Watchdog

ESPN retaliated Wednesday against the New York Post for its decision to use still images of Erin Andrews from a surreptitiously obtained videotape, banning Post staffers from its various outlets, including its TV networks and 1050 ESPN Radio.

"In light of the New York Post's decision to run graphic photos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, we have decided to stop utilizing Post reporters on any of our outlets," ESPN's senior VP of communications, Chris LaPlaca said.

"Erin was grievously wronged here, and while we understand the Post's decision to cover this as a news story, their running photos obtained in such a fashion went well beyond the boundaries of common decency in the interest of sensationalism. This is not a decision we undertook lightly, but we feel it is an appropriate one."

The Post used images both in print and on its Web site Tuesday from a video the showed Andrews in the nude in a hotel room.

It is not yet clear where the video was shot or who shot it, but Andrews' attorney has promised legal action against any media outlet that publishes the material.

It has not been determined how long the ban on Post employees will remain in place.

Among those most affected are Kevin Kernan and Lenn Robbins, who regularly appear on "First Take" on ESPN2 and Joel Sherman, who appears on 1050 ESPN radio.

Mark Cannizzaro also appears periodically on ESPN outlets, and beat writers from various sports sometimes are interviewed in 1050 or other stations.

LaPlaca stressed that the decision was not directed at the Post employees who have appeared on ESPN outlets, whom he called "innocent bystanders."

A spokesman for NewsCorp, which owns the Post, declined comment. The Post's communication department did not respond to a request for comment.

CBS and Fox used snippets of the video itself Tuesday, which LaPlaca called "beyond the pale."

But he said ESPN could not take the kind of action against those networks it did against the Post because ESPN does not regularly employ those networks' personnel.

ESPN still is on the journalistic sidelines regarding allegations of sexual assault aimed at Ben Roethlisberger.

Why? The network offered some context today to try to further clarify its policy regarding reporting civil suits, which it sometimes does and sometimes doesn't.

Here is what it said were among factors it considered in the Roethlisberger case:

"We're generally very cautious with civil suits that impugn a person's reputation or character."

"We consider the subject's track record/previous history with similar allegations."

"Whether the subject addresses it publicly." Didn't Big Ben's lawyer do that? "In this case, we did not feel Roethlisberger's lawyer's response was enough to warrant our reporting."

"We also consider how such allegation might impact upon the professional performance of the subject/his team."

Example? Roethlisberger is scheduled for a taping of Shaquille O'Neal's reality show. If he doesn't appear, ESPN might revisit the matter based on the possibility it might be "impacting his business decisions and/or his team." An even more obvious example would be if he has to skip part of training camp to be deposed.

ESPN said it recently reported on a planned civil suit against Shannon Brown "because he was playing significant minutes for Lakers in the middle of their championship run in the NBA Playoffs; there was also a police report filed in that case."

In the past, ESPN has passed on reporting civil suits against Michael Vick and Robert Alomar - in the latter case only doing so when Alomar's father discussed it publicly.

What about reporting a suit against Adam (Pacman) Jones?

ESPN did so, it said, "because of his history/past record."

Clear?

(UPDATE: ESPN.com posted a Big Ben story tonight!)

Photo: AP

ESPN/ABC will be televise college football games again this coming season.

Many of them.

The schedule can be viewed by clicking below and reading the news release fresh off the presses from Bristol.

No mention of Ben Roethlisberger in it. Sorry.

Continue reading "College football to be featured on ESPN again in '09" »

Another interesting day of Erin Andrews coverage from our friends at the Post, this time featuring a front-page story built around her lawyer essentially reiterating what he said in a statement Friday night.

At least Erin is clothed in the picture on the cover, unlike Tuesday.

Unfortunately, I make an appearance in the story, too!

The article quotes something I wrote in Newsday about a brief conversation I had with Ms. Andrews recently.

But instead of crediting it as "Newsday's Neil Best wrote" it reads, "Sports blogger Neil Best said," as if the Post reporter had interviewed me for his story.

Oy. In lieu of an apology, please don't do that to anyone else ever again.

(Full Erin Exploitation disclosure: I just noticed the Newsday.com version of my column includes three separate links to photo galleries of her.)

What with the Erin Andrews video story refusing to die, I was asked to write a brief opinion piece on the subject for the Wednesday newspaper.

So I did.

I spent about three hours Tuesday discussing this with a half-dozen sports media figures - Is there anything else people talk about these days? - and ended up feeling lousier than ever about the whole thing.

Will this latest spasm of media navel-gazing make newspaper Web sites and bloggers less apt to rely on gratuitous pictures of attractive women?

Probably not, but I can't control that.

Will it make this particular blogger less apt to do so?

We shall see, I suppose, but I'd like to think so.

ESPN has decided not to report on the Erin Andrews video story, not out of sympathy for one of its own - although there is plenty of that throughout the company this week - but because of a judgment on news value.

The network's statement:

"We debated it internally and feel that this is the appropriate thing to do. Despite the attention it's gotten, it comes down to a news value judgment. We didn''t see the news value to this story, particularly since it has no bearing on her role as an on-air reporter."

ESPN has been curiously silent today in reporting the allegations of sexual assault against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Newsday and many other outlets have published at least the AP account.

ProFootballTalk.com reported ESPN issued a "do not report" edict on the story to its staff.

Why? Roethlisberger has a warm relationship with ESPN, including business dealings with the network such as appearing at its "upfront" presentation to advertising buyers. Hmm.

It turns out ESPN generally avoids reporting on civil suits against sports figures.

Its statement on this matter: "At this point, we are not reporting the allegations against Ben Roethlisberger because no criminal complaint has been filed. As far as we know, this is a civil lawsuit that Roethlisberger has yet to address publicly."

(UPDATE: Not that ESPN never reports on civil suits, or even plans to file civil suits, as evidenced by this from last month. Hmm.)

(New ESPN ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer is going to have a busy first column in August!)

SI's Jon Heyman announced on Twitter that he has cancelled his subscription to the Post in the wake of it publishing nude pictures of Erin Andrews this morning.

Then SNY's Chris Carlin did the same.

Far be it from me to advocate anyone cancelling a subscription to any newspaper in these troubled times, but the Post's decision has struck a nerve in media land.

(UPDATE: Apparently the Post was not alone in widely disseminating the EA videos. It was done on national TV, too. Oy.)

Will Leitch, one of the founding fathers of sports blogging, has an interesting essay on all of this EA stuff here.

HBO's "Real Sports" debuting Tuesday features an update on a 2003 piece about Jorge Posada's son, Jorge IV, and his struggles with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes malformation of the skull. Now 9 and after many surgeries, Posada's son is doing very well, thank you.

Bill Simmons bids adieu to ESPN The Magazine with a tribute to his father.

Sports Business Journal reports the Arena Football League - including Our Dragons - is considering bankruptcy, is $14 million in debt and might have to delay the start of its 2010 season until June, if there is a 2010 season.

Sorry about slow blogging pace. I'm just marking time until our Web relaunch later this week. Not sure I'm supposed to say exactly when, in case it's delayed.

There will be good things about it (better integration of blog posts and stories/columns), bad things about it (less interesting pictures) and good news/bad news things about it (a registration-based commenting system).

As for the new look, that will be a matter of personal preference. Some of you will love it and others will hate it. I think it looks kinda cool.

Stay tuned, as they say in the newspaper cliche business!

Generally I avoid criticizing competing New York-area newspapers, given my inherent bias, but Bob's Blitz is right on here in ripping the Post for publishing pictures in print and online of the Erin Andrews "peephole" video. (Which increasingly seems likely to have been shot from an adjoining room or a hidden camera, not a door peephole.)

Aside from being five-day-old news, using the illegally obtained material - on the front page, no less! - is way, way over the line of good taste and good judgment.

This episode gets more depressing by the day.

ESPN announced this morning that in addition to ESPNChicago.com it will add three more city-specific sites in the coming months.

First up: ESPNDallas.com. And in 2010, versions for Los Angeles and, drumroll . . . New York.

Not sure what to say about this frontal assault on the last remaining stronghold of local newspaper sports sections.

Other than this: Bring it on!

Photo: AP

The New York Times recently sold the 96.3 FM frequency long used by WQXR to Univision, which will turn it from classical music to a Spanish language station.

That is relevant here because ESPN Radio was in the mix for that frequency, which it would have used to shift its New York outlet from the unreliable signal at 1050 AM.

For now, ESPN remains stuck there, with hopes a new transmitter in North Bergen, N.J., will improve its signal quality, especially after dark.

Speaking of which, need some help here: Would like to get feedback from WatchDog Nation members around LI - particularly in long-time trouble spot Western Suffolk - about whether the new antenna has helped the 1050 signal, especially after dark.

Here is Deadspin's take (complete with an apology) on the Erin Andrews video scandal, prominently featuring a link to my earlier post on this subject.

Hmm. Thanks for the link, but now I feel I should clarify my position:

I certainly wasn't calling out Deadspin in particular. I meant to implicate the entire sports blogosphere (this one included).

Even though the vast majority of us obviously do not endorse what happened, our playful obsession with Ms. Andrews - about which she consistently has been a good sport - surely helped set the stage for this.

What I do endorse is this: That the guy (or gal) who pulled this hidden camera trick spend some quality time in prison.

ESPN's statement: "Erin has been grievously wronged here. Our people and resources are in full support of her as she deals with this abhorrent act."

To this point, the blogosphere's endless fascination with Erin Andrews mostly has been harmless, semi-wholesome fun.

But that changed this week with the surfacing of video somehow taken of Ms. Andrews through a hotel peephole, when she was in a state of extreme undress.

Not cool. The video has been deleted from most sites by now, but not all.

Via PRNewsire:

With respect to recent Internet postings of Erin Andrews, she has authorized her attorney, Marshall B. Grossman of Bingham McCutchen LLP, to issue the following statement:

"While alone in the privacy of her hotel room, Erin Andrews was surreptitiously videotaped without her knowledge or consent. She was the victim of a crime and is taking action to protect herself and help ensure that others are not similarly violated in the future. Although the perpetrator or perpetrators of this criminal act have not yet been identified, when they are identified she intends to bring both civil and criminal charges against them and against anyone who has published the material. We request respect of Erin's privacy at this time, while she and her representatives are working with the authorities."

Part of my training on the new blogging system is learning how to embed videos.

Thanks for your patience, WatchDog Nation.

I was determined to go post-free for two weeks just to see if I could, and by golly I did it - only after the blogging gods presented me with the sternest possible test:

At 11:06 p.m. ET Wednesday, I received a tip that ESPN's Erin Andrews had been hit in the face by a baseball at Citi Field - the most disturbing errant ball injury since, well, you know. (See video above, if you are sufficiently brave.)

I did not aggressively pursue reporting on the matter for two reasons:

1. I was in line for Splash Mountain at Disneyland at the time.

2. I assumed that if Erin Andrews were hit in the face by a baseball in front of 40,000 fans, 50 baseball players and national TV cameras I would not be the only journalist aware of it.

As it turned out, it was not until 16 1/2 hours later that TMZ finally broke the story, leaving me to ponder the page views windfall I had left on the table.

I didn't have much time to think about it, though. I was in line for the Simpsons ride at Universal Studios Hollywood at the time.

D'oh!

New York ranked third among 56 major markets tracked in "overnight" ratings for Sunday's U.S. vs. Brazil game in the Confederations Cup final on ESPN.

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale topped the list with 5.67 percent of households, followed by Las Vegas (4.28) and New York (4.23).

The rest of the top 10:
West Palm Beach, 3.65
Hartford/New Haven, 3.64
Atlanta, 3.58
Richmond/Petersburg, 3.46
Washington, DC, 3.45
San Francisco, 3.35
San Diego, 3.30

Photo: Getty

It is a rite of early summer: The ESPN news release announcing its annual July time-filler on SportsCenter.

Often these concepts get a tad confusing and convoluted. Last year it was "Titletown," whose goal was to identify America's "Titletown," even though Green Bay has used that nickname for decades.

I'm on vacation and don't the patience to figure this year's feature out. So you're on your own. Click below and have at it.

Continue reading "Kobe Bryant fantasizes about playing cricket, I think" »

This is big, at least for cranky traditionalists:

ESPN just announced the 2010 Rose Bowl would be the last on ABC. The granddaddy moves to cable on ESPN in January of 2011.

I know important stuff continues to migrate to cable, including the BCS title game, but . . . the Rose Bowl?!

Is nothing sacred? Can I get a comment from the USC Song Girls on this, please?

Click below for the news release.

Photo: Getty

Continue reading "Rose Bowl to move from broadcast to cable in 2011" »

Some bloggers (me) transcribe Mike Francesa and Chris Russo monologues.

Others (this guy) transcribe podcasts featuring Erin Andrews and Bill Simmons. (Via The Big Lead.)

What would you do without us?

Bill asks Erin whether there is someone special she "likes." Ms. Andrews wisely declines to answer.

ESPN will announce Wednesday that Bellmore JFK's own Adam Schefter will join the network in mid-August - as soon as his contract with the NFL Network expires. His first day likely will be Aug. 17, when the Panthers face the Giants in a preseason game.

Schefter had been with the NFL Network since 2004 but has been off the air for several months after negotiations for a new contract went sour.

"I had a great time there and appreciate everything they did and I wish them the best in the future," he said by phone Tuesday. But . . .

"ESPN treated me the way I thought and hoped the NFL Network would - and I don't mean financially."

Schefter would not elaborate beyond that on his departure from the NFL Network, where he was among the biggest names in a smaller, less visible operation than ESPN's.

Speaking of which, how is Schefter, 42, going to get a word in edgewise as part of a crowded group of NFL reporters that includes Chris Mortensen, John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli, Ed Werder and Sal Paolantonio?

Click below for his response to that question.

Continue reading "ESPN officially hires Adam Schefter, late of NFL Net " »

Jeff Van Gundy discusses awkwardness of his current assignment, two games into NBA Finals.

Neil Everett on the late SportsCenter, following a somewhat awkward live studio guest appearance by the Jonas Brothers, in which they narrated the Top 10 plays:

"Hey, these cats got some dude in 'em. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

Maybe you had to be there. But I found it amusing. Carry on. Perhaps the sun will come out int he New York area today.

Photo: Getty

Entertaining post here from Deadspin guest editor Josh Levin, who responds pointedly to Rick Reilly's pointed responses in this very blog to a column by Levin in which he made fun of Reilly's use of dental references.

It's complicated. The highlight of Levin's missive is his breakdown of Reilly's uses of various types of fruit juice to squirt into various readers' body parts.

I am not to taking sides on this, just happily acting as a conduit.

Shaq and Jeff Van Gundy . . . I'm here for you guys, too.

Dang, is it too late for me to update the "strange but true" item in my Friday newspaper column to reflect Bills owner Ralph Wilson choosing ESPN's Chris Berman as his Hall of Fame presenter?

Here is a statement ESPN sent from Mr. Berman on this subject:

"Fifty years in sports, there’s only one constant – Ralph Wilson is the owner of the Buffalo Bills. What Mr. Wilson has done for pro football and for the city of Buffalo and Western New York, it’s hard to put into words. He remains in it for the same reasons he got into it in 1959 – he loves the game of football, and that’s apparent in everything he does.

"It will be an honor to have a bird’s eye view to watch him be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, especially this year, in the 50th year of the old American Football League. He’s a man I admire very much and I’m honored to just be there."

Much has been made about ABC/ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy's conflict of interest for the NBA Finals, what with his brother, Stan, coaching the Magic.

But speaking of Magic, what about Earvin Johnson, part-owner of the Lakers and a studio analyst for ABC/ESPN?

I asked ESPN executive VP Norby Williamson about that Tuesday. Click below for his answer.

That's all for today. Enjoy the PBA's 2009 H&R Block Tournament of Champions at 10 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Photo: Getty

Continue reading "ABC unconcerned about Magic Johnson's Lakers ties" »

With Michelle Beadle moving on to ESPN2 for a new show with Colin Cowherd, 1050 ESPN has been experimenting with new update people.

So far I've heard Sam Marchiano and Lynda Lopez (left).

Which do I prefer? I'll stay out of that one, as I have known Sam for more than 20 years and thus might be biased. They both did a nice job, OK?

Meanwhile, on WFAN's morning show, Bonnie Bernstein - whose contract with ESPN runs out next month - has been filling in for Tracy Burgess as news anchor.

Hey wait . . . I thought ESPN personnel are not permitted to appear on WFAN.

Perhaps this is a sign of the likelihood - or lack thereof - of Bonnie re-upping with the network.

Photo: Getty

ESPN said its coverage of the NBA playoffs recorded the best average rating (3.7 percent of homes that get the network) and viewership (4.89 million) in its history.

Taken separately, the conference finals also set ESPN records with a 6.2 rating and 8.71 million viewers.

TNT also recorded its best ever playoff figures, averaging 4.71 million viewers for the playoffs overall and 8.63 million for the conference final.

Still to be determined: How much the loss of LeBron James will damage ABC's ratings and viewership for the Finals.

Photo: AP

Here is my Monday newspaper column on Jeff Van Gundy, in which he discusses the fact he will be analyzing the NBA Finals for ESPN/ABC while his older brother, Stan, coaches the Magic in said Finals.

Click below for a complete transcript of my phone conversation with Jeff Sunday, in which he talks about Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neal publicly criticizing Stan, LeBron James blowing off the media, his biggest regret about the 1999 Knicks and whether he is content as a TV man or is aiming for a return to coaching.

USA Today also got JVG on the horn Sunday. That version of the story here.

Continue reading "Jeff Van Gundy wishes he had smelled roses w/Knicks" »

Spoke to former Knicks coach and current ESPN/ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy Sunday about the presence of a certain coach on the bench of one of the teams for the NBA Finals.

"I'm going to try to be as objective as possible," he said, "but I want my brother’s team to win; there’s no question about that."

When Stan Van Gundy's Magic took a 2-1 series lead over the Cavaliers, his younger brother discussed the looming potential conflict with his coordinating producer, Tim Corrigan.

“I said, ‘Hey, listen, if you guys don’t think it’s best for me to call the Finals, I’m fine with that, and I understand,’’’ he said. “I don’t want to compromise anything. They said they wanted me to do it.’’

More in Monday's newspaper. That's a wrap. Enjoy June.

Photo: AP

A laurel and hearty handshake to Dan Sulzer, 33, of Long Beach, who Thursday night became the second consecutive Long Islander to take top honors at the Sports Spelling Bee at the ESPN Zone in Times Square.

Sulzer outlasted 35 contestants over about a dozen rounds, crossing the finish line by correctly spelling the name of Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny.

As an avid Jets fan, Sulzer said he is familiar with Posluszny as an AFC East foe.

Fair enough. Sulzer also aced names such as Jeff Samardzija, Scott Kamieniecki, Laveranues Coles and John Buccigross.

Sulzer, an inventory manager for a DVD distribution company, said he always has had a knack for spelling, and won a bee in high school.

His prizes included a VIP package for six at the ESPN Zone, a $250 American Express gift card, an ESPN sports almanac and a trophy that caused stares as he carried it home on the Long Island Rail Road.

Second place went to another LIer, Kenny Eisenman of Bellmore, who faltered on Nikolai Khabibulin.

What prompted Sulzer to enter the bee?

"If it weren't for reading about it on your blog [Tuesday], I would not have known about it,'' he said. "It's not like I read the ESPN Zone Web site to see what's going on there."

Photo: Getty

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a great event, and comes with a great T-shirt.

ESPN will go out with a bang this afternoon in its final Champions League final before Fox takes over next year - Manchester United vs. Barcelona.

If this event is soccer's version of the Super Bowl, then this is the equivalent of a Cowboys vs. Steelers matchup - two storied clubs with huge followings and big-time stars.

When those teams met in Super Bowl XXX, 46.0 percent of U.S. homes watched, still the best Super Bowl rating of the past 23 years.

Worldwide, more people will watch today's match than watched that game, I assume.

Photo: Getty

Sources close to defending champion Jeff Feldman tell WatchDog he is planning to defend his title Thursday in the Sports Spelling Bee at the Times Square ESPN Zone.

You might recall that last May Feldman, originally from Old Westbury, won it all by correctly spelling fellow Long Islander and current Cleveland Cavalier Wally Szczerbiak.

Later, Feldman credited the fact he read the name so often in Newsday when both were in high school.

Other names Feldman spelled: Dick McGuire, Mathias Kiwanuka, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Krzyzewski, Mario Lemieux.

The event, timed to coincide with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, will feature up to 50 competitors and offers prizes including a VIP party at the ESPN Zone and a $250 American Express gift card.

To pre-register, email your name, address, phone number and birth year to this address: SportsSpellingBee@espnzone.com.

Walk-up entries will be accepted if space is available. Registration begins at 7 p.m.

For those of you who were busy Monday afternoon watching the Yankees or attending a barbecue, or who don't know a lacrosse stick from a butterfly net, ESPN Classic will be rerunning the NCAA lacrosse final at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

I highly recommend the first 56 minutes!

The Indy 500 was a huge deal in my youth, so I would feel bad not acknowledging here that it is taking place again Sunday, and for the 45th year will be shown on ABC.

(It used to not be shown live, but that's another story.)

In tribute, click below for a transcript of the ABC conference call previewing the big event.

You're welcome, Jim Clark and my other gearhead readers.

Photo: AP

Continue reading "ABC to televise Indianapolis 500 for 45th time" »

It's put up or shut up time, America: I am trying out for "Idol" next season.

As long as I move to the South and avoid sexual ambiguity issues, I think I have as good a shot as anyone.

Moving on . . . Thanks to all who participated in my first ever live Mets game blog/chat last night/this morning, which rang up huge participation numbers.

Special thanks to the Mets fans who had to put up with all of the sports media questions that came in during the simulcast on my blog and the Mets blog.

I'm thinking of offering to make live Mets and Yankees blogs my full-time job. As long as Newsday agrees to cover the alimony payments, I'm in.

It has been bugging me for a couple of weeks why the name of the horse Rachel Alexandra sounds so familiar. Barbara Barker finally figured it out for me here: I'm thinking of Rachel Alexander, the maiden name of ESPN's Rachel Nichols, whom I knew in her previous life as a newspaper reporter.

(There also is a model named Rachel Alexander and an actress named Rachel Nichols, but I was not thinking of them.)

Nice headline in the Daily News today about the pending Huff/Joba showdown in the Bronx: To Drill a Mockingbird.

Photo: Getty Images Photo

Ratings data from ESPN regarding Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals:

The Nuggets-Lakers tilt Tuesday was watched in an average of 5.8 percent of homes with ESPN and by 8.1 million people, making it the most-viewed basketball game, college or pro, in ESPN history.

Compared to ESPN's coverage of last year's Eastern Conference finals opener between the Pistons and Celtics, viewership was up 49 percent.

Tuesday's game averaged 16.1 percent of homes in Denver, the highest rating for an ESPN or ABC game in records kept since 2003.

In addition to Joba Chamberlain (see post below), celebrity guests at the ESPN upfront Tuesday included three Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and former Giants quarterback Kurt Warner, who said this when asked what surprised him most about New York:

"How quickly fans can go from cheering to booing. I don't think I've seen anything like that, before or after."

One highlight of the presentation was a sneak preview of the second season of the online-only show, "Mayne Street," in which Kenny Mayne decides to spend a day communicating only via Twitter.

By the way, someone on my live chat Tuesday asked whether ESPN plans to hire a successor to Le Anne Schreiber as ombudsman. The answer is yes. Don't be surprised if it is someone with a TV background after two consecutive newspaper types.

Click below for some stuff John Skipper, ESPN's executive VP for content, said after the presentation.

Photo: Getty

Continue reading "Kurt Warner was taken aback by Giants fans booing" »

Tony Kornheiser discusses leaving "Monday Night Football" candidly and at length in a video posted on the Washington Post's site.

And here is video of him discussing that subject on PTI.

Michelle Beadle will leave 1050 ESPN radio and the YES Network for a new, daily, hour-long show at 4 p.m. on ESPN2 called SportsNation, which she will co-host with Colin Cowherd beginning July 6.

As far as I could tell from a preview at the ESPN upfront Tuesday, it appears to be, um, it's hard to explain. Here is how ESPN described it:

"SportsNation is a live sports television show born from the Internet, fueled by fan interaction and focused on fun."

It's seems sort of like a sports talk radio show, but on TV, which allows for the use of video and Internet buzz and Twitter and stuff.

“Our goal is to bring the fan into our production meetings,'' producer Jamie Horowitz said in a news release. "The fans choose the topics, provide the angles, and decide how much Brett Favre talk is really needed.”

Said Cowherd, who still will do his national radio show, heard here from noon to 2:

“I’m stunned management let me do a TV show. I know what the producers and I find interesting and funny – and it leads me to conclude that we probably won’t be on the air very long.”

Scott Van Pelt will take over the radio show he currently does with Mike Tirico from 2 to 4, and the final hour will be simulcast on ESPN2 to serve as a lead-in to SportsNation.

Joe Theismann has spent the past two years lamenting that he was bounced from the "Monday Night Football" booth for wanting to talk too much about football.

So surely Joe has to be enjoying the fact that with Tony Kornheiser - whose jokes Theismann declined to laugh at in 2006 - now off the show as well, ESPN is talking about how it wants to turn the focus more to . . . football.

Judge for yourself by clicking below for Theismann's take on the Kornheiser-for-Jon Gruden swap in an interview Tuesday on Sirius XM's "The Sirius Blitz."

In it Theismann calls Kornheiser a "fish out of water" who never "found a comfort zone doing television."

Continue reading "Joe Theismannn on Tony Kornheiser: 'fish out of water'" »

Too much blog material, too little time.

Please check back Wednesday for that. Right now I have to dig myself out after attending ESPN's "upfront" presentation to advertisers and write about sports media developments for the newspaper, including the NFL Network and ESPNU striking important deals with Comcast and CBS extending its deal with the NFL.

But I do want to share at least this with you right now:

John Skipper, ESPN's top executive for content, said after the upfront that before leaving "Monday Night Football," Tony Kornheiser asked the network about the possibility of working a limited schedule in 2009 to lessen his travel burden.

Click below to read what Skipper said about that, and about the Kornheiser-to-Gruden move in general, including the more football-oriented focus on MNF.

But not until after you read my Tuesday column on Kornheiser, whom I spoke to Monday night, and this Peter King story about Gruden jilting the NFL Network.

(Peter's story also includes information about Monday night's fundraiser for Paul Zimmerman, a/k/a Dr. Z.)

Continue reading "ESPN turned down limited Tony Kornheiser schedule" »

Tony Kornheiser stepped down Monday after three seasons as a commentator on ESPN's "Monday Night Football," where he will be replaced by former Raiders and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden.

Kornheiser cited the grind of the travel schedule, which from the start has been his biggest complaint about the job. He has an intense fear of flying and tried to avoid doing so whenever possible.

Only six of ESPN's regular-season games in 2009 are scheduled for the Eastern Time Zone (Kornheiser lives in Washington, D.C.), and there are games in San Diego, Denver and San Francisco.

"When I looked at the upcoming schedule it was the perfect storm that would've frequently moved me from the bus to the air," he said in a quote provided by ESPN.

In his three seasons with ESPN Kornheiser has been a lightning rod for criticism because of his unusual style and unusual background as a long-time sportswriter, not a former player or coach.

After a failed partnership with Joe Theismann in his first season, Kornheiser was paired with Ron Jaworski the past two seasons, fostering better chemistry. (Kornheiser was scheduled to play in Jaworski's charity golf tournament Monday at the Atlantic City Country Club.)

Complaints about the ESPN presentation persisted in Season Two but dwindled this past season after the network cut back on extras such as guests in the broadcast booth and sideline reports.

Kornheiser, who grew up in Lynbrook, attended Hewlett High School and began his career at Newsday in 1970, will continue as co-host with Michael Wilbon of the popular ESPN show, "Pardon the Interruption."

In March, Kornheiser told me he wanted to be back and expected to be back. But that was before the complete schedule was released.

At the time he said, "I think I’m back. They always talk to me as if I’m back. I’m the paranoid one. I’m the one who’s always announcing who would be better in the booth than me."

On what he dislikes about the job: "I hate the flying. Nothing changes with that. It’s very difficult to do."

That was in March. Click below for the complete quote ESPN sent from Kornheiser today.

Photo: AP

Continue reading "Tony Kornheiser out, Jon Gruden in on 'Monday Night Football'" »