I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to post future work there, but I can at least say that seeing the following this morning was pretty cool:
As always, thanks for reading. It means a lot.
Showing posts with label ESPN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ESPN. Show all posts
Friday, May 24, 2013
Gausman post on ESPN's SweetSpot blog
I was able to write a piece on Kevin Gausman's major-league debut last night for ESPN's SweetSpot blog. You can find that article here.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Bill Walton retires from broadcasting
According to Sports Business Daily, Bill Walton, who has been constantly battling back issues for years, is retiring from broadcasting:
It truly is a sad day for the basketball broadcasting world -- but probably more so for the high levels of unintentional comedy that will be missed. However, let's end this on a happy note from Bill (talking about Kevin Love):
(HT: Awful Announcing)
Citing persistent back problems, Bill Walton has decided not to appear on ESPN’s NBA telecasts this year, ending a relationship that started in '02. The Basketball HOFer missed most of last season because of back pain. His deal with ESPN expires after this season. “As I return after a grueling multi-year, life-threatening, life-changing ordeal with back problems, it is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service,” Walton said in a statement released by ESPN. “It is great to be back in the game. Thanks everybody -- for everything.” ESPN Exec VP/Studio & Remote Production Norby Williamson: “Bill is a Hall of Fame talent, both as a player and broadcaster. NBA fans will miss his distinct personality. We appreciate all of his contributions to ESPN and share best wishes toward continued health and happiness.”
It truly is a sad day for the basketball broadcasting world -- but probably more so for the high levels of unintentional comedy that will be missed. However, let's end this on a happy note from Bill (talking about Kevin Love):
(HT: Awful Announcing)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Weekly Rundown: Garnett, Paulus, Madden
Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.
- The Celtics' chances to repeat as NBA champions took a big hit with the news that Kevin Garnett could miss the entire postseason with a lingering knee injury. Bill Simmons gives his own thoughts on the KG situation, handicaps the Celtics' chances to win without Garnett, and offers an insightful discussion on the continuing demise of the newspaper industry. [ESPN]
- Greg Paulus will apparently be given a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job at Michigan. Duke coach David Cutcliffe offered Paulus a chance to try out for the team -- but at wide receiver, not quarterback. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez must really be desperate. [ESPN]
- John Madden has decided to retire from broadcasting. Mike Florio offers some comments from Madden and toots his own horn for predicting in January that Cris Collinsworth would take over for Madden after the season. [PFT]
- Redskins fans really want Mark Sanchez. Or not. [Redskins Insider]
- Truth provides some end-of-the-season thoughts on Antawn Jamison and now former coach Ed Tapscott. [Truth About It]
- The Nationals just can't seem to get anything right. They're 1-10, they can't spell "Nationals" correctly on all of their jerseys, and they even suspended outfielder Elijah Dukes for showing up five minutes late after doing some charity work. [Big League Stew]
- ESPN's Rob Neyer wasn't a big fan of MLB's Jackie Robinson celebration idea, in which every player, coach, and umpire wore No. 42 in honor of Robinson on Wednesday. Neyer: "Never underestimate the ability of the commissioner to take a pretty sweet idea and just drive it into the ground until it's dead." [SweetSpot]
- ESPN actually being reasonable and willing to acknowledge criticism? This can't be right. [Awful Announcing]
- Peter Schmuck thinks umpire Doug Eddings did a horrible job behind the plate on Saturday: "Eddings needs to go back to one of the umpire academies and learn the strike zone." [The Schmuck Stops Here]
Friday, April 17, 2009
Quite frankly, Stephen A. Smith is leaving ESPN
It's a sad day, indeed. According to The Big Lead, writer and on-air personality Stephen A. Smith has only about six weeks left at ESPN, when his contract will then expire. The two sides couldn't agree on a deal that fits Smith's different (and loud), if not hilarious, qualities:
Within the last month, a source says that ESPN and Smith went to the negotiating table and couldn’t reach an agreement. Apparently, ESPN’s offer was considerably lower than Smith’s previous contracts - which were multi-media faceted - and Smith passed. He was then offered the decision to work through the remainder of his contract, or walk away and still get paid, and a source says Smith decided to work.
If Smith does, in fact, have only six weeks left, then it will be cutting it pretty close to whether he'll be working the NBA Draft or not. I guess he probably won't be involved, but I definitely hope he is -- if not just for more moments like this.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Morgan and Phillips in the same booth = announcing fail
For some strange reason, ESPN decided to move Steve Phillips into the booth with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan this year. Tonight's Cubs-Brewers game is the first Sunday Night Baseball game I've had the chance to watch, and I have to say this: It's pretty bad.
As always, Miller is phenomenal. I could listen to him announce almost anything. The problem is the combination of Morgan and Phillips; they just can't seem to get along with each other, which isn't surprising. Morgan always seems bitter towards anything new or an opinion differing from his own, and Phillips not only frequently has bad ideas or odd things to say, but he also won't back down from defending them even if he's wrong.
Case and point: Early in the game, Morgan and Phillips were debating over whether or not Alfonso Soriano should hit lower in the lineup. For once, Phillips made some sense and drew attention to the fact that Soriano has a career on base percentage of .328, which is low for a leadoff hitter. Soriano, of course, has more power than a normal leadoff hitter, but Phillips was arguing that he could be more valuable lower in the lineup, which is true -- he could be more valuable, or at least just as valuable as he is now.
But Morgan, who seems to be legitimately angry with another color analyst in the booth, wasn't having any of it. He took the same route that he usually does, which is to say that Soriano doesn't feel comfortable hitting lower in the order, so it would make sense just to leave him where he is. He then brought up his own playing career; he mentioned that he played with Pete Rose, who hit out of the leadoff spot, and said that Rose wouldn't have been nearly as effective hitting anywhere else in the lineup. Not only did Morgan not make any sense with that argument, but he actually made Phillips appear a bit brighter too. Now that's hard to do.
If that wasn't enough, the two argued the point for at least five more minutes. And if there's one thing that's just as annoying or maybe even a little worse than announcers ignoring the game, it's when they ignore the game while arguing about something that's been discussed over and over again.
A couple of innings later, Miller mentioned Phillips's minor league career in another brief discussion on pitch selection. Phillips joked that he wasn't a great hitter, saying that he hit around .250 in about eight minor league seasons. He also joked that he couldn't seem to hit sliders. Well, Morgan, a hall of famer, couldn't help but take a shot at Phillips; he said that it's no wonder that Phillips prefers pitchers to throw so many sliders, curveballs, and off-speed pitches since Phillips couldn't hit them himself during his career. Phillips tried to defend his theories, but again, the whole thing was extremely awkward.
I don't ask for a whole lot from announcers, but I do believe I'm like most sports fans in wanting them to stay focused on the game without as much distraction as possible. I don't like many interviews during the game, and I'd like for them to concentrate on the game with as little joking around as possible, especially if they aren't funny.
Having Phillips and Morgan in the booth at the same time is just a terrible decision, and ESPN needs to seriously consider rectifying the problem as soon as possible. The two obviously don't care for one another, and they can't be professional enough to focus on the game without getting into several arguments in just four or five innings. If the arguments were more along the lines of what Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy do during NBA telecasts, then it would be fine. Jackson and Van Gundy take verbal jabs at each other, but both are funny and don't have a problem laughing at themselves. Morgan and Phillips, on the other hand, take their own opinions way too seriously and can't back off from what they believe, even on points or discussions that aren't really that important to begin with.
Morgan, by himself, becomes even more curious to figure out each game. At one point tonight, Morgan said he had no problem with OPS only because it seemed legit since Albert Pujols's 2008 numbers were on top. I completely believe that he has no idea what OPS even means. It's one thing to be oldschool, but being bitter all of the time eventually gets on viewers' nerves. Just ask Billy Packer.
ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball had already slowly started to deteriorate over the years as Morgan became increasingly bitter over the state of more in-depth baseball statistics and new-age thinking being applied to the game, but the addition of Phillips has made the telecast almost unbearable.
If Miller wasn't there to play peacekeeper every Sunday, I'm pretty sure my head would have exploded already.
As always, Miller is phenomenal. I could listen to him announce almost anything. The problem is the combination of Morgan and Phillips; they just can't seem to get along with each other, which isn't surprising. Morgan always seems bitter towards anything new or an opinion differing from his own, and Phillips not only frequently has bad ideas or odd things to say, but he also won't back down from defending them even if he's wrong.
Case and point: Early in the game, Morgan and Phillips were debating over whether or not Alfonso Soriano should hit lower in the lineup. For once, Phillips made some sense and drew attention to the fact that Soriano has a career on base percentage of .328, which is low for a leadoff hitter. Soriano, of course, has more power than a normal leadoff hitter, but Phillips was arguing that he could be more valuable lower in the lineup, which is true -- he could be more valuable, or at least just as valuable as he is now.
But Morgan, who seems to be legitimately angry with another color analyst in the booth, wasn't having any of it. He took the same route that he usually does, which is to say that Soriano doesn't feel comfortable hitting lower in the order, so it would make sense just to leave him where he is. He then brought up his own playing career; he mentioned that he played with Pete Rose, who hit out of the leadoff spot, and said that Rose wouldn't have been nearly as effective hitting anywhere else in the lineup. Not only did Morgan not make any sense with that argument, but he actually made Phillips appear a bit brighter too. Now that's hard to do.
If that wasn't enough, the two argued the point for at least five more minutes. And if there's one thing that's just as annoying or maybe even a little worse than announcers ignoring the game, it's when they ignore the game while arguing about something that's been discussed over and over again.
A couple of innings later, Miller mentioned Phillips's minor league career in another brief discussion on pitch selection. Phillips joked that he wasn't a great hitter, saying that he hit around .250 in about eight minor league seasons. He also joked that he couldn't seem to hit sliders. Well, Morgan, a hall of famer, couldn't help but take a shot at Phillips; he said that it's no wonder that Phillips prefers pitchers to throw so many sliders, curveballs, and off-speed pitches since Phillips couldn't hit them himself during his career. Phillips tried to defend his theories, but again, the whole thing was extremely awkward.
I don't ask for a whole lot from announcers, but I do believe I'm like most sports fans in wanting them to stay focused on the game without as much distraction as possible. I don't like many interviews during the game, and I'd like for them to concentrate on the game with as little joking around as possible, especially if they aren't funny.
Having Phillips and Morgan in the booth at the same time is just a terrible decision, and ESPN needs to seriously consider rectifying the problem as soon as possible. The two obviously don't care for one another, and they can't be professional enough to focus on the game without getting into several arguments in just four or five innings. If the arguments were more along the lines of what Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy do during NBA telecasts, then it would be fine. Jackson and Van Gundy take verbal jabs at each other, but both are funny and don't have a problem laughing at themselves. Morgan and Phillips, on the other hand, take their own opinions way too seriously and can't back off from what they believe, even on points or discussions that aren't really that important to begin with.
Morgan, by himself, becomes even more curious to figure out each game. At one point tonight, Morgan said he had no problem with OPS only because it seemed legit since Albert Pujols's 2008 numbers were on top. I completely believe that he has no idea what OPS even means. It's one thing to be oldschool, but being bitter all of the time eventually gets on viewers' nerves. Just ask Billy Packer.
ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball had already slowly started to deteriorate over the years as Morgan became increasingly bitter over the state of more in-depth baseball statistics and new-age thinking being applied to the game, but the addition of Phillips has made the telecast almost unbearable.
If Miller wasn't there to play peacekeeper every Sunday, I'm pretty sure my head would have exploded already.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
ESPN reveals Obama's tournament picks
In an ESPN special, President Barack Obama recently broke down his picks for this year's NCAA Tournament. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that; who doesn't fill out an bracket? Well, there might be one thing wrong: ESPN's lame labeling of the event as "Barack-etology." But that isn't terribly surprising.What is surprising, though, is that the president and I have one thing in common: our Final Four picks of Louisville, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and North Carolina. Hey, I'm all for change, so the change of me actually winning a few tournament pools this year would be well-received.
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