My latest Chicago Tribune column is on a Tribune alum, Skip Bayless.

You also can access the column via my Twitter feed at Sherman_Report.

And beware Bayless critics, but coming later this week, I will post my entire Q/A with Bayless.

An excerpt from the column.

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Despite the supposed hatred for him, Bayless contends the show succeeds because it is the opposite of critics’ allegations (that many of his comments are for show).

“It’s 1,000 percent authentic,” Bayless said. “If you follow our show, I defy you to show me something that I said that you thought was completely outlandish and that I said only for the sake of saying it. I’m not doing it for ratings because our audience is sophisticated and smart, and they will see right through that. They keep coming back because they know I believe what I believe.”

Bayless’ departure from the Tribune underscores that point. He says he loved working in Chicago, calling it “the most passionate sports town in the country.” However, he found the situation intolerable when then-editor Ann Marie Lipinski decided that all columns, including his, should be contained on one page instead of starting on one page and continuing to another page. Limited to around 650 words, Bayless says he felt constrained by not having the option to go longer if the subject or his reporting warranted it. He tried the tighter approach but after “suffering emotionally about it,” he told his bosses he couldn’t work that way any longer and was leaving the paper, details Lipinski doesn’t dispute.

The incident, Bayless says, demonstrates he won’t compromise himself. Not for a job, and certainly not for a show.

“My career is my life and my passion,” Bayless said. “It’s not a job, it’s my life. So I was able to (leave the Tribune) when the job no longer fit what I do best.”