A very determined Sean Salisbury is running a passing drill of some sort on “SportsCenter”, assisted by Tom Jackson, Ron Jaworski and…..Stuart Scott.
Kinda makes you wish the network would’ve hired someone with Hall Of Fame pass-catching credentials.
Has anybody seen Stuart Scott’s stab at beat poetry on Sportscenter? Are those guys so bored with merely reporting on games that they need to liven things up with dopey gimmicks?
Between the Sports Poetry Jam and Steve Phillips’ series of fake GM press conferences, it’s enough to make one ask for HUSTLE: THE SERIES.
TH
I missed S.S.’s poetry debut, however knowing that Nike once sampled Emily XYZ for a commercial, it’s all begining to make sense.
The Phillips press conferences were widely mocked, and rightly so. But ESPN are in the info-tainment biz, and if the writers, producers and anchors weren’t bored enough to resort to dopey gimmicks, they’d be sacked in favor of someone who is.
I can only get so outraged about so many things. And ESPN’s continued attempts at self-humilation — while clearly lacking the deft touch exemplified by many of the genuinely funny things they’ve pulled off — aren’t nearly lame enough for me to turn the fuckers off. As someone old enough to remember when George Michael’s Sports Machine and Len Berman’s “Spanning The Globe” were the height of highightsville, it’s a better world you’re living in today, if only slightly. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be subjected to criticism when warranted, but I’m long past being surprised or disappointed.
As someone old enough to remember when George Michael’s Sports Machine and Len Berman’s “Spanning The Globe†were the height of highightsville…
um, some of us without cable are still grateful for george michael and his sports machine.
CSTB –
I really wasnt surprised or disappointed by the poetry – although I was kinda creeped out more than anything by the fake GM segments – I just cant believe what passes for a creative variation to business as usual around Bristol, the place where ‘This is Sportscenter’ set a pretty impressive standard for self promotion.
Then again, Stuart Scott – or any of the talking heads up there, for that matter – werent writing those spots. (‘Spots’ is advertising lingo for ‘commercials.’) It was the esteemed Hungry Man advertising agency, for the record.
TH
wait a minute…you’re telling me that Olbermann smashing Alexi Lalas’ acoustic guitar wasn’t in fact, the former’s spontaneous tribute to John Belushi captured by a hidden camera?
I know you’ve spent a lot of time in Hollywood and are too jaded to care, but this is like catching Santa Claus stealing mom’s underwear.
what’s the deal with Stu’s eye?
I know it’s hard to believe, but those spots were not real. Sorry to burst your bubble. And just for the record, I don’t spend a lot of time in Hollywood. I spend a lot of time in WEST Hollywood. Big difference there.
I thought that ‘I Saw Santa Claus Stealing Mom’s Underwear’ was a Culturcide song, but I might be mistaken.
TH
PS – Leave it to The Zoner to nearly kill this thread off with a Stuart Scott eye question. I would say that the problem with Stuart Scott’s eye is that he’s a human being. With imperfections and unique qualities. We’re all as God made us, Zoner.
Zoner,
from http://www.sportsfilter.com/comments.cfm/5437
I haven’t looked at Stuart Scott the same since he nearly lost an eye because of his belief he was good enough to make an NFL squad as a receiver.
A Q&A with Scott from a few year’s ago:
Q. Back in the spring, you sustained a severe eye injury while filming a story about football minicamps with the Jets. Tell us what happened.
I had gotten in shape and (Jets coach) Herman Edwards gave me permission to go to minicamp with them. I was doing a feature for ESPN on what it’s like to be in minicamp. But I was serious about it.
The day I was there, there were eight wideouts and the wide receiver coach said I was rated number six. I didn’t have any delusions of grandeur. I was hoping I’d be good enough to be a scrub wide receiver or a practice wide receiver in the NFL. I found that out that day. I didn’t disappoint myself and I didn’t embarrass myself.
At end of practice all the wideouts went to the Jugs Machine, it’s a machine that shoots balls out. I had never done that before. I had been catching everything that day in practice from the quarterbacks. I was probably a little close and the thing was fast and the thing was faster than I thought it was.
Q. The ball, coming out of the machine, hit you square in the left eye. How bad was it?
It was serious. I had emergency surgery that night and was out of work for a couple months. It was tough. I had some eye surgery before so I knew how severe it was. It was probably more scary that day, not knowing. The next day came and I knew it would be a long recovery back. I still need some more surgery. The eye is not great now. But I had some time off.
The guy never played in college, as far as I can determine, and he’s been covering sports for years. Yet he thought he was ranked ahead of two receivers and could’ve made the team!
posted by rcade at 9:05 AM CST on November 6
Puts a new spin on this post.
Let’s look for balance here. Some of you seem not to recognize aspiration and humility rolled into the same package. The guy was pursuing a dream…don’t you gotta’ try when a chance crops up? Or should everyone just take themselves out of the game before testing yourself?