MetaFilter posts tagged with espn

Title IX Months

bitter-girl.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:14:25 -0800

Pregnant Texan honors student Mackenzie McCollum was barred from playing on her school's volleyball team specifically because of her pregnancy. After the school allowed her back on the team, McCollum's coach cut her playing time and disclosed the pregnancy to all her teammates. The US Department of Education is now investigating the school for Title IX violations, and both McCollum and her family are on the receiving end of some pretty nasty invective. (ESPN video profile, ESPN comments)

The Cincinnati Bengals' Car Wash

cashman — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:03:56 -0800

At the insistence of Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown, the FAA is apparently targeting a pilot who was hired this month by disgruntled fans to fly messages like "Hire a GM!" over the team's training camp. A "Mike Brown Step Down" banner was flown over games last season. Brown's futility (1 winning season in 18 years) in Cincinnati has spurred fans to pay thousands for billboards and distribute urinal cakes, while HBO's Hard Knocks series has recently shown insight into his cluelessness. Former Bengal player Boomer Esiason today criticized Mike Brown's handling of the team. While Brown gives himself a bonus each year and the team is still benefiting from taxes on the surrounding county, this year the recession seems to be aiding fan efforts to bankrupt Brown - games are beginning to not sell out. But since the organization is littered with Brown's family members (including the Blackburns), things may not be looking up.

Taking aim at ESPN

mediareport — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:46:36 -0800

Sports Business Journal has a detailed look behind the buzz over "The Emperor’s New Clothes: How ESPN’s Multi-Platform Strategy Hasn’t Improved Ratings," a sharply critical PowerPoint presentation making the rounds of sports league offices and advertising buyers in recent months. A good read for folks interested in the business of sports, decreasing TV ratings for many leagues, the blurriness of the ad/news line and the difficulty of measuring eyeballs across media. [via Romenesko]

That was a dumb move, wasn't it?

empath — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:57:45 -0800

The Naga Jolokia is the hottest pepper in the world, at 1,000,000 Scoville Units. One seed from a Naga Jolokia can sustain intense pain sensations in the mouth for up to 30 minutes before subsiding. Imagine what eating an entire pepper will do? One intrepid ESPN reporter finds out.

Easterbrook returns to ESPN.com

jonson — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 10:00:18 -0800

FollowupFilter - After a two year hiatus (read: punishment ban), Gregg Easterbrook (founder of Beliefnet, Brookings scholar, ex of Slate & NFL.com) one of ESPN's most popular football writers returns, with no acknoledgment of where he went or why. Hopefully he'll keep his mouth shut about ABC and/or Disney related projects this time. As a side note, his two seasons worth of back articles are apparently not available, as they were purged (permanently?) when he was fired.

Are you ready for some Dominoes!

usedwigs — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 08:09:02 -0800

Dominoes now on ESPN! What's next? Watching Solitaire?

What have you told your children about Muhammad Ali?

spicynuts — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 14:08:55 -0800

What have you told your children about Muhammad Ali? "I was frequently left with tingling all over because I had been in the presence of such a great man and still humbled by his compassion, tolerance and understanding." Inspired by this weekend's airing by ESPN Classic of most of Tyson's fights, I started thinking about the difference between these two men. Ali obviously transcended his sport and has become more than just a boxer while Tyson is clearly a lost and troubled soul. And yet Tyson's story still inspires reflection. Nietzche's statement that "What someone is, begins to be revealed when his talent abates, when he stops showing us what he can do" is perfectly illustrated by the twilight years of these two legendary boxers.

Ma ma ma my Sharapova!

MmmKlunk — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 07:50:46 -0800

Happy 18th Birthday Maria Sharapova! A music video by ESPN's Bristol Bob and the Page 2 Crue, made in honor of Maria Sharapova's 18th birthday. Make sure you crank the volume knob up to 11, because now you, too, can sing along to the tune of The Knack's "My Sharona."

The NHL? Fix it for forget it

tranquileye — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 20:37:07 -0800

The NHL? Fix it for forget it. ESPN suggests how we could start over.

Bystanders to History

PrinceValium — Wed, 07 Apr 2004 12:08:30 -0800

I saw a feature on ESPN last night about Britt Gaston and Cliff Courtney, two Georgia teenagers who are indelibly linked to history as the kids who ran alongside Hank Aaron after the famous 715th home run. Then I googled around a bit and discovered Jim Leavelle, the former Dallas cop who will forever be known as the guy in the hat watching Ruby take care of Oswald in the precinct basement. And then there's Mary Ann Vecchio, a 14-year-old runaway who was photographed wailing over a dead body at Kent State in 1970. And, of course, there's Afghanistan Girl. Can anyone think of other bystanders to historical events whose faces we all know but identities remain anonymous? Is there anyone who has not yet been rediscovered?

Wait till one breaks a record ...

magullo — Thu, 04 Mar 2004 03:25:32 -0800

Here's a can of worms: transsexuals who engage in pro sports

Fear The Mouse!

jonson — Sun, 19 Oct 2003 20:02:46 -0800

Several people here are fans of Gregg Easterbrook's excellent column Tuesday Morning Quarterback, available (until this week) at ESPN.com. Unfortunately, in his side gig as a writer for the New Republic, in a blog entry savaging the movie Kill Bill, Easterbrook made comments that came across as perpetuating ugly stereotypes about Jewish people. He immediately claimed 100% responsibility for the ugliness, and apologized completely and without reservation. Within a week, he was fired by ESPN, all his archived columns (nearly two years worth) removed, and the search engine rigged such that searches for his name, the name of his former column, or the nickname for his column all return only the front page of ESPN, as though the search itself had never taken place. Many are beginning to suspect, however, that this isn't a case of political correctness, as much as corporate punishment, as ESPN is owned by Disney, which produced Kill Bill.

His name is Steve

PrinceValium — Wed, 15 Oct 2003 14:23:37 -0800

His name is Steve, and he's a Cubs fan. The Chicago Sun-Times has outed the identity of the fan who snatched a foul ball away from the clutches of Cubs outfielder Moises Alou, contributing to (but by no means causing) last night's travesty. The Smoking Gun and ESPN quickly followed suit. As a result, millions of angry Cubs fans now know where Steve lives and works. Freedom of the press? Or reckless endangerment? You make the call.

Area man's outrageous comments met with outrage, outrage ensues.

The God Complex — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 00:19:08 -0800

On sunday, Rush Limbaugh commented that Donovan McNabb, quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, was overrated and was only seen favourably by the media because they want to see a black quarterback do well. McNabb responded, and earlier tonight Limbaugh resigned from his post on ESPN's pre-game show. N.D. Kalu, one of the Eagle's defensive ends, offered this choice quote: "He speaks well, he's well-read, but he's an idiot."

Free Falling...

jonson — Fri, 15 Aug 2003 17:11:42 -0800

In the 1980's, Mark "Gator" Rogowski was on par with Tony Hawk at the top of the nascent world of professional skateboarding. Contrasting the path Hawk took in the 90's (video games, ESPN tie-ins), things did not go so well for Gator. After surviving a hideous accident in 1989, Mark turned to Jesus, and then shortly thereafter he brutally raped & murdered a female friend of his ex-girlfriend's. The documentary of his rise & amazing fall appears today in limited release.

nasty, nasty sports journalism

cohappy — Thu, 10 Jul 2003 02:07:04 -0800

If this article toes the line, then this one completely jumps overboard. In the wake of basketball player Kobe Bryant's recent legal problems, ESPN freely insinuates that perhaps his legal troubles are caused by his desire to boost the sales of his endorsed products. But don't sell Kobe short on marketing power, as we meFites can already attest. [more inside]

Extraordinarilly profound and important

Ignatius J. Reilly — Thu, 22 May 2003 21:53:45 -0800

The Sports Book of Virtues (not) By Bill Bennett. "I believe in a strong family unit and doubling down on 11."

Sports Mascots Agonistes

Slithy_Tove — Sat, 15 Mar 2003 07:52:00 -0800

The dark side of being a sports mascot. Assault and battery by opposing coaches and fans. Having to do acrobatics in foul-smelling costumes in 80-degree heat. Lawsuits. Injuries. "I've got really good accidental death and dismemberment insurance," [NBA mascot Kirk] Johnson said with a laugh. "You never know what's going to happen." Behind that frolicsome giant stuffed animal lies a bleak world of terror and pain. [no more inside, wasn't that enough?]

ESPN Motion - TV meets Internet

meanie — Tue, 18 Feb 2003 10:12:10 -0800

ESPN Motion It's been years in the making, but I can finally say that the Internet has finally met TV, through the medium of sports. ESPN and MSN have introduced ESPN Motion. Along with their site redesign, the once static front page is now a video. Right? You think. Usually this stuff doesn't work, but it doesn't require streaming or waiting (I must concede though that I am on a *very* fast internet connection). Basically you have to register for espn.com and then download a 500 KB file and run the installation. After a few minutes, it works fine. I think the program keeps the video updated in a cache on your hdd but it would require more research.
Note: you are required to have Windows 98 or higher, a fast internet connection, and Windows Media Player.

My Sports Franchise Can Beat Up Your Sports Franchise

jonson — Tue, 21 Jan 2003 11:35:51 -0800

There Ultimate Standings. ESPN has done a ranking of the relative value of each major U.S. sports franchise not in terms of mere victories, or championships, or even felony convictions, but in terms of how much value (as calculated here) each franchise is providing its fans. Stunned to see perrennial winners such as the Yankees & Lakers pushed down to the 20s, while small market teams like Green Bay, San Antonio & Sacramento dominate. Clearly life IS better in the small towns, at least for sports fans. Here's a more in depth explanation of what it all means.

kirkaracha — Sat, 07 Sep 2002 11:27:17 -0800

Top 10 NFL games to watch. Time magazine pick this season's 10 "can't miss" games. ESPN's First...and 10 goes to 11. Sports Illustrated's "must-see" list picks the top game each week. [more inside]

kirkaracha — Thu, 29 Aug 2002 15:47:16 -0800

Tuesday Morning Quarterback moves to ESPN.com's Page 2. Err...moved. In April. (Other weblogs missed the move, too; apparently the only clue was a Best of Slate post.) I've always loved reading TMQ and I hope it's just as good at ESPN.com. Alternative viewpoint: TMQ Sucks. [Cross-pollinated from SportsFilter]

brookish — Tue, 25 Jun 2002 17:24:02 -0800

Is Univision's coverage of the World Cup, like, way better than ESPN's or what?

BarneyFifesBullet — Thu, 18 Apr 2002 16:00:40 -0800

ESPN's Bill Simmons spent $9.95 on Shaquille O'Neal's Celebrity Birthday Roast pay-per-view so you won't have to.

mattpfeff — Tue, 09 Apr 2002 15:46:54 -0800

Jay Mohr sells Pete Rose's chewed gum on eBay. There's no satire like self-satire, is there? ESPN talk-show host Jay Mohr had Pete Rose chew a piece on air, took it from him ("I have to touch it so I can tell the story," he said (more or less)), put it in a beaker that Rose then signed, and is now selling it on eBay to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It's currently at -- no kidding -- US $1,050.00.