Sportswriters have changed more than sportswriting.

Cliches and adjectives permeated my prose.

I got to know Sugar Ray but I certainly would not say we were good friends.

Also, I am driven by a wonderful muse called alimony.

I wanted to be a sportswriter because I loved sports and I could not hit the curve ball, the jump shot, or the opposing ball carrier.

I think my mistakes were kind of common - leaning on cliches and adjectives in the place of clear, vivid writing. But at least I knew how to spell, which seems to be a rarity these days.

My writing improved the more I wrote - and the more I read good writing, from Shakespeare on down.