The Mr. Tony PTI Trip Report

As you all know that I’m a big fan of Tony Kornheiser. I’ve always wanted to meet him, though I didn’t have the time the past 10 years. I’ve wanted to go to the radio show a few years ago, but there was a policy implied about Mr. Tony stalkers (thanks Neil in Rockville (inside joke)). I wasn’t likely to meet him again until he mention my name out of nowhere during the D.C. Sports Fan contest. Yes, I know he reads the papers, but I would have no idea he would remember my name. He mention if I don’t win the contest, then I get some consolation prize from him.  I didn’t get anything from him and that was expected. That made me think that I need to force the issue and meet Mr. Tony on my terms.

I decided to book the PTI tour last month with assistance from the board, so I had around a month to set up what I wanted to do. What was stunning is I made it publicly that if anyone wanted to attend the tour, they can. Sadly, only a couple responded. It could have been the tour was on a Monday and nearly everyone is working. After Christmas, I got a response from a friend who was available on January 9. One week later, my friend had a prior commitment she couldn’t exit, so a slot opened up from help with @MrTonySays. Then, I got a response from Ernie and he accepted. How do I know Ernie? Well…I don’t know him that well since we recently met on Twitter, but I (and the rest of the littles) know him for this:

(via Ernie Chamberlain)

Yep, Ernie put up that sign on the Today Show.

The Day of the Tour

Ernie, his friend, Joe, and I first meet up Morton’s for lunch. Luckily, this week was D.C. Restaurant Week – Winter Edition, to get a discounted three-course meal. I selected Morton’s hoping they have the steak sandwiches Mr. Tony craves about. Sadly, it wasn’t on the list and Ernie mention why I didn’t choose the Palm. Inside, I was shaking my head and should have booked a table at the Palm. Besides that, all three of us had a great talk about Mr. Tony, sports, sports radio, our day jobs, etc. After a 1 hour break, we went to the ABC News studios for the tour.

There, we met Bonnie Berko and asked who the Mr. Tony stalker is and everyone pointed at me, including myself. I mention that I was a recruiter and I was a “professional stalker” who has standards of how to “stalk.” We came up to the newsroom and saw  Mr. Tony working on today’s show. A few minutes later, he came by to us, shake our hands, and mention me that I should have won the contest and I thank him for it. Then, he saw we have tons of stuff, or as the crew calls it, the “Bag of Crap.” I had most of the crap, Ernie and Joe brought 4-5 Mrs. Smith’s Apple Pies and Peanut M & Ms. I mention most of my crap came from Costco and Mr. Tony said, “Yeah, I get my food next to the tire section.” Both Mr. Tony and Bonnie said this is most gifts they’ve gotten from a tour guest. It was sweet of them to say that, but I know there were others who have done better, but I was flattered. Anyway, the only gift that was not on the Mr. Tony shopping list was an autographed portrait of my head photoshopped to a bird.

The story behind it was a few years ago, I mention to the board that they should join Twitter. Some muffed at it, but slowly they went to Twitter and from there, they see I did a lot of tweeting. On my birthday, Kuke Reynoso (the photoshop artist of the photo above) decided to photoshop my head onto a bird and it became one of my favorite profile pictures.

As we were heading out to the tour, Tony saw me grabbing the Johnnie Walker Blue and gave it to him and said slyly,

“You paid too much for this, this is a lot of money. Have you tried this before?

I said, “Yes, at an event last year”

he then said, “You paid too much”

then I said, “I had this for 4 years.”

We headed to the tour and the studio is pretty small, but handles three shows: PTI, Around the Horn, and Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable. Then we headed to the studios, where PTI and ATH stages are linked to each other and met Sharon and Will, who might be the only Bostonian I know who hates ALL Boston teams. Will predicted that the Giants will go to Super Bowl this year. I’m writing that so I don’t forget and hold him to it.

As for the show itself, Mr. Tony arrived on time and mention me that I went beyond my means with the gifts and the cheesecake. We had another surprise that day: Michael Wilbon was in the D.C. studios for the next two days and as Ernie pointed out to me, “He’s wearing pants!” The taping should have started around 4 P.M., but in typical Wilbon fashion, he came in late. This is not a shock and if you saw Wilbon on WRC’s Full Court Press or Redskins Report, you know his tendencies. What was surprising was Wilbon has a booming voice on and off camera, while Mr. Tony “rests” his voice off-air, and then when the on-air switch is on, he yodels of what you see in TV and on radio. Another great part was we were helping out Wilbon and Tony Reali what SEC quarterbacks made it to the Super Bowl or made an impact on the NFL. On the guest end, we mention Rex Grossman. For the record, Reali does read tweets, Facebook statuses and check YouTube videos during the show for research.

Basically, what you see on TV is what you get when you attend a live-taping, but more explicit language during commercial breaks (like the old Mr. Tony radio shows), and they only did one take for each segment. The interesting part is the SportsCenter segment  they do it between the regular show format, so after the second “Headlines” segment, they do the SC segment, and then go to the last two PTI segments “Mail Time” and “The Big Finish.” After that, Ernie, Joe, and I got our picture with Tony and Mike:

(via Ernie)

Afterwards, the PTI crew gave me a 10th Anniversary shirt, hat, and cup. I wanted to get an autograph, but I know Mr. Tony had to go home through the strong flurries that came that night, so I didn’t bother.

I know Ernie and Joe had fun not only having lunch and going to see a live PTI show, but visiting Washington D.C. As for me, I wanted to get a consolation prize from Mr. Tony on promoting me by name, never even meeting me. Shaking his hand was the best consolation prize I’ve got. The rest after that is a bonus and I thank Mr. Tony and “Gettin’ It Done” Bonnie for organizing this to five littles.

Of note: Apparently, we were there to witness history that Woody Paige broke the ATH scoring record of 71.

Photos from the PTI Tour
If you go to the PTI Tour, get inspired here

The Norman Chad Holiday Story

This is the story of Norman Chad and his 25 Ex-Wives. This is a fictional story, but with a real person.

Norman Chad was the original blogger. He wanted to stay home, eat a bunch of junk food and basically make money by watching TV. He has done that, but starting as a young adult, Norman Chad was a chick magnet. If you think chick magnet, you would think attractive, can play around the English language, and has the “it” factor. You wouldn’t imagine a chick magnet be like this:

However, Norman Chad is living the life…way too much life. Norman Chad has been married 25 times. Here are 25 stories of each wife:

Wife #1 – Meredith: Norman and Meredith were in love through college. Norman was an aspiring writer, while Meredith wanted to be a government wonk. They wanted to live in suburban D.C. and raise a family…until Norman realize Meredith REALLY wanted to work for the government. Norman hated federal workers and hate talking politics. Meredith got a job for the government. The both split up just one year of marriage.

Wife #2 – Gloria: Norman spotted Gloria at a local Prince George’s County Bar watching the Terrapins basketball game. Norman loved the way she can talk about sports and took her to his apartment. There, Gloria saw Norman was a mess. She took initiative and cleaned up Norman’s apartment. Norman was stunned…yet attracted since she was cleaning and watching TV at the same time. Norman found her woman. The both were married in 1981 and it was a great year for Norman: got married, his favorite team, the Oakland Raiders, won the Super Bowl, and send columns about sports and TV. Several newspapers, including the Washington Post, picked up his column and Norman’s career started. It was the life in the 1980s: man makes the money, the wife makes the house. It was going well until mid 1982, when the Raiders were allowed to move to Los Angeles. It was then Norman Chad wanted to move to L.A. to further enhance his career. Gloria loved her life. Then one day, Norman gave Gloria roses, a handsome man, and divorce papers. Norman Chad was heading to L.A.

Wife #3 – Jaime: Since Norman moved to L.A., he had all the luck: he was a syndicated writer, he started playing big-time poker, and his L.A. Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII. At a Super Bowl party, Norman met Jaime. They had a nice talk and shared a lot of things. They got married in July of 1984. Marriage ended in December of the same year and Norman realizes Jaime was attracted to plastic surgery.

Wife #4 - Jeanne: Norman first met Jeanne at the 1984 Olympic Games in L.A. when she was a volunteer. Norman was stunned by Jeanne’s good looks and wanted to marry her. The got married in early 1985…and lasted for 3 weeks since all Norman thought about Jeanne was sex.

Wife #5 - LaLaine: Norman met LaLaine at an UCLA game in 1986. What interested Norman going to UCLA was his alma mater, the University of Maryland, had a superstar in Len Bias. Norman got so excited for UMD basketball, he did not care LaLaine was a UCLA fan. It was blind love. They were married in May 1986. two months later, the couple was divorce not because they grown apart, but LaLaine’s name was similar to Len’s name and it had an emotional attachment to Norman since Len passed away by drugs. They became friends after the divorce.

Wife #6 – Jade: Norman took a break from dating in 1987 for one year after what happened in his last marriage. In 1988, Norman was back in the dating scene. She met Jade at a bookstore, reading up on various pop culture books. They were married in August 1988 after the Seoul Olympics and got a present from Michael Wilbon…cooked dog. Shortly thereafter, the couple vacationed in Hawaii. It was there, someone accidentally order the movie, Ishtar, at their room. Norman saw the movie since he had nothing to do. At the end of the movie, Norman was watching the credits and saw under, “Extras,” Jade Hickenbottom…Norman’s wife. Yep, Jade was part of the worst movie in cinema history. Norman didn’t want to travel back to L.A. with an extra who was part of a terrible movie. So, Norman bolted and left a note to Jade and $1.25.

Wife #7 – Shirley: In 1989, Norman met Shirley in Las Vegas at a bookkeeping convention. Shirley knows the matchups and knew if the house was crazy or lax. Norman was impressed by her skills. They got married in June 1989. This was the first marriage Norman truly fell in love. In his columns, Norman started to put his wife in it when the one-liner, “Pay the man, Shirley.” One little thing about the marriage is in the pre-nuptial agreement that if the Redskins win the Super Bowl during their marriage, they immediately divorce the next day and split their stuff, 50/50. Apparently, Shirley was a huge Redskins fan and she would never see the Redskins winning the Super Bowl again. On January 26, 1992, the Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI. One day later, the couple divorce. This was Norman’s longest marriage to date.

Wife #8 – Destiny: So down in the dumps since the divorce…and the Redskins winning the Super Bowl, Norman was back to the dating scene and heading up the Las Vegas strip. Drinking his sorrows, Norman met a stripper name Destiny. He told his long story to her and had a one night stand. It was also they were officially married. Realizing this, Norman called it off after 1 day.

Wife #9 – Unknown: Norman decided to write a book about being a TV sports junkie, for this, he took out an ad looking for a woman to live with him for a few months so he has an inspiration for his book. Only one person answered his ad. The person did not have a name, but Norman had no choice. Norman brought in a judge and the two were married. Five months later, the book was finished and Norman dumped her to go on his book tour.

Wife #10 – Abigail/Wife #11 – Angie/ Wife #12 – Bethany/ Wife #13 – Georgia/ Wife #14 – Jennifer/ Wife #15 – Rachel/ Wife #16 – Doris/ Wife #17 – Maude/ Wife #18 – Brittany/ Wife #19 – Ginger:  Throughout 1993, Norman Chad was traveling the U.S. to promote his book, Honey, I’ll Take You to the Hospital at Halftime (Confessions of a TV Sports Junkie). The book was a success and Norman was finally getting the attention…and the ladies. In a one-time stunt, Norman became a one day polygamist and married 10 women…and divorce all 10 women. Hence the “Sleeping with Angels” line he uses.

Wife #20 – Deidre: Norman took a break from dating between 1994-1996 with Nancy-Tonya, O.J., and the Olympics. He then struck a deal with America Online on posting his columns on their sports section. There, Norman discovered the internet, especially internet dating and chat rooms. This is where Norman’s personality was a blessing…and a curse. By having his columns online, more people will see Norman’s columns. However, the ladies would know his personality and quite frankly, he almost fits a description of a pedophile. There was one person who was interested in Norman. Deidre lived in Seattle and love the Pacific. There online chats were hot, and shared a lot of things. Norman did something innovative…he wanted to marry Deidre online through the help of AOL. Norman has never seen Deidre’s face, but with their interaction through chat rooms, Norman sounded so confident, the woman who she is marrying, he didn’t check who she looks like…or he. When the ceremony ended, Norman saw video of Deidre…a drag queen (real name: Joe Sanders). Norman realizing what he did, call it off the second he saw him.

Wife #21 – Dorothy/ Wife #22 – Cheryl/ Wife #23 – Nancy: Online dating has hurt Norman Chad’s chances of really attracting a woman. Then in 2003, Norman had a second career. ESPN started to show segments for the World Series of Poker and wanted Norman to do commentary. Norman shine through the shows and became a TV star. It was also the 10th Anniversary of Honey, I’ll Take You to the Hospital at Halftime (Confessions of a TV Sports Junkie). To relive his book release, Norman wanted to be a polygamist again. This time, he only married 3 people, not 10, since he has gotten older and and can’t really handle 10 people. Basically the same as 1993: married and divorce on the same day.

Wife #24 – Leslie: With his new poker fame, Norman was swarm with fans and tons of ladies. He was getting interview requests and was the talk among the poker community. Norman also is a poker player and at a circuit tournament in L.A., he met Leslie. She had red hair and was a chatterbox. Norman reminded her of Tony Kornheiser. The couple married in L.A. in May 2004. Everything was right in Norman’s world…until he had a rift with Kornheiser. It was the time at Monday Night Football is where Tony got the gig and Norman was either jealous or didn’t know what to do. When Tony got the MNF gig, their friendship deteriorated. When the friendship deteriorated, Norman’s marriage deteriorated. Norman and Leslie broke up in 2006.

Wife #25 - Toni: Norman realizing he was fast approaching 50 and wanted to settle down. After trials and tribulations with his dates and friends, Norman was seeking love again. We know the friendship between Norman and Tony Kornheiser declined, but Norman spotted a winner in Toni. They took a shot in married in 2007. Currently, they’re still married. Let’s hope they stay that way.

A Kornundrum

You know from this blog that I like Tony Kornheiser, especially his radio show, where he is at his best. I also mention that he has lost his fastball by moving to ESPN 980 with tape delays, shorter e-mail segments, and being the old guy. Well, Mr. Tony and his radio station are at a crossroads.

Recently, executives from ESPN 980 in DC decided to put up the podcast 24 hours after the “live” show. Since then, they decided to put up the podcast in 12 hours to split the difference. This is ESPN 980′s Director of Programming, Chuck Sapienza, explanation for the move on DC Sports Bog:

“We’re delaying the podcasts 24 hours for all of our shows,” he told me. “I know this hurts people who listen out-of-town, but we’re trying to get people to listen on the radio. We’re in the radio business, and we’re trying to get people to listen on the radio. And the more people who download podcasts, the fewer people who listen on the radio.”

There has been a lot of backlash from the littles (Kornheiser fans) about this move since most of the littles work at an office or don’t get ESPN 980 since they’re outside the DC area. I agree with them.

When did Sapienza (and to an extent, Dan Snyder) all became Bill Wirtz believing you have to listen to radio to best listen. This tells me the regime does not have a clue about the current trends and don’t pay attention to the business. If Sapienza had a brain, radio advertising is down across the board except if your call letters are WTOP or NPR, podcasting can be lucrative, if done right, and people use mobile apps since it’s more convenient than carrying a radio. Red Zebra dropped the ball big time, but they are not only to blame.

I have said this many times, but you have to look at Kornheiser as well. Yes, his first stint at ESPN Radio was hoot, but it was unlikely we would see those days. His time at Bonneville (used to own Washington Post Radio and 3WT, but now defunct) was at his best. If I know Jim Farley, his only regret was not calling Washington Post Radio/3WT…WTOP2 (talk radio). If he took those call letters, Kornheiser would have his audience and would stay at Bonneville (which is now Hubbard Broadcasting after Bonneville sold WTOP to them). Instead, Kornheiser had the Monday Night Football gig and ruin the momentum for the station(s). After quitting his MNF job and getting “fired” by the Washington Post, Kornheiser had a talk with Jim Zinzi and decided to go to Red Zebra to reboot his radio show. It was great the littles can listen to Mr. Tony again, but we all knew there were consequences. The first thought was ESPN 980 is affiliated with ESPN and that the station is owned by Dan Snyder (and you know that story).

If Kornheiser open his mind, he would have ample opportunity to make big bucks: Go back to Bonneville, where their revenues are second biggest in the country; go to public media and ask for donations to feed his family and crew; or take the podcasting route at his own home or at the PTI studios and charge the littles a fee, for which the littles were willing to pay. Instead, he went with the safest route and select ESPN 980. How that turn out? He can’t bash ESPN (for which he did and got suspended). He talks to one of the biggest superstars (he did with Lance Armstrong (and his cronies), but got ridiculed from a meaningless joke). Finally, his shows were live (and then switch to pre-recorded). Sadly, Kornheiser re-signed with Red Zebra for two more years until 2012. Until that time, the Metro construction at Tysons Corner and Reston will be finished.

Dan Snyder’s pettiness, Chuck Sapienza’s lack of intelligence, and Kornheiser’s stubbornness are effects of who’s the biggest loser of the debacle: the listeners (podcasters and live listeners). I pray for someone not name Red Zebra to take Mr. Tony after October 2012, I beg you.

UPDATED: On his opening segment yesterday, Mr. Tony stated that he has reach his maximum number of shows and will take next week…and the whole month of July and August off from the show. This is unprecedented and shows again the terrible business judgment of Sapienza and Snyder that they don’t know how to run a 1) content delivery business nor 2) a radio business. Kornheiser literally helped carried the station. I hope somebody buys out Kornheiser’s contract: Hubbard, public media, hell even evil Clear Channel. Somebody?

The Mr. Tony Meme

We interrupt with the Quora Question of the Day and discuss a bigger issue that has been brewing the past few months.

Every day, I set my alarm at 9AM to brush my teeth, get my breakfast, and run errands before turning on the Tony Kornheiser Show on ESPN 980. He was and still has the best radio show in D.C…it is that the competition lowered the bar and he came with it.

It all started in February 2010 when Mr. Tony ranted on Hannah Storm’s clothing. Personally, I thought it funny, but professionally, it was the wrong move and did not mind that ESPN suspended him, although their reasoning was mixed since they were going to suspend Tony for a few days but extend the suspension to two weeks because he “implied” that he was dissing on ESPN’s “Number 1″ employee, Chris Berman on air. The show did not suffer at the time.

In March, Mr. Tony had his typical rant on bicycles like he always had for years. Somehow, the bicyclists heard of his rant and ranted to throw Mr. Tony and they called upon their hero, Lance Armstrong to take down Tony…and sadly he did.

The serious cyclists who don’t get satire have won out and soon after that show, Tony was never the same.

He had memorable shows after when his dog, Maggie, passed away and his last show before Labor Day, which told us something that he secretly telling his fans: the show you know for a long time is over:

Kornheiser 090310

This explains his trip to Bristol, CT in August.

It used to be Mr. Tony had one or two funny segments on his show daily. Sadly, we will be lucky if he has one funny segment in a week. It seems Tony is playing it safe and trying to survive than going balls out funny. It also seems he’s putting more work to PTI than his radio show, which would never happen two years ago. It’s great he is having success but like anyone, the corporate pressure took its toll.

I appreciate what Noel from St. Louis is doing with the @MrTonySays account mentioning Tony’s quotes of the day, but if you want to appreciate Mr. Tony, listen here:

Old Tony, Abridged

Tony’s last show on Washington Post Radio

Behind The Heads (Complete Series)

We want to hear about Swiss cheese with holes, Peter Yarrow, red89hawk, Rich Eisen and Bea Arthur, The Snack down with Mr. Kornissioner, Liz Clarke hating on Anne Murray, Death Star Radio, The “Praying Mantis” Ann Curry, Twitching Little Freaks, bashing sponsors, etc.

That is why “The Board” decides to put “Toothless Tony.” You can put up your “Toothless Tony” by copying this picture to your profile:

(via Kuke Reynoso)

In your post/status, select an audio clip from the old Mr. Tony days before 2009 and share it with everyone else.

We want the old show back and to be honest, he can go toe-to-toe with Ira Glass as best radio host in this country. However, he’s close to Larry Michael‘s level than Ira now. If we can’t get his real show back, we have to wait two more years until his contract is up and hope a station is willing to take him and be himself. Right now, it’s like seeing the radio version of David Letterman…milking it in.

If I Was Running A Company…Tony Kornheiser

For full disclosure: everyone who reads my blog knows I’m a big Tony Kornheiser fan.  I have posted a lot of material about Tony, hell my website url is in honor of Mr. Tony.  Also I have to admit: Between 10 Am-Noon is my most unproductive (but gives me the best ideas of work) hours of the day because of the Tony Kornheiser Show.

To sum up:  last Thursday, Tony made comments on his radio show on a couple fashion faux pas: one for Today‘s Hoda Kotb and her bare arms and Hannah Storm.  Here was Tony’s comments on Hannah Storm that day:

“She’s got on her typically very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body … I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t … but Hannah Storm … come on now! Stop! What are you doing?  She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point.”

As a fan, that statement was funny, especially his reference to Catcher in the Rye with the “Holden Caulfield Fantasy” line.  As a HR person (which Tony has said are along the same line as terrorists), this looks bad.  I don’t care how accurate it is, you never…EVER diss a co-worker in public.  Tony knew that from the statement above, but said it anyway.  Also, the sausage line gives me pause as well since it could be interpret as a euphemism.  A few blogs mention
Tony’s comments on Hannah’s wardrobe and someone told Tony to diffuse the situation.

The next day, Tony went on-air to his audience and called Hannah personally to apologize for his comments.  That should be it, end of story, let’s move on.  However, ESPN has a different take.

Initially, Tony’s suspension was for three days.  If I were in HR at ESPN, I would have reduce it to a one-day suspension, but that can be debated.  However, ESPN change their mind and suspended Kornheiser for two weeks for “inappropriate, hurtful, and personal comments” towards Hannah Storm.  Wait, Kornheiser did an on-air and personal apology and Hannah did not ask for suspension, so what gives?

Deadspin gives the real reason why Tony was suspended: he use Chris Berman’s name in vain.  Apparently, Tony broke ESPN’s Ten Commandments that he use Berman (implied is a better term) as an example, hence the longer suspension.  ESPN was fine about Hannah Storm, but not Chris Berman?  This leads to the bigger issue: ESPN itself.

Tony and Hannah did the right thing and diffuse the problems themselves to limit its exposure and that should be the end of it.  ESPN then came right out saying Tony was suspended for two weeks and there was a media frenzy around the suspension, even some of the press incorrectly call the incident, “a sexual harassment case.”  In addition, people knew ESPN’s workplace culture from several public sexual harassment cases that shed light to their situation, plus the highlighted departures of Matt Winer and Peter Gammons and could potentially lose Erin Andrews, Bill Simmons, and Chris Berman before the end of the year.

Another thing to ponder: ESPN hired Tony Kornheiser back in the mid 90s to be an asshole.  He was frequently on The Sports Reporters to be an asshole. He was selected to be a co-host of PTI because he’s an asshole.  He was one of the Dream Job judges because he loves Simon Cowell, who is an asshole.  You hire him for Monday Night Football to be an asshole, yet he got suspended twice from ESPN of being asshole?  Which Tony does ESPN want?

You have to ask ESPN this: what did ESPN do when Mike Golic bashed Tony when it was announced he was an analyst for MNF?  What about when Mike Greenberg said a derogatory word on air on Martin Luther King Day? What about Bill Simmons occasional bashing of ESPN, the company he is currently working for?  The answer to all of these questions: nothing.

Basically, ESPN turned into the International Luge Federation and made the situation worse by putting the onus on Kornheiser-Storm and not the real reason for this fiasco: Chris Berman.  This speaks of ESPN acting as if Kornheiser was the antagonist of the event since he attack someone from a “protected class.”  If you want to justify the suspension, mention that he said bad things publicly about Chris Berman and you will get fewer people upset about it.

The moral of this ESPN story for HR is know who you hire and try your best of not to be surprise as a result.  Also in some cases, employees know how to deal with the situation on their own and saving HR’s time.  In addition, be transparent of what and why you do it because anyone can blow the door wide open if it is kept hidden.  Finally, understand the culture you’re working at because some do get special treatment that is unfair to others.

It is alright to have conflicts and disagreements in-house, like Tony bashing Digger Phelps and his “tie-lighter” or his numerous fights against Paul Farhi when he was with the Washington Post at the time.  ESPN knew the risks and rewards of hiring Tony Kornheiser and they realize they control the sports empire in part because of PTI and him.  However, they should also know everyone is gunning for them and be prepared to take hits, including their perennial superstars like Berman, Stuart Scott, and Bill Simmons.  In this case, ESPN opened their own Pandora’s Box by shifting blame to who they think are expendable.

For that, it’s a shame ESPN took that route.

By the way, if you really want to work for Chris Berman, you have to deal with this: