Yet another reason why beat writers shouldn’t be voting for awards: Backlash in Arizona over writer’s choice for NL MVP

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Wanted to catch up on this story from late last week. It gives me another chance to vent about the conflicts that arise when writers vote for awards and Hall of Fames, etc.

Last week, Nick Piecoro, who covers the Arizona Diamondbacks for the Arizona Republic, disclosed that he chose Andrew McCutchen over Paul Goldschmidt in his ballot for NL MVP.

Piecoro explained his vote:

I understand this is not a popular decision around here. There are certain realities you have to accept in this job. One of them is that you’re never going to please everyone. Today is a day to keep that in mind.

Voting for these awards isn’t easy for beat writers when the players we cover are among the candidates. If you give them your vote, you risk looking like a homer nationally. If you don’t, you catch heat not only from the local fans but also within the clubhouse you cover. What you try to do – the only thing you can do – is make what you believe is the best choice. You don’t make your selection based on the team you cover or based on what other’s reactions might be. You make your selection based on your convictions.

Piecoro deserves to be commended for not taking the easy way out and handing a hometown vote to Goldschmidt. However, the fact that he had to point out the inherent conflicts shows why he shouldn’t have been voting in the first place.

Sure enough, Piercoro did catch considerable flak in Arizona. Awful Announcing’s Joe Lucia even noted the beat writer got scolded in a tweat by Sen. John McCain.

However, there was a bigger problem. Lucia writes Diamondbacks pitcher “Brad Ziegler went on a now-deleted rampage about his teammate not winning.”

Piercoro now has to answer to an Arizona locker room about why he didn’t vote for Goldschmidt, including Goldschmidt himself. Hopefully, the Diamondbacks star will have more of an open mind than Ziegler and appreciate Piercoro’s objectivity. But you never know, especially since Goldschmidt likely had bonus money coming if he won the award.

Piercoro could have been spared this uncomfortable situation if he hadn’t been a voter. It should be an example for other beat writers too.

Once again: Writers cover news; they don’t make news. Piercoro was in the news last week for the wrong reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start of new trend? NCAA semifinals to air on TNT, TBS, TruTV with three different announce teams

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Well, this is going to be different. And it could be the start of a future trend.

John Ourand in Sports Business Daily writes that Turner Sports will use TNT, TBS and TruTV to cover the two Saturday games during the NCAA Final Four in 2014. TBS will have the traditional national telecast, while TNT and TruTV will have calls geared toward individual teams.

Ourand writes:

Let’s say the country’s top two teams last week — Kentucky and Michigan State — meet in one semifinal. TNT would use announcers with connections to Kentucky during its telecast, while truTV would use a Michigan State-focused crew for its production. Turner officials have not decided what types of talent they will pursue and maintain that all options for using unique personalities are on the table.

“This concept is born out of the popularity and incredible passion fans have for their college basketball teams and schools, and with this innovative approach we are tapping into their enthusiasm with three distinct telecasts,” said Lenny Daniels, Turner’s executive vice president and COO.

Later, Ourand writes:

Daniels said Turner and CBS collaborated on the decision, which he says was the result of pushing for innovation rather than chasing viewer numbers.

“This is really about giving fans alternate viewing options,” he said. “Ratings are always a consideration, but we’re not worried about them. We’re looking for innovative, forward-thinking ways to present these games.”

CBS and Turner have not made any announcements about who will call the games. CBS’s top college basketball team — Jim Nantz, Steve Kerr, Greg Anthony and Tracy Wolfson — are considered likely candidates to handle the traditional telecast on TBS.

Daniels said the companies have not decided who to pursue for the TNT and truTV telecasts, but they want to target people who know those teams best.

“We are planning to go after the person who best fits what that’s about — bringing passion to these telecasts,” he said. “People who know the most about certain schools are the people who live it and breathe it every day.”

Next year’s tournament marks the first time the NCAA semifinals will be completely on cable. CBS still will air the championship game. The same format will be in place in 2015. Then in 2016, Turner will air the entire Final Four, with CBS covering the big games in alternate years through 2024.

Considering Turner is paying a sizable chunk of the $771 million rights fee per year for the NCAAs, it makes sense for them to try to maximize their investment. It gives them a way to showcase all of their outlets.

Given how some of these school have huge fan bases, the option of hearing calls geared towards those schools should be extremely popular.

It could be the start of a trend with networks using multiple platforms and announce teams for coverage of big events. In an age where customize coverage is going to be at a premium, why not give fans the opportunity to hear more of a hometown call? Not to mention pushing viewers to your other outlets.

Will be interesting to see how this works out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Sunday: Chicago CBS affiliate has to balance coverage of tornadoes, Bears game

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I wrote about the difficult balancing act for WBBM-Ch. 2 in today’s Chicago Tribune.

Tornadoes already had hit in Central Illinois, and with the threat of severe weather looming at Soldier Field and elsewhere in the area, Ch. 2 had to inform the public of a potentially dangerous situation. As a result, we missed of NFL Today for weather coverage.

However, shortly after noon, Ch. 2 switched to the game. Bears fans wanted to hear from Jim Nantz, not weatherman Ed Curran. You can’t pre-empt a Bears game here. Ch. 2’s switchboard would have exploded.

From the story:

“Certainly, a Bears game is a big event for Chicago. It’s a big event for WBBM,” said Jeff Kiernan, station vice president and news director. “But you have to make tough decisions. Public safety and information is our No. 1 priority. There’s nothing more important than informing viewers of a dangerous and threatening situation.”

Channel 2, though, did not pre-empt coverage of the game. It joined CBS and Nantz just as the Bears’ Devin Hester grabbed the opening kickoff in the end zone. The station provided weather updates coming out of commercials until play was suspended late in the first quarter.

Outside of the Super Bowl, Bears games deliver the highest local ratings of the year for the networks. Channel 2, the CBS affiliate in Chicago, only gets two shots at the Bears this year; it had the season opener against the Bengals. Under the NFL television contract, CBS has the rights for Sunday afternoon inter-conference games when the AFC team is the visitor.

“We found balance (after the opening kickoff),” Kiernan said. “We showed the game, but we also were able to communicate critical information through the updates and the on-screen crawls.”

Football card: Otis Taylor; Still waiting for call from Canton

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With the Kansas City Chiefs resurgence, it is appropriate to remember Otis Taylor. When I looked up his records, I was stunned to learn that he isn’t in the Hall of Fame.

I just assumed it was a done deal, considering he was an elite receiver in his day. His signature touchdown in Super Bowl IV definitely is Hall of Fame worthy.

“Otis made my job easy,” former Chiefs quarterback and Hall of Famer Len Dawson said. “If you got the pass to Otis, you knew he’d catch it.”

Taylor deserves to be in the Hall with Dawson.

Weekend wrap: Incognito fallout; Zirin tones down critique of Glazer interview; Montville back at Globe

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Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports media….

Richie Incognito: Dave Zirin in The Nation writes a follow-up column to his initial harsh critique Monday of Jay Glazer’s interview.

But I also now realize I did not in fact see the whole interview, which aired Monday in its entirety.Having now spoken with Jay Glazer and others involved in this story, I want to be honest and straight up about both.

First and most obviously, I was wrong in thinking that what was shown on Fox Sports NFL Sunday pregame show was the entire interview. The heart of my critique involved all the questions that I believed went unasked, as well as the choppy editing and quick cuts that made it appear as if the interview was sculpted to put Incognito in the best possible light. In fact many of the questions I took Jay Glazer to task for not asking, he did in fact ask.

Glazer, when you see the full interview, asked in a tougher tone about Incognito’s racism, asked more about the bullying and how far it extended, and asked whether the coaches “ordered the code red”. These questions are important. They also ended up on the initial cutting room floor, as I saw last night on Fox Sports. I maintain, given the importance of this story, that Fox did us all a disservice by not being brave and just saying “heck with the pre-game show. Let’s show this interview to the widest possible audience.” But they didn’t and that is not on Jay Glazer. (Glazer it is worth noting, disagrees with me about this, saying that they have “a responsibility to all the NFL fans who don’t care about this story.” I think the story is big enough that they should have just gone for it.)

Richie Incognito 2: Michael Bradley of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana writes about the media’s role in the controversy.

Because the NFL’s culture and traditions are so alien to the rest of us, it makes sense that the most effective commentary emerging from the Miami Dolphins imbroglio has come from former players. Unfortunately, a large swath of the media community has decided to weigh in on the situation, including many who have never stepped into a locker room in their lives, much less donned a helmet and shoulder pads at the highest level.

Since my football career ended in the sixth grade, I am not qualified to pass judgment on whether Richie Incognito’s treatment of fellow offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was over the line. Further, since so many of the facts about the controversy remain unrevealed, it’s even more difficult to form a responsible opinion about what happened and what it all means.

Richie Incognito 3: In his NPR commentary, Frank Deford gives his view.

Not surprisingly, in the explosive revelations about the Miami Dolphins team turmoil, most attention has been paid to the fact that, in the midst of a locker room predominately composed of African-American players, a white, Richie Incognito, slurred a black teammate, Jonathan Martin, with the ugliest racial epithet –– and was actually publicly supported by some blacks on the team. Incognito’s sadistic employment of the word has not only sickened but also astounded most of us.

However, I would submit that once we accept the inherent racism in this one dismal affair, the greater lasting impression will be to damage the sport of football itself, for the broader implications illustrate again how brutish our most popular American game has become.

SportsCenter: Richard Deitsch at SI.com examines SportsCenter using celebrity anchors from time to time.

Rare is the first-time SportsCenter anchor who can produce a 25.5 percent ratings increase from the previous week, but that’s what happened on Friday, Nov. 1 when the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter — co-hosted by a scrappy 44-year-old SportsCenter rookie — drew 813,000 viewers, up from 648,000 viewers for the previous Friday show.

The name of this incredible sports broadcasting prospect?

Ken Jeong.

Yes, the dude from The Hangover.

The talented actor/comedian appeared on SportsCenter 10 days ago amid much public relations fanfare and rewarded ESPN with a huge ratings bump for an edition of SportsCenter that struggles compared to its morning and late-night counterparts. So, was this a ratings ploy?

“One-hundred percent it was,” said Steve Bunin, the former SportsCenter and Outside The Lines staffer who now works in Houston as an anchor for Comcast SportsNet Houston. “My first thought was: That already is a give-up show. I don’t think there’s much shame in it. It’s fun. It’s a clear ratings ploy. If something heavy breaks, they’d sideline the celeb. It mostly sucks for the anchors desperately fighting for a chance to do that show, and yes, it’s another chip in the wall of pure journalism. But no more to me than so many other things they do. I saw a SportsCenter segment recently where they had Tim Legler speak for three straight minutes on one topic so that viewers could vote their opinion on the SportsCenter Facebook page. That to me is a clear example of time that could have been spent far better asking him about any other NBA topic.”

Leigh Montville: After a 24-year break, Leigh Montville returns to the Boston Globe.

When the Globe called and asked if I might want to write a weekly column again, picture at the top of the page, I didn’t have to think long. Why not? So here I am.

I tell people that I am Red Sox owner John Henry’s first free agent in his new journalistic enterprise. I am a Mike Napoli type of free agent, a veteran catcher/first baseman with possibly bad hips who might be able to help a little bit. I will do what I can do. I might even grow a beard, add some tattoos, maybe take off my shirt and go for a midnight stroll down Boylston Street if everything works out.

I am a team player, here to win a championship.

I also can use the money.

I am saving to buy a duck boat.

Jay Bilas: Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder has a podcast with the ESPN college basketball analyst.

Ian Eagle: Featured guest on the latest Sports Media Weekly podcast.

Artie Lange: The Sports-Casters has a podcast with Lange.

Lange explains his feelings about becoming a New York Times best-selling author for the second time and how the success of his book has validated his honesty. Also, Lange recalls some of his favorite moments as a co-host on the Howard Stern Show, talks about transitioning to host of his own show, and learning about interviewing from a legend.

Boxing on networks: Steve Kim of Sports on Earth writes about boxing migrating back to the networks. NBC is airing a heavyweight fight Saturday.

The bottom line is simple: while it’s the premium cable operators like HBO and Showtime that feature the sport’s biggest stars and write the biggest checks, it’s major networks like NBC that still have the largest stage for boxers.

“Look, it’s 100 percent of the country that can receive it, it’s 120 million homes versus 25 or 35 million, whatever the numbers are on HBO and Showtime,” said Kathy Duva, the head of Main Events, which is promoting the Adamek-Glazkov event and has an exclusive deal to provide content on both the NBC Sports Network and NBC. “No matter how you slice that, there [are] a lot of people who don’t have premium cable.”

Journalism 101: Jeff Pearlman on his site offers sage advice to students on what is required of them in a journalism class. Definitely will sharing with my students.

1. Ask questions. Ask 10 questions. Ask 100 questions. There’s nothing more off-putting for a teacher than the students who sit in the back, minding their own business. You probably don’t think we notice. Believe me, we do. Almost always.

NBC, football fans: Thank CBS for gift of Denver-Kansas City in primetime Sunday

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If not for a gracious move by CBS, most of the country wouldn’t have seen Denver-Kansas City Sunday.

Under the flex scheduling provisions, both CBS and Fox can protect five games from their inventory. The set-up prevents the NFL from moving those attractive games to Sunday night for NBC.

Note: Technically, it is the NFL, not NBC, that elects to flex games, although you can be sure the Peacocks make their feelings known.

CBS reportedly protected both of the Denver-Kansas City games, including Sunday’s contest in Denver. However, the network doesn’t have the doubleheader window this week. Fox does with San Francisco-New Orleans.

As a result, if CBS kept this week’s big game, which was scheduled for the late window, it would have aired in a limited number of markets beyond Denver and Kansas City. Most of the country wouldn’t have seen the game.

Given the circumstances, the NFL asked CBS if it would yield its protect rights and allow the game to be moved to Sunday night. A game featuring 9-0 Kansas City against 8-1 Denver looked much better than Green Bay at the New York Giants, the previously scheduled game for NBC. Peyton trumps Eli this year–big time.

CBS agreed. For the good of the game, right?

In a statement, the network said: “After discussions with the NFL, we made a once-only accommodation so that the game can be seen by a national audience, which we could not provide during our prescheduled doubleheader weekend.”

I like the “once-only” line. In other words, NFL and NBC, don’t even think about the Dec. 1 rematch between the two teams in Kansas City.

Actually, that game couldn’t be moved since Denver will have maxed out with six prime time appearances.

The real winner obviously is NBC, which gets four bites at the Peyton apple this year. Next week, the network has Denver at New England. Both games should do huge ratings for NBC.

As for CBS, it has only four games on its schedule this week. The No. 1 crew of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will be in my backyard for Baltimore at Chicago. An interesting game, but not Denver-Kansas City.

So while you’re watching the big game on Sunday, remember to say thanks to CBS. NBC will.

 

 

 

Amy K. Nelson, Michelle Beadle on lack of women power in sports media

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Amy K. Nelson, writing at The Hairpin, wrote about the real issue for women in sports media: A lack of power. The column is in the aftermath of Damon Bruce’s ridiculous statements about women in sports.

Nelson writes:

A lot of people were angry, and a lot of people wrote about how (Rob) Neyer had tripped up in a “fallacy,” which is a point well-taken—but I’d argue it missed on addressing the much larger issue here: very few women hold positions of true power in the sports journalism industry. When it comes to finding women employed at the top of major media and news-gathering organizations (let alone the smaller shops), the pickings are slim. And I don’t think it’s due to a lack of desire.

The piece includes some interesting quotes via email from Michelle Beadle, who has been mostly silent about her show being canceled by NBC Sports Network.

“Perhaps I’m most amused by the audacity to cower when confronted with the very ‘right to free speech’ they defend,” NBC Sports on-air host Michelle Beadle told me in an email. “At the end of all of this, there are many [people] who think this way. I don’t always take the misogynist tirades personally as I think sometimes they’re aimed at a few ‘bad apples’ or [are] just desperate attempts at relevance. Then again, my current situation leaves me with a really bad taste in my mouth and an even greater desire to stick it to ‘the man.’”

But if more women were in those corner offices, would that mean more women fulfilling those dreams—and yes, contrary to what Neyer wrote, there are plenty of us who dream this—of working in the sports industry?

“It would be nice to see more women in [executive] roles,” Beadle told me, “but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee more options.”

New Showtime documentary: The scheme ‘Bear’ Bryant used to bring black players to Alabama

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The latest from Showtime and producer Ross Greenburg is a don’t-miss.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote his column on the documentary.

But after he joined Showtime last March, Greenburg decided to go back and serve as a driving force behind “Against The Tide” with George Roy and Steve Stern as key storytellers.

“We only devoted about six to seven minutes on that game (in the HBO documentary), and that just didn’t do justice to the depths of the story,” Greenburg explained. “It was much more intriguing and complex. It needed the full treatment.

 “To me, it remains as fascinating a story now as it was then. But it’s really a 12-year process of how it happened for Bear Bryant, and how it finally unfolded with the help of his friend, John McKay. That’s a whole other story, too.”

Here’s the official rundown from Showtime:

Did University of Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant schedule the historic 1970 showdown with the University of Southern California as a statement against integration?  “AGAINST THE TIDE,” a full-length documentary examining the subject and the controversy surrounding one of the most important college football games in history, premieres this Friday, Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

SHOWTIME Sports presented a private screening of upcoming documentary “AGAINST THE TIDE” Friday night at Cobb Theaters in Tuscaloosa, Ala.  The feature-length film, which premieres this Friday, Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, paints a vivid picture of Bryant, the state of the turbulent South during the Civil Rights Movement, and the 1960’s era football program at the University of Alabama, one of collegiate athletics’ most dominant programs in any sport.

In attendance at the screening were Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports Stephen Espinoza, Executive Producer Ross Greenburg, Civil Rights activist Percy Jones. former Alabama quarterback who led the Crimson Tide during the 1970 game Scott Hunter, former Alabama federal judge U.W. Clemon, and former Alabama State Senator Fred Horn.

The following are key quotes from the screening:

PERCY JONES:

“When I was a freshman there were 62 black students out of 13,000 students.  Now when I come back here 45 years later, I see the progress that has been made.”

ROSS GREENBURG:

“It takes a lot of courage for people in television to go back and do these stories. It doesn’t happen so easily.  When old stories are rich like this they need to be told. I thank Stephen Espinoza personally for giving me the opportunity to tell this one and many more.”

“When we do these stories and then we put them together, you’re always thinking of all these people that helped us make it. You want them to sit in a room like this and screen it, and when the credits roll at the end, to have them say, ‘that’s the story.’  As long as you get their confirmation that you did it right, that’s all I need. Then I can sleep at night. If it becomes entertaining and grabs at your heart, then we’ve done our jobs. But at the end of the day, if you’ve told the story of the subjects that lived it, then that’s all you can really do.”

 

STEPHEN ESPINOZA:

“Over time, stories like this tend to become over-simplified. You tend to lose the complexities and the subtleties. This game didn’t integrate Alabama football, as Ross clearly points out. There were already steps in place, but over time those maybe outside the state of Alabama looked at this game and said, ‘that’s the game that made Alabama football become integrated.’ Even though you’re telling a story of decades, it’s a very personal story. Hearing Scott Hunter and Percy Jones talk candidly and tell a very personal story, or hearing Jimmy Jones talk about players taking weapons to the game – it puts you in the moment in a very real way. That gets lost over time if the story is not retold.”

 

 

Derek Jeter, book publisher? Cuts deal with Simon & Schuster

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Not making this up. The Yankee Stadium should prepare for an avalanche of book proposals addressed to the shortstop.

From Simon & Schuster:

NEW YORK, November 14, 2013—Simon & Schuster is proud to announce a multi-faceted, co-publishing partnership with sports icon Derek Jeter. Under the name Jeter Publishing, the program will encompass adult non-fiction titles, children’s picture books, middle grade fiction, and ready-to-read children’s books. Adult titles will be published in conjunction with the Gallery Books imprint and children’s titles will be published in conjunction with the Little Simon, Paula Wiseman Books, and Simon Spotlight imprints.  Louise Burke, President of Gallery Books and Jon Anderson, President of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing announced the co-publishing partnership.

With Jeter Publishing, Derek Jeter will identify and help create sports-related non-fiction and fiction that appeals to audiences ranging from children who look up to him as a role-model to sports-savvy adults who have been witness to his remarkable career.  Jeter Publishing will also publish books featuring interesting personalities and themes in sports, pop-culture, and other arts.

Jeter is a true legend in professional sports.   While helping the New York Yankees win five World Series Championships and achieving a myriad of milestones and accomplishments, Jeter has met some of the world’s most interesting and diverse people, while establishing a brand synonymous with trust and credibility.  The combination of his access and insights as well as the trust factor will enable Jeter Publishing to uncover and create truly original content.

“This publishing partnership with Simon & Schuster is an exciting way for me to discover and develop new books, sharing insights of my own, or from people I believe have interesting stories, philosophies or practices to share,” said Jeter.

“Derek Jeter brings his talent, strong work ethic and charm to anything he attaches his name to,” said Louise Burke.  “Jeter Publishing will allow this elite athlete to share his passions with readers of all ages and interests.”

“Derek is a stellar role model for kids, and his many stories of the game will inspire young readers,” said Jon Anderson. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring books that embody his unparalleled standard of hard work, sportsmanship and teamwork to an emerging audience. It is an honor to work with him.”


Hey, good news on ratings for Fox Sports 1; Baylor-OU leads to big week

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Dumping on Fox Sports 1 for its lack of ratings figures to be good sport for quite a while on the media front. So the network will seize on any opportunity to report some good news.

As I have previously written, for all its studio shows and its version of SportsCenter, it is going to take strong live programming to drive viewers to Fox Sports 1. Fans will come for the game, race, or fight and then perhaps stay to sample other items on the network’s menu.

Last week was a perfect example. Here’s the official rundown from Fox Sports 1:

*******

Powered by a record-setting audience for Oklahoma – Baylor, plus major UFC and NASCAR events, FOX Sports 1 posted its most-watched week ever from Nov. 4-10, both in prime time and total day.  The channel averaged 630,000 viewers in prime time and 157,000 viewers total day last week surpassing its previous best week, Aug. 26-Sept. 1 (384,000 prime; 153,000 total day), and beating SPEED’s fourth quarter 2012 averages by 237% in prime and 60% in total day.  Highlights are as follows:

Oklahoma vs. Baylor on Thursday (11/7) is now FOX Sports 1’s most-watched telecast ever with 2.1 million viewers, surpassing every college football game on FX in 2011 and 2012, and the channel’s previous record of 1.8 million viewers for UFC FIGHT NIGHT on launch day, Aug. 17.

Wednesday’s (11/6) UFC Fight for the Troops scored 641,000 viewers (FOX Sports 1’s most-watched Wednesday evening card), while Saturday’s (11/9) UFC Fight Night delivered 722,000 viewers, +443% compared to SPEED’s fourth quarter average  in the time period.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from Phoenix scored 602,000 viewers, up 4% from its delivery on SPEED last November (578,000).  Through 10 NCWTS races on FOX Sports 1 average viewership is +11% compared to the 10 races that ran in the same span on SPEED in 2012 (729,000 vs. 657,000).

FOX Sports Live recorded its best weeknight viewership ever for the first and second hours, averaging 161,000 and 85,000 viewers, respectively. Thursday’s show, which followed Oklahoma-Baylor, and Friday’s, following the Phoenix NCWTS race, are the two most-watched weeknight episodes of FOX Sports Live to date with 341,000 and 285,000 viewers respectively.

*******

As you can see, viewers tuned into Fox Sports Live in larger numbers after watching the football game and race. Fox Sports 1 now hopes the trend continues as it ramps up its coverage of Big East basketball.