Comments on: The Interview: St. Louis Post-Dispatch Columnist Bryan Burwell

By: Orval Starnes

Orval Starnes — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:03:18 +0000

A bunch of the buttons on your site seem broken. You might want to fix them

By: RIchard L Gant

RIchard L Gant — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:22:52 +0000

Bryan,
I was extremely dismayed at your comments this morning on The Sports Reporters regarding Jim Browns displeasure with Tiger Woods and Michael Jordans, seeming lack of the will to protest conditions, as he did. Well, I do not know what exactly Jim Brown said, so I will not comment on that, but I will comment on what you said at the end of your show. That maybe “Jim Brown protested so Tiger and Michael do not have to”.
Well, there is always room for protest and times to speak out. Especially in and around things within, and that effect the black people in America. We have not yet arrived at a place where we can be silent. You and so many in your generation that think they have “made it” have the same attitude that you and Michael Jordan have. You and those who think like you need to take a closer look. First at your selves and then in an around the black community. If you do not see any condition that could be better and that maybe a voice like an major athlete or even a sports reporter could possible kick start change, then just go away and stick your heads back in the sand. If it were not for Jim Brown, Muhammed Ali, Arthur Ashe, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Kurt Flood and a host of others, you may not have your job today. I am not hard on Tiger, because he is doing things with his foundation, and I have heard him more than once talk about Charlie Sifford and others that came before him, that allows him to be where he is now.
Michael Jordan granting you, Mike Wilbon and Ahmad Rashad interviews, doesn’t exactly get him off the hook. Michael’s the worst offender of all. He has never had nothing to say about anything. In my book he’s useless.

By: Pacman

Pacman — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:13:00 +0000

Oh, ohhh. Looks like Burwell may have just gone Whitlock on us

By: Otis

Otis — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:58:09 +0000

I hope I got the right person in delivering this e-mail!!! I wanted to give my “2-cents” on what you were talking about with MMA on public television. I don’t care how smart you feel you are, leave the progression of this sport alone. If your punk ass can’t take the sport of MMA, CHANGE THE DAMM CHANNEL!!! Most people like it. You are getting paid to do this!!!! You are a useless man. Let us “UNWORTHY PEOPLE” enjoy the MMA phenom that is what it is. Watch WWE or what ever that fake crap is called now-a-days. Or matbe “Dancing with the Stars”. Do you have an opinion on that waist of time. What do you feel about the WAR that is going on. Talk about that. Dispute something that needs to be disputed. This sport is not going anywhere. You are waisting your time. I personall enjoyed the fight, expecially the womens fight. Kimbo needs to get his cardio up if he wants to be anything in our MMA world. We fans will always support this “GREAT SPORT”. MMA to the end.

By: Allen

Allen — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 22:51:30 +0000

Grant Hill was a much bigger icon than Allen Iverson before he consistently lost in the first round and got injured. Grant was doing McDonalds and Sprite commercials. Where do sportswriters get their facts from?

By: Sportsdiva

Sportsdiva — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:31:07 +0000

All I have to say about this recent Burwell article is BOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Nonsense.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:16:57 +0000

Burwell didn’t go Whitlock…this is his own independent stupidity.

By: Sweet Jones

Sweet Jones — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:11:40 +0000

Oh, ohhh. Looks like Burwell may have just gone Whitlock on us….(from his column today)

can be found at: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/4A107E54CA14CDB18625731E00136DDF?OpenDocument

But somewhere between Jackie Robinson and Michael Vick, things got all fouled up. “Street cred” became the anthem of the modern black athlete, this misguided notion that the only way to appeal to the young demographic of the sneaker-buying public was to adopt the negative attitudes of the thug life popularized by black hip-hop/gangster rappers. According to the 18-page federal indictment, Vick is accused of sponsoring the sort of gruesome dogfighting enterprise that is readily identified as a part of the dark side of that culture.

So that’s how someone like Michael Vick came into existence. He got hijacked, and we all let it happen. We let it happen by passively condoning this mess. We did it when we turned Allen Iverson into a marketing icon and rejected someone like Grant Hill because he lacked “street cred.” We allowed it to happen every time we gave Vick the benefit of the doubt when he kept stumbling and offering weak alibis for his stupidity. We allowed it to happen slowly, insidiously over the past 20 years. The problem is the hijacking of African-American culture by the hip-hop generation that has helped glorify every rotten, foul and disgusting racial stereotype it took generations to eradicate.

By: mizzo

mizzo — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:14:02 +0000

I hear you all day on that. It wasn’t just the parents. It was my own coaches, people I thought were close to me, the umpires and the administrators. I left the league even though my daughter made this year’s all star team. Enough is enough. I’ve coached the little guys with eyes of baseball gleam to 16-18 MLB dreams and I’ve never experienced anything like this league. Talk about a stress release. I’ll be back one day coaching as a beer bellied 70 year old senior citizen with stories of embellished past glory…I can’t wait.

By: TLS

TLS — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:23:55 +0000

You said something about minding your p’s and q’s. I coached American Legion kids for quite a few years and part of the job is parent management. At that level, I’m sure the dynamics with the parents are different than little league. But, just as at all levels of youth sports, the parents are the biggest challenge.

You should put yourself out there without fear of judgment. Why would you let some crappy vibe put you on tilt and rob you of some of the joy and passion you experience coaching?

I find that acting with the expectation of “everything is fine” and an air of confidence in how you go about doing what you do goes a long way toward keeping people’s traps shut. They may not like it, but they don’t bitch and I really don’t care. Either I’m coaching my best or not I’m not. If I let parents change how I do what I do, it’s the kids that pay the price. Unacceptable. Maybe this year, you’ll let it all hang out. Be passionate. Be black. Be whatever the hell you want to be. The kids will respond and that’s all that counts.

Just my .02

By: Mark D. Hauser

Mark D. Hauser — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:53:40 +0000

To vote for the best in sports, both current and all time, please go to ultimatesportsrankings.com.

By: mizzo

mizzo — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:04:17 +0000

TC, thanks.

By: TC

TC — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:06:49 +0000

Amazing interview, and with such a worthy subject. He’s one of my favorite sports columnists…and while I’m thinking about it, R.I.P. Ralph Wiley.

By: Temple3

Temple3 — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:50:03 +0000

That’s just a beautiful thing. It’s legacy. Outstanding. Black life in full repose. Somewhere Romare Bearden is getting his brushes ready. Thank you again.

By: Aone

Aone — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:52:51 +0000

1st off, I’m new to the site (I only found it thanks to Dwil’s rebuttal to Kizla’s brilliant article which linked of JR Smith’s accident to Hip-Hop and gangs) and I’m hooked! You guys are the voices that I hear in my head all the time whenever I see the ridiculous become the sublime. Keep up the outstanding work as your writings and bloggings let the rest of us know that we’re not alone in our thinking about the sports media.

Onto the Burwell interview, great stuff indeed. Mizzo, the recounting of your sons’ trials and tribulations on the little league fields are all to familiar to me as I watched my younger brother and then son struggle with the same nonsensical behavior exhibited by grown men over little boys. It’s a shame that our kids always have to learn at a very young age that talent and hard work may not always be enough to succeed in this world, that sometimes, a multitude of both may not be enough to receive your just desserts.

By: Mizzo

Mizzo — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:13:41 +0000

Thanks CJ. What you correctly mentioned is all I can do as a Father.

By: CJ Scudworth

CJ Scudworth — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 07:21:10 +0000

Wow. Great an interview as that was, I’m floored by the story about your son and stepson, Mizzo. I don’t know what to say. That just sucks. I hope you can convey to them that in life, they’re going to have to work with or work for people who are ignorant, short-sighted or just plain don’t understand. It happens to all of us — deal with it, grow from it, but don’t let it change who you are and what you want to do. To think that those kids enjoyed baseball, but now aren’t playing anymore, is just depressing…

By: HG

HG — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 19:25:48 +0000

you guys are doing an incredible job with the interviews. always a great read.

By: Ap

Ap — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:34:26 +0000

“There’s also a lot of hypocrisy. Sports and society mirror each other. I can’t understand that some members of the media and also fans come down so hard on athletes, celebrities and politicians when they are doing the same dumb shit in their own lives–sometimes even worse. If we as journalists start calling the fan out more for who they are, then maybe the scrutiny will change. When we continue to admonish Barry Bonds, Michael Vick or Pac Man Jones, it’s going to make the fan feel like they are king. What is that? They’re not! I don’t give a damn how much money they spend at events. They have a choice. It does not excuse their behavior in anything they do. People always want some kind of pat on the back because they are holding down–or not–their own business, but because an athlete makes so much money they are fair game for undeserved criticism? That’s some of the biggest bullshit I’ve ever heard. Society really needs to get off its high horse and check the mirror. That includes me too.”

Thats about the truest statement I’ve ever read.

By: Jordi

Jordi — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:08:49 +0000

Great interview.

You guys’ recollections of disappointed youth baseball glory brought up quite a few memories. Days of coaches who said I had a bad attitude, but then would admit they should have played me a lot more. Yeah, I’m still bitter. Anyway …

By: STLSportsMag.com » Blog Archive » The Morning Tailgate

STLSportsMag.com » Blog Archive » The Morning Tailgate — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:43:34 +0000

[...] Bryan Burwell talks to a blogger, although we’re so totally sure it’s not nearly as cool an interview as the one we did with Bernie last week. [The Starting Five] [...]

By: Sports Corner » The Roundup: Ranking Bengals Arrests and Tony Parker’s Upcoming Concert in France

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:22:42 +0000

[...] Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell talks to a blog. (The Starting [...]

By: Pacifist Viking

Pacifist Viking — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:49:40 +0000

“sit” was a typo for “site,” not any curse word!

By: Pacifist Viking

Pacifist Viking — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:49:08 +0000

The interviews are my favorite posts at this sit–really enjoyable stuff to read.

By: Shon

Shon — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:27:20 +0000

Great interview. I think he really nailed how I feel about Bonds and our athletes just doing dumb things sometimes.

I would love to read an interview between you guys and Stephen A or Wilbon.

By: dwil

dwil — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:04:02 +0000

Jemmitt-
cool, I feel you. That might be tough, though, if he checked the archives…

By: Jemmitt

Jemmitt — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 01:48:52 +0000

It wasn’t a slight at Mizzo at all. I have read, however, posts from you other blog referencing Stephen A. though…

By: dwil

dwil — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 01:46:47 +0000

Jemmitt-
Thanks for the props, but I think if mizzo got with Stephen A. he’d do just perfectly fine…

By: Jemmitt

Jemmitt — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:15:23 +0000

Great interview as always…

Now you all really have to get Stephen A. to talk to you…..(I think DWil should do the interview)

By: mizzo

mizzo — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:53:10 +0000

Much appreciated Marc, thanks.

Alcohol abuse is definitely more important than steriods because people die every day.

I applaud Bryan for his tremendous commitment regarding such a serious issue.