Ohio State. They accomplished NONE of their goals. If you don't accomplish your goals then your season is a failure. And to add insult to injury, if MSU beats BC and UM loses to Florida, MSU and UM finish with identical records. Is finishing with a record identical to MSU considered a successful season for Michigan football? Couple the on the field failures with a future that looks greatly in question and the picture for looks even more grim. The Les Miles incident on Saturday was a big PR fiasco for UM football and now, during a critical recruiting period, Michigan doesn't have a coaching staff in place for next season. But the uncertainty doesn't end with the coaching search. Michigan loses almost every single key contributor. Henne, Hart, Long, and Crable lead up a list of 8 starters who will be graduating plus the rumors are already circulating that Manningham, Arrington, and Taylor will leave early. Who replaces them? Mallet, while blessed with incredible physical gifts, seems to be capable of Ryan Leaf-esque ego in the way he was screaming at teammates and coaches on the sidelines...as a true Freshman. Brown, Minor, and Grady are nowhere near as good as Mike Hart, and the WR behind Manningham and Arrington are young and untested. I could go on with this, but you get the idea. Right now, with an improved record, stability in the coaching staff, and most of their key players returning next season, MSU looks to be on more solid footing than the Michigan Wolverines. | ||
Mjb3 Member Username: Mjb3 Post Number: 159 Registered: 11-2004 |
Someone has hijacked your Albom thread into a UM/OSU pissing match. The real crux of the issue is that the real Detroit sports fans gave up on "Midg-ett Albom" when he criticized Darren McCarthy for pummeling Claude Lemieux. Prior to that, I never really cared for the dwarf and his pious prose. Or the fact that he needed to be his own media conglomeration(2 radio shows, 4 ESPN TV shows, 2 Sports columns) instead of just writing about sports I don't think Rosenberg is much better. In fact he seems too much like Albom to stand out from him. I wish Detroit had real sportswriters again like Mike Downey. Don't know who the next great one will be. Still waiting I guess... | ||
Ffdfd Member Username: Ffdfd Post Number: 241 Registered: 09-2006 |
Albom wrote a column today about the big trade -- I know because I saw the headline. I wouldn't think to read the column, however. I think Susan Ager might have more insight and useful analysis to offer than mawkish Mitch. | ||
The_ed Member Username: The_ed Post Number: 1286 Registered: 10-2007 |
I think Mitch Albom tries too hard. I've always liked Bob Talbert  | ||
Hockey_player Member Username: Hockey_player Post Number: 395 Registered: 10-2003 |
On the contrary, since Albom uses the exact same device - i.e. repeating the same slogan/phrase over and over - in nearly every article or column, it seems he can't be bothered to try anything different than using the same overworn template he's used for ages. It's bad enough he's hackneyed and cloying, but he's repetitive as well, which shows utter contempt for the readers, as if we should take what drivel the great Mitch dishes out and like it. | ||
Alan55 Member Username: Alan55 Post Number: 832 Registered: 09-2005 |
Perhaps, given the success he has had with his books and other media projects, it is actually ALBOM who is edging away from doing his regular sports column. | ||
Gplimpton Member Username: Gplimpton Post Number: 104 Registered: 05-2007 |
He's been "successful" for years now, and only in the last few months has he been pushed below the fold. Strangely enough, I haven't seen him on ESPN in a long while. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 309 Registered: 06-2007 |
Let's be honest, when youre a bestselling author, wouldn't any newspaper want to hold on to you? At this point, it's likely just name recognition, past glory, and success on his personal projects thats keeping his column running. | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 131 Registered: 11-2007 |
He was on Oprah today plugging his latest book/tv movie. His penchant for repeating things continues with this theme of talking to dead people in his latest book. |
