Junior Walker would be proud….Yeah, I know I’m dating myself but what else is new?….1961 was the date, “Shotgun” was the hit, the first of many….Who knew that more than fifty years later, ‘ shotgun’ would become a term used to describe a form of sports journalism …it’s not covering a story, it’s not reporting what you’ve seen first hand….It’s the staple these days of sports talk radio hosts and internet columnists who wouldn’t dare ask the same questions to someone in person……
Case in point, Glenn Ordway on Wednesday in the weekly appearance by Bobby V….”Have you checked out of this?”, Ordway asked……to which Valentine responded , “What an embarrassing thing to say, ya know if I was there I’d punch you right in the mouth!”….and ya know what?, Valentine is absolutely right!….not only was that embarrassing, it was unprofessional….But being three thousand miles away makes it easy, i guess…Radio talk show hosts and the vast majority of bloggers who NEVER go to a game or work a clubhouse (locker room) are NOT sports journalists…they’re entertainers, clear and simple…..They sound great and may very well be the voice of the fans, but they are not sports journalists….
Ordway then intensified the situation by stating “(you were) late at a ballgame last week”…..to which Valentine again took exception, “That pisses me off…whoever wrote that knew what happened…and for someone to say i was late is an absolute disgrace to their integrity, if the have any!”….it says here, good for you Bobby V!……You wonder why professionals athletes are always blaming the media for the ills o the game, there’s examples one and two…
Make a list of the sports talk show hosts in Boston and you’ll find some of the most respected sports journalists of their time….but none of them cover a team on a regular basis anymore and they seem to have forgotten what it was like when they did…Bobby V didn’t help himself at all, throwing Joe Maddon under the bus but he had every right to challenge Ordway for the questions asked…
