I don’t know of a place where an employee gets away with ripping other people or enterprises within the same company on social media.

I know the two places where I worked the bulk of my career, the Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business, wouldn’t have allowed it. I believe that holds true for countless newspapers, magazines, and networks throughout the media business.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that ESPN disciplined the franchise, Bill Simmons, for ripping First Take last week via his Twitter account. Kudos to Deadspin’s John Koblin for breaking the story yesterday.

ESPN has a highly defined policy for its employees in regards to social media. It includes this edict:

“At all times, exercise discretion, thoughtfulness and respect for colleagues, business associates and fans.”

Indeed, in a place with several thousand people, virtually all of whom are highly opinionated, it would be chaos if ESPN allowed rampant criticism of the brand on social media from within. Gripe all you want within the walls of Bristol, but don’t air it in public.

In athletic terms, keep it in the locker room.

Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first time ESPN had a discussion with Simmons about its social media policy. Usually, there is more than one instance before action is taken.

How would Simmons feel if fellow ESPNers started knocking NBA Countdown? I expect ESPN president John Skipper would get an angry knock on his door.

When I heard about the suspension last night, I immediately thought of my interview with ESPN head of news Vince Doria last year. He called Twitter “a headache.”

Asked why he doesn’t tweet, Doria said: “It provides a great risk in terms to entities in terms of putting their foot in their mouth. I’ve seen plenty of examples. That’s the reason why I’ve resisted.”

I’m fairly sure the latest incident only reinforced Doria’s sentiments.

I was out most of Thursday. So when I came home, I checked Twitter to catch up on the news.

I was taken aback by this tweet from Jason McIntyre’s feed:

Please explain. RT @parkervb unpopular opinion alert: I think Sherman came off worse than Bayless

I went into a quick panic. What did I do? It’s been a while since I’ve written about Bayless and First Take.

It didn’t take long to discover that it was another Sherman, one with athletic ability, who set Twitter on fire. And no, I’m not related to Richard Sherman.

My quick takeaway to the rather ridiculous episode: It shows the athletes definitely are watching First Take. It’s remarkable how Bayless and Stephen A are able to get under their skin.

It’s also remarkable that a morning talk show on ESPN2 is capable of generating so much buzz and discussion. Love or hate First Take, it is almost impossible to ignore.

And a bonus takeaway: Take a look at Stephen A’s expression near the end of the clip. I think he was frustrated that it wasn’t about him.

Keith Olbermann returning to ESPN?

Apparently, there is interest on his end, according to a James Andrew Miller story in the New York Times. Olbermann recently had dinner with ESPN president John Skipper.

From Miller’s story:

“Keith Olbermann, both personally and through a couple people I know, reached out to say, ‘Gee, I would love to have dinner,’ ” Skipper said. “I agreed to dinner with Keith because I assumed he’d be provocative and witty and fun to have dinner with, and he was indeed lots of fun. We talked sports and politics, and we had a nice chat. He is very interesting.

“Clearly he was looking to see if there was an entry point to come back.”

Olbermann declined to discuss the details of the conversation.

“I had the privilege to spend some time with John Skipper,” he said. “His vision and charm were readily apparent, and judging by his leadership, his family name was prophetic.”

Last week, Olbermann played a prominent role in the new ESPN 30 for 30 short on the Honus Wagner baseball card.

I  would be in favor of seeing Olbermann anywhere. It didn’t end well for him in Bristol, but that was another century ago. Things change, and the fact that Skipper accepted dinner with him suggests that he is open to the idea.

What would he do if he returned to ESPN?

Olbermann definitely wouldn’t be coming back to anchor SportsCenter. However, I could see him having a role in which he provides commentaries and/or does essays on various topics. His presence would add an interesting element there.

To carry out that thought further, he also could have a role as a special contributor on ESPN’s NFL, MLB, and NBA programming.

The special contributor role would seem to be the most likely landing spot for Olbermann, if it happens at all.

More from Skipper.

“After the dinner, at that point, there was no real appropriate place for Keith to come back, nor did I feel like I was prepared to bring him back,” Skipper said.

“We don’t have a policy that says we won’t bring somebody back. We’re running a great business, and when we think we can get quality content, there’s no such thing as a condemned list. That said, this is not an easy place to get back into. There are not that many successful examples of people who have come back, in part because it’s like water filling a vacuum. When somebody leaves, somebody else fills their place.”

Get ready to hear more Colin Cowherd on ESPN’s local stations. That could mean you, Chicago.

It’s a definite possibility. Much like it does with the Greenberg-Golic morning show, there is talk that ESPN wants to give Cowherd more visibility on its locally-owned stations.

Chicago could be the next major market to get “The Herd,” whose show airs from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET. Last Thursday, WMVP-AM 1000 fired Harry Teinowitz from its afternoon team that also includes Carmen DeFalco and John Jurkovic.

It is expected that ESPN 1000 will shift the Tom Waddle-Marc Silverman duo from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. to afternoon drive. That would leave an opening to slide in Cowherd’s national show in the morning slot.

ESPN’s Dallas station, KESN, recently did a similar move, going with Cowherd’s show live instead of tape delay. The decision now means that ESPN gives the Dallas audience national content during the morning.

ESPN Radio reportedly is weighing the mix between national and local on its stations, especially in Chicago. From a cost standpoint, it makes more economic sense to use one national host like Cowherd instead paying six-figure salaries to local personalities.

Also, Cowherd’s show has done well in various markets, giving ESPN ample motivation to expand his profile.

However, in towns like Chicago, which can be heavily provincial, it means not talking about the Blackhawks winning streak or Derrick Rose until the afternoon. How will that go over?

Decisions are going to be made soon. Stay tuned.

Long-time Chicago radio personality Harry Teinowitz was informed last night that he is out as one of the afternoon hosts at WMVP-AM 1000.

An ESPN spokesman said WMVP wanted to move in a different direction. The move likely was dictated by ratings. It might be the first of a series of moves at the station.

In the January ratings of men 25-54 (the key demographic for sports talk radio) from 1-6 p.m., ESPN 1000’s afternoon show (2-6 p.m.) featuring Teinowitz, Carmen DeFalco and John Jurkovic placed 17th with a 2.6 audience share.  Meanwhile, its main competition, Dan Bernstein and Terry Boers at WSCR-AM 670, was No. 1 with a 6.5 share.

Said Josh Krulewitz, an ESPN spokesman out of Bristol: “Harry has done great work for us for a number of years. While we have decided to move in a different direction, we wish him continued success.”

ESPN and WMVP stuck with Teinowitz after he had a highly-publicized DUI arrest in March, 2011. He entered an rehabilitation program and returned to the station in May, 2011.

With this move, don’t be surprised if ESPN 1000 shifts the Tom Waddle-Marc Silverman show (currently airing from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.) to the afternoon slot.

Very interesting film examining the history of the famous card. It features Keith Olbermann, who manages to slide the concept of a mohel (the Rabbi who performs circumcisions) into the discussion. Fairly sure that has to be a first.

Here’s the link and the official write-up from ESPN:

The T206 Honus Wagner is the most famous baseball card in the world.  Bought and sold many times over, the card has now appreciated to nearly three million dollars but some in the card industry believe this gem may have been doctored.  From mere speculation, the accusations of alteration have risen all the way to federal indictments.  In this 30 for 30 Short, directed by Nick and Colin Barnicle, baseball card experts and enthusiasts including Keith Olbermann, Michael O’Keeffe, David Hall and Matt Federgreen discuss the history of this iconic card.