Posted on 02/17/2005 2:24:16 PM PST by Cableguy
A perceived microcosm of the red vs. blue country that we live in is the new sport sweeping the liberal Northeast, replacing wine and cheese tasting: the Bill O'Reilly contradiction game.
What do you need to participate? A television set (tuned to the Fair and Balanced network), Internet access to Lexus-Nexus, a framed picture of Stuart Smalley, and a copy of "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids: A Survival Guide for America's Families". Bonus points awarded for loofahs. It is a game that has served to fuel the combative conservative's fan base, as well as his opponents (one Web site even sells t-shirts, mugs, and other accessories emblazoned with a "Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly" logo). For once, O'Reilly has caught his opponents in a miscue of their own.
It all started with an essay that O'Reilly wrote for the back cover of a program distributed at the Super Bowl. Titled "Super Bowl Essay," it details O'Reilly's football career as placekicker and punter while he was a student at Marist from 1967 to 1971, and draws a significant parallel between athletics and life. Self-deprecating, funny, and devoid of any Monica Lewinsky cheap shots, it is reminiscent of O'Reilly's old column for The Circle, "Attitudes: Outrageous." It even talked about one time when he actually booted a punt backwards. For once, maybe people from all over the political spectrum could relax, crack open a bottle of suds, and watch 250-pound football players smash each others bones as if made of balsa wood, American balsa wood.
"I won the national punting title for my division as a senior," O'Reilly mentioned. "I guess you could say the end zone was the beginning of the no-spin zone."
The next day, Feb. 7, the New York Times brought the essay to national attention with a story by Mark Glassman titled "Who Knew? Bill O'Reilly of Fox Found His No-Spin Zone With a Botched Punt." Glassman merely outlined the essay, but inadvertently got up the collective dander of contradiction game devotees everywhere.
That night on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann (coincidentally competing with the O'Reilly Factor's eight o' clock time slot), Keith Olbermann (being without sin) threw the first rock in 2005's biggest media catfight.
"Mr. O'Reilly has done a little spinning of his own here. Others might call it resume padding," Olberman mused. "The football office at Marist told me today that football was not a varsity sport there until 1978-seven years after O'Reilly graduated. When he played, it was a so-called club sport where players paid all their own expenses, and schedules and, most importantly, statistical record keeping was haphazard."
Olbermann (who used to be a Sportscenter anchor on ESPN) had personally called Marist College tight ends coach Juwan Jackson, and found out that football was a club sport until 1978. His main beef was that O'Reilly had "exaggerated" his gridiron accomplishments for the inflation of his ego.
Mysteriously, a copy of the 1971 punting statistics for the National Club Football Association appeared on O'Reilly's website.
Olbermann then appeared on Air America Radio with Al Franken, debating the meaning of the word "division" and painstakingly discussing the structure of NCAA Division I, II, III, I-A, and the difference between a club sport and a varsity sport, with a fervency and detail that most people usually reserve for talking about real issues, such as the Iraq war. He also posted an entire column on MSNBC's website about it, stating that the runners-up in the punting leaders got "jobbed" because O'Reilly only punted 23 times for his 41.4 yard average, as opposed to the 36 punts that a New Haven kicker made for a 40.7 average.
"There was no division, the outfit was semi-national at best, and the title might have been statistically dubious," Olbermann wrote.
Marist College president Dennis Murray even went to bat for a Marist graduate in a statement, which was read on the Fox News morning show Fox and Friends.
Sounds like Keith Olbermann was splitting hairs to make a point that is factually incorrect. Mike Malet, a member of the football staff in 1970, confirmed that Bill O'Reilly did indeed win the national punting title for his division in his senior year. Olbermann is making a trivial distinction to detract from a record that any athlete would be proud to list among his accomplishments.
FNC: Cavuto: 736,000 / Gibson: 1,097,000 / Hume: 1,575,000 / Shep: 1,442,000 / O'Reilly: 2,253,000 / H&C: 1,734,000 / Greta: 1,550,000 CNN: Blitzer: 522,000 / Dobbs: 423,000 / Cooper: 518,000 / Zahn: 389,000 / King: 1,135,000 / NewsNight: 545,000 MSNBC: Abrams: 224,000 / Matthews: 274,000 / Olbermann: 223,000 / MSNBC Reports: 257,000 / Scarborough: 285,000
Geez..Zahn is in free-fall..and where do you get these, please?
i got the ratings from tvnewser. drudge also posts them a few times a month.
Olberwomannn is propped up by the crazies on DU.
Two complete idiots in a pissing match over trivia. I love Fox News, but I don't get why Oreilly has such a big audience. I think Cavuto is 3 times the reporter, and would love to see him have a prime time shot.
the Dummies best friends.....Boxer shorts and Olbereyebrows
Good grief, how could she?
thanks..
Cavuto is awesome at the 4 pm slot right after the markets close. I dont think hed want to do another primetime show...
What did Olberman lead the nation in. . .getting wedgies and beaten the shyt out of? Or was he the National Annoying Champion?
Off topic, but I will never get this, and there are those who have attempted to penetrate my thick skull.
I propose we put o'reilly and olberman in a steel cage and fight, no holds-barred winner takes all.
Then pray that somehow they both lose.
Looks like the liberals have their own game: Smear the Conservative. Anything for the pound of flesh.
By my count he IS dead last.
How can I Lexus-Nexus search? I've got everything else.
Maybe Roger Ailes was right. You could put on a dead raccoon and get Paula's ratings. She is a hottie though.
Might it have something to do with being opposite Zahn and Olbernuts?
You need to subscribe to its service. It is quite expensive. I would advise against it. Google provides a similar, scaled-down service for free.
"Or was he the National Annoying Champion?"
Flip, I believe Olberman suffers from Obnoxious Personality Disorder (OPD)which has no doubt served him well in his quest for "National Annoying Champion".
best regards,
dozer
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