Media Notes: End of general sports columnists good for hockey

When journalist-turned-ESPN-celebrity Michael Wilbon would write about hockey in the Washington Post, it wasn't so much about hockey as it was about what it all means.The big picture. The bullet points. The cosmic truths mined from the minutia of line parings, penalty kills and the little plays that determine failure or success; hey, leave all that crap to the beat writer or the box score, right?Such is the task of the general sports newspaper columnist. Take Wilbon's column before the Sidney Crosby(notes)/Alexander Ovechkin showdown last postseason: Set the scene, state the history, explain the context in relatable terms (i.e. compare the NHL to the NBA) and never stray too far away from the Big Themes to approach those pesky mechanics of the game.Wilbon has a famous byline that still commands attention when it appears in the sports section, no matter the subject, just like Tony Kornheiser before him. But would a column by Washington Capitals beat writer Tarik El-Bashir on ...