When Tiger Woods accepted Jimmy Fallon’s PR stunt challenge to take him on at the “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10″ video game for the Wii, you can imagine that Woods was hardly sweating bullets. After all, it’s his game. And while I know that doesn’t mean that John Madden would be good at video game football or that Bill Laimbeer would excel at “Combat Basketball,” I feel pretty confident in Tiger Woods’ ability to play a video golf game. (Although I wouldn’t want to take on “QB Eagles“ in Tecmo Super Bowl.)

But it turns out that Fallon has more talents than being the only person in America who laughs at Horatio Sanz: he’s also pretty decent at video games. So when the two played a match in Times Square yesterday over three holes at a virtual Bethpage Black course (with commentary by Scott Van Pelt and Kelly Tilghman, who avoided any impulse to offer to “lynch Tiger” on behalf of Fallon), Tiger was in for a surprise as he was summarily throttled by the “comedian“.

Video after the jump:

Read more…

In the relatively short history of sports blogs, there have been several things that have served to greatly expand their visibility above and beyond the niche of the young, internet-savvy set. These things have often had one thing in common - ESPN. From Erin Andrews‘ sideline antics to Scott Van Pelt’s singles bar shenanigans to “You’re With Me, Leather,” sports blogs shone a much-needed, often hilarious spotlight on the actions and direction of the media behemoth and its employees.

Take, for example, the disparate treatment of ESPN mainstays Chris Berman and Scott Van Pelt. The sports blogosphere is as united in their distate for Berman’s tired schtick as they are united in their appreciation for Van Pelt’s self-deprecating everyman personality. These two extremes have never been more evident than they were in two separate stories today. Let’s discuss.

Read more…

Scott Van Pelt isn’t the only ESPN employee in hot water. Jamal Anderson, former Atlanta Falcon and current analyst on “First Take”, was busted in the act of snorting cocaine off a toilet tank in an Atlanta bar.

And it gets better. Anderson was also found with marijuana in his pocket, and the other man he was arrested with was underage. I think the Urban Dictionary is hard at work on a new definition for the Dirty Bird.
Read more…

More discord out in Bristol today, as fan favorite Scott Van Pelt has been suspended from his ESPN radio show. His crime? A swear word? Several swear words? Going Bobby Knight and dropping effenheimers all over the place? No, according to DEADSPIN, who’s breaking yet another ESPN story, it was a biting rant on Bud Selig and his $18.5 million salary that raised the ire of ESPN execs.

(This is a rather unfortunate picture, in retrospect.)

Nobody seems to have audio of the segment in question (yet), but evidently it was personal enough to warrant a measure of discipline from ESPN.

Now, we can’t help but notice that ESPN and MLB just so happen to be rather pleasant business partners, so that sliding scale of professionalism might be a little different for baseball commentary than with, say, hockey, which ESPN has conveniently forgotten about since dropping their TV deal with the NHL. Said Deadspin:

Selig does have close relationships with many of ESPN’s top execs ( they are currently locked in an 8-year, $2.4 billion broadcast deal from 2005 for Sunday Night Baseball and have other contracts with MLB) and the initial story was that Selig himself heard the remarks and was personally offended by them, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

But while a suspension from the radio show seems harsh, it’s actually little more than a slap on the wrist.

Read more…

I started SbB in 2001 because was I was bored working in the sports talk radio biz.  I couldn’t take being hemmed in by the daily local yocal game analysis, pushover interviews, formulaic guy talk, and same ol’ fallback topics on slow days. So I created SbB to escape that noxious environment, if only for my own amusement.

(Van Pelt’s solo show, rusty folding chair, left out in the cold)

Today if you listen to Dan Le Batard’s radio show in Miami, and plenty of others, you hear sports talk radio going in the direction of what I’ve been onto for years: Giving the visitor breaking information accented by clever commentary. That now-burgeoning trend in radio now has trained me back to the medium. And with that, I was very interested when ESPN announced changes in its national radio schedule this week.

First the good news (no, they didn’t blow out Mike & Mike): Beginning on March 16, Brian Kenny is getting a daily show, from 8-10p ET weeknights. Kenny has been the most underrated sports personality on the network for over a decade (sorry Sal Pal!), and it’s nice to see him get some recognition. I’m guessing he’ll be great listen, but those of us in L.A. will have to catch Kenny on the web, as his show will likely be covered by KSPN-AM in afternoon drive. (By my guys Mason & Ireland?)

Another underrated talent and the best radio talk host ESPN has, Doug Gottlieb, is moving his show to 4-7p ET.  Colin Cowherd, who in my estimation is the most overrated host on the net, will get another hour tacked on to his midday show (10a-2p ET). So those of you wondering about the day’s produce selection at Wegmann’s and/or menu specials at your friendly neighborhood Fleming’s, have at it.

(Miracle! Despite disabling TMJ attack, Cowherd still menaces radio audience)

Those time changes mean the show hosted by Mike Tirico and Scott Van Pelt will move to 2-4p ET, with the one-hour Van Pelt solo show now a memory.

So why the elimination of Van Pelt’s show? Read more…

Kenny Mayne’s new web comedy premiered today on ESPN.com, which worried me, since the last time they gave an ESPN personality their own online “show”, we ended up with the Sports Guy cartoons.

(Kenny Mayne as a SportsCenter anchor? What a concept!)

But the first episode of “Mayne Street” isn’t so bad, even if it’s based on a joke we’ve seen before. Mayne is a guy who’s had the same shtick for years, and it’s not changing. Either you think his act is funny or you don’t.

The premise of the show is that Mayne plays a bumbling SportsCenter anchor who can’t seem to do anything right. Not a stretch by any means, but a set-up that should provide easy opportunities for a few laughs. The real star of the premiere, however, is Scott Van Pelt, who basically steals the show from the star.

Link to the show after the jump.

Read more…

Nolan Ryan appeared today on Dan Patrick’s syndicated radio show and made it clear that he in no way supports the PED-denials of fellow Texan Roger Clemens (audio): “It’s just a shame that Roger has gotten caught up in this situation and he took the stance that he did and that so many things have come out … that have cast a bad light on his career.

(Fallout: Clemens will never get his own “RC” logo’d pillbox lid)

More From The Xpress: “If you look at what happened with some of the other players (who used PEDs), they stepped up and said ‘hey, I did it, I knew it was wrong,’ and they asked for forgiveness and have gone on about their business. I think it’s just unfortunate Roger took the position that he did and that so much has come out about it.”

One thing we’ve learned from cases like Clemens, Mike Vick and Martha Stewart is that their lying denials have exacerbated reax to the discovery of their sordid activities - impeding the original particulars from vanishing into particulate.

Maybe not completely (esp. in Vick’s case), but safe to say we wouldn’t still be reveling discussing Clemens’ now-disgraced status in such detail if he’d just owned up - in the face of all the media needling.

If only all three had consulted Marv Albert.

Is it just me or has Patrick’s radio show gone from a dull-edged rehash of ESPN.com’s home page to appointment listening?

Nobody has been harder on the show than SbB, but between increased on-air energy, some new, competent sidekicks spiced in, and the odd newsmaker interview, Patrick may soon start clearing live major markets lower than 1790am on the dial.

Tiger Woods is about six weeks into his recovery after undergoing knee surgery following his mind-boggling U.S. Open victory in mid-June. Since the operation, however, he’s basically gone underground, only surfacing to promote his PGA Tour event, the AT & T National, and yesterday, to talk to ESPN RADIO’s Scott Van Pelt.

Woods admits to being months away from returning to competitive golf, but he’s making progress; according to the ASSOCIATED PRESS, he’s now able to ride a stationary bike, and although he’s physically able to putt, he says he has “absolutely no interest.”

Which is also how he feels about watching golf, too.

Read more…

Employee harassment? Irresponsible spending? Laughably delusional behavior? Yep, that’s James Dolan for you. New York Knicks owner Certifiable insane band member.

(James Dolan’s debut album, “The Strange Case Of The Missing Jowl,” features Isiah Thomas earning his personal services’ back pay on washboard)

I was unable to sleep Monday night, so, like all of you every night I’m sure, I just sat on SbB, refreshing over & over & over - until this ad came up (728X90 banner above): “JD & The Straight Shot - Click here to listen now!”

For some reason, “JD & The Straight Shot” rang a bell. After a quick search, it turns out it’s the “band” fronted by the owner of the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden, James “veneers gone wrong” Dolan.

The last time I was in New York, I had dinner with a guy who knew both Dolan and some of the members of the “band.” He said that apparently most of the poor saps in the group hated “J.D.”, but were afraid to leave the band for fear of losing their jobs (some of them apparently worked for Dolan - or had biz interests with him - which is unconfirmed).

(At least Dolan’s opening act is entertaining. Oh, wait.)

Despite the fact that Dolan’s album sales probably number somewhere between Zach Randolph’s 3-point FG shooting percentage and Nate Robinson’s jersey number, he flies his band to gigs in his private jet and torches heaping piles o’ money recording albums in studios made famous by some of the greatest musicians of all time.

Yep, Dolan (allegedly) recording at Eric Clapton’s 461 Ocean Boulevard studio is almost as bad as the Knicks playing at MSG. Not quite though.

• DEADSPIN rolls tape, as outgoing head honcho Will Leitch gets a very special goodbye message from the one & only Scott Van Pelt.

• BRAHSOME shows the Knicks fans’ response to their team drafting Danilo Gallinari - laughter, then booing, then chants of “U-S-A!”

• Tom Fornelli of AOL FANHOUSE hurls up video of just-ejected White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper throwing something in disgust - and he ends up pulling his hamstring.

• WITH LEATHER huddles up to share news of some English rugby players getting in a scrum with an 18-year-old stripper.

Read more…