 Just
this very second, T.O. is sitting in the Philadelphia Marriott – where
SMW once had a run of very nice Manhattans – awaiting the outcome of
his arbitration hearing, and possibly talking with the fans waiting in
line for Harry Potter. Here at SMW, we think it should all end
as quickly as possible, if only so that Sal Palantonio can have a day
off. Sal, if you’re reading: they’re very strong, very dry, and the
maraschino cherries are excellent. Drink up.
And so, for the 312th consecutive day, SportsCenter led with the Eagles, who are now dealing with two related-yet-separate stories: T.O., and McNabb’s health and possible surgery. There’s something like consensus around the mediascape that Donovan – and possible the Eagles – should just pack it in, that McNabb’s surgery effectively means the end of the season. In Philly, Jim Sheridan says that this should just be the intermission in McNabb’s career, and The Times has reported this week on the Eagles fans’ dwindling interest.
Meanwhile, Bristol got themselves an interview with Jeremiah Trotter yesterday in which he said he wanted T.O. back on the team. This the day after they starting pimping their forthcoming Randy Moss interview on Sunday NFL Countdown, in which Moss rejects T.O. but has some potentially nasty things to say about Norv Turner.
Maybe
it’s the ABC crossover approach, but does anybody else think that ESPN
is slowly going Barbara Walters on us? Where the interviews are
designed to create news, and the role of journalists is to comment on
the interviews that have just happened? It’s not like ESPN hasn’t faced criticism for this, even from their own ombudsman, but it seems insistent on folding the entire sports universe into its pocket. Note to Bristol: this is why people hate you.
Special Announcement: Professional Athletes Linked to Violence
A couple of Chicago Bears got in a scuffle at an FBI gun range.
Which is not a good idea. Tony & Mike gave some version of the
“boys being boys” response, and there’s been a lot of “People on the
outside of the NFL don’t understand what it’s like” from ESPN’s jock
media. Howie Long went on PTI yesterday to say just that. SMW
note: I have never played in the NFL, but know better than to get in a
fight around government guys with guns. Maybe the studies are right,
and all those Radio Shack cell phone ads have done nasty things to
Howie’s brain.
The brawl has been bigger news in Chicago, where Jay Mariotti found it very disturbing and Greg Couch says that we should not deny the connection between athletes and guns. Weirdest of all: the outcry has been loud enough that the FBI has officially risen to its own defense:
Reports indicate that the athletes were drinking with FBI agents in the
proximity of the gun range before the fight broke out, meaning that a
fistfight was probably the best possible outcome.
Media Quickies
In this morning’s Miami Herald, Dan LeBatard picked up on what Deadspin is reluctantly calling
“SeventhFloorGate.” (Yes, it’s a bad name, but no, we’re not going to
complain, since they gave a nice shout-out to SMW.) The hateable Dan
suggests that this particular scandal is just kinda stupid, which, of
course, it is. But here’s an idea, especially for big national
columnists: when scandals and stories are stupid, don’t write about them. We’d suggest to Dan not to become part of the problem, but it might be way, way too late for that.
Mild
fallout from the Dodgers’ hiring of Ned Colletti as their new GM,
passing over Kim Ng, who would have been both the first Asian-American
and first Woman General Manager. The Gray Lady notes that McCourt chose to forego a chance at history, opting instead for experience. At the L.A. Times, the response has been more mixed: T.J. Simers says that Colletti's just an old school baseball guy with close media ties – and he doesn’t say it very nicely – but Plashke’s column, and Mike Downey’s at The Tribune
– seem to bear this out; the two old-school sportswriters fell over
themselves to laud a hire based on someone who had paid his dues. The
last time we saw Mike Downey, he was ranting about the evils of lesbian cheerleader bathroom sex. So pounding the typewriter for the old boys’ network seems just up his alley.
The New York Times finally gets around to reporting about amphetamines in the new steroids policy
(about two days after everybody else got over it). And the further
removed from the announcement we become, the more negative the
response. Remember back – oh, two days ago – when everybody thought Selig had scored a massive victory? Yeah, those days are gone. Hence the SMW quote of the day, from King Kauffman at Salon:
“Everyone
who thinks there were only 12 dirty players in the major leagues this
year, the number who got caught, clap your hands. And then fly around
the room twice. Go ahead. It should work, because you're dreaming.”
Monday: Full coverage of the TriWizard Tournament, and however we spin the Colts/Bengals game. |
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