Big Lead Sports Bar

12/14/2008

BOB SMIZIK OUT AT THE PG

Breaking news: after 39 years, Post-Gazette columnist Bob Smizik is leaving the paper after accepting "a generous buyout". In our recent Pittsburgh Sports Media Popularity Contest, Smizik placed 63rd out of 67 with a 22.2% approval rating, so the time is probably right to move on.



Read his entire goodbye: "Unexpected but fun ride comes to an end"

Send your news, tips, and links to Mondesishouse@gmail.com.

13 comments:

Real McCoy said...

Who will step forward from the Pittsburgh media to bash Mark Madden now that Smizik is gone?

tming said...

Who is going to get his column? I can see the PG not replacing him and just stayung with a Collier and Cook rotation. Love or hate Smizik at least his columns were intriguing. Collier is dull. He might be the worst columnist in Pittsburgh..

HotDog_Zanzabar said...

In all honesty, who really cares who they get? The two papers in this town are so lousy, that I can't believe many people in town actually read them anymore. The sports editors clearly lack any creativity and the writers just follow marching orders.

Anonymous said...

Good riddance.

78Deville said...

Rot in pieces, you old battle ax.

RedHawks Hockey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
RedHawks Hockey said...

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Anonymous said...

Oh please, you and the people who would be voting on your blog all apparently worship at the altar of that idiot Mark Madden. Smizik more often than not was the person publicly saying what a hell of a lot of people privately think around here: that Madden is a lowest common denominator blowhard more interested in self promotion and picking fights than sports coverage. Why else would he return to the airwaves in a format that is such a small percentage sports?

Lets recognize this for what it is: another newspaper dying and cutting off someone with institutional knowledge a mile long and proud history in the area. It's something to be sad about, whether or not you always agreed with him.

HotDog_Zanzabar said...

I wondered how smizik got 22 percent for the longest time. Then I read rohn mexicos comment and realized that 22 percent of pittsburgh sports fans are nimrods

P.O. said...

the only columnist worth reading the past 10 years has been Gene Collier.. Madden is a miserable lonely man who resembles the Simpsons Comic Book Guy; Ron Cook is that miserable uncle who always sees the glass half empty; and Bob Smizik is just miserable period.. he was horrible, def the worst of the bunch... how about a columnist under 50??

BURGH08 said...

I don't think it has to be a Madden vs. Smizik argument.

Sure, Smiz was obviously taking Madden's comments personal. Hell, maybe that 'generous buyout' was a bonus for landing Madden in 'radio jail' (Which at the X still makes you in jail Double M....the show format stinks).

That said, Smizik at least knew his sports, and the Pittsburgh sports media gets substantially dumber.

In 2008 we lose Smizik and add Jory Rand. You do the math.

Unknown said...

This is why people like us read blogs like Mondesishouse, Deadspin, WithLeather, and others that don't rah-rah the home team all the time and are allowed to say whatever they want without the wrath of the editors coming down upon them. The newspaper sports columnist is a dying breed. Any paper you read has awful columnists. I'm glad there's an alternative to the old media so that people can stand up and say what they feel.

Raul, you do a fantastic job with your recaps and your analysis and you're not afraid to call it like you see it. Keep up the good work!

Steve said...

Here's hoping that some of the not-so-positive email I've sent him in the past contributed to his decision. Rarely do columnists annoy me as much as he has.