In the interest of being balanced, it has been pointed out that there was some positive reaction to Bob Costas’ commentary. Here are a few excerpts.
Tim Sullivan of the Louisville Courier-Journal posted this tweet.
I would say Twitter is weighing 90-10 against Costas’ commentary. However, this is an important caveat: People who are upset about something are far more likely to express their views than someone who agrees with a position.
Definitely a polarizing issue. More to come.
I was out last night. Went to see Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips. Good movie. I’d give it 3 stars.
When I got out of the movie, I sneaked a peak at my phone and saw Detroit carried a no-hitter into the ninth and beat Boston 1-0.
After watching St. Louis beat Los Angeles 1-0 in 2:40 earlier in the day, I figured baseball had another quick game at night. So I nearly fell off my chair when I checked the box score for Tigers-Red Sox. Under T for time: 3:56.
Are you kidding me? Nearly four hours for a near no-hitter in a game where only one run scored.
I saw that Anibal Sanchez had 12 strikeouts and 6 walks, throwing 116 pitches in six innings. Boston starter Jon Lester also threw 109 pitches in 6 1/3 innings.
But should that make their 1-0 game last 1 hour, 16 minutes longer than the Cardinals’ 1-0 game? No way.
I’m sure it was a great game last night. But 3:56 for a 1-0 game is ridiculous.
Just two years ago, Jim Tressel was out and Ohio State was reeling.
Now Ohio State is sitting on an 18-winning streak after its 40-30 victory over Northwestern.
Obviously, the key factor was the school’s hiring of Urban Meyer. In a new book published by Triumph, Buckeye Rebirth, Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch examines Meyer the person, and how he led the charge to a 12-0 season in 2012.
Here is my Q/A with Rabinowitz:
How did this book come about? Were you planning to write a book about 2012 before Ohio State went undefeated?
The idea came to me late in the season. The Buckeyes had a bye week before playing Wisconsin and Michigan to end the season and that’s when I started to pursue the idea in earnest by talking to publishers and writers/authors I knew. Of course, pursuing it was contingent on Ohio State winning its final two games. I wish I’d begun to consider writing a book much earlier than I did. I would have tried to gather material during the season instead of having to go back and do it. But I think in the end it worked out fine because I wanted the book to be built on fresh material.
My primary motivation was simple: I thought this was a unique season because of the NCAA sanctions and new coaching staff and unexpected undefeated season, and I thought the 2012 team deserved to have a book written about it. I covered the team so I knew plenty about what happened, but I wanted to explore the how and why of it. The big challenge I had was that publishers gave me a four-month window to turn in a manuscript. That’s not much time considering that I wanted to (and did) interview every assistant coach and almost all of the key players. That meant I had to write and report simultaneously. I felt like a chef who had to throw a dish in the oven and continually toss in new ingredients. My last interview — with Kenny Guiton when he discussed becoming a father three weeks before the Purdue game in which he was the hero — came the day before the manuscript was due. Not ideal, but I didn’t have a choice if I was going to do the kind of book I envisioned in my mind.
What kind of access did you get to Urban Meyer? What is he like to deal with?
I knew I had to get his cooperation if this book was to get off the ground. I asked him two days after the Michigan game if he would cooperate, and he said that he would. He was generous with his time. I interviewed him five times, usually for about an hour each time. He was cordial and insightful. He never attempted to steer me in any particular direction or tell me what I could or couldn’t write or pursue.
The only agreement we had — and this was my idea — was that nothing I learned from our interview would be printed in the newspaper before the book was published. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been as forthright as he was. Meyer is not one for much small talk. Part of that is because he’s extremely busy. Idle chit-chat isn’t a productive use of his time.
What stood out for you about Meyer?
He’s usually described as intense, and that’s because it’s true. I just can’t imagine him sitting around doing nothing. He’s also extremely intelligent, and not just about football, which isn’t always the case with coaches. He could have been a successful lawyer (he considered that) or businessman. He’s not easy to work with or play for because of that intensity and because he is so demanding. But he’s not a dictator. He doesn’t want yes-men.
He wants the best answers, and if bruised feelings are a consequence, so be it. I also know that as much as he cares about coaching, he does truly cherish his family. Toward the end at Florida, when the job consumed him, he wasn’t the father to his daughters and son that he wanted to be. Now he makes a conscious effort to make sure he is available to them.
How did Meyer get the players to buy into his approach, especially the 5 a.m. workouts?
It took awhile. At first, I think the players were in a state of shock. They had everything taken away from them. They couldn’t wear OSU gear. They got kicked out of their own locker room. There was plenty of grumbling. But they’d finished 6-7 the year before and they knew Urban Meyer had won two national titles. They didn’t exactly have leverage, not that college players ever do. But there was a lot of second-guessing and a reluctance to buy in totally. That changed during the pregame speech before the Michigan State game. The Buckeyes had muddled through a weak non-conference schedule. Maybe they realized their way wasn’t going to cut it during league play. So when Meyer pleaded with them to give up the “evaluation” and just do what coaches asked, they were finally ready to do it. They also came to believe by that point that Meyer and his staff weren’t tyrants, that they did really care about them.
I think one of the most underrated aspects of Meyer’s success is his ability to motivate. He’s known for his success with the spread, but he downplays that. He says he loves coaching against so-called X’s and O’s gurus. Meyer believes what matters much more is understanding the pulse of his team, of knowing which psychological buttons to push. He was a psychology major, after all, and it informs everything he does.
What other coaches/players stood out for you in the book?
One of the more underrated factors in OSU’s success under Meyer are his assistant coaches. Offensive coordinator Tom Herman is exceptionally bright and will be a head coach very soon. He’s always fun to talk to. Cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs is a force of nature. Offensive-line coach Ed Warinner really did wonders with that line. Luke Fickell’s willingness to go back to being an assistant says a lot about him. Among the players, Zach Boren, John Simon, Etienne Sabino and Reid Fragel all had interesting stories and are impressive guys, as are many others. There really were few if any jerks on that team.
It was also fascinating to talk to Bobby Brown, who played at Notre Dame where Meyer was his wide receivers coach. He had some insightful wisdom because he was years removed from the experience. But I think the unsung star of the book — and I’ve told Meyer this — is his wife, Shelley. She’s a very likable person and was amazingly candid about her concerns about Meyer coaching again and about how bad things were at Florida at the end. She’s a strong-minded person and I have no doubt that she’s the one person who could put her husband in his place if that was needed.
What did last year mean to Ohio State and its fans?
It’s easy to forget how much in disarray the program was in 2011. They lost seven games for the first time since the 19th century. Their reputation was in tatters. I mean, how many tattoo jokes can someone hear? To hire an elite coach, and a native Ohioan at that, was huge. To have that team go undefeated, despite its many flaws, was just stunning. It really restored the pride in the OSU football program. What’s almost unique about Ohio State football is that it’s probably the only thing that unifies the state.
Politically, the state is divided, as is obvious every four years during presidential campaigns. Other than Columbus in the geographic middle, the state is divided into north and south with Cleveland (Browns, Indians) and Cincinnati (Bengals, Reds) the primary cities. The Columbus Blue Jackets have appeal only locally, especially given its overall lack of success. But Browns fans and Bengals fans can unite around the Buckeyes. Yes, Cincinnati tends to be parochial and there are Cincinnati Bearcat fans, but the Buckeyes dominate the state in terms of appeal.
Going forward, and knowing Meyer like you do, do you expect he will be at Ohio State for the long haul?
That’s the unknowable question. He says he’s a changed man from the one who fell apart at Florida. He says he has balance in his life. His family has worked hard to make sure he maintains it. But what happens when the Buckeyes lose? How will he handle that? Even he admits he doesn’t know for sure how he’ll handle that. He’s so hard-driving that you wonder how long he can keep it up. But it is also clear that he was born to coach. He loves it — the X’s and O’s, the recruiting, having a shared mission, and most of all, the relationships. I believe he does truly care about the well-being of his players. Mickey Marotti, his strength coach and confidant, said something interesting during one of my interviews. He said both he and Meyer share the philosophy that when you love someone, that means you do everything you can to “maximize” them. In other words, you demand they get as close to their potential as possible.
What are some of the things you uncovered in the book that were previously unreported?
The first was the truth behind Meyer’s hiring process. It was widely reported by several websites that this was a done deal by October 2011. Not true. Athletic director Gene Smith didn’t contact Meyer until the Penn State game preceding the Michigan one. It all came together that week. I didn’t know how close Meyer was to not retaining Fickell or defensive-line coach Mike Vrabel. I had no idea that John Simon insisted on having an impromptu knee surgery in the locker room before the Michigan game in an (unsuccessful) attempt to allow him to play.
What I really enjoyed uncovering were the small details about people. I loved the story Tom Herman told me about when he was trying to break into coaching and had no contacts. He went to Goodwill and bought shoes and sent them along with his resume saying that he was just trying to get his foot in the door.
My overarching goal with this book was to make it accessible to the average reader. Yes, I go into some detail about the workings of the spread offense. But this is not a “football” book. It’s a book about people and relationships and overcoming adversity — external and internal. My wife, despite growing up in an athletic family, knows virtually nothing about football. I wanted to write a book that she would enjoy reading. (And yes, she said she did — and hopefully not just because her husband wrote it.) I was really touched today when I talked to my mother-in-law and she said that she was late picking someone up because she got immersed reading the book and lost track of time. Obviously, Ohio State fans are the demographic target. But I really hope that the spouse of a Buckeye fan who picked up the book out of curiosity would find it engaging.
Many of Craig Dolch’s friends in the industry are circulating this story by Emily Minor of the Palm Beach Post. It is about Dolch’s son Eric. The piece also includes a video.
Back in 2005, Dolch experienced every parent’s nightmare. Eric came down with a fever that quickly escalated into much more. He eventually suffered from severe brain damage, leaving him disabled with little ability to function on his own.
Craig is a great guy and those of us in the golf writing community rallied around him back then. Since I’ve been off the traveling golf beat for a while, it has been a while since I have chatted with Craig.
So it is good to get an update and to be inspired by Craig’s courage and perspective about Eric.
Minor writes:
It wasn’t a mosquito bite that caused Eric Dolch’s encephalitis — although what does it matter, really? “It happened,” says his dad.
Instead, Eric tested positive for “mycoplasma,” a bacteria most commonly present in walking pneumonia. It’s unusual for mycoplasma to settle in the brain, causing the tissue swelling that’s the main marker of encephalitis. When it does, it’s not good.
And the bad news kept coming.
First, there were the seizures — huge, frightening, grand mal seizures, so violent that the medical team summoned religious services.
“I swear, it wasn’t 30 seconds before there was a minister at my side,” Van de Water remembers.
The question:
Is he in there? That’s the million-dollar question.
Does Eric Dolch know what’s going on?
“The thing that drives me nuts every hour of the day is I don’t understand what he knows,” Dolch says. “Is he in constant pain? Does he enjoy anything? Who wants to live like that?”
Dr. Resnick says it’s hard to know exactly what Eric does and does not comprehend, but he can tell you this.
“He gets depressed,” Resnick says.
Really? How can you tell?
“He cries.”
Carlos Restrepo, 31, the home health aide who spends the most time with Eric, says, without missing a beat, that his No. 1 patient is “absolutely” aware of what’s going on. “Oh, there is no doubt,” he says.
“Oh yeah, he’s in there,” says Elizabeth Keith, Eric’s longtime physical therapist.
The challenge:
The family has spent close to $1 million of their own money on Eric’s care.
“It basically ruins your life financially,” Dolch says. “If a child lives long enough, you’re going to run out of money — unless you’re Bill Gates.”
For years, Dolch had covered the sport of golf, establishing himself as a respected beat writer. He traveled a lot, sure, and it wasn’t always pleasant to saddle up to the likes of Tiger Woods, especially during Tiger Woods’ unraveling years. But when Dolch started the nonprofit to raise money and awareness about encephalitis, the golf community’s reaction was both quick and mighty. Jack Nicklaus, himself no stranger to tragedy, called early on to lend his support.
After all, professional golf is full of guys who make a living saying goodbye, leaving the wife and kids, missing PTA meetings and dance recitals and Little League games.
But for the grace of God …
“This is as personal as it gets,” says pro golfer Olin Browne. “This is their child, and to have it go on for all these years.”
Of course, through each struggle — the diagnosis, the surgeries, the two steps forward, the three steps back — there’s been a village forming around Eric Dolch. “Eric is our son, but he’s everybody’s son,” says Dolch.
The picture above is from the Eric Dolch Children’s Encephalitis Foundation site. Please check out the site for more information.
When we were kids and there was a rain delay during a Cubs game, Jack Brickhouse always seemed to say, “Well, this gives us a chance to chat with our old friend, ‘Handy’ Andy Pafko.”
The former Cubs star, who died this week at the age of 92, went on to play with Brooklyn and Milwaukee. While he had a standout 17-year career, he also had a bit role in baseball history.
From the obit in the New York Times:
The first-place Dodgers led the New York Giants by 13 1/2 games in mid-August 1951, but the Giants caught them. On Oct. 3, in the finale of a three-game pennant playoff, Pafko was playing left field at the Polo Grounds when the Giants’ Bobby Thomson connected off the Dodgers reliever Ralph Branca in the ninth inning for a three-run, pennant-winning home run into the left-field stands.
Captured in a long-remembered photograph, Pafko was a helpless figure pressed against the wall and looking up as “the shot heard round the world” landed a few rows above him.
In Roger Kahn’s book “The Boys of Summer,” Pafko recalled Branca’s stroll from the bullpen to relieve the Dodgers starter Don Newcombe:
“Branca walked by me in left field. I hit him in the back. ‘Go get ’em, Ralph.’ But I was doubting. Branca threw a ball. Then came this shot. I started back. In Ebbets Field I might have gotten it. In the Polo Grounds it was gone.” (The Polo Grounds’ left-field fence was only 315 feet from home plate.)
The moment was “my biggest letdown ever,” Pafko said.
Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports media:
League of Denial 1: Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru did a live chat at PBS.org Wednesday. It was moderated by Richard Deitsch of SI.com.
Mark Fainaru-Wada:
First and foremost, we were absolutely not out to get people to boycott football. Steve and I are both huge football fans — he has season tix to the 49ers — and we love the sport. I think our goal was simply to trace what the league knew, when it knew it and to what extent it sought to tamp down the emerging science. There’s no question the league has made strides on this issue since it was hauled before Congress in 2009, and we note that to some degree in the film, although the commissioner is still not openly acknowledging a link. I think our hope is that through the book and the film people will be more informed about the challenges the game faces and how it might deal with that. Again, though, it’s a violent, brutal sport, which is one of the things many of us love about it, and not sure that can/should be changed.
League of Denial 2: Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes ESPN helped boost ratings and attention for the documentary.
ESPN’s pullout was a boon for “Frontline.” The attention paid to ESPN’s hasty decision made a lot of people aware of “League of Denial.” Had ESPN quietly accepted the collaboration ground rules with “Frontline” and told the N.F.L. that it would be a public relations error to pull out, many people might not have been alerted to the documentary.
League of Denial 3: Ken Fang at Awful Announcing has 9 most powerful moments from the PBS documentary.
Dr. Omalu publishes his findings in a medical journal. However, the league goes on the offensive to have the journal retract the article. The publication refuses. But the NFL continues to go after Omalu attacking his credentials and his research this despite having several noted neurologists co-author his paper. Dr. Omalu eventually finds evidence of CTE in a second ex-Steeler, Terry Long, and again publishes his findings. Just as it did before, the NFL attacks Omalu’s credibility.
He eventually meets with an NFL doctor in private who tells him the implications of his reports could result in the end of football. During this time, the league denies any connection to brain injuries from playing football and publishes its own papers dispting Omalu’s claims saying the sport is safe. Disappointed, Dr. Omalu leaves Pittsburgh and moves to Lodi, California saying, “I wish I never met Mike Webster. You can’t go against the NFL. They’ll squash you.”
League of Denial 4: Patrick Hruby has five takeaways from the film:
2. The Big Tobacco analogy is apt: During a 2009 Congressional hearing on brain damage and football that’s referenced in the film, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) likened the NFL to the tobacco industry. It’s hard to argue the point. Confronted with a growing body of evidence indicating that their product was a public health risk — in a nutshell: Smoking cigarettes causes cancer — companies such as Phillip Morris did not move to self-regulate, warn consumers or otherwise act for the common good. Instead, they launched legal and public relations offensives designed to limit liability while muddling and obscuring the problem — or, as ESPN the Magazine writer Peter Keating puts it in “League of Denial,” to put off their “day of reckoning.”
On course golf reporters: Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing spent time with NBC’s walkers during last week’s Presidents Cup.
Maltbie reflected, “There’s been so many. Which one would I single out? I remember telling Tiger once you’re going to get me fired. And he said, how’s that? And I said, you’re going to hit one of those shots that only you can hit and I’m going to go ‘holy sh*t’ when the ball’s in the air and those will be my last two words on the air.”
Cal Ripken Jr.: Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talked to Ripken about whether he will manage next year.
“Now Jim Bowden (the former Nationals general manager working for ESPN) is tweeting out that the Nationals are interested in me (to replace the retiring Davey Johnson), so this seems to have picked up some momentum,” Ripken said.
“I guess it is what it is. I’ve been pretty consistent with what I’ve said all along. In the past, talking to general managers from time to time, I get asked about it, and before, I wasn’t interested so it wasn’t proper to go through the process. Now that one kid is out of college and another is in college, I’m asked if I have the itch to get back, and working for TBS the last couple of years, getting back around the ballpark again in that environment, sure, I’d listen. But it’s just been a general statement.
“My immediate focus is – I’m an inexperienced broadcaster who is cramming and reading and listening and watching, and I don’t have time to look up from that right now. That’s a lot to deal with.”
Fox Sports 1 guys: Richard Deitsch of SI.com does a Q/A with Fox Sports Live anchors Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole.
SI.com: How do you view ESPN? Are they head-to-head competition or do you view them through another prism?
Jay Onrait: What’s funny for us is we went through this experience in Canada but exactly in opposite. We were working for the ESPN of Canada, and then 15 years ago a couple of new networks launched to challenge TSN. It was exactly the same thing. It’s like we are going through what those networks did, and it’s funny to be on the other side. This is obviously much more of a challenge, but, of course, they are our competition. It would do us no good to try to emulate anything they did. We have to do it our way and offer an alterative. We’ve been surprised how well it has gone over, at least in terms of the reaction on Twitter. We live in a day and age where people can tell you — good or bad — exactly what they think of you with one click of the button. You better have a strong sense of self to deal with it. We expected much more of a mixed reaction, but so far it has been really positive.
TBS praise: Will Leitch of Sports on Earth likes TBS’ pregame show for the playoffs.
But it isn’t. Most pregame and postgame shows play it safe, mostly because they’re staffed by former athletes who would rather remain friends with their former colleagues than enlighten or entertain the viewing audience. They say nothing by design. This is why most studio shows primarily consist of retired athletes pretending to laugh at each other’s jokes. There is nothing else they can do. Anything else they might say, they can’t.
Which is why this year’s TBS studio crew has been so refreshing, and so fun. I think it’s pretty obvious already that this is the best baseball studio crew in recent memory. They’re funny, they’re sharp, they’re happy to be critical, they’re even a little weird. While the actual telecasts of the games remain the disasters they’ve always been during TBS live broadcasts — TBS games apparently have only three cameras, and they’re operated by people who have a scorpion in their boots — the studio show has been an instant highlight. If all pregame and postgame shows were like this, we’d have a lot more annoyed athletes … and we’d have a lot more satisfied viewers.
Paul Finebaum: Bob Gillespie of The State does a profile of ESPN’s new hire.
Ask what he most eagerly anticipates, and a smile crosses Finebaum’s face. What, he asked back, is not to like?
“I’m 57, and at this point in life, it’s not like (another deal such as) this will come around again,” he said. “I was content to ride out (his career) where I was, but this is like opening a curtain: ‘Hey, would you like to work for the best sports network, covering the best (college) sports league?’ And I said, ‘Yes, when do I start?’ ”
Tyler Kepner: JeffPearlman.com does a Q/A with the New York Times baseball writer.
J.P.: I’ve known you for a long time now, and I’ve known of your, eh, feelings toward Alex Rodriguez for a long time now. It seems, however, of late you’ve been more willing to call him out as a fraud in print. Your language has grown stronger, your statements more pointed. Why? Is this age and experience? Is it the medium? And why do you have such strong feelings toward him?
T.K.: I really do my best to give people the benefit of the doubt. I try be very conscious of every word I write—no cheap shots, no reason to unintentionally offend someone. I always want to be able to defend what I write, if the subject ever has a problem with it. And in Alex’s case, everything I’ve written is defensible. I’ve known him since we were both 23, in Seattle. And the things I’ve seen directly, and the stories I’ve heard from people in the game I deeply respect, allow me to write honestly about him, without holding back. A tough part about being a columnist, I’ve found, is that need to have an opinion when you see both sides of a story. But when you feel strongly about something, and you have lots of material to back it up, you owe it to your readers to be honest with them.
I also think I’ve built a reputation as a writer who is eminently fair and measured. I don’t go looking for a fight, and I like almost everyone I meet. I do enjoy watching Alex play, for the most part—his arm, his power—and he actually has a brilliant mind for the game. But what’s especially galling to me about him is that he has consistently tried to present himself as superior to everyone else, bigger than the game. It probably stems from insecurity, but it’s no excuse, and it’s nauseating. Also, he lies all the time—All. The. Time.—and I really think not enough people call him out on it.
Andrea Kremer has a terrific piece on the fall and comeback of the Packers’ Johnny Jolly. It will air during NFL Gameday Morning Sunday on NFL Network.
Here is the link to video of Kremer discussing the interview and an excerpt from Jolly. And the rundown from NFL Network:
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Andrea Kremer with an exclusive feature on Jonny Jolly who is back with the Packers after fighting an addiction to codeine which resulted in jail time and a ban from the NFL.
Jolly explains to Kremer how his addiction to codeine almost cost him his career and, even worse, his life.
Kremer first interviewed Jolly in 2012 when he was in prison – the only interview he conducted while incarcerated – and then a few weeks into the 2013 season after Jolly made the Packers’ 53-man roster. The achievement was the climax of Jolly’s rejuvenation.
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers are interviewed.
CBS has a somewhat uninspiring Week 6 schedule Sunday. The network can’t even ride the back of Peyton Manning. The Denver-Jacksonville game only will be compelling to those who take the Jaguars and the points.
Sports President David Berson figured it was a good week to try to something new. He decided it was time for a road trip for three of his NFL Today analysts.
Bill Cowher will be the third man in the booth for Pittsburgh-Jets; Boomer Esiason will be at Cincy-Cleveland and Shannon Sharpe will analyze the slaughter in Denver.
“When we looked at the slate of games, we thought why not try something different?” Berson said. “It gives us a chance explore new things with the show and have some fun.”
The former team connection will be an interesting component, especially with Cowher and the Steelers. Jim Nantz, who will call the game with Cowher and Phil Simms, is looking forward to it.
“He’s going to be a tremendous presence on the telecast,” Nantz said. “He’s a Steeler for life. We’re going to try to harness some of that Sunday.”
The analysts will be featured from their venues during the NFL Today Sunday. The road trip, though, also gives CBS the opportunity to showcase former Jet Bart Scott and former Raiders president Amy Trask, who have received high marks on The Other Pregame Show on CBS Sports Network, on Sunday’s noon ET show.
“Bart and Amy have strong opinions and good insights,” Berson said. “They have a good chemistry. We’re excited they are going to get some exposure.”
I was out yesterday and missed the big announcement: NBC has extended its Ryder Cup deal with the PGA of America through 2030. How long is that? Well, Jordan Spieth, now 20, will be a seasoned veteran at 37 when this deal expires.
Given the outrage from both the PGA of America and NBC over the USGA’s timing and wording of awarding the U.S. Open to Fox on the eve of the first round of the PGA Championship, it hardly was a surprise that some thinly veiled shots were fired.
As always, Geoff Shackelford on his site had his own unique take.
I’ve sobered up after the drinking game gone bad that was today’s PGA of America/NBC conference call to announce a Ryder Cup rights extension to 2030.
Considering the USGA pre-empted this year’s PGA Championship to rush their Fox Sports broadcast deal in a woefully unsuccessful attempt to generate a few more cents per FSN1 subscriber, I had budgeted for three shots in the “jabs at the USGA-Fox deal” jello-shot game.
Before a question could even be asked, I was already sounding like Foster Brooks.
Now a zinger from PGA of America president Ted Bishop:
Finally, from my standpoint, it became apparent to me on the night that we announced that Bethpage would host the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup, that this exciting extension was going to take place.
September the 17th was truly a great day for the PGA of America. It’s been hard to contain our excitement.
We had very productive conversations with Commissioner Finchem and certainly respected the President’s Cup last week, and that’s why we’re doing this announcement this week. So thanks to all involved.
No, Fox Sports 1 isn’t the Golf Channel:
PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua: And, Mark, if I can just add to this, what was such an attractive component of the continuation of this relationship for us is if you look at the Golf Channel as the broadcast voice of golf on a daily basis in America, and the PGA of America is really the tangible connection between the game, and quite frankly everybody who plays it in this country, what we can do together to promote the game and to attract new golfers into the game is really one of the most exciting components of this relationship.
And regarding the USGA saying it wanted a fresh look and innovation with Fox, the Ryder Cup is happy with NBC and golf producer Tommy Roy.
Bishop: When you look at NBC’s ability to produce golf telecasts, who knows whether Tommy Roy will be around in 2030, but he just does a phenomenal job. I think that the PGA of America cares greatly about the quality of the product and the production.
I don’t think that when it came to the Ryder Cup, there was anybody that we would feel more comfortable with in entering into a long-term agreement, based on what they’ve done in the past, what we expect in the future in terms of their innovation, and their ability to be always on the cutting edge of the production aspect of golf than NBC.
Yep, if I had played Shackelford’s drinking game, I’d be gone too.
My latest National Sports Journalism Center column is an interview with Armen Keteyian on the reporting he did for his new book.
Here’s an excerpt:
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Armen Keteyian called Jeff Purinton, the Alabama associate athletics director and the gatekeeper to Nick Saban. Keteyian explained he was working on a book on college football and requested to talk to Wesley Neighbors, a low level staffer for Saban. He wanted to talk to Neighbors for a profile of how Saban operates at Alabama.
“Jeff said, ‘That’s not going to happen,’” said Keteyian, noting the coach is known for not making his staff available.
Keteyian, though, did a piece on Saban for CBS while the coach was with the Miami Dolphins. They formed a rapport. Saban hadn’t forgotten how he was treated by Keteyian.
Sure enough, a few days later, Purinton called back Keteyian. He told him Saban gave the OK to talk to Neighbors.
“Jeff said, ‘What do you have on Nick?’” Keteyian said. “I said, ‘I don’t have anything on Nick.’ What I had was his trust.”
Trust and relationships were at the core of the reporting Keteyian and Jeff Benedict did for their new book, “The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football.” The book isn’t an expose about the evils of the sport, although there’s plenty in there that might make you want to take a shower after reading it.
Rather, it is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes portrait of how college football works, for better and worse. Each chapter details another inside look into the game from the perspective of coaches, players, prominent boosters, insiders, and people who have benefitted and been burned by “The System.”
Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel had a terrific label for the book’s approach: “Saturation reporting.”
Indeed, the book is a journalism lesson on the importance of access. How did the authors get to spend so much time with the normally reclusive Saban? How did they convince a former Tennessee female student, known as “The Closer” to open up for the first time about the hostess role in recruiting players? How did they land an interview with all the principals involved in an assault case at Missouri?
Keteyian has a simple mantra in his reporting.
“Trust equals access. Access equals information. Information equals perspective,” Keteyian said.
Keteyian said he had to “cash in a few of his credibility chips” to gain access to subjects in the books. He and Benedict worked months to land interviews with NCAA investigators.
“If the NCAA doesn’t trust you, you’re not getting in the door,” said Keteyian, adding, “I’m pretty good at getting people to trust me.”
The same holds true for Benedict. Keteyian says his co-author has a certain “honesty and integrity” that resonates with his subjects. The chapter about the Missouri assault case hit home even more because everyone talked.
“Nobody is going to throw their doors open and say, ‘Come see us so we can talk about the assault case (at Missouri),” Keteyian said. “We are in the trust business. If you get their trust, doors open.”