Post Sports Writer Doesn't Like Sports

Chico Harlan may be in wrong field

Chico Harlan's admission to Washingtonian Magazine isn't scandalous. It's isn't earth-shattering. But it is a bit bizarre.

Harlan, the Washington Post's Nationals beat writer, said he doesn't like athletic endeavors.

“I don’t like sports -- I am embarrassed that I cover them,” Chico Harlan says. “I can’t wait to stop. It is a means to an end and a paycheck.”

Hmm. Interesting. Is Harlan's admission just a desperate cry from a guy who had to watch 161 regular season games (including 102 losses) and a boatload of spring training games and workouts last year? Not really. He's just not that into sports.

He was a sports writer in Pittsburgh for a few years, then switched to news, and then quit. He returned to sports writing last year when the Nationals beat opened up. A friend talked him into it. Was it the right move? With his recent comments, probably not.

But Harlan wants to assure fans that he's still going to give it the old college try. He even posted an apology on, of all things, his Nationals blog, which he uses to update fans day and night about everything Nationals.

The quote is accurate. The sentiment is not. I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for my job. I know I'm lucky as heck to do what I do.

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Well, at least Harlan remains honest about his despise of what he covers.

On one hand, it's a shock to the system. You really, really have to love baseball in order to follow around a really bad team for an entire year (or two).

But on the other hand, you now know that Harlan isn't going to be a rah-rah scribe who is more fanboy than unbiased reporter.

So kudos to him for telling to truth. But next time he applies for a job, he may want to make sure he could somehow be happy while doing it.

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