No Softballs: Will Leitch
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by Dan Lewis
Will Leitch hails from Mattoon, Illinois, is a die-hard Rick Ankiel fan, and lives in Brooklyn. He has a sports blog called Deadspin -- you've probably heard of it. His book, God Save The Fan, comes out in January.
1) How many death threats have you received since starting Deadspin? And how many came from Kyle Orton?
No death threats so far, save for one from my dad, who was mad I wouldn't give him a commenting account after commenters were pointing out that my mom was hot. I felt giving my father a commenting account was just asking for trouble. As for Orton, he's always had a great sense of humor about all of it. He once told SI that he thought the photos were funny. When you're a third string quarterback, any notoriety is good notoriety.
2) When you are out trying to meet the ladies, which ESPN anchor, past or present do you model your "game" after: Harold Reynolds, Mike Tirico, Sean Salisbury, Scott Van Pelt, Chris Berman, other?
Salisbury's gotta be the man on that one. AJ Daulerio claims that, at the Super Bowl last year, the guy just walked into the room and was surrounded. You have to respect that. Being an athlete, man ... it just makes life so much easier.
3) You seem to have your ear to the ground of brewing sports scandals. Give me the Top Ten Athletes Who Are Most Likely To Come Out of the Closet by 2010.
Ooh, this one's too tough. Ten is simultaneously too big and too small of a number. I won't cast any obvious aspersions; that seems more the job of Brandon Lloyd. Ok, fine, one: Tom Brady. Have you ever heard of him being with a woman? Ever?
4) Jessica: Alba, Beil, or Simpson? Or, if you fly this way, Tom: Brady, Cruise, DeLay?
I am incredibly attracted to Jessica DeLay. It's not a fact I'm comfortable hiding anymore.
5) What song are you ashamed to admit that you actually like? Bonus points if you find a video for me on YouTube.
I'm not ashamed of any song that I like, because the minute you start feeling guilty about something that brings you undeniable pleasure, you're living a lost life. But I will confess, my sincere, powerful love for REO Speedwagon does cause me some social strife.
6) I hear you're friendly with Bill Simmons. Has anyone told him that he jumped the shark?
I'd say "friendly" is pushing it. We corresponded occasionally when the site first launched, and I even met him for coffee once in Los Angeles (and found him a perfectly normal, nice guy), but those days are past. The day the commenters took over his ESPN Conversation site and mercilessly hammered him for hours pretty much scared him off from anything Deadspin related. I haven't had any contact with him for months. I don't think he's jumped the shark; I still read everyone of his columns. I just think that when you write regularly for seven years on a high profile Web site, eventually you're going to start repeating yourself. I don't think this makes him a bad writer, or a "shark jumper." I just think it means he's become the establishment in a way he didn't used to be. I'm sure the money ESPN pays him makes it more than worth his while.
7) Serious question: Let's talk Mattoon, Illinois, your home town. I found this website that aims to "raise awareness" about the fact that "the history of Mattoon is rapidly being destroyed." Does that accurately capture the small-town spirit of Mattoon, or is the guy who runs the site a loon?
I've never met that guy, so I can't say if he's a loon or not, but I do agree with him: Mattoon was devastated by Hurricane Wal-Mart. They're just now trying to bring downtown back to the way it was when I was a kid, and I wish them all the luck in the world. That Mattoon of my youth, the one I wrote about in Catch, it's been gone for a while. They're trying to build it back up, but it's gonna be tough.
8) If you were made of hot dogs, would you eat yourself?
Only if I could have Bagel Bites on the side.
9) You were on Win Ben Stein's Money just hours after being dumped by your fiancee. Does she ever say to you, "oops, didn't realize you'd amount to more than a film maker and trivia geek"? And is Ben Stein as cool as I think he is?
I actually just talked to her about six months ago, for the first time since the breakup, and she's doing great. It was excellent to see her. And I don't think I'm much more than a trivia geek now, so I doubt she's too disappointed. It would have been funny if she had ended up marrying Ben Stein, though.
10) Give me five sports websites -- other than your stuff -- that I should check out by the end of the day.
I'm sorry: I can't. There are so many more than five that limiting myself to five would not only make people mad, it would require too many contortions on my part. But I do recommend everyone buy God Save The Fan when it comes out in January. I know that has nothing to do with the question, but, you know, my editor is yelling at me regularly.
