Welcome to the DL

GOODBYE OLD SITE

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:26:31 -0500

This page is our old site, which has the first 327 or so shows housed. You can still traverse the archives and listen to all our old shows here. We just won’t be posting new stuff on this version. Update your links back to:

http://onthedlpodcast.com

Thanks. I hope you like the new digs.

A Present to Me: We go FJM on SAS

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:56:34 -0500

With all apologies to the fine folks at Fire Joe Morgan, who took columnist dissection to a whole new level, we break down the most recent column of PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER COLUMNIST Stephen A. Smith.

SAS talks about how Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid are linked forever. It’s a new concept, it seems. He thinks that they should both be back, but if people want McNabb gone, he thinks Reid should be gone too. Rather than break it down here, just give it a listen. And if you think we went overboard, consider it a birthday present to myself.

“Ooh, I got a poorly constructed column to dissect! It’s what I always wanted! And it’s wrapped in newsprint...how clever.”

Thanks for indulging us. Be safe in the snow.

Josh Zerkle Recaps Vegas. Plus Berman to NFLN? Sapp & Irvin, SAS Writing & ASG vs. Olympics.

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:33:42 -0500

Josh Zerkle from With Leather joins the show to give his recap of our time in Vegas. For more on that, read his recap at With Leather, or mine at TSB, or watch the video I put together.

And no, we don’t go through a hand-by-hand recap of the tournament. It’s more about the time in Vegas, the people we saw and the bets we made. Fun times.

We also announce the baby pool I’ll be starting soon. Look for that ASAP.

Inside the Press Box:
Nick and I tackle the rumors that Chris Berman will leave ESPN at the end of his contract and go to NFLN (or maybe DirecTV). My sources indicate ESPN wants to keep Berman and that nothing is imminent regarding his departure, but Nick brings up the point that if they really wanted to keep him, or if Berman really wanted to stay, a deal would have likely been worked out already.

What would that mean for ESPN? And more specifically to our conversation, what would that mean at NFLN? Would Rich Eisen move to a different role? Would Berman be more of a features guy? And would the acquisition of Berman be good for NFLN? Do they need a guy like that to raise the level of, for lack of a better word, cache?

Speaking of NFLN, we talk about the Warren Sapp news from the weekend, and NFLN’s reaction, when compared to the Michael Irvin news. Oh, and Stephen A. Smith is back in print! Yay?

Court Report:
This has turned into more of a basketball segment than a legal segment, and for a sports show, that’s fine by me. We ask you, what’s the bigger deal this weekend, NBA All-Star weekend or the start of the Winter Olympics?

Nick and I disagree on this. We also disagree that the dunk contest doesn’t have the same star power it once did. Sure, there’s no equivalent to Jordan, but don’t tell me that Kenny “Sky” Walker was a star in the NBA? We all had him on our walls. We give some suggestions for the dunk contest, but mainly it’s just a suggestion to eliminate misses. If you miss a dunk, you’re done. That’s it.

So...which is the bigger event this weekend? And how much Olympic coverage do you want to hear?

Thanks for listening. Be safe in the snow.

Super Bowl. Commercials. Vegas.

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 09:37:16 -0500

Nick and I are back and we run through the Super Bowl, albeit a day late.
 Culture Pop:
We also tackle the Super Bowl commercials to give some of our favorite and least favorite spots in the game. (For more on my favorites, check The Sporting Blog.)

Housekeeping:
And we talk about Vegas. A lot more on that in the next few days, but I’ll give you this: I finished 14th in the Trash Talk Championship of the World. The guys at Victory Poker were very gracious and equally as cool to hang out with. I had the best seat in the house, with a cast of pros and celebrities surrounding me. Just a great time was had by all.

Early Flight. Super Bowl Picks.

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 07:44:30 -0500

With the snow about to crush the East Coast, I got an earlier flight, so I have to hustle. Didn’t want to not put up our official picks, so that’s what this is.
 Follow me on Twitter to get updates from Vegas, and stop by The Sporting Blog for some highlights of the Trash Talk Championship.

Have a great weekend. Be safe. Go....Super Bowl!

Food. More Food. Food. Signing Day. Overrated Chants. Food. Grooves. Food.

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 09:01:21 -0500

So if you can’t tell by the headline, we talk about food today. Sarah Sprague from Black and Gold Tchotchkes joins the show to talk about her 14 Days of Super Bowl Recipes. Amazing work.

But first, Nick and I talk about National Signing day, focusing not just on the teams this year, but taking a look back at some previous years to see if the five star locks held up. Fun stuff to look back from a few years ago to see how the recrutniks fared.

The Weekend That Is = FOOD.
Sarah, aka TheStarterWife on the interwebs, has your Super Bowl Party covered. We run through nearly the full list of her recipes, and she talks about how simple some of them really are to make.

And we get so into this food stuff we actually talk about the rehydration process of peas, only do dehydrate them again to be coated in wasabi. Yes, a twice dehydrated pea!

We talk about the lack of native cuisine to Indianapolis, which is what led to her picking Sugar Cream Pie to go up against N’awlins Jambalaya in her Super Bowl city cook-off.

She has pretzel bread, so we talk about the potential for blasphemy with regard to screwing with the soft pretzel. But she is a Steelers fan and has Pittsburgh roots, so she knows the importance of the pretzel to this part of the country. Oh, and the Mac and Cheese bites look incredible.

And yes, she has blueberry salsa and made her own chips to go with them. Folks, she’s doing the Lord’s work. Go read everything, like, NOW.

Court Report:
Nick and I talk about some of our favorite Super Bowl foods and then discuss the Colorado fans taunting Kansas by calling them Overrated after Kansas BEAT THEM. I give my “rules” for when to taunt the opponent over at TSB.

Housekeeping:
Phil’s grooves. Verlander’s contract. Philly.com’s video ads (it happened while we were taping, so that’s why we rant). Petyon and Brees to get new deals. Snow.

Thanks for listening. I’m hungry.

TSB’s Chris Littmann Talks Media Day & Super Bowl Week from Miami. Plus: Rex’s Fine, Signing Day, Golf Grooves and more Soccer Infidelity.

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 09:23:36 -0500

Chris Littmann from The Sporting Blog joins the show from Miami to talk about media day. We run though what the event was like and talk about some of the highlights. Honestly, rather than read it here, go check out the great coverage at TSB from Littmann and Tunison, who I am calling the Crockett and Tubbs of the Sporting News team.

Football Talk:
Nick and I follow up the football talk with more football talk. Really.

We discuss the two major ankle stories this week, including the one where Warren Sapp is adamant that Dwight Freeney won’t play this Sunday because he didn’t have his ankle wrapped or iced during the ONE HOUR of media day. Methinks he’s talking just to talk. Oh, and the other story? Favre. Whodathunkit?

We touch on Signing Day and Rex Ryan’s fine as well.

Speculation Station:
We update the conversation in the PGA of whether or not golfers, including Phil Mickelson, are cheating for using old clubs. Scott McCarron has backed off his initial claims and says he and Phil now agree on the situation. Did Tim Finchem come down and give a “BACK OFF” edict, now that Phil is really the top dog left in the game?

And isn’t Rory McIlroy right:

"I don't see why they don't firm greens up and get the rough longer to bring scores down," McIlroy said. "They can make golf courses a lot tougher and turn 20-under winning scores into 12 under."

Housekeeping:
Yes! More teammates schtupping each other’s wives in soccer. This time it was 12 years ago! And THAT’S why the US stunk in France. Gotcha.

Thanks for listening

Pitt Rumors. Bleacher Report. Stealing From The Joe Sports Fan Show. Trapped Inside an Elevator. Tom Brookshier.

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 09:08:21 -0500

A different kind of show. In our middle segment, we steal some audio from this week’s Joe Sports Fan Show, with guests Josh Zerkle and....me. Consider it a teaser and a plug for the Vegas event all in one.

But first, Nick and I discuss the rumor mongering going around the internet about Pittsburgh going to the BIG TEN. From the looks of it, the rumor started on an OSU message board and Bleacher Report, the least reliable content network for news and information around. So of course, newspaper websites link to the rumors, thus making them more valid, and in turn, setting the internet ablaze.

It’s an issue of gatekeeping, but also of trusting what you read and making sure you illustrate what’s rumor and what’s sourced information. Nick brings up the 96-team NCAA tournament rumor that came up yesterday and we discuss how we, even at TSB or on this show or wherever any of you write, need to figure out if a rumor on SbB is more or less valid than a rumor somewhere else. To parallel the situations, we talk about Bleacher Report. If the same report Brooks posted was on Bleacher Report, we never would have linked to it. That’s just the way it goes. And there are some good writers on that network, but by and large, it’s the Wild Wild West. Clearly, a reporter in Kansas City didn’t know that when he linked to them. Or maybe he did.

Is there a lesson? Not sure, really. But it is good practice to not trust everything you read on the internet as fact, especially when it comes from a message board.

Tech Talk:
We steal some sound from the JSF show talking about what celebrity we’d want in a booth for an inning or a drive in football. Good stuff with Matt Sebek, Josh Bacott and Josh Zerkle on this segment. For more of the show, go to their site and download it later in the week.

Nick answers the question as well, and in light of Ann Curry getting caught in an elevator with Jeff Pulver and other social media-elite, we ask the question of who we’d most and least like to be stuck in an elevator with. Ann Curry’s name comes up. So does Dave Grohl, Glenn Beck, the show runners from Lost and Ricky Gervais. Oh, and Phil the groundhog.

Housekeeping:
Nick and I talk about the passing of Tom Brookshier. The name Tom Brookshier may mean more to the city of Philadelphia than anywhere else, but those in the industry around the country mourn the loss of the NFL standout turned media giant, after he succumbed to cancer this weekend. Brookshier was a member of the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles team – Tommy McDonald said he'd be the first guy you'd want on your team – and followed his NFL career as the lead analyst for CBS, teaming with Pat Summerall before John Madden did. He also was responsible, as part owner of 610 WIP in Philadelphia, for hiring Angelo Cataldi and the morning team, thus changing the landscape of Philadelphia radio, and sports, forever.

Oh, and Nick is all exited for Lost tonight.

Thanks to the JSF guys and to you for listening.

Will Carroll Talks Colts, Indy and Freeney’s Ankle. Plus PECOTA and Union Talk. Also: John Terry, Rex Ryan, Roger Federer.

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 10:22:25 -0500

We throw a lot at you on this show. First, Will Carroll from Baseball Prospectus joins the show to talk about, what else, FOOTBALL!

Carroll is an Indianapolis guy, so I wanted to get his take on the scene in Indy. Is it the euphoria like in New Orleans or more of a “been there done that” after winning a Super Bowl not too long ago?

We discuss the depth of the Colts and how losing Dwight Freeney may not be that big a deal. Oh, and we talk about Freeney’s ankle in a conversation that may or may not make sense after reports that he might have torn ligaments and not just a sprain.

But, it wouldn’t be right to have Carroll on and not talk a little baseball. We discuss the PECOTA rankings and try to figure out if throwing a dart against a wall is more or less accurate than their division winners. Note, I will not be betting any houses against the Yankees making the playoffs.

We also talk about the state of the labor unions in the major sports. Could we see a 2011 without any professional sports? Not likely, but it is, in a way, possible.

Soccer Talk:
Well, this is more about infidelity and abortion and media injunctions than soccer. Yes, we tackle the John Terry situation.

Print’s Not Dead:
Rex Ryan flipped a guy off at an MMA event. The media went nuts. NY Post has a middle finger photo on the front page. Bob Glauber actually wrote this:

“He shouldn’t have done it. As a public figure, he needs to control his emotions and not engage in the kind of behavior that will embarrass him, the Jets’ organization and the NFL at large.

“He wouldn’t expect that behavior from his players, nor should they expect it of him. He’s looked up to by fans, many of whom are young and impressionable, and he needs to maintain a sense of decorum both on and off the field.

“Goodell should absolutely fine Ryan, and the Jets should levy an additional sanction.”

FINED AND SANCTIONED? For flipping a guy off at an MMA event? I said on the show that the only reason someone at an MMA event should be upset that a guy flipped the bird is if the finger was blocking the view of an ear dangling from someone’s face. This is ridiculous, and yes, I understand the irony of me getting overly angry about the media getting overly angry.

Housekeeping:
Kornheiser said in September that Federer was done. Oops. And, not discussed on the show but we will tomorrow, RIP to Tom Brookshier.

Shane Bacon on Tiger, Phil. Plus: Late-Night Sports, PECOTA & Paul Shirley’s Reaction

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:16:54 -0500

Shane Bacon from Dogs That Chase Cars and Devil Ball Golf joins the show to talk about the state of golf with and without Tiger and planes landing on fairways. Yes!

But first, Nick is back on Skype and we talk about Federer getting to the Aussie Open final against Andy Murray. It’s on at 3:30AM on Sunday, so I’m debating waking up to watch the match, which leads to the question of what sporting events would you wake up at 3:30 in the AM to watch? World Cup, for me. The Super Bowl? Olympics? Let us know.

GOLF:
Shane Bacon and I talk about the story where a plane landed on a fairway. I guess if you’re plane needs to land, a golf course is the smartest place to do it. So we talk about the strangest things either of us have seen on a golf course. And I get to tell my story where I almost killed a bird. Good times.

We dissect Phil Mickelson’s quotes about Tiger Woods, calling them ‘good friends’ and discuss the timing of said comments -- to lead off his press conference before an update about his mother and wife battling cancer. We think it was shrewd to bring up Tiger before family because after you mention the family stuff, it’s hard for a reporter to go back to Tiger talk.

We talk about when Tiger will come back, how many tournaments we expect him to play and if that has any impact on Phil’s plans this year. Does the PGA need star power to keep people’s attention? Obviously. Can Phil provide that, and will Tiger decide to play more tournament once he gets back out on the course and realizes that playing golf is the only time people will leave him alone.

Or will they? With the fan walking onto the court at the Aussie, we talk about how easy it is for a fan to walk around the course on the PGA tour and talk to the players. It’s just a thin rope separating them! How will the PGA police things when Tiger comes back? What if people start to yell in his backswing in an effort to sabotage him? What’s the over-under on attractive women who run out onto the fairway/green to hug him so everyone takes their picture? I set it at 15, which is probably more than two per tournament.

Maybe someone should just land a plane on the fairway while he’s trying to hit a shot.

Talkin’ Baseball:
The Baseball Prospectus PECOTA rankings are out! Christmas for seamheads! Nick and I discuss how we love stats, yet they scare us.

Housekeeping:
We talk briefly about the Paul Shirley thing. He made a few good points before going completely batshit insane. And his “I’m sorry if you were offended” response was necessary, but not very well done either. He assumes we didn’t understand his point and that people are taking it out of context. No, we got it perfectly clear, and as a writer, you have to know whatever you say that’s inflammatory will always get taken out of context. It just usually doesn’t make everyone hate you because you have no heart.

Thanks for listening.

Eamonn Brennan of ESPN’s College Basketball Nation talks Hoops. Plus: Fans on the Court. Pro Bowl rules & SOTU Invokes The Simpsons & Conga Lines

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:35:44 -0500

Eamonn Brennan from ESPN’s College Basketball Nation blog joins the show to talk about the current state of the basketball season.

First, we talk a lot about his move from Yahoo to ESPN. There’s always been something cool and counter-culture to the blog world, and even the blogs at Yahoo – a giant corporation in its own right – have maintained that street cred. But ESPN has always been, as Eamonn admits, the sports media equivalent of the jock to the blog world’s punk rockers. Does he hope to change that? Or has it already changed? Have the punk rockers just become trendy indie rock kids now and ESPN’s blog platform is part of this weird middle ground where readers from both mainstream and occult can all enjoy the same content -- like a Green Day concert from the late ‘90s or something.

We talk about the goal of the new blog, but I never get to find out if he’s allowed to boss Andy Katz around or not. Talk about a job with benefits.

We discuss the importance (or lack thereof) of the number 1 ranking and talk a lot about the upper echelon of college basketball. With Kentucky losing, who is the best team RIGHT NOW in America? Is it Kentucky? Is it Kansas? And who will it be at the end of the year -- one of those teams or whoever proves they can get out of the BIG EAST alive?

Did you know that, other than Texas, two schools that have had the best athletic year with football and basketball combined are BYU and Temple? Sure, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin are there too, but we focus on the mid majors (can either BYU or Temple really be considered a mid-major) and talk about how good those teams really are. Of course, they both go and lose last night, so part of our conversation is a bit undercut.

Finally, we talk about the rules for rushing the court and how stupid it is for the SEC to be fining schools if their fans do so. What will the school do, take it out of tuition.

Court Report:
Nick is back and we talk about the fact that CHARLOTTE rushed the court for beating TEMPLE. Embarrassing. So to, if the picture was right and Providence rushed the court for beating UConn, but still, nothing is as bad as rushing the court because you beat 15th ranked Temple. Just a joke.

And speaking of on the court, a fan walked on the court after the Marin Cilic - Andy Murray match at the Aussie and NOBODY STOPPED HIM. How is that still possible?

Football Talk:
Nick and I talk about the Pro Bowl and how backwards it is that players in the Super Bowl have to take part in Pro Bowl events but those who lost in the playoffs -- TOM BRADY, et al -- can beg off on the whole week. That’s not fair.

Housekeeping:
We talk SOTU and somehow equate it to both the Simpsons, and my friend Bill’s wedding. Good times.

Thanks to Eamonn and you for listening, as always.

LSU Freek on New Orleans, Saints, Who Dat. Plus: Another #1 Falls. Apple Tablet to Revolutionize Print, World. And Newsday’s 35.

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:22:55 -0500

With the Saints in the Super Bowl, we want to focus as much on the city of New Orleans as we can. I had the great pleasure of talking with my TSB cohort, and all-around gif magician, LSU Freek, about the Super Bowl, the city and more. Who Dat.

But first, Nick and I talk Greg Oden’s penis apology (and why does this always have to do with OSU players) and the fact that we live in a world where this becomes a front-page link on ESPN.com.

We then talk about another number one falling in college basketball and how great it is for the sport that nobody seems to want the number one spot. And frankly, it doesn’t matter anyway. More than any other sport, the college basketball poll is really just so the media has something to do throughout the year to help them get a handle on who is good, who might be good and who is no longer good. But, if the rankings don’t matter, why does it always seem to get to the top team? Or is it just timing and completely coincidental to their ranking? So much fun.

FREEK:
I talk with LSU Freek for a while about a lot of things, including his gif images, his Etch-a-Sketch art (amazing) and of course, the Saints. At the end of the conversation, I realize that I am one of the (probably) many people who are asking those in New Orleans to take a great event like the Saints going to the Super Bowl, and using it as a gateway to talk about a time that wasn’t so good down there. “Hey, congrats, now let’s talk about how crappy things use to be.”

That’s totally not fair, but in a way it is important to know where the city is post Katrina. We’re worrying so much about Haiti and other, more immediate problems, but what’s life like for those who just four years ago had their lives turned upside-down? The pain of losing a loved one doesn’t go away just because it happened four years ago. Sure, people have to move on, but have they been able to? Freek worked in the hospital for three weeks straight after Katrina and has a first-hand recollection of the devastation. How important have the Saints been to the city’s reclamation? How cathartic was the win on Sunday?

And what was the scene like in New Orleans after the Saints won. Biggest party ever? What about two weeks from now?

Which leads to a breakdown of the Saints chances from a completely biased sports fan. It’s fun to indulge.

Prints Not Dead:
Nick and I discuss the upcoming announcement about the Apple Tablet and if it really will revolutionize the print business like pundits are suggesting. We still content that there’s a tactile importance to magazines and books. This tablet may be the greatest invention ever, or it may be a big toy Apple sells billions of and nothing more, but I can’t turn the publishing industry upside-down like they’re saying.....can it?

And we talk about Newsday’s giant firewall that let 35 people in. Nice plan, Cablevision.

Housekeeping:
PFT had a report that the Superdome won’t be opening for the game to let fans watch. They suggest (correctly) that the NFL doesn’t let big parties watch the game because it hurts their TV ratings. But I wonder if the Superdome operations people are using that rule as a defense mechanism, throwing the NFL under the bus when they just don’t want to try and set it up. Think about how many people they’d have to pay for parking and security and concessions and to clean up. They could easily collect money for charity (half to people still hurt by Katrina and half to Haiti relief). The NFL would surely approve that. Something doesn’t seem right.

Besides, now everyone can go over to Freek’s house!

Drew Magary Talks Favre & Vikes. Plus: Nadal’s Hurt, The Senior Bowl Meat Market & A Big Monday Bust

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:54:00 -0500

Who better to have on the show after a Vikings loss (in the playoffs) than Drew Magary the most internet famous Vikings fan around.
 First, we talk about the seemingly 700 places he’s writing these days before getting in-depth on the Vikings loss in the NFC title game. Obviously we talk about Favre’s year, his play in the game this weekend and if the interception at the end of regulation was as dumb a play as everyone is making it out to be.

Who his the most to blame for the loss? Brad Childress and his questionable playcalling and clock management late in the game when it was clear the Vikings were wasting too much time to try and kick a very long field goal to win it? Favre for throwing that pass and being all-together mediocre down the stretch? Or Adrian Peterson, et al, for the constant barrage of fumbles? How can Peterson be thought of as one of the greatest running backs in the league when he CONSTANTLY puts the ball on the ground in big spots?

And, as Drew points out, how is he fumbling when the media keeps talking about how strong his handshake is?

We talk about the hatred for Favre and if we really don’t like the guy because people like Joe Buck and Peter King can’t stop lauding him. And speaking of King, does he think people really care about Favre’s daughter and how heartbroken she is? Do media people get a little too close to the athletes they cover and lose sight of what the reader would want?

We also preview the Super Bowl, looking at who we think will win, and who America wants to win. My thanks to Drew for being a good sport and coming on after such a terrible loss.

Tennis:
Nick and I discuss Rafael Nadal’s injury and subsequent retirement from his match against Andy Murray. Nick takes this opportunity to laud Federer even more. We then talk about how the situation was handled (well, I believe) by Chris Fowler and Patrick McEnroe who had to give instant reaction to the injury. Said McEnroe:

“You hope that maybe he just tweaked it a little bit and he can get some rest and it will be okay in a couple of weeks. Obviously that's what we all hope. But right now I can only imagine, sort of the fear he has – the fear that all of us have in the tennis world – that this guy's not going to be able to play into his mid-late 20s. And he has to be thinking about that, and that must be an awful feeling for him.”

Football Talk:
The Senior Bowl is this weekend, and all the players are treated as giant hunks of meat. Is that fair? Is it hilarious? We say yes to both. Oh, and Tim Tebow can’t take a snap from under center, which is obviously the lead football story in America.

Housekeeping:
We talk about the Big Monday game that turned into Big Blowout. And we wish we watched the Cavs-Heat game with LeBron and DWade. Damn you NBA TV.

Thanks to Drew and thanks to you.

Ernie Harwell Turns 92 And is Still Writing Strong. Plus, The Weekend in NFL & College Hoops.

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:25:40 -0500

Nick is back, but his computer is dead so until it’s fixed he’s on the phone. The old Don West show is back!

Everyone is talking about the NFL and we’ll get to that. But we wanted to start the show with a very happy birthday to Ernie Harwell who turns 92 today. Harwell is still writing for the Detroit Free Press. And that’s pretty darn awesome.

Football Talk:
We try to run the gamut on the games, from the best storylines and the best stories to what the NFL would have wanted (Indy-Minnesota) and how Favre’s involvement in the Super Bowl to the average viewer differs from his importance to the average sports fan.

And how much of all the Favre hatred is really the announcer’s fault? Joe Buck was all over the Favre storyline yesterday. Is it a conscious thing or does he get wrapped up in the drama?

We also discuss what a great STORY it is for New Orleans to get into the Super Bowl -- especially for the people down there with what they’ve had to go through the last five years. Oh, and of course, who will Archie be rooting for?

Housekeeping:
We touch on the big college basketball upsets to illustrate how the regular season means nothing...and everything...all at once. There is no way Texas would ever go to UConn in football (yes, even UConn they’d be afraid to play on the road), but in basketball it’s no problem because it’s getting battle tested for the tournament. Tonight’s BIG EAST game with Syracuse and Georgetown won’t decide the national championship, but it will go a long way to determining which team is more suited for a deep NCAA run and has the better chance -- perhaps -- at a title.

Thanks for listening, as always.

Zerkle Fills in For Nick, Talks All-Stars, NFL Weekend & White Hoops

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:51:46 -0500

The guy wins a vote and he’s taking over the place. Josh Zerkle from With Leather and KSK fills in for Nick’s ailing computer to talk about the world of sports.

First, we discuss the vote that saw him defeat Matt Sebek and earn a trip to Vegas. Seriously, thanks to everyone who voted. We talk about how Twitter compared favorably from a traffic standpoint to the established sites like Deadspin and Hot Clicks. Maybe point-to-point marketing is the future.

Josh and I talk about the big Cavs-Lakers game last night and spin that into a conversation about the NBA All-Star Game and if Allen Iverson being a starter is good for the league or shows that fans really just don’t pay attention to anything other than the names. Tracy McGrady almost made a starting spot and he hasn’t started as much as a regular season game in quite some time.

More Football Talk:
We go from NBA All-Star talk to Pro Bowl talk. Will anyone from the losing teams this weekend make the trip to the Pro Bowl? Why would you travel to the same site of the Super Bowl a week before when you were THIS CLOSE to playing in the game that actually matters?

Which means that likely players from the final four teams won’t be going to the game. Nor will some playoff quarterbacks – Rivers, Palmer – who are either too hurt or to tired to go. Enter Vince Young.

Don’t we need a better system? Can’t we just have a skills challenge and forget about the silly game anyway?

Josh and I talk about this weekend’s games and try to figure out what the best Super Bowl match-up will be from a promotion and media standpoint. Also, is the Colts Karma thing for not trying to go undefeated meritorious?

And what about the legacy of Favre. Ah, Favre.

Housekeeping:
Isn’t an all-white basketball league a good idea? See, here’s the thing about racists -- I’d rather have the morons be out in the open where we can identify them. Latent racism is so hard to fight, but overt stuff like this just makes it so much easier to know who to avoid.

Thanks to Josh, and you for listening.

Josh Levin from Slate on the Changing Landscape of Sports Media, Joe in the Corner & How Bill Simmons’ Book is Like Avatar

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:59:23 -0500

If you’re a fan of in-depth sports talk podcasts, you will like Slate’s Hang Up and Listen with Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis and Mike Pesca. Ascots are optional.

Josh Levin joins the show to talk about his show, writing at Slate and a whole lot more.

First, we start out with the most Jewish conversation ever in the history of the show -- and this is a show that once did a segment on our favorite foods at Passover -- by figuring out why Josh pronounces his name “Le-veen” and not “Le-vinn”. Coming from a “Lee-vee” and not a “Lev-ee” this conversation should be riveting...for two of you.

We talk about Hang up and Listen, the logistics of the show, and what it’s like doing a sports show for a site like Slate. What exactly is the audience for the show -- Josh says its for smart people who are bored at work -- but is the sports show, specifically, geared toward sports fans for Slate fans? How much cross-over is there? And do they have to focus more on the chess, tennis and golf results of the world? Oh, and with Fatsis, Scrabble.

We talk about more and more non-sports outlets developing sports-specific endeavors from his show to TMZ Sports and everywhere in between. Sports sites rarely (sometimes, but rarely) delve outside the world of sports, but news and entertainment sites have been flocking into the sports world to capitalize on how popular the off-the-field stuff has become. We debate if this trend is new, or if it’s been around for years -- especially in magazines -- and it’s just more obvious now because of TMZ.

Josh is the technology editor at Slate as well, so we talk a great deal about 3DTV and if it will work in the home. Will we all have to wear glasses to watch the screen? What if we invite friends over and don’t have enough glasses? What will Joe in the Corner have to do to watch the game? And yes, Josh suggests that Joe in the Corner become the 3DTV equivalent to Joe the Plumber. Let’s get that movement started.

Somehow we go into a conversation about Avatar and how great the effects were but stupid the overall movie is and how James Cameron was more concerned with making a billion dollars than actually telling a real story or giving an actual social commentary on the military in America. Look closely, and it’s a total cop out. But oooooh, flying dragons!

And Josh tries very hard to make the parallel between Avatar and Bill Simmons’ new basketball book. I’m not sure I buy all the analogies, but it’s a very compelling argument.

Last, we touch on the New York Times decision to start charging for some content -- or multiple visits -- in 2011. Is it a viable model for success online? And we discuss why websites can’t charge ISPs just like the cable networks charge cable providers to carry their networks? It’s the model that will work...I think. But there are too many ISPs who are connected to news outlets at this point (Cablevision/Newsday) (Comcast/NBC) that it may be too late for that.

Thanks to Josh for taking the time.

Housekeeping:
CONGRATS TO JOSH ZERKLE for winning the poll between he and Matt Sebek to see who will be joining me in Vegas over Super Bowl weekend for the Trash Talk Championship of the World. Thanks to all who voted.

The Contest. Plus: Roddick’s Outburst, Calhoun’s Health and Dexter’s Praise

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:11:37 -0500

Let’s get right to the point. I’m going to Vegas for the Super Bowl to play in a high-stakes poker tournament billed as the World Championship of Trash Talk. And I get to bring a blogger friend with me.

Josh Zerkle and Matt Sebek are battling it out for that honor (to go to Vegas, not necessarily to hang out with me) so go over to our page dedicated to the contest and vote for one of them. Or both, if you can. Just go vote. More information about the tournament and the charity on that page.

What’s fun is that on today’s show I surprised the two of them with a phone call to record their pitches to come on the trip. Fun stuff.

Nick and I also talk about the Aussie Open and how great it is that matches are on all night (for those who go to sleep late or wake up early). We discuss Andy Roddick’s outburst of expletives. That’s totally not his fault, despite his apology. But should sports on TV be on a five-second delay? Is this ESPN’s fault for getting us too close to the action?

Personally, I love it and appreciate the fact that ESPN does things live. But with outbursts like this, will it change in the future? Andy Hutchins at The Sporting Blog suggested that it might, so Nick and I debate that point.

Court Report:
We discuss Jim Calhoun’s decision to take a leave of absence and turn the conversation into a talk about how hard college coaches work. It’s just a self-fullfilling prophecy...if they all cut two hours out of their day for sleep and/or family it would be so much better for all of them. That’s not to say work had anything to do with Calhoun’s medical situation. Just a point we bring up.

Housekeeping:
We talk about Dexter at the Golden Globes, Conan’s buyout and another earthquake in Haiti. Josh Levin from Slate on tomorrow.

Thanks for listening and go vote!

Wyshynski on Mike Richards vs. Media and Other NHL Matters. Plus: McGwire Picked Costas, So Why Won’t NBC. NFL Coaches & Greenberg’s Gaffe.

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:43:29 -0500

Today feels like a Monday. Lots of show for you today.

First, Greg Wyshynski from Puck Daddy over at Yahoo joins the show to talk about the NHL. We discuss the situation between Flyers captain Mike Richards and the Philadelphia media. Is the media being unfair or is Richards taking things too personally? The most recent rift stems from quotes Richards gave to the Hockey News a few weeks ago. Do athletes not realize their local media will read the quotes or to they just not care?

And why won’t Richards just take the high road? Hasn’t he learned anything from Donovan McNabb in this town -- don’t fight with the media because you’ll lose.

Wyshynski and I talk about the NHL conspiracy between Alex Burrows and referee Stephane Auger where Burrows claimed that Auger told him before the game that he was going ‘get him back’ for Burrows showing up the ref in a previous game. Burrows ended up with a ton of penalty minutes, then bitched to the media after the game that Auger threatened him about just that.

The league investigated and sided with the official, fining the player for yapping to the media. Fair?

Last, Wyshynski and I talk about the upcoming Olympics. What’s his role going to be and can he manage to watch all the hockey without cheering for the US team in the press box? Oh, and who are these guys on the US team anyway? Has hockey taken a back seat to other sports in the Olympics because we just don’t know, as average American sports fans, who the hockey players are anymore?

Or am I just a terrible old hockey fan?

Inside The Press Box:
Nick and I discuss the report from SBD that Mark McGwire’s PR team hand-picked Bob Costas to do the interview. Was it the right PR strategy so far? What about the impromptu presser this weekend?

And we discuss my idea of giving 10pm on NBC to Costas for a five-day-a-week sports show. Two long interviews a week - there is no way that McGwire interview should have been on MLB instead of NBC - and three days of other sports programming. It can’t be worse than what they have now.

Football Talk:
We talk about the coaching situations in Dallas and San Diego and how the 2011 season impacts both. Oh, and how perfect is Rex Ryan for NYC?

And what about this running up the score nonsense?

Housekeeping:
We bring up the Greenberg gaffe here, briefly. And some other stuff. Thanks for listening.

GQ’s Jason Fagone Tells The Marvin Harrison Story Plus: NFL Weekend on TV, Ebersol Defends Leno & A Slate Podcast Call-Out

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:26:17 -0500

Yesterday the internet was atwitter with the new GQ story on Marvin Harrison, wonderfully authored by Jason Fagone. I had the pleasure of talking with him yesterday afternoon about the article.

We try to cover as much about the way the story was constructed as the information therein. How long did it take him to research and write the story? And if he was able to parse through the information – from witness accounts to police reports to first-person interviews with victims – and write a story that all but proves Marvin Harrison not only beat a man in the street after a disagreement, but went back into his car wash and had a broad-daylight shootout with the man, hitting him and other by-standers, why the heck couldn’t the prosecutor’s office in Philadelphia do that?

How different is the burden of proof to write a magazine article and actually prosecute someone? If the DA was concerned about conflicting statements or witnesses recanting their stories, why would a guy like Robert Nixon, who was shot in the back by, as he claims, a stray bullet from Harrison, talk to GQ for this story? (Nixon is suing Harrison and hopes to take the money to move his family out of Philadelphia). Or was it just that police and the prosecutors thought that all the parties involved were, as the story states, ‘pieces of shit?’

Did Fagone have any concerns with the way he set up the lead to his article, telling the story through the eyes of Nixon? And was he concerned about what to believe, both in his findings and his interviews? When it’s he said-he said, who do you trust?

We run though the entire GQ story in detail, including the fact that Harrison admitted in a police interview that the gun was in his possession the entire time. We also talk about Harrison’s familial backstory, which was news to me.

And speaking of news to me, we talk about why in the world this story has been so woefully under-reported from a national standpoint. Gilbert Arenas bringing guns to the locker room is an international circus, but it seems that, safe one brief news cycle and a follow up last year by ESPN the Magazine, the Harrison story never caught on as big as it should when a Hall of Fame wide receiver allegedly shoots people in the street.

Has the media confused Harrison’s quiet demeanor with being a good guy? Are we so caught up with TO and Michael Irvin and Chad Ochocinco that we just assumed because Harrison kept his trap shut that he must have been a good citizen? Is that why the story hasn’t been bigger?

And now that the story is out, does Fagone, who lives in Philly, fear that he and his family might be a target?

Please go read the article if you haven’t yet. It’s entirely fascinating.

Hard Left Turn:
No way to get out of that segment so we move on to talk about the weekend in the NFL. Nick and I discuss how FOX got screwed by the NFL by getting the early games on both Saturday and Sunday and discuss ways the league could have set up the games to placate both networks. FOX has a big night planned on Sunday and would have benefited from the afternoon slot to lead into their prime time lineup. But the 1pm game between Dallas and Minnesota could, potentially, be the highest-rated non Super Bowl of all time. The numbers have been insane for the NFL this year. This could be the biggest.

Housekeeping:
We talk about Dick Ebersol’s shot at Conan O’Brien and take our own shot, in jest, at the fine folks at Slate’s Hang up and Listen podcast. Yes, I think I call them out to a duel. We’d kick their ascots. (We just need a third person to help. Preferably someone who can handle fighting three people at once.)

Thanks for listening.

Phillip Stutts On The Sport of Politics. Plus Lane Kiffin at USC and We Stumble Through This Haiti Crisis

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:14:01 -0500

It’s been a long day, both in time and in emotion, and it’s not yet 10am. That does, however, mean the show is late, so this will be brief.

First, Nick and I discuss the Lane Kiffin hiring at USC. Honestly, who would want to play for this guy, not only after his actions, but just with how ‘douchey’ he seems. Yes, I just used the word douchey. And will his hiring cause more sanctions to come down on USC, what with his involvement in both the Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight situations when he was there as OC and recruiting coordinator?

Political Safari:
Stutts and I cover the following topics.

•Harry Reid’s ridiculous statements, his future, the hypocrisy of some Dems & Obama’s Hammer.
•Harold Ford. He’s handsome and obnoxious. Perfect for NY?
•Sarah Palin as the perfect fit for Fox News
•Pat Robertson, religion and how it ties in with the GOP
•Leno as a de-facto Republican comedic voice 

I’m sure there is more and it’s a wonderful discussion, as are most with Stutts. Scary that, this time, we agree a lot.

Nick and I piggy back on that discussion to talk about the situation in Haiti, and really what people can do and if it’s our responsibility to do anything anyway.

Housekeeping:
Michael C. Hall has cancer, Hodgkins’ lymphoma to be exact. But it was caught early so Dexter fans will be happy to know it’s under control (as much as cancer can be, I suppose). And FSN Pittsburgh suspended their producer for the goal/replay situation.

Tough show to figure out how to do. Thanks for your patience.

Matt Ufford on TV, Talking Conan Leno, Simon Cowell, Failing Network Shows & Football

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:54:01 -0500

Matt Ufford of Uproxx’s TV blog Warming Glow (and With Leather and KSK fame) joins the who to talk about the world of television.

And thank goodness for timing, as we get the hot-off-the-presses release by Conan O’Brien about how he will not do the Tonight Show at 12:05. The winning line, for me:

“I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show.”

So Conan wins the day, but does he win in the long run? Ufford points out the carefully worded statement that points out that Conan does not believe moving the show off it’s tradition time slot maintains the fact that it is, in fact, the Tonight Show. The wording of ‘the next day’ is perhaps more legalese than crafty writing, what with $45 million in the balance.

And how evil does Leno come out of this looking? Isn’t this the EXACT same thing that happened with Letterman as chronicled by Late Shift? Wait, the difference is CONAN ALREADY HAS THE JOB. I can’t see how anyone would want to associate with Jay at this point? That said, he didn’t leave Tonight because his ratings were bad. In fact, they gave him 10pm because his ratings at 11:30 were good. So is all well that ends well for him?

And what about Dave? How will he handle having to, potentially, go up against Conan AND Jay? We know one thing, Carson Daly is a happy guy.

We shift gears to talk about the other huge TV story right now, and that’s the announcement that Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after this season to bring X Factor to America. Basically, for those who don’t know, X Factor is the exact same show, but Simon owns it. Oh, and you can have bands and dancing instead of just one person singing. Oh, and there is no age limits...but really, it’s the same show and Simon is the star. Basically he’ll be rebooting the American Idol franchise with a new face, just like he did with Pop Idol in Britain. And he owns it, so he’ll add to his billions.

What does this mean for Idol? Well, it’s likely done after this year. They might have the guts to try and do another season after this with Randy and Seacrest and Kara (unlikely Ellen would stay on for a season without Simon and damage her reputation), but who, really, would watch that show? The show IS Simon. It will be interesting to see if this news actually boosts the ratings for Idol this season, with people realizing it’s Simon’s (and likely the show’s) last.

We go from great ratings to poor ones to wonder why some shows just don’t get the chance to survive. Like Better Off Ted and, perhaps, Flash Forward. Do we have to go to cable to get anything good nowadays?

Oh, and it wouldn’t be right to not talk with Ufford, a noted Seahawks fan, about the hiring of Pete Carroll. How excited is he? Oh, what’s that...not very? Okay, then.

Oh, and one more TV note. Did you know that those who watch more than four hours of TV a day have an 80% greater chance of getting a heart attack. Good luck, couch potatoes.

Thanks to Matt and thanks for listening.

McGwire Took Steroids. Shocker. Plus, McNabb Will Be Back in Philly. African Soccer & NHL Replay Conspiracy?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:25:46 -0500

Nick is back. We talk about, what else, Mark McGwire. For more, read my take yesterday at The Sporting Blog.

More Football Talk:
Andy Reid announced yesterday that Donovan McNabb is the quarterback of the Eagles and will be the quarterback of the Eagles next year. How long that feeling lasts is obviously up for debate (for the record, we believe him).

First, there aren’t that many teams who would trade for a guy like McNabb, and of those teams who could use a veteran quarterback as a final piece to a championship puzzle (namely Minnesota or Arizona if their gray-bearded signal-callers retire), why would the Eagles want to trade McNabb to a team they’ll likely face in the playoffs? It’s AFC or lower-tier NFC team if you ask me. And he had a great year (for him) statistically, so why get rid of him now? Just for the change of pace? That’s not the Eagles style.
 Nick does, however, point out that all of this posturing by Reid isn’t to deceive the media or the fans. It’s to deceive the other teams. Why come out now and say you want to trade McNabb? You’ll just end up devaluing his tradeability.

Political Safari:
This situation in Angola is out of control. Now Togo, which lost three members of their team, including their media relations director, is being excluded from the Africa Cup of Nations because they want to properly mourn for the loss of their people. No, the games must go on, so they are out.

Should they postpone the event? Cancel it? Just play on? What would we do here if it were a team in the NFL playoffs? And honestly, as crazy and rabid as we think we are as sports fans, we have nothing on the rest of the world.

Housekeeping:
We talk about the Flyers getting hosed on a goal because FSN Pittsburgh didn’t send the replay THAT SHOWED THE GOAL to the league offices. Once it was ruled ‘no goal’ FSN showed on TV the replay that proved it was, in fact, a goal. The league is looking into it.

It does illustrate the fact that replay is solely predicated on technology and namely the television feed of the game. The more cameras or the higher definition, the better the ability to review a play. So does that mean that games that won’t get as good a ratings – say in the NFL specifically – are at a disadvantage when it comes to replay?

Matt Ufford from Warming Glow and KSK on tomorrow. Thanks for listening.

WaPo’s Emil Steiner on NFL Weekend. Simmy Kay on MTV’s Silent Library Season Two.

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:07:21 -0500

No Nick today. And no, he’s not ducking you after the Eagles’ loss this weekend. Well, maybe he is. But two guests hosts in his place today!

First, Emil Steiner from Washington Post, editor of their football blog site The League, joins the show to fill in for Nick.

We talk all about the weekend in the NFL – from the snoozer games leading up to the amazing finish to the Packers-Cardinals game. And I still content that the Packers should have gone for two. Not that I would have done that had I been coaching, but THEY should have.

And we debate whether or not to debate the debate about the NFL’s overtime rules. Sure they could go first team to six points (an idea I like) or both teams getting at least one possession before it becomes sudden death (something Emil plugs) but there’s no debate that after yesterday’s outcome, clearly winning the toss doesn’t mean winning the game. So all those who say the rule is terrible need to quit yer bitching.

Oh, and since Emil is a Philly guy, we talk at good length about the Eagles. And no, Donovan McNabb is not going to get traded. At least we don’t think so.

Inside The Press Box:
We briefly touch on the news in the Washington Post that fans are having signs taken away at Wizards games. It’s one thing to take down all Arenas signage in the arena, but the Wizards taking away signs in the stands is close to taking away civil liberties. Now look, this is not Nazi Germany, no matter how many jokes and references we make to it, but holding up a sign of complaint is the most basic form of protest. Why would the Wizards take their lead from the Redskins earlier this season? If you take away fans’ right to protest, the next think they’ll do is stop showing up. At least they came to the building. Let them keep their sign.

Culture Pop:
Simmy Kay joins the show to talk about season two of his MTV comedy/reality program Silent Library. Basically insane things happen to a guy and his friends need to not laugh in order to win money. If they laugh, they lose. It’s based on, as Simmy points out, the concept that restrained laugher is inherently funny.

In other words, watching people want to laugh makes you want to laugh. And this year the situations have gotten ever further out of control. On the first episode, AIRING TONIGHT AT 6:30PM ON MTV, Ron Jeremy appears, and a contestant has to feed him carrots. You read that right.

So check it out if you’re in that MTV demographic, or if you want to relive the idiocy of Jackass now that you’re an adult. Live a little, man!

Simmy and I also talk about the Leno/Conan fallout. Did you know that Carson Daly still has a show? Who knew.

Oh, and Simmy is a Mets fan, so we get his take on Jason Bay. Maybe they won’t finish last this year. Maybe.

Thanks as always for listening.

Poor Colt McCoy, SB Nation’s Brent Brookhouse on Dana White and UFC, Gil’s Photo Conspiracy, Leno’s Failure & Obama v. Lost

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 08:59:27 -0500

Snow. Football. MMA. TV.

Brent Brookhouse from BloodyElbow.com and MMA editor at SB Nation drops by to talk about Dana White and the latest scream-at-a-media-member video that came out last week. But first...

Nick and I talk about the BCS title game, which is to say, we talk about how bad we feel for Colt McCoy. Look, would Alabama have won the game anyway? Honestly, who knows. But if McCoy becomes more like Chris Simms (or Major Applewhite even) than Vince Young, THIS could be his legacy - a dead arm in the biggest game of his life. It’s a shame, really.

And what do the AP voters think about Boise State? Well, not that much, if you go by the voting. Boise finished THIRD, behind Alabama (congrats by the way), Texas and Florida. So much for a split national title. Which further illustrates that after all our bitching and complaining, the BCS wins. They got good ratings for three of the five games – the TCU/Boise game was low and certainly nobody was watching the Orange Bowl – the stadiums were packed and the team most would have picked to win the title...did. Pat yourselves on the back, BCS, for a job well orchestrated.

And Now For a Sport We Know Nothing About:
Rather than the two of us ranting about Dana White’s latest video where he MFs on and on about how Sherdog should be promoting his fight and not questioning his assertion that MMA will be the biggest sport in the world in ten years, we thought it’d make sense to bring in someone who covers the sport a wee bit more closely.

Brent Brookhouse compiled a post for SB Nation of internet writers who have everything from strong to zero interest in MMA and specifically UFC to ask them what we thought about Dana White’s latest rant and to ask if he’s the guy to get the sport fully into the mainstream.

We discuss Brent’s thoughts on that question, and wonder if maybe White, specifically with UFC, doesn’t want anymore crossover appeal. Perhaps these videos are sending a message more to his constituents than the media, in that he’s happy with the crowd of fans who think being a bully is cool, or funny. Has White looked at NASCAR and NHL with their expansion, and how spreading your sport too thin brings in fair-weather fans at the risk of alienating the core, and decided to go the other way? Is White catering to his core and in doing so, purposely alienating new casual fans?

And how much like Vince McMahon is White? Other commissioners run their leagues and let the players be the face. White is clearly the face of UFC. We discuss if that’s the best business model when he’s proven to not be all that likeable at times. And speaking of business models, can UFC become a much bigger brand with so much based on PPV buys? One can make the case that boxing has become less and less relevant because few fights are on free TV anymore. That said, PPVs do bring in millions and millions of dollars. So how much is one over-the-air TV viewer worth when compared to a PPV buy?

Brent and I do talk about some of the fighters, namely Brock Lesnar (and Bobby Lashley) and how fighters coming from WWE/wrestilng look at UFC as a step up to real fighting, yet guys like Hershel Walker (and Jose Canseco) look at it as a last-ditch way to hang on. Is MMA still in a weird purgatory realm of sports?

Any why can’t I have a site that starts with Bloody? Bloody Microphone just doesn’t have the same ring as Elbow.

Inside the Press Box:
Nick and I discuss the report in the Washington Post that the now infamous photo of Gilbert Arenas giving his gun salute disappeared from the Getty Images servers after it was originally posted, per the NBA’s request. From the Post:

Bridget Russel, Getty's director of corporate communications, said the company asked the NBA to revisit its decision, and the Arenas photo eventually was restored to the archive. She said there is a clear distinction between photos shot by Getty and those it distributes on behalf of other organizations -- from the NBA to The Washington Post -- in which the captions make clear that Getty does not own the copyright.

The picture "was shot by one of the NBA's photographers," Russel said. "Getty Images does not own the rights to this image, we are merely the distributor. We did honor the NBA's request to take down the image. They reconsidered, and the photo was restored live to our site at approximately 3:30 p.m."

So it’s back, but why get rid of it once it’s out there in the first place? It clearly makes the NBA look worse that they tried to cover this up. It’s part of the fabric of the sport. Embrace it. Fix it so it doesn’t happen again, but don’t sweep it under the rug. Then you become baseball.

Culture Pop:
The Leno experiment has failed. Shocker. Reports are he’s going back to 11:30pm for HALF AN HOUR and Conan will start at midnight with Jimmy Fallon at 1am. This is a stupid idea, but so was thinking Leno would do well at 10pm. Let’s hope Comcast hires people who know what they’re doing.

And Nick speaks on behalf of all the Lost fans who might get pushed back a week for the State of the Union. Oh, and could you imagine if they did the speech on an American Idol night and FOX refused to preempt? Fun times in the media these days.

Thanks to Brent and thanks to you.

Dan Steinberg Talks Shanahan, Arenas & DC’s Busy Week in Sports. Plus Shoals Gives His thoughts on Arenas, Baseball HOF talk and Dave Spadaro’s Spit Take

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 09:18:09 -0500

Lots to get to. Steinberg and Shoals on today. First, a little explanation.

WIth DC the center of the sports world the last few days – with the Redskins hiring Mike Shanahan and this whole Gilbert Arenas situation – we thought it would make sense to get Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post on the show.

During that conversation, Steinz hints at a huge Post story coming out today. But we couldn’t talk about it because he didn’t know all the particulars. We discuss the entire Arenas situation, up to that point, and talk at length about the hiring of Shanny and how that’s going to be received in DC. Are Skins fans parading down the street? And what about Clinton Portis in all this? Remember that Shanahan was the guy who got rid of Portis in Denver, and that was back when he was still productive. What’s going to happen to Portis now, and if he’s concerned at all about his future in Washington, why would he go on radio and say that his quarterback isn’t a leader? Even if he believes that, why in the world would you rock the boat when you know a guy is coming in who already got rid of you once?

Steinberg brings up some contract issues that may preclude the Skins from just dumping Portis, but does agree that the situation will be interesting to watch, to say the least. And we discuss how two of the most liked athletes in DC – Arenas and Portis – have fallen so far in such a short time.

----------------

Oh, and my question of who will steal the headline in the Post on Thursday? Yeah, Mike Wise wins the day.

Those particulars we didn’t know about when I talked to Steinz. Here they are, per the Post:

Asking Arenas what he was doing, Arenas replied, "If you want to shoot me, I'd just thought I'd make it easy for you." As other teammates laughed, Crittenton crumpled up the paper, tossed one of Arenas's guns across the room, where it bounced in front of a team trainer, and said he didn't need any of Arenas's firearms because he had his own, according to the witness accounts.

Crittenton then drew his weapon, loaded it and chambered a round, the witnesses said.

The term “chambered a round” is not something David Stern needs to see right now.

----------------

Back to Wednesday night, we bring in Shoals to talk about his post at The Baseline wondering why we really have to think of athletes as role models. Yes, the entire sports world always goes back to Charles Barkley’s famous comments. And what will we take out of this whole Gilbert situation? Is he the basketball equivalent to Manny Ramirez? Is Gilbert being Gilbert the new Manny being Manny?

And was Gil being malicious or just being, in his mind, aloof and silly? Is the ‘Gilbert is a bad person’ moniker fair? How much did Peter Vecsey’s report taint the jury pool, perhaps literally, in this situation? If Crittenton pulled a loaded weapon out after Gil was just joking around with his, where’s the line of criminality in this situation? And where’s the line of morality?

----------------

Nick and I talk more about this, wondering what the fallout will be? Is Crittenton done in the NBA? Can David Stern give him the death penalty, so to speak?

Talking Baseball:
We go over the Hall of Fame inductions and snubs. Mostly snubs. I was wrong on yesterday’s show to dismiss the merits of some of the candidates. Roberto Alomar should have gotten in. And he was snubbed and “he’ll get in eventually” doesn’t work for me. More on this at The Sporting Blog.

Inside the Press Box:
Dave Spadaro is an embarrassment to the Eagles and the city of Philadelphia. And I’m not saying that just because he was a CREDENTIALED MEMBER OF THE EAGLES STAFF and decided to spit on the Cowboys’ star, video tape it and put in on the Eagles website. Now, he’s an embarrassment as much for this, as part of his team-mandated apology:

“I admit I get carried away with my love of the Philadelphia Eagles, and if this is a crime, I am clearly guilty. Game days are an incredible experience for me. The will to win is unlike anything I have ever felt. The angst and the tightly-knotted stomach and the ups and downs of 60 minutes of Eagles football leave me thoroughly drained -- win or lose -- and I enjoy having the opportunity to communicate that to the many great Eagles fans who follow this team on a (many-times) daily basis.”

So he loves the Eagles so darn much. That’s why he spit on the logo. The fact that the team pays this guy is a joke. He’s an absolute joke. If you want to be a fan, go be a fan. Pay your ticket and sit in the stands. But if you WORK FOR A TEAM, you should treat your job a little more professionally.

Housekeeping:
Nick met a Nik Tarnowski on Facebook. His online doppelganger. And we finally talk about Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Was it a work? And I hope Bret doesn’t make a comeback. Like Iverson in Philly, the comeback was great for one day. After that, nobody really cares.

Thanks for listening.

Adam Schefter Breaks Yesterday’s News. Plus: Big Unit Retires, HOF, Cuban’s NFL Ire and 3DTV.

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 09:59:21 -0500

So the phone rings yesterday and it’s Adam Schefter from ESPN. I assumed he was calling to set up a time for our interview later in the week and when I asked him what time was good for him he said, “how about now?”

Now is good. Let’s do now. It’s interesting (and somewhat behind-the-scenesish) that I always try and not only come up with questions to ask guests, but really take the time to put them in a cohesive order. So ‘how about now’ would usually throw me completely off. The good thing about the call being from Schefter is that I’ve been looking forward to this interview for more than four months, so the questions were pretty easy to think of.

We talk about his time at NFL Network and how that compares to his current tenure at ESPN. Does he feel he is able to cover the league any differently now that he’s no longer collecting a paycheck with their logo on it?

While he doesn’t approach the job differently, Schefter explains the biggest perk of the job is that when he’s needed in studio it’s a much shorter commute (read: drive) and not a cross country flight.

I ask if he feels different now that he’s part of the ESPN team and gets routinely put through the carwash? Let’s face it, people in the business knew who Schefter was at NFLN, but now he’s hosting Mike and Mike. It’s a whole different level of exposure.

We talk about his time off from NFLN and his latest book. It turns out, contrary to what I thought, he didn’t write his latest book during that time. It was actually done a year before and caught up in lawsuits. But his hiatus from NFLN before officially starting at ESPN was, in fact, a real break for him. On a normal day, there is no break. He sleeps with his phone.

We discuss the amount of information Schefter has to parse through each day – hundreds and hundreds of texts and follow-ups – and how he determines who to trust. He explains the amount of subterfuge (his word) this time of year and just how difficult it is to get correct information. And even then, information that WAS correct might change in a day (Cowher is a prime example) so even when you’re right you could end up being wrong.
 I ask my age-old media question about being first or being right and how that’s changed in the current media landscape. We talk about Schefter’s fascination with Twitter and how he needs to try and do it less. I ask about the ESPN Twitter policy and how his model of “Just filed to ESPN” really seems to work. He explains that he just decided to do that (giving about 10 minutes after he files something before Tweeting it out) and that there’s no hard-fast rule about it.

During the interview Schefter breaks news. Actual breaking news! Of course, now it’s a day old. So you hear him break yesterday’s news. And he gets a call from the Raiders, which is always hilarious to keep on the show.

We talk about the difference between his job now and his job back in Denver as a beat writer. Does he miss talking with the players? I’m certain there is more I’m forgetting. And he teases a HUGE story before telling me he has to go. Damn breaking news.

Talking Baseball:
Nick and I discuss Randy Johnson’s retirement, his place in the game’s history and his decision to make the announcement the day before the HOF class is announced. And we discuss this year’s candidates, the process of voting and if the threshold has gotten too low.

Housekeeping:
Mark Cuban is bitching about the NFL. More on 3DTV. And Nick is a terrible bowler. My thanks to Adam and to you for listening.

Unsilent Majority on Gilbert Arenas. Plus, Is the BCS All Smiles & A Longer NFL Season Just Means More Tanking.

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 09:38:28 -0500

Jack Kogod, better known around the interwebs as Unsilent Majority at KSK, joins the show to talk about the Three G’s - Gilbert, guns and gambling.

But first, Nick and I discuss the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and TCU and specifically the notion that the BCS must be giddy with the way the bowl season has gone so far. First, people HAVE paid attention to the BCS games to this point. Sure, tonight’s Orange Bowl should have zero national interest, but the other three bowls have been as big as any other year (read: there has been no BCS backlash despite the playoff people claiming to be fed up).

And what’s happened during the games? Well, undefeated Cincinnati got smoked by Florida. TCU lost to Boise State in a game that, while close, may not have been all that captivating and neither team really looked like a title contender out there. So the BCS can look at the last few games and pat itself on the back for getting it right, again. WIth only two teams left, who would you have chosen for a four-team playoff? Boise would have been the undefeated out of the mix and they WON their game.

Do two wrongs make a right? In the BCS world they do.

Court Report:
Unsilent joins the show to talk about Gilbert Arenas gun situation. Now, we recorded this before Arenas’ statement was released, which reads, in part:

“On Monday, December 21st, I took the unloaded guns out in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate. Contrary to some press accounts, I never threatened or assaulted anyone with the guns and never pointed them at anyone.   “Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong. I should not have brought the guns to DC in the first place, and I now realize that there's no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns -- even if unloaded.”

This statement sounds vastly different to the joking Gil is doing on Twitter. Does he take ANYTHING seriously? And what will the NBA have to say about this? Or the Wizards? Unsilent points out that the Wiz first reported this to the league in an effort to try and void his contract. And he shares former Washington Times reporter Mike Jones’ depiction of the events which is very different from Peter Vecsey’s initial report. Still...guns being tossed around the locker room? Yikes.

And what do we make of Vecsey’s version of the story? Should Gil really sue him? Man that’d be a great trial to watch.

More Football:
We talk about the recent PR run by Roger Goodell to try and calm fans down who are upset (and suing in some cases) with teams that have decided to rest players and not play hard the entire season - rather just until they make the playoffs. Tell Wes Welker you’re mad...you think he cares right now? But more to the point, the goal of the season is to win the Super Bowl, not make the fans at the stadium happy. Sure, there’s the issue of a team like the Colts rolling over for the Jets in an effort to keep Pittsburgh out of the playoffs, but you know what Pittsburgh could have done about it -- win more games.

The Colts earned the right to cruise. There isn’t much Roger Goodell can do about it. Oooh, draft picks? That’ll help when I’m picking my Pro Bowl wide receiver off the turf on a stretcher. Thanks, Raj.

This, of course, will impact the idea that Goodell has floated about more regular season games. Smart plan...now the Colts can take an entire MONTH off before the playoffs. They’d be like Ohio State going to a BCS bowl game! That’s what football needs.

Housekeeping:
Is someone we read every day gaming the system and screwing with his readers or really just this nuts? I rant. And 3-D TV is coming.

Thanks for listening.

We’re Baaaaaaaaack.

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 09:25:12 -0500

Where’d everybody go?

We are back after a holiday break and we promise not to have too much rust. We start with some NFL talk, but mostly through the eyes of the media in towns like Denver and Philly. Denver, you know, missed the playoffs, so we wonder how many writers around the country, and in the city, will shoot off one of the ‘fire the coach’ columns today. We hope not too many.

In Philly, columnists are calling the team gutless. What a day to be in this town. The panic is setting in after a SHUTOUT at the hands of a Dallas team they’ll have to face again. Just a fun time to be a Philly sports fan.

We talk more NFL stuff as well, but hold off on playoff talk until later in the week when we can get someone on who knows about that junk.

Culture Pop:
We talk a lot about the deal that FOX made with Time Warner Cable. In short, we’re all screwed. When will the a la carte cable option get here? Not soon enough.

Speculation Station:
We’ve been away, so we didn’t get to talk about the Mike Leach situation. We discuss it from the side of Craig James. Did he leverage his media credibility in this situation because he was too close to the story? Or, as a game analyst, is he even a member of the media to begin with?

Also, this was clearly a cost-saving measure by Texas Tech, but don’t they realize that – ESPN analysts on their side or note – firing Leach was the first step to becoming irrelevant again?

And don’t kids talk to other players before they go to a school? Wouldn’t they know Leach was a whackjob disciplinarian?

We also touch on the O.J. Mayo situation. Hmmm.....Tim Floyd was involved in something shady? Shocker. And a self-report happens all the time. It’s the NCAA’s way of making schools pay their taxes so they don’t get audited. And obviously USC doens’t want to get audited.

Housekeeping:
We get a rat update. Looks promising.

Thanks for coming back. More to come.

300.

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:39:14 -0500

Welcome to Episode 300. We’re presenting it in three parts.

Why three parts? Well, we decided to try and do a three-hour podcast. And that’d be a pretty hefty download for people. So we break it up in to hour blocks to make the show a little easier to download and consume. We hope you stick around the whole time and listen to some of our favorite people in sports.

Look, this is a really long show, and I’d love to do a full detailed recap of the entire thing, word for word, but it’s just too much writing and, honestly, too much to remember. So here’s a recap, best I can do.

PART ONE
• Nick and I talk about FoxSports.com’s Lunch with Benefits venture, including ‘The College Experiment.’ Thanks to Jimmy Traina for pointing out how terrible it is. And it’s more terrible than you can imagine. It’s just not funny. At all. And that’s the first rule of funny....be funny.

• ESPN’s Trey Wingo is first up on the cavalcade of guests. We discuss what the biggest storyline in the NFL season thus far, and Wingo thinks the biggest story might just be the fact that the Colts are somehow flying under the radar. Wingo feels the Saints have been the bigger story, and the turnover in coaches and receivers in Indy makes their undefeated run that much more impressive.

We obviously talk about the Colts and Saints and get into why the Patriots have this lore over people still – Berman called them the de-facto champions last week, AFTER they had lost to Miami.

We discuss Brett Favre, and get into how a show like NFL Live covers Favre without making the coverage the same week after week. Look how old he is! Look how good he’s playing! Is there a struggle, as a show that covers the league, to keep the information fresh while balancing the fact that, really, you have to cover Favre all the time?

We discuss concussions and how serious the former players think it is compared to when they played. And we talk about Randy Moss taking plays off. Isn’t that old news? And per Wingo, the talk of Moss not giving full effort may not even be fair this time.

• Nick is back to discuss Chris Johnson’s claim that Ted Ginn was supposed to race him and didn’t show up. I choose not to run! How great is it that two NFL players would call each other out for a race? Can’t they bring back those skills shows?

This then leads to a conversation about the Pro Bowl and if putting it the week before the Super Bowl is a good idea. Personally, I’d rather see a race. Fastest guy on each team lines up and....go.

• Jay Busbee of Yahoo’s Devil Ball Golf and From the Marbles joins the show to talk about Tiger Woods latest news. First, we actually talk a little bit about Danica Patrick’s move to NASCAR and how important that will be for the sport. Will there be backlash, and is NASCAR a sport that really wants to expand, or is it like hockey where expansion may not work in certain markets and you run the risk of alienating your die-hard fans.

Speaking of alienating fans, we talk about Tiger, How can we not? And how can Busbee not? We discuss what the Tiger news has been like for his traffic and how Yahoo has covered the news when compared to, say, the gossip sites. Does he have to keep the story on the golf side of things or has this just gotten to the point of covering everything because the story has gotten so amazingly huge.

Have golf sites that stopped covering Tiger in lieu of actual golf news done a disservice to their reader, or is avoiding the masses -- much like Tiger’s galleries on the course -- to focus on golf matters that don’t involve sleeping with half of America.

Are there any national media people in Tiger’s circle? Is there anyone who is able to get through to the guy?

And what about this HGH talk? Is this something that plagues the entire sport or is this just Tiger? And is it even true and/or fair to report? Last, does it really matter? In baseball we have issue with PEDs because there are so many records and the playing field, throughout history, should be level. But in golf, there’s one record that matters and one person who is trying to break it. If everyone is doing drugs, and the current field is level, who cares if a guy pops some HGH to help his knee or takes Ritalin to focus a little more? It’s not the Long Drive championship, right?

PART TWO
Part two is almost entirely taken up by the talented Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. He’s a media wonk. I’m a media wonk. And last time he was on we had a knock-down, drag-out media wonk fight that undoubtedly, I lost. But I’m a glutton, so I’ve been anxiously awaiting his return to the show. And since he ducked me for a month, we got him to be part of this big show.

I wish I could recap the entire interview, if you can even call it an interview, because at times, I’m sure the listener will forget who is interviewing whom. I think sometimes I forgot.

I’ll say this, we talk a lot about sports media, covering everything from influential blogs to TV personalities – Deitsch wrote a wonderful column giving his top television media picks of the decade – to an extemporaneous conversation about the top general sports columnists and who out there we really care to know the opinions from anymore. Has it become so specialized that we no longer care about what a writer says simply because of the byline?

I fear the entire conversation was an advertisement for Sports Illustrated, but I’m fairly certain I dropped in at least five references to Sporting News as well. I’m pretty sure I didn’t win the bout, but I’m hoping to score well on a few cards.

Nick joins the show again to talk about some of his favorite names in sports media this decade. We both wish John McEnroe made the list but whole-heartedly applaud the pick of Dan Schulman. We also laud Deitsch for picking golf reporters as ‘sideline’ people. That’s the most important sideline job in sports -- to get the lie or the break of a putt on the green is imperative to golf coverage. Those folks deserve more credit.

PART THREE
Part three begins with a conversation with Will Leitch, founder of Deadspin and all-around swell guy. We talk at great length about his series on Deadspin trying to chronicle the decade, both in pictures and text.  
We talk about how hard it must be to gather information from each year, by month, and pick what to use and what to leave out. We discuss how technology helped and hindered his research. Was there just not as much information and accessibility ten years ago as there is now? And did that make it easier? Are there too many things to sift through these days? Damn blogs.

As I mention on the show, he has the fact that Party of Five went off the air, so you can imagine the list has been pretty exhaustive. Has anything specifically stuck out that he feels he missed?

We talk about the worst and best years. Is 2001 the worst because of 9/11? But pre-9/11 was 2001 better than, say 2003 or 2004? Wow this decade has really been pretty darn depressing. Was there any good year from start to finish?

I ask Leitch if any year this decade has a sports story as the top story of the year? Are there any transcendent sports stories of the decade. Obviously Tiger Woods is close, and a heckuva way to end the decade. Leitch brings up the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident as a memorable moment tied to sports.

We talk about ESPN and who he thinks is the most important person to him, and to the blog world we live in, over the course of the entire decade. Is it Berman? Stu Scott? Or is it someone like Erin Andrews or Bill Simmons, who just by mentioning, gets you page views.
 Last, we discuss Deadspin over the decade. How much has it changed from when he was running the show, and has the ol’ catchphrase become a bit ironic at this point?

• Nick comes in to talk about some of our thoughts on the biggest storylines of the decade. We talk about how technology has changed so much in the last ten years and how our lives have been directly impacted by that change every step of the way.

We also discuss the biggest story in sports of the decade, which is hard, so it turns to the biggest personal story in sports. While Tiger Woods was named athlete of the decade, he really made his name in the late 90s. This decade belongs to LeBron. Nobody has had more hype, more pressure and delivered, exceeding everyone’s expectations. He needs to win a title, but he had the pressure of revitalizing an entire league, and he has done just that.

• We bring Jamie Mottram into the show because, well, this blog/podcast world may not be close to what it is if not for him. How in the world was Fanhouse or any of the Yahoo blogs left off SI’s decade list? I ask Mottram what he thought about being left off. We spend a lot of time talking about the arc of this industry from when he helped build Fanhouse until now. It’s amazing how big things have gotten in such a short amount of time.

We also discuss the future of the blog world, and how his role overseeing all the blogs at Yahoo will have a role in shaping that. We get into a theoretical discussion about the concept of journalism -- or at least journalists -- with regard to blog networks. Dan Shanoff suggested that Comcast buy SB Nation and brand it in with the NBC Sports network to, basically, take over the world. Does that make the local Flyers or Phillies blogger who happened to get an SBN blog a journalist? If they break a story or run a tip -- valid or not -- it could become front-page news on one of the biggest sports sites in the world. That’s journalism, right?

Or is it all a little more gray than that?

Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to have Mottram on and not talk about the Redskins, so we spend a few minutes on that. He says he is confident they will not be bringing Vinny Cerrato back, and per today’s reports, he was dead on with that. Scoop!

• Nick comes back to touch on the Chris Henry news and then have some fun to end this gigantic show. You know how I feel about sports talk radio and how call-in shows are just plain terrible. Well, we decided to do a call out show! And...it blows up in our face when only one person answers.

But that one person is Dan Steinberg, so we talk with him, and his daughter who he is bathing at the time he answers the phone. Classic Steinberg, really. We then talk with the voicemails of AJ Daulerio, Josh Zerkle and another special guest. And Nick’s ‘got anything else’ is about ESPN’s 30 for 30 series.

I thank you for reading and listening. I thank all the guest. I thank Nick. This has been a lot of fun. Let’s hope I have the energy for another 300.

Yahoo’s ‘Duk Talks Hot Stove & Winter Meetings. Plus, Big Tenlve, Bernanke Time Person of the Year and more Rats.

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:49:20 -0500

We start the show with a little tease about tomorrow’s 300th show. Then we get into the news that the Big Ten is becoming the Big Tenlve. We dissect the situation and break down each team that has been rumored. Clearly, and this is not because I worked there, Rutgers is the best fit for the Big Tenlve. It has the New York market. It’s a state school with a great academic reputation. And, unlike the last time rumors came out that the Big Ten would expand, they are a perfect fit from a football standpoint for the Big Tenlve. In other words, they are competitive, but aren’t quite at the level to challenge the top programs every year.

Sure Pittsburgh makes a lot of sense, but why would the teams who recruit in that area want to compete against them? Why would Penn State, specifically, be okay with Pittsburgh coming into the Big Tenlve? And schools like West Virginia or Cincinnati just don’t have the academic reputation that the other schools prefer.

This is all Notre Dame’s fault, by the way.

Talkin’ Baseball:
Kevin Kaduk from Yahoo’s Big League Stew joins the show to talk about the Hot Stove. Clearly nothing is hotter than the Roy Halladay - Cliff Lee trade, and while we’ve talked about it already from a local perspective, we wanted to get ‘Duk’s national take on it.

We discuss how the information is broken now, and ‘Duk explains his disdain for those who break news exclusively on Twitter, with no follow up or back story. Just Tweet news and then move on -- is that the new journalism? And are the same standards for sourcing, fact-checking and, simply put, being RIGHT the same on Twitter as they are on a website or in print?

We discuss the Winter Meetings and how that event has changed over the years, both from a coverage standpoint and how the GMs handle their business out there. And speaking of GMs handling business, is Matt Holliday really going to get a seven or eight-year deal? Is that the right thing to do for a guy at this point in his career and in this economy? We discuss how the economy has affected the second-tier players as well. Does it make more sense for players to take shorter deals with less guaranteed money in hopes that when that deal expires, the economy will have turned back up.

And we talk about what other deals will be coming down the line. We heard nothing would happen until January, but clearly a lot has already happened. So what’s next?

Housekeeping:
Ben Bernanke is the Time Person of the Year. That’s a safe choice. RATS update. And we preview tomorrow’s big show.

Thanks as always.

Halladay and Lee Rumors Through Social Media. Zach Harper on Tim Donaghy’s Book. Tiger & HGH. Sadness.

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:27:29 -0500

We try to tackle the news of Roy Halladay coming to Philly in a deal that will send Cliff Lee to Seattle and prospects to both Philly and Toronto, but there’s just so darn much information to tackle.
 First, we talk about the fact that the Phillies, in all their sold out games and merchandising, may not be able to afford their own roster. They payroll is $140 million and with Lee would push $150. It’s just not plausible for a team that just two years ago had a payroll of $106 million. There’s not that much more money to be made.

We then discuss the deal through the eyes of the internet. Did Ken Rosenthal really just have a hunch, or did he have information about a deal for Halladay that would include Lee? Did his hypothesis read like it came out of his own head because he, honestly, just thought of it, or was it something a source told him that he thought would be better served as unsubstantiated rumor to keep the other reporters away from it?

And we discuss the way the trade broke yesterday -- via Twitter in most cases, with information flying around so fast and furiously that there was almost too much to follow. The national guys had one story that the local guys refuted. Then the national guys started reporting the local guy’s stories but even THAT changed a bit. The principle parties are correct, in that Halladay and Lee will be traded. Who else goes with them -- Drabek, Happ, Taylor, etc -- seems STILL up in the air.

Print’s Not Dead:
Zach Harper from Talkhoops.net joins the show to talk about Tim Donaghy’s book and the potential fall-out, or lack thereof, coming from the league. Harper is also a Sacramento guy, so we spend a lot of time talking about Game Six of the Western Conference Finals in 2002 that seems to be the central focus of all the Donaghy allegations, conjecture and rumors.

We talk about Chris Webber’s response to the conversation about Donaghy’s book last week on TNT and wonder how he could have answered the questions differently. Webber basically kept saying, “not (Dick) Bavetta, I love Bavetta,” in what sounded like he was convincing himself more than the audience. According to Harper, the rest of Sac Town -- players and fans -- doesn’t feel the same way about Bavetta.

But what can we believe from Donaghy’s book? According to most sources, nothing. Add to the fact that, according to Harper, it’s very poorly written and you wonder if this is going to blow the lid off the sport like Jose Canseco’s book did, or fall into the discount bin with a mere blip about one guy and one guy alone like the book on A-Rod did.

Last, should we, as general sports fans, care? Basketball fans have moved on from it (and will move on more when guys like Bavetta retire). But should we care that the game is potentially fixed? Or do we not believe it?

Speculation Station:
We tried to be Tiger Woods free today, but we can’t. The tabloids can have the affairs. The New York Times has the smoking gun. A doctor associated with Woods was caught with HGH. Shane Bacon sent over the link about a minute before we were getting ready to tape (H/T to you, sir) which has this damning quote from Tiger’s agent:

Tiger's agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG, told the New York Times, after they approached him about the story, "I would really ask that you guys don’t write this? If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won’t be, let’s please give the kid a break.”

Yeah, let’s give the kid a break. We speculated about potential drugs before. This ain’t good.

Housekeeping:
The reason our show was up late yesterday was because the power was out. The reason for the outage was a terrible accident that knocked out power to an entire development and string of businesses. In the crash, the driver of the car, Stephen Moffa lost control of his car and hit a man who was trimming his tree near the street. That man was Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Jennings. Both men died.

Sorry to end on a sad note, but sometimes life deals you a hand that’s just not fair. Thanks for listening.

NFL. Heisman. Tiger. Dexter Finale.

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:16:01 -0500

Monday morning. Good week to you. (NOTE: Sorry this is up so late. The power was out due to a fatal accident down the street, after we taped, but before I could upload. Not that important when you hear the context).

We start with some brief Heisman talk, which really turned more into talk about how we didn’t really care about the Heisman this year because we’ve been soured by the system.

We then talk NFL and I posit that maybe the BCS will have a point if two teams end up undefeated and at least one loses in the playoffs. Don’t we really want two undefeated teams in the Super Bowl? Wouldn’t that be the greatest thing ever, especially with a Manning and New Orleans involved?

We then run down the division leaders and prognosticate the playoffs. Wow the NFC is down to basically one Wild Card race at this point. Amazing.

Speculation Station:
We talk about the Tiger Woods saga from a PR standpoint. Savvy moves by both Tiger’s came and Accenture to release their news when they did. First, Tiger’s team buried his news in the evening on a Friday. Accenture announced their decision to drop Tiger on a busy sports Sunday afternoon, guaranteeing maximum exposure both on the weekend, and still being timely enough to get on the front page of every paper in the country.

And at what point with the New York tabloids stop featuring Tiger? Who will break the streak?

Culture Pop:
HUGE DISCLAIMER. We talk about the Dexter finale. We won’t ruin it here, or anywhere else on the show. If you haven’t watched yet DO NOT LISTEN. If you have watched, please let us know your thoughts.

Thanks for listening.

Is Notre Dame Right for Brian Kelly? Plus Heisman picks, Tiger’s Pathology & a HUGE Dexter Finale Preview.

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:26:18 -0500

Good Friday to you.

We first talk college football, including the official hiring of Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. He’s a great coach -- better in the last two years than Bob Stoops -- but will his personal values jibe with those at Notre Dame. And has the school compromised it’s bedrock beliefs by hiring a football coach, and the most visible member of its staff, who believes in something so fundamentally incongruent to their beliefs? In other words, is winning football more important than values? And is that fair for us, or anyone, to question?

We then talk Heisman trophy, and really discuss the fact that winning truly is a curse. If Mark Ingram wins, he’ll be just the second running back in the last 10 years to do so (Reggie Bush in 2005) and just the eighth non-quarterback in the last 20 years. But if one of the quarterbacks wins, he can kiss an NFL career goodbye. Really, the only quarterback who won the Heisman who has done anything in the NFL since 1986 when Vinny Testaverde won the trophy has been Carson Palmer. Sure Matt Leinart might be good at some point, but look at the list:

Sam Bradford - projected to be a good to very good NFL quarterback.
Tim Tebow - not highly regarded as an NFL prospect.
Troy Smith - NFL backup
Matt Leinart - NFL backup who could be great or a bust at some point
Jason White
Carson Palmer - very good NFL quarterback
Eric Crouch
Chris Weinke
Danny Wuerffel
Charlie Ward
Gino Torretta
Ty Detmer
Andre Ware

Yikes.

Speculation Station:
Reports on Access Hollywood that Tiger had a madam who set him up with at least two of the girls he’s been linked with. She told the tabloid show that she knows of at least ‘half a dozen’ more women Tiger has paid to be with, upwards of $10-50,000 a night.

And then Tigers makes these women his girlfriends? Texting them and telling them how he wishes he was with them? LOL OMG?

It’s pathological. Even if Tiger and Elin had a political arrangement in their marriage, they brought kids into the world. Sure they are young, but Tiger is sleeping with half of the country while his wife is pregnant with his kid? And THIS is the legacy you want to leave your kids? It’s sickening.

Culture Pop:
We preview the season finale of Dexter and give our guesses as to what will happen. Not the boy...please not the boy....

Thanks for listening and Happy Hanukkah to all.

Hot Stove Updates. Andy Reid Extension. Tiger, Tennesse & Harems.

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:14:53 -0500

We start with, well a quick recap of the last few days, which included 53 of 57 hours awake (including 33 straight), then a 1.5 hour nap before another five awake. So that’s, carry the two, not a lot of sleep. Bowl games.

We talk about the Hot Stove news to come out of last night’s dealings and Nick wonders if more deals are being made this year because everyone is snowed in with the Winter Meetings in Indy. If they were in a more tropical location, would fewer deals get made?

The Soapbox:
We give this soapbox segment, retroactively to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who basically said after the Michael Vick signing that ‘this better work.’ Well, the team is winning but Vick hasn’t really been a factor (until last week he hadn’t scored a touchdown) and he’s not doing THAT MUCH in the community. Lurie seemed furious at the signing of Vick, basically making it seem like Reid pushed him for this and if it doesn’t work out, Reid would be hung out to dry with Vick as the albatross around his neck.

So why did Reid get a contract extension in the middle of the season? Is Lurie softening up? Did the fact that all the bad press only lasted a week have anything to do with it? On the field, Reid deserves the extension, but with all the other things swirling around this team, we are surprised -- in light of Lurie’s previous comments -- that this happened during the season.

Speculation Station:
Before we get to some talk about the salaciousness of sports, we take a minute to congratulate Charlie Strong for becoming the head coach at Louisville. He’s just the 11th black head coach in America. That’s not enough.

Nick then adds to our list of ‘greatest moments in show history’ by confusing his Randy’s -- Edsall with Shannon. It’s absolutely wonderful.

We talk about the Tennessee supposedly sending ‘support group’ girls out in the wild to sleep with recruits. Everyone knows what happens on campus, but how far are these schools going to get kids? And how does this correlate to Tiger Woods and the culture of athletes getting whatever they want, whenever they want.

Thanks for listening.

Hot Stove. Bryant Gumbel. Spencer Hall Talks BCS. Peter Gammons to MLBN. Jersey Shore.

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 08:29:16 -0500

Still stuck in bowl guide purgatory so it’s another short recap, which is a shame because today’s show is really good. So listen. Sorry not much to read.

We start with a breakdown of the blockbuster trade in MLB yesterday in which the Yankees land Curtis Granderson, who I love. We dissect the deal.

Inside the Press Box:
We talk about Bryant Gumbel’s announcement that he had surgery for lung cancer, and subsequent treatments, and NEVER TOLD ANYONE. Obviously his wife, and maybe some close friends, knew about the surgery, but he kept it from getting out in the media and even from him own staff at Real Sports. Obviously we’re glad to see he’s doing well and hope he continues his road to recovery.

MUSIC....

Spencer Hall, aka Orson Swindle, just finished taping his show at EDSBS.com and hops on with us to talk about the BCS, Brian Kelly to Notre Dame (and if we’d be having that conversation had Texas not gotten that one second back and Cincinnati were in the title game) and all things college football, including who the new Richmond Spiders coach may be.

Oh, and we marvel at the fact that Tim Tebow won the formerly-known-as Draddy Trophy last night, given as the ‘Academic Heisman.’ He took, what, one class?

Inside the Press Box, continued:
We discuss Peter Gammons leaving ESPN and going to MLBN. Are we all going to join him full-time? And even though his contract is up, how did he not have a non-compete? Did his contract just predate MLBN or is that not something a guy like Gammons would even have at ESPN. (hint: we don’t know, we aren’t contract lawyers).

Housekeeping:
We talk Jersey Shore. That is all.

Thanks for listening.