John Strubel Blog | Freelance Sports Journalist

Lin’s deserves All-Star consideration

February 21, 2012 in Sports, Sports Culture with 0 Comments

If you question Jeremy Lin’s value to the NBA, consider this: Since Lin’s breakout game as a New York Knick three weeks ago the nation followed the deaths of Don Cornelius, Whitney Houston and Gary Carter, Josh Hamilton’s drug relapse, Super Bowl XLVI, Madonna’s halftime show, Hines Ward and Ricky Williams retirement, Kate Upton’s SI Swimsuit cover release, Adele’s Grammy sweep, Roland Martin’s suspension, Stephen Colbert’s disappearing act and Elizabeth Smart’s wedding. In every tragedy and triumph of every media cycle in recent weeks only one storyline consistently captured the world: Jeremy Lin.

Typos bruise journalism credibility

February 14, 2012 in Media and Journalism with 0 Comments

Over the last couple weeks my RSS media feeds has been dominated by reports of journalism misspellings, typos and editorial miscues.

Innocence lost

February 5, 2012 in Sports, Sports Culture with 0 Comments

I remember the first time I met Josh Hamilton. He walked slowly up the steps, through the box seats behind home plate at Joseph P. Riley Jr. park in Charleston, South Carolina. He was wearing a gray Tampa Bay Devil Rays t-shirt and white game pants.

Hamilton was clean shaven with curly brown hair – and not a single tattoo. He dropped into one of the empty box seats on a hot, humid July 4 late afternoon in South Carolina and propped his massive feet on the seat in front of him. That’s what I remember most: his massive feet.

Sometimes tradition is a poor excuse

February 5, 2012 in Sports with 0 Comments

When I listened to Boston Red Sox ace Josh Beckett tell his side of the story of what happened last September, I didn’t hear him apologize; in fact, I don’t think Red Sox fans – or the organization that paid him $17 million in 2011 — will ever get an apology.

Is an apology necessary?

Harbaugh graceless in defeat

January 23, 2012 in Sports, Sports Culture with 0 Comments

Jim Harbaugh hates to lose more than he loves to win. He proved it Sunday after the San Francisco 49ers lost to the New York Giants in the NFC championship game. Harbaugh quickly congratulated his counterpart Tom Coughlin then disappeared. When Fox came calling for the traditional post-game press conference, Harbaugh offered a stiff arm.