I'm sick of Peter Rose's confession already. Did anyone actually think that Peter Rose didn't bet on baseball? If Selig reinstates Rose, then Shoeless Joe as well as other baseball players who tarnished the game better be reinstated also.

What do you think the over/under will be on the percentage of PTI, Around the Horn, and Sportscenter devoted to the Pete Rose thing?

If it were a month later, the Pete Rose thing would be all any of those shows would deal with, but nothing will be able to distract ESPN heads from the Manning/McNair-worship today. Not even Pete Rose.

Also, although Sammy Sosa comes off very personable and forthright in his interview, I don't believe when he says that he doesn't use any substances. I've seen pictures of Sosa in his early years, he definitely used or is using something to bulk up like that.

I remember the days when almost any SportsCenter anchor duo was great, now it seems like it's only for special occasions they break out a respectable duo.

And what's the point of Nick and Robin Bakay? It's pointless and not funny. Maybe if he did it as Salem the cat from Sabrina.

Not maybe.

I nominate Salem the Cat for SC anchor. Now that would actually make me tune in again. I'm dead serious.

ESPN is out of control. They are obsessed with Pete Rose. It is just exhausting. I was reading some comments on ESPN.com from viewers about Rose and they were surprisingly negative. I hope that Rose that even if gets reinstated, the writers and veterans committee refuse to vote him into the Hall of Fame. From what was reported on ESPN, there is a lot of simmering resentment towards Rose by the voters who revere baseball.

If you get the chance read this compelling article in the Washington Post by Boswell who interviewed Fay Vincent at length about Rose: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...2-2004Jan5.html

I hate to break up the Pete Rose hatred, but where was Sean Salisbury on Chain Reaction? Did I miss something or is he just taking a week off? I've kind of grown to like him. Anyone know?

Sean was in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl with the crew from the Dan Patrick Radio Show, who did all their shows from there last week. I agree he's very entertaining. Most analysts will bash athletes, then suck up to them when actually talking to them, but Sean is great at being genuinely honest, either positively or negatively, and sticking to his guns when he talks to guys like Joe Horn and Terrell Owens on the radio show.

Quote from MrCecil:


While I think the whole "lovable loser" schtick (schtoink?) is a funny idea, NB can't quite seem to pull it off. However, I think they should keep those segments just to see Robin in those French Main/stripper/Jeannie outfits!

Yes, I am the last hetero male left on these boards, why do you ask?

Yes, Pete Rose is a despicable human being. His achievements before he became a despicable human being qualify him for the Hall Of Fame, in my opinion. I really want him to just go the fuck away.

I can deal with Stuart Scott in small doses. I can deal with Berman in smaller doses. It's really weird going directly from Scott's forced hiphopishness to Boomers played out 70's references.

Keep Robin Bakay and her outfits. Send Nick Bakay far, far away. How the hell did he end up with something like that? There must be something fundamentally wrong in the universe. Or she has shitty eyesight.

Rule 5 on the writer's ballot for the Hall of Fame states: "Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team." Since Rose was betting while he was playing/managing seems to me that he fails the "integrity" standard big time.

Back to SportsCenter, Dan Patrick wasn't on 6:00 p.m. show yesterday. Is he on vacation? If he is, may he stay away for months. The show was much more tolerable without him. I like Linda Cohn a lot these days.

You'd be surprised how many people actually seemed to believe that Rose didn't bet on baseball. He's got a lot of loyalists that refused to believe that he bet on baseball, and more that refused to believe that he bet on the Reds. I'm guessing they're doing a little crying right now.

The people I have an issue with are the ones who who believe he bet, and don't care. yeesh. sorry, but the integrity of the game (such as it is) is at stake here.

I don't think Sportscenter is overplaying this. It's a BIG deal. HOF voting is going on right now, the new slate is about to come up, and Pete Rose is always an issue at this time of year. Now the confessional book is out. 14 years of lies have been exposed.

I'm guessing this is hard on Dan Patrick, being from Cincy and all.

Four out of six ain't too bad. :)

My brother pointed this out to me yesterday, and it's a bit intriguing: Before Rose admitted, we were all saying "Don't keep him out of the Hall! Rose, just apologize and we'll let you in!" Now that he HAS (albeit in the fairly undesirable way he did it, but he has nonetheless), everyone is saying "Rose is a horrible horrible man and if we let him in, it should only be after he's dead and after we reinstate Shoeless Joe". Okay, which is it?

I've said all along that Rose should get in the HoF only after he's apologized and served some sort of penance. That's pretty much what I've heard from just about everyone on ESPN, so I don't think anything's changed there. I don't recall hearing anyone say he only oughta go in after he's dead.

People aren't greeting this revelation with hugs and praise because:

• He doesn't seem at all contrite. In fact, he pretty much refuses to apologize.
• He's only coming clean to sell books.
• He's been lying about this for 15 years.

/ot A friend of mine calls The Hall of Fame--The Hall of GOOD because of recent weak admissions. I'm not a big baseball guy so can't defend the term but I always giggle when he says it. Pete Rose (yawn) I always assumed he was lying and bet on baseball and probably the Reds. If TPTB want to forgive him <shrug> whatever. . . it hard for me to care if the players themselves don't.

Today I heard Peter Gammons say something that pretty much sums up my feelings. He said if you're in graduate school and get kicked out for cheating, they don't take your undergraduate degree away too. That's how I feel about Pete. His transgressions against baseball came as a manager. His HOF credentials were earned as a player. Is he a crappy guy? Yes. Does he ever belong in organized baseball again? No. Do his onfield achievements merit him to be in the HOF? Yes.

Again, just my opionion.

The topic is "SportsCenter"; let's not get too embroiled in the actual Pete Rose debate. Thanks.

Yeah, what did I JUST SAY?

Yeah, Joe Gibbs has now taken over SportsCenter. Not a bad thing at all. Unfortunately, Dan Patrick was back from his vacation.

As a Cowboy fan, I dread Gibbs' return to the division because it means making the playoffs with Coughlin in NY and Reid in Philly will be hell on earth. There should be lots of bloodletting over the next 3 to 4 years.

I watched SC yesterday, and David Aldridge reported on Gibbs stuff. seemed so strange a NBA guy reporting on NFL. they said he reported the last 2 big events in DC (both Jordan) so thats why. Its strange enough when he's on PTI. if washington gets a baseball team will he report as well ??

I hope we dont get so sick of pete rose than SC have made some sick of LeBron.

Aldredge is a native Washingtonian and one of many ESPN contributors who came from The Washington Post (Kornheiser, Wilbon, Kurkjian, Bucher, Justice, Feinstein (though he's personna non grata at ESPN these days)). He often reports on D.C./Baltimore-area stuff, though usually not during the NBA season.

It's a good thing, too. He's too good to be wasted on the sorry-ass NBA.

I am a little bit worried about Joe Gibbs back in DC (I'm and Eagles Fan and can remember when the Skins were a team I worried about come game day), but the SC guys this morning were cracking me up, one person predicted they would make the playoffs next year and maybe the Super Bowl. Ass kissing much? Jeez.

Any thoughts on why? I like Feinstein and just realized after reading your post that he used to be on Sports Reporters every now and then.

With Sean Sallisbury's job offer from Denny Green I think the question of whether he or John Clayton knows more about the NFL is answered (until Clayton gets a GM post I guess). Kato may still be an ass to Clayton but I still contend that this is mostly schitk.

I think that was Mark Schlareth, who played for Gibbs on the last Redskins Super Bowl team. That's probably why he's so high on Gibbs. As a Cowboy fan, I'm a little scared of Gibbs' return. But as a native and resident of D.C., it sure is exciting to see him back. Parcells, Gibbs, Reid and Coughlin...there's gonna be some tough football being played in the NFC East the next couple of years.



A couple of years ago, Feinstein (or Junior, as Tony Kornheiser refers to him) wrote a column on AOL - I believe - that was highly critical of ESPN. Evidently, ESPN thought the column was a little below the belt and severed ties with him. I'm sure there's more to it, but that's the extent of my knowledge of the situation.

thanks Goober. I never knew that. He is very awesome and very talented I always enjoy him. I was just kidding anyways

btw I dont care much for Nick Bakay segment either.

I miss Keith (we dont get MSNBC)

I think that Sports Center has made a mockery of sports in general in a lot of ways. Before Sports Center and ESPN in general we did not have every joe blow sports caster trying to use little catch phrases and trying to make jokes all of the time. But joe blow sports caster sees Stuart Scott doing his tired routine every night and they think hey lets do that on our local broadcast.

Also, it seems to me that recently we have just witnessed more players wanting to make a SC highlight and not focusing on the game on hand. Like the various NBA players who make a routine dunk and celebrate like they have just won the NBA finals. Or that asshole on New Orleans Saints player Joe Horn who used his cell phone after scoring a TD a couple of weeks back. Or Manny Ram and Barry Bonds standing there watching their homeruns. This crap would not be as much IMO if we did not have SC making such a big deal about this stuff.

I say we go back to the old days of reporting the highlights and not making stupid jokes and shouting out stupid catch phrases. And stop showing these guys celebrating everytime they hit a homerun or score a TD.

That being said I do have to admit that Sports Center does usually have great interviews and great reporting.

I agree with you that the current direction of Sports Center is not a good thing but I don't see it changing. They must be getting enough positive feedback and ratings numbers for them to think that this is what the majority of people want. As kind of an old fart, I think the show is geared to the MTV and cell phone, short attention span generation of today. The catchphraseology has invaded ESPNews also.

part of the problem with the catchphraseology is it used to be a bit more organic. Now, everyone is trying to find one and it seems forced. When Patrick and Olberman were first doing it, (like Berman with the nicknames) they were just having fun, trying to make things a little more interesting.

And then there's Stu Scott, who scripts everything, and I still say it shows. Give me Kevin Frasier, Linda Cohn, Robin Roberts, hell pretty much anyone over tu. I used to like him, but his schtick is played out. (as is Kenny Mayne's, who's become a joke. He was good for a while, but now he stinks too)

I agree that Sportscenter has spawned a generation of local yokel sportscasters who think they have to pun their way through high school highlights just like they see the ESPN guys do. It's ridiculous. And Kenny Mayne? Not funny. Painfully not funny. Why does ESPN think he is?

I'm very grateful that the playoffs have moved Pete Rose's obnoxious mug off TV, at least for today. What a joy it was to watch an entire Sportscenter this morning without having to listen to that jerk.

ETA - So, so tired of ESPN anchors drooling over Favre at every opportunity. They praise him endlessly but, even worse in my opinion, they rarely criticize him even when he deserves it. That interception he threw in OT was a horrendous pass and cost his team the game but they quickly glossed over it on Sportscenter. Yeah, they did say something like 'What was he thinking?' but, after the highlights, they didn't mention it again, instead focusing on the 4th & 26 soft defense as the reason for the Packers' loss. If McNabb had thrown that pass they would have analyzed it to death. They also would have hammered McNabb or any other QB who refused post-game interviews, as Favre did yesterday. But it was the great Brett Favre, so they never mentioned it.

The "advent" of the World Wide Web, for lack of a better phrase, is indirectly responsible IMO. Back in the 80s, the only way we could get scores and highlights before the morning paper was to watch the local news and SportsCenter. But once the web became standard fare, people started looking for live scores (and in the last several years, video highlights) on their own through sites like ESPN.com, among others.

In a way, the straightforward "scores and highlights" presentation on television has been effectively rendered obsolete. If we can get the same (and even more detailed) information on our own -- and often times, in a manner that suits our personal preferences with regard to specific sports and teams -- and in a shorter amount of time, why would we EVER bother to watch the sports news on television anymore? I certainly don't. And in a way, the tickers you see at the bottom of the screen on the Deuce sorta defeat the purpose of watching SportsCenter too. So in my mind, the folks at ESPN probably perceive a need to present the sports news a little differently. A more entertainment-driven style that you probably wouldn't get on the computer screen. If this means constant catchphrases and attempts at witty banter, so be it.

While it isn't fair or accurate to "blame" the web for these seemingly negative changes in SportsCenter, it's certain one of the main factors.

silentbob, you may have a good point. It is not ESPN or SC's fault we've become a sound byte culture.

I recall the good ole days of SC with Dan, Keith, Bret Haber, and dare I include, Craig Kilborn. It used to be sports with a side of funny. Now it has morphed into something unrecognizable. I think the days of a straight delivery are gone and are obsolete due to the internet.

However, SC should find a better balance between sports and entertainment. The new features do not work. I remember during week 3 of the NFL season, Kenny's Mayne Event feature had Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, and John Lynch dressed up as pirates reading Peter Pan that was all kinds of wrong. It wasn't funny, and it wasn't interesting. It was just a waste of time.

I don't catch too much Spurts-center lately. The sight of Linda Cohn's smirk makes me cringe, and don't get me started on Dick Eisen or Stu Scott. The way it is now makes me pine for Warner Wolf's "let's go to the videotape", when 6 minutes of sports at 11:20 was how you found out who won. All you get on local sports casts now is high school football (yawn).

Fox Sports Net tried to compete with ESPN with the National Sports Report, but instead of going with a more straight-laced approach, Fox being Fox, they decided to try to out-do ESPN, complete with a Lewinsky-worn Olbermann as a shallow parody of his former self. It was soon dismantled, although Kevin Frazier did make the transition well to ESPN.

Oh, and "the Magazine" is just the biggest piece of crap in the history of magazine publishing.

if you think it is bad now, wait until the decision on pete rose is handed down, especially if he gets in. they will probably give a whole show to it, pretty much like Kobe July 18th. all kinds of debate and viewpoints will really make people sick of SC

The upcoming Jayson Williams trial coverage will be enough to keep me away from SC until then.

And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I flip on SC last nite only to find Stuart Scott putting Dennis Rodman on the "Cougar-Piss Hot Seat", asking, "Who's better, Madonna or Carmen Electra?" Click.

Micheal Irvin's on some drugs. Drugs that make you angry. Right? Football's over so he's not gonna be on anymore looming over Sean Salisbury, right? He's hyper and he's creepy.

I seriously thought Michael Irvin was going to rip someone's head off in that segment. He was definitely on something.

Michael annoys me to no end sometimes, and I'm a Cowboys fan. He's always shouting; I cannot stand it.

And I can't remember if it was on SC or some SuperBowl post show thing, but Tom Jackson was talking and trying to make a point but you couldn't hear what he was saying because Michael was shouting incoherently overtop of him. He wasn't even shouting words, just making noises.

I don't know if it's drugs or just athlete arrogance but WORD--he's hyper and creepy.

Good, I thought it was just me!

I admit I sort of stumbled onto this thread, so I apologize for the lateness of the response to this:


I realize your comment was about SC's handling of Favre on this...but to the point, the 4th and 26 is the reason the Packers lost the game. I'm a Packers fan and I assure you, the INT was terrible and unnecessary. However, if a group 11 men, good enough to get into the NFL, cannot prevent another team from gaining 26 yards (26 YARDS!!) on the most important play of your season to this point, that group of 11 men has effectively cost their team the game. Period. No discussion. This is why Ed Donatell was fired and Brett Favre has his job. And speaking of Favre:


Yes, you're probably right. And justifiably. Because the last time I checked, McNabb has been to how many Superbowls (forget how many he's won)? He's won how many MVPs? (I realize Favre been around longer, but Favre did the MVP and SB stuff in the mid-90s with about as much experience as McNabb has now.) So what, exactly, has McNabb done? Like the vast majority of NFL QBs, not a hell of a lot.

He's a talented QB and I don't deny that. I don't hold him to any higher expectation that any other QB that has the experience he does.

Favre in the 3 or 4 seasons before this one, really hasn't gotten the job done. But, geez, he led the NFL in pass TDs, he had his 10th year in a row with 3000 yards passing, he played most of the season with a broken thumb. Quite honestly, if SC wants to give him a pass, I'm quite certain he's deserved it.

Edit to try to manage length.

Neil Everett is on my TV right now, and I've never been so pleased to see him. Why? He's at the update desk on ESPNNews! I hope this means he's been permanently demoted from the big show, like Bill Pidto. Worldwide Leader Employee who occasionally posts here, any way you can confirm?

I think Everett has gotten better over the last year or so, but he still stinks and I HATE the "number nine, number nine" non-catchphrase that he uses so he always gets to do number 1 in the top tens. (What is that even a reference to? If it's a hip-hop song I will laugh very hard.) Since I usually watch the 1 am/2 am ET edition, I've been a bit overexposed to Everett's inimitable brand of suck...

"Revolution 9", The Beatles, The White Album.

It was from when Yoko was starting to destroy the band.

Neil will still be primarily on the overnight SC....That was probably just a random day on ESPNEWS for him during which you caught him. People seem to be evenly split on those who like him on-air, and those who don't. Trust me though, when some ass clown from "Dream Job" is anchoring the show, Neil won't seem quite so bad....nobody here is happy about this little college-TV-gone-wrong project AT ALL .

What's the deal with ESPN nowadays? They're producing reality shows. The Page 2 section of their website is now pretty much babes, sports and movies. Their new Page 3 website section is just babes and movies. What demographic are they reaching out to that they don't already have?

Thanks. How apropos! (also, how embarrassing... I am a professional musician, after all)

And thanks costeltj... but no thanks, heh. I don't really believe the DJ winner will get any airtime. He/she will sign the "yearlong contract," but if he's just not good enough, Jaffe & Co. may never actually use him on SC, as I'm sure the contract allows. (Like how the winner of "The Apprentice" isn't actually going to run one of The Donald's companies... except in that case we'll never know it.)

By the way:This doesn't seem like a very good ratio for a TV personality, even not knowing whether you're referring to ESPN people or the public...

(and OT - There's a "Page 3" now? Jeez. I haven't visited ESPN.com since they canned Gregg Easterbrook...)

I cannot believe how much I still miss Rich Eisen. I swear Stuart Scott looks sad when he anchors now. I like John Anderson and Linda Cohn as Stu's co-pilot, but Van Pelt is just awful. **Sniff** Come back, Rich.

but what you reap is what you sow. by keeping total asshats like Stuart Scott and Chris Berman around with their total shtick act, ESPN is basically telling every aspiring sportscaster that this is how they should do their highlights (that one guy on Dream Job had a catchphrase for EVERYTHING and couldn't have annoyed the audience any more).

Van Pelt is pretty much the one guy i like on Sportscenter anymore. He doesn't do shtick, and sticks to the highlights. Baseball Tonight is easily the best highlights show on ESPN anymore. The mixture of Ravech, Reynolds and Gammons are just great together. Who are they bringing in to replace Valentine though?

and word to the hate for Page 3. Page 2 was and is great just for giving us Bill Simmons, but ESPN has to stop trying to be anything more than a sports station. It's turning into MTV and VH1 now.

Oh, word, word, word! I've loved BBTN since I was 16. Watch both airings every night I can.

John Anderson is my favorite SC anchor and although I loved Stu when he started, he really grates, now. Is nice to see Linda Cohn on the Big Show. It will be very interesting to see if the DJ winner a) gets on-air besides one "you're the winner of DJ appearance" and b) if he/she gets on, if it will be a regular gig.

As far as ESPN.com goes, I don't read page 2 AT ALL since Easterbrook was fired. It's still the best sports site, though.