Reply With Quote
That sucks.
Sources inside the Worldwide Leader tell us that the NBA Shootaround team is the latest casualty in the ESPN bloodletting that is being characterized around the Bristol campus as the “End of the Boo-yah Era.”
In a deal that is nearing completion, host John Saunders, along with analysts Greg Anthony, Tim Legler, and Stephen A. Smith are being kicked to the curb. The new team, sources claim, will consist of Dan Patrick, Mike Wilbon, and Mark Jackson, the trio who worked together on ABC last season.
While the new team isn’t cast in concrete yet – i’s must be dotted and t’s must be crossed on Wilbon’s deal – Saunders, Anthony, and Legler will be reassigned to game coverage, sources say. Nobody’s exactly sure what will become of Smith. Suffice to say, NBA viewers won’t be forced to sit through another night of watching steam emit from Legler’s ears as he does battle with Screamin’ A. The plan is for the new team to rival TNT’s idyllic trio of Kenny the Jet, Sir Charles, and Ernie Johnson.
On a larger scale, this change signals yet another example of the end of the Boo-yah Era. We chose the phrase Boo-yah Era (don’t think it’s taken) because it exemplifies the at ude former honcho Mark Shapiro instilled at the network. He fell in love with people shouting on television. The blacker the better. The more bombastic and over the top, the sweeter the paycheck. Cold Pizza was his baby, too. And few at the network expect it to survive.
But slowly, over the last year, the Boo-yah Era has been virtually eliminated by new boss John Skipper. It may have been a subconscious change or an organic extension of Skipper’s personality, but the transformation is undeniable. After the jump, we chronicle a few subtle changes:
* Nu Skool vs. Old School. Remember that embarrassment? It’s gone. The buffoonery of Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, slugging it out on the occasional weekday was awful. It was worse when it ruined our pleasant Sunday mornings. On the whole, Skip’s role at the network has been decreased. He has vanished without a trace from Sportscenter. He’s done at the .com. That disaster of a show, 1st and 10, is teetering on the brink of extinction. Whereas it used to kick off the afternoon screamfests (Jim Rome, ATH, PTI), it long ago fell out of prominence in favor of a show with actual substance, Outside the Lines. At least Skip’s still making in the ballpark of $750,000. (Kind of makes you wonder if Woody Paige was wise to quit his day job at the Denver Post, huh? Hopefully, he’s investing his $1.25 million a year wisely – and that’s probably a low estimate.)
* Quite possibly the most uncomfortable television in ESPN’s storied history were the days of bookish John Clayton being trotted out into the wilderness to do battle with career backup quarterback Sean Salisbury on the atrocious “Four Downs” NFL segment. Under the guise of discussing news, Salisbury would berate Clayton so badly that you almost felt bad for the guy. It was as if Salisbury - a very, very poor NFL quarterback - was taking out years of frustration on Clayton for all the times that sportscasters bashed him. We’re fairly certain the segment still exists in some fashion but it is no longer uncomfortable television where the jock picks on the journalist, and whomever screams loudest, wins. It’s no longer a one-on-one fight; now, it’s a tame fact or fiction segment.
* Scoop Jackson has been spayed and neutered. The guy spent the week writing about tennis. Need we say more? We’ve been giving this ink-stained wretch for weeks, but his tipping point may have come in July with this misinformed and silly piece that featured the humdinger: “Then I make the point: “Which means you all have a better chance to make it to the NBA than you do doing what I do for a living.” In early August he had this disastrous chat with readers. Scoop’s been on a short leash ever since. (The results will probably be catastrophic. His core readers - his family and parolees - liked his ghetto shtick and will probably turn away from his watered down product. And he turned off so many readers with his initial racist offerings that they won’t click on his stories, regardless. We’ve been reading; they aren’t missing anything.)
With the Boo-yah Era apparently over at ESPN, two logical questions remain: 1) Ummm, Stu Scott? 2) How does Michael Irvin still have a job?
The one-eyed bandit has supposedly toned down his rhymin’ and stealin’ on Sportscenter, our source says. Instead of quickly switching to reruns of 90210 when we see DJ Stewy on the tube, we’ll be monitoring his delivery closely.
As for why the Worldwide leader has someone with a checkered background of cocaine, chronic, and strippers conducting interviews, our on-campus source says the Playmaker “tests well.” In TV-speak, this means viewers like him. Perhaps it’s because he’s a flashy dresser. Or because the suits view Irvin’s modern-day minstrel act as harmless, Flavor of Love entertainment. As long as Irvin’s just talking about football, kissing TO’s ass, defending lawless athletes and not pulling a Stephen A. and veering into baseball and social issues (things outside his comfort zone), Irvin’s tolerable.
http://thebiglead.com/?p=986
That sucks.
Woody Paige makes 1.25mil a year? Screw that Spur hater. I hope he gets phased out too.
No Stephen A. Smith gives me reason to watch ESPN anymore.
Double negative.....
So you won't watch anymore because SAS is gone? Or you will watch?
Sounds more like ABC took over ESPN, doesn't it?
Yeah but he was part of what made the halftime show fun.
what is the booyah era?
Woody was cool b4 he became a parrody of himself...
When Max Kellerman held his reigns.
So ESPN's going to be somewhat watchable?
Dan Patrick is a smarmy, condescending egomaniac, but that's better than out-and-out obnoxious.
Me no like Dan.
Me like c game with no announcers.
Me turn on mute.
A perfect televised basketball game would have one camera angle and no sound but crowd noise.
Max Kellerman sucked ass on that show, Statboy was such an huge upgrade that it made the show viewable. Kellerman needs to stick to boxing, when he was outside of his element he proved that he sucked very badly.
Dan Patrick is the best in the business, he is the best sports personality/announcer/radio host/analysist around. He can do it all.
Anything that gets Steven A Smith off the television is an improvement in my book. Not to mention that it gets more face time for 2 of my favorites in DP and Wilbon. Hopefully they replace Mark Jackson sometime, not a fan of his.
This would be great.
What I'd also like to see is a return to the SportsCenter of old... You know, highlights and more highlights without constant interruptions by sponsor-friendly-but-useless distractions like the Budweiser Hot Seat and the Ultimate Highlight.
And Kenny Mayne back in the anchor chair.
Gotta dissagree. Max may not have been the best possible guy to do Around the Horn, but Statboy is just unwatchable. I don't bother to tivo it anymore, where it used to be must see TV for me.
I do like both Wilbon and Tony. Either one (or both) of them can cover each and every sporting event they want for the time being.
And whether you liked it or not, Max did control AtH alot more sucessfully than Statboy... kept things real.
And Dan Patrick is terrible...
Perhaps we just like different styles.
Dan Patrick makes me puke.
Remember those Coors commericals? Those were the single most embarassing thing I have ever seen any sportscaster do.
He is as classsless as anyone they have ever had at ESPN. It's just they he covers things with such a condescending smarmy veneer that people who only look for the superficial don't realize it.
ESPN announcers were dreadful last year. Steven A. Smith and Greg Anthony were almost unwatchable. TNT ran circles around them.
i like his delivery and dry sense of humor. his radio show is great imo, especially the big show segment with him and olbermann. he is a bit smarmy, but i think he makes up for it with a ready willingness to parody himself. reggie miller's spots on his show are also great, but i don't know if he's the best choice for NBA coverage - although he does keep mark jackson in check. those kenny mayne progressive commercials are pretty bad too.
dinobot grimlock? is that you?
I just hope there are more Spurs games on TNT than ESPN.
ESPN will regret this. At the end of the day they are going to be wishing they had my hard hitting style and razor sharp wit. This show is going to be about as boring as a Tim Duncan interview and as weak as a Rasho Nesterovic post-up. They'll learn the hard way that the only to bring sports to the people is loudly, angrily, and blackly! Quite frankly, they'll pay for this if it's the last thing I do.
Interesting.
Has this been written anywhere else besides this blog?
The TNT crew>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Than the ESPN shoot around gang.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
