The Media: Are They Ganging Up On A-Rod?

NEW YORK—The Columbia Sports Journalism Review has released the results of a study initiated in mid-August to investigate whether an increase in news stories such as “K-Rod,” “A-Rod Playing Whiff-le Ball,” and “Sore Throat KO’s A-Rod” constituted “ganging up” on the overpaid, underperforming, and petulant Yankees third-baseman. “After carefully analyzing the content of all 9,463 newspaper and magazine articles criticizing Rodriguez that were printed between August 15 and September 1, we have found neither factual errors nor evidence of reportage exceeding the normal standards of sports journalism,” Columbia journalism professor John Dinges said Tuesday. “We also spoke to the reporters who exclusively cover A-Rod’s performance for the Kansas City Star, Sacramento Bee, Albuquerque Tribune, and Boston Herald, and we found no appreciable misinterpretations or statistical discrepancies in their twice-daily coverage as that preening jackass continues to shit the bed.” The CSJR study concluded by observing that all Rodriguez must do to gain the approval of the press would be to simply lead the Yankees to the World Series, be named MVP, and nail his smarmy mouth shut for good.