Clubhouse chatter: Walk a mile in my shoes
What our columnists and sports writers have to say as they wait for the games to resume. What's one thing people can't appreciate about your job without actually doing it?
Getting an up-close view of player growth.
Being a fan of the team you cover is rightly frowned upon because it can distort your coverage. But it's OK to be a fan of young players and watch them blossom into major-league stars on a daily basis.
Tim Anderson, Lucas Giolito and Yoan Moncada are the three most recent examples on the White Sox, and Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Michael Kopech are the next trio ready to launch.
- Scot Gregor
The one thing that seems to surprise people the most is how early we leave for events. Generally speaking, I try to get to a game about four hours before it begins, in the case of sports where there might be limited pregame access to players or because of traffic concerns.
- Barry Rozner
Deadlines. A lot of times when you're covering night games, you're basically writing as fast as you can type. Typically we have to decide how long you're able to wait for the player of the game to get dressed and start talking in the locker room, if there's even time to talk to anyone. It's worse in baseball with rain delays and extra innings. High school football can get really hectic on a Friday night, especially since you don't have a media room where you can sit down and finish the story. You usually have to fight the crowds in the parking lot and drive somewhere else to write.
- Mike McGraw
Deadline pressure - especially in the postseason. Your story is ready, there are 10 minutes to deadline and - WHAM! - everything changes. Anyone who watched Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final knows what I'm talking about. The Blackhawks were surely going to Game 7, but 17 seconds of playing time later they had the lead. Moments later they were hoisting the Stanley Cup - and it was unfolding as the deadline clock was ticking down to zero.
- John Dietz