This is not a repeat of 2009, 2008, 2007....wait how many years has Bill Simmons worked at ESPN? Anyway, Simmons had a bit of a Twitter meltdown yesterday after learning that his scoop, which hadn't been taken seriously was credited to Adam Schefter. Bill had reported that Tom Brady had broken three ribs way back on December 10th, but his employer didn't believe the claim until it was reported by a "real reporter"....




Well let's get one thing out of the way first. Of course Bill cares, or he wouldn't be drawing attention to it. Of course it's terrible when someone gets credit for something that you've found first, but what do you expect? Breaking the story, and with "their guys", is all ESPN cares about and they're notorious for claiming credit from others. Just ask Jay Glazer.

All in all, I think this spells the end for Simmons and ESPN. I thought that his (brilliant) work, and time spent on ESPN's 30 for 30, would give him new life.....but apparently there's still an underlying element of mistrust.

Bill Simmons Hammers ESPN's Twitter Policy (Huff Post)

A week ago, Don Cherry was blamed by a random doctor in Toronto for violence in Hockey. Well on Saturday, Cherry finally spoke about that matter and of course he had a bit of a disagreement with his accuser, Dr. Tator....

As the clip said, Dr. Tator has been trying to apologize to Cherry for awhile now, but apparently Grapes wants no part of it. I think it's safe to say that Hockey has always been a violent Sport and to blame one person for recent incidents is a little bit ridiculous.

I haven't watched an episode of Around The Horn since I was doing those video clips for Deadspin, and even then it was begrudgingly. Well recently SI put together a Best of Sports Media for the decade, and not only did we receive an ridiculous (yet extremely appreciated) honorable mention for Sports Blog of the Decade, but they also took a light jab at ATH. Via Deadspin....

The topics are patently absurd (one involved Evander Holyfield boxing a horse for the WBA heavyweight belt), but on the whole it's no more bizarre-and a lot funnier-than, say, Around the Horn.

That seems one of the nicer things that people have said about that abortion of a show, but apparently that was enough to send Bill Plaschke over the deep end. Via Plaschke's Twitter....

-I saw where, in its annual media issue, a certain publication took another shot at Around the Horn. We love it. Just spell our names right.
-One of these days, your grandfather's media is going to realize that, when it comes to ATH, they are out of touch with today's consumers
-ATH thrives because the grass-roots sports fan — which is most of us — thinks sports should be fun, and what's wrong with that?
-While our critics have dwindled to a few, we embrace those who still think seven years of hundreds of thousands of daily viewers are wrong
-Our show wouldn't connect with today's sports fan if yesterday's sports media didn't still rip it. The rips remind us the show still works
-I'll end this by once again thanking our show's patron saint, a notable broadcaster who called us, ''Gasbags on parade.''
-I'm honored to be one of those gasbags, and thankful that so many people allow us to parade into their lives...
-(and if those last few tweets don't get me into the showdown Thursday, nothing will!!)

Ah yes....those gasbags on parade. I mean when someone as respected as Al Michaels calls you a "gasbag", I would think you would take notice. But on the other side of the coin....if it ain't broke don't fix it. I know a good handful of people that list ATH as one of their favorite shows, and 700K worth of viewers at 5pm isn't anything to shack a stick at.

Experts around the world have been taking time out of their busy schedule (see: Congress/BCS) to do random reports on Sports, but the latest out of Canada, just might be the best we've seen. At a recent seminar a Toronto neurosurgeon finally said what we've all been thinking. That HNIC's Don Cherry is to blame for violence in Hockey. Via CBC News....

"He's a negative influence," Dr. Charles Tator told CBC News in reference to Cherry, a popular personality on Hockey Night in Canada. "The aggressive, lack-of-respect hockey that he preaches — we need to get that out of the game."

Tator, an expert on brain injuries, said hockey culture needs to change and Cherry could influence that.

"If he took a strong stand against no hits to the head, it would help," Tator said. He noted that years ago, Cherry added his voice to a move to reduce serious neck injuries in hockey by stiffening rules about hitting from behind.

Tator's view on Cherry was not shared by everyone at the day-long conference, including a former NHL player who left the game in the 1990s due to head injuries.

"Its a very provocative statement," Jason Smith, now an orthopedic surgeon in Toronto, told CBC News in response to Tator's opinion that Cherry contributes to the injury problem.

CBC Hockey Night in Canada's Don Cherry during a news conference Nov. 24.CBC Hockey Night in Canada's Don Cherry during a news conference Nov. 24. (Darren Calabrese/CP)"I feel that Don Cherry cares about people, ultimately," Smith said. "So to call him a problem — I don't know. I think it's more in the [hockey] culture. He's a product of that culture ... a little more of a rock 'em, sock 'em type."

Interesting, I guess. I mean people have connected hard hitting action on the field/ice, to violence off of it for years. I guess it's time we started blaming individuals.

MD blames Don Cherry for hockey violence (CBC News)

Last week, all the buzz was the alleged run-in between Marv Albert and rapper 50 Cent. There were reports of a verbal confrontation and some even said that there was a potential punch thrown in the fracas. Well over the weekend, Marv came out and said that not only was the punch a fabrication, the whole incident was. Via USA Today....

At issue is what happened when Albert last week was getting set to appear on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live. As he was walking backstage to his dressing room he "heard something" that he thought were people "kidding around." The raised voices, he thinks, came from someone with rapper 50 Cent— another Kimmel guest — wanting to use a phone in Albert's room. "But I didn't even see the guys and don't even think there was a scuffle."

Still, the diminutive TNT NBA announcer says he and friends and family found various online accounts of "stuff that never happened" — included that he and 50 Cent had a fight. "I kept reading about new things that never happened. Maybe it will keep going until Jimmy Kimmel gets punched."

Well that solves that. It seemed a little far fetched, but crazier things have happened. I'm just happy that we don't have to worry about Albert being gunned down in Vegas after a boxing match. Whew.

Marv Albert finds Web reports 'upsetting' (USA Today)

Brent Musburger got to do to Colin Cowherd, what thousands around the country want to do to the ESPN Radio host. What's that you ask? Well, he got to punch him in the gut. Before you get all happy, he was wearing protection and it's part of a running gag on ESPN's Sports Nation. Via OTB....

While that wasn't that hard of a punch, I think the sneakiness of it caught Cowherd off guard. Hopefully they can get someone on that really can't stand him, to do some real damage.

Brent Musburger Punches Colin Cowherd (Outside the Boxscore)

If anyone stuck around for the halftime show on Sunday Night Football, they were given a treat. Rodney Harrison decided to call out one of his former teammates, and it caught me so off guard, that I had to rewind it about seven times. Here's the clip if you missed it....

Obviously as a defensive player Harrison would side with Ray Lewis, but to call out his former quarterback like that is usually unheard of. It's no secret that the league protects quarterbacks, and is it wrong for Brady to lobby for the flag? Maybe, but it happens in every sport and really isn't a big enough deal to tell someone to "take their skirt off" though. Still, it was hilarious.

Video: Rodney Harrison Tells Tom Brady to Take His Skirt Off (BSO)

T.O. had his first catchless day in about one-hundred and seventy plus games, but he apparently decided to take his frustrations out on NBC commentator Rodney Harrison. Oh and he did so on Twitter. Via Sports by Brooks....

Well then. While it's certainly true that Harrison used steroids, this definitely just shows how much of a child that Owens really is. Welcome to T.O.'s last year in the league, folks. Hope you enjoy it!

T.O. Goes Beserk, Accuses Announcer Of Steroids (Sports by Brooks)

Sean Salisbury went from ESPN analyst to, online mogul, to radio host, in a brief period, and unfortunately controversy followed him each place. Everyone knows the ESPN alleged story about "Lil Sean" and a cell phone camera, while Sean's latest problems (after being let go by a radio station in Dallas) are rumored to be along the same lines, Salisbury is apparently suing everyone on the planet. Via Deadspin....

This is salisbury and I just want u to know ur guys lies and carelessness about CBS and espn stories has not only ruined my reputation but has cost me jobs so prepare urself for a lawsuit so big I will own deadspin u will be asked to give up ur sources so since u guys have cost me more than alot of money my only goal in my career is to ruin u like u have me. Sadly I tried to be honest with you and you have continually written lies. So you and a few major media networks arebeing sued. And put this on ur careless website. I kept a journal for 13 years at espn and a tell all book will be released in months to come. Book title: espn exposed. The truth inside the r rated company. So ur lies about a cell phone incident that is a lie and the reason I left CBS radio that u guys lied about. The time has come and I won't stop until the truth is told and deadspin is exposed.

Well then. Obviously, if the rumored cell phone incidents aren't true, then Salisbury has some leverage. Buuuut....these things have followed them everywhere, and the original ESPN employee is on record as confirming the story. It seems like big talk from someone who's frustrated with his current situation, but I'm definitely going to keep an eye on how it plays out.

(Side note: If you read that whole email exchange on Deadspin, the amount of spelling mistakes is atrocious. It wouldn't surprise me that this is/was a hoax.)

Sean Salisbury Has A Few Things To Get Off His Chest (Deadspin)

I remember Jim Traber fondly, since I grew up an O's fan, but since his retirement he's become one of those Sports Talk Guys, that you would just absolutely despise. Traber recently got into a pissing match with the OKC Thunder's, Nick Collison, over some Twitter comments, and after Bill Simmons denied a request to come on his show to talk about it, the radio host turned his hate to the Sports Guy. Ding....let's break it down blow by blow....

Simmons: "Note to unpopular, low-IQ sports radio bully/hosts in non-Top40 markets: I'd never come on your show to bring you attention. Ever. Not ever."

Traber: "Simmons's lack of knowledge on sports is only surpassed by his lack of knowledge about me. Little does he know that his own network - ESPN - did a story on Outside the Lines about this unpopular radio host. #1 in the country per capita...enough said. As far as my IQ, I do not have a masters, as I was playing Major League Baseball during that period of my life, but I was the scholar athlete for the entire state of Maryland.

Last thing about Simmons, if I had the voice of a pre-pubescent girl I'd probably stick to writing a blog as well. Meanwhile, I will just continue to struggle along to support my family without the "attention" I would gain if Bill Simmons would grace my small time OKC radio show."

Hmmm that's a tough round to score. Traber went with the standard Simmons' bashing, and did a pretty good job, but I think Simmons' tweet speaks for itself. He's like the Yankees (before 2004) saying that the Red Sox had to win something, before they could call it a rivalry. How do you like that comparison, Bill?

Simmons Twitter (Twitter)
Traber: Simmons and Seattle – a perfect match (The Sports Animal)
For He Is Traber, Lord Of The Idiots (Daily Thunder)

Soccer fights are just about the weakest fights on the planet. It's hard to believe anything could ever top Baseball fights, but when people fall just by being touched, I think Soccer takes the cake. Well that is until now. I give you Sergio Jauregui, of Blooming in the Bolivian Soccer League, kicking someone named Medina in the face! Via Deadspin....

DAAAAAAAAMN! You got knocked the f**k out!!! Now that was awesome, but you can't run away after something like that, and pretend you did nothing wrong. Still though, he didn't use his hands....which is a plus in Soccer.

The amount of honesty that Jay Glazer shows on a weekly basis, is refreshing to some, but can get him in trouble from time to time. Earlier this week, Glazer broke the news that Brett Favre was officially heading to Minnesota to sign a deal, and while ESPN credited him with the story, their analysts continued to mock him throughout the day and poo poo the story. Well after his breaking news came to fruition, he went on the Jorge Sedano show, on 790 The Ticket in Miami, and had some more choice words for the "Leader"....

Again, it's refreshing to hear someone who can be serious about his job, but also understand that we're just talking about Sports. ESPN has to be bitter that they spent the whole Summer following Favre around, and when he finally decides to sign with the Vikings, the story is broken by someone else. Burn!

The female MMA Match of the Century went down over the weekend on Showtime, and Gus Johnson was on-hand for the play-by-play. Not only did he have his usual repertoire of excitable phrases, but he was actually at a loss for words when the fight ended at the buzzer of the first round....

I don't think I've ever seen an exciting game or match, where Johnson didn't freak out at the end. That was such a good fight, that I was expecting him to freak out when it was stopped. There was however a ton of confusion, and you have to praise him and the other guys in the booth, for waiting to get the call right.

Cyborg Stops Carano In Round One (With Leather)

One of the more fun things about the MNF booth over the past few years, was the love/hate relationship between Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser. Whether you thought Tony was good or not was irrelevant, because he knew how to get under Jaws' skin, and every time he did so, it was pretty funny. Well now Jon Gruden is in the booth, and after a pretty good debut last night, the Coach didn't hold anything back after Jaws said he didn't like the Vick signing by the Eagles. Here's the clip....

I obviously agree with Gruden, and while I was skeptical of his hiring at first, it seems like this trio really could work out. The producers of MNF always wanted three different perspectives in the booth, with Tirico providing the images, Jaws providing the stats and analysis and Kornheiser providing the angles. And while those three perspectives didn't gel, replacing the writer's slant with a coach's slant, looks like a winner. Especially when you have a story like the Vick signing that will bring up many different emotions and opinions.

Jaws Jumps The Shark on the Vick Idea, ESPN Video (NESW Sports)

If there is one man in mainstream media, that's willing to call out the "Leader, that man is Jay Glazer. The FOX Sports "Breaking News" Expert has made it no secret that he likes the current battle between himself and the likes of Chris Mortensen, so it should come as no shock that he recently decided to deface Mort's Tour Bus. Via PFT....


I'm not entirely sure what gang sign Glazer is throwing up there, but the nuances that he added to Mort's visage are extremely entertaining.

Last year, ESPN received a ton of flak for their NASCAR coverage. Fans accused the "Leader" of not being ready to cover the sport, and a lot even thought that the network tried to create drama, to create story lines. Well this year ESPN has another chance, and so far, it's not off to a good start.

During Monday's makeup day in Pocono, Kasey Kahne got into the back of Juan Pablo Montoya on a restart. Kahne apologized to Montoya after the race, but ESPN reporter Vince Welch didn't see it that way. Welch accused Montoya of being the aggressor, and the driver of the 42 car didn't appreciate it at all....

You can obviously put some of the blame on Montoya's reputation, but that was pretty much an epic fail for Welch. Hopefully ESPN can get their act together for NASCAR fans, but it's not looking good.

Montoya Pwns ESPN's Vince Welch (All Left Turns)

I linked to the story earlier, but now there's video of the incident thanks to WL. During a World Team Tennis match, McEnroe got upset with a shot by Washington’s Leander Paes. The shot hit his teammate, Robert Kendrick, and the group got together for a small tet-a-tet. Well four points later, Paes sent a serve right at Kendrick, and that sent everyone off. Well as "off" as you can get during a meaningless Tennis match....

The extra dude that showed up in the blue shirt is actually New York's Coach, Chuck Adams, and he has since been suspended. It doesn't take much in Tennis apparently. Also, if someone sent a 100mph serve at me when I wasn't returning it, I think I would do a lot more than just chat with the guy. That's just me though.

You Can't Be Serious, Man (With Leather)

On Friday, Chris Russo spent the better part of his show throwing people under the bus, and calling out just about everyone he worked with. Not only that, but he took multiple calls about how he was terrible, and that he couldn't run a national radio show. After the dust settled, Russo seemed to backtrack a bit, but it appears the damage has been done. Here's some of the audio from Fang's Bites via The Chris Russo....

This obviously brings up a few questions, but the main one being....Is Chris Russo the problem or is it the staff, as he says. It also brings up the fact that national sports shows rarely work, and ones on satellite radio, especially so. Both Russo and Francesa have struggled since they broke up, and it might be time to call this "national" experiment a wash.

With the O's on an off-night last evening, I decided to watch the Nationals-Astros game. After watching the Nats squander about five runs, and blow a three run lead in the sixth, I decided to turn it off. Luckily, I had that option, but Nationals announcer Rob Dibble didn't, and he made sure the viewing audience knew that.

Dibble spoke with Ray Knight on the post game show after the loss, and not only called the team tough to watch, but even accused players of "mailing it in". Via DC Sports Bog....

"Well, I've seen it all year," Dibble said. "You have a team that came off a 102-loss season....Guys just aren't getting to balls, they're not trying, they're not diving, and more importantly, guys aren't calling them out....

"Listen, our guys aren't doing as well as the other team," he continued. "They need to be playing a lot harder than they are. What I'm saying is, it's not so much mailing it in physically, but mentally, some of these guys, they're happy after a ball game when they get their butts whipped, they're happy and smiling like it's funny when they're getting beat in day in and day out and embarrassed on that field. I know Manny Acta and I know these coaches are busting their butts to get the most out of these guys, but the players, they don't expect that out of each other in that locker room. That's what I'm saying.

"Somebody needs to point a finger in there and say, 'Enough's enough. You guys are on my team, you've got to go out there and back me up.' John Lannan deserved better out of his bullpen, he deserves better defensively, and he definitely damn well deserves better offensively after what he's done the last six outings on a bad ballclub....So for me to watch a guy like John Lannan, who I think has a huge heart, and he goes out there, he never mails it in, I think there's a lot of guys who should apologize to him."

Obviously I'm not able to agree, because I've been to one Nats game all year (against the O's), but as Ray Knight pointed out later in the talk....when you have 90 errors at the All-Star break AND a .298 winning percentage....something has to change. It's refreshing to hear an announcer tell the truth on-air, but if I were Rob Dibble, I'd watch my back. People who are bash their employer like that usually don't last too long.

You can also watch the video here, if you'd like.

Rob Dibble on the Nats: "It's Pathetic" (DC Sports Bog)

There are a lot of announcers out there that have problems with various people in production and on-air co-workers, but it's rare that you hear about those issues. That however, is not the case for TNT. The network has confirmed to the Daly Planet that host, Bill Weber (pictured left), has been sent home because of a late night fight in the network's hotel....

Ralph Sheheen will handle the play-by-play duties for Daytona and Chicago with Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach alongside. TV ratings for the Sprint Cup Series race from Loudon, NH were up slightly and that may have played a role in this decision.

Weber was involved in a late night incident last Friday night at the TNT hotel in Manchester, NH. It spilled-over into Weber being sent home by TNT executives on Saturday and now his release from the TV package.

TNT has been tight-lipped about the issue and gave no indication whether or not Weber would continue with the network in 2010. Here is the official TNT release:

Bill Weber will not be part of TNT's NASCAR coverage of the Cup Series for the network’s last two races. Ralph Sheheen will handle play-by-play duties for The Coke Zero 400 in Daytona and the LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland. Sheheen will be calling the races alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach in the booth.

Obviously this isn't really a big deal, considering that most of you probably didn't even realize NASCAR was aired on TNT, but still interesting to hear about. Weber must have done some serious stuff to be sent packing like that. If anyone wants to tell me about it (either on the record, or off), I'd love to hear about it.

Now Confirmed By TNT: Weber Out For Last Two Races (The Daly Planet)