Wow. While I can’t say I’ll necessarily miss his commentary, I think this could be a big moment in media news. Mariotti is a relatively big name. The Sun-Times has been on the leading edge of the newpaper industry’s demise. Mariotti is openly saying in essence, there is no future in newspapers. He’s right. When a self-published web site can out-rank major newspapers for key search terms, the economics have simply changed. While final confirmation of the newspaper’s death will wait for another 10 years, is only a matter of time.

Mariotti would probably do well to start his own web site and affiliate with some big online sports communities, including ESPN. In the long run, he’d probably make more money. Jay, call me if you need help getting set up.