Friday, November 24, 2006

'My Boys": It must be the off-season

TBS' new comedy series, My Boys, will debut Tuesday night. The central character is a female baseball beat writer who "plays a mean hand of poker. ...She would rather down a few brews at the local pub than go shopping for a new pair of shoes." But, of course, she's gorgeous (She does, apparently, enjoy spending time in front of the mirror before heading out to hang with the boys.) It's not a terribly original storyline: a buddy comedy with romantic overtones and sports as the backdrop.
The show has already been
compared to Friends and Sex in the City,
. After seeing the first two episodes, I don't think the shows are similar -- although I do think the show may draw viewers also drawn to those shows. If you're looking for a realistic view into life as a woman in sportswriting, though, I wouldn't put it there, either -- Shelly Anderson's recent column on the show points out the cliches and fictions about female sportswriters. You may want to read it before watching "My Boys" Tuesday night.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Find that sports highlight on .... YouTube

Jesse Spector writes in Sunday's New York Daily News about the rising popularity of YouTube for sports highlights. The consequences of these kinds of ungated sites can be powerful -- witness the firing of Lamar Thomas after his infamous stint was immortalized on YouTube. The growing popularity of YouTube is another sign that traditional gatekeepers in sports will continue to be squeezed out as leagues, teams and fans use new technologies for sports entertainment. Sports journalists will have to be nimble in finding ways to work with, not against, these corporate- and fan-driven sports-information outlets.