REID: My sports talk guy Colin Cowherd is leaving ESPN to go to Fox. He talked about the decision for about 10 min on his show this morning. He said ESPN had been very good to him, gave him his start, and offered him more money to stay. He said it was not about $$, but about fun. He said he is going to be doing some shows on Serius, and doing podcasts, and other stuff.
ME: Your man Cowherd could be making a wise decision. Perhaps guys like you and me should follow.
I’ve been thinking a lot about ESPN lately. When people ditch cable and the satellite ESPN is hit harder than most channels because more cable networks like Comcast all carry ESPN more than any other channel. With all the instant information on the internet there is a decreased need to watch SportsCenter. You can get scores and highlights you want other places quicker without having to first watch all the stories about LeBron or Tom Brady. The only time people watch ESPN is when the game they want to see is on the network. Except for college bowl games, often times the big game is on another network, be it Fox, TNT, CBS, NBC, ABC, SEC, NFL, MLB, NBA, HBO, TBS, Raycom, NESN, the Golf Channel, etc.
With ESPN becoming less relevant they’re having to shout louder to retain their audience. Hence paying athletes appearance fees to attend and participate in a contrived sports awards show: The ESPYs. Hence bestowing an award for courage not to a soldier or a women’s college basketball player fighting cancer but to a former Olympic athlete undergoing a medical procedure that Johns Hopkins stopped performing because they say it causes more problems for the patient than it solves. The athlete’s representative lobbied ESPN for the award. Arthur Ashe and Jim Valvano and Stuart Scott and other award recipients might be spinning in their graves.
Instead about being about wins and losses, players and coaches, and fun and games – the meat and potatoes of sports, ESPN is all about the glitz and glamour, the dollars and cents, the hype and popularity and ratings points. Those are the stories that rule the day. Unfortunately so many blindly and thoughtlessly follow like the mindless lemmings our society has become.
Was listening to my book on CD but heard on the radio that Cowherd has caused a stir about Dominican baseball players.
CELEBRITY CORNER: In a related note, I saw a list of celebrities who supposedly don’t believe in God, based on comments they’ve made in the press. Most of the comments are completely ignorant and aren’t surprising, based on knowing certain celebrities. Still, I will refrain judgment. The list could be wrong. Still, it makes you think about where people are coming from that entertain and wield influence in America.
Woody Allen, Lance Armstrong, Kevin Bacon, Bjork, Marlon Brando, Warren Buffett, James Cameron (Titanic), Rodney Dangerfield, Jodie Foster, Morgan Freeman, comedian Kathy Griffin, Katherine Hepburn, singer Billy Joel, Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley, Hugh Lawrie (House), Bruce Lee, John Malkovich, Julianne Moore, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Joe Rogan, Howard Stern, Emma Thompson, and Uma Thurman.
MLB: Lots of debate about the four top greatest living players. I say Aaron and Mays are givens but not Bench and Koufax. Others to consider: Berra, Jeter, Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Albert Pujols. Even ARod could be considered, and Pete Rose.
10 in 1979 & 1980
2 in 1981 (Chris Chambliss was acquired)
22 in 1997 & 1998
52 from 1999 – 2003
53 from 2004 – 2006
66 in 2012 spring training (he was 73 years old)
Dews was also a base coach for a short time in 1985 but his number is not recorded. Dews played minor league ball in Daytona Beach, Billings, Lancaster PA, Tulsa, Norfolk, Winnipeg, Jacksonville, Little Rock, and St. Petersburg.
Monday night Ceil fixed taco salad with ground beef. I gassed up my car on the way home and later took Anna’s Jeep for a fillup. Watched the Braves and the Middle. A little American Ninja Warrior. Been shipping out my most recent items sold on eBay: concert tickets, Peachtree Road Race T-shirts, a Russian basketball jersey, Kobe sneakers, Hootie & the Blowfish T shirt, a Hawks T shirt, a Masters shirt, a Transformers toy, and a bobblehead.
Wednesday: Another slow night. Ceil cooked sausage and pasta and salad. Watched Duck Dynasty and packaged for eBay items. Earlier I attended a seminar on paying for college and checked out three library books: American Sniper, pitcher Jim Abbott, and The Butler (at the White House). I had recently seem Tim McCarver interview Abbott about his book. I always remember listening to a Braves spring training game where Abbott batted – he tripled.
Worked past six Thursday night. Busy day with both coworker and boss out, plus several others needing help. Almost bought a pair of blue Nike Air Max but just wasn’t feeling it. Too blue. Dinner was black beans and rice. Ceil was watching Fixer Upper on HGTV and helping Anna pack.
Friday morning I left home at 5:50 to drive Anna to the airport. She’s flying to Denver to see her friend Brittany. Had I known she was planning to fly standby to a Delta hub I would’ve told her to leave Thursday instead of Friday, but of course I wasn’t consulted. The 8:30 and 9:40 flight are packed so she’ll be lucky to get on the 1:30 flight. She comes back on Tuesday. I dropped her off at 6:34 and made it to work in 30 minutes, including my usual stop at RaceTrac.
No comments:
Post a Comment