It was almost a year ago that Jay Mariotti resigned from his position at the Chicago Sun-Times. In the meantime, Jay has tried his hand at blogging and continued his appearances on "Around The Horn". You would have thought that those jobs were enough, but apparently Mariotti hasn't annoyed the city of Chicago enough in his mind. Mariotti is officially heading to the Chicago Tribune this September. Sports by Brooks has the scoop....

I’ve learned that effective September 1, Mariotti will join the Tribune as a weekly columnist - this the same man who spent nearly two decades mocking the same venerable daily which now extends him a byline. I do expect a seamless transition period though, considering the Trib set up Mariotti’s inbox long ago. (Uh, Jay, I thought ‘newspapers were dying‘?)

Mariotti’s contractual non-compete clause with the Sun-Times officially expires at the end of August, one year after he quit his position. So you can expect his ink-jetted invective to begin emanating from the Tribune in September.

It’s an interesting hire, considering Mariotti and the Tribune have very different motives with the move. The Tribune is bringing in Mariotti to fight off the startlingly advance of ESPN into the Chicago sports media marketplace. (Ironically, Mariotti also happens to be a prominent employee of ESPN.)

I'm sorry Chicago. I know how you must feel right now, and I can't sympathize with you enough. It's like a patient being told that he/she has beat Cancer, but now they've gone into remission, and it has returned. You can fully expect Mariotti to use this position to trash the Sun-Times, every chance he gets. Good times.

Official: Jay Mariotti Moving To Tribune On Sept. 1 (Sports by Brooks)

Tommy Lasorda is pretty much the authority when it comes to USA and Dodger Baseball. That's the reason so many networks want him on for interviews these days. Oh that, and the fact that he's borderline senile. Here is Tommy on Comcast Sportsnet in Chicago, not hearing the questions and basically sleeping through the entire interview. Via Bugs and Cranks....

Too funny. It's entirely possible that he was looking into the sun, but with the WBC games being so late, he could just be lacking a good bit of sleep.

TV Interview Interrupts Tommy Lasorda’s Nap Time (Bugs and Cranks)

Not that many local announcers ever make it to national stardom, but there are some whose names you may not know, but their voices are unmistakeable. Johnny "Red" Kerr was one of those people, and after a long bout with Prostate Cancer, he passed away at the age of 76. Via the Associated Press....

Johnny "Red" Kerr, the former Chicago Bulls coach who spent more than three decades as a broadcaster for the team, died Thursday. He was 76.

Kerr died at his home after a battle with prostate cancer, Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said.

"His name was synonymous with basketball, both here in Chicago, and throughout the entire NBA," Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. "Those that were fortunate enough to have known Johnny were touched by both his tremendous compassion for people, and his lifelong passion for the game of basketball. We will miss him greatly."

Kerr's death is a double blow for the Bulls, following the death also Thursday of Norm Van Lier, one of the most popular players in Bulls history. Van Lier was 61.

"We're deeply saddened by the whole course of events today," Hallam said.

Man, just a tough day for Chicago. In honor of Kerr, here is part of the halftime presentation in honor of the broadcaster that took place on February 10th....

There's been a ton of weird things going on at the "Leader" the past couple of weeks, Mount Rushmore, Hannah Storm's outfits, and now this. ESPN is launching an all Chicago Sports based website. The site will be called ESPNChicago.com and will launch in April. Via the Tribune....

ESPN believes Chicago has big enough shoulders for another local sports outlet, as it will launch its first Web site devoted to local sports fans.

ESPNChicago.com will provide a “24/7 Chicago sports news operation” starting in April, said Marc Horine, a vice president with ESPN digital media.

Prospective advertisers previewed the site last week, and brewer MillerCoors will be the site’s charter advertiser. If the venture is successful, ESPN could roll out more city-specific sites across the country.

“We already have a user base with millions of people coming to [ESPN.com] looking for Chicago sports,” Horine said. “At its core, the mission is simple: to super-serve Chicago sports fans.”

In addition to sports news, the site will have social-networking aspects, a travel partnership and even a way to organize your local softball team.

I wonder why they went with Chicago, over the likes of New York and DC? Seems unlikely that this will succeed, but who knows....maybe Chicago is desperately in need of online Softball planning tools.

ESPN to launch new site devoted to Chicago sports (Chicago Tribune)

On The DL has been doing the Lord's work for quite some time now, but this could be DL and Co.'s greatest interview yet. Levy talked with Chicago columnist Rick Telander yesterday and naturally, the subject of his war with Jay Mariotti came up. Not only did it come up, but the latest story is just about the funniest thing I've ever heard....

“I was taking a sauna, which I do like once every ten years, and who walks in but Jay Mariotti. I swear to God. If God is my savior, if he is (he probably doesn’t want to save me, but) there he was. He almost freaked out. There were other people in the sauna. I probably shouldn’t even go on about this, but it was an hour ago. It was one hour ago, and he just started babbling.

I don’t think it’s fair for me...I’m telling you so much...it’s just surreal. I think if my eyes don’t deceive me, if he’d seen the Yeti or...Michael Myers sitting there, I don’t know, it would have been about the same. But you’d have to ask him that.

The first thing out of his mouth, ‘well, let’s just bury the hatchet.’ I had not said a word. Hatchets or anything – I didn’t have a hatchet in hand. Nothing.”

It's amazing what can transpire when two guys are naked in a sauna. That's pretty much the only place that Telander wouldn't have punched him in the face, and how funny is it that they just ran into each other like that. Of course there's much more in the interview including Rick lacing into Mariotti's writing style, so head over to OtDL for the rest. Mainstream Media continues to amaze me everyday.

Rick Telander Holds Nothing Back (On The DL)

At the time of his resignation from the Sun-Times, Jay Mariotti talked all big and bad about staying in television and finding an Internet position somewhere on the web. Well apparently he couldn't find a website, or that was just a cover up, because last week strong rumors surfaced about him attempting to gain employment with rival paper, the Chicago Tribune.

I'm here today to tell all of you Chicagoans that that's not going to happen and that Sun-Times lawyers have put a kibosh to the whole idea....

Discussions between former Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Jay Mariotti and Tribune Co. about a possible role at the media company have ended, Mariotti said late Tuesday.

He said lawyers from the Sun-Times threatened to sue if he joined the company, claiming a jump to the competing news outlet would violate a non-compete agreement.

Mariotti and Tribune "talked about television, about the Internet, about the newspaper,'' he said. Mariotti said that discussions about working for Tribune Co.'s Chicago Tribune newspaper became a stumbling block. "The Sun-Times' lawyer threatened me with a lawsuit in 64-point type. Things sort of stalled,'' he added.

"At one point last week, there were lawyers on both sides looking into this,'' Mariotti said. "It's daunting to put together a deal. This [lawyer's letter] got thrown out in the middle of everything. We both decided that we can't do what we wanted to do.''

So you've got that going for you Chicago, which is nice. Seriously though, I know you have to do what's in the best interest of yourself at times, but that's one slimeball move right there. You re-sign with the Sun-Times back in June, head to Beijing for the Olympics, comeback saying you want something new and that newspapers are dying, you resign, you wait not even a month before trying to sign with the city's rival paper. You would think that the media in Chicago would be sick of him by now, but I guess controversy brings readers.

Oh and if you really want to have some fun this morning be sure to read the comments on the page linked below. Here are just a few....

If Mariotti goes to the Trib, then I might as well get all my news from The Onion.- JTO

I never thought I'd ever say this but: HOORAY FOR LAWYERS!- Uncle Bouncy

I would stop reading the Trib if they hired that sleazeball.- Dennis

Former Sun-Times columnist Mariotti not joining Tribune (Chicago Tribune)

Randball came across the Chicago Sun-Times press release this afternoon in regards to Jay Mariotti quitting his role at the paper, and it could quite possibly be the funniest statement ever written. From RB via Poyneter...

Topic: Miscellaneous items
Date/Time: 8/27/2008 1:19:18 PM
Title: Sun-Times' statement regarding Jay Mariotti
Posted By: Jim Romenesko

Release from the Sun-Times

August 27, 2008

Chicago Sun-Times Editor in Chief Michael Cooke issued the following statement today regarding the resignation of sports columnist Jay Mariotti:

The Chicago Sun-Times had the best sports section in the city before Jay Mariotti came to town -- that's why he signed up with us -- and his departure does not change that.

We still have the stars -- respected veterans such as Rick Telander, fiery newcomers such as Greg Couch, quirky voices like Carol Slezak, not to mention seasoned beat reporters tracking the Cubs and White Sox toward their eventual collision in the World Series, plus the Bears, the Bulls, the Blackhawks, and all the other teams that make Chicago the sports center of the nation. We could have a World Series in Chicago in a couple of months ... talk about excitement!

The Chicago Sun-Times and suntimes.com will continue to have the scores and the stories before anyone else, anywhere, and the deepest and most comprehensive stats and standings. We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days.

A paper, like a sports franchise, is something that moves into the future. Stars come and stars go, but the Sun-Times sports section was, is and will continue to be the best in the city.

Hahahaha. With that one jab, Michael Cooke just became my hero. It's sad that his industry is dying, and that Mariotti wins out in the end because he'll always have an opportunity to spew his nonsense at ESPN, but that's just downright hilarious. Bitter much?

Update: Mariotti is still doing ATH from the CS-T newsroom. They must not hate him THAT much....

"All these celebrations in and around Chicago. What's going on today?"- Jay Mariotti

Sun-Times' statement regarding Jay Mariotti (Poynter)
Jay Mariotti will not be missed by his editor (Randball)

The White Sox and Cubs were tied in the 7th inning today when FOX decided to go to a quick shot of Kerry Wood. Well Wood had a message for the viewing audience....

I don't think there has ever been a more perfectly timed shot of an MLB player in the history of television. Good work FOX and a great job by you Thom Brennaman playing it off.

Kerry Wood Salutes You (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

There's a ton of craziness going on in the world of Sports Media these days, but Sports Radio has to be going through the most turmoil. Mike and the Mad Dog are on the outs and now one of Chicago's most popular personalities is done at his current job. The controversial Mike North is done with WSCR 670-AM....

"I am done now at the Score," wrote North, who worked at the station for more than 16 years. "I met with management this past Friday and since I wouldn't accept the deal they offered, they told me I wasn't allowed on the air anymore."

"I want to thank all the listeners and callers who not only laughed at me but with me," he wrote on his Web site. "I heard from a lot of you over the years, and good or bad, I always welcomed your comments. To do radio in my hometown at such a great station was an honor. To all the people I used to work with and I work with now, I say thank you. To the advertisers on my show and on the station who were always with me thank you for being there."

I personally couldn't stand what I had heard from the guy and he was arguably very similar to Imus but in a smaller market and topic (Sports), but it's still interesting to see him out of the job after 16 years. Also, the rumored pay cut is from well over $1 million to a paltry $700K.

North, WSCR part ways (Daily Herald)

I absolutely can't stand Hawk as an announcer but the guy sure is crazy enough to give one hell of an interview. The White Sox play by play man did a piece for the Chicago Sun-Times and here's a snippet....

I've called 4,500 ball games -- at least.

I was blessed to know Howard Cosell and Curt Gowdy. In separate conversations, they both told me the same thing -- don't ever try to please everybody. And I don't. My detractors? I've been around too long to let it bother me.

Put it on the boooard . . . Yes! just evolved. I was playing a PGA tournament and birdied a tough par 3. The guy working the scoreboard was reading a book, so I yelled, "Hey, put it on the board." One day at the old ballpark, somebody hit a home run and I said, "You can put it on the boooard . . . Yes." That's where it came from.

He gone! Grab some bench! Can-o-corn. All the phrases from my baseball vernacular are things I said when I played.

Can-o-corn is an expression used by old storekeepers 60 years ago. They'd have aprons on and use a hook to pull the can of corn off the shelf and catch it in their aprons. Easy catch.

The Cubs-Sox rivalry is huge. I get goosebumps just thinking about teeing it up.

Lou Piniella is one of my dear friends. I just want to kick his ass.

Annnnnnnnnd, Scene! Oh why not....one more line....

When I say, "This ball game is ovaah," that means we won.

And that my friends is Hawk Harrelson in his own words. Kicking ass and taking names baby! I always love the stories about how the White Sox decided to make him a General Manager in 1986. He spent his days on the Golf course, fired both Tony LaRussa and Dave Dombrowski and traded Bobby Bonilla for Jose DeLeon. Now that's a hell of a year.

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson (Sun-Times)

There's really no way to prepare you for what you are about to see, so we'll just go right into it. Here's your first look at the Chevy commercial that WGN aired with Lou Pinella and Ozzie Guillen rapping....

Ummmm....wow. I guess there really isn't anything else left to say. The only thing that was missing was Carlos Zambrano and AJ Pierzynski breakdance fighting in the background.

Amidst co-worker hatred of him and annoying article after annoying article, the Chicago Sun-Times has re-signed the despised one Jay Mariotti. From what I've learned over the past few weeks this really isn't a surprise and look for every other Sports writer at the Sun-Times to quit leaving Jay The Joke all by himself*.

Jay Mariotti has agreed to a contract extension that will keep the award-winning sports columnist at the Sun-Times through May, 2011, Editor-in-Chief Michael Cooke said today.

"The Sun-Times sports franchise is a robust, influential brand locally and nationally. It's the one place for independent, politically unimpeded sports commentary in Chicago," Mariotti said. "The Sun-Times provides for a strong base from which to connect with readers while I continue my television work and branch into other broadcast and Web ventures."

Mariotti regularly will write columns for the Sun-Times while traveling to major national and international sporting events and covering the thriving Chicago sports scene.

I'd like to say this surprises me but it really doesn't. I know that controversy sells but I'd like to challenge all of Chicago to just try and ignore the guy and I'll do the same.

Mariotti signs Sun-Times contract extension (Chicago Sun-Times)

I had a post last week about how I'm amazed that a writer who no one seems to like continues to write articles on Ozzie Guillen that don't speak for the fans. Everyone chimed in and said that he speaks for no one in Chicago. Well today you can add Jay Mariotti's colleagues to the list of people that can't stand the guy. Via Teddy Greenstein at the Trib....

Now Mariotti is taking body blows from his own colleagues at the Sun-Times. The situation heated up to the point that Editor-in-Chief Michael Cooke stepped in last week to symbolically separate Mariotti from fellow sports columnist Rick Telander, after Sun-Times editors refused to run columns Telander filed for the Wednesday and Friday papers.

The conflict started after Mariotti wrote last week of Guillen: "As you may have noticed through the years, I am the Blizzard's only critic in the Chicago media, mostly because my soft colleagues either fear Guillen's wrath, enjoy how he rips me, work for one of the Reinsdorf-controlled broadcast outlets or are afraid of getting on the chairman's bad side."

The next day, Sun-Times national baseball writer Chris De Luca led his column this way: "The same critics who avoid ever stepping into the White Sox's clubhouse are calling the Chicago media soft for not skewering manager Ozzie Guillen. They want Guillen fired yesterday. Sounds tough, but the rhetoric comes up a little, well, soft."

Telander also believed Mariotti had unfairly impugned his reputation and fired back in a Wednesday column that got spiked, according to media insiders. The paper explained to its readers in a box that Telander was taking the day off.

"I'm a big boy and I can handle this," he said. "The people I feel sorry for are the hard-working, talented journalists at the Sun-Times like Chris De Luca, Joe Cowley, Toni Ginnetti, Gordon Wittenmyer, Carol Slezak and Greg Couch."

This whole situation continues to amaze me. NO ONE likes anything this guy does. Not a single person enjoys his writing or his nonsense on television. I know controversy sells more papers, but you can reach a point of diminishing returns. In this case someone from at a rival city paper is writing about the dysfunction at your paper. That should be a hint that there's a Cancer in the midst.

Mariotti is no Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones, or Jeremy Shockey. This would be like the Matt Gutierrez knocking out Tom Brady in the locker room seven times and still keeping his job. Unbelievable.

Sun-Times colleagues go after Jay Mariotti (Chicago Tribune)
Even Jay Mariotti's Co-Workers Hate Him (Fanhouse)

This whole Doug Collins to coach the Bulls was weird from the start and now the TNT analyst isn't going to be leaving the booth to coach Chicago. Reports surfaced yesterday that John Paxson was waiting on word from Jerry Reinsdorf to approve a deal, but Reinsdorf was upset with Collins for breaking the news of his trade to the media. Today Collins decided he's waited long enough.....

Doug Collins is a heart-on-his-sleeve type of guy, so when he and his wife, Kathy, sat down for breakfast at their Scottsdale, Ariz., home Friday morning, the obvious didn't need to be said.

Collins wouldn't be returning for a second coaching stint with the Bulls.

A 15-minute phone call with Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf later Friday afternoon confirmed what the longtime friends already knew: Reinsdorf had too many reservations about entering into another business association with somebody he might have to fire.

"I just knew over the last few days that Jerry was really struggling over whether or not to do this, and I didn't want Jerry to have those struggles," Collins said in a telephone interview. "I love him. And I didn't want him feeling that kind of angst.

So I guess that's that. We're stuck with Doug Collins for another season at TNT, but he's surprisingly gotten more tolerable these days.

Change of heart: Doug Collins will not return to Bulls (Chicago Tribune)

Around the same time last year similar news came through the pipes that Steve Kerr was leaving TNT to head into the Suns' Front Office. That was a sad day as one of the best broadcast teams of Albert and Kerr was going to be broken up. Ultimately Reggie Miller would fill the whole and I would weep some more.

Well today is a glorious day because it appears that next season we won't have to hear about Doug Collins' tales of coaching becuase....he will be coaching. The Bulls....

Doug Collins will become the next Bulls head coach, according to a source. The source said the deal is expected to be announced "sooner rather than later." Expect one of the other candidates general manager John Paxson interviewed to be one of Collins' assistants.

Recently, Collins said he didn't want to leave his broadcasting job with TNT. Since then, the Bulls landed the No. 1 draft pick.

"I know Doug's got the itch [to coach again]," a league source said. "I think the Bulls' youth intrigues Doug more than the Phoenix [Suns] situation. He's a teacher That's what he likes to do.

It's funny how a draft pick changes things isn't it? In all honesty Doug Collins has toned it down a little bit this year and is doing a stellar job in the Western Conference Finals. No stories about Jordan, no word of his play in the Olympics, and no talking over Marv. I'm still hoping he leaves though.

Doug Collins to become Bulls head coach (Chicago Sun-Times)

Figured I'd post the video of the whole "reveal" of the picks during the Draft Lottery. Everything was holding to form when the Bulls made the jump into the top three and then ultimately stole the first pick away from Miami.

If you're the Bulls I think you have to take Derrick Rose, but when you have Hinrich on the roster that makes it tough. Here's what I'm thinking as far as a mock goes. Feel free to throw your own in the comments.

1. Bulls- Derrick Rose, PG (Memphis)
2. Heat- Michael Beasley, F (Kansas State)
3. Wolves- Brook Lopez, C (Stanford)
4. Sonics- Kevin Love, PF/C (UCLA)
5. Grizzlies- Eric Gordon, SG (Indiana)
6. Knicks- OJ Mayo, PG/SG (USC)
7. Clippers- Jerryd Bayless, PG/SG (Arizona)
8. Bucks- Danilo Gallinari, SF (Italy)
9. Bobcats- DeAndre Jordan, C (Texas A&M)
10. Nets- Donte Greene, SF/PF (Syracuse)
11. Pacers- D.J. Augustin, PG (Texas)
12. Kings- Russell Westbrook, PG/SG (UCLA)
13. Blazers- Joe Alexander, SF/PF (West Virginia)
14. Warriors- Anthony Randolph, SF/PF (LSU)

Chicago's announcing timeline is about the most disjointed as I've ever seen. There have been so many personalities with both the Cubs and White Sox that it's hard to which fans like who, but I think they could all agree on one name Chicagoans have always enjoyed. Steve Stone.

Well Stoney is back Chicago! And with his return he also breaks up a questionable announcing team. Steve Stone is now one of the voices for the Chicago White Sox....

As recently as Sunday, Stone planned to call just 13 Friday Sox home games, serve as a three-days-a-week baseball analyst for WSCR-AM 670 and perhaps continue his postseason work for TBS.

Then Sox vice president Brooks Boyer called to ask if he wanted a roster spot on the Sox broadcast team. Within 36 hours, the one-year contract was done.

"It was one of the easiest negotiations I've ever encountered," Score program director Mitch Rosen said. "All parties wanted this to happen and there wasn't a lot of time."

Stone will make his Sox debut Friday and is slated to call 150 regular-season games.

He will team with Ed Farmer, who could not be reached for comment.

The Farmer-Singelton team had been described in the past as disjointed, awkward, and occassionally annoying. Farmer seemed to not be able to stand the rookie broadcaster Singelton, which makes this next quote perfect...

Stone, who it seemed would be associated forever with Cubs television, is switching to White Sox radio. He will replace Chris Singleton, who is set to join ESPN's "Baseball Tonight."

Of course ESPN is hiring him! Unbelievable.

Holy Cow! Uneasy Singleton-Farmer 'marriage' annulled (Chicago Sports)

(Thanks to reader SB for the link)