Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Ramona Rocks

Here in Los Angeles we're blessed with some excellent sportswriters, with most of them are aligned with a primary subject: Bill Shaikin (baseball), the Kamenetzky Brothers (Lakers), T.J. Simers (being a dick). But there's someone who writes across multiple sports with insight and feeling, and she's becoming one of my favorites: Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLA.com.

Shelburne writes about the Dodgers (here and here, and she's currently pitching in at the site's Dodgers Report). She writes about the Angels. She writes about the Lakers. She writes about the Clippers. She writes about the Kings. She even writes about the Sparks.

She tweets (@ramonashelburne), she podcasts (with the K Bros.) and she appears on ESPN (TV and radio). It's a full-time job covering one team, so I don't know how she has the time and energy to cover the entire L.A. sports scene.

But cover it she does, and when she's free from the constraints of traditional reporting, Shelburne always seems to strike the right balance between analysis and human interest (recommended: her profile on Don Mattingly).

Despite the Dodgers' recent struggles, it's a pretty exciting time for this city's sports scene, with the Lakers being the Lakers, the Kings joining them as champions, and the NFL looking to take up residence. Let's be grateful we have a sportswriter who can see the big picture — and who will help us see it as well.

4 comments:

NicJ said...

"T.J. Simers (being a dick)."


I LOL'd

NicJ said...

You didn't mention Plaschke, were you distracted or something?

Steve Sax said...

@NicJ: That's because Orel was writing full paragraphs. Plaschke doesn't apply.

Steve Sax said...

And, Ramona is a Stanford Cardinal! Whoo hoo!