Thursday, July 28, 2005

Another Column, Another Mild Diss

It was Oscar Wilde who said, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about". So I was pleased to see that in a recent article about Barstool Sports I was on the receiving end of what I think was an extremely light snark. The article seems to focus on the fact that Barstool Sports is not soon to be showered with Pulitzers, and the reporter then says,

One issue even included a 1,400-word piece on why it’s foolish to wear sunglasses during a poker match.

Guess who wrote that? I thought that column was pretty good, actually. I've always felt the primary responsibility of a writer is to not bore the reader. If I'm gonna write 1,400 words about sunglasses and poker it because I have 1,400 words worth to say about it. I tend to go on a bit, but I know your time is valuable and I don't want to waste it. Like I am now.

David Portnoy is the publisher of Barstool Sports, and he has some classic quotes in the piece. To wit:

“I hate writing. I always have.”

“If people want to threaten us with lawsuits, I really don’t care. As long as it’s interesting and I think it’s funny, it goes in the paper.”

“If someone put `Barstool Sports sucks’ right in the middle of their article, chances are it would get published.”

(About ESPN Sports Guy Bill Simmons) “I think he’s a fraud and a total sham. But I still think he’s the best writer I’ve ever read. If I saw him walking down the street and he said he’d write for us, I’d hire him in a second.”

That's awesome.

Hopefully my elegant prose will help bring more attention to Barstool's writing and shift the focus away from its cover girls. Hmmpf, almost said that with a straight face. The one this month is again pretty cute, if you like tall, tan blondes.

Oh, my column. Hope you read it.

posted by Gene @ 12:09 AM   |