Tom Frazier: Stick to sports, Steve

I can't do it any longer -- keep silent that is. It's been bugging me too much. In a few words, columnist Steve Cameron should stick to sports.

It's a real dilemma, he's got me. And the audience tells me the same thing. We all wait to see what crazy, irrational ideas he'll spout off about next.

But we faithfully read his columns. Every column.

Like his column about the Super Bowl commercial. (Which ran in sports.) It was so obvious he didn't actually see the "pro-life" commercial before he put his pen to paper.

Or his recent column about water issues where he desperately tried to make a very complex subject easy to understand -- and failed.

Then there was last week's column on why journalists just don't get public respect anymore. Laughable.

In late January, Cameron complained about a problem with AT&T -- trying to set up a wireless account. In that column he wrote, "I really, really need to fiddle with one of those iPhones again -- just to remind myself that somebody at AT&T is a wizard."

Finally his "teaching moment" column on banking, Wall Street, greed and other ramblings proved without a doubt that he's not an economist.

But he does know his sports.

He writes some really great columns about sports. Not just one or two sports, but almost every sport. I'd bet he even understands the rules of cricket and rugby.

He's got a true knack for sports and for writing about them. I guess that's why he was the sports editor for the Sun-Star all those years.

The question thus becomes, why can't he just do sports and forget the other stuff?

Because of people like me -- who read each and every column -- just to see what twisted path he will explore next.

Many of his columns collect readers' comments like dogs collect fleas. Quite often, they are not what I would call favorable. Quite the contrary. Phrases like "a disgrace to journalism" or "This is journalist malpractice at the highest level" are commonplace.

But they are comments -- and comments mean that people are reading -- and that the Sun-Star is getting online "hits" because of it.

Executive Editor Mike Tharp once told me he considers Cameron to be a "lightning rod" for comments. He smiled when he said it -- I could almost see dollar signs in his eyes.

Hits are the primary measurement tool for online reader activity. More hits mean more exposure. And more exposure translates to more advertising revenue.

It's as simple as that.

I sometimes wonder if Cameron is just playing with us -- whether he really believes the nonsense he's feeding us. Maybe he's smart as a fox and knows exactly what he's doing.

No, I'm not talking about his ultra left-leaning liberal rants. I think he really does believe that pith (although it's not my inclination.)

As a columnist he's allowed -- and expected -- to voice his opinions -- personal and political.

But last week, a slight problem surfaced. Someone wrote about our National Anthem -- saying we should do away with it at sporting events.

But it wasn't Cameron.

It was James Burns, current managing editor and sports editor.

But the article sounded so, well, Cameron-like. I had to look at the byline twice to make sure.

I hope what Cameron has isn't contagious -- and Burns' column will be a one-time isolated incident. We don't need two foxes in the hen house.

So Steve -- stick to sports -- and James -- quit reading Steve's columns before it's too late.

Tom Frazier writes Sun Dog and can be reached at sundog@promessage.com.