Saying that Deadspin isn’t anything near what it was once likely won’t draw much argument. But in its heyday, the site made a significant impact in sports media and was extremely popular with reports like Brett Favre sending explicit texts to Jenn Sterger and revealing that the story of Manti Te’o’s dead girlfriend was a hoax.
Former Deadspin editor Tommy Craggs and writer Drew Magary appeared on Dan Le Batard’s “South Beach Sessions” podcast to reminisce about the site’s legacy and the sequence of events leading up to both leaving Gawker Media. Both discussed Deadspin’s role in disputing ESPN’s dominance of the sports media marketplace and giving voice to fans who felt they weren’t getting the whole story.
I deleted Twitter off my phone. No need for my wife to compel me to do so. And told her that they were there to alert “next of kin” that one Drew Magary was in critical condition 238 miles. Some people are fans of the Baltimore Ravens. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Baltimore Ravens. This 2020 Defector NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here. Your team: Baltimore Ravens. Some things never change. So heartwarming. Your 2019 record: 14-2.
Le Batard has his own issues with ESPN, resulting in him leaving the network to start his own venture, and expressed admiration for Deadspin’s fearlessness, anger, and willingness to be brutally honest, perhaps best demonstrated by Magary.
“The thought was we need to be the site that’s referenced instead of the thing doing the referencing,” said Magary. “That’s how you get a bigger, more lasting audience.”
Drew Magary on Deadspin’s evolution as a site: pic.twitter.com/QUcrMnIbdR
— The IC Workstation (@ClippelBoardy) February 11, 2021
(By the way, Magary revealed that he and Craggs talked to Le Batard back in December, but Le Batard didn’t want to post the conversation until he left ESPN.)
But Craggs nearly went to work for ESPN — more specifically, for Bill Simmons’ Grantland site — until it became clear to him that working for a large corporate entity wasn’t for him. Le Batard asked him to recount that experience, which doesn’t include the most flattering portrayal of Simmons.
“He spent the first 10 minutes on a soliloquy about who the hottest woman to come out of Boston was,” Craggs recalled. “I think it was between Maria Menounos and… I can’t remember the other. Obviously, I have very different sensibilities from him.”
Former Deadspin editor Tommy Craggs remembers meeting with ESPN and Grantland about working for them: pic.twitter.com/lKjh423ThI
— Ian Casselberry (@iancass) February 11, 2021
Related:Why Grantland still makes the most sense for Tommy Craggs and why it still may never work
Craggs did go on to praise Simmons’s editorial taste for writers different from him before skewering him for what he’s become in regards to unions and workers’ rights. You can read far more about Craggs meeting with ESPN executive John Walsh here.
That probably sums up what made Deadspin so appealing. Editors like Craggs appreciated good writing — and produced good work himself — but also aimed at big targets that deserved to be taken down for their actions and disingenuous public personas.
Unfortunately, Deadspin’s best days keeping drifting further into the past. Craggs left Deadspin more than six years ago. It’s been more than a year since the remaining staff left. Defector has revived the site’s best traits and sensibilities, but will it ever hit that same sports culture and media criticism sweet spot?
Drew Magary New Website
However, the fact that Le Batard felt compelled to look back speaks highly of the site’s legacy and continues to set a bar that other sites — including Awful Announcing — strive to reach. That is certainly worth remembering — and celebrating.
The whole conversation is worth listening to. You can find Le Batard & Friends – South Beach Sessions on plenty of podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
| Born | Andrew Schuyler Magary October 7, 1976 (age 44) Sydney, Australia |
|---|---|
| Occupation | journalist, humorist, columnist, novelist |
| Alma mater | Colby College University of Michigan |
| Genres | Science fiction, Humor |
| Website | |
| drewmagary.com | |
Andrew Schuyler Magary (born October 7, 1976) is an American[1] journalist, humor columnist, and novelist based in Maryland. He was a correspondent for GQ, has written three novels, and formerly was a long-time columnist for Deadspin.[2] He currently writes for Defector Media and SF Gate.
Early life[edit]
Andrew Schuyler Magary[3] was born in Sydney, Australia.[4] He moved with his parents to the U.S. at the age of four months and grew up in Minnesota[4] and Connecticut. He attended the University of Michigan before transferring to Colby College in Maine, where he majored in English and participated in the drama club. Early in his career, Magary worked in advertising.
Career[edit]
Drew Magary Twitter Story
Journalism[edit]
Magary was one of the contributors to the NFL humor website Kissing Suzy Kolber. He later became a contributor to the sports website Deadspin and became the site's columnist, providing commentary and answering reader mail in an irreverent and often profane style, reminiscent of Bill Simmons's mailbag editorial feature.[5] In addition to the main Deadspin site, he also contributed to its culture sub-site The Concourse and humor sub-site Adequate Man. His annual 'Why Your Team Sucks' columns were featured on Deadspin, in which he roasts every NFL franchise and mocks the weaknesses of both the team and its city.[6] He announced his departure from the site via a post on his personal Kinja page on October 31, 2019.[7]
Magary has worked frequently as a correspondent for GQ magazine. In 2013 Magary interviewed Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for the magazine and the article became widely covered for several comments made by Robertson, particularly concerning homosexuality.[8] He has also written articles for NBC, Maxim, Rolling Stone, Comedy Central, New York, ESPN, Yahoo!, Playboy, The Atlantic, and Penthouse.[9][10][11]
Chopped[edit]
In 2012, Magary applied to appear on an amateurs episode of the cooking competition show Chopped. He posted the answers to the application's questions in an installment of his humor column on Deadspin.[12][13]
In April 2015, Magary appeared on the ninth episode of Chopped's 22nd season, which featured other amateur home cooks, and won the episode's $10,000 prize.[14] After the episode aired, his Deadspin colleague and former NFL player Chris Kluwe posted a satirical review of the episode.[15]
Accident[edit]
On December 10, 2018, Deadspin editor-in-chief Megan Greenwell made an announcement [16] stating:
Drew Magary Defector
Irredeemable Vikings fan and beloved voice of Deadspin Drew Magary has been moved to the injured reserve list after an accident last week. He is receiving the best possible care, is surrounded by his family and friends, and is doing well under the circumstances.
When asked to elaborate on what happened, Greenwell stated, 'We’re not giving details out of respect for his family’s privacy. Thanks for understanding.'[16]
The last time Magary tweeted before his accident was on December 5, 2018 at 10:22 p.m. EST [17] — the same date as the annual Deadspin Awards he attended, which took place at the Irving Plaza in New York.
On December 19 at 1:54 EST, two weeks to the day after his accident, he tweeted for the first time, stating, 'Good evening. Greetings from Manhattan where I am currently NOT dead'.[18]
On December 21, Magary tweeted, 'So I'm drinking and singing bad karaoke and I pass out, then I start choking on my blood,' which was part of a thread in which he explained that he needed emergency neck surgery and stayed in a coma for a week.[19]Magary later described the tweets as “an incoherent, blazingly inaccurate summary” written while still disoriented from the medically-induced coma.[20]The tweets were all subsequently deleted.[21][22][23] On Christmas day, his wife tweeted the following from his account, 'Hey universe. Drew’s wife here. He wanted me to pass on MERRY CHRISTMAS! He is doing better. Wanted to clarify what happened to him as he falsely tweeted last week while cooped up in a rehab bed. He was not drunk when he suddenly collapsed. He is on his way to recovery.'[24]
On April 25, 2019, Magary for the first time disclosed accurate details in his annual pre-NFL Draft Jamboroo column: 'Nearly five months ago, I suffered a severe brain hemorrhage while I was just standing around at a work party. When I collapsed I fractured my skull. That fracture tore through the inner ear on the right side of my head, rendering it inoperable for good.'[25]
On May 16, 2019, Magary authored an editorial which laid out the details of his accident and his subsequent recovery.[26]
Drew Magary Twitter Page
Resignation from Deadspin[edit]
On October 31, 2019, Magary announced his resignation from Deadspin.[7] Since the purchase of Deadspin in April 2019, editorial and journalistic staff had complained about mismanagement, which culminated in the departure of the entire editorial and journalistic staff during October and November 2019.[27]
Magary and other former Deadspin writers formed Defector Media in 2020.[28]
Post-Deadspin[edit]
From August 2019 to September 2020, Magary wrote about politics and culture for Gen, a Medium publication.[29][30] Since April 2020, Magary has been a columnist at SF Gate, a digital sister-site of the San Francisco Chronicle.[31]
Bibliography[edit]
Sfgate Drew Magary
Fiction[edit]
- The Postmortal & The End Specialist (2011), science fiction novel, nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award and an Arthur C. Clarke Award
- The Hike (2016), fantasy novel
- Point B (2020), fantasy/humor novel
Defector Media
Non-fiction[edit]
- Men with Balls: The Professional Athlete's Handbook (2008), sports humor book
- Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood (2013), non-fiction memoir
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Hater's Guide to the World Cup Deadspin
- ^'Drew Magary - Sports News Headlines & Highlights'. Deadspin. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
- ^Magary, Drew. 'A Message To Heat Vision Jesus'. Deadspin. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
- ^ abMagary, Drew. 'How To Be Cold'. Deadspin. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
- ^'Drew Magary: Articles - Deadspin'. Kinja.com.
- ^'Why Your Team Sucks 2016 - Sports News Headlines & Highlights'. Deadspin. Retrieved May 21, 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ ab'This Is How It's Gonna Work'. Drew Magary. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
- ^Drew Magary GQ
- ^Drew Magary Huffington Post
- ^What I Read Drew Magary The Wire
- ^Drew Magary The Atlantic
- ^Magary, Drew. 'Our Drew Magary Applied For A Spot On Chopped; This Is His Application'. Deadspin. Retrieved 20 August 2016.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Chou, Jessica. 'The Best 'Chopped' Application You'll Read All Day'. The Daily Meal. Retrieved 20 August 2016.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Food Network Gossip: Deadspin's Drew Magary Competes On Chopped Amateurs'. foodnetworkgossip.com.
- ^Kluwe, Chris. 'Drew Magary Won Chopped Last Night And It's A Goddamn National Disgrace'. Deadspin. Retrieved 20 August 2016.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ abGreenwell, Megan. 'A Note On Drew'. Deadspin. Retrieved May 21, 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Magary, Drew (December 5, 2018). 'Sir, your kind tweet has made me thumb dance once more'. Retrieved May 21, 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'A Note from Drew'. December 10, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^[1][dead link]
- ^[2]
- ^[3][dead link]
- ^[4][dead link]
- ^[5][dead link]
- ^Magary, Drew (December 25, 2018). 'Hey universe. Drew's wife here. He wanted me to pass on MERRY CHRISTMAS! He is doing better. Wanted to clarify what happened to him as he falsely tweeted last week while cooped up in a rehab bed. He was not drunk when he suddenly collapsed. He is on his way to recovery'. Retrieved May 21, 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Magary, Drew. 'An Incomplete List Of Things I Can Never Do Again'. Deadspin. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^Magary, Drew. 'The Night The Lights Went Out'. The Concourse. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- ^https://www.npr.org/2019/11/01/775548069/after-days-of-resignations-the-last-of-the-deadspin-staff-have-quit
- ^Scott, Nate (July 28, 2020). 'Everything we know about Defector, a new sports blog from former staffers of Deadspin'. For The Win. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^'Drew Magary'. Gen. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^Magary, Drew (September 17, 2020). 'Writing About Politics Sucks'. Gen. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^'Drew Magary — Columnist'. SF Gate. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
External links[edit]
- 'Someone Could Get Hurt': Q&A with Drew Magary by Kat Kinsman, CNN July 8, 2013
- Drew Magary Interview Guy Code Blog, MTV June 14, 2013
- I am Drew Magary Reddit.com