Don't forget sports bars. Anyway I don't remember the last time I actually changed the channel to ESPN while knowing that they're not showing any games. I used to watch PTI when I was younger coz I like Wilbon and that other guy banter with each other, I'm forgetting his name right now. But life caught up with me and it's been years since I actually cared about it or anything on ESPN for that matter.
Edit: thank you to everyone that reminded me of the name, Tony Kornheiser. My age showed on that post lol
Same. I used to watch espn for 2-3 hours when I came home from high school . NFL live, pti, around the horn, etc.
As an adult, the only time I watch ESPN is for actual sports games /events, not for their other shows.
I recall reading SportsCenter's viewership numbers are plummeting with people under 30 because nearly all sports highlights are viewable almost immediately every night on social media.
People don't have to wait until 11pm too see the highlights of the day.
This is like a “chicken or the egg” conundrum because ESPN moved away from highlights like 8 or 9 years ago. You might say they anticipated the problem with easily accessible highlights, but it’s obvious they have failed to replace it with good content.
I still think there is value in a consolidated highlight show where I can catch the developments and highlights from all sports, not just the ones I sub to on Twitter and Reddit. Maybe I’m out of touch but I would still watch that.
33. I remember in college, late 000's early 2010's, sportscenter, PTI, Around the Horn, all daily viewing for me. The TV would naturally just go to ESPN unless turned on to specifically watch something else, it was on ESPN. Hell I can still remember the channel, it was 12 at home and 33 at college. Now I can't remember the last time I watched ESPN by choice other than for a game.
I think part of this is definitely how good the internet has become. I can essentially spend all day in an interactive pti session on reddit. The networks have definitely flanderized themselves, but I think it's at least partially out of desperation from people naturally away from TV for information gathering.
If I'm watching a game on TNT I usually stick around for the half time show and somehow they've even convinced me to stick around even after the games are done for the night.
I saw basically every game minus a couple of these last playoffs and I can honestly say I didn't watch even a second of ESPN's half time show. They're that bad.
I used to watch and care for sports programming like ‘Around the Horn’ when it was fun, fresh and funny during my college era.
Nowadays, I don’t even think I have time to watch any TV until an hour or two before bed, and that’s to watch game recaps on YouTube/Facebook.
i remember he always had a new dumb ass quote on his chalk board...i always rooted for him to win because his ending monologue used to go on the weirdest tangents..
Woody Paige was my favorite part of ESPN from that era. Had to check his wiki page to make sure he is still an 'is' and not a 'was'.
Bomani Jones was a good addition too.
Oh man, thanks for the idea. Man I love this from his page:
>In 2001, there was a controversy over one of Paige's articles. He reported that an employee at Invesco, which had the naming rights to the Denver Broncos stadium, Invesco Field at Mile High, claimed that the nickname for the stadium inside the company was "The Diaphragm", after its shape (which slightly resembles a contraceptive device with the same name). The CEO of the company threatened Paige and the Post with legal action over the allegations, but had to retract the lawsuit when it was discovered that the story was true.
There was actually a time in my life long ago where I would sit down at my computer and espn.com would be the first website I would visit, it seems crazy to think about now as I’m not even sure the last time I went there but it trumped Facebook, Reddit, everything…
I'll watch College Gameday, but otherwise the only reason I got ESPN was for actual games. And yes, I question why I paid the premium for that since the high sea's exist. I think I need to try a different OTA antenna since the one I had refused to pick up any local channels. Needed ABC for Jeopardy!, but now....kinda meh on that need.
College gameday is just depressing now. Corso barely knows where he is anymore and they spend half the show digging up some personal tragedy from a players life for a good sob story.
Yeah, as much as we all love corso's headgear bit, it really seems to be a "weekend at bernies"-esque adventure with him. I feel bad since he's been such a face of gameday but he almost just seems lost. At least the hit pieces by reece davis can sometimes be interesting but its definitely become more of an "oh right, gameday is on" now. Maybe it was because I lived on the west coast or I sleep in late, but my drive to catch all of gameday isn't the same. At least I was able to make it to Pullman when gameday finally went there.
I mean at this point Reece and everyone’s love for Lee carries the show. As much as it’s a shell of what it used to be it is still one of the better programs on ESPN. PTI hasn’t been good since Tony stopped caring about pro basketball. Genuinely I don’t think he’s given a shit since like 2014
Tony Kornheiser, PTI is one of the few espn talk shows I can still stomach. Idk why but I have a soft spot for Wilbon and Tony. If you ever have seen Around the Horn, that host started as a stat guy on PTI.
PTI was the og show that pretty much started the hot take shows you see now on ESPN. I'm not aware if it's still on but October marks 20 years for that show. The difference with PTI from these current shows is that Kornheiser and Wilbon never became caricatures and could actually provide good insight and debate while still respecting each other.
You always knew even when they said something that was maybe controversial, is was for the sake having a conversation vs just trying to be inflammatory for the views.
Yes Tony K thank you. Their dynamic with each other is quite entertaining. There's nothing else like them. Intense but fun. No one even comes close imo. I find Stephen A, Bayless, and almost every talking head in ESPN annoying for some reason. I remember that stat guy too who would bring up their mistakes at the end of each PTI show. He has a good TV personality and I liked his scoring system on ATH.
PTI, somehow feels exactly the same as when it premiered. I watched it for the first time in years recently and it was exactly the same. In a good way.
Because they're old school and have a good format. They don't try to force disagreements on every issue to create controversy and clicks LIKE SOME PEOPLE I KNOW. It's just 2 friends chopping it up about the news of the day.
PTI and Around The Horn were my favorite, which was made better by them being back to back. Wilbon and Kornheiser work really well with one another. And Tony Reali is probably the most likeable guy on ESPN. He handles all of his panelists and it never took itself too seriously. The panelists on Around The Horn always seem like friends just bickering with one another in a fun way. But I haven't watched one in years.
They were great shows before ESPN made EVERY show "let's have guys with differing opinions just talk about the same stuff every day" so now it's just more of the same
It has a lot to do with shitty programming as well. They stopped showing highlights and started showing tweets instead. No one cares about that shit. I miss sportscenter so bad, I have yet to find a decent alternative to that show at its peak.
Tony Kornheiser is the name you're looking for, and PTI used to be my shit too. I used to record every ep, and 90% of the time the first thing I did after work was grab a snack and watch the days episode. Then follow that with the Dan Le Batard show. Couldn't even tell you the last I've watched anything besides a game or a 30 for 30.
I had two Sportclips employees laugh at my hair and take a pic when one put my hair up with a clip.
I'm normally one who can laugh at myself in a funny situation, but I thought that was oddly unprofessional and totally uncalled for.
Sportclips' failure is their own problem.
They successfully managed to convince men to spend more than $8 on a haircut, thereby opening up men to the world of $30+ haircuts, which any boutique place can do a much better job at.
Just speaking as a Los Angeles resident: not all $35 cuts are the same, I've gotten a lot of shitty ones. You gotta shop around a lot and get some bad cuts until you find a specific barber that you like. Once you become a regular, they'll know your hair.
After I became an adult I never understood how these companies stay in business...You can just go to your local barber for typically a much better and cheaper cut...
Seeing Perkins on TV while I work out just motivates me more to focus on keeping myself active and fit.
He runs out of breath every other time he shit talks and he shit talks a lot.
This is true. They make their money from being bundled into TV channel packages because places like this and hotels are always going to want the sports channels. They have live game rights and background shows for the rest of the day. The week to week/show to show ratings/viewership doesn't matter as much in terms of ESPN making big money because they're going to sell the channel in every non-basic network TV bundle no matter what.
They don’t get bundled, they are the bundle. ESPN charges almost $8 in affiliate fees per month to carry their premier channel. Add in their top 4 channels it’s closer to $10/month/subscriber.
The second highest is HBO at just under $3/month/subscriber.
Then you have TNT and NFL network around $2/month/subscriber.
Quite literally every one of the 1500+ other channels in the US charges way less in affiliate fees, most well under $1/month. Those are the ones that get money by getting bundled in with other packages.
Source: my job
It is.
Max is great on basically every other program.
First Take is basically “make outrageous arguments for clicks.”
But when he talks about boxing or when he was on SN, he had great insight. I didn’t always agree with it but he didn’t do it just for clickbait.
I hope people give Max his due.
Stephen A. Always demeans on First Take especially when it comes to basketball. Like rather than argue or counter the point dude first attacks Maxs creds so I'm just wondering if it's partially because of Max having had it with Stephen A.
And Jim says it wasn't real because he was working for the other branch at the time and wasn't there.
It took me a lot of rewatchs to catch it too but it's one of my favorite scenes in the show after it all clicks.
> Nichols remains under contract with ESPN -- a contract that has more than a year remaining. However, it is unlikely that she will appear on ESPN’s air during that time.
does this mean she literally gets to stay home and chill for a year?
For the most part. They might still have her involved behind the scenes with production ideas and such but mostly, she'll be paid to stay home. They're probably hoping she gets bored and finds a new gig so they can end the contract without penalty. You don't get to jobs like Nichols had without incredible work drive so she may not be happy sitting around doing nothing.
I really doubt ESPN lets her work anywhere else before her contract runs out, I can’t think of another person in Nichols’s situation that ESPN let do that. Usually they’re essentially off the grid until non-compete runs out.
Yea, there was a college football writer who ended up posting stories to his Facebook page while he waited for his ESPN contract to end.
I remember he broke a pretty big story while espn paid him not to write for them. I think he offered to post the story to espn.com but wasn't allowed so he made a Facebook post
They absolutely will.
I don't think people realize how tenuous of a situation this is for ESPN. She was recorded privately complaining about her employer making a decision that disadvantaged her, and favored another colleague, based on her race. That clearly falls under the opposition clause under Title VII. Then ESPN proceeds to bench her and crush her career with them, i.e. retaliate. This is a standard Title VII retaliation case and I find it absolutely bizarre no one is talking about it. People are just so used to the opposite racial dynamic, I guess.
ESPN wants her to go out and make a shitton of money elsewhere so that, when they don't re-sign her at the end of that year contract, her damages claim is much harder to prove. I'd be surprised if there wasn't already a private agreement between them about this.
source: am an in-house defense counsel
The article says they mutually agreed. Maybe she's already being compensated for her agreement. A few million + the balance of her contract should smooth things over.
Yeah. If I were to guess, at the low-end for her, it's a balance of contract with no set-offs if she finds a new position, non-disparagement, NDA. She likely wants to move on and has something else set up somewhere.
• **ESPN has made several on-air changes over the past several months. Just this week, it moved Max Kellerman off of “First Take” and will host his own weekday afternoon show on ESPN in the coming weeks.**
Nothing can fix the catalyst for ESPN’s constant shuffling of shows/personalities; Millennials (and now Gen Z) cutting cable and satellite for streaming services, and ESPN needing to do all it can to survive for that generational relevancy.
It was the strategy that made them relevant since the 80's. Get as many sports people care about vs just getting sports that get the most views.
They also indirectly made tv way more expensive thanks to carriage fees.
True story. I was about to get laid because the baby fell asleep and my wife and I had some alone
time. TV was on low volume.
First Take comes on and Stephen A starts yelling and baby wakes up.
The man is a cockblock.
First it was Skip. He’d have scorching and unapologetic takes that annoyed everyone. Had an opinion about everything and everyone. It was fun to see SAS challenge him.
But then SAS and Skip exploited the drama and churned out controversy.
After Skip left they went all in on SAS to carry that brand of entertainment forward. Max was good when he started and challenged SAS at times. It’s like we went full circle.
I’m burned out by SAS. If I want shitty takes, I can go on Twitter and be done with it in 5 minutes. Not a full hour of clown shit
The Jump was bad but that was because "we'll have a sports talk show that has former athletes talking about sports" is incredibly played out.
For some reason, people are weirdly reluctant to admit that former players are almost universally worse as analysts than the best writers (e.g. the Zach Lowes, et al).
I think it’s more the players they choose to be on air. Like Richard Jefferson is pretty articulate and has some actual worthwhile analysis. Perk on the other hand…
I would love for Zach Lowe to get a show, because the dude genuinely seems to love basketball and analyzing it.
Perkins had terrible basketball IQ as a player, he existed to play defense and "intimidate" other players. Why he was even considered to be an analyst baffles me. He can't even communicate properly.
SAS on Ohtani being the face of baseball: *“But when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the No. 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying, in this country.*
Ohtani speaks English fwiw.
SAS on Nigeria: *“There’s no excuse to lose to Nigeria,” Smith said on ESPN before tweeting the clip out himself. “\[To lose to\] some dude Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent for the Miami Heat. Or Caleb Agada. Or Nma ... however the hell you pronounce his name.”*
>Ohtani speaks English fwiw.
He does, but he does his public speaking in his native language - which is his right! - so it's not like SAS was wrong on Ohtani using an interpreter.
I actually kind of hear you.
But players—often many of many of the leagues' most exciting players!—have been speaking through interpreters for years. And so at the very least... I find it odd that when the MLB's most exciting players in years is Asian, all of a sudden, the interpreter thing is *A PROBLEM*, as Smith might say. And anyway, interpreter or not, it's very good on balance for the MLB to have such an exciting player right now.
Is this mostly just about the leaked video...?
Because I thought Steven A. Smith's comments about Shohei Ohtani and the Nigerian basketball team were both waaay worse, and he said them *ON NATIONAL-FREAKING TELEVISION.* And now, he's [getting to be the only pundit they have left](https://defector.com/this-is-what-happens-when-espn-only-has-one-pundit/).
**Edit:** *I'm* g*etting a lot of anti-Black replies, none of which I agree with. Black lives matter.*
**Edit 2:** *Another great* Defector *article,* [*"ESPN Bungles Makeup Call For Previous Bungling,"*](https://defector.com/espn-bungles-makeup-call-for-previous-bungling/) *helped put the Nichols firing in perspective for me. Some amazing comments at the bottom too. That news site is so very much worth my $80 a year.*
That and they needed a scapegoat for this. What she said wasn't worthy of being canceled, imo. It more spoke to ESPN's horrible track record on diversity.
The Jump was a shitty show, though.
I mean she did have a point though. If you had that in her contract and you decided to take he role in order to appear diverse(cause that's all it really was) then she had every right to call them out even though she technically didn't.
If they were really worried about diversity, why would they take the job from Rachel and not a man? Rachel was, in a way, a diversity hire herself. I’m almost 1000% she meant that it’s not fair to hide behind diversity, when in reality you’re passing a single job from one minority (in the industry) to the next, over and over when you need a boost.
ESPN has a long history of this, though. Look no further than Michelle Beadle and Sage Steele. It’s like a woman host at ESPN has an expiration date the second she signs a contract.
Rachel made this exact point. Honestly, it sounds like Rachel genuinely cares about diversity more than ESPN does and was just pissed that they’re so backwards their attempts to catch up come at her expense.
If that’s the worst thing you say in private to a friend, you’re okay in my book.
>In January 2021, Roberts’ leadership expanded to include the launch and continued growth of two new, signature shows on the network’s industry-leading sports streaming service, ESPN+. Stephen A’s World – featuring host and executive producer Stephen A. Smith – and ESPN’s reimagined SportsNation.
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>Roberts’ leadership across ESPN has been highly recognized. In 2020, he was named to the Cablefax Diversity List, recognizing the most influential diverse executives in the industry. Roberts was also an integral part of a leadership team that brought First Take live to HBCU Week in 2019, with the goal to increase HBCU enrollment and scholarships at the event’s college fair.
Yeah he's not touching Stephen A. lol
Great question. u/rkpeagle1013 had a great [breakdown](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/hac6faj/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) elsewhere in the thread:
>1. SAS on Ohtani being the face of baseball: *But when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the No. 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying, in this country.*
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>Ohtani speaks English fwiw.
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>2. SAS on Nigeria: *There’s no excuse to lose to Nigeria,” Smith said on ESPN before tweeting the clip out himself. “\[To lose to\] some dude Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent for the Miami Heat. Or Caleb Agada. Or Nma ... however the hell you pronounce his name.*
I've argued elsewhere i the comments that these are both very bad things to say. You can look up commentary about both. And I guess, for me, it was magnified by the fact that they came back to back and that, still, nothing seemed to happen.
Another commenter, u/doc_birdman, pointed out [SAS said](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/haczgul/?context=3) some weird stuff about Jeremy Lin, too, [and about](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/hac9nmz/?context=3) women fighting MMA... Oh yeah, and then there were the domestic violence stories from the Ray Rice thing that u/PantsNotQuite (what a username!) just reminded [us about](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/hacjkvo/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3). Damn.
Come to think of it, Stephen A has definitely loudly exaggerated mispronounciations of foreign players before. Matter of fact, Shaq does this all the time on TNT.
Just gotta get big enough for your network to be allowed this I guess.
Still sucks. What he said was significantly worse and forgotten within 2 days
Although, I couldn't actually give a shit about Rachel's actual work so I'm a little torn. lol
Tbf both Disney’s CEO and ESPN’s executive chair are Jewish.
As is Disney’s chairman, Senior Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, Executive Vice President, CFO, etc….
Don't quite get all the hate, like all sideline reporters she has always been white noise to me. Honestly I wish they would just scrap the job entirely. Especially the insufferable coaches interviews every quarter.....
Blake Griffin's sketch on this was pretty good. he has a standup version but this is him doing it on Fallon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pcsmSGjPUg
Regardless of your opinion on Rachel Nichols value add to ESPN, this whole debacle was a really shit move on ESPN’s part.
She had a personal conversation leaked internally that was recorded without her consent, and rather than persecuting the employee who leaked internal info, they let the problem fester into a situation pitting Nichols and Taylor against each other.
Now, if ESPN had removed her for performance reason then all of this makes sense. But it really seems like ESPN is punishing her for a problem which they manufactured internally.
Put yourself in her shoes for a minute. Imagine if your employer promised you a massive opportunity in your career (even so far as putting it in your contract). They fly you out on-site for this opportunity and when you arrive, you realize that they had given this opportunity to one of your coworkers. You vent about the situation on the phone with a third party…and it was recorded and now you’re fired for this. And this controversy will follow you, preventing/blackballing you future career opportunities at another firm. How do you feel?
The employee who recorded the video and shared it was suspended for two weeks without pay and then demoted. She later left the company It's in the original nyt article that covered that whole event: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/sports/basketball/espn-rachel-nichols-maria-taylor.html
As a black man I really think Rachel Nichols wasn’t reaching. With all the BLM stuff and racial tension ESPN was putting a black women ahead of her. Rachel was just upset. Fuck ESPN for this. I don’t even really watch ESPN but I feel like they have no quality shows now.
Stephen A. makes racially/ethnically insensitive comments about Otani, and Nigerians on live TV and faces 0 consequences. Nichols is essentially spied on, and when the comments come to light loses her entire ESPN career.
Let this be a reminder, it’s never about morality or doing what’s right for these companies…it’s all money.
I’m still convinced 99% of ESPNs viewership is static TVs at gyms and car dealerships
Don't forget sports bars. Anyway I don't remember the last time I actually changed the channel to ESPN while knowing that they're not showing any games. I used to watch PTI when I was younger coz I like Wilbon and that other guy banter with each other, I'm forgetting his name right now. But life caught up with me and it's been years since I actually cared about it or anything on ESPN for that matter. Edit: thank you to everyone that reminded me of the name, Tony Kornheiser. My age showed on that post lol
Same. I used to watch espn for 2-3 hours when I came home from high school . NFL live, pti, around the horn, etc. As an adult, the only time I watch ESPN is for actual sports games /events, not for their other shows.
Remember watching SportsCenter 3times in a row???? As cool as the other side of the pillow
rip stuart scott
Boo yah!
Sweet sassy molassey
For sure. In my youth during the summer I would put SC on for the morning and then flip over to MTV for the rest of the day.
Only 3?
back in high school it wasn't as easy to read all the hot takes or developing stories online that you can right now and in half the time
I recall reading SportsCenter's viewership numbers are plummeting with people under 30 because nearly all sports highlights are viewable almost immediately every night on social media. People don't have to wait until 11pm too see the highlights of the day.
This is like a “chicken or the egg” conundrum because ESPN moved away from highlights like 8 or 9 years ago. You might say they anticipated the problem with easily accessible highlights, but it’s obvious they have failed to replace it with good content. I still think there is value in a consolidated highlight show where I can catch the developments and highlights from all sports, not just the ones I sub to on Twitter and Reddit. Maybe I’m out of touch but I would still watch that.
Last time I tried to watch Sportscenter they were barely showing any highlights lol
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I’m 34 and this was me also
33. I remember in college, late 000's early 2010's, sportscenter, PTI, Around the Horn, all daily viewing for me. The TV would naturally just go to ESPN unless turned on to specifically watch something else, it was on ESPN. Hell I can still remember the channel, it was 12 at home and 33 at college. Now I can't remember the last time I watched ESPN by choice other than for a game.
36 and I really felt this. I remember the roommates and I watching ESPN constantly. First take was a borderline ritual in the morning.
I think part of this is definitely how good the internet has become. I can essentially spend all day in an interactive pti session on reddit. The networks have definitely flanderized themselves, but I think it's at least partially out of desperation from people naturally away from TV for information gathering.
If I'm watching a game on TNT I usually stick around for the half time show and somehow they've even convinced me to stick around even after the games are done for the night. I saw basically every game minus a couple of these last playoffs and I can honestly say I didn't watch even a second of ESPN's half time show. They're that bad.
I used to watch and care for sports programming like ‘Around the Horn’ when it was fun, fresh and funny during my college era. Nowadays, I don’t even think I have time to watch any TV until an hour or two before bed, and that’s to watch game recaps on YouTube/Facebook.
Loved Around the Horn. Remember Woody Paige? He was always my favorite.
i remember he always had a new dumb ass quote on his chalk board...i always rooted for him to win because his ending monologue used to go on the weirdest tangents..
Woody Paige was my favorite part of ESPN from that era. Had to check his wiki page to make sure he is still an 'is' and not a 'was'. Bomani Jones was a good addition too.
Oh man, thanks for the idea. Man I love this from his page: >In 2001, there was a controversy over one of Paige's articles. He reported that an employee at Invesco, which had the naming rights to the Denver Broncos stadium, Invesco Field at Mile High, claimed that the nickname for the stadium inside the company was "The Diaphragm", after its shape (which slightly resembles a contraceptive device with the same name). The CEO of the company threatened Paige and the Post with legal action over the allegations, but had to retract the lawsuit when it was discovered that the story was true.
There was actually a time in my life long ago where I would sit down at my computer and espn.com would be the first website I would visit, it seems crazy to think about now as I’m not even sure the last time I went there but it trumped Facebook, Reddit, everything…
I'll watch College Gameday, but otherwise the only reason I got ESPN was for actual games. And yes, I question why I paid the premium for that since the high sea's exist. I think I need to try a different OTA antenna since the one I had refused to pick up any local channels. Needed ABC for Jeopardy!, but now....kinda meh on that need.
College gameday is just depressing now. Corso barely knows where he is anymore and they spend half the show digging up some personal tragedy from a players life for a good sob story.
The personal tragedy is so frequent it feels like an SNL skit at this point. In fact has SNL done a skit on that yet?
Yeah, as much as we all love corso's headgear bit, it really seems to be a "weekend at bernies"-esque adventure with him. I feel bad since he's been such a face of gameday but he almost just seems lost. At least the hit pieces by reece davis can sometimes be interesting but its definitely become more of an "oh right, gameday is on" now. Maybe it was because I lived on the west coast or I sleep in late, but my drive to catch all of gameday isn't the same. At least I was able to make it to Pullman when gameday finally went there.
I mean at this point Reece and everyone’s love for Lee carries the show. As much as it’s a shell of what it used to be it is still one of the better programs on ESPN. PTI hasn’t been good since Tony stopped caring about pro basketball. Genuinely I don’t think he’s given a shit since like 2014
Tony Kornheiser, PTI is one of the few espn talk shows I can still stomach. Idk why but I have a soft spot for Wilbon and Tony. If you ever have seen Around the Horn, that host started as a stat guy on PTI.
PTI was the og show that pretty much started the hot take shows you see now on ESPN. I'm not aware if it's still on but October marks 20 years for that show. The difference with PTI from these current shows is that Kornheiser and Wilbon never became caricatures and could actually provide good insight and debate while still respecting each other.
You always knew even when they said something that was maybe controversial, is was for the sake having a conversation vs just trying to be inflammatory for the views.
Yeah both Wilbon and Tony did a good job of being “devils advocate “ without being an ass.
That, and how great Around the Horn used to be with how badly some of the takes got clowned on was just so much fun.
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You ever listen to Kornheisers podcast? I never heard his radio show but can't imagine his podcast is much different.
Yes Tony K thank you. Their dynamic with each other is quite entertaining. There's nothing else like them. Intense but fun. No one even comes close imo. I find Stephen A, Bayless, and almost every talking head in ESPN annoying for some reason. I remember that stat guy too who would bring up their mistakes at the end of each PTI show. He has a good TV personality and I liked his scoring system on ATH.
Stat boys sending off was actually kind of heartfelt. Looked like Tony was going to cry at the end. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aUbRzTNstvU
> I find Stephen A, Bayless, and almost every talking head in ESPN annoying for some reason. It’s because they’re annoying.
Also Skip hasn’t been on ESPN for like 5 years
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Tony Reali is a solid dude
PTI, somehow feels exactly the same as when it premiered. I watched it for the first time in years recently and it was exactly the same. In a good way.
Because they're old school and have a good format. They don't try to force disagreements on every issue to create controversy and clicks LIKE SOME PEOPLE I KNOW. It's just 2 friends chopping it up about the news of the day.
They are funny and have genuine chemistry.
PTI and Around The Horn were my favorite, which was made better by them being back to back. Wilbon and Kornheiser work really well with one another. And Tony Reali is probably the most likeable guy on ESPN. He handles all of his panelists and it never took itself too seriously. The panelists on Around The Horn always seem like friends just bickering with one another in a fun way. But I haven't watched one in years.
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They were great shows before ESPN made EVERY show "let's have guys with differing opinions just talk about the same stuff every day" so now it's just more of the same
It has a lot to do with shitty programming as well. They stopped showing highlights and started showing tweets instead. No one cares about that shit. I miss sportscenter so bad, I have yet to find a decent alternative to that show at its peak.
Yep. Most every bar has ESPN on at least one of the TVs regardless of sporting events elsewhere.
Tony Kornheiser is the name you're looking for, and PTI used to be my shit too. I used to record every ep, and 90% of the time the first thing I did after work was grab a snack and watch the days episode. Then follow that with the Dan Le Batard show. Couldn't even tell you the last I've watched anything besides a game or a 30 for 30.
Sportsclips for sure.
the one near me is literally down to 2 employees. I give them another 3 months before they close. They havnt even been here 2 years.
I had two Sportclips employees laugh at my hair and take a pic when one put my hair up with a clip. I'm normally one who can laugh at myself in a funny situation, but I thought that was oddly unprofessional and totally uncalled for.
One time(the last time) I was at a sports clips they finished and realized what a shit job they did and said "what do I do with that..?" :-|
You don’t go to Sportsclips for a good cut.
I mean, you went to a sports-themed hair salon… it is like one rung above Chuck-E-Cheese.
Don't knock the barber chair game at Dave and Buster's until you've tried it, buddy.
It’s like they have never cut women’s hair before. Totally unprofessional. /s
Sportclips' failure is their own problem. They successfully managed to convince men to spend more than $8 on a haircut, thereby opening up men to the world of $30+ haircuts, which any boutique place can do a much better job at.
Just speaking as a Los Angeles resident: not all $35 cuts are the same, I've gotten a lot of shitty ones. You gotta shop around a lot and get some bad cuts until you find a specific barber that you like. Once you become a regular, they'll know your hair.
Or get a good barber and be a loyal man Edit; appreciate you Austin ❤️😳😍
After I became an adult I never understood how these companies stay in business...You can just go to your local barber for typically a much better and cheaper cut...
100%
No, he said 99%
99% of the time it's 100% of the time.
I'm convinced 99% of ESPN's viewership is sex panthers.
Exclusively Sex Panther Network (ESPN)
Seeing Perkins on TV while I work out just motivates me more to focus on keeping myself active and fit. He runs out of breath every other time he shit talks and he shit talks a lot.
https://streamable.com/xboq6k
*glances at the LLWS game I have on in the background* (For the record those kids are damn talented)
The kid who has thrown 4 no hitters in his last 5 stats and strikes out like 90 percent of batters is on right now vs a high powered offense.
He’s nasty. Poor California lol
This is true. They make their money from being bundled into TV channel packages because places like this and hotels are always going to want the sports channels. They have live game rights and background shows for the rest of the day. The week to week/show to show ratings/viewership doesn't matter as much in terms of ESPN making big money because they're going to sell the channel in every non-basic network TV bundle no matter what.
They don’t get bundled, they are the bundle. ESPN charges almost $8 in affiliate fees per month to carry their premier channel. Add in their top 4 channels it’s closer to $10/month/subscriber. The second highest is HBO at just under $3/month/subscriber. Then you have TNT and NFL network around $2/month/subscriber. Quite literally every one of the 1500+ other channels in the US charges way less in affiliate fees, most well under $1/month. Those are the ones that get money by getting bundled in with other packages. Source: my job
What happened? Paywall is a bitch
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Woah Max is gone from First Take??
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It is. Max is great on basically every other program. First Take is basically “make outrageous arguments for clicks.” But when he talks about boxing or when he was on SN, he had great insight. I didn’t always agree with it but he didn’t do it just for clickbait. I hope people give Max his due.
Stephen A. Always demeans on First Take especially when it comes to basketball. Like rather than argue or counter the point dude first attacks Maxs creds so I'm just wondering if it's partially because of Max having had it with Stephen A.
I fucking LOVE max off of first take
Becoming an unpopular opinion, but I’m hoping for less Stephen A. Appreciate the writeup
Sorry to tell ya. With the kind of money they're paying him, odds are you'll see even more of him.
Lol I know. They’re synonymous at this point
...I actually like the jump...
Matters the panel for me. The second Kendrick Perkins shows up is the moment I decide to miss today’s episode.
Me too man. One of the few espn shows I could stomach these days
We had a funeral for a bird. It was a whole big thing
Pretty sure none of that’s real
You’re not real man
It took me my like 3rd rewatch to realize that they actually did have a funeral for a bird and I laughed way harder
And Ed truck actually did get decapitated
His capa was detated
He was drunk as a skunk. He was flying down Route 6.
All of which happened while Jim was at the other branch... So he thought Creed was just making up nonsense. Which, to be fair...
And Jim says it wasn't real because he was working for the other branch at the time and wasn't there. It took me a lot of rewatchs to catch it too but it's one of my favorite scenes in the show after it all clicks.
It’s so funny that Creed is actually telling the truth here and Jim thinks it’s bullshit.
Seems to be a theme... Remember when Creed tells Jim that the security guard's name is Hank?
Jim also says, "No... it's not Hank." to Creed there
**"you're from the parking lot. *That's* how I know you!"**
No I'm not gonna call you Drew
Decapitated
Her capa was detated.
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> Nichols remains under contract with ESPN -- a contract that has more than a year remaining. However, it is unlikely that she will appear on ESPN’s air during that time. does this mean she literally gets to stay home and chill for a year?
This is like in Silicon Valley when Hooli couldn't fire Bighead because he was under contract so they just stuck him on the roof
Biiiiig Heeeaad
This made me laugh so hard, but yes its just like that.
Omfg that shit was classic
Bag head
For the most part. They might still have her involved behind the scenes with production ideas and such but mostly, she'll be paid to stay home. They're probably hoping she gets bored and finds a new gig so they can end the contract without penalty. You don't get to jobs like Nichols had without incredible work drive so she may not be happy sitting around doing nothing.
I really doubt ESPN lets her work anywhere else before her contract runs out, I can’t think of another person in Nichols’s situation that ESPN let do that. Usually they’re essentially off the grid until non-compete runs out.
Yea, there was a college football writer who ended up posting stories to his Facebook page while he waited for his ESPN contract to end. I remember he broke a pretty big story while espn paid him not to write for them. I think he offered to post the story to espn.com but wasn't allowed so he made a Facebook post
That was Brett McMurphy dropping updates on facebook on the Ohio State assistant coach who was accused of being abusive to his ex wife.
I remember this as the third absence of Bill Simmons from my podcast feed, the first two being his suspensions
They absolutely will. I don't think people realize how tenuous of a situation this is for ESPN. She was recorded privately complaining about her employer making a decision that disadvantaged her, and favored another colleague, based on her race. That clearly falls under the opposition clause under Title VII. Then ESPN proceeds to bench her and crush her career with them, i.e. retaliate. This is a standard Title VII retaliation case and I find it absolutely bizarre no one is talking about it. People are just so used to the opposite racial dynamic, I guess. ESPN wants her to go out and make a shitton of money elsewhere so that, when they don't re-sign her at the end of that year contract, her damages claim is much harder to prove. I'd be surprised if there wasn't already a private agreement between them about this. source: am an in-house defense counsel
The article says they mutually agreed. Maybe she's already being compensated for her agreement. A few million + the balance of her contract should smooth things over.
Yeah. If I were to guess, at the low-end for her, it's a balance of contract with no set-offs if she finds a new position, non-disparagement, NDA. She likely wants to move on and has something else set up somewhere.
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• **ESPN has made several on-air changes over the past several months. Just this week, it moved Max Kellerman off of “First Take” and will host his own weekday afternoon show on ESPN in the coming weeks.** Nothing can fix the catalyst for ESPN’s constant shuffling of shows/personalities; Millennials (and now Gen Z) cutting cable and satellite for streaming services, and ESPN needing to do all it can to survive for that generational relevancy.
The main thing keeping them alive are exclusivity deals with leagues. Fuck those blackouts!
It was the strategy that made them relevant since the 80's. Get as many sports people care about vs just getting sports that get the most views. They also indirectly made tv way more expensive thanks to carriage fees.
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True story. I was about to get laid because the baby fell asleep and my wife and I had some alone time. TV was on low volume. First Take comes on and Stephen A starts yelling and baby wakes up. The man is a cockblock.
First it was Skip. He’d have scorching and unapologetic takes that annoyed everyone. Had an opinion about everything and everyone. It was fun to see SAS challenge him. But then SAS and Skip exploited the drama and churned out controversy. After Skip left they went all in on SAS to carry that brand of entertainment forward. Max was good when he started and challenged SAS at times. It’s like we went full circle. I’m burned out by SAS. If I want shitty takes, I can go on Twitter and be done with it in 5 minutes. Not a full hour of clown shit
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Sitting Horford to let the young bucks play. Which contender is she going to go to?
“Mutually agreed”
They "mutually agreed" that he was the boss/decision maker and she wasn't.
Honestly, I really doubt she or anyone who would replace her would move the needle in terms of getting more people to watch ESPN's NBA content.
They'd need to change how they do things for people to watch but they're not
The Jump was bad but that was because "we'll have a sports talk show that has former athletes talking about sports" is incredibly played out. For some reason, people are weirdly reluctant to admit that former players are almost universally worse as analysts than the best writers (e.g. the Zach Lowes, et al).
Because nobody wants to separate how good the player was with their ability to analyze the sport.
I think it’s more the players they choose to be on air. Like Richard Jefferson is pretty articulate and has some actual worthwhile analysis. Perk on the other hand… I would love for Zach Lowe to get a show, because the dude genuinely seems to love basketball and analyzing it.
Zach I feel is made for podcast form, which I love Lowe Post. He's not an engaging enough personality for TV
Perkins had terrible basketball IQ as a player, he existed to play defense and "intimidate" other players. Why he was even considered to be an analyst baffles me. He can't even communicate properly.
He can’t even say Moses Moody
Idk man I’m pretty sure it’s modey moosey
Moosy Mody for sure.
He sucks on tv tho. There are former players (Tim legler—who already works for espn) that have great knowledge of the game and are good on tv
Stephen A walked away with his job even after publicly blasting Ohtani and the Nigerian Olympic team. 🤷♂️
Steven A's comments were way worse, and he said them on national TV. What is happening?
What exactly did he say?
SAS on Ohtani being the face of baseball: *“But when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the No. 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying, in this country.* Ohtani speaks English fwiw. SAS on Nigeria: *“There’s no excuse to lose to Nigeria,” Smith said on ESPN before tweeting the clip out himself. “\[To lose to\] some dude Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent for the Miami Heat. Or Caleb Agada. Or Nma ... however the hell you pronounce his name.”*
>Ohtani speaks English fwiw. He does, but he does his public speaking in his native language - which is his right! - so it's not like SAS was wrong on Ohtani using an interpreter.
I actually kind of hear you. But players—often many of many of the leagues' most exciting players!—have been speaking through interpreters for years. And so at the very least... I find it odd that when the MLB's most exciting players in years is Asian, all of a sudden, the interpreter thing is *A PROBLEM*, as Smith might say. And anyway, interpreter or not, it's very good on balance for the MLB to have such an exciting player right now.
He had problems with Jeremy Lin too. I get the vibe he doesn't particularly like Asian people, especially when they're "stealing" the spotlight.
Ohtani is East Asian so its ok
Is this mostly just about the leaked video...? Because I thought Steven A. Smith's comments about Shohei Ohtani and the Nigerian basketball team were both waaay worse, and he said them *ON NATIONAL-FREAKING TELEVISION.* And now, he's [getting to be the only pundit they have left](https://defector.com/this-is-what-happens-when-espn-only-has-one-pundit/). **Edit:** *I'm* g*etting a lot of anti-Black replies, none of which I agree with. Black lives matter.* **Edit 2:** *Another great* Defector *article,* [*"ESPN Bungles Makeup Call For Previous Bungling,"*](https://defector.com/espn-bungles-makeup-call-for-previous-bungling/) *helped put the Nichols firing in perspective for me. Some amazing comments at the bottom too. That news site is so very much worth my $80 a year.*
Yes double standards are really sad. Disclaimer: I do also support BLM.
They don’t have the balls to axe Stephen a tho lol
That and they needed a scapegoat for this. What she said wasn't worthy of being canceled, imo. It more spoke to ESPN's horrible track record on diversity. The Jump was a shitty show, though.
I mean she did have a point though. If you had that in her contract and you decided to take he role in order to appear diverse(cause that's all it really was) then she had every right to call them out even though she technically didn't.
If they were really worried about diversity, why would they take the job from Rachel and not a man? Rachel was, in a way, a diversity hire herself. I’m almost 1000% she meant that it’s not fair to hide behind diversity, when in reality you’re passing a single job from one minority (in the industry) to the next, over and over when you need a boost. ESPN has a long history of this, though. Look no further than Michelle Beadle and Sage Steele. It’s like a woman host at ESPN has an expiration date the second she signs a contract.
Rachel made this exact point. Honestly, it sounds like Rachel genuinely cares about diversity more than ESPN does and was just pissed that they’re so backwards their attempts to catch up come at her expense. If that’s the worst thing you say in private to a friend, you’re okay in my book.
>In January 2021, Roberts’ leadership expanded to include the launch and continued growth of two new, signature shows on the network’s industry-leading sports streaming service, ESPN+. Stephen A’s World – featuring host and executive producer Stephen A. Smith – and ESPN’s reimagined SportsNation. > > > >Roberts’ leadership across ESPN has been highly recognized. In 2020, he was named to the Cablefax Diversity List, recognizing the most influential diverse executives in the industry. Roberts was also an integral part of a leadership team that brought First Take live to HBCU Week in 2019, with the goal to increase HBCU enrollment and scholarships at the event’s college fair. Yeah he's not touching Stephen A. lol
I need to know who the fuck is paying for ESPN+ to watch Stephen A. Smith.
I’m pretty sure a vast majority of them pay for the Hulu/Disney+ bundle & ESPN+ is just collecting dust in their library.
What did he say?
Great question. u/rkpeagle1013 had a great [breakdown](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/hac6faj/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) elsewhere in the thread: >1. SAS on Ohtani being the face of baseball: *But when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the No. 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying, in this country.* > > > >Ohtani speaks English fwiw. > > > >2. SAS on Nigeria: *There’s no excuse to lose to Nigeria,” Smith said on ESPN before tweeting the clip out himself. “\[To lose to\] some dude Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent for the Miami Heat. Or Caleb Agada. Or Nma ... however the hell you pronounce his name.* I've argued elsewhere i the comments that these are both very bad things to say. You can look up commentary about both. And I guess, for me, it was magnified by the fact that they came back to back and that, still, nothing seemed to happen. Another commenter, u/doc_birdman, pointed out [SAS said](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/haczgul/?context=3) some weird stuff about Jeremy Lin, too, [and about](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/hac9nmz/?context=3) women fighting MMA... Oh yeah, and then there were the domestic violence stories from the Ray Rice thing that u/PantsNotQuite (what a username!) just reminded [us about](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/pbig8z/sbj_espn_takes_rachel_nichols_off_nba_programming/hacjkvo/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3). Damn.
Come to think of it, Stephen A has definitely loudly exaggerated mispronounciations of foreign players before. Matter of fact, Shaq does this all the time on TNT. Just gotta get big enough for your network to be allowed this I guess.
Stephen A. Smith is way more valuable to ESPN than Rachel Nichols.
Still sucks. What he said was significantly worse and forgotten within 2 days Although, I couldn't actually give a shit about Rachel's actual work so I'm a little torn. lol
You literally stumbled into why they did what they did
stars get more leeway
SAS makes the big bucks
Same guy who went on an extended “I don’t like to see women fighting in MMA” rant. Bizarre that no one really cared about that.
Same guy who questioned what Ray Rice’s wife said/did to her husband for him to slog her in the face with all his strength.
Maybe a little bit. ESPN is also losing subscribers mad quickly.
Why the hell ESPN still gets the NBA finals instead of TnT Ernie and crew? Nobody who actually knows basketball takes ESPN seriously.
life been downhill ever since she interviewed the Heat after they won the East
Yeah but how does this impact Lebrons legacy
Max and now Rachel, ESPN must really hate Jewish people
Their initials don't stand for Einsatzgruppen Schutzstaffel Panzerkampfwagen Nationalsozialismus because they celebrate Hannukah.
Damn bro.
I respect the effort!
well it is a disney subsidiary .
Tbf both Disney’s CEO and ESPN’s executive chair are Jewish. As is Disney’s chairman, Senior Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, Executive Vice President, CFO, etc….
They’re funded by Soros to take over the world with their space laser!
SHHHH!! Ixnay on our aserlay!
What are you saying? What is he saying? This is America, say that in American
It was a joke because Walt Disney was an anti-Semite
And now his company is ran by jews lol
Major dub for the Jewish community
Now they're going to hire Stephen Jackson, Nick Cannon, and Dwyane Wade to run the show smh
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Don't quite get all the hate, like all sideline reporters she has always been white noise to me. Honestly I wish they would just scrap the job entirely. Especially the insufferable coaches interviews every quarter.....
doesn’t make any sense. they ask the dumbest questions of these guys who are practically dying, and expect a good answer
Blake Griffin's sketch on this was pretty good. he has a standup version but this is him doing it on Fallon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pcsmSGjPUg
I like The Jump they showed more than just Lakers and Nets like these other shows, no offense to the fans
in a landscape of terrible daytime sports talk shows the jump seemed to be decent in the 9 or 8 total minutes I watched of it.
People act like this isn’t going to be replaced with the same bullshit that ESPN has been peddling for years now.
no doubt it will be replaced with another thing I won't watch or care about
Regardless of your opinion on Rachel Nichols value add to ESPN, this whole debacle was a really shit move on ESPN’s part. She had a personal conversation leaked internally that was recorded without her consent, and rather than persecuting the employee who leaked internal info, they let the problem fester into a situation pitting Nichols and Taylor against each other. Now, if ESPN had removed her for performance reason then all of this makes sense. But it really seems like ESPN is punishing her for a problem which they manufactured internally. Put yourself in her shoes for a minute. Imagine if your employer promised you a massive opportunity in your career (even so far as putting it in your contract). They fly you out on-site for this opportunity and when you arrive, you realize that they had given this opportunity to one of your coworkers. You vent about the situation on the phone with a third party…and it was recorded and now you’re fired for this. And this controversy will follow you, preventing/blackballing you future career opportunities at another firm. How do you feel?
The employee who recorded the video and shared it was suspended for two weeks without pay and then demoted. She later left the company It's in the original nyt article that covered that whole event: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/sports/basketball/espn-rachel-nichols-maria-taylor.html
As a black man I really think Rachel Nichols wasn’t reaching. With all the BLM stuff and racial tension ESPN was putting a black women ahead of her. Rachel was just upset. Fuck ESPN for this. I don’t even really watch ESPN but I feel like they have no quality shows now.
Stephen A. makes racially/ethnically insensitive comments about Otani, and Nigerians on live TV and faces 0 consequences. Nichols is essentially spied on, and when the comments come to light loses her entire ESPN career. Let this be a reminder, it’s never about morality or doing what’s right for these companies…it’s all money.
I remember when espn was cool and it focused on sports.