Every now and then in the journalism business, you run into somebody who is trying to scam you. Such was the case recently for former Beacon-News sportswriter Jim Owczarski.
Jim, who now works for OnMilwaukee.com, recently got an e-mail from a fellow named Montaous Walton. The guy wanted Jim to do a feel-good story about his making it out of Milwaukee and signing a professional contract with the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
Only problem is, while Montaous Walton, the person, may exist, Montaous Walton, the baseball player, is fictional. There was no real contract with the Blue Jays. Just a fake one on which Walton spelled the name of the team incorrectly.
Over the period of about five years or so, Walton has convinced various media outlets to report on his fictitious success on the ball diamond. He even got a couple of sports agencies to give him plane tickets and other loot.
Major League Baseball found out about all this, and as you might expect, league officials are not happy. They want to prosecute Walton, assuming of course that is his real name.
As for Jim, he wrote a story about Walton. Just not the story Walton was hoping for. It's lengthy, but it's worth your time. Here's the link.
Nice to see Oshanski is still doing good work, even if he's not on your Bears beat anymore.
"We're pleased to be joined by Jim Oshanski, who covers the Bears for The Beacon..."
Right...
Please tell me who said that.
Some host on WBIG radio here in Aurora. Jim went on as a guest on their sports program, thinking they were going to ask him questions about the (hyper)local scene. Instead, he fielded questions about the Bears and was referred to as "Jim Oshanski."
Why can't MLB laugh along and enjoy the myth making and free PR? If it is correct that Selig and crew want to sue, it's just another case of lowering the bar that MLB seems to be gravitating toward (think: overjoyed Mets fan on the field following no-hitter facing one year in prison).