Politico is … it’s like ‘Who won the day?’ kind of thing, right? They’re trying to cover it like it’s sports, but not in an intelligent way at all, right? And they want to create noise, basically, right? Their whole thing is, you have to have a lead story about some gaffe that some candidate made on the campaign trail.Nate Silver • Taking down Politico, which attempted a takedown of Silver just before the election, during an interview with ESPN’s Bill Simmons. Silver, who suffered a pretty solid rip at the hand of Dylan Byers just before the election, now won’t give Byers, who wants an interview with the FiveThirtyEight founder, the time of day. Silver, by the way, knows a thing or two about sports — he spent years devising a baseball-statistics system before moving into politics.
The strange saga of Sarah Phillips, who went from message board commenter to ESPN gambling columnist and hid her identity from editors, scamming many of the people she met along the way.
| Deadspin | May 2012Koblin on sports: incredible, as expected.
The best part is the description Phillips gave her new website: “Think of South Park meets sports betting meets Celebrity Rehab meets Jerry Spring [sic].” What a compelling combination of random things.
She ended up losing her job with ESPN over this story, and wrote a series of tweets apologizing on Twitter. “I made poor choices with who to trust. I’ll correct that moving forward. It’s not an excuse,” she tweeted.
(Source: longform)
Today in forgiveness. Key quote from fired ESPN employee Anthony Federico: “We didn’t talk about the headline for more than three minutes.” Nice to hear.
It is the first step in restoring my good name and reputation. We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side. We provided complete cooperation throughout, despite the highly unusual circumstances.Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers • On the reversal of his 50-game suspension. Braun, the most recent NL MVP, challenged a recent drug-related penalty and was successful in overturning it. Because his urine sample was not sent to the testing facility on the same day it was collected, the MLB Players Association announced the decision’s reversal. Not everyone agrees with this decision; Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, claimed this reversal to be ”a real gut-kick to clean athletes.” source (via • follow)
We again apologize, especially to Mr. Lin. His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community, including the Asian-American employees at ESPN. Through self-examination, improved editorial practices and controls, and response to constructive criticism, we will be better in the future.
Good on them for taking it seriously enough to do something right away. When we posted about this yesterday, the response was very strong. (ht @darrennrovell, via @AntDeRosa)
The headline is Jeremy Lin-related. That’s all we’ll say.
Paterno, remembered: During Thursday’s memorial service, numerous speakers remembered the longtime Penn State figure’s life, and his time as a coach, with great reverence, showing respect for the man at a time when his legacy has been clouded by controversy. Speaker after speaker — family, friends, and disciples — spoke reverently of him, emphasizing a legacy that goes far beyond that of an unspeakable scandal, one that improved many lives and the scope of a university. Perhaps none said it better than Nike chairman Phil Knight: “If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation, and not in Joe Paterno’s response.” Penn State football, under Paterno, was known for its great defense; the defenders came out strong Thursday. source
Syracuse fires Bernie Fine, coach accused of molestation: The case against Fine, who has faced these allegations for many years, intensified in recent weeks for multiple reasons. First, ESPN reported the story after a second victim came forward. Second, a third victim came forward after ESPN ran the story. And third, a particularly devastating phone call with a woman, believed to be Fine’s wife Laurie, was recorded by one of the alleged victims. In the phone call, the woman said this to the victim: “I know everything that went on, you know. I know everything that went on with him … Bernie has issues, maybe that he’s not aware of, but he has issues … And you trusted somebody you shouldn’t have trusted …” (To add a particularly strange angle to the story, the victim who recorded the call says he had a sexual relationship with Laurie Fine when he was 18, which he later told the coach about.) All in all, the allegations became too much for Fine to overcome, and the school let him go Sunday night.
Penn State student tells ESPN firing of Joe Paterno was justified, gets shouted down by other students.
Love that the guy admits being worried about being out there despite his “strong minority” opinion, but keeps talking to the ESPN reporter anyway. This guy gets it.
After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It’s been a great run.Are you ready for some hubris from Hank Williams Jr.?
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
Wrote a thing.
Hat tip to this headline writer.
Personally, I liked Olbermann better as a sports anchor. He could be funny, but he wasn’t expected to wad up paper, or quiver his lip, or what have you.SB Nation’s Jon Bois • Offering a relatively fresh view on Olbermann’s departure, whatever the cause. Fact is, as many wonky fans as he has, some still love him more for his ’90s run on ESPN’s “Sportscenter.” (We disagree, by the way, but that’s just us.) Should Keith get back into sports? He was pretty good back in the day at doing this, so it’d be an interesting time to return. But he might be harder to accept in this role, considering the by-default divisive nature of “Countdown.” Keith’s done some sports stuff in recent years, most recently with “Football Night in America.” But doing sports full-time might be a bit of a harsh left turn for a guy who’s banked so much on the cult of personality and earned many fans because of it. source (via • follow)
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