Mike Freeman signs on at Bleacher Report: Expect him to talk sports on CNN

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It is official. Mike Freeman is joining Bleacher Report.

The details are below. In addition to his duties, expect Freeman, who will be based in New York, to get plenty of air time on CNN whenever there is a big sports issue. Turner Sports owns Bleacher Report.

Freeman will have plenty to say on all his platforms.

Here is the rundown from Turner Sports.

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Bleacher Report, a leading digital destination for team-specific sports content and real-time event coverage, announced today the hiring of veteran sports writer Mike Freeman. In his new role, Freeman will be a lead national voice for the site, providing in-depth coverage of the NFL as a reporter and columnist. He will also be Bleacher Report’s lead NFL video analyst offering weekly previews of upcoming games and insightful reaction to news around the league. Freeman officially joins Bleacher Report on Monday, Aug. 12, and he will be based in New York.

“Mike Freeman is a well-respected, veteran reporter who is a major addition to our editorial team as we look to build on our comprehensive coverage of the NFL and its teams and topics,” said Joe Yanarella, editor-in-chief of Bleacher Report. “His expertise and experience will enhance our NFL content and add to our growing lineup of leading voices.”

An industry veteran with more than two decades of experience, Freeman comes to Bleacher Report from CBSSports.com, where he was a national columnist and national NFL Insider covering the NFL since 2007. Prior to that, he worked for the New York Times, Washington Post and Boston Globe, among other media outlets. He is also the author of seven books including ESPN: The Uncensored History and most recently Undefeated: Inside the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ Perfect Season.

Freeman is one of only a handful of writers to win multiple awards in one year in the annual Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest. In 2005 Freeman won the Florida Sports Writer’s Association Shelby Strother Award in the state’s largest circulation category. The award is given to the year’s outstanding sports journalist.

“I consider this one of the great opportunities of my career,” said Freeman. “Bleacher Report is a great destination for sports fans which has quickly transformed how sports content is consumed and it’s an honor to join the site.”

 

Compelling Golf Channel piece on mission to Israel: Goodwill trip halted by region’s violence

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In case you missed it Tuesday, In Play with Jimmy Roberts aired a powerful piece by Tim Rosaforte about a group of golfers making a goodwill trip to Israel. Unfortunately, the golfers got a dose of reality when bombs started to fall on Tel Aviv.

Below is Rosaforte’s piece, plus video of bonus coverage from the Golf Channel. Definitely worth your time.

Players reactions.

Rosaforte’s view.

Sunday books: Dallas Green rips Cubs in new autobiography; ‘Just accepted losing’

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Yahoo! Sports has an excerpt from Dallas Green’s new book, The Mouth that Roared. It is published by Chicago-based Triumph Books.

In this piece, Green focuses on his time as general manager of the Cubs during the Cubs in the 1980s. He talks about holding out to acquire a minor leaguer named Ryne Sandberg from the Phillies. Turned out to be a good trade.

Green came to Chicago with high hopes. Then he encountered the realities of trying to get it done at Wrigley Field.

Green writes:

With that in mind, Bing Hampton came up with a hell of a slogan for the Cubs: “Building a New Tradition.” It was a way for us to hedge. The new tradition of winning wouldn’t take hold overnight. A blind man could see that. But it was being built … or so we hoped.

Not everybody embraced the idea of the Cubs as winners. Some so-called fans actually liked the decades of losing. Studs Terkel, the legendary Chicago writer, summed up that mind-set best when he said, “I think they’re more endearing in defeat than in victory. I like their loser-like quality.”

That’s what we were up against.

Later, he wrote:

I leveled with Cubs fans about their misplaced love of failure, a phenomenon further perpetuated by the 1969 team. I did a call-in radio show in Chicago that gave me a chance to interact with fans. And by that I mean it gave me a chance to set fans straight on some things.

“The ’69 team that you loved so much lost,” I told them. “They were losers. Why did they lose? Because Wrigley Field didn’t have lights. The team got tired from coming off the road late at night and then reporting to the ballpark early for day games. That sapped their stamina.”

This excerpt doesn’t include Green discussing in the book his efforts to land free agent Steve Garvey for the Cubs. Green thought he had the deal done, which would have then had him trading Bill Buckner. However, Green says Tribune Co. wouldn’t approve.

Green wrote he felt betrayed. As a result, he never got it done with the Cubs.

 

 

Random Baseball Card: George Scott; Leigh Montville recalls slugger who died this week

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RIP George Scott.

The former Boston and Milwaukee slugger had 271 career homers and was an 8-time Gold Glove winner. Here is the link to his stats.

Even more, he was a “sweetheart,” according to Leigh Montville, who recalled “Boomer” at Sports on Earth.

Montville writes:

He was a sweetheart. That was what he was, this one-time leader of the American League in home runs and runs batted in, winner of eight Gold Gloves, who died on Monday, sick and old before his time at 69 in Greenville, Miss. There were pieces of Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson in him, mixed with pieces of Jackie Gleason and Falstaff and, I don’t know, maybe Louis Armstrong and maybe your father’s brother, the big guy who comes to the house and makes everybody laugh for the entire evening.

 

He moved through his nine seasons in Boston, 14 in the major leagues, with thunder and charm. As soon as he arrived at Fenway Park in the summer of 1966, he dropped the word “tater” into the baseball lexicon as a better word for “home run” and promised to make so much money that he would be “driving an Oldsmobile with a Cadillac hitched up behind.” How could anyone not fall in love with a ballplayer like this?

 

Jason Sudeikis scores with NBC SN promo for Premier League

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Since leaving Saturday Night Live, Jason Sudeikis is keeping busy as the funny guy on the sports front.

Sudeikis was just so-so as host of ESPN’s This is SportsCenter ad countdown show on Thursday night. But he nails it as a confused Texas “football” coach in a promo for the Premier League on NBC SN.

“Ties and no playoffs? My job just got a lot easier.”

Weekend wrap: Sterling laments Yankees power outage; Life is good for Ernie Johnson, a cancer survivor

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

John Sterling: The Yankees play-by-play voice says the team’s lack of the power is affecting his act. Daniel Barbarisi writes in Wall Street Journal.

“The Yankees have been a home-run team since Babe Ruth, about 90 years ago,” Sterling said. “Babe, all the way on up, they’ve had home-run hitters, and especially lefty home-run hitters. And sadly, that’s just not part of the Yankees this year.

Ernie Johnson: One of the good guys (above) is enjoying life after beating cancer. Jim Mandelaro of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has the write-up in advance of Johnson working the PGA Championship next week for TNT.

Trey Wingo: At his site, Jeff Pearlman does a Q/A with ESPN’s Trey Wingo. Wingo’s father was the bureau chief for Life Magazine during the Vietnam war.

Pac 12 Network: Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes about the new network problems getting carried on DirecTV.

Battle watch: Eric Deegans, writing at the National Sports Journalism Center site, looks forward to the upcoming battle between ESPN and the new Fox Sports 1.

ESPN is doomed: Ken Fang at Awful Announcing has an amusing piece on how Sports Illustrated wrote off ESPN in the early ’80s. To be fair, the network was struggling back then.

A la carte cable: Will consumers be better off with an a la carte option for cable sports? Clay Travis ponders the question at Outkick the Coverage.

Fox’ SportsCenter: Joe Delessio at Sports on Earth examines Fox Sports 1’s version of SportsCenter.

Kevin Burkhardt: Richard Deitsch at MMQB tells the story of how Burkhardt went from selling cars to calling NFL games on Fox this fall.

Hall of Famer: Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News gets his big day in Cooperstown as the 2013 recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award. Congratulations, Paul.

Leaving: Inside Hoops reports NBA writer Chris Palmer is leaving ESPN.com.

Memorable: Richard Deitsch checks in on the inspiring story of the former ESPN producer and her connection to two former Cleveland high school athletes.

New award: The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at Maryland has created the Lacey-Smith Award. It will honor “a sports journalist or broadcaster who has made significant contributions to racial and gender equality in sports.” It is named after legendary African-American writers Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith.

APSE: Association announces this year’s scholarship winners: Alexa Ard of the University of Nevada and Sarah Barshop of Marquette University.

Podcasts:

Awful Announcing: A chat with Fox Sports’ Rob Stone.

Sports Media Weekly: Peter King and Chad Finn of the Boston Globe.

Sports-Casters: Want to note last week’s podcast which featured old pal Damon Hack of the Golf Channel. This week’s guests feature Jenny Vrentas (Sports Illustrated, theMMQB.Com), Elizabeth Merrill (ESPN.Com) and Ron Matejko (MVP Magazines).

 

 

Bring it on: There will be a football game on TV every weekend through beginning of February

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The credit for that observation goes to Dan McNeil of WSCR-AM in Chicago.

Football is back. And will be with us through that first Sunday in February.

Even though there is nothing truly as irrelevant as the annual Hall of Fame game, it will be good to hear Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth talking about the Cowboys and Dolphins Sunday on NBC.

Speaking of Michaels, he has a big night tonight. He is the winner of this year’s Rozelle Award.

Congratulations, Al.

 

 

 

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Are that many people watching NASCAR? New Fox, NBC rights deals worth $8.2 billion

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I debated whether to say this, and I know I am going to get ripped to shreds for saying it.

However, I have said stupid things before and will again. So here goes.

I don’t know anybody who watches NASCAR. Nobody. I never have had a friend or acquaintance say, “Did you see that race on Sunday?”

That’s why it is staggering to me that NASCAR’s new TV deals with NBC and Fox will be worth $8.2 billion. That $820 million per year, beginning in 2015.

Tripp Mickle and John Ourand of Sports Business Daily wrote yesterday about Fox Sports completing its deal:

Fox Sports and NASCAR closed a new $3.8B TV rights agreement that adds three Sprint Cup races, 14 Nationwide series races and two years to the deal the broadcaster cut with NASCAR last fall. The $3.8B price tag is $1.4B higher than Fox had agreed to pay through ’22. The deal pushes NASCAR’s total TV rights haul to more than $820M a year, a roughly 46% increase from the $560M it currently receives annually from Fox, Turner Sports and ESPN. Fox and NBC combined will pay $8.2B for NASCAR TV rights.

Again, if two networks would be willing to shell out $8.2 billion for a sport, you would think I would know at least one person who watches it on a regular basis. And I know a lot of people.

Now a large part of this is due to the fact that I live in Chicago. The town isn’t exactly a hotbed for NASCAR, even though the Chase for the Sprint Cup starts here with the Geico 400 in September. The race draws a big crowd. So obviously some people care.

I just don’t know them.

Obviously, my situation would be different if I lived in North Carolina or in the South. Then I wouldn’t be as stunned to see that two networks are willing to pay $8.2 billion to air NASCAR.

Still, it seems like a ton of money for a sport that basically has a regional following. It underscores the need for live programming on their cable outlets, NBC SN and Fox Sports 1.

Congratulations to NASCAR officials for their windfall. And if you think they did well, just wait until the NBA begins negotiations on its new TV packages, which run through the 2015-16 season. Should be off the charts.

Now I know people who watch the NBA.

 

 

 

 

Lipsyte is a must-read as new ESPN ombudsman; Questions ESPYs, placement of women sportswriters doc

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Forget for a minute about what he says. It is just a pleasure to read Robert Lipsyte’s writing in his new role as ESPN’s ombudsman.

Lipsyte’s latest column came out this week. And there were some gems.

His first reference to Keith Olbermann was as “the former He Who Must Not Be Named.”

And there was this passage about early women sportswriters:

If those women could be stopped at the locker room door, thus stymied in picking up the quotes and the moods that are so often the heart of postgame coverage, they could be kept at a reporting disadvantage. The blame for that last stand has usually been heaped on players, coaches and officials, but male sports writers, jealous of their own access to the testosterone tree house, were at least complicit. I often wondered whether they were afraid the world would find out just how tenuous were their own relationships with the athletes, who often treated sportswriters as if they were, in the players’ phrase, “green ants at the picnic.”

Yes, Lipsyte can write a little.

As for what he said, Lipsyte objected to ESPN airing the Let Them Towels documentary on women sportswriters at the same time as the All-Star Game.

He writes:

So, why did this terrific film have to go up against the All-Star Game?

According to Norby Williamson, ESPN’s executive vice president of programming and acquisitions, the Tuesday night airing was part of ESPN’s programming plan to create a consistent schedule to showcase the Nine for IX documentaries throughout the summer.

“It was not counterprogramming,” Williamson said. “It was part of a long-term strategy to create a flight for the marketing of quality shows — not that all ESPN shows aren’t quality. But we wanted a window, almost appointment TV, for documentaries throughout the year. And Tuesday night was the night least likely to have a game.”

I like the idea of “classy Tuesday,” of a date with quality, but it makes me uneasy, too. Yes, the documentaries will air some 18 times each (on numerous ESPN channels, including ESPN Classic), and ratings indicate that the electorate prefers games and studio shows. But the word “marginalizing” still comes to mind.

Also, Lipsyte doesn’t like what ESPN is doing to Outside The Lines:

Even while we were talking about all this, OTL is being moved on Sundays from ESPN at 9 a.m. to ESPN2 at 8 a.m., coinciding with the football season, starting Sept. 8. Even with DVRs, that sends a message — and not about quality.

Lipsyte had this observation about the ESPYs:

But the ESPYS offer another message, much like the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner: We’re all in this together. It’s fine for news executives, columnists and anchors to party with politicians and lobbyists, to get to know them as human beings, just as it is fine for ESPN executives, columnists and anchors, to party with athletes (and maybe not to feel like green ants.)

The concern, though, is that viewers might be getting the idea that they are the rubes at these circuses, that the jocks and the pols who show up can expect, in return, access and favors from the media.

This might be why the audience doesn’t always trust political reporters and sometimes wonders whether ESPN is protecting a pal — an employee of one of its partner leagues — when “SportsCenter” is perceived as late or timid in reporting an athlete’s latest DUI or sexual assault charge. Most of the time, I think the typical ESPN explanation — “We were exercising responsible caution” — is true.

Still, it’s hard not to get the impression that certain athletes, like certain politicians, get a pass because members of the media hobnobbed with them and expect to do so again — not to mention the revolving doors in which senators, QBs, generals and coaches rotate in and out of studios and anchor booths.

Great stuff. Can’t wait for next column.

 

Soccer news: ESPN announces hosts and analysts for new daily soccer show

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I’m not a soccer guy, so I’m not going to pronounce judgment here. However the reactions on Twitter suggest that this is a quality lineup.

From ESPN:

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ESPN has announced the hosts and analysts for ESPN FC on TV, the company’s new global soccer news and information program.  An extension of the popular ESPNFC.com digital brand, the year-round television show will debut Sunday, August 11, at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT), on ESPN2.

ESPN FC Press Pass host Dan Thomas, formerly with Real Madrid FC television, and SportsCenter anchor Max Bretos, will split hosting duties while a rotation of 23 veteran soccer pundits and contributors from the U.S., the United Kingdom, Mexico, Spain, Argentina and others, will be regularly featured.

Hosts:

·         Dan Thomas – Joined ESPN in 2010 as a presenter for ESPN FC Press Pass, ESPN International’s English-language program for global football.  Thomas is a former sports broadcasting prodigy who, at 15 years old, parlayed his passion into his first job at BBC Radio Cornwall, United Kingdom, reading local football, rugby and cricket scores.  After graduating from Solent University in Southampton in 2002, Thomas began hosting “Saints Alive,” the weekly show on Southampton FC.  In 2005, he moved to Madrid, Spain, for the launch of Real Madrid TV, where he served as the outlet’s lead presenter until his move to ESPN.

·         Max Bretos – SportsCenter anchor who joined ESPN in 2010 to host the network’s flagship news and information program.  Bretos came to ESPN from FOX Soccer, where he served as studio host and match commentator for several leagues including Major League Soccer.  Since joining ESPN, he has served as host of MLS Cup coverage on ESPN – hosting the network’s critically acclaimed coverage of David Beckham’s last match in the league (MLS Cup 2012). Bretos’ role on ESPN FC will be in addition to his regular SportsCenter duties.

Analysts/contributors:

·         Roger Bennett – ESPNFC.com columnist and Grantland’s “Men In Blazers” podcast co-host, Bennett covers international and domestic soccer in the United States.

·         Craig Burley – 1998 FIFA World Cup player for Scotland and former Chelsea FC midfielder, he is relocating his family from United Kingdom to the United States to serve primarily as an analyst for ESPN FC on TV.

·         Ian Darke – ESPN’s lead soccer play-by-play commentator.

·         Adrian Healey – ESPN’s play-by-play commentator for MLS.

·         Shaka Hislop – Former Premier League and Trinidad & Tobago National Team goalkeeper, Hislop made history as the starting goalkeeper on Trinidad & Tobago’s only FIFA World Cup team in 2006.

·         Raphael Honigstein – An accomplished German football journalist and author currently based in London, Honigstein’s work has been published widely in both English and German media, and he also appears on several football television programs in Europe. He will contribute insight on German football.

·         Kasey Keller – Former U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper and three-time US Soccer Athlete of the year, Keller played 609 professional matches in four countries – Spain, England, Germany and USA. He is studio analyst for MLS and U.S. Men’s National Team matches on ESPN.

·         Alexi Lalas – Former U.S. Men’s National Team player who played in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, Lalas is ESPN’s lead soccer studio analyst.  He is the first U.S. player to have played in the Italian Serie A – returning in 1996 to help launch MLS and was a team executive for three teams.

·         Frank Leboeuf – 1998 FIFA World Cup champion and French National Team player, Leboeuf played mostly for Chelsea in a 17-year professional career.

·         Sid Lowe – An international soccer journalist and columnist based Madrid, Spain, who covers Spanish football for top-line English-language media across the world.

·         Gabriele Marcotti – One of global soccer’s leading journalists, Marcotti is an author and expert on Italian, as well as European football.  He joined ESPN in July 2012 for the launch of ESPNFC.com, the company’s global soccer digital hub.

·         Paul Mariner – Former England National Team player, Mariner played 18 years in English football.  He became a coach in the United States working with two MLS teams – New England Revolution and Toronto FC.

·         Steve McManaman – One of England’s most decorated footballers and former national team player, McManaman spent nine years with Liverpool FC (1990-1999) and five with Real Madrid FC (1999-2003), becoming the first English footballer to win a Champions League title with a foreign club in 2000.

·         Alejandro Moreno – Former Venezuelan National team player and three-time MLS Cup champion, Moreno serves as match analyst for Mexican National Team and Liga Bancomer MX matches on ESPN networks.

·         Steve Nicol – Former Scotland National Team player, Nicol played professional soccer for 22 seasons highlighted by 13 years with Liverpool FC (1981-1994). He later moved into coaching and led the New England Revolution to it most-successful era in Major League Soccer.

·         José Antonio “Tato” Noriega – ESPN Deportes and ESPN International soccer studio analyst, Tato Noriega is a former Mexican National Team player, who spent 20 years with several clubs in Mexico’s Liga Bancomer MX.

·         Fernando Palomo – Play-by-play commentator for Mexican National Team matches on ESPN (El Tri on ESPN).

·         Derek Rae – ESPN International’s soccer play-by-play commentator currently based in the United Kingdom.

·         Stewart Robson – Former Arsenal FC player, Robson played 14 years of top-flight professional football in England.

·         Tommy Smyth – One of ESPN International’s English language match and studio analyst, Smyth’s hard-hitting punditry and ability to insightfully predict outcomes of matches before they are played have made him popular among soccer fans in and outside the United States.

·         Santiago Solari – Argentine retired professional footballer, Solari played for Atletico Madrid (1999-2000), Real Madrid (2000-2005), Inter Milan (2005-2008) and others, in a career that spanned 15 seasons.

·         Taylor Twellman – One of the most prolific goal-scorers in MLS history, Twellman is lead soccer analyst for the league and U.S. Men’s National Team matches on ESPN.  He began his professional career with three years (1999-2002) in the German Bundesliga playing with 1860 Munich.

·         Peter Walton – Former professional referee in English football, Walton is general manager of the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) in North America.