In case you missed it Monday, we had a couple of Rick Reilly posts about his high-profile move from Sports Illustrated to rival ESPN (he even spoke to us about it). Now that we’ve sufficiently covered the ESPN side of the deal, we turn our attention to what SI will do to fill the void. We can’t imagine a massive spike in circulation regardless of who gets the job – if anyone does. (It took SI about six months to fill Steve Rushin’s column space.) We’ve outlined 12 candidates for the job, and we’re looking for some feedback. After the names, we look at some blogger opinion on the big move. Why the photo of New York Times columnist Selena Roberts? Because if SI has any hope of landing her, they better hustle. We’re hearing ESPN is close to hiring her.

Bill Simmons, ESPN – Whether you like it or not, he still has an immense fan base. Would he want the job? We suspect not. The important question, one that cannot be answered, is whether or not the million or so people who read Simmons each week would immediately go to the newstand and see what he had to say. It’s one thing to read him at the office – it’s another to actively go and find his work. He’s had a few ESPN the Mag columns that have made us think, ‘wow, this guy actually can be good’ (mostly about the NBA). But is he well-rounded enough to pull it off?

Norman Chad, Freelancer – It’s probably just us, but he’s the most consistently funny sports columnist. Many of you disagree. Back when we were in high school and Chad was penning a weekly NFL picks column, we’d wake up on Fridays and tear open the Washington Post looking for it. We saved many of them, which may appear stalky. SI seems to have already tried the funny route, though (Bill Scheft).

TJ Simers, LA Times – Funny as hell, and fearless, too. A renegade, perhaps? Was willing to badmouth a TV show he was on (Around the Horn; he was permanenty banned), which proves the guy’s got some onions. Doesn’t have national name recognition, but he’s witty enough to earn one quickly.

Selena Roberts, NY Times – She’s the wordsmith who recently infuriated Red Sox nation with this column about performance-enhancing drugs. Not sure SI is ready to put a female on the backpage (just an opinion), but she stirs the pot (mostly on corrupt college sports) while being insightful. We actually hear she is the next target of big, bad ESPN, and it could happen as soon as next month. You know what this feels like? A game of Risk where ESPN has gobbled up North America, South America, Asia and Africa (name writers), and everyone else is Europe and Australia. Would you prefer a Monolopy analogy? One time, we went into the NY Times for an interview (probably as a courtesy). We presented our clips. And we were told, “this is how you write a game story.”

Jason Whitlock, KC Star/Fox Sports – Seems to generate buzz very frequently on a national level, and he’s done so in the KC Star, online, and on TV. Has strong opinions and stirs emotions. If a big splash is your goal, he or Simmons might make the biggest on this list.

John Feinstein, Washington Post – Actually reminds us of Reilly in the sense that he seems to stand for wholesome values and the underdog. He’s a huge college basketball guy, and has carved out quite a niche for himself in the Ivy/Patriot Leagues. Seems to stick with the facts and offer less opinion than anyone on this list.

Wright Thompson, ESPN – Would he leave the cushy life of being a features writer at ESPN the Mag and ESPN.com for the pressure-cooker of the SI backpage? Eventually, the job could be his, but he’s by far the youngest writer on this list, so perhaps they make a play for him to groom him as Reilly’s successor. Apparently, he once interned at Sports Illustrated … how they let him go, we’re not sure.

Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press – His better days are probably behind him, if only because his focus has drifted to the lucrative world of books. His popularity among sports fans has waned, but only because he’s traded beer-swilling louts for the Starbucks set. He gave that blog thing a shot … but it never took. He’s got name recognition, if that’s what the mag is looking for.

Mike Lupica, NY Daily News – See Albom. His drawback is that his ego won’t fit in the book, and he’s more of a navel-gazer than someone who actually goes out into the field and dabbles with the hoi polloi. He’s have to give up Sports Reporters, something we can’t imagine happening.

Dan LeBatard, Miami Herald – Engaging, funny, and successful as a columnist and radio host. Always seems upbeat and happy to be alive, which, on the surface, is what you think when you see Reilly’s picture or Reilly in a beer commercial. Personally, we don’t think he misses a beat when TK is traveling on PTI. One person who would be thrilled: Ricky Williams.

Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated – A few years ago he was named ‘America’s best sportswriter.’ If he wrote one cover story a month, you’d know what we were talking about. Instead, he writes one every three months. He’s tremendous on 10-page features, but how would he handle a weekly column?

Chuck Klosterman, Esquire/ESPN – Hip, edgy and intelluctual. Thought-provoking. His column in Esquire is our first read in the magazine. Though we don’t know the guy (outside of a few emails), he may not be sports-centric enough for the job. Might be a bit dark and negative, too.

Rick Reilly leaving SI for ESPN (Lone Star Ball)
ESPN makes it official that Reilly is Bristol-bound (Watchdog)
‘They Want me for the Column’ (Fanhouse)
SI: Hire Deadspin’s Leitch to replace Reilly (Dan Shanoff)
Is Sports Illustrated losing relevance? (It’s a Fly World)