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| Mariotti gained notoriety for his Chicago Sun-Times columns, ESPN appearances |
Blogger Ed Sherman reported former Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN analyst Jay Mariotti is "jumping back in" to sports journalism after a "break that lasted three years." Mariotti debuted MariottiShow.com yesterday and wrote in an e-mail, "We're launching a national multimedia site that we think is innovative because it wraps my three-hour national daily radio show around a site of my 24/7 content -- columns, short opinion hits, videos, audience interaction via Twitter and email, a travelogue of sports and restaurants and who knows what." Mariotti added he is teaming with Genesis Communications, which is "paying me for the content and the show." Mariotti's weekday radio show will begin Monday and air from 12:00-3:00pm ET (SHERMANREPORT.com, 8/7).
HAIL TO THE CHIEF: Former NFLer Chris Cooley made his debut on ESPN Radio 980 DC last Thursday on "The Drive With Cooley and Czabe." In DC, Dan Steinberg wrote Cooley "brought a certain locker room vibe to the studio." He was "honest, describing preseason games as 'a little bit of a joke,' and admitting that he's heard NFL players use the N word 'thousands of times' over the years" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/5). Steinberg wrote some people "might not have liked" Cooley's interview with Redskins Owner Dan Snyder Tuesday, as Cooley "offered friendly ground for the owner, repeatedly thanking Snyder for opportunities and mostly asking safe questions." But it was "likely the most relaxed that Snyder has ever sounded in a radio interview, and eventually that led to some pretty interesting quotes" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/7).
MY KIND OF TOWN: In Chicago, Bill Savage noted Chicago Tribune Cubs beat writer Paul Sullivan left the position Tuesday after "almost two decades." Sullivan said Mark Gonzalez will be "taking over the Cubs beat, and Colleen Kane will handle the White Sox, along with Fred Mitchell covering both when the regulars are off, and Phil Rogers still doing national stuff." Sullivan: "I’ll be a baseball generalist, writing longer feature stories about both teams, baseball in general. ... My new role will allow me to take more time and hopefully give a longer, more detailed, analytic take on a story that may have fallen through the cracks otherwise" (CHICAGOSIDESPORTS.com, 8/6). Mitchell will cover "the weekend home games" for the Cubs and White Sox (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 8/6).
NOTES: Houston sports radio host Barry Warner on Tuesday said that he "has resigned" from KILT-AM, bringing an end to a career that "began in the 1950s" (CHRON.com, 8/6)....CSN Bay Area on Monday announced Knoxville-based WATE-ABC reporter Fallon Smith had joined its roster of on-air talent as an anchor and reporter for its "SportsNet Central" program (CSN Bay Area)....SportsNet N.Y. UConn women's basketball announcer Andrew Catalon "will not return to the telecasts" for the '13-14 season. He has joined CBS Sports Network and "will take on a large schedule of college football and basketball games" (COURANT.com, 8/7).
