David Climer is worst sports columnist ever
By Bryce Martin

Jim Murray was one of the best newspaper sports columnists ever. A key feature of his regular col'yums for the Los Angeles Times was his regular use of hyperbole. English professors would have given him low marks for that, but who reads English professors.

Wells Twombly's name as a byline was probably better than anything he could write while covering sports in California's Bay area.

David Climer's constant use of cliches, not just cliches, but the tiredest of the genre, ranks him at the bottom of sports writers I have read.

It's bad enough that Climer's columns are not fresh, or even attempts to be fresh, but just rehashes of events and opinions that other writers have labored to write. The great sports writers are few. Those who are not great but considered good at least attempt to find a fresh angle to pursue.

But, that is not the main complaint.

Case in point, from Climer in the January 14th Tennessean while writing about Vanderbilt basketball: "ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION."

I put it in all caps because that is how it reads to me. It screams out. That's because Climer has never written a column without using that tired phrase (How's my Jim Murray hyperbole doing?).

Try this. On your computer, go to Google and in the web search slot type in "addition by subtraction" -- space -- then "David Climer" and you will see what I mean after you click in your search.

I realize the average reader does not have much of a background in English or journalism and will not notice such things. Count his editors in that category as well.

Climer has four other overly-tired cliches he regularly uses. I have seen all five in one column.

I don't know how he even holds a job as a columnist. It's certainly not due to his writing skills. It's sad to think it might be that he gets by because his reading audience is too dumbed-down to notice. His editors, too.

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