Powerful documentary: CSN Chicago goes distance for sports/real life tale in Cambodia

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It isn’t often that a local sports cable channel sends a reporter and crew to another state let alone Cambodia. But this incredible story was more than worth the investment of cash and resources for Comcast Sports Net Chicago.

Airing in two parts on Tuesday and Wednesday (7 p.m. Central), CSN Chicago will debut From the Sports World to the Third World: A Journey to Cambodia. It is the story of what Bulls/Blackhawks/Bears team photographer Bill Smith and Bulls director of ticket operations Joe O’Neil have done to rescue the lives of more than 100 young children in Cambodia.


Smith and O’Neil have taken children who were living in unthinkable poverty in a garbage dump and provided them food, shelter and education through their charity, A New Day for Cambodia.

Please scroll to the end of this video where young girl, who was rescued by Smith and O’Neil, returns to the dump. I mean, powerful isn’t a strong enough word.

Memo to Comcast/NBC executives: Given the connection with Comcast, it would be great if these shows got national exposure on the NBC Sports Network. There is plenty of programming holes with the NHL being shut down. The nation should see this story.

I had chance to talk to CSN Chicago’s Chuck Garfien, who went over to Cambodia to film the documentary.

It is highly unusual, if not unheard of, for a local sports cable outlet to make this commitment. Why did CSN Chicago do it?

I go to spring training, the winter meetings, maybe a few other things. When I’ve told colleagues I went to Cambodia for this project, they were stunned. You just don’t leave the country if you work for a local market outlet.

CSN believed in the story and the storytelling we could do there. That meant a lot to me. When you see this story, you’ll know why.

What did you see?

Being there really drove home the whole thing. You see this garbage dump. Think of the dirtiest place in American and times it by 50, by 100. Bill Smith described it as ‘hell on Earth.’ Families built shacks in and around the dump. Kids were picking garbage for 30 cents a day. The parents didn’t even want them to go to school. They needed them to pick garbage to survive.

You’d see the look in the kids’ eyes. The despair. The light in their eyes was gone. It’s overwhelming.

The good news is that it isn’t an active dump anymore. However, we heard that there’s another dump about 20 miles away. The government said there weren’t any kids in there, but we heard they were. We tried for four days, but they wouldn’t let us in there.

Talk about what Smith and O’Neil have done?

They have rescued more than 100 kids from that garbage dump. They completely transformed their lives. Now instead of their goal being to collect garbage, they want to become doctors and lawyers. One girl wants to be the first female prime minister of Cambodia.

Bill showed the before and after photos of the kids. You can’t believe it. They are giving them a chance for life. You see the light in their eyes. It’s back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday books: Best and brightest of American sports writing

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It seems sports writing is limited to 140 characters these days. Long pieces are multiple tweets.

So it is refreshing to get a reminder that the craft still can produce long, thoughtful, insightful stories that combine the best of reporting and writing.

The Best American Sports Writing 2012 shows you what the genre is and still can be in the new media age. Here’s the link at Amazon.

Series editor Glenn Stout, and this year’s guest editor, Michael Wilbon, have compiled an offering of stories that quite simply will blow you away. And they run the spectrum of platforms. There are stories you likely wouldn’t have seen if not for this book.

The menu includes:

Alex Belth in Deadspin on the wild life of George Kimball, the Boston sportswriter who was a true character.

Paul Solotaroff with Rick Telander in Men’s Journal on the tragic death of Dave Duerson.

John Brant in Runner’s World on Frank Shorter revealing the secrets of the torment from his incredibly abusive father. This is truly a harrowing story.

Michael Mooney in D Magazine writes a terrific profile of Ron Washington despite the Texas manager declining to sit down with him for an interview.

Tim Layden in Sports Illustrated on a school’s forgotten college football hero.

And there’s more, so much more. Be sure to get the book. It’s a good reminder that sports writing still is alive and well.

 

 

 

City with most viewers for college basketball? Hint: It’s not in North Carolina

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With the college basketball season starting, ESPN Front Row examined the ratings for its men’s game telecasts in the 56 metered markets from the 2002-03 season through 2011-12.

And the winner? Louisville.

From ESPN:

Highlights:

One leads the way: Louisville was the top market every year, averaging a 4.1 rating or higher the past five seasons, including a 5.3 in 2009-10.

Six in Second:Six of the 56 markets have finished a season in the second highest-rated spot:

Greensboro is the only market to make multiple second place appearances: 2011, 2008, 2006, 2005, and 2002-03.

The additional five markets: Columbus (2010-11), Kansas City (2009-10), Indianapolis (2007-08), Raleigh-Durham (2004-05) and Cincinnati (2003-04).

Here are the top markets for 2011-12:

Top 25 Markets for 2011-12
No. 1       Louisville: 4.5 rating
No. 2       Greensboro: 3.5 rating
No. 3        Kansas City: 2.8 rating
No. 4       Columbus: 2.7 rating
               Raleigh-Durham 2.7 rating
No. 6       Charlotte: 2.3 rating
No. 7       Cincinnati: 2.1 rating
No. 8       Dayton: 2.0 rating
No. 9       Indianapolis: 1.8 rating
               Knoxville: 1.8 rating
No. 11     Memphis: 1.6 rating
               Nashville: 1.6 rating
No. 13     Greenville: 1.5 rating
No. 14     Cleveland: 1.4 rating
               Birmingham: 1.4 rating
               Las Vegas: 1.4 rating
No. 17     Norfolk: 1.2 rating
               Hartford: 1.2 rating
               St. Louis: 1.2 rating
No. 20     Fort Myers: 1.1 rating
               Atlanta: 1.1 rating
               Richmond: 1.1 rating
No. 23     Pittsburgh: 1.0 rating
               Detroit: 1.0 rating
               Oklahoma City: 1.0 rating
               Jacksonville: 1.0 rating
               Tulsa: 1.0 rating

 

Saturday flashback: Dick Enberg’s Sports Challenge: Mantle vs. DiMaggio

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Try to imagine in this day and age, a sports quiz show landing Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. The only way that happens is if they own the show. And even then, maybe not.

Well, back in the ’70s, Sports Challenge, with Dick Enberg, had a show featuring Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio on the panel. The Mick and Joe D. They probably got what would be tip money these days and were pleased to get that much.

Back then, Mantle and DiMaggio probably earned only a few thousand dollars for their appearance, tops.

Anyway, it was a classic show in a much simpler time. And Enberg was terrific.

I have a few more in my vault that I will break out at a later date.

 

 

Michelle Beadle talks of being stalked: I was having a girls night, and he was trying to find us

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Then there’s the other side of being a woman personality on sports TV. The scary side.

In a piece by Dylan Murphy of Sports Grid, Michelle Beadle talks frankly of a stalker who followed her to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis and then to West Hartford, Conn., when she was working at ESPN.

From the story:

These increasingly alarming messages were coupled with sporadic packages. Dave, who Beadle later learned was from Cincinnati and lived with his mom, sent her “Cincinnati-type things.” Namely, chili and barbecue sauce. Many of the packages never made it to Beadle thanks to ESPN’s security staff (none were sent to her home address), but ultimately some snuck through. One especially weird box comes to mind.

“I remember one time getting this package full of papers, like little index cards, cut out pictures of either religious themes or sports,” she said. “I mean it was like one after another, it had to be a hundred cards in there. I mean, what in the hell?”

And…

After the night came to a close, Beadle noticed a frightening reply from Dave that escalated the intensity of the situation ten-fold.

“I saw something he said on Twitter, where he said ‘Hey I met Jay Crawford [SportsCenter anchor] tonight in West Hartford,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ I come to find out that he was walking around West Hartford, ’cause I said I was having a girls night, and he was trying to find us.”

Beadle immediately alerted everyone she could at ESPN, because Dave had driven across the country to deliver a Valentine’s Day present. In particular, she went to an ESPN employee on the security side with whom she had spoken to before, and he pulled a few strings at the FBI to have Dave handled through a more direct means: a visit to his Cincinnati house. Two FBI agents showed up at his door to frighten him into the shadows, informing him that there was no relationship between the two and all communication between himself and Beadle had to cease immediately.

“They just scared him,” Beadle said. “They were like, ‘Look, this ends now. Stop sending messages, stop tweeting, stop everything. He sent a final tweet being like, “I am no longer allowed to speak with you, best of luck.’”

Read the entire piece. It puts some perspective on what some of these high-profile women have to go through.

 

$500 million for TV rights for the new college football playoff? ESPN looks willing to pay the price

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Old friend Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com has the first report of what the new college football playoff will be worth. That’s $500 million for three games, folks.

Dodd reports.

ESPN has offered close to $500 million per year for the college football playoff, CBSSports.com has learned.

While negotiations remain ongoing, multiple sources confirmed the amount offered for a four-team playoff beginning after the 2014 season. Discussions are ongoing about the structure of the playoff.

While the figure is not considered a formal opening bid, it does put a per-year value on a playoff. Using $500 million as a high — sources say the ESPN bid isn’t quite that high — a 12-year deal would be worth between $5 billion and $6 billion through 2026.

If nothing else, we have an indication of the value of a playoff. The commissioners went into their annual BCS meeting in April thinking the valuation was at $350 million per year. After listening to consultants, the value had shot through the roof. Now we have tangible proof of the windfall awaiting college football.

Jim Rome to debut new Showtime show on Nov. 21

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First there was a daily show on CBS Sports Network. Then he moved his radio show to the new CBS Sports Radio Network, beginning in January.

Now here’s the next addition to Rome’s bounty in leaving ESPN for CBS. On Nov. 21, Rome will host a new weekly show on Showtime. Appropriately, it will be named Jim Rome on Showtime.

Here’s the lowdown from Showtime. More to come:

Continuing to expand on his multi-year deal with CBS, JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME will make its premiere on Wednesday, November 21stat 10 p.m. ET/PT. The new, one-hour series will showcase Rome’s trademark style and opinions that have made him one of the most famous and outspoken sports broadcasters of his generation. Weekly episodes will feature a combination of provocative monologues and interviews, along with in-depth features and profiles of relevant and influential figures in the world of sports and entertainment. The show will tape in Los Angeles. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

“We’ve been very focused on increasing the amount and profile of sports programming on our air at SHOWTIME,” said Nevins. “Jim Rome is someone I’ve listened to for years; he is one of the top voices in the American sports world, and bringing him to the network in a fresh and premium format is a key part of accomplishing that goal.”

“Jim Rome’s sensibilities and perspective on the hottest topics in sports and entertainment make him a natural fit for this network,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME delivers on our promise to bring the most compelling and provocative programming to our subscribers.”

My First Job: Marv Albert on classical music station? Does Reagan thing recreating baseball games

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Consider this: One of Marv Albert’s first jobs in broadcasting was on a classical music station.

“Mozart. Yes!” 

Earlier this week, I did a post in which Albert said he thought he was getting better at his craft at age 71. During our interview, I asked him to reflect back on his roots.

In the latest edition of My First Job, Albert recalls his early days as a young broadcaster while attending Syracuse. He actually got his start as a DJ.

The legendary Marty Glickman then took him under his wing. As a fill-in, Albert called Knicks and Rangers games at the age of 20. It was the start of a career that’s still going strong after five decades.

Here’s Albert.

*******

I was a DJ at Syracuse.  I worked for a record company when I was kid in high school. It was fun. We would run record hops, as they called it. We’d get an auditorium and we brought in Chubby Checker, Del Shannon, people like that. We made money and lost money. It was a great experience.

My next job was in a classical radio station in Syracuse. WONO-FM. They weren’t happy with me.

I’d open the station in the morning on the weekends. To me, the thrill was reading the sports. I guess I was a little too enthusiastic with my reports. Their audience wasn’t that way. They wanted it low-key.

The great thing about Syracuse, there were many opportunities in the city. My first sports (play-by-play) was with the Syracuse Chiefs minor league baseball team. We did the home games and recreated the road games. All the minor league teams would do that.

You did the crack of the bat, the crowd noise. You got pitch-by-pitch on the wire. If you had a rain delay, you had trouble.

I was very fortunate when I left Syracuse. I went to WCBS in New York. I worked for Marty Glickman, who was doing everything in New York at the time: Giants, Knicks, some network assignments. I worked for him as his research guy.

Marty brought me in to fill in for him on Knicks and Rangers at a very young age. I didn’t even know if I was ready. I was 20. It was a joke, really.

But he had confidence in me and it all worked out.

 

 

 

NFL Network feature shows how Colts rally for Pagano

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In case you missed, here is the link to Steve Cyphers’ powerful feature on Chuck Pagano on NFL Network last night.

And here are the excerpts:

“It really hit to my core. Before he’s my coach, he’s my friend.” – Cory Redding on the announcement that Colts head coach Chuck Pagano had leukemia

“It affects everybody so when he gets good news, we all get good news and we feel it.” – Dwight Freeney

“Just to see coach come from out of the back room shadows almost like an angel walked through the middle of the locker room.” – Robert Mathis on Pagano’s speech after the team’s win against the Miami Dolphins

“I’m getting goosebumps now just thinking about his presence and just to see him fight the way he fights. Short of breath when he talks, but he’s still strong.” – Redding

“He put everything into perspective, made you basically tell yourself, ‘Why not go out there and give it everything you got, not knowing that tomorrow the thing that you’re doing, that you love, whatever that may be, can get snatched away from you?’” – Reggie Wayne

“He and I have a hope that he’ll come out of the tunnel December 30 for our last home game coaching the team.” – Bruce Arians on Pagano’s possible return to coaching