This comes up a lot when any one of a number of sports columnists for the two Boston papers has the “audacity” to not lock-step in and throw praise around for the local squads. The issue is what is a columnists’ job? They have maybe two columns a week to opine on local sports/politics, whatever their beat may be. It is their job to dig for stories, but they are not exclusively constrained by a reporters’ “just the facts, ma’am” approach to dispensing the news. It is their job to create a bit of controversy, get a few scoops now and then, and sell subscriptions to their rag.
Is Sullivan a hack? It probably speaks to whether-or-not you agree with him on a consistent basis. I don’t read every one of his columns, but in this case I think he is dead-on.