Washington Post Lands N.Y. Times' Mike Wise For Sports Staff

The Washington Post has hired N.Y. Times sportswriter Mike Wise to write a weekly column and features, according to Harry Jaffe of the WASHINGTONIAN. Wise replaces Rachel Nichols, who had been covering the NBA and other beats from N.Y., and "had been talking to the Times, [before] she left the Post for ESPN." Wise's addition "signals a realization by the Post that its sports section needs new energy and fresh perspective." Jaffe adds that Wise "burned the Post" while writing for the N.Y. Times, as "it was Wise' reporting last year that first shed light on the tensions between" Michael Jordan and Wizards Owner Abe Pollin that led to Jordan's departure. Washington Post Sports Editor Emilio Garcia-Ruiz indicated that a spot became available for Wise "in part by the recent buyouts at the Post." Post horseracing columnist Andrew Beyer "will go from 100 columns a year to 26," while William Gildea's weekly column will be reduced to monthly. Wise, who will leave the Times at the end of the month and start at the Post in March, said of his role with the Post: "It's pretty much an open page" (WASHINGTONIAN, 1/16 issue).

FREEMAN: The N.Y. POST's "Page Six" reported a N.Y. Daily News spokesperson said rumors of Mike Freeman, who was fired by the Indianapolis Star for fabrications on his resume, joining the paper are "not true." Page Six noted Freeman, three years ago on Sportspages.com, "ripped his fellow sportswriters, contending they were jealous, sexist, bigoted — and untalented." One former colleague said of Freeman: "A lot of sportswriters hate him. They're happy now that he's getting his comeuppance" (N.Y. POST, 1/17).