Rick Reilly has been widely known to make outlandish bets in his columns involving "tongue baths" with various buildings in various cities. His latest involved liking the Capital Dome in Denver if the Rockies made the Playoffs, and he actually made good on the bet today....


"It tasted like crow," Reilly said. "That's the last time I open my big mouth."

Well, I guess we can thank Denver for getting Reilly to shut up. Thanks guys!

Reilly keeps his word, licks dome (850 KOA)

I know ESPN has guest anchors every so often, but this just taking it too far. I thought the Mike Greenberg was the worst that they could come up with, but apparently I was wrong. Dead wrong....

Rick Reilly®'s SportsCenter Audition Tape (Deadspin)

This has been building up for almost a year, but Rick Reilly finally spent some time on the B.S. Report yesterday. The two feuding writers decided to put all of their differences aside, and talk about everything that had been said over the last year. Just kidding. They actually didn't address anything, and the only time they came close to getting in an argument is when the name "Obama" came up. Here's a small clip....

Ah yes. Good use of the word "allegedly". Of course they were never feuding! So sad. In the span of a week and a half, Bill Simmons has mended the fences with his bosses and Rick Reilly. I couldn't be more depressed right now.

Rick Reilly (The B.S. Report)

Huzzah! The ESPN war that is Simmons vs. Reilly will be heading to the airwaves. Bill Simmons was on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan, and when the hosts asked him about his feud with Rick Reilly, he said things are fine and that the two will be together on the B.S. Report soon. Here's the audio....

Man, I cannot wait for that one. This podcast has anticipation similar to that of Tyson-Holyfield. Oh and Bill, I know the Rushmore thing was technically your idea, but after seeing how it turned out....you might want to distance yourself from it a bit.

Bill Simmons (WEEI)

Yes folks, yet another Bill Simmons podcast, and yet another shot at ESPN and Rick Reilly. Simmons had on The Soup's Joel McHale, and after commenting on the E! network allowing McHale to make fun of the channel, he started at ESPN and took a veiled shot at Reilly. Here's the audio....

Not the worst shot he's taken, but at some point ESPN has to realize he's just trying to get fired. Also at some point, Simmons has to realize this is getting kind of old. It was entertaining at first, but now it just seems a little forced.

If it wasn't for ESPN's graphics department, I would completely despise this whole Mt. Rushmore thing. Being completely annoying aside, and having Rick Reilly as your host, the actual photoshopped Mt. Rushmore's for each state look pretty cool. Take California's (above) for example. First, they got all four athletes correct, which is a must. Second, the ESPN graphics department put everyone in the right spot. And third, Rick is transposed as a tourist with binoculars to analyze each figure. Pretty spot on if you ask me.

That, however, does not mean this is yet another idiotic way for ESPN to kill time, and that's exactly what Reilly told Neil Best at Newsday....

Rick Reilly had heard I'd been making fun of ESPN SportsCenter's "Mt. Rushmore of Sports" feature, and was ready with an explanation:

"It's February!" he said. "Nothing happens."

What about A-Rod? "How were we supposed to know that?" he said.

Fair enough. So there Reilly was this week, revealing the five finalists - New York first - of states with the most impressive foursomes who grew up there or played there or ... oh, whatever.

Reilly said he once wrote a column imagining Mount Rushmores for categories such as golfers, wives, fans, caddies, writers, etc.

"So when they said, 'Hey, would you have any interest in this idea?' I was like, 'I love it.' Besides, I'm trying to learn the TV business, so I need a lot of reps."

Indeed, eight months after joining ESPN for what he called "ridonkulous" money, he still comes off better in written form than on television.

"I know I'm not Bob Costas," he said, "but I think if you can get past the big nose and nasally voice, I'm trying to bring interesting sentences, good writing, clear and maybe unusual opinions to television."

I guess that's as fair as a description of Reilly's work at ESPN that you're going to get. Plus the fact that it came from Reilly himself, actually makes it kind of funny. I'm certainly not approving of Mt. Rushmore, or the insistence on throwing in Reilly, but I can sort of understand it.

In case you care, your five finalists are Illinois (Jordan, Ditka, Ernie Banks, Walter Payton), Alabama (Bear Bryant, Bo Jackson, W. Mays, Hank Aaron), California (Tiger Woods, John Wooden, Magic Johnson, Jackie Robinson) New York (Nammath, Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Jim Brown) and Pennsylvania (Roberto Clemente, Joe Paterno, Wilt Chamberlain, Mario Lemieux).

Oh and I definitely blame the inclusion of Michael Phelps for bumping my home state out of the Finals. Seriously Phelps over Sugar Ray Leonard, Len Bias, Babe Ruth (was born there), and Bill Belichick?!?! Okay, you're right....Maryland sucks.

'Mt. Rushmore' faces finalists (Newsday)

Ever since Deadspin unleashed holy hell on a Simmons article about a year ago, the Sports Guy's pieces have been without comment. Since then, only Rick Reilly has been added to the commentless ranks, while all other works on ESPN.com can be picked apart and debated. CBS Sports reporter, Cameron Martin, decided to ask ESPN why this is so, and ESPN Spokesman Paul Melvin had this to say....

Me: "Paul, I had a question about ESPN columnists that I was going to address in my CBS column on Monday: Why can't readers comment on Rick Reilly and Bill Simmons columns? And why is it only them? Is it to protect the idea that these two columnists are universally loved? Jemele Hill and DJ Gallo and Scoop Jackson and Gene W get hammered by some readers. Why isn't that same courtesy extended to Bill and Rick? Seems disingenuous. Thanks, Cameron Martin."

ESPN: "Cameron, Bill and Rick's accessibility to fans has always been part of their style, and they both have developed long-standing practices of engaging their fans. Bill has a history of using his interaction with his readers as part of his voice and has, through the years, developed a regular, robust 'mailbag' style column that is a favorite of readers. Rick's connection to the personal stories of people in all walks of life has helped give him his signature voice. With respect to those traditions, we've chosen to continue to present their interaction with readers through those avenues."

(As non-answers go, that's pretty good. Unfortunately I wasn't looking for a non-answer.)

Me: "Paul, thanks for the reply. Quick follow-up: In this new era of change, transparency and accountability, isn't it a bit antiquated and un-American to try to control feedback from the public? What if President Obama wanted to comment directly on one of Rick Reilly's stories? Shouldn't he be able to announce to the world, ‘Rick, you're an inspiration to millions everywhere'?"

ESPN: "Hi Cameron. Appreciate the follow up, but I think our earlier comment is all we're going to have to offer here. Paul Melvin."

Okay, well that was a pretty obscure response, wasn't it? To be fair, Simmons and Reilly get about ten times the criticism that other writers get, and I don't fault ESPN for not wanting to sift through, and delete, over 1,000 comments or so. It's still interesting that with the thick skin that both Reilly and Simmons probably have at this point, that they wouldn't just go ahead and unleash the hounds on their articles.

Oh and if you're a dog owner, and want to have a good cry, read Simmons latest article on the passing of his Golden Retriever.

Monday S.P.O.R.T.S. Cam: Bad breaks, worst football state wrapup (CBS Sports)

Rick Reilly is slowly starting to earn that huge paycheck from the "Leader", and along with Homecoming and Mt. Rushmore, the man who is not a fan of the blogging medium is getting one of his own. It'll be called "Go Fish" and you're able to read it now at ESPNTheMag.com.

Not only can you check out what words the writer has made up in the "Rickology" section, but you can also read about how him going to the bathroom and meeting Screech from Saved By The Bell!!!

This week, I was in a bathroom and a guy came up to me and said, "I'm a huge fan. Do you know that? A huge fan. I know who you are! How many people actually know who you are in this club tonight? Only me, right? Give me your cell, Bill. And not your BS work number that some secretary answers. I want your straight-up cell, Bill. I mean it. Give it to me. I'm gonna have Bill O'Reilly's cell. Sweet. We'll hang."

I saw Screech (Dustin Diamond) from Saved by the Bell at XS at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas last weekend. He has a crazy Afro now and a triangle-shaped mini-beard and is still about nine on the Geekmeter.

Now I know that my entries aren't of the greatest of length, but those are even less than Terrell Owens' first effort at Yardbarker. But who am I to tell someone how to blog, right? Welcome Mr. Reilly, you'll be live-blogging the World Beer Pong Championships in no time!

Reilly: Go Fish (ESPN The Mag)
ESPN Is Officially Trying To Get Rick Reilly To Do More (Deadspin)

Ugh. ESPN has decided to once again has decided to add a fan-based, nonsensical feature to Sports Center. This winter, you'll be able to nominate individuals for something called the "Mt. Rushmore of Sports", and after Rick Reilly runs the segment into the ground on Sports Center daily, vote on the four people that should represent your state's make believe, Mount Rushmore. Via ESPN....

SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship news and information program, and ESPN.com, the leading online sports destination, will combine to present a five-week, fan-based series to celebrate the sports icons from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The series, titled “SportsCenter Mount Rushmore of Sports,” will use fan-generated nominations on ESPN.com to identify the top four sports greats in each state/region, and online voting to select the state with the most impressive collection of sports luminaries worthy of being etched in the state’s Mount Rushmore of sports.

As part of the series, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com award-winning columnist Rick Reilly will host daily SportsCenter segments focusing on the top five states/regions selected by fans as having the most significant collection of sports icons Monday, Feb. 16 – Friday, Feb. 20, beginning daily at 9 a.m. ET. Reilly, who joined ESPN in June 2008 as a multimedia essayist and contributor to the network’s coverage of marquee events, will also pair with PTI co-host and Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon, and a Associated Press writer (one per state/region) to pick the fourth “must have” luminary for each state/region.

Beginning Sunday, Jan. 18, fans can submit names of their top three athletes, coaches and/or team executives in their state by logging on to: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportscenter/mtrushmore. To be eligible, the sports icons must be individuals who have made significant contributions to the world of sports in their respective states/regions (athletes, coaches, team executives, owners, media/commentators, et al).

During the week of February 2-7, ESPN.com will reveal the final four names for each state/region. Fans can log on and rank the top five states/regions. In addition, February 8-14, the site will include an online exclusive content featuring ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Steve Bunin discussing and debating the selections. On television February 16-20, Reilly’s “SportsCenter Mt. Rushmore of Sports” segments will profile the five finalists and argue the merits of each of the top five states/regions.

At the conclusion of Reilly’s segments on SportsCenter, fans can vote online for the top state/region Feb. 20-23, and the winner will be announced Tuesday, Feb. 24, on SportsCenter at 6 p.m.

Sorry for the length of that blockquote, but I thought it was necessary so you could understand the sheer nonsense of the idea. This is just like the annoying "Titletown" stunt, but with actual people instead of cities and towns. The fact that Rick Reilly is involved makes me dread it even that much more.

Old people are funny. People have been playing beer pong in College, and at tailgates, for well over 10 years now, but Rick Reilly is just now learning of the pastime. His latest column is all about this "new" (to him) phenomenon, and how he attended the World Series of Beer Pong in Vegas. Oh and one more thing....his sons were in said Tournament. Via First Cuts....

Still, there were quality team names, such as: He Sucks … I'm Good; Beer Pong … Because Jesus Would; and Chase's Mom ATM. There was also Francois the Butt Dusters, made up of my sons, Jake (21) and Kel (23). The Dusters started off 4–0, including a W over a team from Rochester, whose members, no joke, would, out of nowhere, slap each other hard on the face. The slapee, red-cheeked, would look at his partner—stunned—and then yell, "Yeeeeahhh!!!" One guy from Jersey ripped his shirt off just before a crucial point. One team played sitting on each other's shoulders....

It should be noted that the final was filled with honor. Nobody mentioned anybody's sister or flashed unwelcome appendages. That's good. All this bush league stuff will have to go if we're going to take beer pong to the next level: the Olympics.

Hope they don't test for whiskey.

Francois the Butt Dusters!?!?! I personally would have gone with "Two Balls, One Cup", but I guess that's just as good. Seriously though, it's kind of cool that Reilly would show up to his son's attempt at College fame, and then right a column on it for ESPN. I'm more surprised that ESPN actually published the article than Reilly actually attending.

Introducing the next great American pastime: beer pong. (ESPN the Mag)
Rick Reilly, DTV And How It Fits Together (First Cuts)

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.

Bill Simmons has been bringing the podcasts fast and furious now that his latest rift with his employer seems to have died down. He recently had Cris Collinsworth on the program, and when talking about the Cowboys the Sports Guy had this to say about the situation.

"As we've found out time and time again in sports or in any other community, if you bring in another guy and pay him more then the best guy you have, there's gonna be trouble. Guy's not gonna handle that well."- Bill Simmons

He of course was talking about T.O. and Roy Williams, right? Well, I guess that's possible, but it certainly sounded like a shot to me. Ah, the holidays are always happy over at the "Leader".

The Sports Fella Unleashes Another Not-So-Subtle Dig At Rick Reilly (Deadspin)
The B.S. Report 12/17 (ESPN)

You knew it was only a matter of time. For tonight and tomorrow's editions of PTI you'll be getting a dose of the one and only, Richard Paul Reilly. Tony is on assignment in Green Bay for Monday Night Football, so we get stuck with the ESPN The Mag writer for two days.

Expect a lot of PGA Championship talk and cheesy jokes about how he can't watch primetime Olympic coverage because he's already in bed. Actually that's not really any different than what Tony gives on a day to day basis, so he should fit right in.

Back in early June, a writer from the Province in Canada was caught poaching quotes from an old Rick Reilly column. At the time I wondered why someone would as dumb as to plagiarize from someone as widely read as Reilly, but apparently Herald writer John Sleeper didn't get the memo. Via The Seattle Times....

The Herald of Everett has suspended a sports writer for a column that included material taken from Sports Illustrated.

The Herald said parts of the June 3 column by John Sleeper, "Trust me, coaching girls is a whole new ballgame," describing the travails of a girls' basketball coach, were taken from a 2002 piece in the magazine.

The Sports Illustrated column, "Out of Touch with My Feminine Side," was written by Rick Reilly and was printed in a book of Reilly's columns, "Hate Mail from Cheerleaders," which was published in 2007.

The paper said Sleeper has been suspended for an in-depth review of the matter. It said the deception violated journalistic standards and The Herald's commitment to maintaining community trust.

Just amazing. You would think that with the invention of the Internet and the ease of finding information that plagiarism would happen less, but I guess not. It's also interesting that people don't really get fired for this offense anymore. Back in the day they would have been humiliated and ostracized from the writing business, but now it's a slap on the wrist and they're back to work in no time.

Everett Herald columnist suspended for plagiarism (Seattle Times)

(Thanks to SS for the tip.)

I'll spare you the pain of reading the rest of Rick Reilly's new column (people mistook him for Rick Rhoden, he knows Herm Edwards, he hates some blogger) and just skip to the funny part. The story is about how people mistake people in the Sports World and Reilly decided to share his meeting with Katie Couric during his book tour....

The capper, though, was Katie Couric, late of the Today show. I was in the green room, waiting to go on and plug a book, when she came running up to me like a long-lost sister, 1,000-watt smile and open arms.

"I am SO happy to meet you!" she cooed, giving me a big hug.
"Oh, well, me, too!" I said, flummoxed.
"I'm really looking forward to our segment!" she said. "I loved it as a kid! Do you have the recipe?"
"Yes! No. What?"
"The recipe! Which recipe will we be making?"
"Uh, no. I'm a sportswriter. I really don't do, uh, recipes."
"You're not the Easy-Bake oven guy?"
"No, sorry."

And with that, she spun on her five-inch heels and left me behind like a roadside San-o-let.

Man, those are one of the things I would have loved to have seen in person. Great story but Reilly just officially replaced Simmons as "#1 Name Dropper" over at the "Leader". If Reilly manages to bring up Jimmy Kimmel, I think the world will implode.

Hey, what's-your-name! I love you. (Life of Reilly)

I didn't think it was possible for someone not named Chris Berman to annoy when watching the Home Run Derby but he's been officially replaced. Rick Reilly on-air is about the worst thing you can add to a broadcast, and it's not even close. Here he is waxing exstatic about how there are too many "white" competitors in the Derby....

Let's forget for a second that all defending champions denied a chance to defend, and I'll even look past the fact that he didn't know that non-All Star Game participants aren't invited. He seriously decided to drop nonsense like this throughout the broadcast. I don't know how many times he said the word heroin in regards to Josh Hamilton, and while it's the truth, it just begs of a desperate man searching for an angle on-air. Just a bad decision to have him on the broadcast....send him to England for the British Open now please.

Also, the Karl Ravech "Interesting Concept" line is just about the funniest thing I've heard in awhile.

The two ESPN writers extraordinaire have been taking veiled shots at each other for a few weeks now and it doesn't appear to be letting up anytime soon. The latest barb comes from Reilly in an interview with (Via Deadspin)....

When Reilly compared his work to that of Simmons, he said, "Old school-new school. I'm not doing more than 800 words, I'm not from Boston, I don't write a lot about the NBA. I'm more likely to tell a story that has a beginning, a middle and an end. He's a blogger. I still love reading him."

Ouch. I know that Simmons doesn't consider himself a blogger these days, but that's a pretty low blow. I'd love to get through an entire week where MSMers aren't bashing one another and just enjoy their cushy lives, but I guess we're all at an impass these days.

There's a reason that Simmons has well over a million readers per article and that's because he identifies with fans (not just in Boston). Reilly could probably learn a bit from a lesson in "blogging". We don't all care about Golfing with Bill Clinton whether Bob Costas thinks we do or not. Just saying.

Two men enter! One man leaves!

Rick Reilly joins ESPN's brave new world (Market Watch)
Rick Reilly Continues To Not Think Too Highly Of That Billy Simmons Kid (Deadspin)

I get a kick out of MSMers fighting with each other but the ESPN fights between their own employees is getting a little weird. Reilly went on record yesterday during a .Com chat and said he enjoyed Simmons' work and was glad to be on his team. Simmons? He had this to say on WEEI yesterday. From Scott's Shots via Deadspin....

“I don’t even care about the money (he’s making). I care about the fact he only has to write 800 words all week. What does he do all week? I’m just getting warmed up at 800 words.”

“I don’t think (his hiring) has really changed my life in any way other than he touches my soul with his writing. That’s really it. He’s raising the bar morally, financially. . . he’s raising it all over the place. I’m just happy to be along for the ride.”

Wow. That's a pretty low blow, but Simmons has been writing some pretty good columns as of late with this venom. It'll be interesting to see if ESPN protects its $17 Million dollar investment or just ignores it per usual. I'm also pretty sure The Sports Guy is openly trying to get fired these days. Good times.

ESPN Cat Fight!: Simmons Bashes Reilly (Scott's Shots)

So Rick Reilly made his writing debut yesterday on ESPN and a ton of people posted about it and I could have cared less. It was the same column he's written over a million times, and while I appreciate his love for his Father...it wasn't really newsworthy. This however is.

Apparently a writer for the Province in Canada to plagiarize one of the most popular Sports writers on the Planet....

The most striking was a passage in Reilly's piece: "They say he was born 72 years ago last Thursday, but don't believe it. McGuire dropped straight out of Guys and Dolls with a martini in one hand and a basketball in the other."

Pratt wrote in Tuesday's column in The Province: "Cole was born 75 years ago, but it's more likely he dropped straight out of Guys and Dolls with a martini in one hand and a puck in the other."

"I did it, no question," said Pratt. "It was a mistake. In our [radio] business, lines get used back and forth all the time. That particular line is a pretty famous line and I should have credited Reilly with it and I didn't. It was a stupid mistake and something I regret and I'll make damn sure I'll never do it again.

"I'm looking for stuff from everywhere," added Pratt. "We recycle everything. The sheer amount of volume we produce forces you to constantly be looking for different people's ideas."

Yeah, we all are dude, but you copied that s**t word for word. I know blogging doesn't take much writing per post, but hell if With Leather posts something about a dude getting hit in the "nuts", I'll at least say it he got hit in the "junk". I kid, I kid.

But seriously, if you're going to plagiarize you might want to go a little lower on the totem pole. Like blogs!

For the record (The Province)

HG from YBB scored a ticket to the ESPN Revenge of the Jocks party last night and has a great post today highlighting his convos with Keyshawn, Steve Lavin, and Rick Reilly (and others). Reilly was asked about blogs and his new job and this is what he had to say....

HG: Trust me… So I’m sure you’re aware of Buzz Bissinger’s take on bloggers, what are your thoughts on the old school/ new school debate?

RR: Well now I’m in the new school so to speak so we’ll see. I made the jump (to new media) to see if my voice would carry in this form. I do wonder though, is it journalism or am I behind the times? The one thing I’ve noticed, Sports Illustrated versus ESPN is that the response to my piece is a lot faster. At Sports Illustrated, the magazine would go out on a Thursday and I might not hear anything for three or four days. At ESPN I’m getting emails right away.

HG: Ok, so Rick Reilly’s on the record saying blogs are better..

RR: Not better. Just different.

HG: What’s your number one criticism of blogs?

RR: The responsibility. I don’t think there is much. Sure you don’t have editors or bosses but you can still be responsible. There’s a site, Every Day Should Be Saturday, that wrote some bullshit about us (gesturing to his girlfriend) that was just wrong. They didn’t double check, they didn’t call me, they just printed it. Call me, I’m available, I’m out there. People can email me. Before you write something like that you should check your sources. The bloggers have more power than they realize and things that they write can spread quickly.

Reilly is referring to this post at EDSBS that claimed he showed up to an LSU game completely trashed. In all fairness Orson did say that he thought it was cool, but if it was a rumor Reilly has every right to be upset. It's interesting that Reilly thinks he's now a member of the "new school", and I don't really get that, but if he wants to be available and talk with blogs and the like....I'm not going to argue.

ESPN The Magazine Chad Johnson-Rick Reilly Party (You Been Blinded)