An excerpt from my latest column for Poynter:

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Dave Anderson remains a member of a very small fraternity of Pulitzer Prize-winning sports reporters and columnists. Only three columnists have been cited: Besides Anderson, Arthur Daley of the New York Times [1956], Red Smith of the New York Times[1976] and Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times [1990].

On the reporting side in recent years, George Dohrmann of the St. Paul Pioneer Press won in 2000 for his reports of fraud in the Minnesota basketball program. Ira Berkow shared the 2001 Pulitzer for national reporting for his article “The Minority Quarterback” in a New York Times series on race in America.

The next sports Pulitzer winner wasn’t until 2013 when John Branch of the New York Times won for feature writing for a story on skiers killed in an avalanche. Sara Ganim and the Harrisburg Patriot-News were awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for their terrific coverage of the Jerry Sandusky saga. Ganim, though, wasn’t a sportswriter and the mess at Penn State went way beyond the realm of a sports story.

Based on basically the once-in-a-decade trend, the next Pulitzer winner to come from sports might not occur until the 2020s. George Solomon, who was the long-time sports editor for the Washington Post, calls the Pulitzer situation “distressing” as it relates to sports.

“Sports have been underrepresented by the Pulitzer committee,” said Solomon, the director of the Shirley Povich Center for sports journalism at Maryland. “There have been many terrific investigative stories coming from sports, such as on concussions and college sports. You have great narratives and profiles about people and institutions. I don’t think [the committee respects] sports as much as other subject matters in journalism.”

A case in point are the sports columnists. Certainly legends such as Povich, Grantland Rice and Jimmy Cannon, giants among giants, were more than worthy of winning the Pulitzer. And the fact that Smith and Murray had to wait until they were so deep into their careers is absolutely absurd.

Since Murray, in 1990, it now is 25 years since a sports columnist won a Pulitzer for commentary. Meanwhile, numerous columnists and critics from other sections have been recognized.

“When you think of the number of great sports columnists, it is quite remarkable that there haven’t been more winners,” Solomon said.

Must read column from Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal. Be sure to drag the mouse over the F-words.

The new schedule is an indicator that the NFL might not be high on the Bears’ outlook this year.

The Bears only are scheduled for two prime time games this year: Monday night at San Diego on Nov. 9 and Thanksgiving night at Green Bay.

It marks the Bears’ fewest prime time games since 2005 when they only made one appearance. In fact, the Bears have played at least four prime time games every season since 2005. They have been featured on five prime time games in each of the last three seasons.

The networks love airing Bears games in prime time. The Bears, with their vast history, are considered one of the national teams in the NFL. Their appeal usually produces solid ratings.

So if the Bears are even close to being considered respectable, 8-8 or 9-7, they will receive more primetime games than teams like Buffalo or Tampa Bay with comparable records.

However, the NFL, which makes the schedule and assigns games to the respective networks, obviously is leery of the Bears coming off a 5-11 season. Ultimately, the league wants good teams playing in its showcase games. Bad teams increase the possibility of lopsided games, which is a ratings killer.

Now there are a couple things to consider here. With the flex schedule in place for NBC during the second half of the season, the Bears could get a game moved to Sunday night if they perform well.

Also, the Bears will be showcased early with Sunday afternoon games. Expect Fox’s No. 1 crew of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to be on hand for the Bears-Green Bay season-opener at Soldier Field. The Bears’ trip to Seattle on Sept. 27 could be CBS’ main doubleheader game that week. That will be a crossover game for CBS, which typically airs the AFC.

By now, you’ve probably read or heard Bryan Price’s rant at C. Trent Rosecrans. Obviously, the Reds need to hire a good media consultant to work with him. Allow me to suggest my good friend, Kevin Sullivan.

Loved this tweet:

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post weighed in with a column. He writes:

Now, no beat writer is doing his/her job if he/she isn’t sending out that info in real time – whether it comes from the manager or not. Providing instant information is part of the job. Wait till after the game, and you’re nine innings late, and your readers are poorly served.

Later, he writes:

This is a key point: All reporters can ask of the people they cover – managers, general managers and players – is that they don’t lie. There are times (and this instance might be an example) in which not providing the whole truth is understandable because there are real competitive advantages at stake.

But having the media know whether a player is available or not – particularly after-the-fact – can work in a manager’s favor, at least in the court of public opinion. Devin Mesaraco is a right-handed hitter who clubbed 25 homers a year ago. If the opponent brings in a left-handed reliever in the late innings of a close game, and Mesaraco does not get off the bench to pinch hit, well, Reds fans might wonder why, and Price would be best served by saying, “He’s injured and wasn’t available in that situation.”

A very sad day in Chicago with the passing of Doug Buffone.

Ol’ No. 55 played the most games of any Bear. Even though the linebacker finally retired in 1980, he never lost his passion for football and the Bears.

One of my all-time favorite days in the business occurred last fall when I watched the Bears-New England game with him and his long-time teammate and radio partner Ed O’Bradovich. Their Bears postgame radio show on WSCR-AM 670 was a must-listen and they were in vintage form after the Patriots slaughtered the Bears.

I reflected back on that day in a column in the Tribune:

Before the game, Buffone repeatedly said the Bears had to hit the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski at the line. Sure enough, the Bears didn’t touch him and the star tight end caught three touchdowns.

At one point, Buffone, wearing relaxed-fit jeans while watching in a back room, leaped out of his chair in indignation.

“C’mon, are you kidding me?” said Buffone, waving his arms. “You have to pop that guy at the line. When we were playing, that tight end would be on his back.”

After the Patriots finished the slaughter, it was time for Buffone and O’Bradovich to take their shots at the Bears.

Buffone opened the show by saying, “I could have gone to Rush Street last night and found 24 players who could do better than the Bears did today.”

Buffone used to litter the shows with critiques calling the Bears “tomato cans,” “soft as a grape,” “garbage” and the ever-popular, “They couldn’t play dead.”

In an interview, Buffone showed that sugar-coating wasn’t part of his vocabulary.

“”I didn’t play the trombone or piano for 14 years. I played football,” Buffone said. “Don’t give me this Kumbaya stuff and ‘We’ll try again next week.’ You’re trying to tell me I don’t know what’s going on? Even a moron would know after 14 years.”

When the Bears lose next year, it won’t be the same without Buffone.

Did ESPN ask for a partial refund?

Last night, the Sunday primetime crew witnessed St. Louis and Adam Wainwright knock off Cincinnati 2-1 in a game that took 2:02. I can’t remember a quicker Sunday night game.

The fast game would have allowed ESPN to air a bonus “30 for 30” if it so desired.

The previous Sunday night, it took 3:24 for the Yankees’ 14-4 win over Boston. While still a slog, that actually was quicker than previous years.

It appears as if MLB’s pick-up-the-pace initiative is working to some extent. Games seem to be moving faster.

However, there’s still room for improvement. On Saturday afternoon, I tuned into the Baltimore-Boston game. I had Orioles starter Chris Tillman on my Dick Allen MVP fantasy team.

It was a labor to get through it. The Orioles held a 2-1 lead for most of the game until adding two runs in the ninth for a 4-1 victory. Gametime: 3:24.

Way too long for that kind of low-scoring game. At least I got a victory from Tillman.

Fox Sports announced Saturday that it has hired Pete Rose to be a guest analyst for its studio coverage of Major League Baseball on Fox and Fox Sports 1.  According to Ken Rosenthal’s story on FoxSports.com, the network didn’t need the approval of MLB to hire Rose. However, Fox said Commissioner Rob Manfred was aware that it was auditioning him for the role.

“As a courtesy, Fox informed us that they were interviewing Pete Rose for an on-air studio position,” said Pat Courtney, baseball’s chief communications officer. “The decision to hire on-air talent for its telecasts rests solely with Fox.”

The move, though, will prompt much speculation that Manfred will reinstate the 74-year-old Rose. Given that sports leagues work closely with their broadcast partners, it is unlikely Fox would have hired Rose at this time if MLB had strong objections. Working on the telecasts could be a way to gauge public reaction to his complete return to the game.

The new job will be Rose’s closest association to MLB since being banned for life in 1989 for betting on baseball. He played down the reinstatement aspect to Rosenthal.

“I don’t even worry about that. I’ve never thought about that,” Rose said. “I’m just trying to give back to baseball. Hopefully people will watch and I’ll make some good points that will help them understand the game more.

“I’m not concentrating or worrying about reinstatement. I’m worried about working, having fun. This will be fun for me. It won’t be like work. That’s the way I look at it.”

At the very least, the addition of Rose should boost the ratings for Fox’s studio baseball shows.

“It’s obvious that Pete has a vast knowledge of baseball history, but what is equally impressive is how well informed and opinionated he is about the game today,” said John Entz, Executive Vice President, Production & Executive Producer, Fox Sports.  “He’s one of the most popular players to ever put on a uniform and we have no doubt that people will truly enjoy his insight and enthusiasm.”

Seriously, I’m interested in knowing why social media is exploding over a person most people barely know about before yesterday?

Why does a bad moment in someone’s personal life suddenly become news?

Did McHenry’s behavior merit a suspension from ESPN?

What does the entire saga say about our priorities in news coverage?

Please stay tuned for more on this issue.