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The feud between Deadspin and ESPN is well documented.  The intense rivalry started when ESPN sources led Deadspin editor AJ Daulerio to sit on a tip about Steve Phillips' scandalous behavior.  Eventually, Daulerio missed breaking the story and blamed ESPN for misleading him.  Thus began the ESPN Horndoggery Dossier.  Ever since, ESPN and Deadspin haven't exactly been on the best of terms.  

So, perhaps it was a surprise to hear that one of Deadspin's top writers, Tommy Craggs, was offered a position by ESPN. Well, an offer to write at the "yes, it's really an ESPN website, but you're not supposed to know about it" Grantland, headed up, of course, by Bill Simmons.  Craggs is definitely one of the most talented, notable writers on Deadspin (and in the blogosphere), and was a solid, if not surprising choice, to be involved in the new Simmons/ESPN project.  However, in true Deadspin fashion, Craggs' offer was met with hesitancy after this article, destroying ESPN's PR Blog and the name dropping of Page 2 editor Lynn Hoppes.  It was over the top, but also brilliantly written -- Deadspin and Craggs at their best, but probably not something that made ESPN execs jump to bring him aboard Grantland.

There was an update to the story last night.  ESPN exec John Walsh (portrayed as the grand poobah of journalistic integrity in Those Guys Have All The Fun, he must LOVE Deadspin) wanted to meet with Craggs and "express his misgivings in person."  Naturally, that meeting involved a pink gorilla telegram sent by Daulerio to sing the SportsCenter theme.  Deadspin's videos aren't embeddable (pretty ironic, if you ask me, seeing as how they tear apart MLB for the same thing), so you have to check this link to see it and read the whole story.  No, I don't have the artistic ability to do a f%$#ing drawing, either.  Here's a quote from the article though:

Instead, I called up a singing telegram service in NYC to drop off a hand-delivered note. The woman on the phone took my order over the phone and repeated back to me the important pieces of information to pass along to her performer: "Essex House. 11:30. Albino man. Pink gorilla singing SportsCenter theme song. Two balloons. Got it,"...

Maybe we'll never know if Craggs would have been offered a job or not (the pink gorilla and the Hoppes article tells me no), but according to Daulerio he withdrew from interest in the Grantland project because of the long leash still attached to Bristol.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was absolutely thrilling.  The Canucks and Bruins battled for over 59 minutes deadlocked at 0-0 until a great passing move started by Ryan Kesler ended in a Raffi Torres goal to win the game for Vancouver.  We had it all in this game - amazing goaltending by both sides, great scoring chances, solid hits, a few fracases, and even a biting incident.  Judging by the Twitter reaction, the game and the series has fans hooked for what looks to be a fantastic Stanley Cup Finals.  Here's the video of the game winning goal in Game 1 and Mike Emrick on the call...



Another aspect that made the game very enjoyable to watch was indeed NBC play by play man Mike Emrick.  Doc doesn't get as much credit as he deserves as one of the great announcers in sports.  Our pal Richard Deitsch of SI wrote this profile on Emrick before Game 1.  He fits playoff hockey perfectly like Gus Johnson fits the NCAA Tournament.  He also has a pretty good sense of humor.  Observe as he slides the Geico gecko into the postgame acknowledgments for some reason.  That gecko, he can be trusted...



A huge tip of the hat to bubbaprog for both videos!  Check out all of his outstanding work at Mocksession.

Somehow, a commercial made it out on NBC airwaves advertising the upcoming Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning.  Oops.  Hopefully there were no disillusioned Lightning fans out there that saw this commercial and thought that Tampa Bay had miraculously replaced Boston in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Sources are telling me in Vancouver that it is indeed the Bruins that are playing the Canucks tonight in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  Enjoy the action and consider this an open thread for the game.  



[H/T Deadspin]
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Chris Berman must have figured he could get away with anything on ESPN baseball last night because nobody would be watching -- the NBA Finals began around the same time on their sister station and it was the middle of a Tuesday.

First, his brain flatulated thatmost, not all, of the Giants' walk off wins this season have come at home and, then, he gave Cardinals' reliever Fernando Salas a rather unfortunate nickname, 'Tossed Salas.'

Have a listen [via Media Bistro]:

Berman's an old dog, but he has to know that 'tossed salad' doesn't quite mean what it used to; at least know that the generic sense of the term can't be said without a mental snicker from anyone south of 30. And I know Berman saw David Cross toss his own salad in Scary Movie 2. I think he would've been better off nicknaming him 'Garden Fresh Salas' if he wanted to go that route.

Chris Berman made a rare appearance in the broadcast booth for ESPN's MLB coverage tonight. There are a lot of words you can use to describe Chris Berman's tired schtick, but we'll save that for another column on another day. Usually, Berman's appearance wouldn't be a newsworthy event, especially on the first night of the NBA Finals. However, Boomer gave us a golden soundbyte so ridiculously awful, so deliciously mind-numbing, so horrifyingly preposterous, so... ok, you get the idea. A huge thank you to our good friend bubbaprog for uploading this video from tonight's Giants/Cardinals broadcast at Mocksession...

"Well they have 7 walk off wins thus far, most of them at home."

This may be the single greatest quote in the history of Awful Announcing.  I must have missed it, but the Giants' walk off wins on the road are surely the greatest feat in baseball history... winning a game on a walk off hit in the top half of an inning, why, that's unheard of!! Someone get me those box scores!! I wonder why more teams haven't tried the road walk off win strategy. Maybe Boomer is onto something here... or, maybe he should just go rumblin, bumblin, and stumblin and walk off ESPN for good.

Earlier today, we told you about a rumor regarding ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson being a leading candidate for the head coach opening for the Golden State Warriors. In news that's coming down tonight, there's another national NBA TV analyst that has been confirmed to leave the broadcast booth for the sidelines. We received a press release in the AA Inbox from Turner Sports that Kevin McHale will be the newest coach of the Houston Rockets. The former Celtic great had been rumored as a frontrunner for the job in recent days. Here's a quote from McHale...

“I really enjoyed spending the last two years with Turner Sports, bringing the best NBA coverage possible to the viewers at home,” said McHale. “Even though I’m moving back to the bench I’ll still watch my friends on NBA TV and TNT. Turner’s commitment to the NBA is part of the reason why the league is so special, and I look forward to seeing many of my former colleagues in the future.”

McHale was better than average as an NBA analyst. He had a style that wasn't quite as polished as others in the booth or the studio, but it worked. I enjoyed his work with the Turner guys as he brought something a little different to the table to complement Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Chris Webber. He replaces Rick Adelman as Rockets head coach. McHale had a losing record coaching the Minnesota Timberwolves during two stints the last decade while also serving as GM of the franchise. Hopefully he doesn't draft 19 point guards this year like that fella who followed him.

Rampage Jackson has never been one to handle interviews in a traditional way, and the one following his win at the most recent UFC PPV was no exception. MMA reporter Karyn Bryant decides to try her luck following his win, and for about 75% of the interview she somewhat suceeds. That is until B.A. asks about her ethnicity and finds out that she is part Jamaican and busts out the cheeseball "you're Jamaican me horny" line. Predictably, it's downhill from there, with compliments to her body, almost motorboating her, and then bringing up past instances where he has dry humped a reporter. You gotta love when a post-fight victory interview ends with the reporter scurrying away as Rampage says the hilariously awful line of "get away from me, get away. Before I hump you in front of everybody. Get away, get away."

[MMA Heat]

The NBA Finals begin tonight in Miami, and ESPN.. err... ESPN on ABC's top crew of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson will be there to call the action.  But, if the news coming out of the Bay Area is to be believed, it may be the last NBA Finals the trio announces together.  According to a CSN Bay Area report, Mark Jackson is a leading candidate in the head coaching search of the Golden State Warriors...

Mike Brown was considered a leading candidate, but then he took the Los Angeles Lakers head job. Dwane Casey, Lawrence Frank and Brian Shaw are now said to be on the Warriors' short list.

Put Mark Jackson on that list, too. He appears to be a finalist.

Jackson -- the former New York Knick, Indiana Pacer and current analyst for ESPN and ABC -- is very much being considered for the Golden State job. In fact, Jackson has had two conversations with the Warriors, including one with owner Joe Lacob, according to NBA sources...

Jackson is considered an intriguing candidate in some circles. Despite having no head coaching experience, he is frequently mentioned when jobs come open, and he has expressed a desire to coach.

Jackson played 17 seasons in the NBA and ranks third on the all-time assists list. He was known for his court smarts, leadership and getting the most out of his ability. Jackson has a strong presence, but as a tactician and X-and-O guy -- very little is known.

This is far from the first time that Mark Jackson has been mentioned as a head coaching candidate.  He was very close to the Knicks job before Donnie Walsh went with Mike D'Antoni at the last minute.  Mark Jackson's name has also been mentioned with past openings in Minnesota, Indiana, New Orleans, and pretty much every other job opening in the NBA.  The analyst clearly wants to coach and it seems like it's only a matter of time until Jackson is walking the sidelines instead of sitting in the broadcast booth.  Breen, JVG, and Jackson are the best current three man booth in sports and really did rescue ESPN's NBA coverage after a few years of failed experiments (Al Michaels anyone?).  I wonder if he'll still yell "momma there goes that man" as a coach though...

[CSN Bay Area]

Tuesday May 31

San Francisco Giants @ St. Louis Cardinals (ESPN 7PM) Chris Berman, Rick Sutcliffe
Colorado Rockies @ Los Angeles Dodgers (MLBN 10PM) Local Broadcast [Alternate Game: NY Yankees @ Oakland]

Wednesday June 1

Houston Astros @ Chicago Cubs (WGNA 2PM) Len Kasper, Bob Brenly
San Francisco Giants @ St. Louis Cardinals (ESPN 8PM) Dave O'Brien, Nomar Garciaparra

Thursday June 2

Pittsburgh Pirates @ New York Mets (MLBN 1PM) Local Broadcast
San Francisco Giants @ St. Louis Cardinals (MLBN 8PM) Bob Costas, Tom Verducci [Alternate Game: Minnesota @ Kansas City]

Friday June 3

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals (MLBN/WGNA 8PM) Matt Vasgersian, Tom Verducci [Alternate Game: Minnesota @ Kansas City]

Saturday June 4

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals (FOX 4PM) Joe Buck, Tim McCarver
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Cincinnati Reds (FOX 4PM) Thom Brennaman, Eric Karros
Colorado Rockies @ San Francisco Giants (FOX 4PM) Kenny Albert, Mark Grace
Detroit Tigers @ Chicago White Sox (WGNA 7PM) Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone
New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels (MLBN 9PM) Local Broadcast [Alternate Game: Houston @ San Diego - 8:30]

Sunday June 5

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals (TBS 2PM) Dick Stockton, John Smoltz
Detroit Tigers @ Chicago White Sox (WGNA 2PM) Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone
Atlanta Braves @ New York Mets (ESPN 8PM) Dan Shulman, Orle Hershiser, Bobby Valentine

H/T Sammy!

I was too young to remember Derek Jeter's debut in 1985.  His first decade in the majors was pretty quiet until he began to make some noise in 1995.