[UPDATE: ESPN has put out a press release about the hire, and we've included it after the jump.] In the aftermath of Friday’s stunning news that SI backpage fixture Rick Reilly was joining the ESPN monolith – it that actually stunned employees of the WWL when we emailed around Friday seeking comment – we decided to pepper some journalists with this question: is the move a bigger loss for Sports Illustrated or a bigger gain for ESPN? While SI lost a star, ESPN added one to its firmament. Of our six responses, four elected not to be quoted by name, but two were OK with it. After the jump, here’s a taste of what media-types think of the move.

Prominent Sports Editor: “Does it matter when someone loses a ‘name’? Did ESPN fold when Dan Patrick left? Did the Los Angeles Times fold when Jim Murray died? I think all of this stuff is way overrated. Media isn’t like tv shows.”

Writer who is friendly with Reilly: “If it was the Reilly that ESPN first went after when it lauched the magazine, it would have been a huge loss for SI. But Reilly isn’t the same writer anymore. He seems more intent on self-promotion than writing the kind of stuff that made him at one time the best writer in the country. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but SI will be better off without him. At the salary that Reilly was getting, they can go out and hire five great writers who will actually care about their job.”

John Feinstein, author and columnist: “Neither: SI makes the writer as much as the writer makes SI–it will be fine. Rick’s talents will not be best-used at ESPN; they’ll have him doing so many non-writing things that he/they will lose track of what he does best–write.”

National sports columnist: “Bigger loss for SI…..they are dying….they are your grandfather’s magazine…..ESPN is bigfoot in sports with or without any one person….the brand name survives all….anyone can leave….but SI is sinking, and their star just jumped overboard…..”

Gregg Doyel, Sportsline.com columnist: “It’s a much bigger loss for SI than a win for ESPN. SI is bleeding to death in terms of relevance, and the loss of Reilly is one more quart of blood. ESPN is the Yankees and Reilly is A-Rod — whether ESPN has him or not, ESPN will continue to bludgeon most of its opposition because of sheer dollars.”

National sports columnist (different one): “No matter the criticism of Reilly, he was the face of SI and wrote an exceptional column for that back page slot, which is much more difficult to do than you’d think. For the avearge SI subscriber — and the guy who reads the mag in the dentist office — he was perfect. This is a major, major loss for the magazine. It also continues what’s been a disatrous run for Terry McDonnell, who’s lost talent, focus and credibility in the print product while mismanaging the web site to the point it is non-compeititve and often an embarrassment to the brand (Jenn Sterger?). SI has sunk so low, Reilly wound up too good for the place.It’s a much bigger blow for SI than gain for ESPN, which didn’t need him. SI needed him. He was their star. I’m sure he’s only going with contractural guarantees that protect his brand — he’s not sitting across from hacks like Skip and Rob parker or on Around the Horn.”

Here’s the ESPN press release that was just sent wide to media members.

Rick Reilly Joins ESPN
Veteran Sports Illustrated Columnist to Write for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com and contribute to TV

Rick Reilly, award-winning columnist and author who is best known for his popular Sports Illustrated column, Life of Reilly, will join ESPN as the back-page columnist for ESPN The Magazine and as a regular columnist for ESPN.com, it was announced by John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president, content.

Under the multi-year agreement, Reilly will also be an essayist for SportsCenter, as well as a contributor for the network’s coverage of major golf events, including the Masters, British Open, Ryder Cup and US Open. Voted National Sportswriter of the Year 11 times, Reilly has been a senior writer for Sports Illustrated since 1985. Following a sabbatical, he will join ESPN on June 1, 2008.

Beginning in June his column will be featured on the back page of ESPN The Magazine, and on off weeks of the biweekly magazine, his column will be featured prominently on ESPN.com. Reilly will also occasionally host interview shows on ESPN.

“Rick has been a premier voice of sports commentary for more than 20 years and we are thrilled and honored to add his considerable talents to ESPN’s outlets,” said Skipper. “The outstanding insights, reporting, and humor of his weekly column will continue, and fans will now be able to enjoy Rick’s work through television.”

Reilly added: “This is an itch I’ve wanted to scratch for a long time. For a guy who loves sports, ESPN is the ultimate. I feel like a mouse locked in a cheese store. I don’t know where to start first. I’m thrilled with the opportunity to speak to a whole new audience in a whole new way.”

Gary Hoenig, editor in chief of ESPN the Magazine added: “It’s a privilege to welcome Rick Reilly to the pages of ESPN The Magazine. With Rick joining Bill Simmons, our readers will now enjoy the two best sports columnists anywhere.”

Reilly began his career in 1979 at his hometown Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera while a sophomore at the University of Colorado, from which he was graduated in 1981. He wrote for two years at the Camera, two at the Denver Post and two at the Los Angeles Times, before moving to Sports Illustrated.

Reilly’s most recent book, released in May, Hate Mail from Cheerleaders, was a New York Times bestseller as was The Life of Reilly: The Best of Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly. His prior book, Shanks for Nothing is a madcap golf novel that cracked the New York Times bestseller list as well. It’s the sequel to Reilly’s cult classic Missing Links. Reilly’s previous book “Who’s Your Caddy?” rose to No. 3 on the New York Times best seller list.

Reilly is co-author of the screenplay Leatherheads, a comic romance centered on the 1927 Duluth Eskimos of the fledgling NFL due out in April, 2008. George Clooney will direct and star along with Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski.

Reilly has won numerous awards in his 27-year writing career, including the prestigious New York Newspaper Guild’s Page One Award for Best Magazine Story. He is the co-author of The Boz, the best-selling autobiography of Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth; Gretzky, with Wayne Gretzky; I’d Love to but I Have a Game with NBC announcer Marv Albert, and the The Wit and Wisdom of Charles Barkley. Reilly’s credits also include his critically acclaimed novel Slo Mo!

Reilly’s column of the same title was the inspiration for the organization, Nothing But Nets. A partnership with the United Nations Foundation, the initiative has raised millions to provide mosquito nets for children in Africa, where 3,000 children die every day of the disease. Every dollar goes to the purchase of nets.