The Name of the Game

Another Bowl game cartoon for today. Sometimes my deadline for United Features syndicate, where I send two sports cartoons a week, can be tricky for subject matter. For instance, I would have much rather drawn a cartoon about the record the UCONN Huskies broke on Tuesday. But doing it for the syndicate, the way they distribute the cartoons would have made the peice almost useless to sports editors because it would be old news by the time it got to them. Bowls have a longer shelf life. So Bowls it was.

The whole process can be rather maddening at times because it often leaves me drawing on a topic that I normally wouldn’t hit on two days in the same week. And, naturally, it means I usually can’t send them any of the stuff people in Denver, former readers of the Rocky Mountain News where I drew for 27 years, would really like to see. I keep hoping to find a new print venue in Colorado to call home, but the newspaper business is cutting content, not adding it. If you’re a subscriber to a local paper where you’re from you are likely paying more for less than ever before. Only the really savvy editors ( M.E. Sprengelmeyer at the Guadalupe County Communicator and Mike Kellams with the Chicago Tribune are two examples) are adding content to attract readers, which is exactly what they should be doing to try and bolster dwindling readership. A recent poll by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists revealed that the number of staff editorial cartoonists nationwide have been reduced by 35 percent in the last 30 months. So the market is not great to be finding a new print home for the stuff.

My gig at 9News ended in September because they wouldn’t pay me anywhere near the rate that my other clients (Chicago Tribune, ESPN.com, the Guadalupes County Communicator, and Mile High Sports Magazine) are paying. So it leaves me without a daily or even weekly venue for my work in Colorado. All in all it’s been a learning experience for me. I knew I should have majored in business.

I added the lettering in this cartoon with a font instead of the usual hand lettering I pride myself on. I’ve been so under the gun with the ESPN animations I needed a shortcut on this one. I don’t care for the look of it and won’t be getting into a habit of doing it. It’s just the result of being so busy. This upcoming Monday is the last ESPN animation for now. We might reprise it for the Super Bowl but, honestly, I need a break for awhile. I’ve rarely felt the level of exhaustion I’ve been feeling these past few weeks.

I’m going to try and take next week off, but I’m hoping to get a slide show up here next week with some best of the year cartoons. Regardless, I know for sure the animation will be up sometime Sunday night/Monday morning on ESPN.com as well as here.

You all are the best! See you on Friday!