ESPN Is Pathetic

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,536
Looks like Paul Lukas UniWatch is going to a subscription-based model.

I think that I've read 95% of the entries that he's done -- it's usually my first stop in the morning -- but I don't think that I'm going to pay $5 or $10 a month for the content. I don't think that it's worth it, to be honest. He came off a little douchey with his lede insinuating that he's doing this to fight for the rights of other journalists, but the truth is he wants to get paid for something that he spends a lot of time on -- and that's perfectly legit.

But, I mean, that's Paul Lukas, I guess. Oh well.
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
I think he's hinted at this for awhile. I stopped reading him in late 2015 and have missed it much less than I thought I would. I started with him way back before the most recent web address , probably went there every day for 4 or 5 years .
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,536
I think he's hinted at this for awhile. I stopped reading him in late 2015 and have missed it much less than I thought I would. I started with him way back before the most recent web address , probably went there every day for 4 or 5 years .
Has he? I guess I ignored it or skimmed over that part.

If he does go behind a paywall, it'll be fine. I won't have to read about people getting pissed off about incredibly mundane inconsistencies or read about how XXXX team's new uniforms are "the fucking worst thing on the planet and OMG, I can't believe that people are actually going to play in these things!" Which, Lukas doesn't always write about, but his acolytes certainly do.
 

Captaincoop

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
13,487
Santa Monica, CA
I always kind of enjoyed Uni Watch, but there is no chance I'm paying for it. Let alone paying the same as I pay for a Netflix subscription. His argument for why I should is not exactly compelling, either:

upload_2018-2-28_11-42-50.png
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,536
I always kind of enjoyed Uni Watch, but there is no chance I'm paying for it. Let alone paying the same as I pay for a Netflix subscription. His argument for why I should is not exactly compelling, either:

View attachment 19847
Yeah, it's basically, "Hey, I write a lot and I'm a one-man-band, give me some cash." Which is fine and I don't disagree with it, but you have to give me something a bit more than "The Mobile Biscuits are wearing Star Wars uniforms this weekend." I haven't pulled the trigger on the Athletic or the Boston Sports Journal yet, but I think that they're right around the same price and feature a lot more than one guy writing about jerseys and stuff.
 

Captaincoop

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
13,487
Santa Monica, CA
I would love to get paid a lot of money to sit on my computer and share links that people send me about cool uniforms, instead of working for a living. Please send me money and I'll start UniformZone.com.
 

pedro1918

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
5,139
Map Ref. 41°N 93°W
I used to read it pretty regularly, but I have been less interested in recent years. I really can't stand his non-sports/uniform stuff. I certainly don't need to pay money to read his blog posts about his vacations and how he likes to cook meat. As JMOH pointed out, there are other pay sites I haven't ponied up for yet (Boston Sports Journal) that will come way before Uni-Watch.
 

ifmanis5

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2007
63,740
Rotten Apple
The bidding war for Peyton is up to $10 million a year: http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/peyton-manning-nfl-thursday-monday-night-football-fox-mnf-espn-10-million-who-replaces-jon-gruden/1cjjru4vzm1eb1e0fvaeb7tikm

The longer Peyton Manning plays hard to get, the more ESPN and Fox Sports are willing to pay him, sources tell Sporting News. Both networks are so hungry for Manning to call their respective "Monday Night Football" and "Thursday Night Football" games that they're willing to pay him up to $10 million annually.
 

wnyghost

New Member
Aug 8, 2010
149
Gruden was just south of $7m per. $10m sounds like a good deal to get Peyton Manning.

I believe Strahan makes at least $10m working with Ripa who makes $20m.
 

cheech13

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 5, 2006
1,608
I will never in a million years understand bidding wars for announcers because I have never turned on a game based on an announce team. In my mind the best announcers are the ones you never even notice.
 

dcmissle

Deflatigator
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 4, 2005
28,269
Yes. College basketball. Dick Vitale, especially any games involving Duke.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,090
Tuukka's refugee camp
That's another effect. Ads are presumably worth less with the sound off than with the sound on, working on the assumption you don't adjust volume so you can see a Car Fax ad. The less people turn the volume down, the better. Now there's no way to quantify it, but I imagine if you make a few assumptions, you can ballpark the impact of having a shitty announcer.
 

ifmanis5

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2007
63,740
Rotten Apple
Almost every sporting event I watch is on mute unless it's a big game or something important happens, then I'll put the sound up. If the 1-877-Kars-4-Kids commercial comes on I'll just nuke the TV from orbit to be safe.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
Looks like Paul Lukas UniWatch is going to a subscription-based model.

I think that I've read 95% of the entries that he's done -- it's usually my first stop in the morning -- but I don't think that I'm going to pay $5 or $10 a month for the content. I don't think that it's worth it, to be honest. He came off a little douchey with his lede insinuating that he's doing this to fight for the rights of other journalists, but the truth is he wants to get paid for something that he spends a lot of time on -- and that's perfectly legit.

But, I mean, that's Paul Lukas, I guess. Oh well.
This sucks. I loved his articles. But no, not enough to pay for them.
 

ifmanis5

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2007
63,740
Rotten Apple
Appears Manning is out of the ESPN running as well: https://nypost.com/2018/03/09/peyton-manning-will-say-no-to-espn-replacing-jon-gruden/

Sources said Manning, the most sought-after NFL television free agent of the winter, has passed on calling games on Monday night, while ESPN has decided to drop McDonough from its top NFL team.
Fox wants Manning for Thursday games:
FOX continues a concerted effort to turn Thursday night into a bigger prime time event than ESPN’s Monday night and hopes the 41-year-old Manning can be the central part.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 25, 2002
90,016
Oregon
Why would Manning want to call games on Thursday nights? I wonder if Fox would be willing to jettison or demote Aikman as their #1 analyst, or even if NBC might consider doing likewise with Collinsworth; I don't get why Manning would settle for anything less.
Well, if we start with the point right above your post ... it would be part of an effort to maximize the Thursday games as must-see television on a night that draws a lot of eyes to the screen. FOX can market Manning as a primetime "star" as opposed to marketing him as a lead Sunday analyst which, while a prime gig, is an entirely different animal when it comes to national appeal.

If Manning's goals are more national in scope -- whether in television, sports or politics -- the primetime gig is a better platform.

Plus, the Thursday game schedule is set, while the Sunday gig becomes dependent on the success of the teams as the season goes along. It's a more manageable schedule that includes weekends off.

I could see NBC being a player for the Sunday night game -- the competition for eyeballs isn't as strong as it is on Thursdays.
 
Well, if we start with the point right above your post ... it would be part of an effort to maximize the Thursday games as must-see television on a night that draws a lot of eyes to the screen. FOX can market Manning as a primetime "star" as opposed to marketing him as a lead Sunday analyst which, while a prime gig, is an entirely different animal when it comes to national appeal.

If Manning's goals are more national in scope -- whether in television, sports or politics -- the primetime gig is a better platform.
I think it would take a lot more than Manning's presence to make Thursday Night NFL a must-see proposition...which is why I can't see Manning finding that package attractive (unless e.g. games selected for the TNF slot become more akin to SNF than the current TNF or MNF lineups). Also, wouldn't Manning want to be involved in the postseason as an analyst? Would he settle for second slot behind Aikman and be done at the end of the Divisional Round?

I guess it depends on what Manning wants out of broadcasting, really. But his doesn't seem like the sort of ego that would settle for second billing.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,275

Huge news: Skipper resigns from ESPN
More info on why

In December, ESPN President John Skipper announced his resignation, citing a substance addiction. Skipper now says it wasn’t the addiction that forced him to resign, but rather an unsavory character he used as a source for cocaine, who began extorting him.

Skipper tells the Hollywood Reporter that after having used cocaine for years and always managing to keep it separate from his job, he mixed up with the wrong drug dealer, and that person threatened to do damage to him and to his company.

“It turned out I wasn’t careful this time,” Skipper said. “They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well.”
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/03/15/ex-espn-president-says-he-resigned-because-his-cocaine-dealer-extorted-him/
 

johnmd20

mad dog
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 30, 2003
61,996
New York City
I mean, drug dealers are unsavory characters. Who knew?

"having used cocaine for years and always managing to keep it separate from his job" Sure John, that's probably how it happened. Everything was fine while he was using an illegal drug until some asshole tried to take it all away from him. Clearly his culpability is non-existent.
 

Dehere

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 25, 2010
3,143
Story really suggests to me that Iger was already looking for a way to move beyond Skipper. The stuff Skipper is copping to here isn't great but you can send a guy to rehab and keep his seat warm if you really think he's the right guy for the job.
 

Van Everyman

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2009
26,993
Newton
Can we talk about the fact that the guy who rose through the ranks that Disney chose to lead its massive multimedia sports empire was a cokehead? I'm sure more of these guys are addicts that we think -- but even still, this feels like something out of The Player.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312
I mean, drug dealers are unsavory characters. Who knew?

"having used cocaine for years and always managing to keep it separate from his job" Sure John, that's probably how it happened. Everything was fine while he was using an illegal drug until some asshole tried to take it all away from him. Clearly his culpability is non-existent.
If he could, then he’s not an addict and it’s bs to claim addiction when it was really just poor judgment in giving someone blackmail material.
 

johnmd20

mad dog
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 30, 2003
61,996
New York City
If he could, then he’s not an addict and it’s bs to claim addiction when it was really just poor judgment in giving someone blackmail material.
We definitely need a Google rating system for Drug Dealers. So people can shop for the good ones.

"One star, tried to blackmail me, I'll never use again. Unless I'm really jonsing."
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312
We definitely need a Google rating system for Drug Dealers. So people can shop for the good ones.

"One star, tried to blackmail me, I'll never use again. Unless I'm really jonsing."
I think I told the story here about when my dealer sent out a group text to all his clients that he had a car again so he could deliver to the outer boroughs. The funny part was reviewing the numbers in the chain, some were people I knew from college.
 

CoffeeNerdness

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 6, 2012
8,712
Considering that Skipper is renowned, but not necessarily recognizable by looks you have to wonder how it came to be that a coke dealer knew he was a important guy. Either the dealer was a media savvy fellow or Skipper got a bit chatty when making his purchase. Must have been some good stuff.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312
Considering that Skipper is renowned, but not necessarily recognizable by looks you have to wonder how it came to be that a coke dealer knew he was a important guy. Either the dealer was a media savvy fellow or Skipper got a bit chatty when making his purchase. Must have been some good stuff.
I mean, he probably lives somewhere nice and the dealer probably googled his phone number.

It’s shocking how reckless people are with this stuff.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312
When people ask for referrals I’m shocked how many don’t use a texting app or are fine with their real first names. Maybe it’s just the litigator in me, but I’m terrified of texts.

Hell, married grey watch dealers I deal with will text me pictures and conversations with hookers or side girls and then try to negotiate prices against me on the (correct) assumption I won’t blackmail them.

People are stupid.
 

shaggydog2000

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 5, 2007
11,482
lol, you didn't catch it ? CC '69, CLaw '73 and I was in the Columbia Science Honors program for HS students (classes Friday afternoons and Sat) for 3 years, I was on campus from 1962 til 1973.
Does that make you the Columbia equivalent of a Triple Eagle then?