RIP Stuart Scott

Will McDonough got huge play. He died right before the Super Bowl.

 

Not at all.

I briefly thought to myself that ESPN was going overboard with it, like they do with a lot of other things, but then I found myself watching all the clips from yesterday -- from Eisen in the morning to later last night when he did a highlight package with Scott's catchphrases. Even watched some more tribute stuff this morning before going to jury duty.

His death resonated with folks, both in the media and outside of it, for numerous reasons. I know people got tired of his schtick, but he was always my favorite anchor. If he wasn't doing the SC, it wasn't worth watching to me.

 

Oddly enough, I liked Stuart Scott's style the older I got. And I'm a white, cranky, crotchety, suburban Republican.

Like many others here my age, I grew up in the Golden Age of ESPN -- Charley Steiner/Robin Roberts in the early evening show, Patrick/Olbermann in the prime time show, Kenny Mayne & anyone, Kilborn/Haber or, later, Scott/Eisen in the "feel good" edition.

If Robin Roberts passes at a relatively early age, she'll get a similar response, albeit more female royalty chiming in. For all I watched Robin Roberts, I don't remember a distinctive style from her when she did sports. Competent and a trailblazer but unspectacular.

When I started out in the business, the same week Olbermann left ESPN (the first time!), I was fortunate to be at a fairly high-level college journalism seminar. It was invite-only, based strictly upon your body of sports journalism work in college. Two of the guys are now MLB play by play radio guys, the guy I roomed with is now an ESPN anchor - one of the recognizable ones pulling in about 500k. Solid group of journalists. The keynote of this group of 40 college kids from all across the nation was Mike Tirico.

Someone asked Tirico in the Q&A about Scott's style, which was largely criticized back then in many circles. I'll never forget what Tirico then said.

"Next time you watch Stuart Scott, for each 'boo-ya' or 'I feel ya, kid', also take note of how much information he tries to pack into each highlight."

I hadn't thought of it until then but, after that, each time I watched Scott on SC, Tirico was 100% spot on. The guy would throw in some odd nugget of info amid a catch-phrase. I looked at him in a whole new light after that.

Yes, he had schtick but the guy brought a ton of energy and really was the first non-white sports anchor who pulled in minority viewers. For those viewers, as well as younger white viewers, he became a "draw". That's damn rare at a place like Bristol, which tries to stymie its on-air anchors as much as possible -- including guys like Dan Patrick.

 

Way, way, way more importantly, should this go on A1?

I'll hang up and not listen.

 

The New York Times teased to his obit from A1.

 

Did they really not get a quote from Berman for that 15-minute tribute?

 

>>>Everybody knew who Stuart Scott was.<<<

Really? In what ways did he break out from ESPN?

 

I don't think ESPN could have gone overboard with it. He was one of theirs. He was one of the signature faces of the network. If they had a one-hour tribute to him, I don't think it would be overboard.

I heard the news from Eisen. I remember all those years when he and Scott did the late night SportsCenter, so I was not surprised at all by that either. What caught me off-guard was the moments of silence, and how it became one of the biggest national news stories of the day. He was on the cover of the local paper here and he has no ties to the area at all.

 

What I gleaned from ESPN's coverage was that his catchphrases started with "Boo yeah" and ended with "Cool side of the pillow."

 

I remember when Buckwheat was gunned down.
Ted Koppel was all over that story. It was awesome.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Scott#Filmography

Movies

• He Got Game (1998)
• Disney's The Kid (2000)
• Drumline (2002)
• Love Don't Cost A Thing (2003)
• Mr. 3000 (2004)
• Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)
• The Longest Yard (2005)
• Enchanted (2007)
• Just Wright (2010)

Television

• Arli$$ (2000)
• I Love the '80s (2002)
• Soul Food (2003)
• She Spies (2005)
• I Love the '70s (2003)
• One on One (2004)
• Stump the Schwab (2004)
• Dream Job (2004)
• Teammates (2005)
• I Love the '90s (2004)
• I Love the Holidays (2005)
• I Love Toys (2006)
• Black to the Future (2009)

 

Meanwhile, in a related story, Deadspin says Whitlock is full of poo.

Here's Jason Whitlock Whitlock Pretending to Like Stuart Scott

The problem isn't that Whitlock wrote a shitty, unfair thing years ago; it's that now, with everyone paying attention, he's changing his tune so completely. Years ago, when Scott made a tiny little nod in the direction of hip hop culture, Whitlock called him a bojangling clown for it. Now Whitlock is shamelessly pretending that all along he understood why those knowing little asides made Scott so beloved, and proclaiming him the greatest of all time.

The funny thing is that all of this reminds you of just how much impact Scott had on the way we talk about sports, and how he really did have to fight a lot of assholes who never liked it. Now, in the moment of truth, they all have to line up and pretend they did.

http://deadspin.com/heres-jason-whi...ource=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow