Since CSTB was characterized by no less an authority than Jessica Hopper as “a bullet points version of The Sporting News’, I made an effort or two to check out the modern version of said periodical a few times last year.

Big mistake. Other than the exhaustive NASCAR coverage (cough) and the odd bit from Ken Rosenthal that was already available on the web, I found TSN to be slim pickings. But if you’re into guest editorials from JC Watts and Joe Buck, well, I suppose there’s nowhere else to go.

Back in the day before box scores and stats became so easily available, I did subscribe to the magazine. But around the time “Caught On The Fly” debuted, it was time for me to give up the ghost. And I still rue the day I turned up the volume on my laptop to hear The Fly’s observations out loud. I’d hoped for a voice somewhere in the neighborhood of Lux Interior, but instead got Joey Welz.

The New York Times’ Julie Bosman reports in today’s NY Times that The Sporting News is very much for sale. Between the unspectacular magazine, their unlistenable radio network and a deadly dull website, the paper’s chief exec Rick Allen (no relation to owner Paul) says the whole operation could go for “hundreds of millions”.

Bosman notes that TSN recently settled with the Justice Department over charges of accepting ads for online casinos, paying a fine of some $7.2 million. The Human Whoopie Cushion expressed surprise that TSN had that kind of scratch on hand, which if nothing else, showed his firm grasp of the business universe. $7.2 million is tip money to Paul Allen (above, left) ; the guy built a fucking museum with an entire wing dedicated to Candlebox, for chrissakes.