Why Russo's Rants? One Fan's Take

So wait, this is like, a wiki about a blog?

Yeah, actually, it is. No joke.

Why the hell does a blog need its own wiki? In this case, for several reasons.

First, Russo's Rants is one of the best sports blogs out there. Take it from someone who trundles about trying to write his own sports blog. Not only does Russo offer consistent, relevant content, but he does so without resorting to "articles" consisting of links to...other articles. That's not a blog entry, in my humble opinion. That's an airport.

And, unlike most fan blogs (again, of which mine is one,) Russo has actual access to the teams and players and the managers thereof that he's writing about. It's one thing for some schlep like me to write "the Wild played crappy last night, and Francois Gibouti was particularly awful," but it's quite another for Russo to say that, and to quote Mr. Gibouti saying "sometimes the bounces they do not favor you, eh?" in his piece.

B) Russo's pretty darm good at what he does. He knows the game. He knows the mechanics of how teams are managed. He knows how to read between the lines. Most beat writers would claim this to be one of their traits as well. Most of them would be wrong. As Michael Connelly is to cops and reporters, Michael Russo is to NHL teams.

III) He's got integrity. Like, real, honest-to-god integrity. 'Nuff said.

4) He rants. Not as often as some of his readers might wish. But when he does...ho-boy is it a treat.

Fifth, what's more geek chic than to have a blog that has its own wiki? Seriously, though, Russo seems to wear his "fame" (among readers, anyway) reluctantly, for lack of a better word. He's extremely accessible to his readers, which only helps him come across as a writer that understands that his job is done well if the readers are served by it. He makes my personal experience as a Wild fan immeasurably better.

Last, he has allowed his blog to become a little community where readers and fans can hang out. This really gets to the reason why there's a wiki page for his blog. The many "regulars" (which is a number that is always growing, despite the claims of some to the contrary) more or less conduct themselves as sort of a micro e-community. Does that mean it's for everyone? No. Some people may think that's lame or whatever. I'm pretty sure we don't care. This isn't glomming onto some band or celebrity like Penny Lane. This is just hanging out. It's part tail-gating, part "misery loves company," part just because it's there and we can.

So, if you've recently found your way to Russo's Rants, and then here...that's Why Russo's Rants wiki page.

Nick in New York