RCS caught this at the end of Game Two last night and I'm sorry I missed it as it happened. Listen to how Rip Hamilton ends his interview with Michele Tafoya.....



Calling a woman "sir" is always entertaining, but according to Ball Don't Lie it's actually a trademark Rip response and rather than Yes...Sir, it's "yes'sir". Interesting.

Michele Tafoya HAS to be Rooting For The Celtics Now (Real Clear Sports)
Rip Hamilton is not, in fact, calling Michelle Tafoya 'sir' (Ball Don't Lie)

Lost in all of the Bissinger talk yesterday was this story via MDS at Fanhouse. Apparently Mike Tirico and Michele Tafoya were talking about Deadspin and the like yesterday when Tafoya decided to go to the site for presumably the first time on-air. Here was her initial reaction....

"While you were talking I went to Deadspin, just to take a glance, because I don't frequent that site by any stretch of the imagination. I see very quickly why it is popular with a certain audience, and it disgusts me. And that's all I'm going to say."

I'm guessing that she saw the post about SexySoxGirls.com or Ronadldo's Tranny Prostitutes, but I could be wrong. I wouldn't call either of those stories disgusting, but I could see why a woman might not like those posts. Well, almost immediately following that segment Tafoya had a discussion with a producer about of all things....guys at urinals....

Phil: It's the same thing with urinals in the men's room.
Tafoya: It is?
Phil: The same thing.
Tafoya: So it should be every other one. But has that happened to you, Phil?
Phil: Absolutely. There's a row of urinals, about 10 of them, you go to one on the end, you go to number two, the guy goes right next to you, to number three, while four through 10 are open.
Tafoya: Is he trying to pick up on you maybe?
Phil: No.
Tafoya: What's the stance of his feet?

So pictures of a few attractive chicks or a story about Ronaldo hiring legal prostitutes is disgusting, but urinal talk and guy's stances aren't? Glad we could clear that up. I understand that there is a lot of misogyny in the Blogosphere, but that's just a tad bit hypocritical. Especially when the Red Sox girls submit the pictures themselves to that website.

Michelle Tafoya on Deadspin: 'It Disgusts Me' (But Talking About Men at Urinals Doesn't) (Fanhouse)

I had heard a rumor about this last week but it was confirmed late last night and made official today, but Scott Van Pelt is getting the open hour voided by Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Radio. Van Pelt will also be the full-time co-host fro the Mike Tirico Show and starting May 1st the show will be called the "Tirico and Van Pelt Show".

"Clearly some execs made a decision that will ultimately cost them their jobs," Van Pelt said of his more prominent role with ESPN Radio. "Before that inevitable end, I look forward to all the opportunities this presents to work with people I respect and enjoy. The solo hour will likely advance the level of discourse to a place never before heard in human history."

Tirico said, "I am thrilled to have a friend like Scott as a regular partner, and I look forward to the trouble he will cause on his own in the third hour."

With those changes also comes more departures as Herbie and Michele Tafoya will no longer be a part of The MTS and will more than likely be back on Football coverage for the Summer. In all honesty this is a great decision and I think an hour with all that Scott Van Pelt has going is probably perfect for him and the listening audience.

When I figure out more details I'll be sure to pass them along, but for now look for it in the 3-4pm slot following The Mike Tirico Show.

Tirico & Van Pelt debuts May 1 (ESPN.com)

Phil Jackson has always kind of creeped me out. He's really tall, has that beard, and his voice is really deep. All of his interviews sound like those 60 Minutes reports with the mob guy blacked out talking into that voice modulator thing.

I'm pretty sure Michele Tafoya now feels the same way....

Dude Phil....you're dating the boss' daughter? Haven't you ever seen the movie....umm, My Boss' Daughter!? This can only end badly.

Phil Jackson Caught Mackin’ On Michele Tafoya (Sports by Brooks)

Some people might find this story annoying but I actually find it kind of refreshing that people from other networks would stick up for one another. It's a tough road for women in Sports and one sideline reporter is sticking up for her counterparts. NBC's Andrea Kremer is none to happy about the way ESPN handled the news of Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya's reduced role and she has something to tell the network....

Says Kremer, who worked at ESPN for 17 years before joining NBC: "They were doing the role that ESPN asked them to do — more feature-ish stuff — and they were fired for it? If you don't like them in that role, change their role. Don't humiliate them like that. The way (ESPN) handled it was terrible, just disrespectful. … They treated two professionals in a completely non-professional way."

But Kremer suggests she's "offended" by ESPN's move because "it sets back women." Referring to herself, Kolber, Tafoya and Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver, she says "no one accused the four of us for being on television for our looks or figures. … This isn't five years ago, with eye candy on the sidelines. We established ourselves as reporters, professionals. Now, you've completely minimized that. These women don't have to prove themselves anymore."

No matter how you feel about Joe Theismann, Suzy Kolber, and Michele Tafoya they way they learned about their firings/"reduced roles" was pretty crappy. There's really no other way to describe it but unprofessional and I think Kremer is pretty dead on with her assessment of ESPN.

It's unfortunate when anyone gets fired but it has to be even more unfortunate when you find out through the media.

Bias seen in silencing 'MNF' sideline reporters (USA Today)

I missed most of the NBA action this past weekend, but lucky for me a few people caught some pretty funny mistakes during ABC's broadcasts. The first one came during the first contest of the day between the Spurs and Celts. Recently demoted MNF sideline reporter Michele Tafoya had an interview with Paul Pierce at halftime, and completely botched his name heading to the break. Via USA Today...

ABC/ESPN's Tafoya, ending a halftime interview with Celtics forward Paul Pierce on ABC's Boston-San Antonio Spurs game Sunday: "Thanks, Bruce."

Smooth Michele. The highlight though was during the Lakers-Heat game though as the online graphic seemed confused about the trades that went down that past week. Via Ballsiest...


I know I'm being pretty picky here, but these things seem to come up every weekend with ABC. Hopefully they can get things together in time for the Playoffs when people really start watching the NBA. They only have about 3 months left to figure things out.

ABC Really Needs Proofreaders (Ballsiest)

PFT is on the case again and it looks like ESPN is dropping both of it's sideline reporters for Monday Night Football next season....

A media source tells us that ESPN are relieving Michelle Tafoya and Suzy Kolber of their duties on Monday Night Football.....

It remains to be seen whether this is a first step in an effort to reduce costs by shrinking the cast of characters who cover the Monday night game for ESPN. Several analysts are stationed in Bristol, a trio of talking heads have a desk inside the venue where the game is played, and multiple reporters typically swarm the stadium in the three or four hours before kickoff.

Again this is just a rumor, but PFT is usually dead on after talking to it's sources. I didn't really care for either of them on the telecast but it's odd that they would get rid of both of them. Could this be a sign that they might be looking to bring EA on board? Who knows, but it wouldn't be the worst idea if they did.

That photo above is beginning to look like the picture from Back to the Future isn't it?

Tafoya, Kolber Out At MNF (Pro Football Talk)

I don't even know if you could force me to post multiple times on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, let alone work all day. Apparently Michele Tafoya is the opposite of me and plans on working two sports on both days.

For the second year in a row, Michele Tafoya will work double duty during the Christmas holiday, reporting for ESPN’s Monday Night Football Christmas Eve game and ABC’s “NBA Christmas Special.” Tafoya will cover the Chargers on Christmas Eve as part of ESPN's final MNF game of the season. A day later, she will work with ESPN's top NBA broadcast team of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy during the Suns-Lakers game at 5:15 p.m. on ABC.

Someone get Michele some vacation time for Christmas, good lord. Also, if someone could pick up that second letter "L" for her first name I'm sure she'd appreciate it.

(Quote via ESPN)

Steve Nash has a habit of getting injured just before halftime and looking completely annoyed with the Sideline Reporter. A year ago it was Craig Sager, and this time it's Michele Tafoya. He didn't give her the business like he did Sager, but he just chipped a tooth, so he might not be as ticked off.....

Oh Steven! You're so funny!!! Fake lisps make me swoon.

Do Not Talk About Steve Nash's Nose (Awful Announcing)

I kind of stopped grading this thing halfway through because it wasn't really a true show since all they were doing was introducing the co-hosts and giving them about 5 minutes to make a few jokes. The guests were Bob Costas, PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem, Jim Boeheim and the man who's job he's taking...Dan Patrick.

The only problem I see with the show so far is Mike Tirico letting guests take the show where they want to instead of keeping them on topic like Patrick usually did. Tirico let Bob Costas talk about his crappy athletic achievements for about 15 minutes which included hitting 6 NBA Threes in some pickup game at 'Cuse, hitting 91-100 FTs on a bet, and hitting a triple off of Bob Gibson in a charity game. Exciting stuff really.

Other highlights included Michele Tafoya's using the word "gay", her kid making noises in the background, and Dan Patrick joking on the number of co-hosts. Overall it was kind of boring, but that's probably because they set it up as this grand revealing of the co-hosts which I/we already knew ahead of time.

Grade: Incomplete

Here's the rest of the show in quotes in case you missed it.....

“I will be the dumb denominator which I’m proud to be.”- Scott Van Pelt

“We’ll be here most days.”- Mike Tircio, referring to how he and Scott might not always show up.

“Herbie is a sports loser just like us.”- Mike Tirico

“Scott do you have kids?”- Michele Tafoya
“No I can’t get a woman to date me. No that’s not true I’m very much spoken for.”- Scott Van Pelt

(Good work Scott....nice guys always finish first.)

“You get your fix of Kornheiser once a week so Scott Van Pelt should be a breeze.”- Michele Tafoya

“She’s in charge of keeping us straight.”- Mike Tirico
“Keeping a guy straight? Did you hear that Scott? As opposed to keeping them gay???”- Michele Tafoya

“I thought I was one of your new co-hosts…..apparently you didn’t get the memo.”- Dan Patrick

The Mike Tirico Show (ESPN Radio)

Quick Tirico Show Update.....

Earlier today I posted that Scott Van Pelt would be a contributor to the Mike Tirico Show, but ESPN is now saying that he'll have a more prominent role. He will be appearing on a "regular basis" and Tafoya and Herbstreit are being referred to as "regular contributors".

Scott Van Pelt is also the official substitute which differs from the Star-Tribune report which I linked earlier that hinted that Tafoya would be.

Also, Tirico is doing the show from Syracuse University today and Stephen A. Smith isn't going to start until Monday. Rats.

P.S.- No mention of Michigan or any athlete from the State.

Update: Tirico just mentioned that he's a Detroit Tigers fan. If you had the Over of 20 minutes.....you win!

Mike Tirico's Co-Hosts Named (Awful Announcing)

Just a reminder that the Tirico Show (that rhymes!) starts today and they've name the Co-Host....er, Co-Hosts that will appear on the show with Mikey.

Michele Tafoya, the former KFAN host who is now a sideline reporter for ESPN's "Monday Night Football," will be returning to the radio airwaves on a regular basis. ESPN Radio will announce today that the Minneapolis-area resident will become a part of Mike Tirico's new weekday show. "SportsCenter" anchor Scott Van Pelt and Kirk Herbstreit also will contribute to the program, which will debut today.

While those aren't necessarily BAD choices (I could argue a bit that Tafoya is a bad choice, but she's done radio before) it's a little suspect that they named three people. It seems like they still have no idea who they really want to do the show, and this appears to just be a continuation of the tryouts.

In related news....When the hell is Dan Patrick's show supposed to start? The only thing it says on his website is "soon". Well it's been soon for months now. And Mike, no pressure today....good luck.

(What? I'm in a good mood and I genuinely hope he succeeds. I'm serious. Of course I'll hammer him if he does bad, and there will be an AA review up later today. But still.....break a leg.)

Tafoya will return to radio on ESPN (Star Tribune)

I'd love to tell you that I stuck it out for the sake of the site, but that's not the case. The moment I saw Chris Mortensen (while being interviewed by Michele Tafoya) talk over an amazing touchdown by Jerious Norwood (1:50 Mark), I started watching Enemy of the State on cable.

The Vick coverage started yesterday at 9am and didn't end until almost midnight. You knew it was coming (hell the producers even told us ahead of time), but I would have really loved to have watched some Football last night. They so could have wrapped up all the discussion at halftime and just moved on.

I think Sean Pendergast (during my spot on 1560AM in Houston last evening) summed it up best. The only people staying up that late to watch the 2nd Half of Monday Night Football are hardcore Football Fans (and probably high stakes gamblers). Times that by 20 for the preseason. The only people watching the 2nd half of that game are people who want to trash MNF, degenerate gamblers, guys trying to decide who their 12th round fantasy pick is, and insomniacs.

Everything was just too much last night. The legal analyst, Mort, the African-American lady that Suzy Kolber interviewed for 14 minutes, Tony getting mad because Chad Johnson didn't celebrate a TD in the preseaon, etc, etc. It never ended. The only highlight for me was when Tony Kornheiser took Bobby Petrino to task for not allowing media to ask his former teammates questions regarding the quarterback. It's the first time I've agreed with Tony in awhile. This is what you are good at....not those cheesy jokes. Keep this up.....

"That may work for him as a new coach, but these guys were his teammates, some of them for many years. And to deprive them a chance to see his first step in rehabilitation, I would have gone the other way on that."- TK

ESPN has set MNF up to fail, but again....we already knew that. And can we please get rid of the term "Dress Rehearsal"? Any game that has a TD from Ovie Mughelli is not a "Dress Rehearsal"....it's a crappy preseason game.

If you haven't seen this yet you need to know about this great story from WBRS Sports.

Steve Nash has been a tad bit under the weather the past week, and he doesn't really care who knows about it.......

Tafoya: Steve Nash shot 2 of 11 in the first half. You said to me at halftime you were sloppy. Came out and shot about 7 of 10 in the second half. What changed?
Nash: I dunno. I just kind of got my rhythm going. I felt good in the first half. Maybe, uh, it's the diarrhea. I was in the bathroom most of warm ups.
Tafoya: Were you really?
Nash: Yeah. Maybe I shouldn't say that on TV. It's brunch in Hawaii, isn't it? Gotta keep that to myself.
Tafoya: No, we appreciate your candidness.

My favorite part isn't the Diarrhea it's the fact that he knows what time brunch is in Hawaii.

Okay......it's the Diarrhea. Now to just find the video.

One More Reason Why We Love Steve Nash (WBRS Sports)