Steve Phillips as hypo GM of... everybody!

[ISiddiqui]

So... anyone see this wierd thing on SportsCenter where Steve Phillips acts like the GM during a hypo press conference of a particular team? Yesterday it was the BoSox. Today, the Yankees. Tomorrow, it's the Cubs.

How long is this going to go for?

And wouldn't it be just as effective to ask Phillips these questions in studio? Or are these actually random questions from baseball writers (I don't believe that, though).

Or is ESPN trying to get Phillips a job ;).

[Poli]

I've got to watch more ESPN.

[Tekneek]

I couldn't figure out the point of it. There isn't enough news related to sports so they are staging fake news conferences to fill the time?

[mtaystl03]

I think it is terribly scripted and just a new way of getting information to people.

[ISiddiqui]

I think it is terribly scripted and just a new way of getting information to people.My thoughts exactly. I guess it looks nicer than Dan Patrick sitting with Steve Phillips, asking him questions about each team every night.

[Flasch186]

awful....


My idea for a weekly show?!!!! SPORTS SOUP, a host who takes the radio clips, and audio clips from newsworthy sporting events throughout the week and then does a :30 minute "recreation" of the if's and the whats surrounding it. FOR EXAMPLE, remember the pitcher that was accused of wiping pine tar on his hands for grip? He went on the air and described himself as a "sweater", he said, "Ima fat guy. I sweat....a lot. I was trying to get a better grip." so then it cuts to the mound in game of the fattest guy, dripping sweat all over himself, on the ball, etc. Perhaps the manager comes to the mound, "are you allright?" "Yup fine." sweating on the coach etc. 10 seconds or 15.

Then another one was the IRL commissioner saying that Dannica Patrick deserved to be int he kitchen like any other household good. How did it sound when he apologized later that week? Cut to, a very wealthy and leathery living room, a fire burns in the background while a Mexican lady cleans. He calls Danica (true story) and in the middle of trying to explain himself he basically starts to reiterate the same stereotypical behavior.

The nascar helmet throwing doen with kids, in a cul de sac with big wheels, etc. But with the Talk soup type host. Maybe even be able to get some of the celebritys or atheletes involved.

The show is shown on like a Saturday night after Sportscenter?



What do you think of that? potential?

[st.cronin]

I would be in favor of ESPN broadcasting a Flasch led writing workshop. In your own way, you are as unique as Hemingway and Faulkner.

[JonInMiddleGA]

potential?

At the risk of encouraging them (or you ;) ), I will admit that it sounds better than a lot of the new programs they've aired in the past year.

[cthomer5000]

this is on right now if anyone cares...

[Ragone]

i'd personally be in favor of espn covering sports highlights.. without announcers trying to come up with quippy one liners.. hip hop references no one cares about.. etc

only way to get that is to watch espnews for 45 minutes to an hour to catch the highlights you are looking for..

[digamma]

I caught a bit of this last night, and it's moments like that when I remember why I don't watch all that much SportsCenter any more.

[Toddzilla]

I reiterate my previous position that these segments are okay by me so long as Steve Philips sticks to a script as he is the undisputed stupidest person in baseball in all of recorded history.

[rkmsuf]

For Phillips isn't that kind of embarassing. He's reduced to a "simulated" gm now.

[CraigSca]

I've only watched the Red Sox one thus far, and made it halfway before I cut both my eyes out and took a Q-tip to each ear drum. Everything's fine now.

[SackAttack]

For Phillips isn't that kind of embarassing. He's reduced to a "simulated" gm now.

I'm not sure how different that is from his tenure under the Wilpons.

[Ksyrup]

CNN.com has an article about blurring the lines between entertainment and reality, and specifically mention Phillips's simulated GM bit and a real NBC News scroll during a fictional debate on West Wing. Here's the bit on Phillips:


Not a real GM, a former one

Over on ESPN, fans who watched "SportsCenter" Sunday and Monday may have done a double-take: There was Phillips, a former New York Mets general manager, sitting behind a bank of microphones and before a background with the Red Sox insignia, answering questions from ESPN reporters.

Was he the replacement for Theo Epstein, who quit last week?

No, Phillips was just playing one on television.

A text "crawl" on the screen identified it as a "simulated Red Sox news conference." Yet at a time news and sports networks constantly have a barrage of text information on their screens, it might not have immediately caught viewers' eyes.

Vince Doria, ESPN's news director, said it was done to enliven what is often a dull segment: analysts like Phillips sitting behind a desk and speculating about what teams will do.

"We were certainly aware that we needed to provide some kind of constant disclaimer," Doria said. "I would hope that we haven't gone too far. If we thought we had gone too far, we obviously wouldn't have done it."

Phillips will continue these fake news conferences for other teams, he said.

Next up: the New York Yankees, who, unlike the Red Sox, have a real general manager in place.

[lytic]

I saw the BoSox one and it had technical difficulties halfway through. I laughed since it was a simulated new conf and they screwed it up. I didn't bother to watch the others.

[Young Drachma]

So... anyone see this wierd thing on SportsCenter where Steve Phillips acts like the GM during a hypo press conference of a particular team? Yesterday it was the BoSox. Today, the Yankees. Tomorrow, it's the Cubs.

How long is this going to go for?

And wouldn't it be just as effective to ask Phillips these questions in studio? Or are these actually random questions from baseball writers (I don't believe that, though).

Or is ESPN trying to get Phillips a job ;).

I think they're trying to get him a job. I guess they're being cute about just asking him the same questions, but...it seems sorta stupid. I think when I first saw it, I thought of "The Situation Room" on CNN and that's ESPN's best take on it.

Who knows...

[Tekneek]

"News Entertainment" is a wonderful concept... :(