Spanning the globe to give you the constant variety of sports media…
Oklahoma State: Gina Minzell of NewsOk.com has the transcript of the live chat Sports Illustrated editors Chris Stone and Jon Wertheim conducted on Deadspin about their Oklahoma State series.
Question: If your goal was to expose college athletics, why did you feel the need to sacrifice Oklahoma State at the altar of the NCAA in the process? Why not pick five or 10 different schools to highlight
Chris Stone: The goal of the series was not to sacrifice OSU, but present what happens at OSU as the symptom of much greater systemic problem. The investigation was not about rules violations or sanctions or NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2.1 It wasn’t about OSU players smoking pot; it was about the institutional sham of treatment programs that aren’t interested in treatment or counseling. It wasn’t about OSU recruits getting laid. It was about raising the question of whether a hostess program is intended as a sorority in service to the football program. It wasn’t about players as the sole agents of corruption. It was about asking whether college football programs are set up to develop any other future skills than being a football player.
CBS Sports Network: John Ourand of Sports Business Daily talked to CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus about the state of the network:
This year, CBS opted not even to kick the tires when Fox Sports and NBC Sports Group agreed to pay NASCAR a combined $8.2 billion for rights through 2024. It remained on the sideline as Fox outbid NBC for the rights to golf’s U.S. Open. Its executive team also opted not to match ESPN’s $75 million-a-year bid to swipe U.S. Open tennis rights, an event that CBS has produced since 1968.
These moves — or, rather, the lack of them — have caused some industry observers to scratch their heads, wondering why a broadcast network that runs an all-sports cable channel wouldn’t be more involved.
“We’ve said all along that we’re not currently in the marketplace for hundred-million-dollar deals,” said CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus. “But we’re trying to improve our programming, which I think we’ve done dramatically by doing smart deals.”
GameDay: Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes about ESPN’s GameDay going on location.
Some colleges are veteran hosts. Some have never done it and might get about barely a week’s warning that “GameDay” wants to visit. For all, the national exposure to about two million viewers on Saturdays, augmented by reports from the set on Friday, is irresistible. Because of the interest in the Alabama-Texas A&M game, those reports began Thursday from College Station.
“It’s one of the things you can’t say no to,” said Van Hilderbrand, an associate athletic director at Clemson, the “GameDay” host on Aug. 31, the first Saturday of the season. In 2006, Clemson received the standard five-day notice that ESPN wanted to take “GameDay” to its campus. But this year, it was told of its selection on Aug. 1. Both times, the show emanated from the university’s front lawn.
Nickname controversy: Michael Bradley of the National Sports Journalism Center lauds columnists who no longer will use the nickname for the Washington football team.
Those who have taken a public stand against the use of a racist slur are helping a relatively disenfranchised section of the American population gain dignity. By setting a standard that excludes the use of hateful words in their work, these media members are encouraging their peers to do likewise. It’s no different than a newspaper’s calling out a slumlord who refuses to provide safe shelter for his tenants. Or a TV station’s launching a news series directed at a corrupt official. In all cases, the goal is to help the people without power gain some influence over those who have it. That it is done in a very public way makes it highly effective.
Dick Vitale:The New York Post has a nice story on how Vitale helped assist a player in getting a transfer.
Okoro, a 6-foot-5 Bronx product and St. Raymond graduate, credited ESPN announcer Dick Vitale for a huge assist.
“I’d also like to give a shout out to the great @DickieV for his voice on my waiver!” Okoro tweeted. “Truly honored and it is heavily appreciated!”
Okoro’s 72-year-old father, Stanislaus, died last December of a stroke. Then two months later, his 28-year-old brother, Idiongo, died of colon cancer. Okoro came home to be closer to his mother, Eno, and older brother Freddie, 26.
When hearing Okoro’s story, Vitale took to Twitter in support, calling on NCAA president Mark Emmert to change the ruling.
“I’m thrilled, excited, I just [sent] a tweet congratulating the kid,” Vitale told The Post in a phone interview. “It was common sense. I’m so happy the NCAA saw that. It was a no-brainer.”
NFL Roundtable: Richard Deitsch of SI.com asked various media writers to weigh in on the current state of NFL broadcasters. Typically, Deadspin’s John Koblin was bright and cheery.
A. Which NFL pregame show is the most effective and why?
Koblin: I really think they’re all terrible. Points to [ESPN’s Sunday] NFL Countdown for being on a couple of hours earlier, and for having Sal Pal [reporter Sal Paolantonio], Suzy Kolber and Ed Werder, and notable/reliable faces at the stadiums (Stadium reports are fun!). But, I suppose, given the ridiculousness of the format, Fox remains the most tolerable. I’m still confused how CBS’s crew remains intact.
ESPN vs. Fox Sports 1: Steve Lepore of the Puck the Media writes about ESPN touting a ratings increase since Aug. 17, the date Fox Sports 1 debuted.
The network sent out a pointedly-addressed press release citing their ratings as being “up 13 percent since August 17.” That would be the exact day that Fox Sports 1 debuted, and NBC premiered it’s EPL coverage. ESPN is saying that its full-day average (1.21 million viewers) is up 13 percent “compared to the same four weeks a year ago (1.07 million).” Meanwhile, in primetime, the network is averaging 2.89 million, up 20 percent from that time period in 2012 (2.41 million).
Podcasts:
Jason McIntyre Show: Greg Bedard of MMQB.
Awful Announcing: Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com
Sports Media Weekly: Michelle Beadle.
Sports-Casters: Dan Wolken, USA Today, and Michael Woods, thesweetscience.com/ESPN Magazine.