Like most sports-obsessed, Oklahoma born and raised GenX-Millenial hybrids, The Oklahoman's Berry "Boomer" Tramel used to be required reading for me. Complete with folksy metaphors and a down-home vocabulary, his sports columns were almost always well-informed, insightful, and persuasive enough to either shape your opinion or change your mind.
Over the past decade or so, that's changed. Around the same time Berry ventured into sports radio and NewsOK videos, the quality of his columns went downhill faster than The Oklahoman's advertising revenue. The informed, insightful and carefully crafted opinion pieces were replaced by mailed-in hot takes, contrived feuds with athletes, and superior command of the obvious opinion pieces that Jenni Carlson would applaud. Worst of all, he started writing travel blogs. The things people will do for a tax write-off these days are embarrassing.