Flashback: Recalling impact of Dick Young, who changed everything for sportswriters

Posted on by

I only heard Dick Young speak only once. During my first World Series in 1986, I squeezed into the back of the room during the baseball writers’ meeting at Fenway Park.

I recall Young gave a speech in which he implored writers to continue to fight for their turf. To not give to the bastards, etc.

The fiery New York sports columnist could see where things were going in regards to sportswriters, and he didn’t like it.

It turned out to be Young’s last speech to the writers in a World Series. He died in 1987 at the age of 69.

If you never heard of Young, or need a refresher on what he meant to the business, you must read this 1985 profile written by Ross Wetzseon for Sport Magazine. Deadspin posted the piece on its site this week.

Wetzseon writes:

In the evolution of sportswriting from adolescent mythologizing to tell-it-like-it-is honesty, Dick Young was arguably the single most important transitional figure. There’s a better way to describe the arc of Dick Young’s career than to say he was a street-smart kid who rose to patron saint who degenerated into crotchety old man. And that’s to say that while his politics may be as reactionary as Louis XIV’s, his professional role has been as radical as Robespierre’s. What his detractors fail to understand is that there are many battles they don’t have to fight because Dick Young has already fought them—and won.

There’s this exchange:

“Gimme a beer,” says Dick Young. “Whadda ya wanna know?”

Some of your younger colleagues think. . .

“Shit, those young guys. They don’t work hard enough, they don’t work the phones, they don’t have any respect for themselves as professionals. I remember when the New York Times started giving days off in spring training! They’re in Florida, for Christ’s sake, and they want a day off! Me? I only write five columns a week these days. Piece of cake.”

Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News says. . .

“Mike Lupica? He’s a newspaper version of a spoiled-brat ballplayer,” Dick Young snaps. “He writes bullshit based on his lack of experience.”

Dick Young’s not an off-the-record guy. Skipping all over the place, talking just like his Friday column, “Clubhouse Confidential,” a sentence, three dots, on to something else, three dots, on to something else. Next question?

Murray Chass of the New York Times? “He’d sell his soul for access.” Maury Allen of the New York Post? “Careless with facts and quotes.” Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times? “Just a gagster.” Dick Young is the same with nearly all his colleagues. Not angry, not even sarcastic, just matter-of-fact rat-tat-tat. Next question.

Howard Cosell? “Howie the Shill? A fraud. An ass. A pompous ass. Those are the good things I can say about him. Now what about the other side?”

Then there’s this rant about sportswriters. Remember, this is 1985:

“Today’s writers don’t have enough guts,” he says. “They let themselves be pushed around. The players give them all that crap and they accept it”—it’s hard to tell who ticks him off the most, the players or the press. “They even have ropes around the batting cage in spring training! Jesus Christ, how’m I supposed to do my job?”

After reading it you can’t but wonder if things would be better if Young still were around.

 

 

Braun fallout: Media must remain dilligent about reporting on PEDs

Posted on by

Michael Bradley, writing for the National Sports Journalism Center site, says the media has to keep up the pressure on this issue. There are more Ryan Brauns out there.

Bradley writes:

As a result, the media can’t afford to succumb to the prevailing thought that fans are tired of hearing about steroids, HGH and simply neglect the issue. It remains a huge part of baseball, and Monday’s news proves it. If Major League Baseball decides to come down hard on more P.E.D. users in the coming weeks, it proves that players have not lost their appetite for banned substances. All it means is that they are trying harder to find things that can avoid detection. And it’s up to the media to make sure fans understand that they are paying a lot of money to watch people perform who might well be cheating.

Later, Bradley writes:

Here’s where the media must remain vigilant – in regard to Braun and everybody else in professional sports. No matter how desensitized the fans are to the continued P.E.D. drumbeat, the culture that continues to prevail must be exposed. It’s unfortunate that young fans can’t adore their heroes anymore. It used to be that it was tough to develop a bond with a player because he could leave your town as soon as his contract was up. That was a necessary evil to protect the labor force against ownership’s desires to squelch costs. But this puts even the most loyal player into question. Is his big season the product of a maturation of talent or the result of laboratory experiments that have produced a faster swing?

Amen, to that.

 

 

Posted in MLB

ESPN announces fall 30 for 30 lineup: Tonya and Nancy, Jimmy Connors, ‘No Mas’, and Marvin Barnes

Posted on by

If you love ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, and I’m sure you do, this is kind of like finding out what you’re going to be getting for Christmas early.

The network unveiled its fall series of new documentaries that will run on six consecutive Tuesdays, beginning Oct. 1.

The complete rundown is below.

At first glance, the opener, featuring a Hawaiian big wave surfer, wouldn’t normally interest me. But since 30 for 30 is doing it, you know it will be riveting.

I am looking forward to the second film, Free Spirits. It documents the wild ABA team, the Spirits of St. Louis, that had Marvin Barnes, “Fly” Williams, and a young announcer named Bob Costas. Also, an executive who helped run that team was none other than Rudy Martzke, the future sports TV columnist for USA Today.

Tonya and Nancy should do strong ratings, just as the original did 20 years ago. The film features new interviews with Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.

Interesting to note that Kevin Connolly, who played Eric in Entourage, is directing a documentary on the New York Islanders and their bizarre financial troubles in the mid-90s.

Anyway, all the films figure to be solid. Looking forward to  my gifts in October.

Here’s the rundown from ESPN:

*******

The second season of ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 series will continue this fall with six additional documentary films. The next slate in the Peabody Award-winning series will begin Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Film topics include the tragic story of Hawaiian surfer Eddie Aikau, John Spano’s Islanders scandal, Jimmy Connors’ extraordinary run during the 1991 U.S. Open, and a revealing look at the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding rivalry that resulted in the now-infamous attack.

 

The following films will premiere on consecutive Tuesday nights for six weeks this fall (all times Eastern).

 

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 8 p.m. – Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 8 p.m. – Free Spirits

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 8 p.m. – No Mas

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 8 p.m. – Big Shot

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 8 p.m. – This Is What They Want

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 8 p.m. – Tonya and Nancy

 

“We continue to see an insatiable appetite for well-told sports stories that both tap into nostalgia and allow for discovery of new insight and detail.  We are proud to be the destination for fans looking for high-quality films that take them inside the worlds that they love,” says Connor Schell, vice president of ESPN Films. “Sports hold an increasingly prominent place in American culture, and our new slate of films exemplifies our ongoing goal of telling cultural stories that last.”

 

Each 30 for 30 film will be available on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video the day after its broadcast premiere. A six-disc collectible DVD Gift Set, featuring the first fifteen films from 30 for 30 Volume II, will be available at major retailers in-store and online on November 26, 2013.

 

Film summaries:

 

Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau (Director: Sam George)

“Eddie Would Go.”  It’s a phrase that has long carried deep meaning with countless Hawaiians and surfers worldwide.  Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau goes beyond those famous three words and chronicles the remarkable life and power of Eddie Aikau, the legendary Hawaiian big wave surfer, pioneering lifeguard and ultimately doomed crew member of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokule’a.  With a rich combination of archival imagery, contemporary interviews and meticulously researched historical source material, this film is a compelling exploration of the tragic decline and extraordinary re-birth of the Hawaiian culture as personified by a native son whose dynamic life and heroic death served as inspiration to an entire spiritual movement.

 

Free Spirits (Director: Daniel H. Forer)

When the NBA merged with the American Basketball Association in 1976, four ABA franchises joined the more established league – the Nets, Nuggets, Pacers and Spurs.  But one of the odd teams out found a different way to secure its future.  Free Spirits tells the colorful story of the Spirits of St. Louis – an entertaining and at times controversial team featuring stars like Marvin “Bad News” Barnes and James “Fly” Williams with an upstart sportscaster named Bob Costas calling the play-by-play. The Spirits managed to pull off a stunning playoff upset of the defending champions in their first season, and then, on their way to franchise extinction, co-owners Daniel and Ozzie Silna managed to negotiate a contract that has allowed the team to continue to exist in the most unusual fashion.

 

No Mas (Director: Eric Drath)

In the midst of boxing’s contemporary golden age -­ the 1980’s -­ stood two fighters who established a captivating rivalry. Their pair of bouts within a span of just over 5 months in 1980 had all the trappings of instant classics. Sugar Ray Leonard, an American hero, who had become a household name after a Gold Medal-winning performance at the 1976 Summer Olympics that led to numerous corporate sponsorships, versus the Latino champion, Roberto Duran, the toughest -­ some said meanest -­ fighter of all time. It was not just the drama and action of these fights that would endure, but those two words uttered in the second of their clashes, which would create a sense of mystery, bewilderment and intrigue to the present day.  No Mas unveils for the first time what really happened, going behind the scenes of these two showdowns with the help of boxing experts, family members and the two fighters themselves.

 

Big Shot (Director: Kevin Connolly)

In 1996, the once-dominant New York Islanders were in serious trouble.   Lousy performance and poor management were driving away the hockey franchise’s loyal fan base.  The team hit bottom.  Then along came a Dallas businessman named John Spano, who swooped in and agreed to buy the team for 165 million dollars.  Things began to look up for the Islanders –  way up.  But it was all smoke and mirrors.  Big Shot goes inside an extraordinary scandal that engulfed the Islanders.  Featuring the only interview Spano has ever given about the Islanders deal, this film is an unforgettable tale of a dream that became a lie – and how a scam of such epic proportions initially went undetected.

 

This is What They Want (Directors: Brian Koppelman and David Levien)

When Jimmy Connors arrived in New York for the 1991 U.S. Open, the one-time tennis superstar was 8 years removed from his last Grand Slam singles title, ranked 174th in the world and approaching his 39th birthday.  Not exactly a recipe for success.  But on the verge of a quick first-round exit, Connors suddenly and unexpectedly re-captured the magic, embarking on a stirring and extraordinary run than included an epic contest with Aaron Krickstein on his way to the semifinals.  This is What They Want not only illuminates this highly improbably march past a series of talented and youthful adversaries, it also explores how Connors became a polarizing and provocative personality who helped make tennis a high-octane spectator sport.

 

Tonya and Nancy (Director: Nanette Burstein)

American hopes for a gold medal in women’s figure skating at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway rested on two very different but equally fascinating personalities: Nancy Kerrigan, the elegant brunette from Massachusetts, and Tonya Harding, the fiery blonde from Oregon. On January 6, 1994, after a practice session at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Kerrigan was stunningly clubbed on the right knee by an unknown assailant and left wailing, “Why, why, why?” As the bizarre “why” mystery unraveled, it was revealed that Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, had plotted the attack with his misfit friends to literally eliminate Kerrigan from the competition.  Now two decades later, Tonya and Nancy takes a fresh look through revealing new interviews with the Harding and Kerrigan camps at a unique worldwide spectacle.

 

Chicago news: Hub Arkush launches new Bears website

Posted on by

The latest from Hub Arkush in the wake of Pro Football Weekly shutting its doors. At first glance, the site looks sharp, and it should keep Arkush plenty busy.

******

Shaw Media today announces the launch of HubArkush.com, a website dedicated to in-depth news and analysis of the Chicago Bears.

Hub Arkush, longtime editor and publisher of Pro Football Weekly, former Chicago Bears radio analyst and senior football analyst with WSCR-670 The Score in Chicago, leads Shaw Media’s Bears coverage team.

“Our plan for Hubarkush.com is to bring football lovers everywhere the best of what I’ve done at Pro Football Weekly for the last 35 years with a hyper-local focus on the Chicago Bears and the NFC North, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you love football and you love the Chicago area, you’ll love Hubarkush.com.” Arkush said.

Arkush is joined by Bears beat writer Kevin Fishbain and Shaw Media Chicago sports columnist Tom Musick. Together, the team breaks down the Bears position battles heading into camp, introduces the new coaching staff, and offers their veteran insight into the upcoming season.

The site will include video analysis from Arkush and his team throughout the preseason and regular season, and regular fantasy football updates.

“This is an exciting new venture for our company,” said John Rung, president of Shaw Media. “We recognize that people across this region are passionate about football, and we are proud to have Hub Arkush, one of the nation’s leading professional football experts, on our team. Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive source of football information in Northern Illinois.”

 

Posted in NFL

Hey, there’s a Sherman on cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated

Posted on by

Nope, it’s not Ed Sherman. However, I did have my picture once in SI. I was shown interviewing Martha Burk.

Story for another day.

Seattle’s Richard Sherman is featured on the cover. He also will write a regular column for Peter King’s MMQB.SI.com site. Here is his first entry.

******

The write-up from SI:

(NEW YORK – July 24, 2013) – On Monday Sports Illustrated launched The MMQB (TheMMQB.com), a new, digital franchise led by award-winning SI senior writer Peter King that is devoted to NFL coverage. This week’s SI, on newsstands now, introduces one of The MMQB’s new featured columnists—Seattle All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. The Seahawks’ voluble star, who appears on his first SI cover, is profiled by senior writer Lee Jenkins. Sherman’s first TheMMQB.com column is also featured in this week’s SI.

“I’m excited about getting a player’s view of the game out in the media,” writes Sherman. “Hopefully it will give you an unfiltered look into my life, my team and the lives of all NFL players.” Read Sherman’s entire column here.

Jenkins chronicles Sherman’s rise from growing up as a shy, skinny kid in Compton, Calif., to a confidant motormouth who was selected in the fifth round by Seattle in the 2011 draft (a slight that still motivates him today). Jenkins says, “He is the rare player who has provoked the ire of Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll, who has taunted Tom Brady, who has been punched by an opponent while congratulating him on a good game.” (PAGE 48)

In just two NFL seasons Sherman has 12 interceptions—but  he has also labeled Harbaugh a “bully,” called Falcons receiver Roddy White “an easy matchup”, urged Darrelle Revis on Twitter to “Get ya picks up!” and after a win over the Patriots last October, retweeted a picture of himself yapping at Brady, along with the caption, “U MAD, BRO?”  “I used to tell him to quiet down,” says Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor. “Then I saw the results.” (PAGE 48)

Sherman now headlines one of the best defenses in the NFL and has become the face—and voice—of the NFL’s fiercest rivalry between his Seahawks and the defending NFC Champion 49ers, who happen to be coached by Jim Harbaugh, Sherman’s coach at Stanford. “I’m not the type to let a sleeping giant lie,” Sherman says. “I wake up the giant, slap him around, make him mad and beat him to the ground. I talk a big game because I carry a big stick.”

On why he chose to attend Stanford over local favorite USC (coached at the time by his current coach Pete Carroll):  “I wanted to make a statement,” says Sherman, who finished second in his high school class with a 4.2 GPA. “It was weird. It didn’t sound right. But I had to prove it was possible: Compton to Stanford.” (PAGE 50)

Sherman says his verbose ways are all part of a plan. “It’s part of a greater scheme to get some eyes, to grow the market, to grow Seattle,” he says. “Now people are paying attention, and they’ll probably be disappointed this year because I will be a lot more reserved.”

 

 

 

After 63 years, Milo Hamilton has called his last game

Posted on by

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports that Milo Hamilton is calling it a career a bit sooner than he had hoped.

Barron writes:

Former Astros announcer Milo Hamilton said Tuesday he is undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of the chronic form of leukemia from which he has suffered since 1974 and that he has called the final major league game of his 63-year career in radio.

Hamilton, 85, had hoped to make a road trip with the Astros this year to Detroit to call a game at the 60th ballpark in which he has worked Major League Baseball games since 1953. However, he said health issues from earlier this year and the recent decision by doctors that he will require two days of chemo each month will keep him at home.

He said he would not consider making a one-game road trip next year to make it to 60 ballparks and is satisfied with 59.

“I don’t think anybody else cares about 60,” he said during an impromptu news conference in the Astros’ dugout. “Maybe I built it up too much. It’s a fact of life now, and that’s OK.”

Think about it: 63 years in the booth. That’s quite a run.

Barron writes:

Hamilton, who has called major league games since 1953 for the Browns, Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox, Braves, Pirates and, from 1985 through last year, the Astros, has always placed great pride in his longevity and his assorted statistical milestones but is content with the decision not to try another road trip.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Sixty-three years, I’ll take that. I thought if I could do 25 it was going to be a career.”

Posted in MLB

Programming alert: Harrowing 9 for IX on fatal dive; documentary re-airs tonight on ESPN2

Posted on by

Sorry, I didn’t get to this yesterday. I watched No Limits last night on ESPN.

Wow. The film goes beyond sports and makes you wonder why people do what they do. The summary is below.

In case you missed it, the documentary airs again tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. Don’t miss it.

As a teenager, Audrey Mestre suffered from scoliosis, but in those formative years, she discovered a passion for the ocean. It offered her a sense of freedom, and the burdens she faced on dry land soon dissipated as she slipped below the surface. In the final stages of her Ph.D., Mestre was drawn to Cabo San Lucas, where she became infatuated with free diver Pipin Ferreras, a Cuban defector whose dives had put him at the forefront of the sport.

The two became a couple, and Mestre followed the often elusive, often raucous Ferreras on his almost spiritual quest to push his limits underwater. Soon enough, Mestre moved from support team member to ardent free diver and then to a world-class competitor who outshone her husband.

In 2002, after news arrived that a rival female diver named Tanya Streeter had successfully gone to a record-breaking 525 feet, Ferreras began preparations for Mestre to make a 561-foot dive off the coast of the Canary Islands. Having completed practice dives even deeper in the weeks leading up to the record attempt, Mestre was prepared. But because of a fateful decision before the dive, Mestre never resurfaced alive.

What’s another billion dollars? NBC spends big money to land NASCAR; analysis of new deal

Posted on by

At some point, you would think the cartoonish spending for sports on TV will end. The money has to run out eventually, right?

Well, that wasn’t the case Tuesday. According to Sports Business Daily, NBC shelled out $4.4 billion for a new 10-year contract to air NASCAR on NBC and NBC Sports Network, beginning in 2015.

From Tripp Mickle and John Ourand:

That represents a significant media rights increase for NASCAR over the more than $2.28B paid by ESPN and Turner Sports combined for the same number of Sprint Cup and Nationwide races in their current 8-year agreements. This comes after NASCAR received a more than 30% increase in its earlier deal with Fox that covers the first half of its season.

Why was NBC so motivated? Of the 20 races in this package, 13 will be shown on NBC Sports Network. That’s prime live programming for a sports network that saw itself get left on the sidelines for MLB and some of the major college rights deals. Now NASCAR gives NBC SN a valuable property in the summer and fall.

NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus called the deal “a game changer.” Whether it leaves NBC without any change in its pocket remains to be seen, but Tuesday wasn’t a day for crunching numbers.

“Over the past two and a half years, we have set forth, since Comcast bought NBC, to renew and acquire properties,” Lazarus said. “We’ve done a significant amount of deals in that time period, but this is one that we’ve really been focused on. The fact that we are going to be working with all of those NASCAR constituencies to build content for NBC, NBC Sports Network, our regional sports networks, the quantity of content that this deal provides and the quality of content that this provides is really a game changer for us for our entire group, and we can’t wait to get started.”

As for NASCAR, why leave ESPN, which is seen in 20 million more homes than NBC SN? Well, it is following the NHL’s lead here.

At ESPN, NASCAR often trailed in the fumes from the network’s coverage of football, college and pro, the NBA, and MLB. At NBC and NBC SN, NASCAR will be the main game in town during its coverage season. The scenario has worked out well for the NHL.

Indeed, when you think about it, how weird was it to hear NASCAR president Brian France invoke hockey when discussing the new deal?

France said: “I can tell you from our discussions as we negotiated this, the integration, and I know that word is used a lot and over used probably sometimes, but the reality is that you can see what they’ve done with the NHL and other properties. They’re in a mode where they’re pulling together all their properties.  They still have a bigger emphasis on big events on network television.”

Lazarus added: “What I think we’ve demonstrated over the past several years is that when we’re able to have a property like the Olympics, the NHL,  the Premier League,  NASCAR, Formula 1, we’re able to bring an audience and surround it with content. (We do it) both on broadcast, on cable, in digital by promoting and marketing using our RSNs. We’re able to bring a level of awareness to a sport, to a property that is frankly unparalleled in the industry, and that’s what we intend to do with NASCAR.”

Starting in 2015, there will be 10 years to see if this deal works for both parties. And for NASCAR fans.

*******

For those who want more, here is the entire transcript to the call:

BRIAN FRANCE:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Obviously a very exciting and huge day for the sport of NASCAR, the industry of NASCAR and all of our stakeholders, and before I talk just a moment for how excited we are about the future, and I certainly want to make mention of two partners who are not going to be renewing their rights, that being TNT and Turner and ESPN.  We’ve been together one way or the other for 30 plus years, and they’ve done an outstanding job of presenting the NASCAR story week in and week out, and we’ll certainly miss them in many ways.

But this isn’t about the present, it’s about the future, and the future for us, with all of the assets of NBC and Universal and Comcast, made a very compelling point to us that we’re better together going forward with their family of networks and assets, and not to mention the fact that we’ve had a long standing and long confidence in Mark Lazarus, who spearheaded the deal on their part.  So we had a high degree of confidence that Mark brought to the table, and we’ve outlined what we think is just a terrific agreement, one that’s going to present the sport    we think it’s going to be very, very compelling on how that’s going to get done, and there’s a lot of work to be done on the NBC side, and they’re excited about just that.

But what we know is the integration of the assets that they are marshaling together, because this is going to be such an important franchise sport for them, made it to be so compelling that it was just the right choice.  So I know I speak for everybody at NASCAR, including our stakeholders, our drivers, teams, tracks and sponsors, and I’ve talked to an awful lot of them here in the last 24 hours, and there’s a real excitement about partnering with NBC and what I’ve told them, and we’re thrilled to be part of the NBC Sports family.

With that I will turn it back over to you, Greg.

GREG HUGHES:  Thank you, Brian.  Now the chairman of the NBC Sports Group, Mark Lazarus.

MARK LAZARUS:  Thanks.  I’ll simply start by saying we are back.  We are thrilled to be back.  When NBC was involved with NASCAR from 2001 to 2006, it was a very good experience for NBC, the rich history of NASCAR.  We think that the stakeholders at NASCAR, led by Brian as well as the teams, the owners, the tracks, the drivers, will all welcome us back with open arms based on previous history and experience with us, and we couldn’t be happier to have NASCAR back as a tent pole property for NBC and NBC Sports Network, as well as integrating, as Brian said, other assets into the deal.

Over the past two and a half years, we have set forth, since Comcast bought NBC, to renew and acquire properties.  We’ve done a significant amount of deals in that time period, but this is one that we’ve really been focused on, one that we have wanted to have the opportunity to be able to sit at the table when contractual opportunities came due, and the fact that we are going to be working with all of those NASCAR constituencies to build content for NBC, NBC Sports Network, our regional sports networks, the quantity of content that this deal provides and the quality of content that this provides is really a game changer for us for our entire group, and we can’t wait to get started.

GREG HUGHES:  Now let’s go to Steve Herbst, NASCAR vice president of broadcasting and production.

STEVE HERBST:  Thanks.  I just wanted to echo what Brian said earlier, just that NBC brings so much to the table for NASCAR, outstanding production quality, great promotional opportunities with all their other properties.  Some of the best championship programming you’ll see out there lives on NBC, and I think it’s the start of something really special, a very special partnership.

With today’s announcement and the FOX agreement we came to in the fall, our TV picture, our puzzle is almost complete.  We have one more package out there.  It’s a first half Nationwide package with 14 Nationwide races, along with three Cup races.  That package is being discussed.  We have ongoing negotiations, and we plan to place that very soon, and that will all move very quickly.

Finally from me I just want to say for ESPN and Turner, they are our partners through 2014.  High class organizations with great leadership with John Skipper and David Levy and others.  We’ll work closely with them through the balance of this season and next season to deliver great product to the fans.

Q.  Steve and Brian, can you give me a sense, you don’t always see a property leaving ESPN.  What is it about the NBC Universal Comcast asset that you find at least or more compelling than ESPN’s assets, which are always talked about, their many, many, many platforms?

BRIAN FRANCE:  Well, I’ll take that.  First of all, I think it’s the commitment that they’ve made in terms of how important NASCAR is going to be within the already robust properties that they have, and start with that.  And I can tell you from our discussions as we negotiated this, the integration, and I know that word is used a lot and over used probably sometimes, but the reality is that you can see what they’ve done with the NHL and other properties; they’re in a mode where they’re pulling together all their properties, and non sports properties, as well, and plus the network.  They still have a bigger emphasis on big events on network television.

So a combination of all of that, and then the trust that we have in Mark, because we’ve done business with him for many, many years, it brought it to a point where this is the right place for us to be.

Q.  My question is for Brian, following up on that.  The last time ESPN didn’t have a deal with you guys from 2001 to 2006, it seemed to affect their coverage of the races.  I know you guys weren’t as big a presence on SportsCenter.  They’re such a Goliath on the sporting landscape.  Are you worried about how you might be affected in terms of being presented on ESPN?

BRIAN FRANCE:  You know, we’re actually not, and the reason is it’s a different time now.  They have different thinking about how they want to cover sports.  John Skipper is as good as it gets in his organization, and we’ve had conversations.  Obviously you think about all those things, but the reality is they have to cover the big events that people watch every weekend, and I don’t    you never can predict the future, but we didn’t think that was something that would hold us back from making this deal, that’s for sure.

Q.  So they’ll still be invited or credentialed for races if they choose to do that in 2015 and beyond?

BRIAN FRANCE:  Well, yes, but obviously there are exclusive rights and some things we’ll have to all work through, but that’s not anything different than what naturally occurs.  So we’ll be working through that.  I have no problem that this is a different time than way back when, and I’m certain that we’ll all figure that out together.

Q.  Brian, can you talk about the balance between having races on network versus races on cable, specifically NBC Sports Network?  I don’t know if you can give us any final figure of how many races per season will be on network total and cable with the combined deals.

STEVE HERBST:  Are you asking about the NBC package or the overall package?

Q.  I know the NBC package.  I was curious if you could give us any sort of figure for the entire package, at least for 33 of the 36.

STEVE HERBST:  So the first half package obviously with FOX, we’re still discussing the mix there, so I don’t have an overall number for you.  You see the split for the second half Cup on NBC of 13 and 7, but we are not ready to talk about    13 and 7 for NBC.  But we’ll have information in due time on what the total season will look like.

MARK LAZARUS:  Let me just talk a little bit about having a balance and having both the broadcast and NBC Sports Network.  What we have found and what we have learned and what I think we’ve demonstrated over the past several years is that when we’re able to have a property, whether it’s a part of a season or an entire season or complete ownership of a property like the Olympics, like the national hockey league, like premier league, like NASCAR, like Formula 1, and we’re able to bring an audience and surround it with content, both on broadcast, on cable, in digital by promoting and marketing using our RSNs, that we’re able to bring a level of awareness to a sport, to a property that is frankly unparalleled    equal to or unparalleled in the industry, and that’s what we intend to do with NASCAR.  By having this mix, what we always do is make big events bigger, and that’s what we’ll do each Saturday and Sunday from July on starting in 2015.

Q.  Let me ask Brian, do you consider it a risk at all to go from what I would say is the more    obviously an older, more established cable network to one that’s kind of still in its infancy?

BRIAN FRANCE:  No, because if you look at what they’re doing right now, and Mark just outlined it, he’s not just talking conceptually.  They’re doing that right now with record ratings with the NHL and the integration of the Olympics, Sunday Night Football.  I mean, don’t forget, they have a robust lineup obviously without us, and we’re going to add to that in a significant way.

I can assure you from hearing from leadership throughout the Comcast system, they didn’t just want to own sports properties, they wanted to integrate within all their assets, and they’re doing it right now.  We don’t have to guess about it.  We’re looking forward to it.

Q.  I just wonder if you could talk about, it’s probably too early for this since it’s a couple years ago, but will you be bringing over some of the TNT or ESPN or NASCAR on air talent to NBC or NBC Sports, and also, how does this affect the future of the IndyCar Series on NBC and NBC Sports?

MARK LAZARUS:  Well, two questions there.  Let me start with the talent question:  First of all, all those folks are under contract to TNT and ESPN, and we’re respectful of those contracts.  It is too early.  Frankly this deal began and ended in very short order and expeditiously, so our production team is learning about it in sort of real time here, so they haven’t even spent any energy thinking about talent, though my guess is their heads are spinning and they’re thinking very hard now.  We have a couple of years on that.

But what I do promise is that when we hire talent, we do it with the thought of being relevant to the core fan but also being welcoming and open to the casual or new fan, and I think when you look around our Mount Rushmore of broadcasters, whether it’s Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Johnny Miller, Bob Costas and others that I’m sure that I know I’m leaving off, Dan Patrick, that we are second to none both in play by play and analysts, and we will continue that with NASCAR as we move towards the beginning of our contract.

How does it relate to IndyCar?  We think that this gives us    listen, we have IndyCar rights for NBC Sports Network.  We do not own the rights for broadcast.  Those are held by ABC and ESPN, by ABC, so we are only the cable partner there, so we are not able to do what we do with other sports by wrapping around it fully.

This will have no impact there, other than that I believe with us now being the home to the second half of the NASCAR season, the home for cable for Indy and the home to Formula 1, that we are one of the    probably the most dominant home for motorsports, and that that circulation of motorsports fans will be good for all.

Q.  Mark, I have a follow up on what you just said, which is that you’re the dominant home for motorsports.  With three racing series that are worldwide, was it NBC Sports group’s design to sort of grab the motorsports market, or is that just sort of how the properties fell?

MARK LAZARUS:  Well, you know, a design would be probably too forward thinking.  As we saw the way rights were developing over the last 24 months, we saw an opportunity, and as SPEED Channel decided to make its migration to something more multisport, we saw an opportunity to potentially fill a gap in the marketplace that might not be satisfied, and so we set forth, not knowing whether NASCAR would ever be able to us, but we set forth with the others.  We inherited the IndyCar deal.  We were able to acquire the F1 deal and that gave us the base.

But then seeing the opportunity that might exist with NASCAR, we believed that we can fill a gap in the marketplace for fans, for marketers and potentially with our cable operators and affiliates.

No one else has ever had all three of those.

Q.  Steve, I have a question for you, and I may be incorrect, but it’s my understanding NBC Sports Network is blocked in Canada, and one thing we see is a lot of complaints from Canadian fans about their ability to access NASCAR coverage, so how will you address that?

STEVE HERBST:  We have a TSN relationship that will continue, and we have broadcast TV, so our broadcast TV will reach Canada.  We have the ongoing TSN relationship, and that’s how we’ll service our Canadian fans.

Q.  Mark, what did you learn about effectively relaunching NHL hockey on TV that you can apply to NASCAR?  And my second question is for Brian:  Brian, are you getting an annual rights fee increase, and will we see any races on the new FOX Sports 1?

MARK LAZARUS:  What we learned from NHL is two things:  One, the ability to have both the broadcast element and the national cable element on NBC Sports Network allowed us to market and promote across both.  It also allowed us to build shoulder and ancillary programming around the content to consume and surround the fans that we know already like a sport or a property and give them more of that content.  And we will apply all of that to NASCAR.

We’ll also integrate our regional sports networks in that, as well.

The other part that I’ll add is what we have built with all of these tent pole properties is a team of dedicated people that work behind the scenes.  I’ve talked a little bit about our broadcasters and our talent, but when you take people that have worked either at NBC or at other places on these properties over time, and whether it’s John Miller, who does our programming, the other John Miller who does our marketing, Sam Flood, our executive producer, who understand the sport, are agnostic to whether it’s on broadcast or cable, we treat it the same no matter where it is, and the fact that they love the properties that we work on, it allows us to really put fans’ interests at heart, and that’s what we will do here.

BRIAN FRANCE:  Yes, an answer on the  — we will have both Cup and Nationwide on FOX Sports 1 at some level.

Q.  This one is for Mark:  I’m curious, why the 20 number?  Why didn’t you just go 23 and take them all?

MARK LAZARUS:  We were offered a package that had 20 in them, so we bought everything that was made available to us.  That doesn’t mean we bought everything we wanted.

Q.  And then in 2015 Speedweeks, FOX is the primary broadcaster, but are you figuring on having a lot of programming during the FOX side of the contract?

MARK LAZARUS:  We’ll be there as a news organization with the ability to cover it like other news organizations I would imagine, and some of this is still being ferreted out, that we’d have some ability to cover it as a little more than just a typical news organization.  But we’ll have shoulder programming and access, but we’ll be respectful of their rights and what they have bought, as we know they will be in our half of the season.

Q.  And then for Steve, you said that the remaining dates that are available, that you expect those to disappear pretty quick.  Is there any kind of rights battle going on, any kind of bidding war for those at this point?

STEVE HERBST:  I would just say that the rights are out there right now.  The package is there.  We expect it to move quickly, and we’ll be placing those in short order, and we’ll keep you posted.

Q.  Mark, lots of race fans are listening live right now, and the question is they know there’s a different philosophy or identity of each network.  What’s the generic philosophy of covering sports and news on sports for your network, and just a little bit more about what makes NASCAR so compelling for your network?

MARK LAZARUS:  Well, the mantra that we live by is two things:  One, we want to tell great stories, and NASCAR, what makes it so compelling is there are wonderful stories.  There are more than 40 drivers in every race.  It’s the all star game every weekend.  It’s the best athletes in the sport on the same playing surface at the same time, and it’s each and every week.  And whether that’s Saturday or Sunday, you have compelling programming, compelling stories, rivalries that get built over years and years and years.  It’s one of the rare sports where you can have multigenerational athletes competing against each other.  Every track is unique and still has its own stories.  It’s like a golf course in that way; each one has its own way of treating its athletes, and the athletes have to think differently about them, and each of the tracks are like that.

So the stories are incredibly compelling.  We believe that we take the time to develop those stories, develop the personality, make sure fans know the rivalries and why they should care about them, and that’s what we spend our time doing in all sports, and we think that NASCAR suits that production value very well.

Q.  This question is for Brian:  In 2015 when all of the new TV deals are in place, and I know there are still three races unaccounted for, but I think you can still answer this question; will the purses for the Sprint Cup Series races be higher in 2015 than they were in 2014?

BRIAN FRANCE:  Well, the purses are formulated not just off of TV revenue, obviously, and they’re formulated by a number of things.  But I anticipate that they certainly will be.  That would be my guess.

But yeah, this is obviously a lucrative    we wouldn’t have made the change if it weren’t a favorable arrangement for the industry financially, and it is, and everybody will benefit from that as every league does.

Q.  Brian, two questions:  Can you talk about the digital rights that will be a part of this?  In essence what will fans be able to    will there be essentially this version of RaceBuddy and how you envision the digital rights?  And can you talk about the tie in of NASCAR on Sunday afternoons leading into Sunday Night Football?  I would presume that’s part of the interest in all this.

BRIAN FRANCE:  Steve, I’ll let you address the digital rights on our side.

STEVE HERBST:  Yeah, we still hold rights for RaceBuddy.  NBC will have exclusive TV everywhere rights for its events and highlight rights for all of its NBC digital platforms.  Some of those are still developing and working through our digital chief Mark Jenkins, but that’s generally the snapshot there.

MARK LAZARUS:  Yeah, when you get to the fall, when you have not only our wonderful NASCAR schedule but our Sunday Night Football schedule and the beginning of our NHL season, our ability to promote across all three of those to each other we think will be beneficial to all three of those.  As we get closer and as the race schedule and the sanctions come through, we will work with NASCAR to lay out the schedule.  But we don’t anticipate any disruption in coverage for either NASCAR or the NFL due to this deal.  There’s enough latitude that we have with NBC and NBC Sports Network to make sure that doesn’t become an issue.  But we do see greatly the benefits of all of our fall properties being able to promote each other, somewhat overlapping but also to somewhat differentiated audiences, with the help of growing them all.

 

So how much sports will Nate Silver be doing for ESPN?

Posted on by

Unfortunately, I was out for part of yesterday afternoon. As a result, I wasn’t able to participate in Nate Silver’s teleconference with the media.

ESPN did provide a transcript. It made for interesting reading.

While looking through it, I came away with one question: Will Silver actually be doing sports for the world’s top all-sports network?

I’m sure Silver will since he loves sports and that was his expressed reason for going to ESPN. Silver, though, made it clear sports won’t be the primary agenda for his new FiveThirtyEight site on ESPN.

“You know, what I’ve done now for politics at FiveThirtyEight is an approach we think is applicable to lots of areas,” Silver said. “Obviously I have a background in sports, and that would be a big focus here, but it’s not just going to be a politics site or a sports site.  There’s lots of potential in business and economics and weather and health and education and technology and culture.”

During the teleconference, Silver fielded questions about whether he will be predicting the winners of the Oscars and even the weather. Sports? What’s that?

According to an ESPN spokesman, the many non-sports questions were the result of the type of media on the call.

Deep into the teleconference, Silver finally was asked a sports-related question. There was this exchange.

Q: “I was just curious, you mentioned a little bit about how it’s not going to be strictly sports or strictly political.  What in your opinion would be sort of like the dream home page of what kind of topics you’re covering, if you can go a little bit more specifically into what kind of topics you would like to cover?”

Silver:  “I mean, one model we’ve talked about is kind of the old ‑‑ the current actually USA Today where you have those four sections; you have news, sports, money and life, and you can kind of fit most things we want to cover into one of those four bundles.

“So you have obviously sports is going to be an important focus of the site.  On the news side we’re probably more going to be concerned about elections in particular, but there’s some other types of news.  Weather is one I mentioned.  On the life side it can be fun, kind of cultural stuff, what’s the best place to live, also education‑related things, and then obviously we think we can do maybe a better job than current competitors about how you present economic data to people that understand some of the uncertainty when you have a job support ad every month, what that really means.

“Now, I also know that things will evolve over time, so I can’t predict what the exact mix of content will be.  I do want to emphasize we’re not pulling back from politics.  We’ll probably hire at least one more person to cover politics full‑time, so although my interests might be slightly more divided, we are certainly still going to be fathering election forecasts, certainly going to be writing other coverage of politics.  It’s not going to be a partisan site, as FiveThirtyEight isn’t right now.  It’s not going to be a political commentary, but to the extent there are data‑driven ways to look at politics, it’s been a very successful product for us and will continue to be an emphasis.

“But we have an ambitious and broad take on what we’d like the site to grow into.”

What about the television component for Silver and ESPN? John Skipper, ESPN president, offered a vague response, although he knocked down reports that Silver will be a regular on Keith Olbermann’s new show.

“We don’t have a programmatic plan for where Nate is going to appear,” Silver said. “It’s going to be much more opportunistic and it’s going to tie in much more with what he’s doing on FiveThirtyEight that we think will be interesting on television. The dramatic exception to this would probably be ABC News during an election cycle where we do have every intention of Nate appearing on ABC News to talk about the elections.

“The second point I would make is there have been some speculative notions about where decisions have been made about Nate on television, and those are just wrong.  We have not made any decision about Nate appearing on the Keith Olbermann show, we have not made any decisions about Nate being on the Oscars.”

Having said that, fully expect that Silver will make many appearances on Olbermann’s show. It would be a great platform for him.

I know Silver is about much more than sports. But I write about sports media. So naturally I am interested in his sports component.

It’s going to be a few months before his FiveThirtyEight site is up and running. When it debuts, we’ll get a better idea of how sports factors in.

I know this: Silver didn’t sign with ABC News. He signed with ESPN.

Looking forward to Silver crunching those numbers on my White Sox and beyond.