Archive for Media
Much like TBS did last year when they picked Bon Jovi as the band du jour for the network’s coverage of the 2009 MLB Playoffs, TBS has once again dug deep into dregs of marginally tolerable music and selected Kid Rock’s song “Born Free” as the official anthem of the 2010 MLB Playoffs, and are we not all thrilled by their decision. I, for one, cannot wait to have this goddamn song drilled into my head eleventy billion times.
The video, featuring clips of Kid Rock, doing whatever it is he does interspersed with MLB footage – if you cannot wait to see it played ad nauseum in between promos for Conan’s new show, which will also pummel your subconscious into submission – can be found right here.
But why Kid Rock (pictured above with Red Sox manager Terry Francona, Eschewer of Shirts) you ask? It’s simple, really. Turner Broadcasting wanted to select a musical act that is at least 5 years past their prime as well as annoy music purists like myself who are just waiting for somebody to give Boz Scaggs a chance – it’s all that’s standing between the Boz and a Tom Jones-like career renaissance. Just kidding. According to a statement issued by Turner, it’s all about synergy, folks. Via the Detroit Free Press:
Hoo boy, I cannot wait. Do you know what else I can’t wait for? Next year to see who TBS pulls out of their ass to be the official has-been of the 2011 MLB Playoffs. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pulling for the Black Eyed Peas. It’s high time those guys catch a break.
Kid Rock’s ‘Born Free’ to be MLB playoffs theme [Detroit Free Press]
Get Ready To Get Sick Of Conan O’Brien [Walkoff Walk]
(previously at the Sportress: Hey TBS, Go F**k Yourself)
Publishers these days. They give you $140,000 for an advance on a book and then a measly three years after a 130,000-word manuscript was promised to them, they start getting all pissy about not having it. The nerve of those bastards.
But that is the predicament involving Yahoo! NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski, a best-selling writer for his 2005 book, The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball’s Most Improbable Dynasty, has been sued by Penguin Group in a Manhattan federal court as the publisher seeks to recoup the $140K advanced to slacker for a book about college basketball coaching legend Jim Valvano, tentatively entitled, Jimmy V: The Life and Death of Jim Valvano. Well, at least he had the title – sometimes, that’s the hardest part.
The manuscript was supposed to be in Penguin Group’s hands on August 1, 2007, and when Wojnarowski failed to produce it, the original $400,000 deal was cut to $325,000. Letters were sent by the publisher and were allegedly ignored by Wojnarowski, something the writer blames on, of course, a “miscommunication.”
Via the New York Post:
Wojnarowski blamed the suit on “a miscommunication between my agent and me,” saying: “if they had given him a warning, he had not passed it on to me.”
“I had no idea it had gotten to that point,” he said. “I’m literally sending them the money today.”
Wojnarowski said he did “a great deal of reporting” for the Valvano bio, but that “the demands of my job at Yahoo! made it diffcult [sic] for me to finish it.”
All that work for nothing. An attorney for Penguin insists that the lawsuit will be dropped once the money is returned, but even if this was simply an oversight by Wojnarowski and his agent, what an embarrassing situation. At least he still has the money and didn’t spend it on whores and alcohol, like I did with the advance I received for my unfinished biography about the life and times of, oddly enough, ’80s pop culture phenomenon Yahoo Serious. Now there’s a tale that needs to be told.
Sportswriter sued over failure to deliever Valvano bio [New York Post]
Who says the stereotypical sports fan is a sloppy, knuckle-dragging troglodyte who could give a rip about fashion and style? Well, to be honest, I would, but how then could I explain our collective fascination with the hairstyles of professional athletes which has taken the internets by storm this week? First it was Troy Polamalu and the publicity stunt pulled by Head & Shoulders when the shampoo took out a $1 million insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London on the safety’s hair. Next up was the news that the St. Louis Cardinals all shaved their heads in some misguided attempt to inspire team unity and currently, everyone is talking about whether Manny Ramirez will show up sans dreadlocks when he makes his first appearance with his new team, the White Sox, due to the the team’s strict policy covering the appearances of its players.
Said White Sox GM Kenny Williams (via the Chicago Tribune):
“We have a certain way we like to have our players represent us, and that was discussed quite some time ago with one of my coaches,” Williams said Monday in response to a question about the Sox’s rules governing appearance and Ramirez’s dreadlocks.
“We’ll just wait and let you see how they decide to handle it. From my understanding, it’s not going to be an issue, and he’s going to make an adjustment and conform to how we like to have our players represented out there.”
The anticipation is simply killing me! You know what we need? More coverage entirely dedicated to the intersection of fashion and sports. I can see it now: ESPN Fashion! with Mario Lopez as the host. The guy has previous experience with the network on ESPN Hollywood (which shockingly lasted three entire episodes) and it couldn’t get much worse than that televised abomination, could it? Yeah, on second thought, I guess it could. But that doesn’t mean ESPN won’t take a shot.
Finally, since this post is about haircuts, I would be remiss if I did not make a reference to the song “Cut Your Hair” by Pavement. I believe that’s in the blogger bylaws, folks. Nothing I can do about it.
And one last thing: hey, Manny: NO BIG HAIR!!
Will Manny lose the dreadlocks? [Chicago Tribune]
Cut ups: Cardinals get new ‘dos [AP]
(previously at the Sportress: Head & Shoulders Took Out $1 Million Insurance Policy On Troy Polamalu’s Hair)
By all accounts, Stewart Mandel is an incredibly talented and knowledgeable journalist who does a bang-up job covering college football for Sports Illustrated, but seriously? It’s not even September yet and we’re forecasting potential bowl matchups? And we’re not even talking about the BCS bowls, which one could argue would be at least a more manageable, less maddening endeavor. I am certainly not knowledgeable enough to go through Mandel’s projections and pinpoint where he may have a matchup wrong, but even if I was, what would be the point in doing so? So many things can occur between now and December that could cause this entire thing to completely come apart at the seams, not to mention, as Mandel points out himself, that “bowls are NOT obligated to choose their teams in exact order of conference standings.” So, not only is one dealing with a multitude of teams and millions of scenarios which are impossible to forecast, but also the arbitrary whims of bowl committees.
At the same time, what’s worse? Someone taking the time to predict all 35 bowl matchups or me taking the time to complain about it? That’s a tough one to call as well.
I have been leafing through my Oxford English Dictionary in an attempt to find a more appropriate term to describe what it is like to watch the the above video of the panelists on Around the Horn discuss cohort Jay Mariotti’s arrest (transcript here). Unfortunately, I have had minimal success in finding a word that adequately encompasses how squirm-inducing the entire process was to behold, not only for the viewers watching it, but for Kevin Blackistone, Woody Paige and Bob Ryan to participate in the discussion as well. I imagine Tim Cowlishaw was quite relieved that his consistently half-assed performance on the show left him once again the first panelist eliminated so he didn’t have to participate in this trainwreck.
Perhaps some clarification is in order. The panelists didn’t so much discuss Mariotti’s arrest as address the subsequent media coverage and the vitriolic, almost gleeful reaction which erupted in response to Mariotti’s so-called fall from grace, for lack of a better way of putting it.
Ultimately, Around the Horn should be given a lot of credit for actually addressing the issue, even in the limited context in which it did instead of ignoring it and burying their heads in the sand which I expected them to do. So here’s your gold star, Around the Horn. Kudos.
And speaking of the Oxford English Dictionary, the news that it is beginning to make the transition to solely an online, digital presence and will only have a print version if demand calls for it reminds me of Mariotti’s career metamorphosis from print to online journalist. The only difference being that unlike Mariotti, the OED actually has a future on the internet.
[H/T for video to Deadspin]
Gather ’round, all ye worshipers and followers of tWWLism, for today truly is a blessed day. You see, one of the church’s great sages, Curt Schilling, read the tea leaves, prayed for guidance and because of his devotion and reverence to the mystical ways regarding the coolness of other side of the pillow, issued a prophecy earlier this week which, brace yourselves, actually came out to be true. Hallelujah! Praise be to Norby!
Now get down on your knees and genuflect, heathens!
From the Book of ESPN Media Zone, the chapter “Schilling Predicted Tommy John Surgery for Strasburg During Tuesday’s Baseball Tonight”:
ESPN baseball analyst Curt Schilling predicted Tommy John surgery would be in order for Washington Nationals rookie ace Stephen Strasburg during Tuesday’s Baseball Tonight (Aug. 24). Schilling examined the delivery mechanics of Strasburg and compared them to Florida Marlins starting pitcher Josh Johnson – both tall right-handed pitchers – to demonstrate the added strain Strasburg places on his arm. The Nationals announced today that Strasburg will most likely require the surgery.
Are you trying to tell me that Schilling, in his infinite wisdom, correctly deduced something which almost every educated baseball analyst suspected might be the end result after Strasburg dejectedly walked off the mound in the middle of his start against the Phillies on Saturday? Genius! Or Divine Insight? Hard to say.
But perhaps most irritating aspect of this entire story is that ESPN felt compelled to actually brag about the fact that one of their own actually got something right for a change. Truth be told, ESPN has had this kind of plan in place for some time for Chris Mortensen, they’re just waiting for that dolt to break a story and have it be correct for once.
Schilling Predicted Tommy John Surgery for Strasburg During Tuesday’s Baseball Tonight [ESPN Media Zone]
Run for your friggin’ lives! It’s the End of Days! I’m talking about a total Straspocalypse!
At least that’s the position presently being taken by several prominent national baseball writers in the wake of the apparently tragic, sky-is-falling, end-of-the-world, might-as-well-shut-down-Major-League-Baseball news that Nationals pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg has a torn ligament in his elbow and will require Tommy John surgery. Heading up the “NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME – EVER!” contingent of journalists are ESPN’s Jayson Stark and SI’s Michael Rosenberg, whose columns, “Loss of Stephen Strasburg a huge one” and “Strasburg injury is bad for the Nationals and sad for all of us” respectively are so chock-full of hyperbole and pseudo-idol worship I am left concerned that these two nitwits are locked in a dark room, listening to “I Know It’s Over” by The Smiths and repeatedly cutting themselves with a rusty butter knife.
There is simply no way around it : when FOX Sports columnist Jason Whitlock is on his game – which occurs most often when he’s taking potshots at his colleagues in the media – he’s a must-read and one of the best in the business. His most recent column, published Thursday night, “Elin’s interview should end the jokes,” is certainly one of those occasions.
The column is an enlightening read in and of itself and I recommend that you read it in its entirety. Essentially, after reading Elin’s interview in People, Whitlock felt the need to castigate himself and take responsibility for the insensitive things he has previously wrote and said regarding Tiger’s infidelities after learning about the very personal toll it took on Elin. It’s certainly worth a moment or two of your time and I give him credit for owning up to it, although Whitlock later tweeted that he had ulterior motives for writing the column:
Confession: I wrote the sensitive Elin piece bcuz I’m moving to LA and want the ladies at 4Play to recognize my kinder, gentler side.
Oh, that Whitlock! What a cad!
But back to my main point: the unabashed joy – for lack of a better word – Whitlock seems to be experiencing due to Mariotti’s fall.
Just when you thought ESPN couldn’t come up with even more inventive ways to enslave you to your television and the broadcast behemoth’s multitude of networks, ready or not, tWWL is about to roll out two brand-spanking new shows, and let me tell you, these programs are sure to simultaneously tickle your funny bone and paralyze your remote control-clicking finger!
