Rudy, Rudy, Rudy: Martzke Retires From USA Today Column
|
Martzke Pens Final
Sports TV Column |
USA TODAY’s Rudy Martzke pens his final sports TV column for the paper today and
writes, “While some at times have blistered me with complaints –- Gary Bender,
Howard Cosell and even [Pat] Summerall –- my experiences have largely been positive
while covering the TV sports business during a period of its greatest growth.”
Martzke adds, “The plaudits have come as the Sports on TV column became recognized.
There have been features on me in Sports Illustrated and other magazines, a charity
Rudy Roast in 2000 [in Biloxi, Mississippi] and a proclamation read to me at the
men’s Final Four in St. Louis by NCAA President Myles Brand, who described me
as an icon. Can’t do any better than that, I guess.” Martzke, who took over the
column a few months after the paper launched in ’82, writes he will “slip into
semiretirement” (USA TODAY, 4/15).
SPEAKING OF PLAUDITS: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar wrote Martzke influenced
“major decisions in the sports departments of America’s biggest television networks.”
Some execs “would fear his words, and ... some would say sportscasters’ careers
could rise or fall based merely on his opinions.” Caesar: “As USA Today grew,
so did the impact of Martzke’s column. By the early ‘90s, the Sporting News included
him on its list of the 100 most powerful people in sports for four consecutive
years.” CBS’ Jim Nantz: “He has certainly wielded a lot of power in network television.
He got people’s attention.” CBS college basketball analyst Billy Packer said,
“Every network executive will say he paid no attention to him. But I think he’s
had an incredible effect on decisions that were made, on people’s careers both
positively and negatively” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/12). ESPN college
basketball analyst Dick Vitale: “His Monday column, though a lot of guys will
not admit it, they all ran to it to read his evaluation.” NBC and HBO’s Bob Costas:
“He works stories with sports television executives and producers and announcers.
He works it like a beat. A lot of other guys who do it just write reviews off
what they see on television” (Andy
Bernstein, SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/11 issue).
FROM HIS COLLEAGUES: In Tampa, Rick Harmon writes Martzke “changed the
way newspapers cover sports media” (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 4/15). In Baltimore,
Ray Frager writes Martzke was not “the first to write a TV sports column and wasn’t
the best at it, but he certainly became the most well-known and –- by some accounts
–- wielded great influence in sports television” (Baltimore SUN, 4/15).
FROM THE ARCHIVES: In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley writes, “Martzke’s tenacity
as a reporter were the qualities that made his column a success. His clout was
undeniable. But his style, his ability with words, didn’t overwhelm some observers.”
The late Dick Schaap once said, “Martzke is one of the most influential reporters
in America, and the fact that he has reached this prestigious position without
displaying taste, judgment or grace in the use of the English language is some
tribute to Rudy Martzke” (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/15). In October
’03, Fox Sports President Ed Goren told THE DAILY that while he reads USA Today
everyday, he waits until the evening to do so “because, at times, I find it gets
me upset to the point where it's a lousy way to start the day.” Goren said of
what upsets him about USA Today: “Some things that are written about the fine
art of television sports. I hate to read anyone knocking our competitors, or whatever.
I just can't read it in the morning” (THE DAILY).
|
