Lover of blogs everywhere, Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD, does his best to bury the lead today in his sports media notes column by reporting on an interesting ESPN programming decision:
The NEW YORK TIMES projects news that ESPN is looking to broaden its broadcasting brilliance to the big screen.
The Worldwide Leader is focused on collaborating with Walt Disney Studios and Creative Artists Agency to produce & distribute sports-themed theatrical releases in the next few years. And the network is already making cinematic strides by hiring 30 filmmakers to produce one-hour mini-movies, set to start showing on the small screen in September 2009.
As the bigwigs try to brainstorm for feature film ideas, Mike Bianchi of the ORLANDO SENTINEL proposes remaking a Disney family favorite - featuring the ESPN Primetime Players. Read more…
PLEASE OH PLEASE TAKE BROADCASTER CORSO INSTEAD! The free-for-all to find a new West Virginia football coach is on and the CHARLESTON (WV) DAILY MAIL has several candidates in the can - including Terry Bowden.
Bowden would appear to be the frontrunner, with the D-M reporting: “The WVU graduate told the Daily Mail in October he wanted to return to coaching next season and that he wanted to replace (Rich) Rodriguez if he had left for Alabama last year.“Bowden has been off the sidelines since 1999, when he was forced to resign at Auburn. The program had been in steady decline since he lead the Tigers to an 11-0 record in ‘93.
The son of FSU coach Bobby Bowden has since been an ABC analyst radio analyst (NEVER trust an official website!) and (what else?) motivational speaker. If WVU is looking to pluck someone from the airwaves, we’re actually rooting for them to take Lee Corso instead.
“Honestly, the best way to describe it is by the time Friday came around I had some information that trust me on this it was very accurate base on not a source but someone that was going to be involved in the situation.
“I made the mistake, I guess telling the ESPN bosses it and in doing that they are journalists and they said you’ve got an obligation to talk about that and go with it. You guys know, I as a former player really pride myself on my relationships with coaches and players and just not real comfortable in breaking stories, leave that up to Pat Forde and the others to do that stuff.“When they talked about that and really thought it over and over because it was going to happen they didn’t want to get beat on the story and they suggested that I go with it.”
We agree with Herbstreit on two fronts: ESPN executives deserve all the blame for the debacle - as do they for the weather in Bristol in February, the hiring of Jemele Hill, and the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage industry.And we also concur when it comes to him reporting news. Why risk providing provocative information that might make people want to tune in when you can make the same amount of money changing out Lee Corso’s bib five-times-a-GameDay?
SPEECHLESS - STEPHEN A-1 WORST SPORTS ANNOUNCER: It’s well-known how importantly Stephen A. Smith feels about the blogosphere. Now the internet masses have been led astray by the “untrained writers” once more.
WITH LEATHER shares the important results of an important poll offered up by AOL FANHOUSE, and Stephen is A-1 on top of the hot list.
Too bad for Screamin’ A, it’s recognition for being America’s Worst Sports Announcer. The blogger basher was able to beat out such cringe-inducing competition as Lee Corso, Shannon Sharpe, and in the tourney topper, Monday Night mouth Tony Kornheiser.
