topic Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING in Sports

ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Spurt — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:28:41 GMT

I don't know if anyone has seen the news about the mass exit and/or house cleaning from ESPN that is taking place.....

So far---

Keyshawn Johnson's contract was not renewed.......

Mike Tirico will be leaving ESPN for NBC in June....

Skip Bayless has left for FOX SPORTS 1

Also let go are:-----

Cris Carter

Ray Lewis

And Trent Dilfer left ESPN in a salary dispute....he denies the rumor he is joining the 49ers organization.....

And in a cost cutting move also laid off 300 (behind the scenes employees).......

Any comments?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-espn-talent-leaving-20160428-story.html

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

QVCkitty1 — Fri, 13 May 2016 00:56:22 GMT

I only know one thing, I won' t miss Skip Bayless, I can't stand the blowhard. !!

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

GSPgirl — Fri, 13 May 2016 00:56:39 GMT

Gee, it couldn't be because so many of them stick their noses into p*litics?

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

brewhaha — Fri, 13 May 2016 01:55:48 GMT

That explains why they announced there will be a new play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football (I think I heard them say it will be Dan Shulman who does the Sunday Night Baseball games but I'm not quite sure). The NFL shows became unwatchable for me with Keyshawn & Chris Berman. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mike Tirico show up on the Golf Channel.

I wonder if this had anything to do with Riobert Flores' departure although none of the names you listed were anchors.. He is now a studio host on the MLB Network.

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

butterfly123 — Fri, 13 May 2016 01:52:52 GMT

Sad for all of the employees that lost their jobs. Hopefully all of them will be placed at different networks.

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

sunshine45 — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:00:20 GMT

i was a bit upset about them letting ray lewis go, but i know he was not always the best, but he had his moments. a little too unpredictable.....

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Spurt — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:04:28 GMT

@sunshine45 wrote:
i was a bit upset about them letting ray lewis go, but i know he was not always the best, but he had his moments. a little too unpredictable.....

@sunshine45 I liked Ray....I didn't think they really gave him much time to talk....

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Spurt — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:29:59 GMT

@brewhaha wrote:
That explains why they announced there will be a new play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football (I think I heard them say it will be Dan Shulman who does the Sunday Night Baseball games but I'm not quite sure). The NFL shows became unwatchable for me with Keyshawn & Chris Berman. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mike Tirico show up on the Golf Channel.

I wonder if this had anything to do with Riobert Flores' departure although none of the names you listed were anchors.. He is now a studio host on the MLB Network.

@brewhaha Yep, brew Dan Shulman is the guy that will be taking over.....some fans like him, while others say he's boring, and others say he is arrogant......And some think Jon Gruden (aka "Chuckie) shouldve been replaced too---LOL!!! MNF sure isn't the same the way it was in its hay day with Cosell, Gifford, and Don Meredith.....

I couldn't stand Keyshawn......thank God and greyhound he's gone.....

I really like Trey Wingo and wish he would just take over the MNF studio duties...

It seems the ESPN cuts went through all levels of jobs.....

A lot of it has to do with ESPN charging the cable companies more to carry their networks....Then a lot of the cable companies were offering smaller packages (minus ESPN) to lower the cable rates and to keep customers since many were heading to Hulu and Netflicks.....so ESPN subscribers numbers really went down and therefore the revenue they received....and they need it to pay the big bucks to broadcast MNF, MLB, NBA, etc etc....Someone also mentioned that Cris Carter had a dalience with an ESPN makeup artist (and perhaps that is why he got cut)......and this same woman also filed a harrassment greviance against Berman (ESPN settled out of court, they said her story wasn't viable, but it would cost more to defend, and less to settle---so they settled (OR SO THEY SAY) .....Maybe the network needs to add an employee Soap Opera Channel....LOL!

I would like the NFL Network Sunday Morning Pre-Game crew if they dumped Michael Irvin...YUCCK!!! That network needs to make some cuts too in terms of watchability!

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Spurt — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:21:30 GMT

@QVCkitty1 wrote:
I only know one thing, I won' t miss Skip Bayless, I can't stand the blowhard. !!

@QVCkitty1 As much as I didn't like Skip (we called him Skip BRAINLESS) at least he liked my NBA Spurs....now they won't be mentioned at all I'm afraid....

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

QVCkitty1 — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:48:24 GMT

Lately I 've been watching Colin Cowherd on FS1 or listening on IHeart radio. He used to be on ESPN, and he is very opinionated, but he has good guests and an entertaining show.

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

hopi — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:22:50 GMT

ESPN 1 & 2 have become to me like Food Network - they throw shi* against the wall and see what sticks. They probably will be bringing in kids hosts next. Keshawan & Carter did have another show beside the NFL Sunday morning extravaganza. Some of the women they bring in are so crass and look and speak so unprofessional compared to the men. There is so much overkill and repetition their ratings must have dropped. I can barely watch anymore. The constant bashing and blaming of athletes and the cowtowing to the owners becomes unbearable.

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

brewhaha — Fri, 13 May 2016 18:08:48 GMT

@QVCkitty1 wrote:
Lately I 've been watching Colin Cowherd on FS1 or listening on IHeart radio. He used to be on ESPN, and he is very opinionated, but he has good guests and an entertaining show.

I watch his show too. I like that he is not shackled by the PC handcuffs he wore at ESPN. It was because of a statement he made that wasn't PC in the minds of the ESPN brass that led to his departure from that channel.

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Adamlambert — Fri, 13 May 2016 18:30:19 GMT

I did not enjoy Ray or Chris. Hard to understand. Loved Key though, he was fun!

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

brewhaha — Sat, 14 May 2016 00:40:43 GMT

@Spurt wrote:
@brewhaha wrote:
That explains why they announced there will be a new play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football (I think I heard them say it will be Dan Shulman who does the Sunday Night Baseball games but I'm not quite sure). The NFL shows became unwatchable for me with Keyshawn & Chris Berman. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mike Tirico show up on the Golf Channel.

I wonder if this had anything to do with Riobert Flores' departure although none of the names you listed were anchors.. He is now a studio host on the MLB Network.
@brewhaha Yep, brew Dan Shulman is the guy that will be taking over.....some fans like him, while others say he's boring, and others say he is arrogant......And some think Jon Gruden (aka "Chuckie) shouldve been replaced too---LOL!!! MNF sure isn't the same the way it was in its hay day with Cosell, Gifford, and Don Meredith.....

I couldn't stand Keyshawn......thank God and greyhound he's gone.....

I really like Trey Wingo and wish he would just take over the MNF studio duties...

It seems the ESPN cuts went through all levels of jobs.....

A lot of it has to do with ESPN charging the cable companies more to carry their networks....Then a lot of the cable companies were offering smaller packages (minus ESPN) to lower the cable rates and to keep customers since many were heading to Hulu and Netflicks.....so ESPN subscribers numbers really went down and therefore the revenue they received....and they need it to pay the big bucks to broadcast MNF, MLB, NBA, etc etc....Someone also mentioned that Cris Carter had a dalience with an ESPN makeup artist (and perhaps that is why he got cut)......and this same woman also filed a harrassment greviance against Berman (ESPN settled out of court, they said her story wasn't viable, but it would cost more to defend, and less to settle---so they settled (OR SO THEY SAY) .....Maybe the network needs to add an employee Soap Opera Channel....LOL!

I would like the NFL Network Sunday Morning Pre-Game crew if they dumped Michael Irvin...YUCCK!!! That network needs to make some cuts too in terms of watchability!

For the most part I like Dan. The only time I don't is when he calls a game the Dodgers lose.

I hope Keyshawn doesn't end up at the NFL Network. I prefer this channel for anything related to the NFL. I watched their coverage of the NFL draft without once checking the ESPN coverage. I don't care for Michael Irvin either, but at least they don't have Chris Berman.

I don't think they went far enough in their purge. Chris Berman, Tony Kornheiser & Stephen A. Smith would have been on my list of candidates.

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

hckynut — Fri, 13 May 2016 23:28:37 GMT

looks to me that if you are not on the ESPN side of the aisle, it's "bye now".

JMO of course,

hnj

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Spurt — Sat, 14 May 2016 16:09:28 GMT

@brewhaha wrote:
@Spurt wrote:
@brewhaha wrote:
That explains why they announced there will be a new play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football (I think I heard them say it will be Dan Shulman who does the Sunday Night Baseball games but I'm not quite sure). The NFL shows became unwatchable for me with Keyshawn & Chris Berman. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mike Tirico show up on the Golf Channel.

I wonder if this had anything to do with Riobert Flores' departure although none of the names you listed were anchors.. He is now a studio host on the MLB Network.
@brewhaha Yep, brew Dan Shulman is the guy that will be taking over.....some fans like him, while others say he's boring, and others say he is arrogant......And some think Jon Gruden (aka "Chuckie) shouldve been replaced too---LOL!!! MNF sure isn't the same the way it was in its hay day with Cosell, Gifford, and Don Meredith.....

I couldn't stand Keyshawn......thank God and greyhound he's gone.....

I really like Trey Wingo and wish he would just take over the MNF studio duties...

It seems the ESPN cuts went through all levels of jobs.....

A lot of it has to do with ESPN charging the cable companies more to carry their networks....Then a lot of the cable companies were offering smaller packages (minus ESPN) to lower the cable rates and to keep customers since many were heading to Hulu and Netflicks.....so ESPN subscribers numbers really went down and therefore the revenue they received....and they need it to pay the big bucks to broadcast MNF, MLB, NBA, etc etc....Someone also mentioned that Cris Carter had a dalience with an ESPN makeup artist (and perhaps that is why he got cut)......and this same woman also filed a harrassment greviance against Berman (ESPN settled out of court, they said her story wasn't viable, but it would cost more to defend, and less to settle---so they settled (OR SO THEY SAY) .....Maybe the network needs to add an employee Soap Opera Channel....LOL!

I would like the NFL Network Sunday Morning Pre-Game crew if they dumped Michael Irvin...YUCCK!!! That network needs to make some cuts too in terms of watchability!

For the most part I like Dan. The only time I don't is when he calls a game the Dodgers lose.

I hope Keyshawn doesn't end up at the NFL Network. I prefer this channel for anything related to the NFL. I watched their coverage of the NFL draft without once checking the ESPN coverage. I don't care for Michael Irvin either, but at least they don't have Chris Berman.

I don't think they went far enough in their purge. Chris Berman, Tony Kornheiser & Stephen A. Smith would have been on my list of candidates.

@brewhaha Yep Brew I hear what your saying---I will personally help Stephen A pack his bags (don't even get me started on him---a legend in his own mind) .....and that goes for Jalen Rose too......(they should give Bruce Bowen his place---JMHO---of course I'm a bit biased he being a former Spur, even though he is a dreaded Cowboy fan---LOL) Berman is just going through the motions and that little "incident" with the makeup airtist may very well open the door (or should I say CLOSE the door) and result in an exit..... stay tuned!

And I do prefer the NFL Network's Mike Mayock and his unbiased and informative observations in covering the NFL draft versus "Chuckie", "Jaws", or Mel Kiper.......

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Spurt — Sat, 14 May 2016 16:22:11 GMT

@hopi wrote:
ESPN 1 & 2 have become to me like Food Network - they throw shi* against the wall and see what sticks. They probably will be bringing in kids hosts next. Keshawan & Carter did have another show beside the NFL Sunday morning extravaganza. Some of the women they bring in are so crass and look and speak so unprofessional compared to the men. There is so much overkill and repetition their ratings must have dropped. I can barely watch anymore. The constant bashing and blaming of athletes and the cowtowing to the owners becomes unbearable.

@hopi That's an excellent analogy HOPI regarding ESPN and the Food Network---while they bore us with the ENDLESS Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives which monopolized 90% of their programming, meanwhile ESPN bores us with OVERKILL in each and every personality and story---how many days or weeks do we have to hear about the details of an OLD story without any NEW information---SHEESH! I think Tim Tebow should find a good lawyer and sue them for helping kill his NFL career......(just one example).....I don't think there are any real journalists left at the network.....And you can definitely tell they are definitely slanted when it comes to bias towards certain teams and players......it has become unwatchable!!

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Spurt — Sat, 14 May 2016 16:33:13 GMT

@brewhaha wrote:
@QVCkitty1 wrote:
Lately I 've been watching Colin Cowherd on FS1 or listening on IHeart radio. He used to be on ESPN, and he is very opinionated, but he has good guests and an entertaining show.
I watch his show too. I like that he is not shackled by the PC handcuffs he wore at ESPN. It was because of a statement he made that wasn't PC in the minds of the ESPN brass that led to his departure from that channel.

@brewhaha I thought Colin Cowherd and Michele Beadle made a fun team....sadly a change in career directions broke up the show (and I'm not a fan of the "third wheel" they brought in to Sports Nation! I DO HATE all this PC stuff.....(if someone expresses an opinion that does not line up in a certain way with ESPN's Execs---YOUR OUT! (as the umpire says), but certain hosts can get away with their designated stands on topics that slant a certain way, shall we say, and get rewarded for it---go figure) QVC censors prohibit me from going into specific details!

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

ValuSkr — Sat, 14 May 2016 21:14:33 GMT

Sorry for people losing jobs, but ESPN had this coming to them. They charge exorbitant prices to cable companies, which of course pass them along subscribers. More people (like me!) have had enough and have dropped cable altogether or dropped into lower tiers that don't include sports programming. The revenue loss for ESPN has been substantial. Further, subscriber loss results in lower ratings, which results in lower advertising revenue. It's a bit of a downward spiral and who knows where it will end. Maybe sanity will prevail - and we'll eventually be able to watch our local teams over-the-air again, rather than on cable.

Some have wondered if this will impact professional athletes' salaries, since teams can afford to pay such ridiculous amounts mainly because of their ridiculous TV contracts, which may now become a thing of the past.

Re: ESPN MASS EXODUS AND HOUSE CLEANING

Frosted Cake — Sun, 15 May 2016 22:36:13 GMT

Glad they got rid of Kurt Schilling. He really became such a jerk.

Some of those guys in the morning are so obnoxious.