The first part of the latest Simmons vs. ESPN went down on Friday, but Bill Simmons not only hosted ESPN Senior VP & Exec Editor John Walsh on his podcast, he also got ex-Ombudsman LeAnne Schreiber to discuss the current "State of ESPN". Simmons has obviously been vocal in his distaste for his employer lately and the two guests talked about everything from commenting on employees (i.e.- Kornheiser on MNF) to the role of sex in Sports (i.e.- Erin Andrews). Here's are a few quotes (some quotes via Sports Business Daily) from both and then an audio snippet from both interviews....

Walsh and Simmons on discussing current ESPN employees: Walsh: "We don’t want to have people doing things critically within a company, going after one another."

Simmons: "For me the Kornheiser thing, the root of the issue, is ... fundamentally people watching a football game want to hear from people who played football or coached it. Anybody outside of that realm they just don’t trust their opinion on it."

Simmons on Sports Center: "I watch ‘SportsCenter’ and it’s like, all right we made money there, we made money there. To be honest, I miss the old ‘SportsCenter.’ I just feel like we make enough money as a company that we don’t need to bleed ‘SportsCenter’ with all these different zingers."

Schreiber on Announcers: "ESPN is the only way you can experience the game, and the announcers have a tremendous impact on it. So I think they care a lot about who the announcers are and how they're operating. I received almost no complaints for instance about, very few complaints about play-by-play announcers."

"The analysts and color commentators, you know, there were a lots of complaints about them and the all essentially come down to essentially one thing. You're too much of a presence between us and the game."

Simmons and Schreiber on random ESPN Segments and Sponsors: Simmons: "My personal biggest, I don't know if it's a fear or I just don't quite understand about ESPN is that they care so much about being a media entity, and reporting news, and being on top of things, and having the best editors and reporters, breaking stories. And then on the other hand, you know....the Budweiser Hotseat, and the Coors Light Top Five, and all that other stuff.

Schreiber: "Yeah that's the trick. You have the argument that could be made, that you have a sponsored segment and what you do on that segment better be something that is justifiable in and of itself that is news."

"Simmons: "Did you feel that was consistently the case?"

Schreiber: "No. It felt it was variable, but I felt it was actually getting better.

And that's just a small taste of the over two hours and thirty minutes (!) worth of audio. I had recently thought that Simmons was just trying to get fired, but if his gripes cause this much discussion, you have to consider his complaints/bitching one of the most productive things to happen to ESPN in years.

As far as the quotes above, nothing sums up everyone's feelings on the network better than the last exchange between Simmons and Schreiber above. I am in the group of people that think ESPN has certainly has improved, but for every step they take forward....they take a giant leap back.

Hopefully these discussions help the network, and I have an idea. If ESPN won't have me on as the Ombudsman, they should get Simmons to try out the role.

John Walsh (ESPN: BS Report)
LeAnne Schreiber Part One (ESPN: BS Report)
LeAnne Schreiber Part Two (ESPN: BS Report)
Simmons Discusses Gripes With ESPN Senior VP & Exec Editor Walsh (Sports Business Daily)

Le Anne Schreiber has once again pulled the curtain back on the most powerful Sports network in the World, and as she addresses perceived biases across the board at ESPN (including BCS rights and Chris Spielman's Michigan comments), she also hints at a committee being formed to write a book of standards for the "Leader's" personalities. It seems like a simple idea in theory, but after speaking with Bill Simmons on the matter, it might not be so easy to get put into action....

When I told Simmons about the guidebook in progress, he said, "You mean they are planning on cracking down?"

When I suggested he think of it as clarifying rather than cracking down, he said, "So I'm writing a column and I have to consult the rule book."

I reversed field and asked him what he found most troublesome about writing for ESPN.com.

"When you are supposed to push the envelope," Simmons said, "but you are afraid of the repercussions of every decision, I think it affects you. I don't really blame the editors, because those guys aren't really sure where the lines are anymore, so they're going to take stuff out that is anywhere close to the line. But if you're going to take something out, the reason can't be 'We'd rather be safe than sorry.' You have to put some thought into it and say, 'If this stays in, what are the potential repercussions?'"

What if guidelines meant editors didn't have to resort to the better-safe-than-sorry stance, because they knew and could articulate where the lines were, and didn't have to wait to see how PR would draw the lines after some genuine or manufactured public outcry?

"If these guidelines could help me do my job, great," Simmons said.

It still amazes me that a company as large and as prominent as ESPN, doesn't have standards in place, but I think it's more the penalties that people question. When you suspend a Jemele Hill for a Hitler comment, and then don't do the same for Lou Holtz, you come off as a tad hypocritical. And when you fire someone like Harold Reynolds (allegedly based on heresay), and then stories of multiple transgressions from various employees are leaked onto the Internet.....you almost solidify the hypocrisy.

I personally could care less what Chris Spielman says when he's not on ESPN's airwaves, or in print. But if you let things like that go when they happen, there's almost no way that someone might not bring that bias back to the network. Again, you don't have to start disliking a team you played for, or grew up liking, but catering to them on-air is just taking it too far.

I have a feeling that ESPN will be taking a closer look at itself in the new year, but changing a culture can be a huge undertaking. With all of the new league, and championship, acquisitions....I just don't think there will be enough time to hammer something out. Good luck though.

ESPN can define boundaries and keep its edge, too (ESPN Ombudsman)

This post is about a day old, but after staying up until 4am and then getting up at 8am the same day to continue watching the ESPN "Tip Off Marathon", it's taken me a bit to process the overkill. Well overkill isn't really that right term. That would insinuate that I didn't enjoy all of the coverage, which isn't true, so let's use the term "surplus". USA Today's blog, Game On, covered what the "surplus" told us about , but I wanted to look into what it told us about ESPN's College BBall coverage.

I mentioned the other day that the games were boring, and outside of an overtime game between Hawaii and Fresno State at 4am and a Stephen Curry-Blake Griffin battle, that was definitely the case. While the games themselves weren't the best, ESPN's coverage throughout the day long event was actually pretty good. The marathon allowed the viewing audience to experience the full breadth of ESPN's programming ability in the Sport, and just about every announcing team seemed almost in midseason form.

The studio shows were all spot on, and for once, I was extremely impressed with the Basketball version of College Gameday. Rece Davis is a great host, Hubert Davis is improving, Bob Knight actually seemed to be enjoying himself and Digger Phelps....well, okay....I wasn't impressed with everything! I'm beyond sick of his whole schtick with Bobby Knight, and hopefully he can just lay off it the rest of the season. Other than that they were enjoyable, and every announcing team that I questioned last year appeared to show improvement. Even the duo of Terry Gannon and Steven Bardo who gave us this great call of Fresno State freshman Paul George's posterization of the entire St. Mary's backcourt.

Bam! Watch that one again....I'll wait. Okay, good. And while it's true that the network has seemingly improved as a whole, there's another spot where it's lacking any semblance of betterment. And that's within its constant, and nauseating, barrage of Dick Vitale. Look, I love the guy for his work in bringing attention to the Sport, and I believe he should be in the Hall of Fame, but his homerism and love for all things in the state of North Carolina is just beyond distracting at this point. I think The Dagger explained it best with the following statement....

Vitale seems less interested now in calling games than in using his two hours on ESPN as a bully pulpit for his pet causes [Ed note: Tyler Hansborough, naming the Indiana Gym after Bobby Knight, the one and done rule, and jump ball versus possession arrow]. I doubt many fans are interested.

Anyway, after UNC had sufficiently pulled away from Kentucky, I switched to the Davidson-Oklahoma game, and it was like this auditory crush had been lifted off my chest. I could just enjoy basketball.

Yep, that about sums up ESPN Basketball at this point, and in comparison, much of their coverage across all Sports on the network. I know it's tough to fill so many analyst roles, but for every great analyst (Tom Jackson, Tim Legler, Dan Shulman, Ron Jaworski) and great show (NFL Live, OTL, PTI), you have three times as many distracting and just downright terrible ones (Emmitt Smith, Pam Ward, First Take, Any NBA Show, Skip Bayless, Jay Mariotti, Mike Greenberg, Chris Berman, Joe Morgan, etc.).

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Every time that ESPN takes a few steps forward, in what seems like a matter of minutes, the take a gigantic leap backwards. I like what they've done with College Football, NFL Coverage and the start of College Basketball this year, but for some reason their main shows and announcing teams for each of those entities (I.E.- Monday Night Football and the team of Mike Patrick and Dick Vitale) continue to be terrible.

Let's hope they can phase out the bad elements of each Sport as quickly as possible, and then let the cream rise to the top. Oh and one more thing...."Interactive Tuesday" for Basketball is just as bad as it is for Football.

After college basketball's first two nights, a grade for ESPN (The Dagger)
What we learned watching 24-hours of hoops on ESPN (Game On)
Seriously, Stop With the 'Interactive Tuesday' (The Sporting Blog)

So we've already commented on ESPN's crazy 24-hour night to kickoff the College Basketball season on November 18th, but I wanted to highlight some of the other highlights from the entire set of approximately 1,100(!) games they'll be covering. Obviously a majority of those will be on ESPNU and ESPN360, channels which no one seems to have, but there's still a ton of great matchups through out the year on ESPN and ESPN2.

The network recently issued a three-page press release on the season and here's what I've pulled out that's either new or interesting. It goes without saying that ESPN's College Sports programming is unprecedented and just like College Football, College Basketball coverage is one of the better things the network puts out there. I haven't put the "after the jump" feature back on the site, so I apologize for the length, but it's definitely a good read. Have at it....
______________________________

Notes on New Coverage:

- The new College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon celebrating the beginning of the season with 23 consecutive hours of live college basketball themed programming. Coverage will be highlighted by eight games on ESPN including at midnight ET, 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. and conclude with Kentucky at North Carolina at 9 p.m.
- An expanded Thursday Night Showcase Presented by T. Rowe Price schedule during conference play – generally featuring five games across ESPN and ESPN2 -- with the addition of an 11 p.m. West Coast Conference or Western Athletic Conference game. ESPNU will generally televise two to three games every Thursday.
- A new Saturday night time slot for the Big 12 Conference Championship (March 14 at 6 p.m. on ESPN) and the addition of SEC semifinal games (outside of SEC territory) and three WAC contests

Returning Features:

ESPNU Campus Connection Week, formerly known as Student Spirit Week; Feast Week Presented by Lowe’s; Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers; Rivalry Week Presented by Cisco; ESPNU BracketBusters; Judgment Week and Championship Week Presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Tournaments and Notes:

2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer – ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Nov. 10-21
ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise 10 games of the annual event featuring 16 teams and the championship at Madison Square Garden in New York. Participating teams include Duke, UCLA and Michigan.

O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Nov. 14-25
ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise 10 games of the event featuring a new format of 12 teams competing at four regional sites with the regional hosts (Kansas, Florida, Syracuse and Washington) automatically advancing to the Championship Rounds in Kansas City. The remaining teams will advance to play a round-robin series at one of two other sites.

Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off – ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Nov. 17-28
The networks will combine to present 12 telecasts of the early-season tournament, including the semifinals and championship from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Participating teams include Purdue, Arizona, Boston College, Davidson and Oklahoma.

O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off – ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Nov. 20-23
Networks will televise all 12 games of the second annual event from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Participating teams include Memphis, Xavier, USC, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Missouri, Fairfield and Chattanooga.

EA SPORTS Maui Invitational – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Nov. 24-26
For the fourth straight year every game of the event will be televised. Host Chaminade will be joined by North Carolina, Texas, Notre Dame, Indiana, Oregon, Alabama and St. Joseph’s.

76 Classic– ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Nov. 27-30
All 12 games of the second annual event from Anaheim, Calif. will be televised. Participating teams include Wake Forest, Baylor, Providence, Arizona State and St. Mary’s (Calif.), Cal State-Fullerton, UTEP and Charlotte.

Old Spice Classic – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Nov. 27-30
Networks will televise all 12 games of the third annual event from Orlando, Fla. Participating teams include Gonzaga, Tennessee, Georgetown, Michigan State, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Siena and Wichita State.

ACC/Big Ten Challenge – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Dec. 1-3
This marks the seventh consecutive year every game of the event will be televised on ESPN between the two conferences playing for the Commissioner’s Cup.

Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series – ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com, Dec. 4-7
ESPN2 and ESPNU will televise five matchups of the annual event between two of the top conferences.

Jimmy V Men’s Basketball Classic – ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 9
The 14th annual Jimmy V Men’s Basketball Classic will showcase four elite programs in an ESPN doubleheader December 9. For the fifth consecutive year, New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden will host the two-game, college basketball showcase: Davidson vs. West Virginia at 7 p.m. followed by Texas vs. Villanova at 9 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

SEC/BIG EAST Invitational – ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Dec. 16-18
ESPN and ESPN2 will televise all four matchups of the second annual event between the two premier conferences from two neutral sites (Nashville and Cincinnati).

Weekly Schedule:

Big Monday: A weekly ESPN doubleheader featuring the BIG EAST and Big 12 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively.
Super Tuesday Presented by KFC: Big Ten, SEC doubleheader on ESPN as well as a weekly ESPN2 primetime matchup featuring various conferences.
Wednesday Night Hoops: A weekly Big 12 game on ESPN2 as well as weekly conference games featuring additional conferences such as the ACC and BIG EAST.
Thursday Night Showcase: An expanded Thursday night schedule with an additional 11 p.m. ESPN2 window featuring a WCC or WAC game in addition to a BIG EAST and Big Ten matchup every week on ESPN or ESPN2 as well as action from the ACC, Atlantic 10, Pac-10 and SEC.
Saturdays: Afternoon and evening games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU from top conferences including ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Conference USA. Saturday Primetime, a 9 p.m. game-of-the-week on ESPN, will begin January 17 with Miami at North Carolina.

College Gameday Schedule:

Miami at North Carolina (January 17th)
Connecticut at Notre Dame (January 24th)
Florida at Tennessee (January 31st
Memphis at Gonzaga (February 7th)
Ohio State at Wisconsin (February 14th)
Oklahoma at Texas (February 21st)
UCLA at California (February 28th)
Louisville at West Virginia (March 7th)

List of Better "Out of Conference" Matchups:

Massachusetts at Memphis (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Nov. 18 at midnight)
Kentucky at North Carolina (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Nov. 18 at 9 p.m.)
Indiana vs. Notre Dame (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m.)
Syracuse vs. Florida (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m.)
Maryland vs. Michigan State (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m.)
North Carolina vs. Michigan State (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 3 at 9:15 p.m.)
USC at Oklahoma (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.)
UCLA at Texas (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Dec. 4 at 9 p.m.)
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame (ESPNU, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m.)
Miami at Kentucky (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m.)
Wisconsin at Marquette (ESPNU, Dec. 6 at 9:30 p.m.)
Davidson vs. West Virginia (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.)
Texas vs. Villanova (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 9 at 9 p.m.)
Tennessee at Temple (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 13 at noon)
Utah at Oklahoma (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m.)
Marquette vs. Tennessee (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 16 at 9:30 p.m.)
Temple at Kansas (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Dec. 20 at 2:30 p.m.)
Syracuse at Memphis (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m.)
Butler at Xavier (ESPNU, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m.)
Texas at Wisconsin (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Dec. 23 at 9:30 p.m.)
North Carolina at Nevada (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Dec. 31 at 10 p.m.)
Tennessee at Kansas (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m.)
Davidson at Duke (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.)
Gonzaga at Tennessee (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Jan. 7 at 9 p.m.)
Xavier at LSU (ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.)
Memphis at Gonzaga (ESPN and ESPN360.com, Feb. 7 at 9 p.m.)
_______________________________

So there you have it. A ton of great stuff this year, and I'll have more on the announcers and schedules as they're released.

Just wanted to touch on ESPN's Ryder Cup coverage quickly this afternoon as the morning matches come to an end. I've said before that the network's College Football coverage is head and shoulders above all the other Sports on the "Leader", but after taking in the U.S. Open and today's Ryder Cup coverage, it's safe to say that Golf is coming awfully close to matching it.

If you compare ESPN's Golf coverage to CBS' there's a bit more of a tendancy to over-explain aspects of the game, but there's nothing really wrong with that. I think the big thing with the Ryder Cup is explaining the format, and what wins and matchups actually mean leading up to the afternoon play and the Tournament as a whole. Mike Tirico is spot on and Andy North compliments him almost seamlessly. Both of them also work well with the on-course group of Judy Rankin, Bill Kratzert (although Rankin has described just about every shot as "very hard" this morning) and they have the ex-Golf Networker Van Pelt to round everything out. I could deal without Tom Rinaldi, but we're being positive today so I'll pass on him.

It's easy to focus on the negative in these parts because there's so much of it, but I'm really impressed with the improvements that ESPN has made to their Golf game. As far as the tournament itself, the Americans are actually winning early on and the afternoon four-ball matches are going to be a blast. If anything crazy happens I'll be sure to have the video, but if you can get off work early to watch some of the matches, definitely do so.

A Look At ESPN's Ryder Cup Coverage (Awful Announcing)

In its first year on ESPN, MNF decided that it would be smart to cross promote ABC shows all while the game was going on. The likes of Emmitt Smith (only talking DWTS), Hank Williams Jr talked about nothing while Christian Slater and James Denton battled to see who could piss off the audience more. While they did a much better job of keeping the guests in tune with the game in 2007 (Deanna Favre was amazing in October and the return of Jimmy Kimmel was hilarious), we still had to endure the likes of Drew Caray talking Soccer, Jimmy Johnson & Jeff Gordon talking nonsense, Russell Crowe talking Rugby, John C. Reilly talking "Dewey Cox" and my personal favorite Vince Vaughn talking about nothing.

The whole idea reeked of forcing reality shows and crappy movies down our throats. People could smell it from a mile away and weren't happy about it. Every mainstream site and blog hammered them for it and rightfully so.

Fast forward to today....After hearing accounts from people who attended the ESPN Monday Night Football Luncheon that took place in New York on Monday, (yes AA was invited, yes AA thought it was a trap so he didn't go) it seems to me that ESPN is attempting a re-branding of sorts for Monday Night Football. And, according to multiple sources, including Neil Best of Newsday, ESPN might not have any guests at all this season!

But here's a snippet that might even be newsworthy: When I asked producer Jay Rothman for his best guess about the number of booth guests this season, now that Brett Favre will be unavailable for the opener at Lambeau, he said, "Zero."

Then he added, "We may pull something off the eve of the election, but if we do we’ll do so at halftime."

Umm . . . the election? Was he referring to the President of the United States, perhaps?

"I don't know," Rothman said.

Umm . . . where is the game the night before the election?

Rothman: "Washington, D.C."

ZERO?!?! Well how about that? ESPN has been hammered over the past few years for being stubborn and not listening to their fans, but I think that's somewhat changing. Obviously not everyone can have what they want, but it's good that they understand how distracting and pointless a lot of those guests were and that they're (theoretically) making a change.

I also don't really have problems with guests as long as they are somehow linked to the game at hand. It would also be understandable to have the President on as well before the election. But inviting "Desperate Housewives" actor James Denton on, when he clearly knows nothing about Football, might have possibly been the worst decision in the history of Sports Television. I'm just saying.

President Bush to visit 'MNF' booth Nov. 3? (Newsday)

I'm sure those involved with this changeover have been in rehearsals and meeting for what seems like forever, so I'm sure this didn't take too long for them to come up with. It's still an interesting look at presumably what the new Sports Center format will look like come Monday.

Alternate Headline: "ESPN Sports Center: The Play"

Your players for this afternoon's production of the "July 31st MLB Trade Deadline" are: Anchors Josh Elliott and Hannah Storm, Jason Stark, Ed Werder, Trey Wingo, Wendi Nix, John Kruk and various reporters throughout the country.

9 AM:

- Elliott presents latest on the Ken Griffey, Jr. possible trade to the White Sox. -ESPN MLB Insider Jason Stark presents his insight into Girffey-to-White Sox, and updates the Manny Ramirez out-of-Boston possibility.
- Storm updates the Team USA basketball game being played during SportsCenter.
- Storm presents the latest on the Brett Favre/Packers situation.
- ESPN NFL Insider Ed Werder presents his insight into Favre’s possible reinstatement.
- Storm and Elliott voice-over re-packaged highlights from the previous night, and present analysis of the previous day's events and news.
- Storm and Elliott read e-mails sent to the SportsCenter inbox reacting to the Manny trade rumors.

10 AM:

- Elliott updates the Griffey trade possibility.
- Chicago Tribune White Sox beat writer provides insight and the Chicago take on the possible Griffey trade.
- Trey Wingo, hosting ESPN’s coverage of Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony, reports live from Canton, Ohio.
- SportsCenter simulcasts Chicago’s ESPN 1000 (WMVP) to present live fan/listener reaction to the White Sox apparent acquisition of Griffey.
- Storm updates the Ramirez trade possibilities.
- SportsCenter.com poll: “Should the Red Sox Trade Manny” Yes/No
- Pirates reporter from ESPN Radio 1250 WEAE in Pittsburgh provides insight on the possible three-way trade involving the Pirates and gives Pittsburgh’s perspective.
- Elliott and Storm present news and analysis from the previous day, voice-over re-packaged highlights from the previous night, and preview the day’s key upcoming games.

11 AM:

- Storm updates Favre situation.
- ESPN reporter Wendi Nix, in Green Bay, presents latest Favre news and the city’s perspective. - Storm voices-over highlights from just concluded Team USA basketball game.
- Elliott updates Ramirez out-of-Boston possibility with news Los Angeles could be part of a three-way deal.
- Dodgers’ reporter from ESPN Radio 710 KSPN in Los Angeles provides insight on the possible three-way trade involving the Dodgers, and gives Los Angeles perspective.
- ESPN Baseball Tonight analysts provide insight into the swirling trade activity.
Elliott and Storm present the play-off implications of the afternoon’s MLB games.
- ESPN’s John Kruk gives his analysis on the afternoon’s big MLB games.
- Storm reports that Griffey has approved his trade to the White Sox.
- Storm interviews Cincinnati Enquirer Reds reporter who confirms the Reds will pay the $4 million remaining on Griffey’s 2008 contract.
- Piece on Griffey’s career and legacy is followed by debate by ESPN2’s First Take “First and 10” panelists.
- Elliott and Storm present news and analysis from the previous day, voice-over re-packaged highlights from the previous night, and preview the day’s key upcoming games.
- During the final break, Elliott makes a few notes preparing for his afternoon blog on SportsCenter.com.

Noon:

- Chris McKendry and Robert Flores enter the studio to co-anchor three all-new hours of SportsCenter (noon-3 p.m.).

I think I could do without the First and 10 segment, but the rest of the timeline looks pretty on target. The bullet point where they would be updating people on the current Team USA game is a perfect example of what will draw people in and it's also perfect for this Summer's Olympics and events like the World Cup. Also, whoever came up with the idea to add live fan commentary via an ESPN Radio simulcast is a damn genius. Loooooking good ESPN....there's still time to mess this up though (I kid, I kid)!

Oh and hey, lookie right there....last item at 11am....a Josh Elliott blog! Welcome to the 'Sphere my friend. Leave your journalistic credibility and grammar at the door on your way in!!!

(Via ESPN PR)

I guess it's a natural occurrence when you're a global company, but some days it amazes me just how much ESPN is actually in the regular news. The latest "controversy" the "Leader" finds themselves mired in is with matchmaking company Ashley Madison. ESPN has asked its local affiliates to pull an ad for the dating website that matches potential adulterers with people willing to help them cheat on their spouse....

Amy Phillips, a spokeswoman for ESPN -- which is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News -- said that the sports channel has asked its local affiliates to stop running an ad for AshleyMadison.com, a Web site that connects would-be cheaters with potential mates.

Phillips would not say why the channel decided to pull the ad.

Noel Biderman, the president of AshleyMadison.com, who learned of ESPN's decision from an ABCNews.com reporter, said he felt that "a double standard" had been applied to his company with respect to advertising.

He said ESPN is "inundated" with advertisements for alcohol, a product "responsible for health issues and ultimately death."

"Somehow I'm immoral and everything else is OK," he said.

AshleyMadison.com boasts a membership of more than 2.2 million. For $49, members can create profiles and send e-mails and instant messages to each other. A slogan on the company's homepage reads "Life is Short. Have an Affair."

The 35-second commercial shows an unhappy-looking man lying in bed alongside a snoring woman. As he gets up and leaves the bedroom, a narrator's voice declares, "Most of us can recover from a one-night stand with the wrong woman, but not when it's every night for the rest of our lives. Isn't it time for AshleyMadison.com?"

This is certainly an obvious choice for ESPN to make, and the alcohol angle is just asinine, so good for them. Other channels like Spike TV have pulled the ads as well, but you can still see the spots on Larry King Live and Anderson 360 in the near future as CNN hasn't decided to nix them or not yet. Good times America!

Extramarital Affair Ad Gets Axed (ABC News)

I honestly thought that ESPN was out of the blogging business, but apparently they were just getting started. ESPN.com has finished its roster of ex-newspaper reporters and has officially what it's calling the "ESPN Football Blog Network". There are eight NFL bloggers, one for each conference, and seven (soon to be eight) College writers for specific conferences. Here are the details....

With the launch of the Football Blog Network, ESPN has hired 14 leading reporters and columnists from news organizations across the country to author the individual blogs (one position, blogging about the Big East, remains to be filled). Collectively, the group boasts more than 125 years of writing and reporting experience, though each brings a distinct style and voice to their blog and specific region of focus. Each blogger will provide fans both with a filter for significant developments regarding their favorite teams and expert journalistic insight and access.

Professional Football
NFC East – Matt Mosley – formerly of Dallas Morning News (previously authored Hashmarks blog on ESPN.com);
NFC West – Mike Sando – formerly of Tacoma News Tribune;
NFC North – Kevin Seifert – formerly of Minneapolis Star-Tribune;
NFC South – Pat Yasinkas – formerly of Charlotte Observer;
AFC West – Bill Williamson – formerly of Denver Post;
AFC North – James Walker – formerly of Columbus Dispatch;
AFC South – Paul Kuharsky – formerly of The Tennessean;
AFC East – Tim Graham – formerly of Palm Beach Post.

College Football
ACC – Heather Dinich – formerly of Baltimore Sun;
PAC 10 – Ted Miller – formerly of Seattle Post-Intelligencer;
Big 12 – Tim Griffin – formerly of San Antonio Express-News;
Big Ten – Adam Rittenberg – formerly of Chicago Daily Herald;
SEC – Chris Low – formerly of The Tennessean and Rivals.com;
Big East – TBD;
Independents/additional conferences - Graham Watson – formerly of St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

This is definitely an interesting move considering the network's long stand against the blogging format, but seemingly a good idea. Every reporter has covered their specific conference before, and as long as they don't try to turn them into TV stars, this might actually work. More information is always a good thing.

On a side note, I would have rather them tried (and I think they would have had more success) trying this in the almost barren College Basketball scene, but you can't fault them for the attempt.

(Via ESPN PR)

It's no secret that ESPN has devoted a lot of money and time into building up their ESPN Films brand. They've come a long way from "3" and have had films featured at the Tribeca Film Festival the last two years. Their newest effort is a program titled "30 for 30" and will feature 30, 1-hour films by 30 different filmmakers, and the topic has to be a Sports' story from the last 30 years.

Even more interesting than the idea are the first few people they've tabbed to be directors. The short list includes Spike Lee and none other than "Mummy Lover" Steve Nash....

By year end, ESPN Films will have televised nine documentaries on ESPN and ESPN2. In addition, five filmmakers were named for the company’s “30 for 30” initiative which will create 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers on a subject from the past 30 years in sports, to begin airing in September 2009 (ESPN’s 30th anniversary) through 2010: Famed director Spike Lee (When the Levees Broke), two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA and Shut Up & Sing), Oscar nominee Mike Tollin (Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream), two-time NBA MVP and film entrepreneur, Steve Nash, and the rising star duo of Alfred Spelman and Billy Corbin (Cocaine Cowboys).

As I've noted before, I'm addicted to documentaries and if you haven't seen Cocaine Cowboys it's a must to add to your Netflix list. Any movie where a speedboat traveling with pounds of cocaine in its hull pulls over to aid a broken down Coast Guard boat, is a must see in my book.

As far as the other films, Steve Nash's piece will look into Canadian athlete and Cancer survivor Terry Fox and Spike Lee's will follow Kobe Bryant for an entire gameday. I poked fun at ESPN Films when they first released movies at Tribeca, but these documentaries are one of things that a network with incomparable resources does very well.

(Via ESPN PR)

ESPN has been through the ringer over the past year after the emergence of blogs and even mainstream media not always buying what the "Leader" was selling. There were multiple on-air, print and "roast" instances and there was even a Power Point sent around that tried to deter advertisers from working with the network. It's tough when you're at the top, whether the criticism is justified or not.

Well you can add the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch to the list of critics and they don't seem to be pulling any punches....

It's one thing for a journalist to see a quip fall flat, but it's another when people feel abused. To ESPN's shame, some of its employees have insulted the audience on several occasions with lowbrow or boorish behavior.

(Lists Jacobson, Jemele Hill and Bonnie Bernstein as examples)

John Walsh, executive editor of ESPN, cautioned me to "consider the volume (of content that) our company produces" and said: "I don't think it's a cause for a pattern or trend." ESPN's staff shouldn't try so hard to be controversial. The network would have fewer embarrassments.

"We'd rather the scoreboard says none," Walsh said. "But if the scoreboard says three (examples), we endure." He called them "three separate instances" and added: "Trying to group them together, I think, would not be a wise thing for you."

Then call me unwise, Mr. Walsh. I'm not buying your argument.

In the news business, journalists will chalk up something out of the ordinary as an aberration. But when it happens twice, we wonder if it is a pattern. By the third time, it can reasonably be called a trend.

ESPN rejects the idea that there is a pattern of recklessness in its ranks, but I'm not so sure.

The whole thing is really a fascinating read and even looks back at what ESPN used to do well and how it has changed over the years. The interesting thing to note for the future is, as more and more mainstream publications continue to lambaste the network, how will they respond? It seems like the network will take a couple steps forward (new Sports Center format, V Foundation work, Euro 2008, changing S.A.S' role) and then just leap back (NBA/NFL Draft, Titletown, continuing to employ Joe Morgan), so much so that they seem worse off than they were before.

I do somewhat agree with Mr. Walsh that incidents will undoubtedly take place with all the coverage that the network has. The issue though is the degree to which those incidents have hurt individuals or groups in the past. Up until recently most hadn't been punished and probably weren't even addressed. The question now is whether ESPN listens to its critics or just ignores them and plows ahead for that almighty dollar ultimately turning the network into Sports' version of MTV.

No entity, company, or medium is perfect. Not TV, newspapers, radio, or blogs. But if you're going to claim to be the "Leader" of anything.....you should try and come as close to that level as possible.

ESPN: The sports leader in embarrassment (Market Watch)

I know there are people who both like and hate Dan Shulman around these parts (just like every announcer), but I honestly think he's the best thing ESPN has in their stable of broadcasters. He's funny, concise, works well with others and most importantly knows the game he's calling....and he calls a lot of them. From Toronto's Post City Mag via My Hog Town....

While not exactly Willie Loman, Shulman spends more time on the road than any other announcer in the biz. Shulman estimates he does close to 120 games a year, and as no NCAA and only a handful of NBA or MLB games happen in Toronto, every game is a road game.

For now, Shulman’s hoops duties are over. As the NBA playoffs chug to their conclusion, he’ll shift back to baseball where he calls Monday night MLB games for ESPN.

It’s a different game than basketball. The pace is slower, and it requires much more informative chit- chat to pass the time between pitches, but Shulman makes the transition look seamless, thanks to his time with the Jays.

“On my first play-by-play job back in 1995, Buck Martinez was my partner, and we envisioned a good broadcast as two guys sitting in a bar talking about baseball. I’ve always tried to be very conversational,” he says.

It's easy to say what he and Martinez did ahead of time, but to pull it without being annoying and overbearing (like most people at a bar) is pretty impressive. Again, if you know the game and you don't try to make it about yourself people will take notice. You may not get the accolades, or the love/hate response from the masses, but you'll definitely get respect. The rest well come in time.

This Thornhill dad on his rise from insurance actuary to the voice of basketball on America’s top sports network, ESPN (Post City Magazine)

There's nothing more that I like than crazy auction items. I wish I was a multi-millionaire so I could just bid on nonsense all day long to keep me entertained. With that said, I would most certainly bid on this....

The opening bid for Mike & Mike to broadcast from a listener’s home will be $0.99 while most of the other online auction items will begin at a $1.99. Items available online will include autographed jerseys, footballs, basketballs, baseballs, collectible cars, helmets, boxing gloves, books, collector’s player cards and photos.

ESPN Radio’s “experiences” will range from special access ticket packages to sporting events and trips to ESPN’s headquarters.

“I've never arrived at anyone's house empty-handed,” said Greenberg. “This time I'm bringing a few million friends. Not sure the etiquette on that, perhaps a fruit basket, which makes a lovely gift.”

Sound like a blast! I could even live-blog the whole thing!!! Actually in all seriousness the proceeds go to the V Foundation and ESPN Radio does something similar to this every year. Last year ESPN raised over $800K for Cancer research, so if you are a millionaire, or even a hundred-thousandaire, bid on something from July 6 through July 16. And if you DO win this specific prize....I want on the guest list!

It's also the Summer which means more awesome and tear-jerking segments of My Wish on Sports Center. This is by far and away some of the best work that ESPN does all year long and this installment should be no different. The pieces run June 29th through July 3rd and feature the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, the Cleveland Indians, Shaquille O’Neal, Mexican soccer star Cuauhtémoc Blanco and amazingly former Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones.

(Via ESPN PR)

I told you the other day that ESPN was trying to get the opening rounds of the British Open back, and they're have been widespread rumors about various Soccer Leagues the network wants to add. Well the Wall Street Journal is reporting that ESPN is in talks with the NFL to acquire the NFL Network....

According to the Wall Street Journal, Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN cable sports network is in talks to form a partnership with the National Football League's NFL Network, according to people familiar with the situation. Steven Bornstein, chief executive of the NFL Network and previously chairman of ESPN and president of Disney's ABC network, has been holding high-level discussions with Disney executives in recent weeks, according to several people familiar with the situation. Some team owners have been briefed on the discussions, and Disney CEO Robert Iger and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have been involved.

One possible scenario could be a combination of the NFL Network with the ESPN Classic network, which has relatively low ratings but wide distribution on expanded basic tiers. ESPN would likely use its market weight and its eight additional games to seek higher subscription fees than the 16 or 17 cents it currently receives for ESPN Classic, boosting rates to something closer to what the NFL network has been seeking, according to Derek Baine, a senior analyst for SNL Kagan. Under such a scenario, ESPN and the NFL could form a joint venture and share revenue, or ESPN could take an equity stake in the channel.

"We have a long-term and extensive relationship with the NFL and to that end we are always in discussions with them about mutual projects," says Mike Soltys, vice-president of communications for ESPN.

I wonder what ESPN's response would be if you asked them the interview question, "Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?" I'm guessing it would be along the lines of, "owning the world." While this is actually bad news for Soccer fans who were hoping for ESPN Classic to turn into ESPN3 and show primarily Soccer, it's good news for NFL fans. I know a ton of people don't have the NFL Network and a move to ESPN Classic would give innumerable fans a chance to catch the Thursday games (and one Saturday contest) who haven't before.

Again, ESPN's problems aren't in their programming department and a move like this would be a no-brainer if they could pull it off.

NFL in Talks With ESPN, In Bid to End Cable Battle (WSJ-$)

I originally wrote this for posting over at Sporting News, but I wanted to share it in this spot as well. I don't know if you watched the Sports Center Special last night on ESPN, but if you missed it I tried to capture it's greatness as much I could.

ESPN Actually Does Something Cool With Its Celtics-Lakers Coverage (The Sporting Blog)

When I wrote about the NBA Finals late in the day on Monday the obvious angle to note was the Jimmy Kimmel appearance. Well that was certainly not the case after Tuesday night. ESPN's re-airing of Game Six of the 1987 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics was some of the best programming I've seen the channel ever air. But before we get into the clips and the show itself I want to share with you the reason that I didn't even mention it in the Finals preview the other night. I think this section of the press release speaks for itself....

SportsCenter NBA Finals Special Tuesday on ESPN
ESPN will televise a three-hour primetime SportsCenter NBA Finals Special devoted to Game 6 of the 1987 NBA Finals – the last time the Celtics and Lakers met in The Finals – Tuesday, June 3, at 7 p.m. The Lakers defeated the Celtics, with Magic Johnson earning MVP honors. The telecast will include game footage, interviews with participants, and a look ahead at the 2008 NBA Finals.

I know that sound far from boring but it was nothing compared with what they actually did on Tuesday night. Matt Winer and Tim Legler hosted an over 3-hour replay of on of the Lakers-Celtics most intense games and not only did they not interrupt the game itself but they even brought in some of the old players between breaks in the action. Dick Stockton and Tommy Heisohn were on the call that night and not only did they interview the play-by-play man Stockton, but they also sat down with the face of CBS at the time Brent Musburger. Here are some of the highlights....

I can't stress enough how much this idea worked on multiple levels. First the obvious is that it was a vehicle to promote the 2008 Finals. There's never anything wrong with advertising your product, but this show did that and more. The simplicity of the original broadcast, along with the unobtrusive and fan-like demeanor of Winer and Legler let the rivalry speak for itself. The addition of all of the media folks and the announcers was just the icing on the cake.

The game itself took us back to a time where Dick Stockton was at the top of his game and Tommy Heisohn added an unbelievable amount of unbiased commentary. There were no explosions, there were no intrusive and useless sideline reporters, and there was no crappy music or obtrusive graphics. It was just ridiculously talented Basketball players who hated each other waging war, and it was awesome.

Now that's not to say that today's game is bad (it most certainly isn't most of the time). Sure the game back then was different and you're not likely to see Kobe go and shake the Celtics' Coaches hands (ala Kareem Abdul Jabar in 1987 as he leaves the game), but the allure of this year's Finals to NBA fans is just as great as it was back then. Of course there's not seven (seven!) future Hall of Famers playing in Game One this Thursday, but it's still going to be fun. I don't know who came up with this idea over at Bristol HQ, but it's one of the best things the network has done in the past 10 years. Hopefully they re-air it for those that missed it.

ESPN Actually Does Something Cool With Its Celtics-Lakers Coverage (The Sporting Blog)

I don't know what's going on over in Bristol, but ESPN's coverage of Soccer has actually gotten really good. They're airing the UEFA Champions League Final next Wednesday and then go into the month long Euro 2008 Tournament. ESPN is going to start promoting for Euro '08 heavily and has already released ads featuring the Countries of Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy.

Here are two of the five ads (for Portugal and Germany), EPL Talk has the rest. Enjoy Portugal and Germany!

I can't wait to see what they put together for Croatia!

ESPN Launches Ads to Promote Euro 2008 TV Coverage (EPL Talk)

The Patriots are upset at just about everyone that ran with this and the Patriots' President Jon Kraft has some words for ESPN as well....

"I don't. If you guys can get any of them on the air -- I would argue that there are certain people at ESPN.com who have shown journalistic standards that really are not up to snuff. And the Times, give the Times credit for one thing, they gave us a chance to comment the day before and they actually took some of our comments and realized that certain parts of what they were about to write that were wrong, but there were other things that they still decided to print."

Hmmm, I wonder who he's talking about? Could his name rhyme with Schmortensen??? I kid, I kid. There were certainly people at ESPN (Easterbrook) who ran roughshod with the story as well, and they did a good job of throwing the Herald under the bus last week on ESPN Radio, but ESPN seemed willing to do the background work that the Herald wouldn't do. They still certainly jumped the gun in a few instances on ESPN.com, but in all fairness most ESPN shows (Sports Center, NFL Live) and "talking heads" still referred to the Herald

It seems like to me the Pats are really just reacting to being portrayed in a negative light for the first time by the "Leader". There are a lot of people to blame in this whole mess, but in the end the Patriots still cheated. Not to the degree rumored by the Herald, but none of this would even be an issue if they hadn't.

(P.S.- This is the last post on this....I promise.)

Jon Kraft (WEEI)
Patriots President Jonathan Kraft: ESPN.com Journalistic Standards Not Up to Snuff (Fanhouse)

You can't really make fun of a network for taking on a set of Public Service Announcements about men's health issues, but you can certainly make fun of the way they do it. According to the NY Times, ESPN with the help of their ad agency is creating a set of PSAs to run on their networks for free over the next month or so, and AA has your first look. Enjoy the likes of Mike & Mike, Stu Scott, and Jim Rome talking to you about your health!

I don't know how I feel about a picture of a colon over Stuart Scott's shoulder, but it was entertaining none the less. In all seriousness the commercials themselves might a little ridiculous, but good for ESPN to tap into their target audience with an important message. And they're doing it for free, so that says something as well.

ESPN Campaign Urges Men to Seek Preventive Health Care (NY Times)

There's no getting around the fact that ESPN is huge and it does in fact do a lot of things well. Even as Al Michaels was calling the people who yell on many shows that ESPN airs "gasbags", I found myself getting ready to punch the channel numbers into my remote. Mike Tirico at one point last night even tried to use the whole "you can change the channel, we're not the only game in town" line. The problem with that line is that it's completely false. They ARE pretty much the only game in town and I think these number prove that. ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN News all had their best April ever....

ESPN averaged 746,000 homes on a 24-hour basis, up 21 percent from April 2007 (617,000) and the most ever for the month. The network was boosted by larger audiences for the NBA playoffs, Major League Baseball and SportsCenter, as well as the addition of The Masters, which provided cable’s most-watched golf telecast in history.

ESPN2 averaged 255,000 homes, its best ever for April and up nine percent from last year (233,000). The network also set marks in Men 18-49 and 25-54. The live weekday morning lineup – ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning (6 – 10 a.m. ET) and FirstTake (10 a.m. – noon) – continues to grow its audience. That six-hour block averaged 201,000 homes, up 41 percent from April a year ago (143,000)

In April, ESPNEWS averaged a record 62,000 homes, up 11 percent from a year ago (56,000). It was the 24th consecutive month of household growth for ESPNEWS. The network debuted in high definition March 30 with a new set, graphics and music.

A 750K average over a full day is a ridiculous number for a cable channel and especially one that isn't News based (well non-Sports News I mean). I guess if it isn't broke then they won't be doing any fixing anytime soon.

(Via ESPN PR)

I watched most of ESPN's Masters Coverage today and wanted to share a video and a few words. I might be jumping to this conclusion a bit too quickly but without Chris Berman involved the two (well three actually) day span covering the major Golf tournament could rival College Gameday as the best produced event/show on the network.

Mike Tirico is solid and seems to really be enjoying himself and Van Pelt's work with Andy North was stellar as well. If you're working tomorrow you can check it out online or be sure to TIVO it. It's one of the last true portrayal of a Sport without people yelling over one another and over-the-top graphics. I don't say this often, but great job today ESPN. The Par 3 Contest was fun to watch and the previews of the tournament, the course and there players were all well done. Including this one....

(P.S.- I put the vacation post up before I wanted to, so you have to deal with me for a few more posts. I'm heading out first thing tomorrow, so I'll try to get some things up before I head out)