ESPN Is Pathetic

E5 Yaz

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This almost certainly has to mean that the rumors are true of Greenberg likely fronting a new ESPN morning show (think a sports version of Good Morning America) to replace SportsCenter - he's not getting paid that kind of money for another four years of Mike & Mike. I could see Greenberg moving up and Mike Golic Jr. joining his father on the radio show.
Cold Pizza II?
 

glennhoffmania

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It's not my cup of tea, but Golic Jr. was decent the few times I heard him filling in for his father on Mike & Mike. Golic & Golic could actually be an Ok show (as national ESPN radio shows go) if they stuck to sports and dropped the tired act of playing off Golic Sr.'s weight and status as a former athlete vs. Greenberg's metrosexual ways and supposed lack of athletic ability.
But that's all the show is- at least that's what I always heard when I used to listen to it. They aren't good at talking about sports. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think that Greenberg is horrible. I don't want to live in a world where he's worth 6.5m per year and Trump can be president.
 

mauidano

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Berman is retiring part time to our little neck of the woods. Seen him around a bit, always been very nice. I will not miss him that much at all. He's just been so bad with baseball, the All Star Game HR Derby has been more unwatchable because of him. Always enjoyed his Swami thing, though he is consistently wrong with his predictions.
 

heavyde050

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But that's all the show is- at least that's what I always heard when I used to listen to it. They aren't good at talking about sports. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think that Greenberg is horrible. I don't want to live in a world where he's worth 6.5m per year and Trump can be president.
I agree he is horrible. He is slightly more talented version of Bill Simmons, with the main difference his NEP bias/Jet fandom.
As a disclaimer, I haven't listened to Mike and Mike since right after deflategate, but I never found him to be an unbiased sports journalist. He is just a fan with a radio gig (and his fan leanings are pretty against mine).
I do realize he has a degree from one of the best journalism schools in the country so I will assume the ESPN show wants him to do the show way he does for entertainment.
I think he got paid bc he is really a company guy, which makes him the antithesis of Simmons.
 

cheech13

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But that's all the show is- at least that's what I always heard when I used to listen to it. They aren't good at talking about sports. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think that Greenberg is horrible. I don't want to live in a world where he's worth 6.5m per year and Trump can be president.
ESPN Radio has a mix of good and bad hosts, but Mike & Mike is the only show I find completely unlistenable. It's corporate and sanitary and sounds like the sort of sports radio my mom would listen to if she were ever to do such a thing. They don't seem to offer much in the way of post-game analysis or hot-take opinions so I'm not really sure which niche they are trying to fill.
 
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heavyde050

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Mark Schlerech just said on some football show that Aaron Rodgers last 6 games have been the best 6 game stretch of QB play in history.
Too bad that is factually false by almost any metric. Typical and expected from ESPN.
Just a quick look at Brady's first six games from 2007 yields a 21 to 2 TD:INT ratio and six wins.
I am sure I can similar stretches from Manning in 2004 and 2013.
Heck even Rodgers has probably had better six game stretches.
You gotta love ESPN. When they love a guy, reason flys out the window. Rodgers is the new Manning.


http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradTo00/gamelog/2007/
 

E5 Yaz

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ESPN Radio has a mix of good and bad hosts, but Mike & Mike is the only show I find completely unlistenable. It's corporate and sanitary and sounds like the sort of sports radio my mom would listen to if she were ever to do such a thing. They don't seem to offer much in the way of post-game analysis or hot-take opinions so I'm not really sure which niche they are trying to fill.
I guess this makes me yo mama, but I listen to Mike and Mike quite a bit during the football season. Particularly their Monday NFL in review show, where they have people like Louis Roddick in studio having actual discussions about the games that were just played.

And thank god they don't do a plethora of "hot take opinions." Hot take shows are for listeners who don't like to think, or can't think, for themselves.
 

garlan5

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mike and mike got tired when they started bringing in chris carter and herm Edwards every show. also losing Balbiz brought me down
 

Vinho Tinto

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Too bad that is factually false by almost any metric. Typical and expected from ESPN.
Just a quick look at Brady's first six games from 2007 yields a 21 to 2 TD:INT ratio and six wins.
I am sure I can similar stretches from Manning in 2004 and 2013.
Heck even Rodgers has probably had better six game stretches.
You gotta love ESPN. When they love a guy, reason flys out the window. Rodgers is the new Manning.


http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradTo00/gamelog/2007/
The point multiple media people have latched on to is that it's the best 6 game stretch of Rodgers career. Wouldn't be surprised if that got twisted into the best six games in the history of mankind.
 

heavyde050

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The point multiple media people have latched on to is that it's the best 6 game stretch of Rodgers career. Wouldn't be surprised if that got twisted into the best six games in the history of mankind.
Thanks for the clarification.
That makes much more sense. I personally thought Rodgers played better in 2011, but these past six games may very well be the best of his career.
 

coremiller

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The point multiple media people have latched on to is that it's the best 6 game stretch of Rodgers career.
Even that's almost certainly wrong. Rodgers has a 121 passer rating in his last 6 games. He had a 6-game stretch in 2011 where he put up a 136, and a 6-game stretch in 2014 where he put up a 134.7.
 

Clears Cleaver

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Mike and Mike prints money. every segment is sponsered. Greenberg basically reads ads 50% of the show and then introduces an eSPN-centric topic to discuss with eSPN personalities. when he's not making fun of himself being a pussy or his partner being fat. Its awful and sanitary.

His new contract means the end of Mike and Mike as Greenie will be hosting hsi own show and have other responsibilities on ESPN in hopes of increasing ratings. SportsCenter's model of having no name hosts and 45 minutes of hot takes has failed miserably, ratings are way down. And the SVP show has not done well, either.

meanwhile, LeBatard and Stugotz is absolutely f'n hilarious.
 

dcmissle

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But that's all the show is- at least that's what I always heard when I used to listen to it. They aren't good at talking about sports. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think that Greenberg is horrible. I don't want to live in a world where he's worth 6.5m per year and Trump can be president.
The show has amazing longevity. My guess is Golic Jr., who has put in a ton of airtime of late, joins his dad, and in cutesy ESPN fashion, Mike and Mike lives. How long is anyone's guess. The network wants wholesome in that segment, Golics give them that, and Golic Sr preceded Greenie on this show.

I doubt Greenie will live up to his new paycheck and the network's associated aspirations. But in a world in which both Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless are each similarly paid when their various enterprises are taken into account, I'm not getting upset about Greenie's check.

In no sense is any of this journalism.
 

DanoooME

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We didn't know anything for sure. All we knew is was a lot of cross-talk, finger pointing and rumors. I am shocked he'd re-up with diminished presence.
ESPN probably didn't want to pay him anything, so they gave him a part-time gig to let him save face and cut his pay drastically.
 

glennhoffmania

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The show has amazing longevity. My guess is Golic Jr., who has put in a ton of airtime of late, joins his dad, and in cutesy ESPN fashion, Mike and Mike lives. How long is anyone's guess. The network wants wholesome in that segment, Golics give them that, and Golic Sr preceded Greenie on this show.

I doubt Greenie will live up to his new paycheck and the network's associated aspirations. But in a world in which both Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless are each similarly paid when their various enterprises are taken into account, I'm not getting upset about Greenie's check.

In no sense is any of this journalism.
Ok if Stephen A and Skip are making that kind of cash then Greenberg definitely deserves it. He's smarter than both of them combined. I don't have a problem with Greenberg- he's harmless but he's hardly any sort of sports expert. How Smith and Bayless continue to find work is astounding.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)
This almost certainly has to mean that the rumors are true of Greenberg likely fronting a new ESPN morning show (think a sports version of Good Morning America) to replace SportsCenter - he's not getting paid that kind of money for another four years of Mike & Mike. I could see Greenberg moving up and Mike Golic Jr. joining his father on the radio show.
I hope there's a cooking segment. Oh, and holiday travel tips......
 

CarolinaBeerGuy

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Mike and Mike prints money. every segment is sponsered. Greenberg basically reads ads 50% of the show and then introduces an eSPN-centric topic to discuss with eSPN personalities. when he's not making fun of himself being a pussy or his partner being fat. Its awful and sanitary.

His new contract means the end of Mike and Mike as Greenie will be hosting hsi own show and have other responsibilities on ESPN in hopes of increasing ratings. SportsCenter's model of having no name hosts and 45 minutes of hot takes has failed miserably, ratings are way down. And the SVP show has not done well, either.

meanwhile, LeBatard and Stugotz is absolutely f'n hilarious.
I really like LeBatard's show as well as Bomani Jones', but I'm not sure they're safe enough for the prime slots.
 

kenneycb

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Speaking of those two, they are amazing together on Highly Questionable. Always difficult to watch given it's on at 4 or something but I love it whenever I catch it.
 

E5 Yaz

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One thing that's been interesting to notice the past couple of weeks is the clear tension in the faces of the SC anchors (at least the ones in the morning and at the 6 p.m. eastern hour). They all know their screen time, and probably their jobs are on the line and it slips out from time to time
 

tims4wins

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SportsCenter is a dying breed. It used to be a must-watch to get all the highlights (as was Baseball Tonight and NFL Primetime). Now all highlights are available immediately online, we don't need to sit through an hour show to watch a particular team.
 

Kliq

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Speaking of those two, they are amazing together on Highly Questionable. Always difficult to watch given it's on at 4 or something but I love it whenever I catch it.
I really like that show as well. I think Jones is great on TV, although he has really come off as a dick over the last week.
 

dcmissle

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Ok if Stephen A and Skip are making that kind of cash then Greenberg definitely deserves it. He's smarter than both of them combined. I don't have a problem with Greenberg- he's harmless but he's hardly any sort of sports expert. How Smith and Bayless continue to find work is astounding.
They Trumped before Trump.

I don't much care that they are loudmouth idiots. I do care that Bayless flat out invents falsehoods that matter, and that SAS throws around charges of racism like we might toss around cocktail napkins.
 

DJnVa

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meanwhile, LeBatard and Stugotz is absolutely f'n hilarious.
Ugh.

Granted, I can't really listen much but every time I try it's painful to me. It's like it's a bunch of in jokes and shit that's not sports related, but again, I don't listen for long stretches. But each time I try that's what I get.
 

Dotrat

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What did he say/do?
He trotted out the old 'white fans in Boston are racists' because Celtics fans cheered Gordon Hayward's introduction earlier this week (which led Jae Crowder to be very upset on Twitter). He then refused to let Kirk Minihane on his ESPN show and refused to speak to T&R. He also tried to claim that he never said what he clearly meant. He really came off as a gutless clown.
 

allstonite

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He trotted out the old 'white fans in Boston are racists' because Celtics fans cheered Gordon Hayward's introduction earlier this week (which led Jae Crowder to be very upset on Twitter). He then refused to let Kirk Minihane on his ESPN show and refused to speak to T&R. He also tried to claim that he never said what he clearly meant. He really came off as a gutless clown.
I just read up on this and through his twitter and it really is pathetic. He never actually said what he meant and used that as an out when called on it. And of course there were mouth breathers on twitter who took it to a bad place and he was using that as if it proved his point "I got a lot of white dudes in Boston mad". I'm mad I gave him the time of day which is probably exactly what he wanted.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)
Ugh.

Granted, I can't really listen much but every time I try it's painful to me. It's like it's a bunch of in jokes and shit that's not sports related, but again, I don't listen for long stretches. But each time I try that's what I get.
Agree. Nothing on cable makes me change the channel faster than. And I dont mean just sports on cable, I mean anything on cable.
 

tims4wins

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The new TV show sounds horrible. Blending SportsCenter and something like GMA?

Ugh.
They have little choice, but yeah. SportsCenter is a dinosaur. I can see highlights of whatever game I want before I go to bed, or on my schedule in the morning online. I don't have to sit through 48 minutes of SportsCenter to see my team's highlights (or another team's highlights).
 

ifmanis5

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"Pour yourself a big mug of Hot Takez as we recap last night's Cavs matchup and later on in the show Carla Hall from The Chew drops by with a hot new pie recipe."

No thanks.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Hopefully he does. Not because he's great or anything, but a dozen years or so ago when he was just the intern on PTI we used to bump elbows at a watering hole in DC and I always liked him. We were both kids back then so I have no idea if fame has gotten to him, but he was a genuinely nice guy and we had many nights we closed the place down together (and stayed long after that).
 
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Rusty13

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The daily programs on ESPN are so awful and contrived more than ever before. They always have plain ESPN on -- with a relatively low volume thank God -- at the locker room at my gym, and every show is pretty just the same format with a different set of talking heads. The only ESPN show that I watch on any semi-regular basis is College Gameday, and even my interest in that has heavily waned.

When are the majority of their big league live event contracts up? Given the trajectory of their business, I can't imagine they will be able to afford the same amount to keep those on board. That's the next big step towards the cable industry slowly going belly up.
 

trekfan55

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The daily programs on ESPN are so awful and contrived more than ever before. They always have plain ESPN on -- with a relatively low volume thank God -- at the locker room at my gym, and every show is pretty just the same format with a different set of talking heads. The only ESPN show that I watch on any semi-regular basis is College Gameday, and even my interest in that has heavily waned.

When are the majority of their big league live event contracts up? Given the trajectory of their business, I can't imagine they will be able to afford the same amount to keep those on board. That's the next big step towards the cable industry slowly going belly up.
This is a great question. ESPN shows a huge amount of baseball games and has the exclusive Sunday Night Baseball. When does MLB decide to scale that back and get more games on MLBN?

Also, they are losing money on the NFL.

If they cannot afford the big league sports how long until they basically only run news and maybe Australian Rules Football (like when they started). And then how long until cable companies say screw it and stop paying them their fees for being on basic cable?