I try to ask difficult questions in a way that will elicit an answer rather than a confrontational style. Example. . . . Fourth-down play that didn't work in a football game. You can ask the question. I believe I get an answer that is more informative for my readers by asking it in the second fashion than the first.
Professional athletes are difficult people to deal with.
They view reporters as a necessary evil related to their job. I do not have a personal friendship with any of them. A huge problem in my business is credibility. I think as my profession goes more and more to creating news rather than reporting news we set a bad precedent. The vast amount of information available on the Internet and 24-hour news television makes it difficult to stay ahead of the story and keep convincing people that they should read newspapers that are published only once each day.