Cool concept. Looks like Robinson is trying to cling to side of cliff with a baseball twist. Is it supposed to mean that he is trying to hang on?
Monthly Archives: February 2013
Top teams, top games mean big ratings for BTN
The Big Ten Network also is cashing in with the conference playing at arguably the highest level in the country. January was its biggest month ever in primetime. And that could be short-lived if the numbers are better in February.
From the BTN:
January 2013 marked the Big Ten Network’s highest-rated month ever in primetime, according to Nielsen metered market data, fueled by high-quality men’s basketball matchups and strong performance of The Journey, which also set new ratings records. BTN’s average primetime men’s conference basketball rating was 0.87 in the network’s eight metered markets*. Among all national sports networks for the month, BTN trailed only ESPN in its eight metered markets.
“Our ratings growth is a testament to the high level of competition in the Big Ten, improved quality of our content, and continued increased distribution of the network,” BTN President Mark Silverman.
Through the first 14 weeks of the season, BTN has aired 55 games featuring ranked teams, including 32 games with teams ranked in the top 10, and 20 games with teams ranked in the top 5. In all, BTN will air more than 115 men’s basketball games this season.
Men’s basketball games contributing to the ratings growth include Minnesota at Indiana (1/12), the highest-rated regular season basketball game in BTN history, along with Ohio State at Illinois (1/5), Minnesota at Wisconsin (1/26), Michigan at Illinois (1/27), and Indiana at Purdue (1/30).
Barry Levinson on The Natural: Redford actually hit a couple out of the park
ln the final edition of Costas at the Movies, director Barry Levinson talks about The Natural (Monday, 8 p.m. ET, MLB Network).
More sound bites from Levinson:
On the film’s climactic scene with Roy Hobbs hitting a home run into the light tower:
What’s interesting about that, it was a point where I felt like if you could have a mutiny, this would have been it. Because every night at the end of the night, we’d have Redford heading to first base and then we would blow up a light stand with all the fireworks. Then, we’d round second and we’d blow it up…Night after night after night, we would end with that and the crew has gotta be going, “What in the world are we doing?”…To put it together was a really complicated sequence to do, but I always remembered I would see the faces of our crew going, “What is he doing?”
On the fantasy aspect of The Natural:
Through the years, these things which are outlandish actually [happen]…like Kirk Gibson hitting the home run and limping around the bases. If you put that in a movie, you’d say, “Well, that would be outrageous.”…Curt Schilling with the blood on the sock in the World Series…and Hobbs had the blood on his shirt, the opening of the wound…These things, in one way or another, [are] the amazing aspect of what baseball is…That’s what’s so amazing. It’s what makes the game extraordinary. As simple as it is in a certain way, there are these amazing things that happen that are beyond credibility and, yet, that’s the game. That’s what makes, I think, The Natural exciting, is these circumstances that are larger-than-life, and it’s great fun.
On the film’s iconic song by Randy Newman:
We were racing to try to get this movie out in time and we were in one room and then there was a wall and Randy’s in the other room. One of the great thrilling moments is I heard him figuring out that theme…You could hear it through the wall as he was working out that theme and I’ll never forget that.
On the possibility of casting a real Major Leaguer in the role of The Whammer:
I think I met with, I believe it was, Harmon Killebrew. I might’ve met Boog Powell, I can’t remember…That was part of the issue, too. Well then, this is going to throw us off [because] this is a [big] name person.
On being the play-by-play announcer in the background of the movie:
I did all the announcing because I laid it down as a temp track and we didn’t have a chance to really finish it, so I never got a real announcer. So every time I hear it, it drives me crazy.
On whether people still talk to him about The Natural:
It comes up. It’s amazing. It’s one of the things about movies, which you don’t know. Sometimes you do a movie and it can make money and people [don’t] really talk about it. Sometimes you do a film and it’s like it goes from generation to generation, so I still hear about it all the time, actually in some ways even more so than when it first came out.
On Robert Redford’s talent as a baseball player:
He was pretty good. He was a big fan of Ted Williams. That’s why he wore [the number] nine. He did it quite well. The hardest thing to do, I’ll never forget, is there is a time when he strikes out. He kept fouling the ball off and kept fouling the ball off. I said, “Bob, you just to have to strike out here.”…He actually hit a couple out of the ballpark.
On Robert Duvall:
He’s so talented. One of the great things when you work with really talented people is that you can make suggestions…because they have the ability to do that. Some actors, they really, this is all they can do. With Duvall, there’s all kinds of moves that you can do, that you can play with. Sometimes, you want to explore it and see which way to handle it and try it. It’s like somebody who’s great at an instrument, but they can do it half-a-dozen different ways, and he’s one of [those] great actors.
On the distribution of the film being held back by TriStar Pictures:
Here’s something that we sort of forget. The Natural was going to be the first release of TriStar Pictures, which was going to be a new entity in the business, and we were going to be the first movie. They got cold feet, thinking that The Natural wouldn’t work and ended up putting out Where the Boys Are ’84 as their first [distributed] film.
SNL spoofs CBS’ coverage of Super Bowl power outage
Lot of plugs for 2 Broke Girls.
Jeff Pearlman knocks Whitlock, Parker: It’s all about me!
It wasn’t just me.
The former Sports Illustrated writer and now book author has his own site. He took exception to Jason Whitlock’s “Please give a Pulitzer” column and Rob Parker’s introductory piece at The Shadow League.
Pearlman writes:
I read two columns from sports writers that made me question their perspectives. The first, by Jason Whitlock, was a piece for (oddly) Ball State’s student newspaper. Jason’s an alum of the school, and the article was, I guess, his argument for why he deserves the Pulitzer Prize. The second, by Rob Parker, appeared on the website, The Shadow League, for which he now writes. It was, following his embarrassingly public dismissal from ESPN.com for making some insanely dumb comments about RGIII, an effort for us (the readers) to learn about, eh, Rob Parker.
Yawn.
Back when I was 22, and writing for The Tennessean, I presumed readers cared about me. I inserted myself in as many pieces as possible because—Hey!–look at me! I’m interesting! And fascinating! And, surely, my life will rivet you! So let me tell you why I’m a great writer! Why life as a Jewish man in the South is so tough! Why my transition from New York to Dixie has been so rocky! Let! Me! Tell! You! All! About! Me!
And then:
Some of the best writing I’ve ever done has come over the past 10 years, when I’ve been—for 98 percent of the time—invisible. I live in my own little Starbucks/Panera/Cosi cave, anonymous to the world, and write my happy books. I drink a cup of hot chocolate, slip on some baggy basketball shorts and a ripped T-shirt and write away. Notoriety matters not. Fame matters not. I get recognized, on average, two times a year. For a moment, it’s flattering. Then, just as quickly, it’s awkward. I don’t want that.
The greatest writers I’ve known revel in documenting the lives of others. Steve Rushin, the finest wordsmith I’ve worked with, never hyped himself for an award and, I promise you, never will. Neither did Jack McCallum. Or Jon Wertheim. Or Chris Ballard. Or Phil Taylor. Or Chuck Culpepper. Or Howard Bryant. Or Jonathan Eig. Or Leigh Montville. Or Mark Kriegel. Or Lee Jenkins. The best writers long to be invisible; to appear simply as a byline atop a story. Can anyone reading this imagine Joe Posnanski penning a piece titled ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF? Can anyone reading this imagine Kriegel calling himself Pulitzer worthy?
Hell, no.
Of course, Whitlock had to retort, via Twitter:
WhitlockJason Damn, this is quite possibly the most dishonest thing ever written.
Saturday flashback: Larry Bird lights it up as a rookie; in same lineup with Pistol Pete
How about a starting lineup that includes Bird, Dave Cowens, Pete Maravich, and Nate Archibald? And who is that sportswriter with the bushy hair?
Check out this clip from a Boston-Detroit game in March, 1980.
Why Jason Whitlock wouldn’t do Q/A with me; said I didn’t ask ‘sophisticated questions’
I would like to thank Jason Whitlock for providing me with some page views today. He spoke out on Twitter about my post this morning regarding his comments about the APSE judging.
WhitlockJason Just a good old boy, never meaning no harm. Ed Sherman comes out smoking!!!
WhitlockJason Ed’s journalistic instincts are a little suspect. But he’s a good old boy, never meaning no harm. Making his way, the only way he knows how.
OK, you get the idea. Whitlock also had this post:
WhitlockJason Guess I shouldn’t have told Ed Sherman his Q&A questions were stupid a month ago
I hadn’t planned to write about him accepting and then declining to do a Q/A with me on the site. But since he brought it up, I figure it’s worth an explanation.
In December, I reached out to the FoxSports.com columnist, asking if he would be interested in doing a Q/A. My request came just after Bob Costas quoted Whitlock’s column on gun control during his halftime commentary on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
I also wanted to talk to Whitlock about his sports media-based podcasts for Fox Sports. Specifically, I wanted him to address comments about a podcast he did with Richard Sandomir of the New York Times.
He repeatedly implored Sandomir to go after ESPN. “Deadspin has done a good job,” Whitlock said. “Some adults could get at the bigger issues at play here.”
Keep in mind, Whitlock once worked for ESPN and didn’t leave on the best of terms.
I also was intrigued about Whitlock’s comments on First Take during his discussion with Sandomir. He alleged that the show was geared to unemployed African-Americans.
“It’s not by accident that they’ve added the rap music, added the black women eye candy,” Whitlock said. “Skip Bayless picks on certain black targets. Then they brought in Stephen A. Smith to smooth it out.”
Later, Whitlock said, “Their ratings among black viewers is off the charts and it drives their decision-making. I’ve heard that from people I know.”
And one more sound bite. “There are a group of people who have time to watch this. They don’t have jobs. They like to talk sports and like the barbershop style of sports talk.”
OK, that’s a bit out there. I wanted Whitlock to discuss his position here.
So I contacted Whitlock about doing a Q/A and he said to email him some questions. I did ask him about ESPN, his First Take comments and other issues. After a week, I received the following email from Whitlock on Dec. 13:
Sorry for the delayed response. I’m not interested in the Q/A at this time. I can get my views out more effectively through platforms I control or through interviews with a more sophisticated line of questioning. Thanks for the invite.
Damn, I knew I should have gone to grad school so I could ask more sophisticated questions. At least, he said thank you.
Sure, I was ticked. But I moved on.
Then on Jan. 4, I went to Big Lead, and what did I see? A big Q/A with none other than Jason Whitlock. Now Jason McIntyre asked some good questions, but I didn’t think they were any more sophisticated than mine.
Now I was really ticked and thought about doing a post. But then there was Lance Armstrong and Manti Te’o. And I moved on.
Until today. I had a nice little Twitter battle with Whitlock. Not on the level of Whitlock-Richard Deitsch, or Deitsch-anyone, but still it was spirited.
Whitlock did do a chat with Deadspin readers today. My name came up. I swear I didn’t put Jon DePaolis up to it:
JonDePaolis: 52: Do you dislike Ed Sherman, or is he just a hater on you?
Whitlock: I don’t dislike Special Ed. Don’t really know him. The debate/discussion I’m having about the sportswriting industry is just above his ability to comprehend.
I’m trying, I’m really trying. And if anyone knows how I can get more sophisticated, please let me know.
APSE President replies to Whitlock’s charge: ‘Great lengths to ensure integrity of judging’
This just in from Associated Press Sports Editor president Gerry Ahern regarding Jason Whitlock’s charge the writing contest is biased against minority columnists:
“The Associated Press Sports Editors contest has long been recognized as one of the premier honors for sports journalists. Our contest goes to great lengths to ensure the integrity of the judging. Bylines and newspaper affiliations are redacted from the entries. Any judge that sees an entry from their news organization or from their market recuses themselves from judging that entry or discussion of it.”
Chuck Culpepper, gay sportswriter, thanks Ravens player for his stance
In case you missed it, my old friend Chuck Culpepper wrote a great column yesterday for the Sports on Earth site.
Culpepper writes, “I am that exotic creature, a gay male sportswriter.”
Later, he writes: “I am believed to be the only gay male extant who can recite the final scores of all 47 Super Bowls, and if we’re together and you’re unlucky, I might start it up.”
Culpepper wrote about being in the Baltimore locker room Sunday and whether he should thank Baltimore Ravens lineback Brendan Ayanbadejo, who defended gays in the wake of comments by San Francisco cornerback Chris Culliver.
Finally, Culpepper did:
As we walked out together, he told of hearing Tom Coughlin speak at the previous Super Bowl about love, a remarkable turn of American life I had missed while abroad. He told of applying Coughlin’s concept to a note he placed in head coach John Harbaugh’s suggestion box. And as he said this, we turned left from the locker room out into the cold tunnel, where it seemed just about time to part, and where I surprised myself.
“You don’t know me,” I said, and he grinned at that, “but you have done a lot for me,” and his eyes told me he knew what I meant. “And I just want to tell you that I am so grateful. You are a good man.”
Whew. There. I had spit it out. With reasonable concision, even. As we let go of our handshake, he said simply and unemotionally, “It’s the right thing to do, plain and simple,” whereupon I mustered a closing, “Thank you.”
Do yourself a favor and read the entire article. Culpepper is one of the best anywhere. And forget about the gay aspect, I bet he is the only sportswriter who could recite the scores for all 47 Super Bowls.
Pulitzer wannabe Jason Whitlock accuses APSE contest of being biased against minority columnists
Jason Whitlock thinks very highly of himself. Yesterday, he did a column on Ball State’s website (he’s a 1990 graduate), bemoaning the fact that he isn’t eligible for consideration for the Pulitzer Prize since he writes for Foxsports.com.
Before I touch on the questionable notion of Whitlock winning a Pulitzer, there’s another item that needs to be addressed.
Whitlock claims in the piece that the Associated Press Sports Editors are biased against minority columnists in the judging of their annual contest. He writes:
The annual Associated Press Sports Editors awards do not generally and/or consistently recognize the kind of columns I regard as courageous, honest, original and opinion-driven. The APSE prefers storytellers. Its awards also consistently reflect the anti-minority-perspective bias pervasive throughout the sportswriting industry. Sportswriting is a good-old-boy network. It’s very difficult — perhaps impossible — for a person of color who writes from a minority perspective to be recognized as the best at anything in sportswriting.
That’s not a charge of racism. It’s a charge of bias, an affliction we all have.
As best I can tell, no non-white has won the APSE’s column-writing contest. Google “African-American winners of the Pulitzer Prize.” The list is deep and goes back many years. The Pulitzer Prize is far more prestigious and competitive than an APSE.
You can examine almost every aspect of writing as an art form and find examples of minorities being recognized as the best in any given year. Sportswriting is the exception.
Oh, there have been great minority candidates. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Miami Herald’s Dan Le Batard (a Cuban-American) was as talented, insightful and provocative as any columnist working in America. Before Michael Wilbon became a television star, he wrote some of the best sports columns I’ve ever read. Bryan Burwell had a run in the 1990s and is strong again in St. Louis. Shaun Powell laid it down at Newsday. When I showed up at the Kansas City Star in 1994, I shook the entire Midwest and eventually the country.
None of us has ever been quite good enough to reach the top. It’s my belief that our minority perspective is off-putting to predominantly white male judges.
OK Jason, here are a few facts: That “good-old-boy network” network has awarded the best columnist award in the large circulation to the Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins for two straight years; she also won in previous years. The same Sally Jenkins, who happens to be a woman. When it comes to minorities, women still are rare in the press box. Who would have thunk it from a “good-old-boy network?”
Also, Whitlock probably isn’t aware that the judges see entries that are devoid of all names and any identifying marks for a newspaper or website. It is just plain type. So it’s hard for the good-old white boys to know if they are slighting a minority columnist.
Finally, Whitlock probably should take a look at the APSE website. The sports editors, “the good-old-boys,” have an extensive diversity program, which outlines scholarship programs and seminars aimed at prospective minority journalists. The association knows it has to improve the minority presence in the profession.
And it isn’t as if Whitlock has been shut out in this contest. In recent years, he finished third in 2009 and tied for fourth in 2007.
I know many members of the APSE. I don’t think they have bias. I believe they have been fair in their judging.
*******
As for the Pulitzer portion of the column, Whitlock’s entry was returned because the contest isn’t open to “broadcast media” outlets. Now that seems ridiculous given the content that is being generated on those sites. But that’s a story for another day.
Anyway, Whitlock believes he’s worthy this year.
Last year, it’s my belief, I had my best year as a columnist. It all came together. I perfected my column style. For years, I’ve tried to take sports headlines and transform them into lessons about American society at large. Royko’s columns helped shape my view of America. In 2012, I was like Mike.
OK, now he’s comparing himself to Mike Royko. As I said, Whitlock thinks highly of himself.
Whitlock notes that the Pulitzers suck when it comes to sportswriters. I lamented about the shabby treatment when last year’s winners were announced. Among columnists in the last 40 years, only Red Smith, Dave Anderson and Jim Murray have been given the award, and the last one was more than two decades ago.
Whitlock, though, thinks he has the goods if only he was considered. Now he wants to add his face to this Mt. Rushmore of sportswriting legends. Think about it: Smith, Anderson, Murray….Whitlock?
Yep, hard for me to picture too.