But that's his job... I guess you can say he's kind of a beat writer/columnist hybrid because he's not just writing game stories and transcribing quotes; but it's his job to have opinions (which are far more educated and informed than any fan's, naturally). Now obviously he's not going to be right 100% of the time, nobody in sports ever is. I can understand being annoyed with people who take his opinions and regurgitate them as if their fact, but if that's "what bothers you and others", I think your problem is with those people who don't think for themselves, not Russo who's just doing his job and doing it damn well. I read other writers' stories around the league a lot and granted I'm biased as a Minnesotan, but we definitely are lucky to have Russo on the basis of what else is out there both nationally and locally.
As someone who spent some years as a journalist on the beat of a division 1 sports program (I won't say which), I can confidently say that is most certainly NOT the job. The job is to be objective, informative, and entertaining, as much as is feasible. Just because you as a writer with access to the team may know some things the public doesn't know, doesn't mean you go and put it out there no matter what. It's not about people's feelings, you can be critical of people or the organization in general without burning bridges. If you as a journalist start spilling every secret you're ever trusted with, you're going to find yourself out of the industry in a hurry because that's a great way to sow mistrust and burn sources, get passed over in media scrums, etc. It just doesn't work like that in the real world.