Michael Wilbon sparked considerable debate on this site when he critiqued the current state of sportswriting in an interview.

Wilbon, who edited Best American Sportswriting 2012, said:

“There’s not as much good stuff as there used to be. Don’t get me wrong. I turned down some good pieces. But I know what it used to be. There’s not enough stuff that compels me. The volume (of quality writing) is not close.

“We’re all chasing the same story. Most of it I don’t care about. Where’s LeBron going? Even the great writers aren’t as great as they used to be. They’re smarter. They may be good reporters. They may get information we care about, but they’re not as good at writing. I’m not as great as I used to be. You’re too busy trying to get it posted before Yahoo! does. It’s all a rush to get it posted, to be first.”

Several folks disagreed with Wilbon’s assessment. They include Dan Shanoff of Quickish.

In his compiling his list of the best sportswriting of 2012, Shanoff begins:

This  year re-affirmed that the 99th percentile of sportswriting has never been better.

Here’s the link to Shanoff’s list, which features “12 Best of 12” and “Also Receiving Votes”.

Among those that stood out for me:

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports  on Tom Brady after losing the Super Bowl.

Jonathan Abrams of Grantland using an oral history to retell the infamous NBA fight that spilled into the stands at Detroit.

Wright Thompson of ESPN The Magazine on Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

And there’s much more. Definitely worth a look.