Controversial columnist T.J. Simers never minced words in his coverage of Southern California sports. Now, set to retire in the face of impending LA Register cuts, the longtime L.A. Times writer wrote openly on a changing sports media landscape that left his era behind.
“I took a punch to the gut in the final months with the Los Angeles Times. I got the impression the newspaper was offended that I had gotten older and had to be taken to the hospital after seeing what the Angels had to offer in spring training.”
But Simers seems to accept an inevitable changing of the guard in sports media.
“I started my career using a typewriter, early on sitting next to the great New York Times columnist Red Smith when Bucky Dent hit a home run for the Yankees to beat the Red Sox in a one-game playoff.
“I remember Red typing in “Sports of the Times,’’ then his byline and hitting the keys like some grand pianist while I froze. He was writing poetry…
“Now some of the great writing is done in 140 characters.
“Things just change.”
