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Ok, total vanity here. I don't do this often, but Chat should be the place for this? I read about the tirade Dana Jacobson of ESPN's First Take had at the Mike & Mike roast. She was trying to be clever, while loaded up with Vodka and came up with, something on the order of: f* Notre Dame, f* touchdown Jesus, and f* Jesus. I emailed ESPN expressed my disgust and my belief that Ms. Jacobson should be removed from on air, not just suspended for a week. ESPN replied with drivel about "context". I told them I will never...

A dozen protesters marched in front of ESPN headquarters in Bristol today, calling for the firing of on-air personality Dana Jacobson for comments she made at a recent roast. Jacobson, co-host of the "ESPN First Take" morning show, was disciplined by her employer after an expletive-laden speech. She was suspended one week. The protesters, some from local churches, carried placards with messages that read: "ESPN , Say No to Hate Speech," and "Fairness in the Media." Robert Muckle, 77, drove from Waterbury to Bristol to take part in the protest after reading about Jacobson's remarks in the newspaper. "It's such...

ESPN has issued a one-week suspension to anchorwoman Dana Jacobson for a profane rant at a celebrity roast in which she said, "F--- Jesus," according to sources. The Chicago Tribune said the sports TV network declined to confirm the suspension, but ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said, "Her actions and comments were inappropriate and we've dealt with it." The news came one day after WND reported a Catholic advocacy group charged the sports TV network had failed to take appropriate action and did not offer a sufficient apology for Jacobson's outburst, in which she "attacked Jesus Christ." Jacobson, reportedly intoxicated,...

ESPN, ABC Refuse to Take Any Action ESPN and its parent company, ABC, have refused to take any action against ESPN anchorwoman Dana Jacobson for her hateful, slurring remarks against Jesus, saying "F-- -- Jesus." On January 11, Jacobson was speaking at a celebrity roast in Atlantic City, N.J., when she unleashed a profane tirade, saying, "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus." "Touchdown Jesus" is the popular moniker for a statue of Jesus raising his arms, located on the Notre Dame campus. Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke with ESPN about the attack and received an...

MikeandMike@ESPNRADIO.comDear Mike and Mike, You two sure were outraged when Don Imus referred to the Rutgers basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." In fact, you two were so upset by these comments that you even brought the Rutgers' head coach, Vivian Stringer, on to your show to discuss the issue. And, of course, you two were again selectively outraged when Kelly Tilghman joked that young golfers might want to lynch Tiger Woods. Your network fired Rush Limbaugh for saying Donovan McNabb was "overrated" and you two have both criticized Limbaugh's remarks. Mel Gibson has received a great deal of criticism from...

After reading articles here on Dana Jacobsen's drunken anti-Christian rant at a celebrity roast, posted here among other places:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957067/postsI wrote to ESPN to complain about her behavior. Here is the response from ESPN:Dear Thomas, Thank you for your message. Here is what I know about Dana Jacobsen's behavior at the Mike and Mike roast. On Jan. 12, The Press of Atlantic CIty ran a story that included a description of Jacobsen's drunken behavior the previous night, saying she had made a "fool of herself" on stage, "mumbling along and cursing like a sailor as Mike & Mike rested their heads...

A Catholic advocacy group charges the sports TV network ESPN has failed to respond properly to a graphic rant by anchorwoman Dana Jacobson in which she "attacked Jesus Christ." Jacobson, reportedly intoxicated, was speaking at a celebrity roast in Atlantic City, N.J., when she unleashed a profane tirade, saying, "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus." "Touchdown Jesus" is the popular moniker for a statue on the Notre Dame campus of Jesus raising his arms. Catholic League president Bill Donohue said he pressed ESPN on the issue and received an e-mail with an unsatisfactory statement by Jacobson....

ESPN ANCHORWOMAN TRASHES JESUS CHRIST January 22, 2008According to some news and sports websites, ESPN anchorwoman Dana Jacobson graphically attacked Jesus Christ at a recent roast of her colleagues; she was reportedly intoxicated. At the January 11 event, Jacobson roared from the podium, “F*** Notre Dame,” “F*** Touchdown Jesus,” and finally “F*** Jesus.” Commenting on this is Catholic League president Bill Donohue:“When pressed on this issue, ESPN’s response is to e-mail a statement by Jacobson, which includes the following: ‘My remarks about Notre Dame were foolish and insensitive. I respect all religions and did not mean anything derogatory by...

In the past few decades, as political correctness has taken hold of virtually every industry, folks involved in sports and sportscasting that have made racist or sexist remarks on camera have typically been fired or forced to make public apologies. Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder's termination by CBS back in 1988 is a fine example, with the recent two-week suspension of Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman being another. Yet, given what happened on an Atlantic City dais on January 11, where a high-profile ESPN anchor went on an alcohol-induced tirade which included a vulgar reference to Jesus Christ, it appears public...

ESPN anchor Dana Jacobson made an absolute fool of herself, swilling vodka from a Belvedere bottle, mumbling along and cursing like a sailor as Mike & Mike rested their heads in their hands in embarrassment. [Comedian Eddie] Griffin came to the podium to defend her after she was booed by the crowd. [Host Jeffrey] Ross eventually had to pull her off stage, too. For those unfamiliar with Jacobson, she was a "SportsCenter" anchor for ESPN in 2005, and later made a co-host of that network's morning show "Cold Pizza" which is now "ESPN First Take." So, what did she actually...

Romney gets a shout out from an announcer at ESPN. Watch the video.

More people watched the New England Patriots squeeze past the Baltimore Ravens on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" than viewed any other program in the history of cable TV. Game drew a total aud of 17.5 million viewers, besting the previous record of 17.2 million set in August by Disney Channel's "High School Musical 2." The Patriots are undefeated and could end up as the second NFL team ever to go through an entire season without a loss (the Miami Dolphins did it in 1972). ESPN's Monday cablecast of the Patriots-Ravens bout finished first for the night among programs on all...

This morning I watched the Tulas vs UCF football game. After about so many useless camera shots I decided to keep score of the number of camera shots in just 10 minutes of the second half. CAMERA SHOTS: OTHER (INCLUDES REPLAYS, GRAPHICS, REPORTERS) 47 SHOTS CHEERLEADERS...................................13 CROWD AND STUPID LOOKING FRUITCAKE FANS........44 FOOTBALL PLAYER CLOSEUP'S AFTER PLAY..........101 REF CLOSEUPS...................................12 SIDELINES......................................52 TALKING TO DIGNATRIES 3MINUTES DURING PLAY......1 GAME ACTION FULL FIELD PLAYS...................47 I do not know about some of you but the narrow scope of the on-screen picture is enough to make a grown man make a post to this forum....

Average people are tired of it. This country is already stacked toward the wealthy (mortgage interest is tax deductible; rent is not) and the privileged (the last president without an Ivy League degree was elected nearly 30 years ago).

After a nearly perfect start to the Pick' Em season it is not surprising that SportsNation faded a bit in Week 2, as the matchups got a little bit harder to call. Unexpected victories by South Carolina and South Florida, and Texas' victory over TCU, put a dent in the Nation's sparkling record. As we head into Week 3 of the college football season, SportsNation's Pick' Em record stands at 39-for-44, a very respectable .886 winning percentage. Week 3 of Pick' Em does not get any easier as No. 22 Tennessee meets No. 5 Florida, No. 21 Boston College takes...

Harold Reynolds, the former “Baseball Tonight” analyst who is suing ESPN for wrongful termination, said in a court filing yesterday that the network treated him more harshly over a sexual harassment complaint than it treated white employees who engaged in similar types of misbehavior. ESPN and Reynolds, who is black, had been in settlement discussions that did not work out, said Daniel Alterman, a lawyer for Reynolds. Reynolds’s filing in state court in Hartford described instances of sexual harassment and lewd and drunken acts by white employees in which the punishment fell far short of termination. Reynolds has said that...

The results are in for ESPN’s faces of the franchises. What does it tell you that five of the faces aren’t even players, two of them aren’t even managers, and one of them isn’t either one of the two? You probably expected to see such Faces as Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Vladimir Guerrero, Roy Halladay, Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Ichiro Suzuki, and Grady Sizemore, among others. (It tells you something that Reyes and Sizemore have become the Faces of the Mets and the Indians in such a rather swift time.) You might have expected to see...

As we have documented here more than once, liberal bias has a way of working its way into all nooks and crannies of the MSM, including sports reporting. That made it particularly refreshing to hear renowned sports journalist Peter Gammons take a stand for small government today. Gammons, whose main ESPN beat is baseball, and who was honored at the Hall of Fame in 2005, was a guest on today's "Morning Joe." After discussing some of the negative news surrounding sports these days, including the dogfighting indictment of Michael Vick and the Jose Offerman bat attack, talk turned to more...

What a mess! Worst. Football. Broadcast. Ever.

Join us for this weekend's events at the Indy Motor Speedway.

Dan Patrick Leaving ESPN Atlanta, Ga. 7/9/2007 8:24 PM GMT (FINDITT) After 18 years of near brilliance on ESPN Dan Patrick has announced he will be leaving the sports network in August. Patrick revealed his decision on his radio show Monday stating “It's been home, but I think I was starting to take it for granted, and I did not want to do that, I did not think that was fair to these great people.” The 51-year-old sports personality insisted that the decision to step down was not based on bad blood but rather just a feeling of it being...

Politics has once again managed to work its way onto the pages of ESPN. I recently wrote about Kenny Mayne adopting "Obama!" as a new signature call. For the record, Mayne wrote me to say that he was an independent, didn't intend any political overtones by "Obama!" and didn't realize, when agreeing to endorse Progressive Insurance, that head honcho Peter Lewis is a huge donor to a variety of left-wing causes including MoveOn.org. This morning's online ESPN edition brings an article by Jason Sobel discussing, among other things, Tiger Woods' political potential. The item is prompted by Woods' appearance...

May 1, 2007 -- FOXY Philadelphia TV reporter Alycia Lane is in hot water after a series of private e-mails and saucy snapshots she sent to handsome NFL Network anchorman Rich Eisen were intercepted by his wife. Suzy Shuster, a sideline reporter for ABC's college football broadcasts, hit the roof when she discovered seven e-mails and several bikini photos sent by Lane - who works for CBS affiliate WKYW-TV and is recently divorced - to an account she and her husband, Eisen, share. That had Shuster firing off to Lane a scathing letter, a copy of which was obtained by...

It's hardly news that sportscasting, MSM-style, offers no respite from liberal politics. Particularly so when it comes to the ABC/Disney owned ESPN, the sports network that pressured Rush Limbaugh to resign from its Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show for saying what was on his mind about media treatment of Eagles QB Donovan McNabb.Even so, it came as something of a shock to observe that one ESPN personality is turning his on-screen appearances into an opportunity to promote the candidacy of a Dem presidential contender. Many sportscasters have their signature calls. From Stuart Scott's "boo-yah!" to Chris Berman's "back-back-back gone!," several...

Dick Vitale didn't even realize he was on the radio. Billy Packer was more concerned about a Duke player being suspended than about a North Carolina player having his nose splattered across his face. Brent Musberger gave away one of the USC quarterback's hand signals. Lee Corso was last seen wearing a mascot head. Anybody for term limits for TV sportscasters? Some would describe these episodes as senior moments, inasmuch as ESPN's Vitale, CBS' Packer and ABC's Musberger are all 67 and ESPN's Corso an even riper 70. The bigger question, of course, is: Why do these four fogies continue...

ESPN has just announced that the NASCAR Busch Race from Mexico City will be in Spanish on ESPN and in English on ESPN2.

Lefty radio listeners are wondering what in the world is going on at KCTC (1320 AM), Sacramento's local Air America affiliate. The morning team of Scott & Sims has been off the air as of Monday, and afternoon drive-time host Enid Goldstein is gone, too.

ESPN yesterday pulled the plug on Stephen A. Smith's weeknight interview show, Quite Frankly. Its finale was last night. Smith, an Inquirer sportswriter since 1994, launched Frankly in August 2005. His high-decibel delivery earned him the nickname, "Screamin' A. Smith." Frankly ran at 6:30 weeknights, moving to 11 p.m. in January 2006. Its cancellation was not a surprise - the show never drew big ratings. Smith's presence will be expanded across numerous platforms, the network announced yesterday. To wit: He'll be featured more regularly on SportsCenter, NBA studio programming, and on ESPNEWS, as well as host four TV interview specials...

Bach might be back on Washington's airwaves, even if the region's only classical music station, WGMS, drops the format. Public broadcaster WETA (90.9 FM) is considering dumping its news-and-talk programming and returning to being a classical broadcaster if the music dies on WGMS, WETA's management said yesterday. In a special meeting Thursday, WETA's board voted to give station executives the green light to consider switching back to classical if WGMS drops the format. Dan DeVany, WETA's vice president and general manager, said the station "could move very quickly" back to classical if circumstances warrant.

NEW YORK -- About a minute or two before the Knicks-Nuggets brawl erupted Saturday night in Madison Square Garden, New York coach Isiah Thomas mentioned to Denver star Carmelo Anthony that it wouldn't be a good idea to go anywhere near the paint, according to a member of the Denver Nuggets organization. The message was unmistakable: A hard foul was coming. And when it came, the NBA had its first full-scale fight of the 2006-07 season. As it tries to stay in the race in the Western Conference, Denver now has a huge question to ponder: How long will Anthony...

DENVER -- Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony is featured in an underground DVD that is circulating in his home town of Baltimore, Md. The DVD is called "Stop Snitching" and shows alleged drug dealers talking about what happens to people who cooperate with the police, and Anthony is standing next to one of them. He is also seen on the DVD talking about his Olympic bronze medal and saying that he threw it in a lake. The man he stands next to later goes on to tell how he would take care of snitches by "putting a hole in their...

Meredith Vieira stopped just short of breaking out the pom-poms, but the 'Today' show crew otherwise did their best to cheer Barack Obama and his appearance on last night's Monday Night Football. For those who missed it, the broadcast opened with a deadpan Obama appearing to be make an announcement of his intention to run for president, before simply endorsing his home-state Chicago Bears.Call me a grump, but watching it live last night my first reaction was "how's this for millions in free advertising, courtesy ABC-ESPN?"But the folks at NBC clearly weren't troubled by a little politicking by their rivals...

According to USA Today, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will do nothing to discourage speculation he'll take on Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as he appears in ESPN's Monday Night Football opening segment tonight to talk about "a contest between two very different philosophies" that is also "a contest about the future." Supposedly, he'll then acknowledge questions about "whether the new guy has enough experience." Then, he says, he'll "put all the doubts to rest. After a lot of thought and a good deal of soul-searching, I'd like to announce to all of America that I'm ready... for the Chicago Bears to...

On Monday, Irvin was on Dan Patrick's radio program and had much to say about Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo: He doesn't look like he's that type of an athlete, but he is. He is, man. I don't know if some brother down in that line somewhere, I don't know who saw what or where, his great-great-great-great-grandma ran over in the 'hood or something went down. ... If great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandma pulled one of them studs up out of the barn, "Come on in here for a second," you know, and they go out and work in the yard. You know,...

Reynolds sues ESPN By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press Writer October 31, 2006 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Former ESPN baseball analyst Harold Reynolds sued the network for at least $5 million Tuesday, saying he was wrongly fired after a female intern complained about what he called a "brief and innocuous" hug. Reynolds joined the sports network in 1996 after a dozen seasons as a major leaguer and was fired July 24. According to his lawsuit, filed in New Britain Superior Court, ESPN terminated his new six-year, $6 million contract without specific reasons. "I have tried everything possible to handle this situation...

BILOXI, Miss. — Leann Real promised her husband, an avid sports fan, that if they ever had a son he'd get to pick the name. ESPN Montana Real was born this week at Biloxi Regional Medical Center. Rusty Real, of D'Iberville, chose ESPN (pronounced Espen) after the sports network and Montana after football legend Joe Montana.

Has the Monday Night Football commentary been taken over with bad Air American wannabes? At least they should re-hire Rush Limbaugh and Dennis Miller if they wanna do political commentary. The standard was set when Ronald Reagan and John Lennon were in the same press box together, and were able to unite in the love of sports. Tonight's performance is falling far short of that.

LSU and AUBURN FANS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA- A CALL TO ARMS As we know ESPN gameday has made the horrid and silly choice to have its College Gameday show at USC this Saturday. This despite the fact that the most important game in the country will be the Auburn/LSU game. I have spoken on this topic in my post It is Official- ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY BLEAUXS . I was looking at this thread on Tiger Rant which talked about signs people should take to the College Gameday site on Saturday. It would be great if the loyal fans of the...

Yes, that was Arnold Schwarzenegger on ESPN last night doing commentary from the booth at the Chargers-Raiders game. It was a remarkable bit of free publicity for Schwarzenegger amid his re-election campaign. There is perhaps some synergy here that smoothed the way for the governor's Howard Cosell moment. Schwarzenegger is friendly with Robert Iger, the president and CEO of Disney, which owns ESPN. And he has a long relationship with the giant media company. There is no requirement for ESPN to give Phil Angelides equal time, unlike other broadcast shows. News and public affairs programs (yes, sports is considered news)...

Optimism is always at its highest point for fans of NFL teams in late August. Every team is unbeaten and tied for first place. That's all about to come to an end so, before it does, we'd like your predictions for each of the eight divisions, as well as your forecast for Super Bowl XLI in Miami.

Sorry, folks, but we still can't quite get over the psychological ramifications of the Chris Berman story we ran earlier today. Our brains are fried, and we don't believe in an afterlife anymore. We also agree with one of our commenters; the first ESPN anchor to use the phrase "You're with me, leather" in reference to a great defensive play officially becomes our favorite anchor -- lo, human -- on earth. And hey: We now understand why he was hanging out with Huey Lewis all the time. Perhaps most surprising about this: Within an hour of posting that item, our...

ABC Sports, which once defined sports television and was the home of Roone Arledge, Jim McKay, “Wide World of Sports,” Howard Cosell, 10 Olympics and Mexican cliff diving, died yesterday after one final big gulp by ESPN. Skip to next paragraph The sports division that was nurtured to prominence through Arledge’s production vision and deal-making savvy had been in fading health and recently lost the rights to “Monday Night Football.” ABC Sports was only 45. “My heart just weeps for Roone’s legacy,” said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports, whose career started as an Olympic researcher at ABC Sports...

by Mark Finkelstein August 8, 2006 - 17:04 Imagine if Rush Limbaugh had said it . . . 'Rome is Burning' is ESPN's edgy sports-commentary show starring the eponymous Jim Rome. Jason Whitlock is standing in for Rome this week, and while I don't know much about him, from what I've seen I enjoy his shtick. He's smart, funny and seems to successfuly walk the fine line of expressing strong views without being malicious. Another plus: his physique and bearing remind me of one of my all-time favorite movie characters in my all-time favorite movie - Sydney Greenstreet as Signor...

July 26, 2006 -- After being accused of sexual harassment and fired by ESPN, former "Baseball Tonight" analyst Harold Reynolds said yesterday he doesn't think he did anything wrong and is still hoping to regain his job. "This was a total misunderstanding," Reynolds told The Post. "My goal is to sit down and get back. To be honest with you, I gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted." SNIP Reynolds declined to give any more details. The woman who accused Reynolds of the sexual harassment is an ESPN co-worker, according to sources. Yesterday, ESPN confirmed...

ESPN yesterday fired analyst Harold Reynolds from Baseball Tonight, sources told The Post. The reason was not immediately known. "We are not going to comment," ESPN VP Josh Krulewitz said. When asked how they are going to explain that Reynolds will never be on the air again, Krulewitz still declined comment. Reynolds did not return calls. Reynolds, 45, had been with ESPN 11 years. He had been a fixture on the show, which is a gathering spot for baseball fans, players and team executives. The program already is dealing with the loss of information man Peter Gammons. Gammons is recovering...

July 25, 2006 -- ESPN yesterday fired analyst Harold Reynolds from Baseball Tonight, sources told The Post. The reason was not immediately known. "We are not going to comment," ESPN VP Josh Krulewitz said. When asked how they are going to explain that Reynolds will never be on the air again, Krulewitz still declined comment.

by Mark Finkelstein July 10, 2006 - 16:56 What is it with Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessey and Florida cities? Trouble trouble booking a tee time? Lines too long at his favorite Disney World ride? Bad OJ in his screwdriver, perhaps? For the second time this year, Shaughnessey took the occasion of a TV appearance to take a completely gratuituous swipe at a Florida city. As I wrote about here, back in January, appearing on ESPN's 'Rome is Burning', he called Jacksonville a 'yahoo town,' comparing it unfavorably with Detroit, which he dubbed a 'real city' because "you can get...

The World Cup is generating record television audiences for soccer in the U.S. But some diehard fans think the coverage deserves a red card. Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and ABC have been hit with complaints from soccer devotees that their telecasts are unsophisticated and mistake-ridden. The popular Web site Big Soccer has a thread titled "Pick your favorite insane thing said by the announcers so far."A major gripe: ESPN selected an announcer, Dave O'Brien, who had never called a soccer game before this year to serve as the tournament's lead play-by-play man. Some English-speaking viewers have switched to Spanish-language Univision,...

ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons, 61, is undergoing surgery this afternoon for an aneurysm in his brain. Gammons was stricken earlier today and was taken to a Boston-area hospital. He is expected to be in intensive care for the next 10 to 12 days. Gammons and the Globe were the trailblazers of the baseball notes format in the 1970s. From that time until 2000, save for a few interruptions in the 1980s, Gammons's unique take on baseball was a mainstay of the Sunday Globe's sports section. Gammons was honored as the recipient of the 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award for...

"Bonds on Bonds," the ESPN reality series featuring the San Francisco Giants slugger, will go on hiatus after two more shows, and is unlikely to return on a regular basis, the Los Angeles Times said Thursday. Bonds tied Babe Ruth for No. 2 on the all-time home run list at 714 last week, but has hit just six homers this year and Hank Aaron's record 755 is a long way off. Meanwhile, St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols has hit 23 home runs. "If Barry was hitting home runs at Albert Pujols' pace, we would continue," producer Mike Tollin said. The...