Barstool Sports

"Barstool Sports" is a free biweekly newspaper in Boston, founded by current editor and publisher David Portnoy (who writes under the byline El Presidente). Commonly known as "The Stool", it launched in August 2003 as a four-page gambling rag. Since its inception it has grown to be one of the better-known local sources of "alternative" sports humor and reporting in Boston, competing against Weekly Dig, Boston Phoenix and the now-defunct Boston Sports Review.

Barstool Sports is perhaps best known for its scantily clad cover models, similar to Maxim (magazine) and other men's magazines. The writing and style of humor, as the writers themselves admit, is heavily influenced by national sports writer Bill Simmons, and the paper has a love-hate relationship with Simmons himself.

Regular features include:
*"Stool Samples", written by the editors of Joesportsfan.com, mocking perceived stupidity by members of the national sports media
*"Random Thoughts and Reader Emails", consisting primarily of editorials by Portnoy on various subjects, not necessarily sports-related (and generally weeks old by the time they are published in print)
*"Sox Offenders", discussing the Boston Red Sox
*"From Her Perspective". a woman's lifestyle column by Kati Cawley

Since 2005, Barstool Sports has published a special annual edition titled "Boston's 25 Sexiest Bartenders and Waitresses."

El Presidente

Portnoy currently resides with his fianćee, frequently referred to as "The First Lady", in the basement of her parents' Abington, MA home. They have two pink poodles named Nomar and Manny.

Portnoy has also attempted to popularize the phrase "Potato Sack Girl", describing it as someone so hot and cute you would want to marry the (crap) out of. This generally leaves most people confused as to what "marrying the (crap) out of someone" is.

Publicity

"The Stool" attracted controversy in September 2005, when it made public an expletive-filled voicemail from local sports radio personality John Dennis directed towards his competitor Ryen Russillo. In March 2007, a controversy erupted due to the inclusion of a photo shoot of a Boston College Law School student wearing the university's trademark yellow "Superfan" shirt in a suggestive manner.

Barstool Sports, and Portnoy, are the subject of occasional mentions in the Boston Herald's Inside Track.

External links

* [http://www.barstoolsports.com Barstool Sports website]
* [http://www.barstoolsports.com/article/Bostons_25_Sexiest_Bartenders_and_Waitresses/520/ Boston's 25 Sexiest Bartenders and Waitresses]
* [http://www.barstoolsports.com/article/Chain_of_Stools/312/ "Chain of Stools", "North Shore Sunday", July 8th, 2005]
* [http://www.myspace.com/barstoolsports MySpace site]