Name: Jay Clemons
Nickname: The only ones suitable for publishing are “Sherman” and “Mystifying” — monikers I’ve owned since my hoop-playing days in high school. “Sherman” as in Sherman Douglas (the Syracuse days), which tells you how old I am; and “Mystifying,” a tongue-in-cheek alias conceived by famed Detroit Free Press writer, Mick McCabe. Little known nugget: I likely hold the Michigan high school record for consecutive three-pointers missed (237) … HA!
Job title(s): Producer/Lead Fantasy Writer, SI.com
Full-time in fantasy? On an average week during the fall, I’ll work about 60 hours for SI.com; and roughly 10-12 hours are singularly devoted to writing Fantasy Clicks/Revelations (three columns per week).
Age: 35
Education: BA in Journalism from Michigan State University; MA in Sports Administration from Wayne State University in Detroit
Family status: Engaged … to be married Oct. 3 in Atlanta
Favorite fantasy sport to play: 1. Football 1a. Baseball 3. Basketball
Favorite sport to watch: 1. Basketball 2. Football 3. Baseball
Favorite team (any sport): Detroit Pistons/Detroit Tigers (tie)
All-time favorite athlete: Isiah Thomas (Pistons playing days only)
Years playing fantasy: 7
I got my start in the fantasy industry when: The SI powers-that-be asked if I had any interest in writing Fantasy Clicks early in 2008. Until then, I had never coveted the Clicks opening (previously held by James Quintong, now of ESPN) — even though fantasy sports has been my all-consuming passion for the last 4-5 years.
Since then, my fantasy résumé includes: In addition to writing Fantasy Clicks/Revelations, I’ll be penning SI.com’s expansive fantasy baseball preview (running in March); and I’m slated to co-host a radio show (or podcast) on the Fantasy Sports Channel sometime in February (with SI cohort Jeff Ritter). I also won the FSWA’s Fantasy Football Writer of the Year award in January (SI’s first-ever honor in the fantasy genre).
Three questions
1) You used to be the lead writer for DetroitLions.com. Can you describe the environment of covering the team that employed you? How much latitude did you get, and how much oversight did you have to deal with? Did 0-16 happen because you left? My boss with the Lions, Bryan Bender, is one of the greatest managers of people I have ever known — and I’m including the (rare) occasions he’d read you the riot act behind closed doors. Bender gave me the freedom to pursue out-of-the box features and write brutally frank in-game stories — without fearing reprisal from the PR staff — and I will always appreciate the impact he’s had on my writing career.
Regarding the atmosphere at the Lions’ training facility … I loved jogging every night, barefooted, on the team’s Flubber-like FieldTurf at the indoor practice field, I loved sampling world-class dishes from our in-house chefs, I loved staying in four-star hotels on the road and I loved talking shop with the scouting department (especially come draft time). I even admired Matt Millen for the way he handled people on a daily basis (his record as an NFL exec, though, is indefensible). That aside, I could never work for a professional sports team again. The amount of proverbial red tape one has to endure, to effectively do their job, is staggering; and now that I know what it’s like to work at Sports Illustrated … I would never return to the dark side.
2) Sports Illustrated seems to be concentrating more on fantasy these days after not jumping in quite as quickly or strongly as some of its major-media competitors. Have you noticed a change in philosophy in your time there? How much do you think your FSWA award means to the SI.com fantasy operation? I’ve always believed that SI had the resources to compete with the fantasyland big boys (including the four-letter network — we‘re gunning for ya!). We just needed a bold plan to get the ball rolling, and in this fabulous Web age, we now have the world-renowned assistance of Facebook to help carry out our fantasy mission — especially when targeting that crucial 16-24 age demo. The FSWA award simply validates our commitment to the process, while establishing credibility for future projects and promotions.
3) It’s pretty impressive to have won the award in your first year as a fantasy writer. How did the fantasy gig come to join your other SI.com duties? On a normal NFL Sunday, I will be in the office until 5-6 a.m., putting the final touches on the award-winning Fantasy Revelations. But I would be there even longer if it wasn’t for the gracious efforts of my immediate bosses/mentors, Dan George and Lonny Krasnow. From day one, they have moved mountains for me to write Clicks in relative serenity … without it hindering my regular work duties (like running the NFL page); and I certainly owe them a debt of gratitude for that. As for winning the prestigious honor on my first try … it was a humbling experience, for sure. But at the same time, my long-term goals involve winning at least three more individual awards. That way, I could join the Mount Rushmore of fantasy writers: Christopher Harris, Matthew Berry and Will Carroll. By my count, they have taken home the hardware on 15 different occasions, with each acclaimed writer winning at least four times. Perhaps then, I’ll be satisfied with my work.
Bonus: Has it been a help or a hindrance so far to look like Brian Baldinger’s younger brother? Do you have a boomerang-shaped pinky as well? Are you referring to Gary Baldinger? I couldn’t find any pictures of him … or his mangled pinkie. Nevertheless (in my best PR director’s voice) … “this interview is over!”
It looks like anyone who has gotten used to reading Jay Clemons’ fantasy stuff every week at SI.com will have to get used to someone else.
