Fire Jeff Flanagan
With all due respect to one of my favorite newly found blogs, Fire Joe Morgan, I'm stealing the title to argue (rail against?) for the release of his duties one Jeff Flanagan, sports writer for the Kansas City Star newspaper.
If you're reading this, and you probably aren't, you might not be aware of Jeff. Jeff writes a page 2 piece called Top of the Mornin' in the sports section. And Jeff is really, really full of himself. Let's get a quick overview of how much Jeff is full of himself:
1) Jeff's byline is actually Jeffrey Flanagan. Not Jeff, or Jef, or Neat Guy. Jeffrey. Now, there are plenty of politicians and other self-important people who don't contract their names because it makes them sound like they're 12. But sports writers? C'mon, Jeff, get over yourself. You argue that people need to let go of finger pointing at Mike Sweeney (we'll get there, I promise), and yet you have the audacity to write a wittily-named reference column to the Irish with your full first name. I think there's a Saturday Night Live sketch in here somewhere. Get over yourself.
2) Jeff got into a publicized spat (in his own column, no less) with a local college athlete over his salary a while ago. Jeff actually decided that this college athlete deserved to have his opinion publicized and criticized by Jeff in print. Jeff, no one gives a rat's ass what you make. And your spending 10 seconds of time to respond to Mr. Watson's criticism makes you look weaker than your journalistic skills. Get over yourself.
3) Jeff is willing to shill for professional athletes and their wives who buy into franchises. Translation: Jeff is not a journalist, but a publicity whore who, given the proper opportunity, neglect hard-working Americans without hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank to shill for you, the professional (or ex-) athlete so you can make up for the rest of us who battle daily to survive with our franchises, most of whom had to mortgage their lives away to buy into. Thanks, Jeff. More coming on this topic.
Got enough overview of Jeff's ego yet?
No?
Then how about today's column? Let's take a look.
Today's Top of the Mornin' column had three great areas for analysis: the Royals' Player and Pitcher of the Year awards, Meal Makers, and Kareem Rush.
Nobody outside Kansas City gives a damn about the Royals (and most Kansas Citians don't now that the Chiefs have kicked off, too). But Jeff has his vote for Royals' Player and Pitcher of the Year. For the Player, Jeff argues that it's a "two man race" and that's between Mike Sweeney and David DeJesus. Jeff eliminates Emil Brown (Kansas City lets out a collective, "Who?") by noting that he's a "4th outfielder somewhere else", and thus not eligible. Hmm, because Emil's not good enough to be an every day outfielder somewhere else, he's eliminated from contention. That's good logic. If Jeff had said that Emil is an okay hitter who's been productive but can't field his position worth a crap, I'd be more likely to agree since Emil's made 13 errors in the outfield this year and basically looks like he's playing in a blindfold. But Jeff eliminates Emil because he's not good enough to start anywhere else. Is this how we pick Players of the Year?
Jeff notes that Mike Sweeney is the best hitter on the team. True. He also dismisses the "finger pointing" and reputation that Mike's rightfully earned for himself of being 1) a pansy and 2) a clubhouse Bible-beating cancer. Mike Sweeney is probably the nicest guy on the planet. Sure seems nice in those TV interviews. Heck, he's the captain of the team, for crying out loud. But Mike also is injured a lot. A lot. Enough so that a lot of folks I know have lost confidence in the man. This is also the same nice fella who, during the Royals latest extended losing streak of 19 games, noted that "God willing, we'll win." Everything after "God willing" is a paraphrase. I have a wake up call for Mike: If God cares about the Royals, or for any professional or amateur sports team, we're all in trouble. Do we not think God has more to worry about than sports? There was actually a report at the beginning of the year about how good Mike has become at having Bible study before the games, and the number of players who're now carrying Bibles around to events and in the clubhouse. Should the fans be concerned when it looks as though, as ex-skipper Tony Muser once rightly and angrily opined, the team needs to be less of a milk and cookies team and more of a vodka and water team?
If Jeff thinks I'm just an anti-religion guy, he's off base. But religion should play no role in sports. God does not choose sides in sports, stop losing streaks, or let guys bat .300. That kind of selfish thinking is not my God. But it would explain why Hurricane Katrina wiped out the Gulf Coast. He must have been watching the Dodgers.
Mike Sweeney's a swell guy, I'm sure. And he's a candidate for Player of the Year on the Royals precisely because he's on the team. But so is Emil Brown. And so is David DeJesus. Just because DeJesus is currently on the disabled list, I believe Jeff has dismissed him. As far as I can tell, though, David's played in more games than Mike, 121 to 110, respectively. Sure, Mike's got some pop in his bat. But how can we hand out team awards by subtraction rather than accomplishment?
By the way, Pitcher of the Year? Mike MacDougal. Guess what? Someone must have written this part of the column for Jeff. Whoever did is exactly right. Not that anybody cared.
Here's what really boils my blood. In another segment of his column today Jeff notes that ex-Royal Shane Halter's wife Jennifer is opening a Meal Makers franchise in Overland Park, KS. First off, who is Shane Halter? And what did he or his wife Jennifer do for Royals baseball besides collect a few hundred grand and not make much of an impression? Second, what is Meal Makers? Well, Jeff explains that for us: Busy parents don't have time to cook anymore and Meal Makers invites them to their location to put together pre-cut and organized food into aluminum tubs that they can take home, freeze, and then cook when they have time. But guess what? Jeff does this by shilling directly for Meal Makers, a St. Louis-based company. Guess what? Kansas City and St. Louis don't like each other much. For example, when a vote in KC was required for raising the dollars via taxes for the new downtown complex that included the Sprint Center arena, St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-a-Car pushed a campaign to kill it. Hard. They argued that because they would have to raise rental taxes it was an unfair burden on them. Uh-huh. St. Louis doesn't want competition for events and sports, and plenty was made of it, too. The measure passed. The Sprint Center is underway. Screw St. Louis is what Kansas City said.
Now, Jeff wants us to support a St. Louis-based franchise like this one? Here's where Jeff's lack of journalism skills becomes painfully evident. He does not mention that there are at least two other similar organizations in Kansas City already: Social Suppers and My Other Kitchen. As far as I can tell from my research, these two are not based in St. Louis and Social Suppers is a Kansas City-based, local organization. And they're viable substitutes for Meal Makers. And local. Give your money to them if you're going to use this type of service. Please. Let's make sure that Jeff's close friend Jennifer (wife of Shane Halter, ex-Royal of no regard) decides to find a Kansas City-based opportunity instead.
Last on this, do we really want Jeff telling us how ex-athletes and current athletes such as Shane (who?) and Jermaine Dye and Jeff Conine can simply write a check or tell their accountant where they want their millions invested to make more? Nope. Not me. I'd like to see Jeff rail on about athletes sending their money to the Gulf Coast like his cohort Joe Posnanski did a few days ago when he noted that Jose ("Serve 'em Up with a Smile") Lima got his latest $250,000 bonus for making his 28th start of the year. Jeff, next time you want to use your column for self-serving, direct address publication of a friend's new venture, remember to get the money up front. Oh, and make sure you donate it to the Red Cross relief fund.
Finally, Jeff wraps up with a gossip point. Jeff "hears" that Kareem Rush (a former local basketball player with the Lakers) will be delivering supplies to the devastated Gulf Coast region with a cavalcade of NBA players. He "hears" this? Or he knows this? Or this is so mind-boggingly inane that he added it because he needed to fill the final 30 words of his column? Jeff, we hardly thought your column as hard-hitting sports journalism to start with but I'd leave the People magazine stuff to them.
Of course, maybe you're simply trying to impress your next employer. God willing.
If you're reading this, and you probably aren't, you might not be aware of Jeff. Jeff writes a page 2 piece called Top of the Mornin' in the sports section. And Jeff is really, really full of himself. Let's get a quick overview of how much Jeff is full of himself:
1) Jeff's byline is actually Jeffrey Flanagan. Not Jeff, or Jef, or Neat Guy. Jeffrey. Now, there are plenty of politicians and other self-important people who don't contract their names because it makes them sound like they're 12. But sports writers? C'mon, Jeff, get over yourself. You argue that people need to let go of finger pointing at Mike Sweeney (we'll get there, I promise), and yet you have the audacity to write a wittily-named reference column to the Irish with your full first name. I think there's a Saturday Night Live sketch in here somewhere. Get over yourself.
2) Jeff got into a publicized spat (in his own column, no less) with a local college athlete over his salary a while ago. Jeff actually decided that this college athlete deserved to have his opinion publicized and criticized by Jeff in print. Jeff, no one gives a rat's ass what you make. And your spending 10 seconds of time to respond to Mr. Watson's criticism makes you look weaker than your journalistic skills. Get over yourself.
3) Jeff is willing to shill for professional athletes and their wives who buy into franchises. Translation: Jeff is not a journalist, but a publicity whore who, given the proper opportunity, neglect hard-working Americans without hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank to shill for you, the professional (or ex-) athlete so you can make up for the rest of us who battle daily to survive with our franchises, most of whom had to mortgage their lives away to buy into. Thanks, Jeff. More coming on this topic.
Got enough overview of Jeff's ego yet?
No?
Then how about today's column? Let's take a look.
Today's Top of the Mornin' column had three great areas for analysis: the Royals' Player and Pitcher of the Year awards, Meal Makers, and Kareem Rush.
Nobody outside Kansas City gives a damn about the Royals (and most Kansas Citians don't now that the Chiefs have kicked off, too). But Jeff has his vote for Royals' Player and Pitcher of the Year. For the Player, Jeff argues that it's a "two man race" and that's between Mike Sweeney and David DeJesus. Jeff eliminates Emil Brown (Kansas City lets out a collective, "Who?") by noting that he's a "4th outfielder somewhere else", and thus not eligible. Hmm, because Emil's not good enough to be an every day outfielder somewhere else, he's eliminated from contention. That's good logic. If Jeff had said that Emil is an okay hitter who's been productive but can't field his position worth a crap, I'd be more likely to agree since Emil's made 13 errors in the outfield this year and basically looks like he's playing in a blindfold. But Jeff eliminates Emil because he's not good enough to start anywhere else. Is this how we pick Players of the Year?
Jeff notes that Mike Sweeney is the best hitter on the team. True. He also dismisses the "finger pointing" and reputation that Mike's rightfully earned for himself of being 1) a pansy and 2) a clubhouse Bible-beating cancer. Mike Sweeney is probably the nicest guy on the planet. Sure seems nice in those TV interviews. Heck, he's the captain of the team, for crying out loud. But Mike also is injured a lot. A lot. Enough so that a lot of folks I know have lost confidence in the man. This is also the same nice fella who, during the Royals latest extended losing streak of 19 games, noted that "God willing, we'll win." Everything after "God willing" is a paraphrase. I have a wake up call for Mike: If God cares about the Royals, or for any professional or amateur sports team, we're all in trouble. Do we not think God has more to worry about than sports? There was actually a report at the beginning of the year about how good Mike has become at having Bible study before the games, and the number of players who're now carrying Bibles around to events and in the clubhouse. Should the fans be concerned when it looks as though, as ex-skipper Tony Muser once rightly and angrily opined, the team needs to be less of a milk and cookies team and more of a vodka and water team?
If Jeff thinks I'm just an anti-religion guy, he's off base. But religion should play no role in sports. God does not choose sides in sports, stop losing streaks, or let guys bat .300. That kind of selfish thinking is not my God. But it would explain why Hurricane Katrina wiped out the Gulf Coast. He must have been watching the Dodgers.
Mike Sweeney's a swell guy, I'm sure. And he's a candidate for Player of the Year on the Royals precisely because he's on the team. But so is Emil Brown. And so is David DeJesus. Just because DeJesus is currently on the disabled list, I believe Jeff has dismissed him. As far as I can tell, though, David's played in more games than Mike, 121 to 110, respectively. Sure, Mike's got some pop in his bat. But how can we hand out team awards by subtraction rather than accomplishment?
By the way, Pitcher of the Year? Mike MacDougal. Guess what? Someone must have written this part of the column for Jeff. Whoever did is exactly right. Not that anybody cared.
Here's what really boils my blood. In another segment of his column today Jeff notes that ex-Royal Shane Halter's wife Jennifer is opening a Meal Makers franchise in Overland Park, KS. First off, who is Shane Halter? And what did he or his wife Jennifer do for Royals baseball besides collect a few hundred grand and not make much of an impression? Second, what is Meal Makers? Well, Jeff explains that for us: Busy parents don't have time to cook anymore and Meal Makers invites them to their location to put together pre-cut and organized food into aluminum tubs that they can take home, freeze, and then cook when they have time. But guess what? Jeff does this by shilling directly for Meal Makers, a St. Louis-based company. Guess what? Kansas City and St. Louis don't like each other much. For example, when a vote in KC was required for raising the dollars via taxes for the new downtown complex that included the Sprint Center arena, St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-a-Car pushed a campaign to kill it. Hard. They argued that because they would have to raise rental taxes it was an unfair burden on them. Uh-huh. St. Louis doesn't want competition for events and sports, and plenty was made of it, too. The measure passed. The Sprint Center is underway. Screw St. Louis is what Kansas City said.
Now, Jeff wants us to support a St. Louis-based franchise like this one? Here's where Jeff's lack of journalism skills becomes painfully evident. He does not mention that there are at least two other similar organizations in Kansas City already: Social Suppers and My Other Kitchen. As far as I can tell from my research, these two are not based in St. Louis and Social Suppers is a Kansas City-based, local organization. And they're viable substitutes for Meal Makers. And local. Give your money to them if you're going to use this type of service. Please. Let's make sure that Jeff's close friend Jennifer (wife of Shane Halter, ex-Royal of no regard) decides to find a Kansas City-based opportunity instead.
Last on this, do we really want Jeff telling us how ex-athletes and current athletes such as Shane (who?) and Jermaine Dye and Jeff Conine can simply write a check or tell their accountant where they want their millions invested to make more? Nope. Not me. I'd like to see Jeff rail on about athletes sending their money to the Gulf Coast like his cohort Joe Posnanski did a few days ago when he noted that Jose ("Serve 'em Up with a Smile") Lima got his latest $250,000 bonus for making his 28th start of the year. Jeff, next time you want to use your column for self-serving, direct address publication of a friend's new venture, remember to get the money up front. Oh, and make sure you donate it to the Red Cross relief fund.
Finally, Jeff wraps up with a gossip point. Jeff "hears" that Kareem Rush (a former local basketball player with the Lakers) will be delivering supplies to the devastated Gulf Coast region with a cavalcade of NBA players. He "hears" this? Or he knows this? Or this is so mind-boggingly inane that he added it because he needed to fill the final 30 words of his column? Jeff, we hardly thought your column as hard-hitting sports journalism to start with but I'd leave the People magazine stuff to them.
Of course, maybe you're simply trying to impress your next employer. God willing.
posted by Toronto McKee at 8:41 AM
5 Comments:
rental properties
So what in the hell is he supposed to talk about? He writes KANSAS CITY SPORTS! Those are KC sports. Chiefs and Royals, you asshole. If that's being full of yourself, then I guess he should be fired. Oh wait he was. I'm sure it was because he wrote about current events happening in KC metro sports. If you don't care about the Royals or Chiefs, THEN READ ANOTHER PAPER. I'm a devoted Royals fan and grew up in KC. The only reason I read the Star is to get info on the Royals and Chiefs. To say people outside KC don't care about the Royals?? Who gives a shit, people outside KC aren't reading the star. If they are and don't want to read about the Royals, THEN READ THE PAPER IN YOUR TOWN. Seriously, take your Lenexa, Johnson County snot ass self and go read a Lenexa paper or something. Take your kids to soccer practice and buy them their first Lexus just like every other JoCo MoFo that has never had to work a hard day in their life.
You go Anonymous! Toronto, all I can say is, What a tool you are! Flanny's column is one most people look forward to (or was, before this week). Talk about ego - Your inane ramblings leads one to believe that you think your shit doensn't stink. You couldn't carry Jeffrey's jock strap. Go back to your basement, sniffer baby!
Wow what an angry post... but it looks like you got your wish. I thought his columns were weak compared to other commentary available online... after chiefs games it was either responding inline to the play by play announcers or a list of television ratings. I stopped reading the columns and I always make time to read Pos (*9/9/09) and Whitlock.
I'll admit that the job I have is not subject to widespread public criticism, and in no way could I be a successful sports columnist. And Jeff if you read this I wish the best for you and your family.
I found this site using [url=http://google.com]google.com[/url] And i want to thank you for your work. You have done really very good site. Great work, great site! Thank you!
Sorry for offtopic
Post a Comment
<< Home