Pressing for Answers | The Lowdown

I was in Dublin, Ohio when I realized that I have very mixed feelings about the sports media.

The Jack Nicklaus designed Muirfield Village Golf Course is a beautiful place to watch golf...even if you're not a big fan of the game. I may not like golf, but I am a fan of golfers. And touring the course during the 32nd annual Memorial Tournament was Will MacKenzie.

Will took a "brief" timeout from the sport during high school. This is normally a time when the stage mothers and fathers of the sports world are mini-vanning their kids from camp to camp, spending whatever money they can spare on the latest equipment, and showing off the shiny trophies on the mantle to all the neighbors. The kids juggle school, their social life, and sports as best they can.

But Will was surfing in Costa Rica, kayaking in West Virginia, and heliboarding in Alaska. He picked up his clubs again ten years later.

I wouldn't know this about MacKenzie's personal life if it weren't for the Columbus Dispatch, which did a feature on MacKenzie on Friday.

Then again, if it weren't for the New York Post, I wouldn't know about the personal life of Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who was seen cavorting with a stripper and going to a hotel with the Playboy bunny blonde...all while his wife sat at home.

And things get really complicated when coaches and athletes try to use the media to manipulate a situation to their advantage. This week, Titans head man Jeff Fisher railed to members of the press who dutifully--some would say gleefully--reported that the coach was upset about LenDale White's absence from practice. Fisher was quoted as saying, "I've been on record with being disappointed with him right now. But again, everybody else was here, he wasn't. I'm anxious to hear what kind of excuse he has."

Turns out, the running back had a very good excuse: He was with his ailing grandmother. And how do I know that? Because of the very same sports reporters who had quoted Fisher's rant in the first place.

It's too easy to blame the media and forget that there is both good and bad in sports reporting. At the same time, I'm a little less likely to read the New York Post in the future. Now if you'll please excuse me, time to get back to rooting for Will MacKenzie.

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June 1, 2007 11:22 PM ET

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You want answers to your mixed feelings on the media? To tweak/butcher an old saying, don't blame the forest for the trees. Like the die hard politicos who constantly rail at the left-wing media, grouping all media under one "umbrella" when there is obviously a strong contingent of right-wing media, the same is true for sports journalists. You learned of Will M. because a journalist chose to investigate the subject and bring you the story. An individual journalist, one member of the media, made your day better. Take note. Take note of THAT journalist. Reward him/her with reading more of their stuff. Maybe the cream will rise. Too often, the herd of journalists keep harping on the same subject matter over and over. I can read the box score, so I don't need a recap. Give me the side of the story that I don't know. If more sports fans followed your lead, maybe we wouldn't hear so much of the Barry Bonds and A-rods, and heard more of the quality sports stories that make being a fan worthwhile.