Hawk Harrelson got called into the Principal's Office for his Mark Wegner rant
Earlier this week, Hawk Harrelson had a rant against umpire Mark Wegner go viral. Hawk got so worked up he started cussin and bleepin and calling out the umpire by his last name. It was a remarkable piece of footage, even by his standards, let's enjoy it again, shall we?
Well, it seems that Hawk's raving homerism may have crossed the line this time as both MLB commish Bud Selig and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf pulled the Hawk aside and let him know in no uncertain terms that his glorious tirade wasn't appreciated. From ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine...
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf talked to television announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson in the wake of his on-air outburst against umpire Mark Wegner.
"I talked to Bud Selig yesterday," Harrelson told ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine on Friday morning. "We had a talk. Actually, Bud talked and I listened. If it was a prize fight, they would have stopped it in the first round.
"I also talked to Jerry, and I listened to him as well. That's all I really have to say."
Harrelson is an employee of Comcast SportsNet Chicago and WGN.
Poor Hawk, first he got so worked up he took 16 Advil from the rant, now he's apparently been lectured by the commish and his team's boss. But wait, there's more.
According to White Sox VP Brooks Boyer, this may be the last time you'll hear Hawk Harrelson spontaneously combust on air...
"I could certainly be wrong but I think this was a good way for him to understand the importance of what's going on on the field," Boyer said. "I think moving forward those type of bursts and snaps will be limited if not eliminated."
"I think even when he looks back at it, he realizes that he snapped," Boyer said. "It's one of the great things about Hawk is that he is a polarizing broadcaster. He's like Notre Dame, you love it or you don't. That's how he kind of fits on the radar. And when that day comes when Hawk hangs it up I think the thing we will miss the most is the homerism of his calls and how much he cares about the White Sox."
Now, we've been critical of Hawk's extreme homerism numerous times before (usually when he goes silent for opposition walkoffs), but I'm going to defend him in this case. Hawk Harrelson isn't an employee of the White Sox or Major League Baseball, so do they have any business telling him how to do his job? It's unclear here, but it could be a situation like what happened across town when Steve Stone stepped down from his role calling Cubs games for WGN. Although Stone was a WGN employee, the Cubs had final say over their broadcasters. After being a bit too critical for the team's liking, and a meeting with the Cubs president and manager, Stone left. Ironically, Stone now calls Chi Sox games with Hawk Harrelson for WGN.
(Why Bud Selig needs to get involved with a local announcer instead of fixing what really ails his sport is another matter worth criticism in its entirety.)
Videos like what happened earlier this week are what has made Hawk Harrelson who he is as the voice of the White Sox. Did he go a step or two over the line? Sure! But let's get real, he's never been or is going to be Vin Scully or Bob Costas.
It's not like his angry evisceration of Mark Wegner was his first against an umpire, either, so this seems a little heavy handed. The idea of team executives strongarming broadcasters is another idea I'm not too comfortable with, especially if they aren't direct employees of the organization. To try and say we're going to get a kindler, gentler Hawk Harrelson from now forward is a disservice to the announcer he's been his whole life. Can you picture Hawk Harrelson trying to announce a game without doing these crazy things or trying to hold back what he's really feeling? His style may be grating and unprofessional to many, but at least it's authentic. He truly cares about the White Sox, and that authenticity and genuineness on air is often lacking these days.
Regardless of the exact relationship between Harrelson, WGN/CSN, and the White Sox, it's hypocritcal of the team to endorse and support Hawk Harrelson as a broadcaster and then be shocked and disappointed when he goes and knocks a few buildings down.
Does anyone know how to contact harrelson during sox games so I can tell him to put it on the board whenever anyone other than a white sox player hits a bomb? I think that capability has been removed because you used to be able to text or email him however, I believe harrelson received so many negative texts and emails about how horrible an announcer he is, they removed it. But maybe someone knows his email address??? On another note, how in the baseball God's name is harrelson eligible for a frick award??? you have got to be kidding?? The worst announcer in sports, to include table tennis broadcasters is eligible for an award???
sa9273 i don't mean to be rude, but didn't i have the broadcasters for the NBA Playoffs this weekend, underneath what you wrote???
@CUbsfan I try to keep it neat just in case Matt decides to copy and paste to update the post. When Packey was posting the schedules he would occasionally do so. No intention on my part to step on any toes.
Sa9273 okay cool just checking, i don't have any problem with you doing that!
Kevin Calabro and Will Perdue did work game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Clippers at Grizzlies for ESPN Radio today, which mean that Kevin Calabro did PBP for a total of 5 and not 4 games during the 1st Round of this year's NBA Playoffs for ESPN Radio and NBATV and that Will Perdue was the analyst for 2 instead of 1 1st round game for the NBA Playoffs on ESPN Radio this year!
Saturday May 12
East Conf Semifinals
Game 1: Philadelphia @ Boston (TNT 8PM) Dick Stockton, Chris Webber, Mike Fratello
West Conf Quarterfinals
Game 7: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers (TNT 10:30) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Sunday May 13
West Conf Quarterfinals
Game 7: LA Clippers @ Memphis (ABC 1PM) Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy
East Conf Semifinals
Game 1: Indiana @ Miami (ABC 3:30) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown
Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown and Sideline reporter Lisa Salters will be the broadcasters for game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Pacers at Heat ob ABC on Sunday!
I was wrong that Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller would be calling the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the 76ers at Celtics, instead TNT will be having DIck Stockton working with 2 analysts in Mike Fratello and Chris Webber and David Aldridge will be the sideline reporter for the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the 76ers at Celtics this year!
we know now that MIke Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and sideline reporter Doris Burke flew from Los Angeles on Friday night to Memphis on Sunday Aternoon!
This mean that Dick Stockton and Chris Webber flew from Memphis on Wednesday night to Boston on Saturday night, That Mike Fratello stayed in Boston after being the only analyst for game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Hawks at Celtics, to being 1 of 2 analysts for the 1st 2 games of the Easern Conference Semifinals between the 76ers at Celtics and that David Aldridge flew from being the sideline reporter in MIami on Wednesday night to Boston on Saturday night!
Lisa Salter was the sideline reporter for 4 games during the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs this year and Doris Burke will be the sideline reporter for 1 to 2 games during the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs this year!
Doris Burke and not Lisa Salters will be the sideline reporter for ESPN's coverage of game 6 of the Grizzlies at Clippers series tonight and game 7 of the Clippers at Grizzlies series if necessary on Sunday morning!
Lewis Johnson was only an reporter for the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Jazz VS Spurs and Tracy Wolfson was only an reporter for the Eastern Conference Quarterfinlas between the Celtics VS Hawks this year!
Dave Pasch and Mark Jones did PBP for 2 games, Chris Mullin and Doris Burke were analyst for 2 games, Dan Shulman did PBP for 1 game and Jon Barry was an analyst for 1 game, Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown were the broadcasters for 3 games, Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy were the broadcasters for 5 or 6 1st round games, Ric Bucher and Holly Rowe were the sideline reporters for 2 1st round games and we also know that Heather Cox was the sideline reporter for 3 1st round games!
with the 2 games that Kevin Calabro worked as PBP for NBATV and the 2 games that Kevin Calabro worked as PBP for ESPN Radio, Kevin Calabro did PBP for 4 games during the 1st round of this year's NBA Playoffs!
Will Perdue was an analyst for 1 game on ESPN Radio during the 1st round of this year's NBA Playoffs!
This also means that JIm Durham did PBP for 3 games and Jack Ramsay was an analyst for 4 games during the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs on ESPN radio this year!
ESPN Radio will have game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Nuggets at Lakers tomorrow night!
The Pacers will play game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Heat on Sunday at 3:30 ET on ABC!
If the Clippers win tonight, ABC will have game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Clippers at Spurs on Sunday at 1 ET, whatever the case the game on Sunday at 1 ET will also be on ESPN Radio!
Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Lisa Salters is the sideline reporter for tomorrow's game 6 of the Grizzlies at Clippers series and for Sunday's game 7 of the Clippers at Grizzlies series if necessary on Sunday!
Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager will be the sideline reporter for Saturday's game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals from Los Angeles, which means that they flew from Denver on Thursday night to Los Angeles on Saturday night and it wouldn't suprise me if they had Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller calling game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the 76ers at Celtics on Saturday night!
With the 1 game that Ian Eagle did PBP for on TNT during the 1st round, Ian Eagle did PBP for 5 1st Round NBA Playoff games for NBATV and TNT this year!
Marv Albert and Steve Kerr were the broadcasters for 7 1st round NBA Playoff games on TNT this year!
Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller were also the broadcasters for 7 1st round games on the NBA Playoffs on TNT this year too!
Dick Stockton did PBP for 4 instead of 5 1st round games of this year NBA Playoffs on TNT, Which means that Chris Webber was the analyst for 5 1st round games of the NBA Playoffs on TNT this year!
Matt Devlin and Mike Fratello were also the broadcasters for 5 1st round games of this year's NBA Playoffs on TNT!
I have a correction to make, Matt Devlin and Mike Fratello are actually the broadcasters for tonight's game 6 of the Hawks at Celtics series, which mean that they flew from calling games 3 and 4 in Utah on Saturday and Monday to Boston on Thursday!
Ian Eagle and Greg Anthony are the broadcasters for NBATV"s coverage of game 6 of the Bulls at 76ers series tonight, which means that Ian Eagle flew from Indiana on Tuesday to Philadelphia on Thursday and that Greg Anthony flew from Chicago on Tuesday to Philadelphia on Thursday!
Marv Albert and Steve Kerr are the broadcasters for tonight's game 6 of the Lakers at Nuggets series, which means that Marv Albert and Steve Kerr flew from Los Angeles on Tuesday to Colorado on Thursday and Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller are the broadcasters for tonight's game 6 of the Hawks at Celtics series, which means that Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller flew from Miami on Wednesday night to Boston on Thursday night!
This also means that Kevin Calabro did PBP and Steve Smith was the analyst for 2 of the 6 NBA Playoff games on NBATV and that Ian Eagle did PBP and Greg Anthony was the analyst for 4 of the 6 games on NBATV during their coverage of the Eastern and Western Conference Quarterfinals this year!
Craig Sager was the sideline reporter for last night's game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Nuggets at Lakers and tomorrow's game 6 of the Lakers at Buggets series!
Jamie was the Sideline reporter for tonight's game 5 of the Clippers at Grizzlies series!
Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller worked tonight's game 5 beet the Knicks at Heat and Dick Stockton and Chris Webber worked tonight's game 5 of the Clippers at Grizzlies series!
Whixh means that Dick Stockton and Chris webber flew from Los Angeles on Monday night to Memphis on Wednesday night and that Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller flew from Atlanta on Tuesday night to Miami on Wednesday night!
Did anybody else catch Kevin Harlan saying after the Knicks at Heat game tonight after a quick break, we will send you to Dick Stockton in Phoenix instead of in Memphis???
We now know that there will be 3 game 6's on Thursday!
Game 6 of the Bulls at 76ers series will be on NBATV at 7 ET , game 6 of the Hawks at Celtics series will be on TNT at 8 ET and game 6 of the Lakers at Nuggets series will be on TNT at 10;30 ET!
This also mean that NBATV will be having 6 Conference Quarterfinal games on this year, 1 to 2 more than the normal 4 to 5 that they normally have on!
This means that Ian Eagle flew from filling in for Dick Stockton in Dallas on Saturday to Indiana on Tuesday and that Kevin Calabro flew from working in Dallas on ESPN Radio on Saturday to working in Chicago tonight!
This means that Chris Webber flew from Dallas on Saturday to Los Angeles on Monday,Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miler flew from Boston on Sunday to Atlanta on Tuesday and that Marv Albert and Steve Kerr flew from Colorado on Sunday to Los Angeles on Tuesday!
Tonight's Magic at Pacers game starts on NBATV at 7 and not 7:30 ET!
Steve Smtih's will be the analyst for tonight's game 5 of the Magic at Pacers series according to his Twitter page and Greg Anthony will be the analyst for game 5 of the 76ers at Bulls series according to his Twitter page!
Monday May 7
Game 4: San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz (TNT 8PM) Matt Devlin, Mike Fratello
Game 4: Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles (TNT 10:30PM) Dick Stockton, Chris Webber
Tuesday May 8
Game 5*: Orlando Magic @ Indiana Pacers (NBA TV 7:30) TBA
Game 5*: Boston Celtics @ Atlanta Hawks (TNT 8PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller
Game 5*: Philadelphia 76ers @ Chicago Bulls (NBA TV 9:30) TBA
Game 5*: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers (TNT 10:30PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Tuesday May 8
Game 5: Orlando Magic @ Indiana Pacers (NBA TV 7PM) Ian Eagle, Steve Smith
Game 5: Philadelphia 76ers @ Chicago Bulls (NBA TV 9:30PM) Kevin Calabro, Greg Anthony
We now know that TNT will have a doubleheader on Wednesday, it will start with game 5 of the Knicks at Heat series at 7 ET and end with game 5 of the Clippers at Grizzlies series at 9:30 ET!
which means that if the Jazz will play a game 5 at the Spurs it will be at 8:30 ET and on NBATV!
I have a question, did they have the 1st quarter of yesterday's game 3 of the Grizzlies at Clippers game on ESPN Classic yesterday afternoon??
ESPN had Ric Bucher as the sideline reporter for game 3 of the Lakers at Nuggets series on Friday night and no sideline reporter for game 4 of the Pacers at Magic series yesterday morning!
Has any one else noticed that Ric Bucher went from being a sideline reporter for a bunch of NBA Regular season games, to just being a sideline reporter for just a few NBA Regular Season games on ESPN starting this year???
TNT has Jamie Maggio as the reporter for games 3 and 4 of the Grizzlies at Clippers series, anybody else notice that TNT had Jamie Maggio as the reporter for games 1 and 2 of the Nuggets at Lakers series, before having her cover games 3 and 4 of the Grizzlies at Clippers series???
We now know that TNT will have an NBA Doubleheader on Monday, starting with game 4 of the Spurs at Jazz at 8 ET and ending with game 4 of the Grizzlies at Clipers series at 10;30 ET and on Tuesday that the 2 games on TNT will be games 5 of Celtics at Hawks series at 8 ET and game 5 of the Nuggets at Lakers series at 10;30 ET and that the 2 games on the NBATV Doubleheader on Tuesday will be game 5 of the Magic at Pacers series at 7 ET and game 5 of the 76ers at Bulls series at 9;30 ET!
Kevin Calabro and Will Perdue called game 4 of the Thunder at Mavericks series today and Jim Durham and Dr. Jack Ramsay are calling tomorrow's game 4 of the Heat at Knicks series for ESPN Radio, can someone please correct me if i am wrong on there assignments???
i also noticed in the background to the highlights that TNT had Ian Eadgle and not Dick Stockton as the PBP man for tonight's game 4 of the Thunder at Mavericks series, does anyone know why???
@CUbsfan Dick Stockton was pretty sick the other day; he must have gotten even worse by today.
Apparently the Wed. night game he worked and struggled through a sore throat. In all likelihood he is still unwell.
@SpringRubber @Sa9273Springrubber that is okay that has happened to a lot of us at least once before, because i have written something, just to notice that someone else had already written it at least once before!!
We now know that all 4 game #5's that were scheduled for Tuesday will be played, now that we know that the Nuggets will be playing a game 5 at the Lakers on Tuesday night!
SA9273 the Hawks at Celtics game had the opening tip-off held 5 minutes to change from starting at 7:40 to 7:45 ET and ESPN2's coverage of the Bulls at 76ers game actually started at 7:59 ET!
Re-posting this to note, ESPN has swapped the 2 early Friday games demoting the Bulls (w/o Rose) to ESPN2.
Friday May 4
Game 3: Atlanta Hawks @ Boston Celtics (ESPN 7:30PM) Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy
Game 3: Chicago Bulls @ Philadelphia 76ers (ESPN2 8PM) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown
Game 3: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ESPN 10:30PM) Dan Shulman, Doris Burke
Saturday May 5
Game 4: Indiana Pacers @ Orlando Magic (ESPN 2PM) Mark Jones, Chris Mullin
Game 3: Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Clippers (ESPN 4:30PM) Dave Pasch, Jon Barry
Game 4: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Dallas Mavericks (TNT 7:30PM) Dick Stockton, Chris Webber
Game 3: San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz (TNT 10PM) Matt Devlin, Mike Fratello
Sunday May 6
Game 4: Chicago Bulls @ Philadelphia 76ers (ABC 1PM) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown
Game 4: Miami Heat @ New York Knicks (ABC 3:30PM) Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy
Game 4: Atlanta Hawks @ Boston Celtics (TNT 7PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller
Game 4: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (TNT 9:30PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
For those of you wondering, the NBA Playoffs on TNT now has 10 main sideline reporters to fill out the 8 series in the Conference Quarterfinals and the 4 series in the Semifinals, because Jamie Maggio took over as the sideline reporter for Dei Lynam starting last year, Stephanie Ready is the sideline reporter over Marc Fein and Tracy Wolfson is the sideline reporter over Pam Oliver for TNT's coverage of the NBA Playoffs this year!
anybody else notice that TNT had Dick Stockton do the PBP for last night's game 2 of the Clippers at Grizzlies game with a sore throat, because he had Chris Webber reading most of the promos for him and after the game Ernie Johnson even said Dick Stockton had just enough in the tank to finish that game and is lucky that the game didn't go into Overtime because he barely made it to the ending of regulation and it also just goes to show you why Dick Stockton is regarded as an Hall of fame broadcasters and how professional he is at his job too!
ESPN Radio will have the Thunder at Mavericks game 4 on Saturday night and the Heat at Knicks game 4 on Sunday Afternoon!
We already know that the Celtics vs Hawks, 76ers vs Bulls and Magic vs Pacers will be playing a game 5 on Tuesday night and we also know that Clippers vs Grizzlies are playing a game 5 on Wednesday!
This mean that Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Sideline reporter Lisa Salters will be flying from Boston on Friday to New York on Sunday.
It wouldn't suprise me if Ric Bucher was the sideline reporter for the Lakers at Nuggets game on Friday and the Pacers at Magic game Saturday morning and made him fly from Denver Friday night to Orlanda Saturday afternoon in the East coast, because Holly Rowe tweeted that she would be the sideline reporter for the
Grizzlies at Clippers game Saturday afternoon!
ESPN's beloved Lakers are getting Shulman/Burke instead of Breen/Van Gundy? I guarantee you this would not be the case if the game were really in LA rather than Denver. :P
This mean that NBATV wil have Ian Eagle fly from Indiana on Monday to Orlando on Wednesday and Greg Anthony fly from Atlanta on Tuesday to Orlando on Wednesday, Kevin Calabro will fly from Los Angeles on Sunday for ESPN Radio to Atlanta on Tuesday for NBATV, TNT will have Matt Devlin and Mike Fratello fly from Oklahoma City on Monday to San Antonio on Wednesday and from San Antonio on Wednesday to Utah on Saturday, they will have Dick Stockton and Chris Webber fly from Memphis after games on Sunday and Wednesday to Dallas on Saturday, Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller will fly from Chicago on Saturday to Miami on Monday and from Miami on Monday back to Chicago on Tuesday,From Chicago on Tuesday to New York on Thursday and from New York on Thursday to Boston on Sunday and Marv Albert and Steve Kerr will fly from Atlanta on Sunday to Los Angeles on Tuesday, from Los Angeles on Tuesday to Dallas on Thursday and from Dallas on Thursday to Denver on Sunday!
Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Sideline Reporter LIsa Salters flew from MIami On Saturday afternoon to Los Angeles for the game Sunday afternoon on ABC and Jack Ramsay flew from MIami Saturday afternoon to Los Angeles Sunday afternoon for ESPN Radio!
Stephanie Ready will be the sideline reporter for NBATV's coverage of game 2 and 3 of the Pacers vs Magic series and Tracy Wolfson will be the sideline reporter for NBATV"s coverage of game 2 of the Celtics at Hawks series this week too!
Lisa Salters will be the sideline reporter for ABC's coverage of game 1 of the Knicks at Heat and Nuggets at Lakers series!
Heather Cox will be the sideline reporter for ESPN"s coverage of game 1 of the Mavericks at Thunder series!
Ric Bucher will be the sideline reporter for ESPN'S coverage of game 1 of the Jazz at Spurs series and Holly Rowe will be the sideline reporter for ESPN's coverage of game 1 of the Magic at Pacers series!
for ESPN Radio Jim Durham and Jack Ramsay will be working game 1 of the Knicks at Heat series on Saturday and Kevin Calabro and Jack Ramsay will be working game 1 of the Nuggets at Lakers series on Sunday!
this year for ESPN Radio JIm Durham will be working the Eastern Conference Finals with Jack Ramsay and Kevin Calabro will be working the Western Conference finals with Hubie Brown!
for ESPN Radio's coverage of the NBA Finals this year JIm Durham will be working with Jack Ramsay, Hubie Brown and sideline reporter Ric Bucher!!
I think the Heat vs. Knicks and Grizzlies vs. Clippers series are the most interesting ones, at least to me. Anyways, quick predictions: Bulls over Sixers in 6; Heat over Knicks in 6; Pacers over Magic in 5; Celtics over Hawks in 6; Spurs over Jazz in 5; Thunder over Mavs in 5; Nuggets over Lakers in 6 (upset special); Grizzlies over Clippers in 7.
There you go.
Star85 does that mean that you think that the Bulls can win the next 3 straight over the 76ers, that the Knicks will win 2 of the next 3 against the Heat,the Pacers will win the next 2 straight against the Magic and the Nuggets will win the next 3 straight games against the Lakers??
For those of you who were wondering who would be working the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs this year and what series they will be covering!
Craig Sager is the sideline reporter for games 1 and 2 of the Grizzlies at Clippers series, before being the sideline reporter for game 4 of the Lakers at Nuggets series next sunday!
Cheryl Miller is the sideline reporter for the Bulls at 76ers series!
David Aldridge will be the sideline reporter for the Heat at Knicks series!
Marty Snider will be the sideline reporter for the Thunder at Mavericks series!
Jamie Maggio will be the sideline reporter for the 1st 2 games of the Lakers at Nuggets series!
Lewis Johnson will be the sideline reporter for the Spurs at Jazz series!
Tracy Wolfson of CBS will be the sideline reporter for the Celtics at Haskws series and Stephanie Ready will be the sideline reporter for the Pacers at Magic series!
I was once excited about the Clippers/Grizzlies series, but then Turner decided to have Dick Stockton call it.
