Having had sufficient time to devour the depth of Dan Patrick’s new endeavor, here’s the quote that we loved most: “I’m in a partnership with SI. I was an employee of ESPN.” Increasingly, we all want to be our own boss. Working for the man is nice, and it gets you sweet benefits and a great 401k match, but as anyone who has ever owned a business will tell you, nothing compares to being your own boss. (It is akin to doing laundry in NYC. If you’ve got machines in your own apartment, you’re one of the few fortunate ones; the rest of us have to schlep to the dungenous basement and fend off the flies and cockroaches … only to find out all the machines are full or you are a quarter short, and you need to trudge back upstairs. This is our private hell. It’s not glamorous like it is in 40 Days in 40 Nights.)

But was Dan Patrick the right move for Sports Illustrated? First, the cons: it’s another white guy going to an increasingly white magazine. SI seems excited to have Patrick and Rick Reilly bookend the mag (speaking of which … we don’t see much of a print background in his profile), but in an era where you need minority voices to offer different perspectives, SI lacks one. Which is exactly what we think when we read the big names destined for Dan’s radio show - Reilly, Peter King and Tom Verducci. These are all white guys in the 45 and up category, right?

And now, the pros: Dan Patrick was the face of ESPN. You can’t put a value on that. His radio show, simply based on his connections, will eventually have some clout. Will this ultimately lead to some scoops for SI? Probably. In our opinion, here’s perhaps the biggest benefit: as viewers become more annoyed with many aspects of ESPN’s coverage of the sports world, where might they turn? To the soothing voice they knew best when ESPN was in its prime: Dan Patrick.

This will come off as blog-centric, and since we don’t know how long Patrick had been in talks with SI, it could be off-base … but Patrick’s dilemna is one bloggers face everyday. Can I make it on my own without the help of the company that helped me get where I am today? Bloggers want to branch out on their own … but it’s a challenge. Perhaps Patrick had no idea how difficult it would be on his own, and quickly realized that he needed a wingman. Yeah, he had the radio thing slowly expanding, but he needed to partner (in blogger lingo, this would entail ‘joining a network’) up with a large entity if he wanted to become profitable and relevant. Was Patrick ready to sink his hard-earned money into his own website to make it a must-visit destination? It ain’t cheap. He’ll enjoy the free makeover on the SI dime.

Now for the question we really want to know: What’s the reaction inside ESPN?

Dan Patrick: Brand-new again (USA Today)
New job for Patrick, the former ESPN Star (NY Times)