2025 STUFF ABOUT SPORTS MEDIA THREAD

[supremebve]

20 hours ago, odessasteps said:

Are they bringing back the John Tesh theme? 

Finally, someone is asking the important questions around here.

[odessasteps]

The John Tesh Tour de France album that CBS used to use is actually really good. 

[dogwelder]

13 hours ago, odessasteps said:

The John Tesh Tour de France album that CBS used to use is actually really good. 

Yup, although I wish that the original pre-mass produced version was available online.  There's some songs from the OG version that seem to have never been re-released like 7-11-87.

[Log]

It's really a shame that the original version of Roundball Rock never saw the light of day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-uSWAJd9GE

[Dolfan in NYC]

Andrew Marchand is reporting that Rich Eisen is leaving the NFL Network and returning to ESPN.

[RIPPA]

With the constant rumors that ESPN is going to acquire NFL Network as part of some sort of deal with the NFL - he might not be gone from NFL Network for that long

[Dolfan in NYC]

If he mentions the betting line one time, NBA Twitter is going to go supernova.

[zendragon]

ESPN's streaming service will cost $29.99  month

[Dewar]

Fox has been using Roundball Rock on their college basketball coverage. NBC may not be able to use the song anymore. 

[Tabe]

5 hours ago, zendragon said:

ESPN's streaming service will cost $29.99  month

If I lived by myself, I would buy this. 300 bucks for the annual plan and that gets me college football. Toss up an antenna for network stuff and I'm good to go. However, I'm married and my wife's mother lives with us. No cord cutting for me. 

[hammerva]

the problem with this that I am seeing is that removing ESPN from your regular cable does no benefit to me.  Most of the ESPN channels except the small ones are part of my basic package.  While I am sure there are arguments to remove basic cable with all the streaming services still not sure about doing it.  If I remove one of my sports packages that contains a ESPNU for example, I have to make up for by buying services to the other channels that I use

 

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

Chris Berman just signed an extension to his contract to become ESPN's first 50 year employee. 

Oh, I hate him so...

[supremebve]

23 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Chris Berman just signed an extension to his contract to become ESPN's first 50 year employee. 

Oh, I hate him so...

Is the Berman hate from the Deadspin article, where he called the woman, "Hey, Leather?"  I'm asking because I always thought it was strange that people were offended by that when there was no indication that the woman was offended by it.  I have a pretty wild conversation topic that I have brought up with women that would get a pretty terrible reaction if I were famous and someone overheard it, but I've never had a woman get offended when I bring it up.  It's a completely ridiculous premise that is overtly sexual, and also begs for follow-up questions.  The game is that she wants to prove me wrong, but that can only be done by consenting to a sexual experience.  It turns into banter that is her asking questions that would prove my claim wrong, and me trying to say the exact thing that would counter her counter.  I've had more men offended on behalf of women, but have never found women who have been offended by the conversation (I mean, I guess I get it, but I wasn't talking to them anyway.).  Not only that, nearby women have overheard the conversation and decided to join in.  It's not a conversation I'd have at work, at church, or a bunch of other places where it would be deemed inappropriate.  But at a bar, it has at the very least worked at starting a silly conversation 100% of the time.  A lot of these interactions involve the interplay between two people and building a rapport so that you can hopefully take things to the next level.  I don't know if we should judge people outside of that rapport.  

[Mister TV]

18 minutes ago, supremebve said:

Is the Berman hate from the Deadspin article, where he called the woman, "Hey, Leather?"  I'm asking because I always thought it was strange that people were offended by that when there was no indication that the woman was offended by it.  I have a pretty wild conversation topic that I have brought up with women that would get a pretty terrible reaction if I were famous and someone overheard it, but I've never had a woman get offended when I bring it up.  It's a completely ridiculous premise that is overtly sexual, and also begs for follow-up questions.  The game is that she wants to prove me wrong, but that can only be done by consenting to a sexual experience.  It turns into banter that is her asking questions that would prove my claim wrong, and me trying to say the exact thing that would counter her counter.  I've had more men offended on behalf of women, but have never found women who have been offended by the conversation (I mean, I guess I get it, but I wasn't talking to them anyway.).  Not only that, nearby women have overheard the conversation and decided to join in.  It's not a conversation I'd have at work, at church, or a bunch of other places where it would be deemed inappropriate.  But at a bar, it has at the very least worked at starting a silly conversation 100% of the time.  A lot of these interactions involve the interplay between two people and building a rapport so that you can hopefully take things to the next level.  I don't know if we should judge people outside of that rapport.  

Did the "You're with me leather" thing even happen? Wasn't that story in an article that was pretty much Deadspin's version of the sleaze thread?

[Dolfan in NYC]

1 hour ago, supremebve said:

Is the Berman hate from the Deadspin article, where he called the woman, "Hey, Leather?"  I'm asking because I always thought it was strange that people were offended by that when there was no indication that the woman was offended by it.  I have a pretty wild conversation topic that I have brought up with women that would get a pretty terrible reaction if I were famous and someone overheard it, but I've never had a woman get offended when I bring it up.  It's a completely ridiculous premise that is overtly sexual, and also begs for follow-up questions.  The game is that she wants to prove me wrong, but that can only be done by consenting to a sexual experience.  It turns into banter that is her asking questions that would prove my claim wrong, and me trying to say the exact thing that would counter her counter.  I've had more men offended on behalf of women, but have never found women who have been offended by the conversation (I mean, I guess I get it, but I wasn't talking to them anyway.).  Not only that, nearby women have overheard the conversation and decided to join in.  It's not a conversation I'd have at work, at church, or a bunch of other places where it would be deemed inappropriate.  But at a bar, it has at the very least worked at starting a silly conversation 100% of the time.  A lot of these interactions involve the interplay between two people and building a rapport so that you can hopefully take things to the next level.  I don't know if we should judge people outside of that rapport.  

I've hated him for years and years before that.  There's no one person more responsible for the "I'M THE STAR, NOT THE SPORTS" attitude of most people on sports TV than Christopher J. Berman. The catchphrases, the forced jokes, the attitude... all at the expense of the athletes he's supposed to be covering.  He's a terrible announcer who people found charming because a relatively young person was telling them about sports and not the boring asshole who's on the local news.  

He is also notoriously difficult to work with. Diva attitude and behavior. Screaming at PA's and interns if everything isn't exactly how he wants. I have first hand accounts of what a miserable prick he is.  

But hey, he's said Rhhhhaaaiiiaaderrrrrrrhssssss since 1984, and makes the executives laugh, so he got a huge contract and pushed others out.

The "leather" story for me was just confirmation of what I'd already felt and later actually knew. 

[odessasteps]

Also, a very pro owner/league toady kind of guy. 

[Log]

Berman’s been doing the same tired-ass schtick for over 30 years now. His 2 Minute Drill thing they do is literally him just running through the same stupid “catchphrases” every week. Is anyone still entertained by “He could…go…all…the…way” at this point? 
 

Didn’t he retire a couple years back?

[odessasteps]

We used to come up with awkward Berman style nicknames as a way to show how dumb it was.

[Brian Fowler]

5 hours ago, Log said:

Berman’s been doing the same tired-ass schtick for over 30 years now. His 2 Minute Drill thing they do is literally him just running through the same stupid “catchphrases” every week. Is anyone still entertained by “He could…go…all…the…way” at this point? 
 

Didn’t he retire a couple years back?

I don't think he retired, but was more forced into a lighter workload/less visible role by ESPN, mostly moving him to the app and just the fastest two minutes actually on TV. 

But, yeah, he literally hasn't changed his schtick at least in the 31 years since they first ran cable down my road, and I assume not in the years before that either. He's taken "play the hits" to an absurd extreme.

[hammerva]

For the last 15 years Berman has been in Booker T mode where the majority of time you could replace with a soundboard and not notice a difference 

And also the same level of pervert too

[odessasteps]

 

[zendragon]

On 5/17/2025 at 8:37 AM, hammerva said:

For the last 15 years Berman has been in Booker T mode where the majority of time you could replace with a soundboard and not notice a difference 

And also the same level of pervert too

Do you suppose there's some sort of pervert quota for WWE announcing?

[hammerva]

I don't know if there will be any winners in this Ryan Clark vs RG3 feud and it especially won't be the people who have to endure it.   It is two guys who are desperately trying to appeal to the complete opposite groups in terms of sports and politics frankly and both of them are either really bad at it or will never get the full respect to begin with and their ego doesn't get it

 

 

[supremebve]

2 hours ago, hammerva said:

I don't know if there will be any winners in this Ryan Clark vs RG3 feud and it especially won't be the people who have to endure it.   It is two guys who are desperately trying to appeal to the complete opposite groups in terms of sports and politics frankly and both of them are either really bad at it or will never get the full respect to begin with and their ego doesn't get it

 

 

You can't argue with RG3 in public.  He has taken the revolutionary stance of always taking the side of the white person no matter what happens and then playing the victim when any black person calls him on it.  It's a strategy that has worked 100% of the time.  He can't wait for the next black person to call him out, it's how the strategy works.  It works if all you want to advance your career, it doesn't work if you want to show up to your family reunion.  

[hammerva]

I don't think RG3 has to worry about showing up to HIS family reunion.  Or at least half of them.