The Coming ESPN Bloodbath/Dilfer, Schlereth out

[dieterbrock]

I listened to Mike and Mike a bit this morning for the first time in a long time and it felt like they spent more time on commercial break than they did on the show. And the radio commercials they run are just intolerable.

Totally agree. Amazingly enough its even WORSE if you tried to watch it on ESPN2

 

[Mackeyser]

What doesn't get said is that ESPN didn't get huge on broadcasting beach volleyball at 2am.

It got RICH using broadcast highlights from OTHER content providers, paying peanuts for them because that's the going rate and using good editing and clever banter (the Big Show at 11pm with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann totally changed sports reporting on TV...FOREVER).

ESPN basically got all the best of the content and paid peanuts for it.

They really started to take on costs when the anchors got popular enough to demand significant salaries AND they got into actual serious content, themselves.

Before ESPN paid for significant content (actually broadcasting major sporting events live), they were a freaking CASH COW.

Unfortunately, as Mark Cuban so eloquently put it, "pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered". ESPN didn't innovate nearly enough to stay ahead of the curve.

There was room for more edginess, hence Fox Sports 1. There was room for much more straight analysis and historical context, hence the NFL Network. Baseball came to understand VERY early that going online was super important. Honestly there is a reason the MLB app is so damn popular. It's awesome and for a nominal fee, you can just watch MULTIPLE games streamed at the same time OR you can watch a game with TONS of data and metadata points on screen in real time. (I so wish the NFL had an app like that!!!)

So what does ESPN provide? Too much opinion and not enough analysis. I'm super happy to celebrate the contributions that Stuart Scott made to change SportsCenter. That said, it was a way to make the show hip, not super opinion driven.

Honestly, the death of TV is the "opinion show". Who cares? First Take? Are you kidding? Pardon the Interruption? Let me interrupt. Stop. Around the Horn? Great, the inning's over. Sit down.

There is absolutely a place for opinion, both in news and sports. But so many people are coming to realize that the laziness that allowed the confluence of opinion and analysis/data/facts are coming to realize WHY they were separated in the first place. It wasn't anything new that had the originators of these new platforms keep them separate. Those decisions were based on some pretty old wisdom and tons of real life experience over long periods of time.

ESPN used to do ONE thing really well. And they diversified. Great. But if they just want to be that network that talks endlessly about nothing and occasionally broadcasts a live event, then they'll die the death of MTV and go from a Giant Blue Star to a Dwarf Star in a very short time.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Those creamy white legs made many a nfl live show more interesting.

I was always drawn to the tat on her foot....yeah, I'm weird like that. I thought she was on NFL Live yesterday??? With a really short skirt...preg-0 and all.

 

[tomas]

There's one other possible factor in ESPN's troubles worth mentioning: the general turn in sports reporting to a far more outspoken social liberalism. Setting aside the moral merits, it's certainly true that plenty of sports viewers don't share those liberal politics.

 

[Prime Time]

http://deadspin.com/a-running-list-of-espn-layoffs-1794664091

Reporter Britt McHenry

Soccer Writer Doug McIntyre

http://brobible.com/sports/article/espn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions/

Twitter Can’t Understand Why ESPN Hasn’t Fired Jemele Hill And The Tweets Are Cold Blooded
BY CASS ANDERSON

VIA INSTAGRAM / JEMELE HILL

A quick perusal of Twitter will and you’ll see that one big name is noticeably missing from the list of fired ESPN on-air talent: Jemele Hill. People are becoming mean as hell out there, on an unacceptable level. Personally, I don’t know enough about Jemele’s body of work to understand why so many people hate her because I stopped watching ESPN several years ago when it became insufferable.

I’ve read through this list of ‘Jemele Hill Controversies‘ including suspensions and reprimands for overstepping the boundaries, and times she didn’t get suspended when others might’ve. So I have some semblance of why people want to see her fired, but I’m by no means an expert on the situation.

Anyways, we’re here to talk about Twitter reaction to Jemele Hill not being fired, so here are some of the coldblooded, dickhead-ish reactions:


View: https://twitter.com/cowboymullet/status/857295878264147979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F


View: https://twitter.com/msu_trash/status/857243212645269505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F


View: https://twitter.com/Austin_B21/status/857241736321609729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F


View: https://twitter.com/PopcornSutton__/status/857241092017844225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F


View: https://twitter.com/DaFuq615/status/857253538849751040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F


View: https://twitter.com/KBTrey15/status/855839350810189824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F


View: https://twitter.com/Earl_Sweatpants/status/857308093608341505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F


View: https://twitter.com/Acelegend26/status/857247102346416129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrobible.com%2Fsports%2Farticle%2Fespn-hasnt-fired-jemele-hill-reactions%2F

 

[Mackeyser]

Seriously, why is your and you're so hard to differentiate???

 

[Prime Time]

Seriously, why is your and you're so hard to differentiate???

https://rankingamerica.wordpress.com/category/education/

The U.S. ranks 14th in education

According to Pearson, the United States has a “cognitive skills and educational attainment” score of 0.39, which makes the United States rank fourteenth out of forty countries ranked in that category.

The U.S. ranks 24th in literacy

According to the Program for International Student Assessment, the average reading literacy score for U.S. fifteen-year old students is 498 (out of 1000 possible points). That is enough to make the United States rank twenty-fourth out of sixty-five educational systems ranked in that category. Shangai, China, ranked first, with a score of 570.

The U.S. ranks 17th in educational performance

According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance. Finland ranks first.

The U.S. ranks 54th in education expenditures

According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2005 the United States spent an estimated 5.30% of its GDP on education, which makes the United States tied for fifty-fourth in that category with Belize, Jamaica, and the Netherlands, out of one hundred eighty-two ranked countries. Kiribati ranks first, at 17.80%.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Seriously, why is your and you're so hard to differentiate???

Smartphones and laziness.

.

 

[Prime Time]

It's a long ,boring article so I saved you the time by posting only a few of the relevant paragraphs. ESPN is basically saying this to their audience, "Screw you, we'll keep mixing sports with politics and societal topics whether you like it or not."

Good luck with that. SMH
**************************************************************************************
http://www.espn.com/blog/ombudsman/post/_/id/831/not-sticking-to-sports-the-right-move-for-espn

“Hey, ESPN: Stick to sports.”

I’ve read thousands of social media posts and reader emails about ESPN over the past 15 months. If there’s one phrase that tends to surface most frequently, it’s that chestnut suggesting the network’s only proper place is in the athletics lane.

Yes, when it comes to ESPN -- the self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” -- the concern of many fans is that it’s no longer focused enough on sports. Some complain too much focus has been placed on culture and politics, with the most fire directed at FiveThirtyEight, The Undefeated, the new SC6 show and even one of the network’s graybeards, Outside the Lines, the title of which describes exactly the coverage some would like to see less of.

As I wrote in November, the desire to draw a boundary between sports, culture and politics is a fool’s errand. Sports has always intersected with culture and politics. It isn’t a recent phenomenon; it’s been true for more than a century. If you don’t believe that, search the names Jack Johnson, Jim Thorpe, Babe Didrikson Zaharias or Moses Fleetwood Walker. (OK, I helped you out there).

ESPN, in fact, just removed any question about the sports-politics-culture intersection when it released new political guidelines that loosen the restraints on commentary about politics and culture, though stressing that such discussion should connect to sports whenever possible.

One thing is clear: Those of you who have not held your tongue about ESPN’s move away from an all-sports-all-the-time mantra also should not hold your breath waiting for a change.

ESPN has made it clear: It’s not sticking to sports.

 

[fearsomefour]

There's one other possible factor in ESPN's troubles worth mentioning: the general turn in sports reporting to a far more outspoken social liberalism. Setting aside the moral merits, it's certainly true that plenty of sports viewers don't share those liberal politics.

This plays in for sure.
Over and over and over and over....they want to be part of the "real" news, trying to tie sports, social activism or politics in together.
I stopped watching ESPN for this reason....well that and the general stupidity of what they became....the hype over the content, more and more sizzle and less steak so to speak.
It is not even about whether I share their politics it is because I want to watch a sports show to hear and see sports....not some nimrod bigot like Steven A Smith yelling. Shut the F up and report sports and highlights and they would do fine.

 

[fearsomefour]

https://rankingamerica.wordpress.com/category/education/

The U.S. ranks 14th in education

According to Pearson, the United States has a “cognitive skills and educational attainment” score of 0.39, which makes the United States rank fourteenth out of forty countries ranked in that category.

The U.S. ranks 24th in literacy

According to the Program for International Student Assessment, the average reading literacy score for U.S. fifteen-year old students is 498 (out of 1000 possible points). That is enough to make the United States rank twenty-fourth out of sixty-five educational systems ranked in that category. Shangai, China, ranked first, with a score of 570.

The U.S. ranks 17th in educational performance

According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance. Finland ranks first.

The U.S. ranks 54th in education expenditures

According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2005 the United States spent an estimated 5.30% of its GDP on education, which makes the United States tied for fifty-fourth in that category with Belize, Jamaica, and the Netherlands, out of one hundred eighty-two ranked countries. Kiribati ranks first, at 17.80%.

54th in expenditures and ranked in the top 25 in education, literacy and educational performance?.....Not bad....not bad at all....return on investment.

 

[Rambitious1]

https://rankingamerica.wordpress.com/category/education/

The U.S. ranks 14th in education

According to Pearson, the United States has a “cognitive skills and educational attainment” score of 0.39, which makes the United States rank fourteenth out of forty countries ranked in that category.

The U.S. ranks 24th in literacy

According to the Program for International Student Assessment, the average reading literacy score for U.S. fifteen-year old students is 498 (out of 1000 possible points). That is enough to make the United States rank twenty-fourth out of sixty-five educational systems ranked in that category. Shangai, China, ranked first, with a score of 570.

The U.S. ranks 17th in educational performance

According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance. Finland ranks first.

The U.S. ranks 54th in education expenditures

According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2005 the United States spent an estimated 5.30% of its GDP on education, which makes the United States tied for fifty-fourth in that category with Belize, Jamaica, and the Netherlands, out of one hundred eighty-two ranked countries. Kiribati ranks first, at 17.80%.

The last paragraph/stat is VERY miss leading.

I think the U.S. is around second or so in per student spending.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Seriously, why is your and you're so hard to differentiate???

It's good for people like me with shitty grammar and spelling skills to know that some of the world's best and brightest literary minds have rotten grammar skills. That's why there are these things called editors

To spell accurately all the time I believe is more of a technical skill moreso than it is an indication of laziness or ignorance. Especially with informal writing on blogs, fb, and other disposable social media. And then mix in tiny keyboards and fat fingers and we are bound to see typos galore.

I think in informal situations, despite one's knowledge of the difference between your and you're, and other grammarical pitfalls, a person's ideas and thoughts may be moving much faster than their inner grammar czar can keep up.

And since that person knows that what they're writing is essentially colloquial, the concern for perfect punctuation and grammar abandons many of us

Edit:

Autocorrect also sets up the notion that you do have an editor fixing your typos, and that may lead to a false sense of security that their mistakes are being delt with by the computer, when in fact things like "your and you're" slip under the radar

 

[GoodBadUgly]

...
I think in informal situations, despite one's knowledge of the difference between your and you're, and other grammarical pitfalls, a person's ideas and thoughts may be moving much faster than their inner grammar czar can keep up.

And since that person knows that what they're writing is essentially colloquial, the concern for perfect punctuation and grammar abandons many of us

Autocorrect also sets up the notion that you do have an editor fixing your typos, and that may lead to a false sense of security that their mistakes are being delt with by the computer, when in fact things like "your and you're" slip under the radar

Ironic that the autocorrect couldn't handle "delt" vs "dealt".

 

[LesBaker]

Disney should have stuck to what they do best. Which is fleecing tourists at Rodent World and Vermin Land.

How an operation like ESPN ended up under their control is another example of Fortune 500 corporate malfeasance.

I hope the pea brained idiot in a three piece suit who "engineered" that acquistion is/was fired, too.

It was a huge mistake in hindsight but at the time looked like a fairly attractive deal. Now it's really hurting them.

Hapless and Steven A Smith types really was the nail in the coffin. I know it is inappropriate to speak of the dead, but it really started spinning into a show about the people who delivered the sports news and not so much about the sports themselves...booyahs!

SScott IMO was one of the very, very best that ESPN ever had.

But I agree on the other part one million percent.

I still think they do quality TV from time to time. I enjoy the hell out of the 30 for 30 documentaries.

THose shows are the best programming they have ever had, even the OLD Sports Center is second to those shows.

ESPN needs to change directions if it wants to survive. Honestly, I doubt most people care about who does Sports Center at this point.

Well from the outside looking in it seems completely obvious, but for whatever reason on the inside they are missing it..........badly too. The local ESPN affiliate had a great local team, I worked at that radio cluster for a short time and they were very good. They are gone, replaced by terrible guys who are just so bland and offer nothing of substance or interest. I stopped listening for the most part.

The best show they have is Mike & Mike and they are splitting it in half in the hope that each one will be as successful as a stand alone as they were as a team. As I like to say if hope is your strategy you are most likely screwed.

I'm super happy to celebrate the contributions that Stuart Scott made to change SportsCenter.

He was a champ IMO, loved Stuart and he was a big loss as an on air talent and as a human.

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...s-in-limbo-unsure-if-he-has-a-future-on-espn/

Ron Jaworski says he’s “in limbo,” unsure if he has a future on ESPN
Posted by Michael David Smith on June 21, 2017

AP

Ron Jaworski’s name has been included in some reports about ESPN’s recent round of layoffs, but Jaworski himself says he doesn’t know if he’s done at ESPN or not.

Jaworski appeared on a podcast with Matt Mosley and Ed Werder and said he isn’t sure if he’s going to be part of ESPN’s NFL coverage in 2017.

“I wish I could give you a definitive answer but I don’t have one,” Jaworski said. “I’m absolutely very grateful and thrilled to have worked at ESPN for 27 years. I still may continue to work at ESPN. I do not know what the future is going to hold.

I still have a contract with them until May 31st of 2022, and if they choose to want to use me in some other areas, that is being talked about with my agent basically as we speak. So I’m a guy in limbo right now. But I do want to continue some broadcasting. I love what I do.

I still maintain my office at NFL Films and the film wonk that I am, I try to give the audience something that they normally don’t get. It may be a little bit drilled down football, but I think there’s far too much football on TV that doesn’t scratch the surface and I try to drill down and give the viewers and the listeners something they don’t get anywhere else.”

Jaworski has long served as one of the analysts on NFL Matchup. ESPN has confirmed that Matchup will return in 2017, but there’s no word on who the analysts will be.

“The Matchup show was on the air before I started at ESPN. If I do it or not in the future it will still be a great show,” Jaworski said. “There was a time when people said, ‘The fans don’t care about Xs and Os.’ That is bull. People care about football.”

People care about football analysts, too, and ESPN still hasn’t told people who the network’s analysts will be this year. Jaworski might be on the air, but right now he’s in the dark.

 

[Merlin]

If ESPN was smart they'd run their pregame show like the old "Edge NFL Matchup" for each of the upcoming games on that day's slate. Giving roughly equal time to the breakdown of what to expect for each of the games vice all the headline BS.

That would be a great start to winning fans back to their show. I'd boot the old, biased turds like Berman and restack the crew with young announcers who can stick to a new format and schedule and keep it fresh and focused.

I don't watch pregame for headlines and player scandals. I tune in while hoping I might catch something important about the game I'm waiting to watch. Back to basics is the way forward IMO.

 

[UKram]

as long as they keep the the Ocho im good .... i need somewhere to get my dodgebally goodness

 

[Faceplant]

If ESPN was smart they'd run their pregame show like the old "Edge NFL Matchup" for each of the upcoming games on that day's slate. Giving roughly equal time to the breakdown of what to expect for each of the games vice all the headline BS.

That would be a great start to winning fans back to their show. I'd boot the old, biased turds like Berman and restack the crew with young announcers who can stick to a new format and schedule and keep it fresh and focused.

I don't watch pregame for headlines and player scandals. I tune in while hoping I might catch something important about the game I'm waiting to watch. Back to basics is the way forward IMO.

Fucking THAT ^^.

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/07/11/mark-schlereth-leaves-espn-for-fs1/

Mark Schlereth leaves ESPN for FS1
Posted by Mike Florio on July 11, 2017

Getty Images

Mark Schlereth, one of the few non-star players to become fixtures at ESPN, has left the network after 16 years. As noted by Michael McCarthy of SportingNews.com, Schlereth has joined FS1.

Per McCarthy, Schlereth has a close relationship with recently-ousted FOX Sports chief Jamie Horowitz, and the move had been in the works for months.

Chances are the contract was signed before Horowitz got the boot, adding Schlereth to a lengthy list of Horowitz hires that FOX eventually will have to decide whether to keep. While some have assumed that FOX will honor all contracts negotiated by Horowitz, keep in mind that ESPN let go many employees with multiple years left on their deals.

Schlereth made his debut on FS1’s Undisputed. His role isn’t clear, but he will presumably be a contributor to the various FS1 studio shows.

One thing we know is that he won’t be writing for FOXSports.com.