ESPN pay cuts?

Clay and Dakish will have a field day with that.

 

The traditional networks are currently airing on weekends the Big 3, soccer, pickleball and desperately trying to get second and third football leagues going. I think there's plenty of legitimate interest in the four major league sports whenever they become available. Hell, stuff like the WWE isn't on ESPN, and that was like a $1b deal for five years with NBC.

 

No more Australian Rules Football on ESPN3 at 2 am? The pain, the pain.

 

Hope he’s worth it

 

Five years, $85 million, all the other cuts claiming that they couldn't afford everyone ... and THAT'S what they sacrifice all those other people to acquire?

As upset as some people on this board might be, how upset will those who were purged from the WWL be?

 

His budget line wouldn’t have saved a bunch of field grunts. It would have gone to a different star or someone they would like to pump up to star status.

 

ESPN really missed on the podcast boom. They are paying for this guy when it had Simmons and LeBatard. The place could have done so much online.

 

Burke and Doc possibly taking over for Van Gundy and Jackson.

https://nypost.com/2023/07/31/espn-hiring-doc-rivers-demoting-mark-jackson-promoting-doris-burke/

I like Burke and Doc was always good back in the day but think both are a step down from Van Gundy. And as annoying as Jackson could be, especially solo, I am not afraid to admit I liked the banter with JVG.

 

I really like Doris Burke. YMMV.

 

Awful, we're a long way from TRB with Barry Tompkins and Al Bernstein.

 

Re: Mark Jackson's banter with JVG, I thought that most of Jackson's appeal,was that he and Van Gundy and Mike Breen genuinely sounded like three friends talking about the game—they made sense as a social unit. (My opposite example of that was when NBC paired Al Michaels and John Madden on Sunday night football, I never bought that these two people would hang out together, kind of like mismatched leads in a bad romantic comedy).

When they fired JVG, I was surprised they didn't let Jackson go as well.

 

I thought there was more authenticity to Michaels & Madden than any of his other partners, but that's a low bar to clear since Michaels is a prick to everyone.