Yes, you can go home again.

I am pleased to announce that you will be able to read more from yours truly at the Chicago Tribune and on the paper’s redesigned digital site.

The plan calls for me to do a weekly column on sports media. I hope to hit the hot topics on the local and national media front.

Also, I will contribute sports media items during the week to the Tribune’s new sports blog, Smack.

I spent 27 years as a full-time reporter at the Tribune from 1981-2008, and restarted the sports column last summer. Now I’m looking forward to doing more at the Trib.

Many thanks to new Tribune sports editor Joe Knowles for making this happen. Great to be reunited with my old Saturday night design pal after all these years.

It appears as if  Brady Quinn is moving on with his post-football career.

Fox Sports announced today that the former Notre Dame quarterback will work for the network as a college football and NFL studio and game analyst.

In his studio role, Quinn will contribute college and pro football analysis on Fox Sports 1’s “America Pregame” and “Fox Sports Live.” In the booth, Quinn pairs with two veteran play-by-play announcers, teaming with Tim Brando for college games and Dick Stockton when on NFL assignment.

In Fox Sports release, Quinn said: “I am honored and grateful to have the opportunity to join the team at Fox Sports. Obviously, nothing compares to playing quarterback, but I am looking forward to this next career challenge and the tremendous opportunity it affords me to remain close to the sport I love at both the collegiate and professional levels.”

My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana examines the sports talk/debate culture that likely contributed to Stephen A. Smith’s deplorable comments on domestic violence.

From the column.

********

It now is several days removed, and I still am astounded about what Stephen A. Smith said on “First Take” Friday.

How can anyone go on national television and suggest that women should be careful not to “provoke” men to the point where the situation could get violent? I mean, is he insane?

If you talk about domestic violence on TV, you never come close to your comments being misconstrued. It’s wrong, end of discussion.

I know Smith apologized profusely for his comments on “First Take” Monday. Following the apology, ESPN issued a statement saying, “As his apology demonstrates, he recognizes his mistakes and has a deeper appreciation of our company values.”

Oh, I’m sure when your career flashes before your eyes, you get a deeper appreciation of company values.

Yet upon more reflection about Smith’s comments, I wonder if something more is at play here. Now, in no way am I letting him off the hook. Let’s be clear about that. However, let’s just throw out the possibility that ESPN bears some responsibility here.

It isn’t just ESPN, per se. Rather, it is the sports talk radio/debate genre of programming that are driving the engines on many platforms.

In order to generate ratings, the personalities on these shows need to stand out to get noticed. They have to be edgy and controversial. If you’re predictable and middle-of-the-road, you won’t last long in these formats.

The idea is to generate water cooler talk where a viewer tells the gang, “Hey, did you hear what (fill in the name here) said last night…?”

There is an expectation, if not pressure, for these personalities to push the envelope, to take things to the edge.

Yet as Smith showed Friday, when you teeter on the edge, sometimes you fall over the cliff.

Very cool moment at Dodgers Stadium last night. The ageless wonder is coming back.

From Scully in a statement:

“It is very difficult to say goodbye,” Scully said in a statement. “God willing I will be back next year. Over the years I have been blessed to have so many friends including those that sit in the stands and listen as well as those at home, who listen and watch. It is just too hard to say goodbye to all these friends. Naturally there will come a time, when I will have to say goodbye, but I’ve soul-searched and this is not the time.”

The official statement doesn’t use the word “suspend,” but that’s what it is:

“ESPN announced today that Stephen A. Smith will not appear on First Take or ESPN Radio for the next week.  He will return to ESPN next Wednesday.”

During his week off, Smith should consider just how close he came to blowing up his career.

More to come.

Josh Carpenter and Alex Silverman of Sports Business Daily polled 48 major newspapers in NFL markets, plus USA Today, Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times about whether they will continue to use Washington’s nickname. The outcome: 44 still are using it even with the recent uproar.

From the story:

Even with the number of papers not using the name quadrupling in the past year, they are still in the minority. Some major papers cited a desire to abstain from taking a side on the issue, and therefore continue using the name, while others simply have chosen to adhere to the team’s official name. The N.Y. Times continues to use the team’s nickname, but Assistant Managing Editor for Standards Philip Corbett said that the paper’s staff has continued to discuss and cover the issues surrounding the name. He said when referring to the football team, “I don’t believe readers think that The Times is intending the term as a slur. We’re also wary about taking sides in an ongoing controversy that we’re covering as a news organization.” He added, “It’s certainly legitimate to question the use of sports names with that sort of background or history. In the end, though, I’m not sure The Times’ stylebook is the place where this debate is going to be resolved.” The L.A. Times in May published an editorial calling on the NFL to force the team to change the name. However, because the NFL still recognizes “Redskins” as the official moniker, Sports Editor Mike James wrote in an e-mail, “We’re not ready to make the step to stop using it.” He added the paper is having “ongoing discussions” about its use in print and online. “As someone who grew up in DC and was a die-hard fan growing up,” James wrote, “I’ve had some difficulty for some time understanding why a team in the nation’s capital would continue to use — and continue to be allowed to use — a recognized slur as a nickname.”

Indeed, this does fall under the category of journalists making news instead of covering the news if a publication decides not to use the nickname. Still, it definitely is a slur.

As you can see, the nickname isn’t being used here.

During the course of covering sports media since 1998, there have been many instances when I have been forced to write about dumb things people say or do in business.

I have a simple term for it: Idiot patrol.

Last week was a good–or bad week–for idiot patrol, depending on your perspective.

A Boston sports talk show host, Kirk Minihane of WEEI, made disparaging remarks about Erin Andrews. Then during his apology for his initial comments, he went on to slam Andrews even further. He said, if Andrews “weighed 15 pounds more she would be a waitress.”

Then, there was the entire Stephen A. Smith mess. Memo to Stephen A.: Stephen A.: If you talk about domestic violence on TV, you never come close to comments being misconstrued. It’s wrong, end of discussion.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing had a complete rundown of other “idiot” stuff in this post.

He writes:

Reflecting over the weekend, it was easy to be discouraged about the current state of our daily sports conversation and generally, the way we treat one another through social media and beyond.  And unfortunately, one of the biggest takeaways from the week was the disrespectful treatment and abuse of women working in sports.

Yoder, though, tried to put a positive spin on things, citing some uplifting stories he read. He concluded:

I second that. I know there are sites out there that celebrate being on “Idiot Patrol.” Drives page views.

Not me. I take no pleasure when people in the business act like idiots. It makes us all look bad.

Here’s hoping for a better week.

I had a reunion Saturday with old pals from the Daily Illini at the University of Illinois. We picked up where we left off 34 years ago, going to the Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley Field. Not much has changed in the baseball department: St. Louis is a contender, while the Cubs remain forever terrible.

During much of the game, we talked about players from the past more than the present. One of us blurted out Julian Javier’s name. Hence my latest random baseball card.

The second-baseman was a two-time All-Star on those great Cardinals teams of the 60s. He hit .360 in the 1967 World Series.

Here’s to you Julian…and Brueggs, Schlets and Mike.