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News Thu Jul 02 2009
Jay-Walking Back to Newspapers?
When he left (was pushed out of?) the Sun-Times sports department, controversial sports columnist Jay Mariotti declared that the future of sports writing was "sadly, not in newspapers."
So would it surprise anyone that the often-contrary Mariotti could be heading BACK to newspapers, specifically the Chicago Tribune?
Semi-satirical sports website Deadspin is reporting (with a humorous assortment of derogatory terms) that Mariotti is expected to join the Trib soon, adding that the paper has reportedly even mocked up a page with space for his column. The connection between his return and space being made at the Tribune is one Bill Adee, Mariotti's former editor at the Sun-Times, now doing the same job digital editor at the Trib, and the force behind ChicagoNow.
The reaction by local sports fans to the news may range from a collective yawn to an assortment of expletives (OK, maybe with a few claps of approval thrown in. He may have one or two fans, but websites like "Jay The Joke" and "Fire Jay Mariotti" seem to suggest there aren't too many of those.)
The sports newspaper war between the Sun-Times and Trib columnist will no doubt ramp up again, picking up where it left off as we reported here. Heck, even betting on an in-house battle between Mariotti and Tribune sports writers, whom he has also ripped in the past, would seem to be a sure thing.
So will he actually be required to venture into a clubhouse this time around to get his stories firsthand? Time will tell.
