October 18, 2006

I want to start today’s blog talking about the “feud” between African-American sports journalists Scoop Jackson and Jason Whitlock. They have taken decidedly different views on a study, which was done by Richard Lapchick. The study basically concluded that the newspaper industry has done a bad job of having minority diversity at the editor level. While both journalists agree that this is true, the reasoning behind their ideas is where the battle lines are drawn.

Whitlock believes (as it appears to me) that African-Americans have not only not prepared ourselves to become editors but also that we are not interested in becoming major newspaper editors as well as other professions such as college coaches of major sports. Jackson believes that a major part of the reason African-American college students and African-Americans in general, don’t pursue these professions is because of the lack of minorities in these fields. I see both sides of the argument, but my personal belief falls closer to Scoop’s point of view.

My degree is a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. As I finished my senior year, I noticed that I would not be happy making a living doing chemical engineering work, and that I loved the world of sports and writing about it. I started to come to this conclusion while watching the rise of sports debate shows, especially The Sports Reporters, Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption on ESPN. On these shows, I have seen many journalists (both minority and majority) debate their views, and each brings a special flavor. I love hearing these views and even arguing with my TV in a sort of mock debate with them.

I must confess that I do get more enthused when I see someone who looks like me on the show, and I’m not sure if Mr. Whitlock understands the effect of seeing someone of your race successfully doing something that you are interested in doing. I know that anything worth doing requires a lot of hard work, and I also know that because of a lack of minorities in the newspaper industry already, my work will be further scrutinized.

I appreciate the truth and honestly the Mr., Jackson’s column provided. I already know of the hard work I personally must do and it is a great feeling to be conscious of the barriers you help to break down when achieving your goals. In wrapping up this section, I will say that I will miss Mr. Whitlock’s 10 NFL Truths (Apparently, Mr. Whitlock has resigned as a contributing writer to ESPN.com) , I will continue to read Mr. Jackson’s column and I hope to meet both of these good sports journalists in the future. Even though they have different viewpoints on the issue, they both should take happiness in the fact that I, an aspiring minority sports journalist, will continue to push forward and help to make the changes they desperately both want to see.

Not that I have discussed that topic, I can go back and review the previous NFL weekend. The Monday Night Football game was a thriller. Matt Leinart is continuing to show that he really was the most prepared NFL QB coming out of college. Though the Arizona Cardinals lost the game to the Chicago Bears, Leinart threw two touchdowns against the vaulted Bears defense and also put his team in position to win the game with a late field goal. That’s now two straight weeks where Leinart has performed coolly and calmly in the clutch. All that aside though, the Bears found a way to win and now they are 6-0 heading into their bye week.

Leinart’s backfield mate at USC, Reggie Bush and his team, the New Orleans Saints have to be one of the league’s heartwarming stories. They are undefeated at home and right now they have the upper hand when it comes to the NFC South Divisional title and the playoff birth that comes along with it. Bush is close to the league lead in receptions and just his presence on the field has opened up running lanes for Deuce McAllister and passing lanes for Drew Brees.

As much as the Saints are the touching story of the NFL, the Detroit Tigers are that story of MLB. They are already in the World Series after a 4-0 sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series. They await the winner of the National League Championship Series, which at the current moment is being led by the St. Louis Cardinals 3 games to 2 after the Cardinals 4-2 win on Tuesday night. The World Series is scheduled to begin on Saturday in Detroit, where the Tigers will look to finish their storybook season.

Well that’s all for now, check back tomorrow as the outcome of Game 6 of the NLCS is discussed. Until then, peace.

Jason Whitlock's Column

Scoop Jackson's Column