ESPN Cleaning House

[JayBee74]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

First Take is great. I’m not a Kellerman fan, but I love when Will Cain or Damien Woody are on. Stephen A is the best, of course. Note that I watch First Take more for the comedy than for legitimate sports takes, though.

I certainly miss Skip, too. Undisputed is pretty good/funny at FS1, but nothing can stack up to the greatness of Stephen A and Skip together on Firat Take back in the day.

Will Cain is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I immediately deleted First Take yesterday when I saw him on and Molly, Stephen A., and Max out as they begin their transition to New York. He just comes off as arrogant.

Kellerman is bright sometimes coming off as a pseudo-intellectual, but he has that chemistry with Stephen A. I got tired of Skip and his blatant trolling and fanboyism and 30 minute Dallas Cowboy segments.

[mgoblue]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

I remember not liking Jemele back when she was writing in Detroit, so not really sad she's gone...I was a big fan of Terry Foster back then too, so I think it's less race and just more her personality that rubs me the wrong way.

I don't mind the political aspects, but it seems like she always went there. Whitlock is somewhat the same way. He is such a blowhard now it's hard to take him seriously

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

How do y’all like Stephen A? He is the King of Clowns on that network.

[SPTO]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

How do y’all like Stephen A? He is the King of Clowns on that network.

I could tell you something about Stephen A. but yeah.....Descretion is the better part of valor on that one. Let's just say he does himself no favors with his antics.

[Speedy]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

How do y’all like Stephen A? He is the King of Clowns on that network.

To be fair, lets give Mel Kiper his due. I think he has held that distinction since 1994.

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[jake44np]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

How do y’all like Stephen A? He is the King of Clowns on that network.

Steve A is the king of throwing things out there to just stir up the pot.
He says things sometimes that I know he doesn't really believe, just to get people to argue with him.
I cannot stand people like that.
One of my best friends does it on Facebook all the time.
So much so that I unfriended him because I was getting tired of seeing it.
He got pissed at me over it, but I told him I needed to move on from his FB "personality".
To this day he doesn't talk to me much.

[p_rushing]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Steve A is the king of throwing things out there to just stir up the pot.
He says things sometimes that I know he doesn't really believe, just to get people to argue with him.
I cannot stand people like that.
One of my best friends does it on Facebook all the time.
So much so that I unfriended him because I was getting tired of seeing it.
He got pissed at me over it, but I told him I needed to move on from his FB "personality".
To this day he doesn't talk to me much.

That's part of the act though. In the production meetings they actually talk about who is taking what side, saying what, etc. People like to watch the arguments. Without that, the show isn't on the air still.

I can't stand it, but I guess enough people like watching it.

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[Caulfield]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Somewhere, Howard Cosell is looking down smiling, because of Stephen A. also, Stephen A. isnt nearly as smart as he thinks he is. I'd rather jam a fork in my ear than listen to the drivel he passes off as entertaining.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

When I stepped back and realized SAS is just playing a character, he became a lot more entertaining to me. I don’t tune in specifically to watch anything he does, but he has some absolute gold one-liners through the years.

He’s got a bunch of people in here talking about him who claim they don’t watch him, so he’s doing something right.


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[SPTO]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Somewhere, Howard Cosell is looking down smiling, because of Stephen A. also, Stephen A. isnt nearly as smart as he thinks he is. I'd rather jam a fork in my ear than listen to the drivel he passes off as entertaining.

I dunno, I think Cosell would view him as a clown especially when he knows that SAS is basically a character. Cosell's television persona was definitely larger than life but it was definitely an extension of his deep seated beliefs. Cosell at times showed a journalistic integrity (he once hosted a weekly sports issues show in the mold of Nightline for a while) that Stephen A. WISHES he had. Cosell was above all else a frustrated wannabe news guy. In fact, at one point in the early '80s he lobbied very hard to get the World News Tonight anchor spot but Roone Arledge turned him down which affected him greatly.

A lot of what passes for sports opinion these days would squarely land in the "jockocrisy" label that Cosell coined in one of his books.

[jake44np]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

When I stepped back and realized SAS is just playing a character, he became a lot more entertaining to me. I don’t tune in specifically to watch anything he does, but he has some absolute gold one-liners through the years.

He’s got a bunch of people in here talking about him who claim they don’t watch him, so he’s doing something right.


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When it comes to sports I don't want to listen or watch a character. I want someone who believes what they say and is honest and knows what they are talking about.
And while I agree I am obviously talking about him. I do not listen to or watch him at all.
Haven't fir awhile now.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

When I stepped back and realized SAS is just playing a character, he became a lot more entertaining to me. I don’t tune in specifically to watch anything he does, but he has some absolute gold one-liners through the years.

He’s got a bunch of people in here talking about him who claim they don’t watch him, so he’s doing something right.


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I don’t watch him or that show but when I read that people find him entertaining or enjoy watching him, that prompted me to ask.

He’s been a clown ever since that Jalen Rose/Skip Bayless incident and the also the KD incident as well.

[JayhawkerStL]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

When people obsess over stuff they hate, it reveals a lot about who they are, and pretty much nothing about the object of their disdain. Like, I don't care for SAS, but it seems awfully easy to just watch something else.

Goes for video games, TV shows, and all other kinds of pop culture media. Some people are just really bad at watching TV and films. They either lack the self awareness it takes to choose what they consume more wisely, so as to avoid stuff they won't like, or they spend so much time dissecting that they completely ruin the experience for themselves and anyone watching with them.

[CMH]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

When people obsess over stuff they hate, it reveals a lot about who they are, and pretty much nothing about the object of their disdain. Like, I don't care for SAS, but it seems awfully easy to just watch something else.

Goes for video games, TV shows, and all other kinds of pop culture media. Some people are just really bad at watching TV and films. They either lack the self awareness it takes to choose what they consume more wisely, so as to avoid stuff they won't like, or they spend so much time dissecting that they completely ruin the experience for themselves and anyone watching with them.

For me, I don't watch any programs on ESPN but the actual games.

But the reason I dislike people like SAS and talk about it is because their inclusion highlights the poor sports coverage we get as sports fans. Instead of getting the kind of coverage sports fans should be demanding, we get the kind of coverage that casual fans need to be interested in sports.

Financially, I understand why a network wants to appeal to the casuals. They already have the sports nuts. The casuals don't watch the games but will tune in to news about the games. That's eyes 24/7. I get it.

It doesn't mean I can't be disappointed that it leaves hardcore fans out of the news. We get the games but we get nothing else. And if we want more, it's fluff garbage like SAS screaming some hyperbole at the screen that the hardcore fans know isn't true or interesting.

Yes, it's easy to watch something else. But I don't see how it's a statement on my character being obsessed with hate because I would like to watch something good.

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[superjames1992]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

When I stepped back and realized SAS is just playing a character, he became a lot more entertaining to me. I don’t tune in specifically to watch anything he does, but he has some absolute gold one-liners through the years.

He’s got a bunch of people in here talking about him who claim they don’t watch him, so he’s doing something right.


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Exactly. I don’t watch First Take or any other sports show wire to wire (for one thing, I’m at work during the day), but the dude says some hilarious stuff that shows up on YouTube that leaves me laughing. See any comments made by him when Phil Jackson was with the Knicks.

There’s obviously no way he can believe some of the stuff he says on the show, but he’s a good actor and plays the part as good as anyone.

I mean, honestly, the show comes on at 10 AM on weekdays. ESPN has to fill the air time with something at that hour. It’s garbage TV, but at least it’s funny (IMO) unlike a lot of their other programming, which neither has good content nor is entertaining.