Time to call together the AA Book Club for the first (and probably-but-hopefully-not last) time.  For the last week or more, Those Guys Have All The Fun by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales has gripped the sports world like a Brett Favre retirement, Barry Bonds steroid case, and Tiger Woods affair all wrapped into one neat, 745 page package.  Yes, everyone is correct in saying that the book is probably 100-200 pages too long.  However, the size of the book, the story that it tells, and the stories inside the pages make Those Guys the authoritative book on ESPN... the Bible of Bristol, if you will.

As the authors make clear in the introduction, the book is not about the history of ESPN, but rather, it tells the story of ESPN.  This was a crucial decision, because the first person storytelling format is an enjoyable and easy read and at least makes the massive length of the book more bearable.  From crazy idea about a 24 hour sports channel launched by Bill and Scott Rasmussen in a northeastern traffic jam to a multi-billion dollar company led by George Bodenheimer, Those Guys chronicles each of ESPN's critical steps on its rise to world dominance.  In fact, Miller and Shales chronicle nine such seminal steps that brought ESPN to the top of the sports world.  These steps are as obvious as garnering NFL and MLB rights to surprises like the 1987 America's Cup coverage, This is SportsCenter ad campaign, or the initial dual revenue stream (selling advertising + cable fees).  

The book is successful in telling the reader everything you would probably ever need or want to know about ESPN.  I was born in 1986, so the realized part of my existence has always seen ESPN as the behemoth in sports television.  The book was enlightening to a younger fella like myself in telling the story of how exactly ESPN survived and thrived in the world of early cable TV.  In fact, most of our audience and the younger crowd may be disappointed to learn that the majority of the book focuses on the actual business of building a network and a brand... not sex & drugs, talent feuds, or other salacious details (although there is a mention of farting contests between Dan Patrick and Gary Miller, can't believe that hasn't gotten any serious questions yet)... however, it was these very details that I surprisingly found to be most interesting...

In a story that's sure to make waves across the blogosphere (rightly or wrongly), ESPN's Jenn Brown announced on Twitter that she is going to be the sideline reporter at the College World Series in Omaha.  Does baseball technically have sidelines?  I'm confused.  Anyways, that wouldn't normally be a big deal, but that job did belong to one Erin Andrews.  Now, is the sideline job at the College World Series a huge news story... no.  

However, any news of one popular ESPN personality replacing another in any job is bound to be a story in this current environment of Those Guys Have All The Fun.  And, when probably the most popular ESPN personality of them all, Erin Andrews, is replaced in anything, it will be a big story.  I can see EA fans asking questions about Jenn Brown replacing her on this job or thoughts that maybe Brown is becoming the new favorite among female sideline reporters.  In fact, Jenn Brown has been pegged as "the next Erin Andrews" since she first started appearing on the sidelines.

In the hype surrounding Those Guys, Erin Andrews vs Michelle Beadle is one of the most interesting stories/feuds to come out of the book, with Deadspin referring to sides being taken in the showdown between Bristol bombshells.  Of course, a headline like that will draw eyeballs and interest.  Now, with Jenn Brown seemingly taking a job away from Erin Andrews, expect that pot to be stirred as well.  Of course, EA may have dropped the CWS on her own and it's very likely that this is a non-story and there is no controversy involved whatsoever... but because of the names involved and the way the news dropped, there will be restlessness and intrigue.  

Too bad Oprah's now retired, or else all of this ESPN drama could have been sorted out by now.

***Update - Darren Rovell has tweeted that Rob Stone will replace EA on the Scripps National Spelling Bee next week, so that's two Erin Andrews related news stories.  No word yet why EA is being replaced on these assignments from ESPN. 

[Fang's Bites]

Jim Miller, the co-author of “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN” has been on the interview circuit since the book hit the shelves earlier this week.  On Tuesday, he checked in with ESPN’s Mike and Mike and then, yesterday, he dropped by Dan Patrick’s studio. Next week, he's coming to AA.  Patrick, who was employed by ESPN for 18 years before jumping ship, went back and forth with Miller for almost 20 minutes.  The conversation was quite entertaining. To no surprise, it was a much better interview than the one conducted by Greenie and Golic on ESPN airwaves.  Miller seemed a lot more comfortable with Patrick than he did with the two Mikes, which led to some nice little anecdotes from the author of the 750 page hardcover.  One of my favorites had to do with the intensity of Tony Kornheiser’s grudges and the impact that Kornheiser’s 2010 suspension had on some of the ESPN employees that Miller had spoken to for the book.

I already knew Kornheiser was a little nutty so I wasn’t shocked to hear about how ridiculously unforgiving of a man he is.  His tumultuous history with ESPN goes back several years.  The second suspension Miller mentions was a much less publicized fiasco than the Hannah Storm controversy.  According to Miller's book, TK was taken off his radio show for two weeks and PTI for one week in 2002 for swearing during affiliate breaks and going after the station's general manager.  ESPN wasn't happy because those commercial breaks were streamed online at ESPN.com.

Miller eventually turned the tables on Patrick and started firing the former ESPN star some questions of his own.  Miller wondered why Patrick, who wasn’t happy at ESPN, would stay with the network for as long as he did.  Patrick blamed the Bristol brass for making him feel trapped.

Wow! That sounds like a fun environment to work in.  Nice job by Miller to get some quality nuggets out of Patrick. According to most reviews, Miller did a nice job with the book as well. I guess the guy knows how to ask the right questions.

Bob Bender writes about the sports media at Press Box Daily and is the Supervisor of Sports Production at Westwood One Radio.

On Monday, we told you that TNT would bring their studio set inside Miami’s America Airlines Arena for their coverage of Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals. The move was made after Miami Heat fans outside the arena disrupted TNT’s Game 3 postgame show by shouting obscenities and throwing towels at Charles Barkley. I thought it was a wise decision to relocate the studio show.  There’s no reason the television audience needs to hear profanity laced chants.  As much as I’d love to see Barkley sock one of those over-tanned, over-served Miami fans, the last thing TNT wanted was for a brawl to break out on national television.

Last night, as Game 4 was winding down, Heat fans were all over Barkley again.  I don’t know how much sense it makes for a crowd to celebrate a huge overtime win and a 3-1 series lead by cursing out a studio analyst, but, that’s what they did.  It was a little ridiculous and kudos to Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller and the TNT production crew for having some fun with it.

Other networks might have ignored the inappropriate chants, but TNT understood the levity of the moment and gave it a little play.  Considering the game was wrapped up, it was the smart thing to do.  Now, if TNT were really smart, they would yank Miller out of the booth and just go with the two-man team of Albert and Kerr. If they did that, they would at least keep us from having to yell obscenities while watching the game.


Bob Bender writes about the sports media at Press Box Daily and is the Supervisor of Sports Production at Westwood One Radio.

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I can't say that I'm a regular watcher of Tosh.0, but this video may change my mind.  I have no idea how he got Gus Johnson and "Boom Goes The Dynamite" Brian Collins together in one place at one time, but he did, and the result is awesomeness.  Evidently this skit revolves around Daniel Tosh giving Collins the chance to redeem himself for pretty much the most awful video in the history of the internet (besides Rebecca Black) for the appropriately named Web Redemption.  Tosh even brings Collins together with Gus Johnson to call a fake pick-up game.  Gus brings it as you would expect, even adding patented lines like "Rise and Fire," but Brian Collins even has his funny moments calling the fake game as well!  I'm serious!  In fact, Gus probably has better chemistry with the Boom Goes the Dynamite guy than he did with Reggie Miller.  

However, the star of this clip is not Gus or Boom Goes the Dyanmite, it's Tosh.  In probably the greatest rant related to announcing and the sports media I've ever heard, he takes down Joe Buck, ESPN, Chris Berman, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso, Frank Caliendo, Lou Holtz, Mel Kiper, Marv Albert, Dana Jacobsen, sideline reporters, and Harry Caray with impeccable wit and precision.  For the pick-up game, he mocks Craig Sager with a ridiculously colored suit.  In Tosh's interview with Collins, we learn that "Boom Goes the Dynamite" comes from getting hit by the green shells in Mario Kart.  I hated those things.  I would tell you more, but the whole segment is simply one of the most hilarious skits I've seen in a long time.  Kick your feet up and enjoy!



And just for old time's sake, here's the video that started all the fun...



[H/T GuysGirl!]

Ok, maybe "most bizarre goal ever" is an impossible statement to prove, but I can't remember such an important goal being so crazy.  Ok, I remember Patrick Kane's Stanley Cup Finals winning goal from last year, but that was nothing compared to the sequence of events that saw the Canucks defeat the Sharks in the WCF last night.  This Canucks goal by Kevin Bieksa is just downright strange.  Alex Edler tried a regular dump in behind the net around the glass.  Instead, the puck careened back towards the middle of the blue line and right to Bieksa.  With Sharks goalie Antti Niemi expecting the puck to come around to the other side of the ice, Bieksa sent an unsuspecting knuckling puck towards the net with everyone on the ice as oblivious as Mr. Magoo.  How's that for a relevant cultural reference?



I'm sure that's just the way Vancouver drew it up.  It's always amusing to hear announcers try and talk through a situation where they have absolutely no idea what happened.  I didn't see it live, but it seems like the VS announcers Dave Strader and Brian Engblom handled it fairly well.  Vancouver will now face the winner of Boston/Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Something tells me Gary Bettman isn't exactly rooting for Canucks/Lightning to give the NHL a ratings boost.  

After a week of excerpts, publicity, and hype, Those Guys Have All The Fun, the ESPN tell all book, is released today.  We published two excerpts already about Tony Kornheiser's departure from Monday Night Football and Bill Simmons with some sure-to-be controversial comments on life in Bristol.  Those Guys Have All The Fun is the most anticipated sports book of the year and probably the most anticipated sports media book of all the times.  The book is now on sale so you can read all the juicy excerpts and the story of how ESPN rose from a crazy idea nobody thought would succeed to the most powerful, successful entity in sports.  

I hope to post a review at the end of the week, but I'm only about halfway through the behemoth.  (I've done less reading in a semester of grad school.)  It's true that there are juicy, page-turning salacious details... but, the majority of the book is hearing from executives and insiders on the story of ESPN's growth as a network and a business.  You may think that this is a downer, but I've found those details to be very interesting and enlightening because of the characters and the conflict throughout the book.  Other younger fans may just be interested in the last decade and hearing from guys like Kornheiser, Simmons, and others.  Others may just try to find the sex and drug stories.  In truth, there's something for everyone in the book, you just have to find it if you're not interested in the entire 750 page narrative.

This is where you come in - leave your thoughts and comments on the ESPN book release below in this Open Thread.  If you've read any part of the book, this is your place to go for discussion, questions, and reaction.  Also, we've booked an interview with James Andrew Miller, one of the authors of Those Guys, for next week.  If there are questions that you'd like us to ask Miller, leave them below as well.  We will try to ask Miller some of our best reader questions in the interview next week.  Until then, happy reading!

ESPN's NBA studio host Stuart Scott asked analysts Magic Johnson, Michael Wilbon and Jon Barry to each give a "Bold Statement" right before the start of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.  To be honest, I wasn't able to focus on any of their commentary because I was blinded by the three shiny heads that filled my television screen...

Who's idea was it to execute the segment like that?  I didn't find it at all necessary to have all three of their waxed heads appearing on the screen in that fashion.  It was distracting. Instead of listening to their predictions, I chuckled.  I saw the word bold, but I also saw bald and well, my sense of humor took over.  Sometimes, because of segments like this, I think ESPN doesn't mind being parodied by programs like SportsDome.  Talk about setting yourself up to be made fun of.

Like I said, I didn't hear a word that any of the guys said when I was first watching, but, after a second viewing, I think it's safe to say that Johnson and Barry had no idea what their producer was looking for.  Their comments were WEAK.  The only thing weaker was the way that ESPN stole a page from TNT's Inside the NBA playbook by showing Johnson, Wilbon, Barry and Scott dressed in farmers gear.  I get that they want to loosen up the crew a bit, but they could have been a tad more original.  They blatantly copied TNT's schtick and that's just lame.  The ESPN crew isn't at all like the TNT crew and ESPN really should avoid venturing into areas that clearly don't suit the personalities of their talent. Is that too bold of a statement? Well, I'll let you decide.

Bob Bender writes about the sports media at Press Box Daily and is the Supervisor of Sports Production at Westwood One Radio.
 

Get ready for another story about an NBA personality and controversial interaction with Miami Heat fans.  Earlier today, we told you about Joakim Noah using a gay slur in a confrontation with a heckler, and now comes word that TNT will not use their outdoor set for Game 4 because of Charles Barkley getting into it with Heat fans.  Instead, Inside the NBA will take shelter in American Airlines Arena.  Here's a Youtube vid of Barkley giving Heat fans the double fingered salute after Game 3...



Evidently, Heat fans are a little miffed at Barkley dissing their team as whiny and picking the Bulls to defeat the Heat.  I can't blame TNT for wanting to move their studio show inside and away from fans chanting what sounds like "F&#$ you Chuck" at Barkley and going out on their airwaves.  Fans even threw towels at Barkley.  Seriously Miami?  That's weak.  First, you have to be begged to show up on time for games, and then you throw crap at Charles Barkley?  You have three of the best players in the Association on your team including two all-time greats, you're a heavy favorite to win a second NBA title... what's with all the anger and outrage?  Relax and go down to South Beach and realize every NBA fan wants what you have.  As it is Charles Barkley we're dealing with, he tries to get the last laugh as quoted in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel...

"You know those people can yell and scream but they don't have the hair on their (butt) to grab me," he said. "They don't have enough hair on their (butts) to walk up to me man to man and say, 'Let's do this.'

"All that yelling and screaming just makes me laugh, man."

Barkley found Sunday's scene amusing.

"They were telling me I suck," he said. "They were telling me I never won a championship. Like, 'Come on, give me something better than that, dude.'

"I always laugh at that statement, 'You didn't get a ring. 'I'm like, dude, you work at McDonald's. My life's a lot better than yours. You relax.'

At least make fun of his golf swing instead of his basketball ability, Heat fans.  If a scene like this happens at Game 4, here's hoping Barkley simply tells the Miami haters to FAN UP!!!!   

[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Last month, Kobe Bryant was in the spotlight for uttering a gay slur on the bench in a Lakers home game against the Spurs.  I thought at the time that it was surprising that this kind of thing didn't happen more often, realizing the language that exists in pro sports and the amount of TV cameras all over the place.  Well, lo and behold, it happened again in the Eastern Conference Finals last night on TNT.  This time, it was Joakim Noah's turn to use a gay slur.  Here's the expletive-laden video...



Kobe was fined 100k, so I would expect Noah to be fined the same amount.  If David Stern does more or less, I'm sure there will be an outcry from somewhere.  If there is one difference in this situation though, Noah is directing his comments towards a (likely heckling and obnoxious) fan and not on the bench about a referee.  Does that make it more or less acceptable?  Probably not.  One thing though is that a month after Kobe's comments, Noah's slur comes in the midst of Phoenix Suns President Rick Welts coming out and publicly stating that he is gay as well as an ESPN Radio host in New York, Jared Max.  Slowly but surely, the tide is turning and sports is catching up to other parts of society in terms of awareness and acceptance.  Hopefully this is the last of these videos we have to see.