one more reason to loathe mike lupica

i meant to post this a few days ago but between the superbowl and getting caught up in following politics again, i let it slide. from the big lead (and thanks to shannon for the heads up):

Mike Lupica, the New York Daily News columnist who has a habit of running talented writers away from his paper - the lilliputian loudmouth has amassed a Taliban-like body count, including Ian O’Connor and Mark Kriegel - has done it again. Sources in Glendale tell us that the best Super Bowl buzz right now is about how Lisa Olson, the talented and respected NYDN columnist, recently stunned the sports media world by quitting. We hear that Lupica is behind it all.

The story we’re hearing: The Daily News sent several writers to cover the Packers/Giants playoff game. After the Giants stunning overtime victory, the crew decided what they were going to write, and then conducted interviews in the locker room and returned to their computers. Standard newspaper stuff. Apparently, after everyone had begun writing, Lupica decided to switch topics, effectively screwing Olson. This caused her to turn her column in late, irritating the New York office - even though it was Lupica’s fault for switching on the fly late on a Sunday night, with deadline looming. Because the entire staff lives in fear of the little man, nobody spoke up on Olson’s behalf.

Days go by. The paper finally comes to a decision on whom to send to the Super Bowl. Over 35 names are on the list. Amazingly, that list does not include Olson, who many believe to be the paper’s best writer. We are told she quit on the spot. Allegedly the paper is trying to get her to return, but she has stood firm.

i'm glad she left, since she deserves better than an employer who a) disrespects their finest writer so appallingly b) lets some pompous no-talent runt on their staff run the show. but when i woke up monday morning still giddy from glorious, historic new york fucking giants football, lisa olson's words were the only thing i wanted to read. i can't think of any other active writer who so utterly gets both the hardness and the softness to be found in sports, and i can think of no other writer whose name alone guarantees i will devour every single word. monday morning, i read nothing.

Labels: lisa olson is better than you, lupicass