The odds he writes, the bets you make: Mark Lindquist takes Twin Ports sportswriting to the next level

Reading about sports isn't for everyone. And that's why everyone else rallies around writers like Mark Lindquist.

"When I went to college, I went there to learn how to write creatively, not journalistically," he said, "and that may have actually helped me do journalism."

A prolific creative force, Lindquist has left his mark all over town. He was a popular mainstay at the now-defunct Ripsaw News. He started his own label, Shaky Ray Records, and released early pieces from Charlie Parr and the Black Eyed Snakes -- not to mention the "rawk andor roll" goodness of personal outlets like Giljunko, Mr. Lindquist and, currently, the Little Black Books.

But now, with his publication All Bets Off and his "Working Blue" columns in Transistor, he's once again set his sights on sportswriting.

"It started out as a Vikings and Packers weekly notebook (in the Ripsaw). Then it sort of shifted to whatever I wanted to write about," he said. "One year I covered the women's NCAA hockey championship in which UMD won. I found out later that the column was used by a professor at UMD for teaching students about writing.

"I was never sure if the prof used it as a 'how-to' or a 'how-not-to' (for writing) columns."

All Bets Off, billed as "a Twin Ports independent sports paper," is an eclectic feast of sports features and Q-and-A's.

Although it's only two issues old, it has already developed two trademark sections.

"Kill Your Television" provides sports entertainment alternatives, like Steve Rushin's books "Road Swing" and "The Caddie was a Reindeer."

Alternately, "The Delicious Cliche" includes recipes to (presumably) stuff your face with while watching said television.

"I'm a huge sports junkie. I mean, I know that all these games aren't important when it comes to real life, but I do watch and listen to a ton of games," Lindquist said. "I read Sports Illustrated and Sporting News from cover to cover every week. I read every sports biography book I can find at the library. ... Before this NBA season started, I challenged myself to name the starting lineup, coach and one bench player of every team by memory. I got pretty close."

Besides his humor, another thing that sets Lindquist's sportswriting apart is its nod to what he describes as the oldest profession: gambling.

"It's incredibly ingrained, but oddly never talked about much," he said. "Sports and a lot of sports media refuse to discuss it or acknowledge it, but they all profit from it. ... I do feel at an advantage as a sportswriter because I have a pretty in-depth and insider's look at the gambling world.

"I just go with it, admit that it exists and let it come out in my writing."

Another thing: Lindquist loves his season previews.

"I still hold the national record for earliest-published NFL preview for a season. I wrote the 2001 NFL preview less than 24 hours after the 2000 Super Bowl," he said. "I've never felt fully appreciated for that landmark achievement. In fact, no one outside of myself and a couple of degenerate gamblers that I know even recognizes it."

Lindquist is currently working on the third All Bets Off. Meanwhile, his "Working Blue" columns in Transistor are published every other week. Both publications are free and can be picked up at newsstands scattered throughout town.