Can Sports Writing Recapture Its Relevance?

Gary Andrew Poole has an excellent essay on the state of sports writing in the current Columbia Journalism Review.

It explores how much a sports reporter's job has changed since the days of Grantland Rice, Red Smith and Jim Murray. After all, you didn't read W.C. Heinz on a blog and Smith didn't have to chase rumors from a chat room.

It raises the question: Where have the storytelling skills gone in sports writing? Has the Web's instant gratification -- fantasy football fanatics, real-time stats and aim, ready, fact-check approach to sports news -- drown out some of the best writing? They are legitimate questions.

Give the essay a close read. It hits on a real issue facing today's sports journalists.