THEY GET IT
Darren Rovell, The Action Network — I now can safely project, with the help of our Decision Desk, that Nate Silver has a clearcut future as a UPS truck driver. The fallen statistical pundit whiffed badly again, declaring on Election Day morning that President Trump had only a “1-in-10 chance” of winning and that Joe Biden was poised for state landslides — a 69 percent chance to win Florida, for instance, when Trump won that state decisively. Rovell was the only one to mock Silver before his latest debacle, tweeting: “In 2016, on Election Day, @FiveThirtyEight gave Donald Trump a 28.6 percent chance to win the election. They were wrong. Like many, they got destroyed. Today, on Election Day, they gave Donald Trump a 10 percent chance to win.” For some reason, Rovell deleted the tweet and apologized, which prompted Silver to return fire and describe the original assessment as “pretty f——— stupid.” Turns out Silver was pretty f——— stupid to reject Trump’s chances for a second time, and with his Disney bosses in mass-layoff mode, how does the FiveThirtyEight forecaster keep his high-paying gig when he knows less about presidential politics than the local barista? If this election has exposed the pollster racket as fraudulent and dead, Silver is in the first casket. Maybe a grade school will hire him as a math teacher.
Fox Sports — If only college football took COVID-19 as seriously as the network that televises the sport. Rather than play a cover-up game when the coronavirus impacted its studio show, Fox was transparent in obeying quarantine protocols and simply sending everyone home — Urban Meyer, Matt Leinert, Reggie Bush, Brady Quinn, host Rob Stone — from its “Big Noon Kickoff” show this weekend. That’s a bold move, as reported by the New York Post, especially when a national audience is loving the outspoken Meyer. While it will be fun watching Howie Long and Emmanuel Acho chop it up in their place, Terry Bradshaw will be botching a new set of names. Start practicing now, Terry, on the USC quarterback: Keee-don Slow-vis.
Joe Tessitore, ESPN — In a turbulent industry scrambling through a hellish year, this might be the sweetest feel-good moment. After losing his “Monday Night Football” dream job, the veteran broadcaster didn’t mope through the beginnings of the pandemic. Rather, Tessitore spent valuable time on the practice field with son John, a versatile weapon for the Boston College football team. When Joe was getting down and dirty, even snapping the ball to John to hone his kick-holding duties, little did he know he’d be in the booth months later, calling BC’s game against top-ranked Clemson. Nor did he imagine reacting on the air to this sequence as the Eagles lined up for a field goal, with John as the holder: “Aaron Boumerhi on for the 40-yard field-goal attempt, as they split out Danny Dalton. It’s a fake! Tessitore is under center! Fourth-and-2 … and he got them to come offsides! John Tessitore came up and played quarterback at the last second.” He carried on, without a hint the subject was his son: “He has played every position growing up, from prep quarterback, receiver. He’s pulled off multiple fakes — and he did it here.” If not for booth analyst Greg McElroy, who kidded that his partner “had to really grind on the week of prep to find out all the detailed history about John Tessitore,” we never would have detected the father-son connection. This was the height of professionalism from a man who accepted his “MNF” fate with dignity, returned to the college level — and wound up with the thrill of a father’s lifetime.
Michael Smith, Peacock network — ESPN force-fed Smith and Jemele Hill onto prime SportsCenter real estate in 2017, encouraging discussions about race and culture and misreading a traditional 6 p.m. audience that simply wanted the day’s news. Smith paid dearly for the impulsive mistake of company president John Skipper, who eventually was fired, and rather than keep Smith in a prominent role, the network nudged him out. He has resurfaced as executive vice president of a sports content venture — I’m not surprised, recalling his authoritative thunder while debating me on “Around The Horn” — and as a daily talk host on NBC’s streaming venture. Appearing on fubo Sports Network, Smith couldn’t help but marvel at the philosophical about-face in Bristol during a summer of national protests, when ESPN suddenly welcomed intense conversations about race on all platforms. “If Black lives matter now, they didn’t matter then?” he said. “Having those discussions literally compromised my career. But it’s `cool’ now. And it’s not just exclusive to ESPN. It’s `cool’ now, period.” He took an unfair professional hit because of a boss’ whim — I also wanted the day’s news at 3 p.m. Pacific, and still do — but Smith persevered and is better off elsewhere.
Jimmy Kimmel, late-night snark artist — I thought it was just me. All season, I noticed Cody Bellinger’s sleepy eyes and goofy grin and thought, “The dude is stoned.” Then I noticed a picture of him in bed — half-naked, eyes three-quarters-shut — as posted on Instagram by his model girlfriend, prompting me to text a buddy: “The reigning National League MVP is on edibles.” After the Dodgers won the World Series, spurred by Bellinger’s epic postseason moments, Kimmel asked, “Hey, Cody, do people tell you that you’re high all the time? You look like you’re high?” Clayton Kershaw, appearing on the same Zoom interview, wasn’t the only one bursting out in laughter, especially when the screen froze as Bellinger prepared to answer. Finally, he responded: “I am not high during the games, OK? If you look at me in the Little League World Series at 12 years old, I look faded. I was not smokin’ when I was 12, either. I’m not high. That’s just how my face looks.” So he isn’t high during the games. That’s comforting.
THEY DON’T GET IT
ABC/ESPN — I wonder what Walter Elias Disney, creator of magic and good vibes for kids of all ages, would say about the company mission these days. As hundreds at ESPN fear layoffs and furloughs, Disney is preparing a multi-billion-dollar bid for the NFL’s “Sunday Night Football” package and a place in the Super Bowl broadcast rotation. Not a soul on Planet Earth has a clue how COVID-19 will impact sports in the near and distant future, yet executive chairman Bob Iger is hellbent to achieve upward mobility in the NFL sphere — and willing to spend a fortune at the expense of headcounts at the worst possible time. No wonder Iger is pressuring the California governor, Gavin Newsom, to reopen Disneyland. Citing the obvious — the virus continues to rage — Newsom wisely has yet to budge. No one ever said Disney was getting out of the sports business. It’s just trying to climb further into bed with its most prosperous partner while shedding loads of talented employees who helped make ESPN what it was … until it wasn’t.
Clay Travis, Outkick — As a political constituency, sports media aren’t even a skin tag on Trump’s oversized rump. The few thousand folks left in the profession are mostly hanging onto employment and pondering futures at Uber. Yet Travis, a Trump operative first and a sports analyst on the side, went out of his way to say a “staggering” number of sports media people have reached out to say they voted for Trump. He also said they’re afraid to say so in fear of online cancellation. I’m not sure his story is true, and if it is, who really cares in the grand scope of America? “The number of men & women in sports media, of all races, who reached out to say they are voting for @realDonaldTrump, but are afraid to say so on social media because of the Twitter blue checkmark brigade in sports, is staggering,” he tweeted. If and when Biden is confirmed as president, Travis still will spend the next four years stumping for All Things Trump and not adjusting to his purported real job: explaining how a presidential change impacts the sports world, then adapting to it as a sports commentator. For Fox Sports Radio, It’s not sensible to keep airing his morning show when he has divided his potential audience and possibly will cater now to a shrinking minority.
Al Michaels, NBC — I’m not sure which sin is worse: flaunting his point-spread knowledge of the Eagles-Cowboys game he was working, or making a reference to a gambling segment on the rival network that is trying to steal “SNF.” Either way, Michaels — known for slipping betting references into his game calls — did his gathering career twilight no favors as Dallas drove toward a potential touchdown that would have mortified those who bet the Eagles and gave the 10.5 points. After partner Cris Collinsworth said he suddenly was interested in the final three seconds of a game the Eagles were winning 23-9, Michaels piped in, “Yeah, you’re interested, too. (ESPN’s) Scott Van Pelt might be, as well, because this would be one of the all-time `Bad Beats.’ ” The Cowboys failed, as they have all season, but Michaels’ comment was worse. Despite the growth of legal wagering, most people who watch sports still do so for non-monetary enjoyment. When TV networks start routinely acknowledging the dark side — because they want a piece of that larger gambling pie, as well — they’re doing a disservice to the competitive essence and purity of the games. There’s this, too: On-air references to gambling are still prohibited in the NFL’s contracts with its broadcast partners. I sure hope the man best known for the greatest of sports calls — “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” — doesn’t drown in casino jargon. At least he’s wearing a mask now when asked by health authorities, but days from his 76th birthday, is this how Michaels wants to go out?
Chad Dukes, fired radio host — Another victim of self-destructive rogue moonlighting, the veteran D.C. talker can’t expect to maintain employment at a corporate entity — in this case, Entercom — while using his personal podcast to voice racist views. Is he so naive to think the bosses wouldn’t hear about it? Or, as often seen during a volatile year, did he feel an inner urge to speak his mind regardless of career consequences? On the topic of athletes kneeling during the national anthem, Dukes said on his Sept. 14 podcast: “There are real, legitimate concerns that people have that have nothing to do with the fact that they’re against people with bad skin tone. There’s personal accountability issues, there’s family structure issues, there’s the fact that communities with more violence and crime need to be policed more so they have higher interactions with police officers — none of that can be spoken about. It’s, `This person killed this person and now we burn down the city.’ And there’s a lot of people that are smart enough to realize that there’s a more nuanced conversation, but they’re not allowed to talk about it. So what you’re talking about is, you’re like, “This is great, we’re having a conversation.” No we’re not. We’re continuing to allow one group to speak and silencing the other one and castigating them.” It’s understandable why Ivy-Savoy Smith, Entercom’s market manager, would explain in a statement: “Our air talent are ambassadors of our brand, and we do not want to be affiliated with these comments.” With sports radio companies nervous about long-term survival, hosts have a choice: Deposit the paycheck and apply duct tape, or work independently and maintain raw editorial freedom. Dukes let Entercom make the decision for him.
Craig Carton, New York talk host — As one who has supported his return to WFAN, I also think Carton should drop to his knees in prayer during every commercial break. Most people in life don’t receive second chances for the transgressions that led him to prison — a Ponzi scheme, for God sakes — amid legitimate ongoing concerns about the gambling addiction that sent him spiraling. Has he thought about the criticism hurled at Entercom, which could be accused of skewed values by bringing back a convicted felon in the same week it fired Dukes? Does he realize that those who approved his return — David Field, Chris Oliviero and Mark Chernoff — are risking the company’s reputation on a Craig Carton dice roll? So, couldn’t Carton have waited, oh, just a few days before returning to smart-ass mode? In his first studio appearance in three years, he scolded hosts who might have wanted his prized new afternoon gig: “You had plenty of time to get better at what you do. You didn’t. That’s on you, that’s not on me. Got it? Good.” I realize he can’t morph into something he isn’t — the ratings would tank — and I realize Oliviero is a disciple of Howard Stern. But this is a challenge that will flop spectacularly if Carton doesn’t show every day that he’s a better human being. A few moments of contrition, followed by the usual shtick, was an awkward way to start.
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