Medium Well

ESPN reinvents the wheel

Tue, 13 May 2008 10:38:03 -0500

ESPN made its expected announcement this morning of the hiring of Hannah Storm as a SportsCenter anchor and the revamping of its early programming. Starting Aug. 11, the network is dropping the morning "wheel" of continuous reruns of the last SportsCenter from the night before. In its place will be fresh hourly SportsCenters beginning at 6 a.m. and running to 3 p.m. As the day progresses, the shows will move from highlights-heavy to preview-oriented.

Storm will be one of the anchors during 9 a.m. to noon. ESPN announced no other anchor assignments, so it isn't clear how many people are being redeployed and how many will be added.

As always, I would argue for more Linda Cohn.

It could mean a lesser presence for those assigned the late-night SportsCenter, whose faces now constantly pop up all morning.

This should be a particularly welcome move for those viewers who don't have ESPNews, because they will get more updated sports news during the day.

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I highly recommend you read Kevin Van Valkenburg's latest entry at The Life of Kings, about our late Sun colleague Chris Ewell. It's a lovely tribute to a friend. We should all be remembered so well.

I will tell one Chris Ewell story. Though never so close to Chris as Kevin and others were, I -- like each of us who served as his editors -- grew accustomed a certain amount of quirkiness. One time while he was covering Maryland football, we'd asked his preview of a bowl game to include a predicted score. This was something Chris didn't particularly want to do. His first predicted score was more appropriate for a basketball game -- something like 57-52. I told him we needed a lower score for the prediction. When he refiled, Chris did as instructed -- this time predicting a baseball score, 5-2.

I might have been exasperated at the time, but I can laugh about it now. Would that he were still around to predict the Terps will win their lacrosse quarterfinal, 12 3/4-8.4.

Morning breaks at ESPN?

Sun, 11 May 2008 19:26:34 -0500

It will be a new morning at ESPN, according to a report at SI.com.

Richard Deitsch wrote that the network will be launching a new morning edition of SportsCenter, anchored by Hannah Storm (right). ESPN didn't comment to SI.com.

If the report is correct, it seems ESPN is dumping the morning repeats of its last SportsCenter from the night before for fresh versions. An announcement could come tomorrow.

Storm formerly co-hosted CBS' Early Show after stints in sports at CNN and NBC, which included the Olympics and baseball. While covering the 1995 World Series, she was the object of a profanity-laced tirade by Albert Belle, then with the Indians.

Getty Images North America

Just read this, Mr. Barkley

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:23:58 -0500

Charles Barkley channels Ron Burgundy, but stays classy.

The best part? How he doesn't take himself seriously at all. Just give Ernie, Kenny and Charles their own show year-round.

Say it's so about O's, Joe

Mon, 05 May 2008 07:36:57 -0500

During yesterday's game, we heard yet another example of how Joe Angel serves as the eyes and voice of the fan on Orioles radio broadcasts.

In the first inning, he did not let the O's off the hook for squandering the chance to score more runs. He expressed puzzlement at why Melvin Mora ducked in the batter's box, giving the Angels catcher a clear path to throw out Brian Roberts trying to steal third, when Mora was within his rights simply to stand there and make it a harder throw.

Later, Ramon Hernandez went into a home run trot on a ball that ended up hitting off the wall, getting thrown out at second for the inning's last out. Angel said of Hernandez and Kevin Millar, who was on base but didn't score, that manager Dave Trembley has talked to the Orioles about playing the game right and that neither of them had played it right in that case.

Angel's annoyance certainly had to match the frustration of his listeners.

We love dirty laundry

Fri, 02 May 2008 16:46:48 -0500

The headline is from a Don Henley song, and the brief point I wanted to make here was to hark back once more to the blogging standards discussion from Costas Now this week. It seems we are getting a Roger Clemens story a day, the latest being his relationship with John Daly's ex-wife. Recent days also have brought the report of how Karl Malone apparently fathered a child with a 13-year-old girl when he was a sophomore in college.

These stories didn't come from the "blogosphere," but from the traditional old media. So we can't exactly claim any moral high ground just because we're not printing pictures of Matt Leinart with a beer bong.

Clemens, Malone, Leinart, Barbara Walters ... Yes, we love dirty laundry. The deal is, we have for a very long time, but it's just that now it's easier and quicker to deliver it. And the fact that some of those delivering the dirt might not have the highest standards when it comes to verifying their reports is nothing new either. The National Enquirer was sitting at your supermarket checkout long before the first keys were struck on a blog. Now, as before, it's up to the consumer to decide the value and potential veracity of such information. That's something that hasn't changed just because of the news' conduit.

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Now, what is fast becoming Medium Well's most popular feature: the weekly Sun pickup basketball update.

Today featured enough people to run four-on-four on a short court and also marked the return of the Big Redhead, who said he hadn't played in three years. He knocked off the rust in an effort

NBA.com

greatly aided by being matched against Dead Man Walking, for whom defense is but a distant memory, sort of like the speech he gave at his bar mitzvah. The Scranton Flash and Shutterbug engaged in another spirited battle. Though hampered by DMW's presence, Flash's team prevailed in most of the games. Maryland Matt victimized Stevie B. on several cuts to the basket, though Stevie B. retaliated by tossing up some shots that nearly cleared the backboard.

The day's biggest upset: Stevie B. brought his folding lawn chair, but not a jug of chai tea.

What's the Buzz?

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:43:19 -0500

Buzz Bissinger, the talented author (Friday Night Lights), was so full of vitriol that it seemed his head might pull a Scanners during a segment of HBO's Costas Now that debuted Tuesday night. The discussion of sports blogs featured Will Leitch, founder of the popular Deadspin site, and Browns receiver Braylon Edwards, who had to wonder what he had gotten into.

There are lots of valid criticisms to be made of sports blogs and the blogging culture, but Bissinger's message was obscured by how he delivered his sputtering attack on Leitch with such as "The quality of the writing is despicable. ... You're sort of like Jimmy Olsen on Percocet [which I thought was a pretty funny line]. ... You say you don't want to be in the press box because facts get in the way. ... You're going to dumb us down." Check out the whole segment here. (Warning: strong language. It's HBO.)

Costas presented a much more reasonable approach, opening the door to a discussion of how the crass tone and traffic in innuendo among some blogs could be said to demean athletes and sports and lower the level of fandom to the gutter. Leitch certainly maintained a civil tone and appeared ready to engage in such a debate. Too bad that's not what we got.

And the Sports Emmy goes to ...

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:06:58 -0500

They gave out the Sports Emmy Awards last night. The key awards:

Studio host: James Brown

Play-by-play: Al Michaels

Studio analyst: Cris Collinsworth

Game analyst: John Madden

Madden? Feh. No big arguing with the others, though.

Somehow, Comcast SportsNet's Craig Laughlin didn't win anything for Game Analyst Who Sounds Most Like a Cartoon Character.

Van Pelt's Bawlmer moment

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:13:32 -0500

It appeared no one was happier about the Ravens' first-round pick than Scott Van Pelt. Why is that?

It seems there is something about the way you -- well, he -- can say Joe Flacco's name while affecting a Baltimore accent that sounds as if it came straight out of Hairspray. Which he did several times during Saturday night's SportsCenter telecasts.

New Line Cinema

Brian Billick: What do you think?

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:43:38 -0500

Fox has announced Brian Billick will be a game analyst for the network this season. All that's set so far is he'll do eight games with a to-be-named partner, then work a to-be-determined number of games as the third man in the booth.

It's possible he could do two Ravens games -- vs. Eagles Nov. 23 and vs. Redskins Dec. 7.

I thought Billick might be better suited as a studio guy, but here's hoping the Baltimore audience gets to hear him do some games.

Let me know what you think of this move.

NBA inspires Time cover

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:04:14 -0500

The New Republic says Time ripped off its Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama split face idea from a month ago for its new cover.

But Time's managing editor told Portfolio.com that its cover actually was inspired by NBA ads for the playoffs, such as this one of Tracy McGrady and Rip Hamilton.

Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE

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And speaking of basketball, let's check in for our first installment of the weekly Sun Sports pickup game update:

We drew seven to the steamy court in the New America. Rumors of an appearance by The Count proved unfounded. Probably just as well. Dead Man Walking might have collapsed if the game hadn't been halfcourt. Nevertheless, The Scranton Flash and Shutterbug engaged in a high-energy matchup, and the Flash's team won each game, despite Shutterbug's considerable height advantage. In fact, a disturbing amount of defense -- at least, disturbing to Dead Man, who eschews such things -- was being played, particularly by Flash, Mr. Jones and Maryland Matt. Stevie G. popped in some from long range, and Pesky Andy was his usual accurate self from shorter range.

Most importantly, no injuries.

Terrapin's time

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:04:19 -0500

ESPN Radio is expanding Scott Van Pelt's presence. This week, he was named co-host of Mike Tirico's afternoon show (1 to 3), which now will be known as Tirico & Van Pelt. (I think the ampersand is the key, so much cooler than the word "and.")

Van Pelt, a University of Maryland grad, had been serving as one of the three rotating co-hosts along with Kirk Herbstreit and Michele Tafoya on Tirico's show. ESPN says Herbstreit and Tafoya "will continue to contribute" to the T&VP show and will still fill in for either of the regular hosts.

In addition, Van Pelt will fly solo as host of one-hour show at 3 p.m., replacing Stephen A. Smith, who ended his radio program on ESPN's New York affiliate earlier this month. “It’s been a wonderful ride, a wonderful three years [at New York's ESPN 1050],’’ Smith was quoted in Newsday. “ESPN brass really, really wants and needs my presence more on television.’’

For those who miss Smith, Van Pelt always could do his Screamin' A. impression. In any case, you won't hear Van Pelt's 3 p.m. show on Baltimore radio, because that's when ESPN 1300 starts Anita Marks' program.

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Scott Van Pelt photo: ESPN/Joe Faraoni

Chuck Thompson, carved in stone

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:17:03 -0500

Over at baltimoresun.com's latest sports blog, the wonderfully conceptualized and executed Connolly's Corner Sports Bar, my colleague Dan Connolly asked for a fourth head to join Brooks Robinson, John Unitas and Cal Ripken Jr. on Baltimore sports' Mount Rushmore. He has been flooded with suggestions, and of particular interest to Mr. Medium Well was that several respondents have suggested Chuck Thompson.

It speaks to the depth of affection and respect Thompson earned across his multi-generational career as voice of the Colts and Orioles that fans would consider him just as much of an iconic figure as the men whose deeds he so evocatively chronicled. I haven't lived in a lot of different cities, but I wonder in how many other places you could have asked the same question as Dan did and receive multiple suggestions that a sportscaster be honored among the town's most-revered athletes. Ernie Harwell in Detroit? Vin Scully in Los Angeles?

So if I were to ask you for your all-time favorite Baltimore sportscasters, it probably would be wise just to say Chuck Thompson is No. 1 and ask for those whom you would line up behind him. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thompson photo: Sun files 1991

Manufactured for the NFL

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:58:46 -0500

And yet another way I'm showing my age ...

I can remember a time when it was an insult to refer to a college as a football factory, with the idea being that the university had abandoned its principal mission of developing minds in favor of filling the stadium on Saturdays. But the NFL Network's NFL's Top 10 (tomorrow, 9 p.m.) is titled "Football Factories" and takes a look at the following schools that have churned out NFL talent: Alabama, Miami, Michigan, Mid-American Conference, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee and USC.

And how proud I am that my alma mater, Rider University of Lawrenceville, N.J. -- school motto: "We're right off Route 206" -- does not appear on that list. Of course, that could have something to do with our not having a football team.

Blog at your own risk

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:26:21 -0500

Two items to file under Don't Quit Your Day Job -- unless (1) it quits you or (2) you're big enough to put it on hold.

First, the case of The Washington Post's Michael Tunison, a news reporter who posts at the Kissing Suzy Kolber blog as Christmas Ape. In a posting earlier this week, he identified himself as such. And he has lost his Post job. The KSK blog is a frequently hilarious, frequently lewd sports-related site (to be clear, this isn't for the kiddies).

Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. told Editor & Publisher: "We don't discuss personnel matters, but we have standards for people's outside work. You need to clear it with your editors here before and it should not be a conflict of interest."

Tunison said in an e-mail to E&P: "There was no conflict of interest between my writing for Kissing Suzy Kolber and my work for The Washington Post. The blog is not a journalistic endeavor and it is not something I was paid for until I revealed my identity. It is a humor blog about the NFL, whereas my job for the paper was to cover local news in a suburban county outside Washington, D.C. It is beat that has nothing to do with a professional football league.

"I also find it troubling that I was summarily fired for engaging in something that is core to the spirit of The Washington Post: full disclosure. Even if editors had a problem with the language used in the blog, they should have been able to respect that my goal was not to defame the Post, but to be forthcoming with my readers."

So now Tunison will be paid to write for KSK.

Speaking of being paid, that brings us to No. 2, the matter of Dan Le Batard. He is taking a leave of absence from his job as sports columnist for The Miami Herald in order to, according to a memo from the Herald sports editor, "have more balance in his life." Le Batard, a familiar face on ESPN particularly as a guess shouter on Pardon the Interruption, is supposed to come back after a year. But he's a busy guy. The same report cited above lists his other jobs as columnist for ESPN The Magazine, Sunday morning ESPN Radio host and drive-time co-host on a Miami radio station.

So the job that goes is the one that enabled him to get all of those other ones in the first place. As author Robert Andrew Powell puts it: "These guys like Le Batard ... they know that without the imprint of their newspapers, they'd have no substance or credibility -- they wouldn't get the bigger opportunities. Le Batard long ago leapt up to TV and radio gigs -- lucrative gigs -- that make local newspaper column writing seem boring and irrelevant. ... So Le Batard gets the all-important newspaper credibility without doing the work."

Now, before you say I'm just jealous and I would do the same thing if I had the opportunity and talent and work ethic, let me totally agree with you. If someone who hasn't seen my few TV appearances or heard my very occasional radio guest spots -- which should come with warnings about not operating heavy machinery after consuming -- would suddenly want to throw me some money to do a TV or radio job, I would grab it before that person got fired.

I merely wanted to point out what Powell does -- that though fewer people read newspapers, plying your trade within the medium still carries some weight, even if only to make you appear an expert in other media.

(And, yes, I clearly carry the weight, but I’m no expert.)

Harold Reynolds, ESPN settle

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:22:48 -0500

Let's just not say they hugged it out.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that Harold Reynolds and ESPN have settled Reynolds' lawsuit over his firing as a baseball analyst two years ago. Reynolds, a former Oriole, was suing for $5 million after ESPN bounced him for what the network apparently believed was sexual harassment but what Reynolds contended was a "brief and innocuous" hug with a female intern.

Reynolds' statement: "My family and I are ecstatic. This was a matter of principle, and I stood on principle and never wavered. All of my goals were met, and now I look forward to concentrating on the game I love."

ESPN termed the settlement "economically compelling," and spokesman Mike Soltys said: "It was a fraction of his demands and substantially less than what it would have cost us to litigate the case. Our confidence in both the appropriateness of our action and our legal position never wavered."