As of right now, Jean-Jacques Taylor’s Twitter stream IDs him as a sports columnist for the Dallas Morning News, but that’s not true. He now works for ESPN Dallas. He shouldn’t be hard to replace. Though JJT’s favorite word, “poppycock,” will now show up far less frequently in the paper.
Sam Gwynne is also leaving the paper. He shouldn’t be hard to replace either, but for a different reason. It was a big deal last summer when the News hired him as a senior writer. This dude can type. But from what I can tell, he wasn’t doing much of it for the paper. Shortly after signing on with the paper, he wrote two fairly long pieces (by newspaper standards), one 1,700 words long and the other clocking in at 3,000. But since December, his byline has only appeared alongside others’. In his tenure with the paper, his byline has appeared a total of 15 times. Eight times, it appeared on a double-bylined story. Five times it appeared on a triple-bylined story. Not exactly the most optimal way to showcase a great writer’s talents. Kinda like throwing your pâté in with a bunch of peanut butter.
16 comments
Yep, looks like JJT has been scrubbed from The Ticket website.
PEANUT BUTTER! Slayin’ it.
So The Soul Patch is dead before it found its sea legs? Some how I believe The Little Ticket will find a way to carry on Sunday mornings. Too bad a Sunday Morning Rant is too much to ask.
More Cirque du Siroy. More Sportsbot 2K3!!
That’s great news for The Ticket.
The Soul Patch made the golf show or RaceWeek seem like essential listening.
You forgot to write that Sam’s book last year, Empire of the Sun, was a New York Times bestseller. That success landed him a lucrative book deal. The Morning News was fortunate to have him for a year. It was a tribute to him that he worked well with others, rather than try to big foot because of his literary status, and was willing to jump in a quick-moving news of the day.
Best wishes to JJT. The man is insightful and tells it like it is.
I hope the comment about Cirque du Siroy was sarcastic – they are so bad they wouldn’t crack the starting lineup on the Fan (are they still on the air?).
I suppose the Ticket wouldn’t make room for JJT on a regular show, but teaming him full time with Norm, or replacing Dan, would have been fine with me.
JJT is the best. Guess we won’t be hearing him on Dan Patrick anymore.
JJT’s the best?
He’s easily the worst sports columnist the DMN has ever had. I hard ever agreed with Kevin Blackistone, but the man can write circle around JJT, whose content comprises nothing but drivel.
I’m sure the DMN can find an equal replacement for him. And if they try hard enough, they can do much, much better.
@Brandon nailed it. JJT is simply not a good writer, at least for a featured columnist. He did a good job as Cowboys beat writer but as a columnist….pure poppy****. And I’ll never understand his affinity for beginning sentences with the word “see.”
Blackistone, while driving me crazy, is an excellent writer, very talented.
Maybe he didn’t write as “well” as KB or some of the others, but he tells it like it is and doesn’t try to kiss up to anybody. If the Cowboy’s did something stupid (which is quite often) he them, and even the players, have it. He pulled no punches. DMN will be worse now for it.
…..and taking Rich Gosselin OFF the NFL beat?? DMN must be tired of being awarded TOP 5 Sports Page of the year. His NFL articles were often the only reason I opened the paper. BIG MISTAKE DMN!!!
@Mat: Fair enough. I think his opinions were generally off-base and clumsily delivered, but yes, he wasn’t afraid to say whatever, and still usually show up after. So there you go.
JJT is a super writer for the DMN. He understands the cowboys and he doesn’t mince words when critiquing a game. Football is a hard a#*d game and it takes someone like JJT to tell it like it is, so to speak. The DMN will lose by not having him around. I will follow him at ESPN. Goodbye DMN!
JJT is a super writer for the DMN. He understands the game and the players. He will not mince words in critiquing either the game, coaches or players. I think the cowboys need him at the DMN but now they’ve lost him along with the rest of us who loved his writing. He is not shakespear but who cares. He writes about football and soes a great job. I will follow him at ESPN.