Wednesday

I could do Sports today, and with the start of the World Series, Sports would be appropriate. But it is also Wednesday, and Craig Wilson's nonsense provides better inspiration for the moment.

The topics and biases that make it to the columns are rarely works of art. Some scribes, or more aptly, pundits, like a Dave Berry, are more often clever than others. And a guy like Rick Reilly can resonate with fan groups with some consistency. Wilson's observations about daily life cater to a less demanding reader who is basically willing to accept the premise of a column as worthy or not. Other more serious writers on politics or religion appeal to different audiences as well. And loose standards are generally recognized among readers as in a writer's work being consistently well-presented. Or not.

The Internet has a feature that often asks a reader to rate the article that was just read. Kind of like the "star" system used to rate movies, hotels, or restaurants. A truly bored geek could possibly design a Nielsen-like rating system on columnists that could be updated on a weekly basis for the masses. Imagine the chagrin of a Christine Brennan when she learns that she has negatives in her approval ratings rivalling only those of Hillary. Ditto for Rush.

Athletes in virtually every sport have historical statistics on their performances kept in countless data banks. What did Cal Ripken hit for the month of July in 1988? There's a definitive answer to that question. How many assists did Magic have against the Pistons in his career? There's an answer to that one too. In the games that we play, we keep score. I think that we ought to do the same for the writers.

I was going to extend the point to Leno and Letterman, but those guys do get rated by the TV system. Obviously, some nights the monologues are better than other nights, but over time, viewership will be determine advertising rates, and the show's employees will then reap the appropriate rewards.

Some of this surely already exists on the Internet. Bloggers and nutcases may be out there right now crying for subscribers to critique Cooper Anderson's crusade on global warming. I hope that they can find some venture capital to take this to a national level. I want to pick up the Monday USA Today and go to the Life Section where they report the weekend take on the movies, and last week's TV ratings, and find the statistical analysis on the columnists. Who had it together, and who just mailed it in?

So maybe I should just stick to Sports on Wednesday, eh?

BCOT