Must-Reads: The Best Active Sportswriters

There are a lot of bad, really bad people employed by big-time newspapers and online versions of magazines to write about sports. Well, let me re-phrase that - they may not be bad people, but they sure are bad writers. They have no passion for their craft and instead of taking the time to write well-researched, well-constructed pieces, they instead offer up piles of clichés and two-bit psychology.

But today I want to talk about the sportswriters who are good. These are people who bring enthusiasm and knowledge to the table. These sportswriters would rather spend time to make an article good, rather than curry favor with a source by writing a hatchet job on a particular person. These are sportswriters you should be reading.

I've limited this piece to writers who are available for free online. So, while I will always hold a soft spot for Peter Gammons, he is not listed as he is now behind the Iron Curtain of the Insider section of E-S-P-N. Some of these papers may require one to register. Don't bitch and moan - take the 60 seconds to fill out the form. It's a small price to pay for the amount of otherwise free content these sources provide.

John Clayton: I know many people prefer Gregg Easterbrook or Peter King or Len Pasquerelli, but Clayton is connected, writes concisely and lives and breathes football. Plus I have to acknowledge perhaps the only person on the planet paler than me.

Steven Goldman: This links to his columns at YES Network and not his work for Baseball Prospectus. It's refreshing to read a columnist paid by the Yankees who tells the truth about Derek Jeter's defense.

King Kaufman: Salon's site can be somewhat difficult to navigate at times (it's actually gotten better recently) but Kaufman makes it worthwhile. Like everyone else, his work can be uneven but he's frequently good and more than occasionally he's outstanding.

Tim Marchman: Okay, the rag he writes for is about the 10th-best paper in New York, but Marchman is tremendous. He gets my vote as the best mainstream (if you can consider the Sun mainstream) sportswriter active today.