I don't think I've seen Rick Reilly on ESPN's airwaves since the PGA Championship, but that's not stopping ESPN from giving their 5-year, 17+ million dollar man, his own show. Beginning this Friday, Reilly will be sitting down with various stars for a six-part series called "Homecoming" on ESPN2. The craziest part about the interviews....they're going to be hour-long sitdowns! Via ESPN PR....

ESPN2's new series -- Homecoming -- challenges that old adage "you can't go home again." Hosted by 10-time Sportswriter of the Year Rick Reilly, Homecoming will debut Friday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. ET with an episode on Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C. The following week, Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway returns to Van Nuys, Calif. The shows are the first two of a six-part series featuring one-on-one, hour-long interviews of today’s top names in sports from the towns and cities where they grew up. In the first episode, Hamilton is surrounded by friends, family and teammates at Athens Drive High School, where his life and career were first nurtured en route to him becoming the first overall draft pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999. His career was derailed by injuries and addictions in 2001, but with the help of his family and friends, and with great resolve, he reclaimed his life and his swing. Hamilton's recovery was noted by his mesmerizing performance at the 2008 MLB All-Star Home Run Contest.

I think I'd check out the Josh Hamilton piece, but I could honestly care less about John Elway's high school. Hopefully ESPN steps it up for the rest of the interviews. I'm guessing, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lance Armstrong and either Sammy Sosa or Barry Bonds.

I'm not sure how Kansas Football fans started the chant, "Rip His F'ing Head Off!" (taken from the movie Waterboy), but it's safe to say that they're rethinking it now that ESPN's cameras are coming to town. KU's student paper, Daily Kansan, is spearheading a plan to get the chant banned and so far it's been met with mixed reviews. From the KC Star via Wiz of Odds....

Ever since the chant began years ago — based off a line from the 1998 Adam Sandler comedy, “The Waterboy” — Leddy’s has been the prevailing logic. But this week, Vineyard and the rest of the KU students are going to hear a different message about the potentially embarrassing chant as the Jayhawks’ home game against Colorado on ESPN2 approaches.

KU senior Matt Erickson, the editor of the University Daily Kansan, is leading a student-driven initiative to stop the chant. Last Friday, Erickson met with associate athletic director for external relations Jim Marchiony, director of university relations Todd Cohen, student body president Adam McGonigle and linebacker Mike Rivera, among others, to come up with a fresh game plan.

“The administration can talk about how it’s hurting the university’s image, how we shouldn’t do it,” said Erickson, an Olathe native, “but a lot of college students have the mentality that they’re not going to listen to what authorities say. We thought if some students stepped out, that would have more influence.”

Erickson has been going to KU games since his freshman year. He says the chant existed then, but it wasn’t very loud or organized. Of course, times have changed. The Jayhawks are defending Orange Bowl champions, hosting nationally televised games, and the student section is packed. The chant can be heard on TV, and, after Colorado, all three of the Jayhawks’ remaining home games have potential for a national broadcast.

I'm all for fans doing or saying whatever they want at a Football game, but that one is certainly a bit over-the-top. It's one thing if it's just in the student section, but when families and little kids hear that stuff, that's when I think somebody should step in. Here's a brief, albeit a NSFW one, of the chant....



Seems relatively contained, but we'll see if the movement takes hold this Saturday.

Kansas officials and students work to quash obscene chant (KC Star)
'Rip His (Expletive) Head Off!" (The Wizard of Odds)

Obviously a network can't sit still in this ever-changing Sports environment but in the collection of ESPN ideas, this is definitely a stretch. The "Leader" is apparently toying with the idea of turning ESPN2 into a late night talk show Sports haven which will include a "Daily Show" of Sports. From Deadspin via Broadcasting and Cable....

ESPN wants to build out a new late-night presence on ESPN2, but probably won't return to scripted programming anytime soon, according to senior network executives.

ESPN2 is hoping to launch its hour-long late-night entry, ESPN Timeline, next April, but the ideal plan is to eventually expand to a 90-120-minute late-night block. ESPN has been soliciting and taking pitches for months for a more comedic-oriented potential companion show.

"It is something we would like to do," says John Skipper, ESPN executive VP of content.

But the first step would be to get Timeline up and running. The network has no format as of yet, but foresees a multi-person chatfest about the latest in sports. ESPN execs envision a panel of personalities, ranging from ESPN anchors to possibly a comedian well-versed in the sports world—along the lines of Frank Caliendo of Fox Sports and TBS.

Once Timeline is up and running, ESPN would like to add a more comedic-slanted show to follow it. A sports version of The Daily Show has been discussed.

"That's the holy grail," says ESPN senior vice president of content development and enterprises Keith Clinkscales. "But I don't know what it will be; it depends on talent. We remain open to different opportunities."

The only thing that ESPN currently has going for itself is that the majority of its humor and talent already resides late night. The eleven o'clock Sports Center is the best thing on the network these days and I would definitely be interested in checking out what some of those personalities could come up with. The only problem is that ESPN already shot itself in the foot with the name "Frank Caliendo". I don't hate the guy but there is not a more stale act that you could tab these days.

Oh wait....yes there is....Nick Bakay and/or the Sklar Brothers. And guess who routinely employs them? You got it.....ESPN. I also know they'd get Mike and Mike involved somehow.

ESPN to Go Deeper Into Late Night (Broadcasting Cable)
ESPN Still Desperately Wants To Be Cool Again (Deadspin)

As I sat down to enjoy a night of television last night (the worst night of the week btw) I was flipping around and I decided to check what was on ESPN during a night with no Baseball or Basketball for the network. What was on? F'ing Poker.

I'm so sick of Poker that I actually get mad when it's on television (especially tourneys from 2006). So I went looking through YouTube today for Sports that they could use to fill the time and came across Cup Staking. I know it's been on the "Leader" before, but given that ESPN missed out on this eventual National Champion, it's time to bring it back. Via Barstool Sports....

Sure the kid's highlights were on Sports Center, but come on.....this needs to alternate with Karate contests and Timbersports as the only Sports on ESPN2 outside of Basketball and Baseball. I would never change the channel.

Boston (kid) Wins World Sports Stacking Championships! (Barstool Sports)

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)

It's been no secret that ESPN has been focusing a lot of their efforts on creating and distributing Sports films to the masses as of late. ESPN Films has been a staple at the Tribeca Film Festival the past few years and their "Black Magic" documentary got critical acclaim.

The newest set of films were set to debut at the TFF at the end of this Month, but ESPN has decided to air them on ESPN2 the day before the Festival kicks off.

On April 22 at 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2 will begin airing the first of four inspirational and revealing documentary films - all making their televised world premieres – as part of the new ESPN Films initiative. The slate will feature: Hellfighters (about an against-all-odds high school football team); The Streak (about a high school wrestling team’s 34-year win streak); Bud Greenspan: At the Heart of the Games (about the famed Olympics filmographer) and The Zen of Bobby V (about Bobby Valentine and baseball in Japan).

I brought this up only because I remember a lot of you said that films seemed interesting when I first posted on this. The larger question though is what ESPN is planning to do with ESPN2. Anything is better than poker and pool at this point.

(Via ESPN)

I don't even know how this is possible, but something very strange is going on with ESPN2's ratings. According to MediaPost.com ESPN and ESPN2 have the best ratings during the commercial that the respective networks air. ESPN2 rates first at 104% and ESPN comes in at 97.7%. Now I really have no idea how those things are measured, but this the wackiest part.....

Because that percentage for the Deuce is over 100 that means that more people watch commercials on ESPN2 than the programming itself.....

ESPN and ESPN2 last week were the top networks for Nielsen's new cable commercial ratings, with ESPN2's "over-delivering" compared to its program ratings, meaning that "more people were watching the commercials" than the programming, according to Wayne Friedman of MEDIA POST. ESPN2 scored 102% in the new metric among both the 18-49 and 25-54 demos. Among all TV households, ESPN2 was first with 104% and ESPN was second with 97.7%.

The explanation given is that people are tunning in and out of live games, but that doesn't really make sense to me. The reason I'm thinking.....People would rather watch commercials than Madden Nation.

(Via Sports Business Daily)

P.S.- I couldn't really find a good picture to use, so I decided on Infomercial King Ron Popeil. Just set it.......AND FORGET IT!