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All-Encompassing Sports TV Thread of Hate


LooseCannon

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I do hope that once Bill Simmons' contract expires, he does like he did during his last contract dispute and starts re-publishing his old Digital City stuff.  I've been desperately trying to find a copy of the Running Diary he did while listening to WEEI for 12 hours straight, and the "Boston Police Blotter" article where he talked about all the Stupid Sports Moments in Boston history, like when the fans ripped the goalposts out of the old Foxboro Stadium, hit a power line, and killed a fan.

 

His AOL Digital City stuff was so far ahead of the crap he's been pumping out over the last decade.

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I wouldnt say all of those were great shows (DP Show when co hosted by Salisbury and dibble), but i thought it was a good day of programming, largely before gimmicky sports talk.

It was also preferable to the local stuff in Norfolk and i couldnt always pick up 980.

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I can still recall the golden era:

TK

DP

Gamenight w chuck wilson and tony bruno

The V Show

Todd Wright All Night

 

God I loved the TK radio show.

 

I remember a summer vacation in high school where I basically lived vampire hours because I would stay up to stream his radio show at like 2-5am my time and play Madden all night long.

 

My holy grail of things I hope to one day find is his Old Guy Radio for American Pie.  I remember being blown away at the time by it.

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Regardless of what you think of Simmons and Olbermann, I don't understand why they would cut ties with their two most interesting voices.  I'm sure those two dudes are probably a pain in the ass to deal with on a day-to-day basis, but that is kind of why they're valuable.  Journalism, which is what ESPNs main contribution is whether they want to admit it or not, needs people who challenge the status quo.  Olbermann says a lot of things I agree with, like his take on Goodell and the NFL's bullshit stance on just about everything.  He also says a lot of things I don't agree with, like calling for Hope Solo to be removed from the US soccer team based on an incident that no one knows what actually happened, because everyone involved is clearly lying.  The difference between Olbermann and Simmons, who they are getting rid of, and people like Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, who they clearly love, is that Olbermann and Simmons actually have well thought out positions.  They aren't just spouting whatever nonsense pops into their heads.  They have thought about what they feel about the subjects they speak about, and express them passionately.  Those are not the type of voices you get rid of, not even when they are a huge pain in the ass. 

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Manny Ramirez was a lot more valuable yo the Red Sox than Keith is to ESPN and he got run out for being a pain in the ass. Eventually being difficult - especially being difficult just to be difficult, as is Keith's M.O. - gets old and people don't want to deal with you.

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Manny Ramirez was a lot more valuable yo the Red Sox than Keith is to ESPN and he got run out for being a pain in the ass. Eventually being difficult - especially being difficult just to be difficult, as is Keith's M.O. - gets old and people don't want to deal with you.

I'm not disagreeing with this, but they knew that when they brought him back.  They chose to bring back a huge pain in the ass, because his overwhelming talent was valuable enough to deal with it.  Olbermann's a lot of things, but easy to get along with has never been one of them.  Olbermann is probably the most talented person working in sports journalism, which ESPN knows more than anyone.  He was there, they fired him and brought him back because he has the unique ability to be a huge blowhard while also being thoughtful.  Firing him is fine in a vacuum but not when you realize that they keep guys like Cowherd, Stephen A., and Skip Bayless around, it makes less sense.  Sure those guys probably don't cause any problems in the office, but those aren't the guys you want to be the opinion makers at the expense of guys like Olbermann and Simmons if you want people to take you seriously.

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Thing is, I don't think ESPN cares about being serious anymore beyond Outside the Lines and 30 for 30.  We have to remember that the E in ESPN stands for Entertainment.  Like WWE is a TV show with wrestling as a component, ESPN has become a network with sports as a backdrop.  With that in mind, it's easy to see how Olbermann doesn't fit. 

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That begs the question--why rehire Olbermann?  You know what you're getting with him.  So either you're willing to deal with him or you're not.  Make a choice and stick with it.

It seemed like at the time, to possibly keep him from FS1.

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I agree, but IIRC, them bringing back Olbermann and giving him an 11PM slot originally was seen as a pre-emptive counter programming measure against FS live, since they had the "new" version of KO and DP.

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Olbermann is one of the few voices on the network that either A) doesn't spout the company line nonstop or B) spouts off hot takes for the hell of it. The only "commentary" shows I watch on the network anymore are his show, OTL, and Highly Questionable...and watching/analyzing ESPN is part of my damn job. People whine and bitch about all sports networks doing the same thing, and then when someone does something different, they're criticized for <insert reason here>. 

 

MLB Network actually has this shit down right, in my opinion - their daily afternoon shows have a little bit of something for everyone. There's a nice balance between hot takery, irreverence, and meaningful discussions

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That is the whole reason you have Olbermann. If you restrict him from doing his commentaries there is zero point in even airing the show. No one's watching for the worsts or Bruno Bash, it's primarily to see Keith's monologue at the open. Olbermann is one of the 3 shows on the entire ESPN family of networks worth watching so of course they'll probably fuck it up. Stephen A and Skip Bayless have completely destroyed that company.

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They have set this situation up to where Olbermann would be 100% in the right for leaving. And that's not the Olbermann way. 

 

I really hate what ESPN has turned into. Live games only at this point. Live games only. 

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The other part, BTW, is that the mouse has apparently given matching orders to ESPN to improve their profit margins, so high priced name guys are becoming expendable.

Unless they kiss NFL ass.

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The other part, BTW, is that the mouse has apparently given matching orders to ESPN to improve their profit margins, so high priced name guys are becoming expendable.

 

 

 

Which probably explains why Bomani Jones is all over the place, to the point where the 1AM-5AM show on ESPN Radio is essentially Stephen Reynolds airing Bomani clips ad nauseum rather than take calls or have his own guests.

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