Table of Contents
Introduction vii
Chapter 1 The Making of a Sports Reporter 1
Chapter 2 WFUV and Sports Phone: Sports Reporter Farm Systems 9
Chapter 3 Electronic Media Enters the World of Sports Reporting 16
Chapter 4 Are Beat Reporters Becoming Obsolete? 26
Chapter 5 1986 Mets: Decadence and Power 36
Chapter 6 The Demise of Network Radio 61
Chapter 7 Sports Talk Radio Takes over the Airwaves 70
Chapter 8 Pre- and Postgame Shows Take Center Stage 88
Chapter 9 Is Play-by-Play Announcing Becoming a Lost Art? 97
Chapter 10 The Role of Media Relations and Team Ownership 102
Chapter 11 Recreational vs. Performance Drug Culture 115
Chapter 12 1994: A Year to Remember 130
Chapter 13 Subway Series: The Media Takes Sides 152
Chapter 14 9/11: The World Would Never Be the Same 162
Chapter 15 Women in the Press Box 169
Chapter 16 Bobby Valentine and Rex Ryan: Unfair Media Coverage 176
Chapter 17 Team and League Ownership of Networks Change the Game 184
Chapter 18 The "Los Mets" Era: Stereotypical Sports Reporting 194
Chapter 19 Fantasy Sports and Sabermetrics Enter the Mainstream 203
Chapter 20 The 140-Character World: Social Media and the Internet 212
Chapter 21 Covering the Resurgence of the Mets 225
Chapter 22 The Top 15 Sports Columnists 234
Chapter 23 My Favorite Athletes to Interview 242
Chapter 24 A Game Plan for Aspiring Journalists 249
Chapter 25 Where Do We Go From Here? 254
Acknowledgments 258