[antidan444]

OK, disclaimer: I don't really know the people that well, but I've met several people over the last 3-4 years who have said they've gone to Orioles/Capitals/Wizards/Maryland games and been allowed into the clubhouse/locker rooms to do interviews for stories on their (what were probably pretty well-established) blogs. I guess I can't really vouch for the validity of their claims, but I do know sports blogs are becoming more prominent and there are a few that are highly regarded. And teams like publicity.

In other words, starting a sports blog is far from a sure thing to media access -- you'd probably have to get it going for a while, and you'd then have to go through the proper team channels to try to get credentials. But it's certainly a possible path if you are interested in doing pseudo-sports journalism. New-media forms of communication are becoming huge.

As for the "right to cover them", I hit on this before, but with all pro teams (at least the major four sports, plus NASCAR) and most major college teams (football and basketball for sure), in order for any media outlet to have access to the press area/interview area/locker room etc., it has to write to the team/college asking for credentials to be granted access. I can't just go to Maryland with my rinky-dinky Herald-Mail press pass (with an 18-year-old me with all my hair in the 9-year-old photo, huge LOL!) and expect to get access, I'd need the press pass Maryland sends to all the outlets that it has agreed to allow in.

(Ninja-edit! for a terrible there/their mistake.)