Once upon a time I used to read a wonderful blog called firejoemorgan. That blog is the reason I write what you are reading now. They haven't updated that site for years but this glorious day they have returned on Deadspin
Firstly I implore you to click the link and also to read their original blog which should be on your screen somewhere to the right of this post. Secondly a word about a sports journalist that they used to write about.
Mike Celizic, known as HatGuy wrote some absolute rubbish about baseball for a long time, and FJM rightly destroyed him for it. He was recently diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma and sadly today he died. His last blog post was beautifully written and felt to me like a farewell from a warm old friend. A man whose ideas on baseball I couldn't have agreed less with, but a witty and intelligent writer who will leave the world a less interesting and fun place.
Perspective is a wonderful thing. Mike Celizic wrote the kind of stuff I regularly abuse people for on this blog, but as a man he was deserving of nothing but praise. So remember that some crappy sports journalism does not mean I hate the person, just I think what they wrote was garbage.
So raise a hot fudge sundae and say farewell to HatGuy, proof that a person and their work are not the same. Except for Piers Morgan, the twat.
Showing posts with label firejoemorgan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label firejoemorgan. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Friday, 13 February 2009
Lawro's predictions
I suppose Mark Lawrenson's prediction column for the BBC should really be our JoeChat. However this is the first time I've blogged on it.
First up a couple of quick Lawro tips.
1. When he doesn't know much about a team he makes a generic statement on them. This week we have:
good side
as good a football team as most
tough act at home
they are not a bad team
great footballing team
2. He never predicts a team to score more than 2 goals. This week:
2-0
2-1
1-1
2-1
0-2
1-1
1-1
0-2
2-0
Anyway let's move on to his first effort this week.
Swansea v Fulham (1245 GMT)
Swansea are as good a football team as most in the Championship. They are in form and won't change the way they play.
Fulham are a good side and quite strong away from home, but I'm going for a home win.
You might think with him being a regular MOTD pundit that he would know quite a bit about Fulham. While his assertion that they are a 'good side' is true if vague, the strong away from home comment isn't entirely accurate. It is in fact completely and wildly inaccurate. Fulham's Premier League away record is better than only Stoke's and WBA's and they have not won any games away from home in the league this season.
That would be a good reason to predict a win for in form Swansea. Except Lawro thinks they are strong away from home but still says they will lose 2-0!
Take that logic!
West Ham v Middlesbrough (1500 GMT)
The Hammers are much improved and Boro don't know where their next win is coming from, so I'm going for a draw!
The use of the exclamation mark suggests that even he realises how stupid his prediction is, and yet he makes it anyway. To write this sentence and expect to be taken seriously as a football pundit you need to be a special kind of person. NOT in a good way.
Portsmouth v Man City (1500 GMT)
Following Harry Redknapp was a very difficult job for Tony Adams at Fratton Park and having to sell their best players - but they were unlucky against Liverpool last weekend.
Man City don't have much of a physical presence up front and have to play on the counter-attack, so Pompey have a chance here.
All kinds of (sic) in the first bit. Unlucky or rubbish? Distin and James had a horror show and in fact Distin has been shocking ever since Adams got the job.
Also surely most teams play on the counter-attack away from home anyway? I would say that having incredibly fast skillful front players against Campbell and Distin is a plus not a minus. What he really should mention is City's horrible away form and if the real City will show up or not.
The message is clear Lawro: stick to what you are good at (making fatuous, unfunny remarks to distract everyone from the fact you haven't got a clue how to put together an interesting or insightful analysis of the game).
First up a couple of quick Lawro tips.
1. When he doesn't know much about a team he makes a generic statement on them. This week we have:
good side
as good a football team as most
tough act at home
they are not a bad team
great footballing team
2. He never predicts a team to score more than 2 goals. This week:
2-0
2-1
1-1
2-1
0-2
1-1
1-1
0-2
2-0
Anyway let's move on to his first effort this week.
Swansea v Fulham (1245 GMT)
Swansea are as good a football team as most in the Championship. They are in form and won't change the way they play.
Fulham are a good side and quite strong away from home, but I'm going for a home win.
You might think with him being a regular MOTD pundit that he would know quite a bit about Fulham. While his assertion that they are a 'good side' is true if vague, the strong away from home comment isn't entirely accurate. It is in fact completely and wildly inaccurate. Fulham's Premier League away record is better than only Stoke's and WBA's and they have not won any games away from home in the league this season.
That would be a good reason to predict a win for in form Swansea. Except Lawro thinks they are strong away from home but still says they will lose 2-0!
Take that logic!
West Ham v Middlesbrough (1500 GMT)
The Hammers are much improved and Boro don't know where their next win is coming from, so I'm going for a draw!
The use of the exclamation mark suggests that even he realises how stupid his prediction is, and yet he makes it anyway. To write this sentence and expect to be taken seriously as a football pundit you need to be a special kind of person. NOT in a good way.
Portsmouth v Man City (1500 GMT)
Following Harry Redknapp was a very difficult job for Tony Adams at Fratton Park and having to sell their best players - but they were unlucky against Liverpool last weekend.
Man City don't have much of a physical presence up front and have to play on the counter-attack, so Pompey have a chance here.
All kinds of (sic) in the first bit. Unlucky or rubbish? Distin and James had a horror show and in fact Distin has been shocking ever since Adams got the job.
Also surely most teams play on the counter-attack away from home anyway? I would say that having incredibly fast skillful front players against Campbell and Distin is a plus not a minus. What he really should mention is City's horrible away form and if the real City will show up or not.
The message is clear Lawro: stick to what you are good at (making fatuous, unfunny remarks to distract everyone from the fact you haven't got a clue how to put together an interesting or insightful analysis of the game).
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Welcome...
to firejohnmotson.
For our first ever post a few details of the purpose of this blog:
The title would seem to imply that this blog will be about BBC football commentator John Motson. Well it will be at times but the main reason behind starting the blog is for me to address what I feel are the low standards of sports commentating and writing in the UK. Motson is a figurehead as he is the worst commentator out there and the highest profile.
Most of the posts will probably consist of me ranting and raving about shocking sports journalism.
Yes this is unashamedly inspired by the original FJM: firejoemorgan.com as well as football365's great Mediawatch column. Unlike the authors there I am not a writer by trade although I do work within the sports industry in the UK.
Enjoy
For our first ever post a few details of the purpose of this blog:
The title would seem to imply that this blog will be about BBC football commentator John Motson. Well it will be at times but the main reason behind starting the blog is for me to address what I feel are the low standards of sports commentating and writing in the UK. Motson is a figurehead as he is the worst commentator out there and the highest profile.
Most of the posts will probably consist of me ranting and raving about shocking sports journalism.
Yes this is unashamedly inspired by the original FJM: firejoemorgan.com as well as football365's great Mediawatch column. Unlike the authors there I am not a writer by trade although I do work within the sports industry in the UK.
Enjoy
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