Vince D’Adamo: What have you enjoyed most
about being connected with athletics throughout your life either as an athlete
or journalist?
Phil Barber: I enjoy sorting out the drama of
athletics -- and there is always drama. In the locker room, in the front office,
and especially on the field or in the gym. Any game you cover, a narrative
story line seems to emerge. Sometimes it's heartbreaking, sometimes comical,
sometimes just exciting. But sports creates real drama more than almost any
other subject you could cover.
D’Adamo: Which sports did you play
competitively in high school?
Barber: I played football as a freshman and
sophomore but gave up on that when I realized the practices were really hard,
and that I wasn't going to play much. So after that I stuck to baseball. Good
fielder. No power at the plate.
D’Adamo: Even with the declining state of the
newspaper industry, what keeps you coming back every year?
Barber: In large part, the camaraderie. That's
in the Press Democrat newsroom, where I see really talented and committed
journalists trying like hell to cover the area we live in, despite our economic
limitations. And that goes for the press box, too, where my colleagues always
make me laugh and teach me things about sports.
D’Adamo: You cover such a wide range of sports
from college to pro to high school? Do you enjoy each for different reasons?
Barber; I do, yes, but I will say this: When
it comes to game coverage, I prefer the pros because there is so much more at
stake, and I can feel comfortable criticizing them when warranted. When it
comes to feature writing, though, a good story is a good story, whether it's
about an Oakland Raider, a Sonoma State Seawolf or a kid at Montgomery High.
And I love the emotion the high school kids put into their sports.
D’Adamo: Within your family who have been the
most influential people?
Barber: My parents were both good people and
eager sports fans, so they got me started, but two other relatives were
integral to my career path. My Uncle, Rowland Barber, was a very successful
writer; he wrote, among other notable books, Harpo Marx's autobiography
(..."with Rowland Barber") and "Somebody Up There Likes
Me," with the boxer Rocky Graziano. Uncle Rowland was nothing but
encouraging about my writing, and he was a great sounding board. And my older
brother, Stephan Blom-Cooper, was another writer who seemed to delight in every
stupid thing I penned. Unfortunately, both are no longer with us.
D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or
alive, in or out of sports, that you would most like to meet. What would
intrigue you about meeting him or her?
Barber:
Hope you don't mind me going non-sports, but I would have loved to meet Woody
Guthrie. He stood his ground and advocated tirelessly for the workers of
America when it wasn't necessarily popular, and he did it with an acoustic
guitar and a twinkle in his eye. And Woody did write a song about Joe DiMaggio.
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