Great Moments in Journalism: Tougher Than Leather
We've only been doing this feature for a month and we're already running out of ways to ask you for your submissions. Just submit, 'kay?
Sportswriting is the prop comedy of journalism, the easy go-to when you've got nothing else to mock. This is the situation we find ourselves in today. It's not so much the writing in this Times piece on the Golden State Warriors hiring of Don Nelson (headlined, in an early edition, "Go West, Old Man," which seemed like someone's audition for the Post) that makes it GMiJ-worthy as it is the bizarre decision on providing context found here:
Although the Warriors' move stirred what has otherwise been a tepid N.B.A. summer, it was not surprising, especially considering who is running the team. Chris Mullin, who starred for Nelson, is the team's executive vice president for basketball operations. Mitch Richmond is his special assistant. Along with point guard Tim Hardaway, they formed the core of Run TMC (a play on the rap group Run DMC) in the late 80's and the early 90's.
Don Nelson is 66-years-old and we're pretty sure even he knows what "Run TMC" was a play on. Who's the Times' target audience, Red Auerbach?