Did Jeff Pearlman go too far with F-word usage in ARod rant?

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If you aren’t doing this already, you should check out Jeff Pearlman’s blog on a regular basis.

The former Sports Illustrated writer and current best-selling author (Walter Payton biography and more) never is dull. However, his latest post about Alex Rodriguez featured a certain word–a lot.

Writing on Ryan Dempster’s fastball that clipped ARod Sunday (“I was just trying to pitch inside”), Pearlman wrote the following.

And yet … I couldn’t help feeling that, with the pitch to Rodriguez’s body, Ryan was issuing a declaration on behalf of Major League Baseball’s clean, fed-up players. Namely: Fuck you.

Yes, fuck you.

Fuck you for cheating. Fuck you for stealing paychecks. Fuck you for influencing the outcomes of games. Fuck you for lying. Fuck you for dragging us all down. Fuck you—Ryan Braun and Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens and Miguel Tejada and Nelson Cruz and Barry Bonds and Jhonny Peralta and Paul Lo Duca and every other guy who felt the need to inject nonsense into their bodies to help accomplish what, naturally, they could not.

Fuck you.

I mean, what the F…, Jeff? Was that a deleted part from an old Sopranos script?

After taking some flak for his f-bombing, Pearlman followed up with another post.

What I was doing, by repeatedly breaking out the ol’ “fucks,” was showing (or trying to show) what Ryan Dempster’s pitches toward Alex Rodriguez seemed to symbolize—both to Dempster, as well as other clean players around the Majors.

Whether one agrees with Dempster’s tactics or not, I assure you—without question—there were cheers throughout Major League Baseball clubhouses. Two reasons: 1. Because, even without the whole PED issue, Rodriguez is considered a selfish fraud phony with the sincerity of a used car salesmen; 2. Because Rodriguez, along with Ryan Braun, has come to symbolize cheating in baseball, and non-cheaters are fed up.

And Pearlman added:

On a side note, I love cursing. I really do. I don’t curse around my kids or my nephews, because they’re young and I don’t want them getting kicked out of class. But a good curse feels greeeeaaaaaat. I’ve also never fully understood the taboo of the curse word. Years ago I wrote a lengthy piece on curse origins, and it’s all silly nonsense. They’re words. They come, they go, nobody dies.

Personally, I didn’t have a problem with Pearlman’s F-bomb rant on ARod. I’m fairly sure many baseball fans feel the same way.

Great F-ing job, Jeff.

 

 

 

 

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New Nine for IX: Defining moment in U.S. women’s sports history; ’99 women’s soccer team

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It surely was a defining moment. Perhaps even the biggest moment in the history U.S. women’s sports.

The U.S. women’s soccer team took the country by storm in 1999. It all culminated in a packed Rose Bowl for the World Cup final against China.

Their story, The 99ers, is the latest Nine for IX documentary. It airs tonight on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET. Official rundown below.

Here’s the rundown:

The world of women’s sports was kicked upside down on July 10, 1999. Before a sold-out crowd of more than 90,000 at the Rose Bowl and an estimated 40 million Americans watching on television, the U.S. women’s soccer team reached a cultural and athletic pinnacle with its penalty-kick shootout victory against China to win the Women’s World Cup.

As told through the voice of a longtime team captain, Julie Foudy, we get an inside look at the strong team ethic and rare “do for each other” mentality that propelled the squad to victory that summer and turned it into a cultural touchstone.

With unprecedented access, The 99ers uses candid, behind-the-scenes footage shot by the players themselves during the three-week tournament to present a unique portrait of the women who irrevocably changed the face of women’s athletics. The film reunites key players from the 1999 squad and also talks with current U.S. players to examine how women’s soccer, and women’s sports as a whole, has changed since that epic day at the Rose Bowl.

Foudy: A friend recently asked me how I would describe the experience of the 1999 World Cup to my young kids and, without hesitation, the first thing that came to mind was: BEST. JOB. EVER. Yes, almost two decades of playing for my country alongside an amazing group of women who taught me the value of competing, growing and digging deeper than I thought possible counts me among the lucky. But, more important, this group of women showed me that challenges, obstacles and adversity are really just thrilling, laughter-infused adventures that are part of the wonderful journey.

It all came together one sweet summer in 1999. And no one has ever seen it from the inside. Given our propensity for the absurd, I thought it would be fun to document our 1999 World Cup experience on a camera. So with no plans and no shooting experience, I just kept pressing record … so much so that Mia eloquently declared the camera a “great big zit on my heeeed” in her best Scottish accent.

We have compiled the best of many hours of my personal footage and have used these moments as a launch pad to discuss that summer — the impact, the legacy and the question that has trailed us all for a decade: are we pioneers or was 1999 just an anomaly? This film is a completely unique look back, from the gals who gleefully shimmied through that summer to providing a glimpse into the personalities, pressure, excitement and growing recognition that the summer would be one to remember. But consider yourself warned: there will be a lot of bad hair, bad dancing, bad singing, and even some nudity, thanks to Brandi Chastain.

Tom Waddle to have featured Sunday NFL role on ESPN Radio; joins Ch. 7 in Chicago

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Tom Waddle’s new deal with ESPN means his weekend commute will be a bit shorter this year.

The former Chicago Bears receiver, one of our favorites on and off the field, has signed on as an analyst for Sunday Football on ESPN Radio, beginning with week one on Sept. 8. The show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET, features updates and analysis of that Sunday’s NFL games. Waddle also will do Sunday segments on SportsCenter.

Previously, Waddle, who co-hosts the Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago,  had done similar chores for NFL Network, which required him to make weekend trips to Los Angeles. Now he only has to fly to Bristol, Conn. And he also gets to enjoy the luxurious accommodations at the Bristol DoubleTree. Hey Tom, breakfast included!

For Chicago readers, Waddle has joined WLS-Ch. 7. Here’s the official rundown:

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Waddle will serve as ABC 7 Chicago’s Bears analyst during the NFL season.  He’ll team up with ABC 7’s Sports Director/Anchor Mark Giangreco for “Waddle’s World” segments on ABC 7’s top-rated 10 PM newscasts, Wednesdays and Fridays when the Bears begin their season.  Then, from ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Conn., Waddle will be talking football with Rafer Weigel in the ABC 7 studios, Sundays on the10 PM newscast.  “The Waddle Report,” will bring ABC 7 viewers an exclusive post-game look at how the Bears played each week.

In addition to his reports on ABC 7 News Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights, he’ll join the ABC 7 sports team for their Bears pre-game specials.  Waddle will serve periodically as a sports contributor on ABC 7’s Windy City LIVE, which will begin airing at 11 AM on Monday, September 2.

 

Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter vs. Fox Sports Live: ‘We’ve been living here since 1979. Welcome to the fun of sports’

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And now a word from the other side:

John Ourand of Sports Business Daily chatted with Scott Van Pelt and SportsCenter Senior Coordinating Producer Michael Shiffman. It turns out it wasn’t a coincidence that Van Pelt and Steve Levy just happened to work Saturday on the same night as Fox Sports Live’s debut.

Van Pelt took a pretty good swing at the competition:

The easiest thing in the world to do is to talk a bunch of junk on Twitter. They’re really good at that –­ poking the bear with a stick. I would swing up, too, if I were them. That’s what they’re doing. The idea that they co-opted fun in sports and that ESPN and “SportsCenter” is some kind of a trip to the dentist is laughable. I have fun every single time I do “SportsCenter.” If they want to be fun, great. Go have fun. I encourage you to do so because we do it every day. That’s the one thing I found to be a head-scratcher, that they planted their flag on this fun hill, as if they discovered it. Like they’re the Christopher Columbus of fun in sports and they’re putting their flag down on that hill. Really? We’ve been living here since 1979. Welcome to the fun of sports.

Really, Scott, don’t hold back.

What they are saying about Fox Sports Live: New anchors will be ‘acquired taste’; questions about panel

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I had my review. Here are some others:

Ben Koo, Awful Announcing:

This show is built around Charissa Thompson, Jay Onrait, and Dan O’Toole.

Jay and Dan lived up to the expectations I had. They were fun. They don’t take things too seriously. They had a lot of jokes and moments that would have felt out of place or raised eyebrows had they been on ESPN’s Sportscenter. These moments were spontaneous and frequent enough where I can see why they attracted a significant following north of the border and think they’ll do the same here. I like them, but will say they are an acquired taste. Sportscenter anchors are essentially nurtured to be universally likable. Funny and clever at times, but rarely outlandish.

Steve Lepore, SB Nation:

The rest of the panel, hosted by the excellent Charissa Thompson, was more iffy. Andy Roddick was fine when called upon, but the rest of the panel seemed to be in a bit of a jokey mess. It felt disorganized when Thompson wasn’t directly running it and the guys were left to discuss amongst themselves. Fox, I’m sure, will give them time to mesh. That could definitely happen, but within the context of this show, I wonder if it might not be better to let Thompson and the guys have their own hour or half-hour to give things a little more order. Can “controlled jocularity” be a thing?

Tom Jones, Tampa Tribune:

In particular, Fox Sports 1’s flagship show, Fox Sports Live, was all over the place.

The show debuted Saturday night and, after watching the first 60 minutes, I felt relieved that I did not suffer a seizure.

For starters, viewers were overloaded with too much information. There was a ticker running on the bottom and another set of notes and graphics above that ticker and still another set of notes and graphics running down the right side. Then, there was more written information in the middle of the screen while anchors Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole were talking over the highlights.

There was so much information for the viewer to absorb that one could not possibly retain any of it. As a viewer, I wasn’t sure whether to focus on the bottom, the side, the main screen or the anchors’ voices and, instead, I ended up doing none of the above.

Joe DeLessio on Sports on Earth:

4. One of the panelists, Gary Payton, gave a glimpse into what I feared could be the show’s biggest issue heading into its premiere. During a discussion of whether sprinter Usain Bolt was the best athlete in the world, Payton declared that we’d need to define what the term “athlete” meant, and he argued that LeBron James was the best athlete. “He can do baseball, football, basketball, he can do all that,” said Payton. “We don’t know what Bolt can do.” He presented the LeBron bit as fact, and no one challenged Payton on whether James can “do baseball, football, basketball,” even though there’s some evidence that being the best basketball player on the planet doesn’t necessarily translate to success in other sports. Comments like that might be the norm — not just from Payton but from other panelists, who are asked to offer analysis on a sport outside their area of expertise.

Sean Gregory, Keepingscore.com:

We’ll find out soon enough. Based on Sunday night’s sample, nothing’s being turned upside down. (Here’s a review of Saturday night’s Fox Sports Live debut). The most memorable part of the program: a slow-motion clip showing Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback Chandler Harish accidentally hitting Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver in the face with a football during pre-game warmups. Onrait and O’Toole were pleasant, but by no means spectacular. At one point, O’Toole said: “Just a reminder, you’re watching Fox Sports Live; so far, we haven’t been cancelled.” Maybe a tad funny, in a “I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not” kind of way. Other than that….to be fair, Fox Sports Live usually features panel discussions with former ESPN SportsNation anchor Clarissa Thompson, Andy Roddick, Donovan McNabb, and some others to mix things up. But as Onrair and O’Toole said at the top of the show, the panel only works during the week.

 

Review of Fox Sports Live: Some hits, misses, and was I watching Aaron Sorkin’s SportsNight?

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I spent the morning breaking down film. Hey, it’s not just limited to football coaches.

I will preface this in bold: You can’t judge a new studio show on just one show.

These shows take time to develop. And it takes viewers time to adjust to new voices and formats.

However, first impressions are important. Here are mine after watching the first two installments of the new Fox Sports Live, Fox Sports 1’s answer to SportsCenter.

The Canadian guys: At some point, I’m sure I will stop calling them the Canadian guys. Also, at some point, I will figure out who is who between Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole. Or was that Jay O’Toole and Dan Onrait, or Jay Dan and Onrait O’Toole?

Whatever, the imports from Canada made their American debuts over the weekend. Fox Sports 1 even put out a video of highlights (above).

As you can see some of the stuff is amusing, and some of it is not. For instance, the intro to a UFC clip, in which Onrait says he wanted Regis Philbin and Bill Raftery to meet in the first fight. Then they show an old Canadian clip of two old guys fighting.

Didn’t make me laugh and definitely felt forced.

Also, at times I really thought I was watching an old rerun from SportsNight, the terrific ’90s show written by Aaron Sorkin. There was this introduction from JayDan (not sure who actually said it): “Joe Buck and Troy Aikman both have firm handshakes.”

I mean, did Sorkin write that? Really, check out this old SportsNight clip and see how it compares to JayDan.

As I said, there’s going to be an adjustment period to JayDan. It is going to take time to get used to their pace and rhythm. And their humor.

At first blush, I do think the Canadian guys are funny. My advice, though, would be: Don’t try to be too funny.

The panel: This is a hybrid show. JayDan report the news from the anchor desk. Then they throw it over to a bunch of former athletes sitting in brown chairs.

Charissa Thompson moderates the debate portion of the show. You can tell she knows the drill in trying to pull out provocative quotes from the athletes.

As a viewer, I like the change of pace. I found myself wondering when they were going to switch back to the athletes. A spirited debate about Ryan Braun showed the potential for this format. If there was a breakout star on the first night, it was Gabe Kapler, who clearly has strong opinions.

The big question: do we really care what the former athletes think about other sports? Andy Roddick likes Louisville to contend for the national title this fall. That’s great, but why should I care about how a tennis player feels about college football?

Going forward, it will be an issue for Fox Sports Live to build credibility for these former athletes beyond their own sports. If people don’t buy in, it will hurt this part of the show.

The Scoreboard: I liked the big board format. It gave me the feeling of looking at a scoreboard at a sporting event. It also provided a different look than what you see on SportsCenter.

UFC: New Fox Sports 1 is loaded with UFC, which means the fights will get plenty of play on Fox Sports Live. I’m switching when they go to those segments since I’m not a UFC guy. I figure others feel the same way.

Also, will the viewers for UFC stick around to watch Fox Sports Live? I’m sure the research team will be working on that question.

Early analysis: There is some potential for this show. It does appear to be an alternative to SportsCenter.

The key, though, will be JayDan. There’s a fine line between amusing and annoying. They need to make sure they are on the right side of that line. Otherwise, they will be taking their acts back to Canada.

 

 

 

 

Sports Dash: NBC Sports SN also has new show starting today; Forde, Wetzel among Yahoo! Sports writers to be featured

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With the all focus on the new offerings from Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, NBC SN also has decided to jump in with a new show that looks to have some potential.

Sports Dash makes its debut at noon ET today. The hosts are Dave Briggs, who resurfaces after his previous partnership with Michelle Beadle didn’t work out so well, and Carolyn Manno.

The show is the first major production from the NBC/Yahoo! Sports partnership. And the good news about that is top Yahoo! Sports writers such as Pat Forde, Dan Wetzel, and Adrian Wojnarowski will make regular appearances. Also, Joe Posnanski, NBCSports.com’s, big writing hire, will be seen frequently on the show.

So Sports Dash will make a strong debut when it comes to writing power.

It’s an important show for NBC SN to make a statement, saying “Hey, we’re in the game too.” The network needs to build up more studio shows, especially in the evening when it isn’t airing live sports.

Sports Dash also has a digital component with Yahoo! Sports. All the details are below in the official rundown.

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STAMFORD, Conn. – August 15, 2013 – SportsDash with Yahoo! Sports, a collaborative, cross-platform extension of the strategic digital alliance between Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports Group, debuts on NBCSN this Monday, August 19, from noon-1 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports’ Dave Briggs and Carolyn Manno will serve as the hosts for SportsDash, which will feature insights from a deep roster of NBC Sports, Yahoo! Sports and Rivals.com analysts and insiders. NBC Sports analysts expected to appear on SportsDash when the program touches on their respective sport include Rodney Harrison, Doug Flutie, Scott Pioli, Rebecca Lowe, Jimmy Roberts, Jeremy Roenick, Mary Carillo, Ato Boldin and Joe Posnanski, as well as Yahoo! Sports’ experts Pat Forde, Martin Rogers, Eric Adelson, and Graham Watson.

The new program will utilize a digital media wall that integrates real-time activity from multiple sources, such as Yahoo! Sports Trends, Facebook and Twitter, to identify the hottest topics in sports.

Manno: “Along with Yahoo! Sports, we find out what’s trending online, and we find out what people want to actually talk about as they’re clicking on it. It’s a sports show like you’ve seen before, but it has a new component because we look at what fans are talking about right now.”

Briggs: “We will look to Yahoo! Sports for the day’s hottest stories, trends and social media buzz to drive the show. I’m excited about working with their experts and reporters on SportsDash.”

SportsDash, which airs Monday through Friday, will also cover fantasy sports on a daily basis and will include analysis from experts Yahoo! Sports’ Brad Evans, Brandon Funston and Andy Behrens along with NBC Rotoworld’s Kay Adams.

Beginning in late August, a complementary, digital-only show will stream live from 1-1:15 p.m. ET on Yahoo! Sports, NBCSports.com, and will be available across mobile platforms through the NBC Sports Live Extra app. SportsDash will kick off each morning with a video report on Yahoo! Sports spotlighting the day’s hottest story.

 

 

Random baseball card: Jack Clark; how he once bailed out young reporter

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I was sorry to hear Jack Clark got himself in hot water for comments he made about Albert Pujols.

I’ll always have a fondness for Clark.

In 1985, when I still was a very young reporter, I was sent to St. Louis to do a story on the Cardinals. It was one of my first big opportunities and naturally I was nervous.

I was completely unaware of the routine for doing one of these stories. I tried to ask Whitey Herzog, the cranky manager, some questions, but he completely blew me off.

“Jesus Christ, I just answered those questions over there,” he said.

I had no idea I was supposed to be “over there” for his daily meeting with writers.

Herzog wasn’t alone. Other players also blew me off.

“Hey, Ozzie, got a minute?” I asked.

Mr. Smith, “The Wizard,” whizzed right past me through the dugout runway.

I have a feeling Clark saw that, and perhaps had a sense of my desperation. I approached him as he sat on the bench in the dugout. I fully expected to get blown off again.

To my surprise, he said, “Sure.”

Clark wasn’t warm and fuzzy. I remember him looking straight ahead at the field when answering my questions.

However, he gave me more than enough to write a decent piece on the Cardinals. He saved me from blowing my big assignment.

It’s funny how you never forget those kind of things. I know I will be forever grateful to Jack Clark.

Here is the link to his career stats: 340 career homers; on-base percentage of .459 in 1987.

 

Weekend wrap: Regis await his big sports debut; Jay Bilas on changing NCAA policy

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Spanning the globe to give you the constant variety of sports media…

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Regis: Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has an amusing piece on one of new/old faces of Fox Sports 1.

“Some people are wondering why I took this job,” Mr. Philbin said. “But I’m a fan.”

Mr. Philbin is not working solo on “Crowd.” Nor is he part of a duo, as he was on “Live!” This time he has five partners.

“I can sit back and relax,” he said during the interview at his house. “I killed myself all those years. Let them do it.”

Fox Sports 1: Will Leitch at Sports on Earth on the battleground for the new network.

You need sports, which is why Fox Sports 1 is being taken more seriously. Fox has more sports rights than NBC does, with college football and the NFL and UFC and the World Cup and tons more things that can both be shown and promoted on Fox Sports 1. Right now, NBC only has the NFL, sort of, the Premier League, the Tour de France and some college basketball. (They’re working on it.) ESPN, of course, has a little bit of everything. That’s where these wars will be won: Not in studios, or newsrooms, or branding meetings. They’ll be won in corporate boardrooms where negotiations over exclusive rights are held. That’s all that matters.

Jay Bilas: The ESPN basketball analyst tells Richard Deitsch of SI.com how his Twitter expose led to the NCAA changing its policy on selling athlete’s jersey.

SI.com: Clearly, when they shut the search capability down, this generated into something larger. What was your reaction when that happened?

Bilas: Disbelief. Jeremy Fowler of CBS Sports texted me about the shutdown. At first, I wasn’t certain why it was disabled, but it seemed a reaction to the Twitter activity. I thought it was an overreaction, and I was very surprised. If not for the NCAA disabling its search function, this whole thing would have been of interest primarily on Twitter and some opinion pieces. But the search shutdown was like an admission of wrongdoing by the NCAA, and everything blew up from there. I believe the NCAA itself really raised the temperature of this, and made it such a big deal. With the exception of the interest of the player search capability, this wasn’t that big of a deal until the search capability was disabled. Someone tweeted how to get around the disabling using the URL, and I had a bit of a lark tweeting out a few more searches.

NCAA: Michael Bradley at the National Sports Journalism Center says the media has to keep up the pressure on the NCAA.

It’s incumbent on the media to keep pressure on schools and especially the NCAA, so that fans will understand that this is no longer a case of a player’s not having money to buy a pizza. With hundreds of millions in play, the players deserve more.

Bilas proved that last week.

Clay Travis: How did he go from being a lawyer to launching a site to landing a role on Fox Sports 1’s new college football pregame show. From Darren Heitner of Forbes.

QB Nonsense index: Mike Tanier on Sports on Earth has an amusing piece on the overkill of analysis for NFL quarterbacks. He comes up with his own system.

He writes:

No athletes generate as much mass-media nonsense as NFL quarterbacks (well, maybe with the exception of one or two). When they win, it is news. But when they lose, lose badly, lose comically, get paid, get married, get a new tattoo or do anything else besides study playbooks and lift weights, it’s bigger news. An entire industry is fueled by quarterback nonsense: ESPN would go dark during the day without it, sports radio would not be a three-station-per-market phenomenon, and the blogosphere would go back to being a concentrate-on-your-jobosphere. Also, I would still be teaching algebra.

Veterans in LA: Helene Elliott in the Los Angeles has a piece on the long-time announcers in LA, including Vin Scully, who still are going strong.

APSE: Gerry Ahern writes about his year as APSE president. He writes:

Important progress has been made regarding access and credential issues with the leagues and teams we cover. I am looking forward to serving on a working group along with John Cherwa and Tim Franklin of APSE, the NCAA, conference commissioners and COSIDA to sort through issues and represent our interests proactively. We hope to head off problems and protect our ability to practice sports journalism at its highest level.

APSE 2: New president Tim Stephens says the association is needed more than ever.

It has often been said that journalism is at a crossroads, but I believe that time has past. The road has been chosen, the path is clear even if it is not easy to navigate, and now is the time for action in the new digital landscape. Now, more than ever, is the time for this organization to be the standard bearer for quality sports journalism and the source of leadership, mentorship and inspiration.  Whether that leadership is evident in the pages of a newspaper or within the video of a complex multimedia presentation or even within the 140 characters of a reporter’s tweet, APSE must be that beacon of light in a crowded sea of content.

Podcasts:

Awful Announcing: Rebecca Lowe, who will anchor NBC SN’s coverage of the Premier League.

Sports Media Weekly: Bill Wanger talks about new Fox Sports 1 and David Berson of CBS Sports Network.

Sports-Casters: Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports, and Brett Martin, author, GQ Magazine.