RCS: In an interview last year when you started writing for Sports Illustrated, you said, "I can't even put into words how special it is for me to get to write for SI. And if they would ever send me a free sweatshirt, I wouldn't even know what to do I'd be so happy."

For a young journalist in the changing media environment, is writing for Sports Illustrated still the ultimate aspiration?

Posnanski: I guess it's been a while since I've been a young journalist. But here's what I honestly think, because I've certainly heard this from people who say "I'm glad this is your dream, but I'm 27 and that's not my dream." So I've certainly heard that point of view. But I would say this, and this is coming from someone who still really loves the written word and loves the opportunity to really explore issues and topics.

I think for a certain kind of writer I don't think there's a better job in the world than Sports Illustrated. I think that for the kind of writer that I am, and the kind of things that I want to do that hasn't changed for me. It still gives me every opportunity that I've ever wanted. As a sports writer, our editors want us to dig deeper and the opportunity and the resources and the space and the mission to try to write really good stuff in a lot of sports.  In my mind, nobody does that better than Sports Illustrated.

I know that through the years there's been this feeling that Sports Illustrated has sort of tailed off and every so often you'll read this story about somebody writing how they can save themselves and all that. I don't have any doubt in my mind as a reader of Sports Illustrated that their have peaks and valleys. But I think the mission has stayed true.

Now I'm on the inside a little bit. I know the editors. I know the writers. I still think it's the best collection of sports writing and sports editing talent in the country. So I think for a certain kind of writer it is.

Now the opportunities that I don't want, but I certainly don't begrudge other people, the opportunity to sort of be known, the opportunity to speak to a huge huge audience, the opportunity to reach out into a community of sports fans, I think that there are plenty of things and plenty of places that are as good as or better than Sports Illustrated. I certainly would not begrudge anyone if they wanted to be the next Bill Simmons. I certainly would not begrudge anyone if they wanted to be the next Pat Forde. Pat is a very, very good friend of mine and a guy that does an amazing job of working along several different media types. He's on TV and radio and in newspapers, where he is terrific. And in magazines, he's terrific and online, he's terrific. That's a new paradigm for sports writing. And if I'm 26-years old maybe I want to be the next Pat Forde, and that's an absolutely admirable thing to want to be. If that's the dream job than I could not be happier for those people.

But for me as somebody who doesn't really want all of that, I think Sports Illustrated is still the very peak.

10 Questions with Joe Posnanski