Deadspin
A few unusual facts about Kenny Mayne:
1. He was talented enough of a football player to be signed as a free agent by the Seattle Seahawks.
2. He was the original host of that "Power of 10" show, but turned it down as a full-time gig. It went to Drew Carey, who now, of course, hosts "The Price Is Right."
We don't really see that much of Mayne anymore, safe for the occasional rock-n-jock softball game or something. We do remember when he first showed up on "SportsCenter," and he seemed like Dan Patrick's weirder, funky younger brother. That was a long time ago.
So, do you like the Kenny Mayne? Do you not like the Kenny Mayne?
Comments
Yahtzee!
The fact he isn't on TV more is a crime.
Loved him as an anchor. As a features guy, not so much.
Hey, I voted, and went to the tally -- 100% approve. Close the polls, good enough for me.
He reminds me of the kind of loopy baby-boomer friends that my parents had when I was a kid. Good stuff.
Wasn't Randall Cunningham (QB Eagles) his backup QB at UNLV or something like that? If so, I would constantly remind the ladies of this fact.
I like his golf ball commercials.
Poor man's Scott Van Pelt.
My favorite Kenny Mayne fact I like boring people with?
He used to be a garbage man.
@Chief Wahoo: Totally agree. The "Mayne Event" segments are funny about 20% of the time.
It's never iffy if it's Griffey.
Approve.
I'll forgive the insurance commercials.
He turns up all the time on horse racing events. I wish I didn't know that.
You can tell by their reaction each week that the guys on Countdown don't find him funny.
Approve.
He treats the viewers like we're intelligent enough to get his dry humor. I'm not intelligent, but I approve nonetheless. Plus he covers horse racing. I like horsies.
Approve - Threecola!
Bring me the finest meats and cheeses! Approve!
Your puny ballparks are too small to contain my gargantuan blasts! Bring me the finest meats and cheeses for a clubhouse feast!
There is dry, and then there's this asshole.
disapprove.
vehemently.
Way too much random Kenny Mayne knowledge floating around these parts.
But still, approve.
I like fine assortments of meats and cheeses; therefore, I approve.
Amidst the vast compost heap of ESPN, he is thoroughly tolerable. Which is probably why you hardly see him anymore.
He's the most under-utilized person at the WWL. If he were announcing the Spelling Bee instead of Mike and Mike it would have been a can't miss.
If only he was even slightly as funny as he thinks he is. Disapprove.
He is charming. There I said it.
He's the opposite of Berman - you know, funny and (probably) gets his drugs in the US
Love him as an anchor, hate the Mayne Event, yet I must APPROVE.
I endorse citing Beck lyrics in delivering sports highlights. Approve.
/Chokin' on a splinter
@JimmyChitwood: that's actually a good idea. Get Norby on the horn!
not afraid to make fun of himself, and others nearby
approve
@7-8 Deville: The one he did with Marshawn Lynch at the Applebee's was pretty damn funny.
The piece about Favre going naked around Green Bay to acclimate to the weather is worth a yes vote.
So far, 378 votes -- not by one person, that'd be like a record or something.
Kenny Mayne is up there with sliced bread...I strenously approve.
I am amazed by the simplicity of this game. Bring me your finest meats and cheeses.
-approve
a thousand times, YES. unfortunately, he's become such a power over at ESPN that he can pick and choose his projects... which are golf, tennis, and horse racing... three things you couldn't pay me to watch on TV.
his legendary Barry Sanders "retirement" bit will live on forever in the sports comedy hall of fame.
He was talented enough of a football player to be signed as a free agent by the Seattle Seahawks.
I'm not sure that proves anything. They once drafted Jerramy Stevens in the first round and still employ Shaun Alexander.
+ Watch video
Coming up, a Did You Know... about... sports.
My friend who used to work for the Niners said Mayne was the nicest media guy she encountered in her 6 years. Then again, she was also charmed that Berman remembered her name between visits.
Either way, he's king of the diamond!
I like his sports center commercials. Approve.
Rock and Jock, please come back.
Not sure whose ass he squeezed that resulted in less air time, but it's a crime he isn't on the television set more.
The one he did with Marshawn Lynch at the Applebee's was pretty damn funny.
The key words in that sentence are Marshawn and Lynch.
Keep him away from the "Mayne Event" segments and leave him on the Sunday SportsCenter where he belongs.
Approve. You have to approve someone who is capable of making fun of themselves on air.
@Chamomiles Davis: The first time I heard that one I just about died laughing. I've been a Kenny Mayne fan ever since. Approve.
Love Kenny Mayne!
RANT: That "Power of 10" show? WTF? It was a total guessing game! No logic, no strategy, even more retarded than all the other retarded game show/reality shows out there. Might as well called it "how many grains of sand on this beach". Pure shite. But Arrested Development gets canceled.
Sorry.
How do women 18-34 feel about Kenny Mayne?
/Ladies...
Kenny Mayne: Telented enough to get signed, but smart enough not to stick around.
Take that Holmgren!
/sits back in chair and pats self on back
Bueno.
@DeepFriar: or you could have written "Talented". Way to go, Hawking
His Mayne Event on Tony Sparano really captured the zeitgeist of the Summer of 2007. Of course, I'm talking about mocking the ending of The Sopranos:
+ Watch video
Much cleverer than Trey Wingo (not pictured here). Approve.
More fuel to the approval fire, Bill Simmons' longest running joke (well one of the jokes that he has run into the ground) is a Kenny Mayne original:
ESPN hired Mayne in 1994 after Mayne had sent ESPN a note inquiring whether or not the network would hire him. The note simply asked to check a box, including one option which read, "We'll hire you when there's an ESPN5."
@Andrew: I loved the first time when he was doing highlights of a hockey game, and a fight broke out, and he goes, "they're so cute at that age". Hilarious.
Still my favorite anchor.
Another aside, anyone remember when Dan Patrick and Mayne became regular anchors together and Dan Patrick starts the show off by going, "I'm Dan Patrick, sitting next to my new best friend Kenny Mayne."?
I took that as a slam against Olberman, but I think I was wrong in that assessment.
@twoeightnine: somebody have to give him direction, and what was Marshawn's motivation during the scene? That was all Mayne's doing.
@Dead Wrestlers Society: crap
@Dead Wrestlers Society: had*. Me fail English.
@Chamomiles Davis: I think he's a delight. Approve.
I approve, but between him and Jim Caple there's just a little too much Seattle knob-slobbering over at tWWL for my taste. I'm sure the Kingdome gave you plenty of awesome memories, but so did County Stadium and nobody wrote a 10,000 word column about it when they tore that down.
Remember games aren't played on paper they are played inside your television!
For those of you in New York, he'll be at the UCB Theater in April:
[newyork.ucbtheatre.com]
I'm tired of his deadpan. Mayne event is played. Soooo played.
@Its The Beer Talking:
Damn that infernal West Coast media bias!
@G.G.: White people love Arrested Development!
@The Diesel:
Old man's Scott Van Pelt.
fixed
"Now we have some WNBA highlights, since apparently females are allowed to participate in athletics now."
/Kenny Mayne on his game
Best damn Cooler in the business.
Sure. Mayne ev