Keith Olbermann: New studio host for post-season MLB games

Harry Hooper

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Couperin47 said:
They are repeating his entire opening rant on SC, giving it the widest possible exposure...
 
 
They cut out the last paragraph on SC earlier:
 
And lastly, I accuse us, all of us, executives, players, fans, reporters, of failing to draw a line in the sand when one was needed most. Any games played by Baltimore without its executives and the Commissioner having been dismissed, and without Ray Rice Being permanently banned by the National football League, must be fully boycotted by all of us. If not, we become accessories After the fact.
 

Couperin47

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dirtynine said:
The whole rant is like a Sorkin dialogue applied to a real, breaking story. 
 
Keith has 2 things going for him on this:
 
1. What ever you think of him, he does this sort of thing as well as anyone these days.
2. He's been on this, consistently, since Aug.1 and, at that time, everyone...I mean EVERYONE considered it just tilting at windmills...
 

mabrowndog

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For those who'd rather watch it embedded here than click on a Deadspin link:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh1x1-Z91sU
 

Judge Mental13

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Buffalo Head said:
That was excellent, but all I could see was Ben Affleck crusading for Miss Precious Perfect.
 
That might have been one of the best impressions of anyone ever
 

JimD

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You'll have to excuse me for being cynical, but this plays out just perfectly for ESPN.  They get to showcase Olbermann and exhibit how tough they can be on the NFL, while being able to reassure their football partners behind the scenes that, no worries, he's just the office crank.  They are undoubtedly sitting in Bristol and watching which way the wind blows on this issue. 
 

dcmissle

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JimD said:
You'll have to excuse me for being cynical, but this plays out just perfectly for ESPN.  They get to showcase Olbermann and exhibit how tough they can be on the NFL, while being able to reassure their football partners behind the scenes that, no worries, he's just the office crank.  They are undoubtedly sitting in Bristol and watching which way the wind blows on this issue. 
That is exactly right. If something like this came from Mike Tirico in modulated form, it would be a nightmare for the League. That it came from this guy will only make the NFL owners dig in further.
 

Couperin47

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dcmissle said:
That is exactly right. If something like this came from Mike Tirico in modulated form, it would be a nightmare for the League. That it came from this guy will only make the NFL owners dig in further.
 
Lol yeah if it was just coming 'from him' that might be true...otoh considering how the rest of the world is reacting... don't bet on that.
 

OCST

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FWIW, KO's recent show on the 25th anniversary of the Pete Rose ban was also very well done.
 

Rusty13

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Watching the intro now on ESPN News.  Awesome stuff.  Hopefully there will be a youtube soon.
 

Reverend

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Or you could just watch it on ESPN.com.

Edit: hopefully this kills the nasty auto play link which is the devil--I have script blockers so I didn't know it was doing that, sorry.
 

Harry Hooper

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Keith: "To restore the slightest credibility to the den of liars, CYA specialists, and investigators whose job it is to bury whatever they actually find..."
 

mauidano

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Wow. Olberman is quite emotionally involved isn't he?  He does nail it as always.
 

Couperin47

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HriniakPosterChild said:
 
Would you please post a link if the embedded version has to be set to AUTOPLAY?
 
Yes, I also find that very annoying. So far I see no way to embed that doesn't autoplay. In addition, while they posted 2 good segments of this show, they did not post his opening rant from tonight. You can find the 2 segments: one with Adam Schefter and one with Sarah Spain here:
 
http://search.espn.go.com/keith-olbermann/
 

WenZink

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A tweet from 98.5's Hardy alerted me to KO's tribute to Gordie Howe, who is near death following a second stroke.  It is Keith at his best.  Full of detail, yet still to the point.  Reverential yet upbeat and with a healthy dose of self-deprecation.
 
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/gordie-howe-tribute-from-keith-olbermann-is-just-about-perfect--video-141838034.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=tw
 
I'm old enough to have seen NHL games when it was just the "Original 6."  Howe was the greatest.  I met him once at the end of a Red Sox game in 1985.  I was exiting up the steps from the box seats and Howe was in the top concourse, perpendicular to me with the traffic stopped at a halt.  He was right in front of me and I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me, but I was so awestruck by his presence that all I could manage was a Ralph Kramden "homina, homina, homina."
 

mauidano

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WenZink said:
A tweet from 98.5's Hardy alerted me to KO's tribute to Gordie Howe, who is near death following a second stroke.  It is Keith at his best.  Full of detail, yet still to the point.  Reverential yet upbeat and with a healthy dose of self-deprecation.
 
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/gordie-howe-tribute-from-keith-olbermann-is-just-about-perfect--video-141838034.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=tw
 
I'm old enough to have seen NHL games when it was just the "Original 6."  Howe was the greatest.  I met him once at the end of a Red Sox game in 1985.  I was exiting up the steps from the box seats and Howe was in the top concourse, perpendicular to me with the traffic stopped at a halt.  He was right in front of me and I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me, but I was so awestruck by his presence that all I could manage was a Ralph Kramden "homina, homina, homina."
It brought tears to my eyes yesterday. Gordie was my idol growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the late 60's.  Saw him play numerous times.  Met him at an autograph session in a department store. Not a big deal at the time, no one hardly there. Spent some time getting autographs and meeting this larger than life man. Totally awestruck.  Keith just opened up those memories with his tribute last night.  I am really becoming a fan of his show.
 

soxhop411

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ESPN Suspends Keith Olbermann For Penn State Tweets
 
 
 
We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN. We have discussed it with Keith, who recognizes he was wrong. ESPN and Keith have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of this week and will return on Monday. The annual tradition of THON and the efforts of the students of Penn State to fight pediatric cancer should be applauded.
 

dcmissle

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Was he drunk? This is just bizarre.
Or an asshole instead? Reportedly,

In one tweet, he said students who attended the school were “pitiful.” As others responded, he began to engage with a number of people on the social-media outlet.
 

mauidano

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For the most part I enjoy Olberman, I always have.  But yeah, sometimes he can be just fucking way out there.  I get his hate towards Penn St. and the whole Paterno thing, but he refuses to let it go.  He wants to go nuclear on the entire institution, past present and the future.  Obviously this was an unnecessary exchange and he is so narcissistic that he thinks he's always above reproach.  Worst thing is, he's "off the air" for four days, yet he still gets paid.  Who's worse here; Olberman or ESPN?
 

Blacken

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I disagree pretty strongly with Olbermann. Anyone giving that institution a dime, after their reprehensible behavior and the institutional and cultural doubling-down after Paterno croaked, is definitely not pitiful. Shitheads don't deserve pity.
 

riboflav

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I don't get what the big deal is. I pretty much agree with him and I'm sure many others also do. The Penn St. culture sucked and still seems to suck. The students are a big component of that culture. Should I be suspended from something?
 

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Blacken said:
I disagree pretty strongly with Olbermann. Anyone giving that institution a dime, after their reprehensible behavior and the institutional and cultural doubling-down after Paterno croaked, is definitely not pitiful. Shitheads don't deserve pity.
They were technically not giving money to Penn State. The money goes to a local children's hospital. Over the past 20 years, millions of dollars have been raised through the THON efforts of the PSU Community. I guess an analogy could be drawn to the Dana/Farber Radiothon and Dennis  and Callahan. Many people think D&H are dicks but still call up or donate to the Radiothon despite their personal opinions of the hosts.  Of course on the other hand to support your point, if people felt really strongly about donating to the hospital, they could donate directly to the hospital without involving the PSU kids or D&C as middlemen.
 

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Blacken said:
I disagree pretty strongly with Olbermann. Anyone giving that institution a dime, after their reprehensible behavior and the institutional and cultural doubling-down after Paterno croaked, is definitely not pitiful. Shitheads don't deserve pity.
100% agreed
 

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Blacken said:
I disagree pretty strongly with Olbermann. Anyone giving that institution a dime, after their reprehensible behavior and the institutional and cultural doubling-down after Paterno croaked, is definitely not pitiful. Shitheads don't deserve pity.
But do you hate and make fun of the biggest student-led fundraiser in the country? Cause that's what KO did.
 

SumnerH

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GreenMonster49 said:
 
 
Elgin Baylor has almost as many career Win Shares as Rasheed Wallace. So, no.
 
Different era.  Wallace might be 20th in WS among players to debut in his decade.  The same total puts Baylor at something like the #6 overall player to debut in the 1950s (Wilt, Russell, Bob Pettit, Bailey Howell, Paul Arizin...anyone else?) and he's got a higher PER than all but Pettit and Wilt.  
 
He was a better defender by reputation than Howell and Arizin (and DWS/game agrees, as suspect as it is), and a more efficient scorer who happened to share more of the scoring burden than they did.  He's arguably the best non-center among players who debuted in the 1950s.
 
It kind of comes down to how much you rate players' greatness within an era vs. trying to play the time-travel game.
 

luckiestman

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mauidano said:
For the most part I enjoy Olberman, I always have.  But yeah, sometimes he can be just fucking way out there.  I get his hate towards Penn St. and the whole Paterno thing, but he refuses to let it go.  He wants to go nuclear on the entire institution, past present and the future.  Obviously this was an unnecessary exchange and he is so narcissistic that he thinks he's always above reproach.  Worst thing is, he's "off the air" for four days, yet he still gets paid.  Who's worse here; Olberman or ESPN?
A lot of people left the Catholic Church because of how the church handled child rape. Many people still can't let it go. If some people want to go after penn state forever I don't have a problem with it.
 

Kliq

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Baylor is one of the 15 best players ever.
 
During the 61-62 season, Baylor got called into active duty and was stationed in Washington State. He was only allowed to play for the Lakers by getting a weekend pass, where he would fly coach out of Washington to wherever the Lakers were playing. Despite working in the military and never practicing with the Lakers, Baylor averaged a 38-18 in 48 games.
 
In the 1961 NBA Finals, Baylor scored a record 61 points. After the game Bob Cousy said "I went up to Satch Sanders and told him sincerely that he'd done a helluva job defensively. And he had. He made Elgin work for every basket. But that's how good Elgin was."
 
As a rookie in 1958-59, Baylor dragged the Lakers into the finals, defeating St. Louis in the West, with Baylor scoring 33 and holding the leagues reigning alpha dog, Bob Pettit, to just 24 points.
 
In 1965 Baylor blew out his knee during a time when that pretty much meant your career was over. He came back, and although he wasn't the same player, he still averaged at least 20 ppg four more times. He was also a rookie at age 24. Make him a rookie at 22 and if he didn't blow out his knee, he could have cleared 30,000 points and 14k boards. He was an All-NBA First Team 10 out of the 12 full seasons he played (I don't believe anyone has a better ratio) and an 11 time All-Star.
 
That is without factoring all of the intagible stuff, like the climate that he played in, his contribution to the verticality of the game, and the overwhelming respect and admiration of his peers.
 

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canderson said:
But do you hate and make fun of the biggest student-led fundraiser in the country? Cause that's what KO did.
Except he didn't.  He made fun of Penn State students only it's Twitter so it came off as he was making fun of THON.  Because Twitter is going to be the end of society as we know it.
 

kenneycb

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canderson said:
But do you hate and make fun of the biggest student-led fundraiser in the country? Cause that's what KO did.
Except he didn't.  He made fun of Penn State students only it's Twitter so it came off as he was making fun of THON.  Because Twitter is going to be the end of society as we know it.
 

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Bet on this: Olbermann will eventually end up at CNN, which now merely exists thanks to airport lounges, gyms and bundled cable. 
CNN very badly needs a primetime star and an identity, and they are the last network left that hasn't employed (and fired) Olbermann.
 
With their ratings light years behind FNC, what does CNN and Olbermann really have to lose?
 

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TheBoomah said:
Bet on this: Olbermann will eventually end up at CNN, which now merely exists thanks to airport lounges, gyms and bundled cable. 
CNN very badly needs a primetime star and an identity, and they are the last network left that hasn't employed (and fired) Olbermann.
 
Olbermann worked for CNN as a sports correspondent in the early 80s
 

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kenneycb said:
Except he didn't.  He made fun of Penn State students only it's Twitter so it came off as he was making fun of THON.  Because Twitter is going to be the end of society as we know it.
I took it as he was mocking Penn state as well, and not the charity. Personally I would have loved to see psu shut down completely (as unrealistic as that is).

I have no issues with people shitting on Penn State. They deserve it IMO.

This suspension/firing nonsense has to stop though.
 

canderson

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kenneycb said:
Except he didn't.  He made fun of Penn State students only it's Twitter so it came off as he was making fun of THON.  Because Twitter is going to be the end of society as we know it.
The exchanges I read were in direct response to THON posts so it came off as being flippant about that fundraiser, but Twitter interpretations are often skewed and yeah it sucks.
 

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canderson said:
The exchanges I read were in direct response to THON posts so it came off as being flippant about that fundraiser, but Twitter interpretations are often skewed and yeah it sucks.
It was his fault for continuing to respond without bothering to click on the link.

His co-worker and Penn Stater tweeted his own response.



"Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." Proverbs 18:2 #WeAre
— Todd Blackledge (@Todd_Blackledge) February 25, 2015
 

jayhoz

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Kieth Olbermann did the online equivalent of calling into a radio station where PSU kids were promoting THON to shit on them.  Whether his criticisms are valid, the context of the situation made him look boorish and dumb.
 

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NJ_Sox_Fan said:
100% agreed
I am not defending PSU but the money is not going to the school. All money raised is going to a children's hospital to treat children with cancer. If the money was going directly to benefit PSU then I agree with you and say screw PSU. Are you against people raising money to treat children's cancer? A good comparion is D&C raising money for Dana Faber.  In other words hate the messenger but not the message or the action. Am I mistaken here?
 

kenneycb

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sfip said:
It was his fault for continuing to respond without bothering to click on the link.

His co-worker and Penn Stater tweeted his own response.


"Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." Proverbs 18:2 #WeAre Todd Blackledge (@Todd_Blackledge) [URL="https://twitter.com/Todd_Blackledge/status/570569250571563009
https://twitter.com/Todd_Blackledge/status/570569250571563009"]February

link to tweet 25, 2015[/url]
That quote is quite ironic.