quote:

Originally posted by James Stock:
Boy, a lot of people are irked by Canzano--do you mind if I ask why you don't care for him, CL? I find him interesting, perceptive, and smart, but like I said, seemingly tons of people just can't stand him...his piece on UO/Phil Knight a couple of days ago, I thought, was worthwile and well-written. He's had offers from places like Seattle to write there, but has chosen to stay in PDX, so it's not like the guy's a hack...I totally respect it, though, when you and others more or less say they can't stand the guy...on the Ducks/Knight thing, I love the Ducks, can't get enough of 'em, but recognize it's a double edged sword w/Knight--I for one, am appreciative of Knight and his donations--I just don't know we'd be able to attract guys like Jonathan Stewart w/o a guy like Knight and all he brings to UO's table...and, Canzano says, UO and OSU tread water, or have basically achieved the same amount over the years--I disagree; I think UO has accomplished more (who cares if they lose the Civil War--UO, unlike possibly OSU, sometimes has bigger fish to fry), and more than that, UO, w/Knight and his resources, has the ability to challenge for a national title 1-2 years in a decade--while I like OSU (not as much as UO obviously!) and respect them, it is very hard for me to picture them ever being in the national title hunt--to me, it's sort of like baseball--the Red Sox may lose to the D-Rays from time to time, but really, who'd you rather be, certainly in the long run: the Red Sox/Ducks (w/their financial wherewithal), or the D-Rays/Beavers (w/their relative lack of $)

You mentioned OSU, national title and baseball in the same sentence, yet neglected to mention the fact the Beavers are back to back baseball National Champions

quote:

Originally posted by James Stock:
Boy, a lot of people are irked by Canzano--do you mind if I ask why you don't care for him, CL? I find him interesting, perceptive, and smart, but like I said, seemingly tons of people just can't stand him...

I don't mind the fact that he's controversial (lots of people are nowadays)... I just have zero respect for someone who lies, distorts the truth, and slams other people unnecessarily in order to be controversial. He has distorted the truth enough so that I don't believe him when he makes wild claims (like when he accused Bellotti's family members of confronting him in an angry, drunken, and threatening manner).

The thing that put me over the edge with him was the way that he openly slammed the MLS commissioner (using stupid, irrational, and meandering logic to make his case) and then cut him off on live radio. That's annoying but often excusable when a radio host is dealing with a caller, but the MLS commissioner? At a time when sports-starved Portland actually has a shot at getting a (somewhat) major sports team? No wonder he didn't go to a bigger market. Apparently he likes being a big fish in a smaller pond.

Listening to him only perpetuates our misery in the same fashion as when liberals tune in to angry-man conservative radio so they can get mad and disagree with the host.

Jonfarr: good one--I was thrilled when OSU won each of their baseball titles; I'm a huge Quacker Backer, but it was really silly and a bit embarrassing when UO made their "We're diving into baseball & it has nothing to do w/OSU's championships" press conference...actually, pretty funny stuff...CL: Boy, I understand where you're coming from--I appreciate it when Canzano and people of his ilk hold people in positions of power accountable, etc., but I wish he'd done it w/someone who didn't have so much say in whether or not PDX gets a major league team...I have never heard him flat out lying, etc., but maybe he does, I don't know...I will say he was named sportswriter of the year a year or two ago--I playfully chided Art Thiel of the P-I a few weeks ago about his paper's claim that he was "By far, the best sports columnist in the NW", telling him Canzano was better....Art agreed w/me...I do, at times, tire of his seemingly constant probes into Knight/UO, but at the same time understand he's a writer in need of a dandy angle, and don't necessarily disagree w/his points...I didn't hear the MLS interview, but heard about it, and am glad I didn't hear it, because I probably would've been irked at Canzano, too.

I also get frustrated with Canzano, but for different reasons. Canzano is an excellent writer, and in my opinion, far superior to Jaynes. Yet Canzano, for all his talent, is painfully predictible in opinion, and borderline unprofessional in conduct.

The Ducks beat up the Huskies and Stewart runs for 251 yards? There's no better team in college football. An injury riddled and depleted Ducks team loses by a whisker in the Civil War? Well now the Ducks lack character and determination.

Oregon loses out in 2006, Canzano bashes the flashy uniforms and accuses Oregon of being all sizzle and no steak. Canzano says recruits ignore such things when determining their school choice. The Ducks destroy one of those national championship contenders (Michigan) and Canzano's piece the following day is how the horde of recruits at the Big House were immediately ready to sign with Oregon, and hey, those flashy uniforms sure help.

Bottom line: Canzano is a front runner. Sometimes team x loses, but the real story is how team x played passionately and never gave up. Sometimes team x wins and the real issue is poor sportsmanship and/or a lack of discipline. But to read Canzano, you would assume these events never occur.

Jaynes is a meat and potatoes writer. He's no Art Theil (Seattle Post) and he's no Jim Murray. (LA Times) Yet in Dwight's case, he's more thoughtful and well balanced, if admittedly not as clever. I'll take Dwight over Canzano, even if I can read Jaynes only once a week.

Sidebar: Canzano is also a gossip monger. He has unnecessarily thrown Belotti's family under the bus on multiple occasions, and he's done so when some of these issues are clearly unrelated to football.

Furthermore, not all news is fit to print. So when Dennis Dixon uses poor judgement and shows up at a strip club, it need not have been reported, especially when Dixon was still an amatuer, unpaid, and again, the issue was not sports related, or at least not for him. (great to see Darius Miles out of town, though.)

Canzano's writing style could best be described as accomplished belligerence---a talented writer with an anger management problem; one better suited for writing daily columns on the whereabouts of Britney Spears or the possibility of Princess Diana having been murdered.

Ouch, did I say that? Well if I said it, I must have meant it. So I either owe Canzano a complete apology or nothing at all.