The human interest pieces he writes were perfectly nice - the first time he did it like seven years ago. It was even nice when he did another one like two months after that. He does like four or five a year now where he talks about people who are down on their luck, struggling with money, and how this should remind us that there are more important things in life than sports. Why thank you John - I had never thought of that before you wrote about it in such a heavy-handed manner. Silly me and my distinct lack of basic morals! (More importantly instead of helping them get tickets from the Blazers to go to games during these hard times perhaps that effort and money could go towards helping them pay bills or something).
Now that, was funny. The New York Globe would have been a good destination a well. It was there that "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" originated.
And the stories have almost no connection with the Blazers, other than their affinity for the team. The Brian Grant story years back was one thing, but most of them have zero to do with sports, and I've always felt he was just trying to elicit an emotional reaction. Mostly it just chaps my ass because I've always considered sports as an escape for myself, and for others. Tough day at work? I'm going to watch the game. For a couple of hours I can focus entirely on the game of basketball, and forget all my troubles. I should be able to turn to the sports section and avoid all the sad and shitty stories about the economy, about violence in society, and about the war in Iraq. Unfortunately, there's this guy named Canzano, who likes to violate my temple of solitude with his tales of morality. Fuck you John. I sometimes wonder how many times he's watched Annie or read Oliver Twist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahdBUnVEuYM
Wow, I am surprised by the reaction here. Give the man his due! Who else here has been named the top in their field nationally? I write a weekly column and I would love to be named the best at what I do. Way to go John. Congrats!
Nice job Canzano! I love reading his stuff. Whether I agree with it or not, it is always interesting, it inspires debate, and his human interest articles reflect the deep and life-long passion that many Oregonians have for their teams.
Jason Quick is a beat reporter and not a columnist. I'm not sure who the other two are, but a lack of knowledge on how one is qualified for this award would seemingly discount your opinion on the matter.
IMO Brian Hendrickson is the best journalist in terms of writing articles and getting down basketball facts we have around these parts. His articles and blog are a real pleasure to read.
Canzano has said every year for the past five years that Mark Few will be Oregon's next coach. Every year I email him and tell him that Few isn't going anywhere. His last Ernie Kent bashing article, he said its a matter of when. . . not if Few comes to Oregon. The Ducks offered Few the coaching spot right after the tourney ended for the Zags, Few turned it down. Arizona offered Few a job as well, Few turned it down. Few is a man of loyalty and isn't going anywhere any time soon, he is paid graciously, he has above average facilities, he can recruit with the likes of any Pac-10 school and he isn't being controlled by Nike like he would in Eugene. His wife is a Gonzaga alum and has lived in Spokane all her life. It cracks me up that a columnist can continue to pound at something that he so strongly believes will happen that he will write it year after year and still be wrong.
Well, in relation to this award, your expanded stance is even less relevant. So, if the idea is to reward people who write about a basketball team exclusively or blog, you'd be correct. Since that isn't what the reward entails, you're incorrect in this instance. Also, both Quick and Ziller and first and foremost "beat" writers. I don't disagree with your opinion, but I do think you are clueless as to the criteria behind winning this award. Plus, put your name behind your opinion if you think Canzano winning this award is BS.
You have no idea what you are talking about. 1. Anyone can blog, but only great writers get hired to write for papers. 2. The award Canzano won is all the more impressive considering each writer submitted 5 columns and they were reviewed by peers - with no names and no bylines attached to the columns. It truly is an award of writing excellence by writers. To quote you: "Perhaps you should not be so quick to discount [an opinion] unless you are certain you understand the context."
