Deadspin: John Skipper

Former ESPN VP's "I Didn't Masturbate In Front Of Erin Andrews" Lawsuit Causes Panic In Bristol And L.A.

A.J. Daulerio — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:25:35 EST

LOS ANGELES—On Nov. 5, ESPN Senior VP Joan Lynch woke up in her home to find a front tire of her vehicle slashed. This is notable for two reasons. The first is that Lynch lives in the Pacific Palisades, which is not the sort of neighborhood where one gets one's tires slashed. The Palisades is west of Brentwood; it's a ritzy, tree-smothered enclave inhabited by celebrities and money both old and new. Even the mailboxes here look expensive. The second reason is that Lynch is the woman being sued by ESPN Senior VP Keith Clinkscales, who believes she is the source who told us, among other things, that Clinkscales had once masturbated in front of sideline reporter Erin Andrews. More »

The Decision About LeBron's Decision Was An Orgy Of Self-Interest, With Jim Gray On Top

Emma Carmichael — Thu, 19 May 2011 17:47:46 EDT

Decision Was An Orgy Of Self-Interest, With Jim Gray On Top" alt="Click here to read The Decision About LeBron's Decision Was An Orgy Of Self-Interest, With Jim Gray On Top" src="http://cache.deadspin.com/assets/images/11/2011/05/small_102729885.jpg"/>

There's a brief section about The Decision in Those Guys Have All the Fun, and if the details aren't exactly fresh, the takeaway is somewhat new: Everyone involved was using everyone else for their own ends to produce what amounted to a massive orgy that they all came to regret the next day. And LeBron was just the inflatable fuck toy in the middle of it all. So to speak. More »

Jamboroo, Week 6: John Skipper's Latest Leaked ESPN NFL Coverage Memo

Leitch — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:20:37 EDT

Deadspin HOF Nominee: ESPN Memo

Leitch — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:05:02 EDT

It's impossible to overstate the joy in our hearts when the ESPN Internal Complaint Memo showed up in our email box. We had always suspected that ESPN was a depressing, Brazil-esque bureaucracy. But we had no idea how bad it was. More »

New MNF Booth Just Full Of Giggles!

Leitch — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:40:09 EDT

Newsday's Neil Best documents a happening that seems specifically designed to make Joe Theismann pound his face repeatedly against a wall: a practice session with the new "Monday Night Football" crew. They're having so much fun! More »

Your Baby Will Cough And You Will Like It

Leitch — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:05:16 EDT

We know the big ESPN interoffice complaint memorandum we posted earlier this week was enormous and unwieldy, but seriously, folks: It's an absolute treasure trove of gorgeous goodness. So, for the rest of the week, we'll be highlighting particularly hilarious and illustrative segments from the memo. This is the last one. Right now: Smoky day care! More »

ESPN Employees Need Their Cash NOW

Leitch — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:00:22 EDT

We know the big ESPN interoffice complaint memorandum we posted yesterday was enormous and unwieldy, but seriously, folks: It's an absolute treasure trove of gorgeous goodness. So, for the rest of the week, we'll be highlighting two particularly hilarious and illustrative segments from the memo each day. Right now: ESPN employees' odd, desperate search for quick cash. More »

A Tree Grows In Bristol

rickchand — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:40:12 EDT

We know the big ESPN interoffice complaint memorandum we posted on Tuesday was enormous and unwieldy, but seriously, folks: It's an absolute treasure trove of gorgeous goodness. So, for the rest of the week, we'll be highlighting two particularly hilarious and illustrative segments from the memo each day. Right now: Trees and shrubs! More »

ESPN Would Rather Not Use Their Own Phones

Leitch — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:40:11 EDT

John Skipper Defines Leadership

Leitch — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:05:01 EDT

We know the big ESPN interoffice complaint memorandum we posted yesterday was enormous and unwieldy, but seriously, folks: It's an absolute treasure trove of gorgeous goodness. So, for the rest of the week, we'll be highlighting two particularly hilarious and illustrative segments from the memo each day. Right now: ESPN head honcho John Skipper's heroic leadership! More »

ESPN's Secret Interoffice Complaint Memorandum

Leitch — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:00:22 EDT

Sometimes we forget, in all the frustrations and angst that watching ESPN causes us, that Bristol really is just an office. An office with a cafeteria, a human resources department, water coolers, parking spaces and football analysts who take pictures of their penis. It's like all of our offices. Sort of. More »

That Wascally Al Michaels

Leitch — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 13:30:43 EST

We don't mean to imply that ESPN and ABC might have wanted to insult Al Michaels — whose popularity among the suits there has always been overstated — on the way out the door, but they just traded him for a cartoon rabbit. More »

ESPN Proceeding With World Domination Plans

Leitch — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 14:00:09 EDT

Big huge story in Business Week this week looking at the challenges facing ESPN Networks and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer as the network looks for more opportunities to grow. (Because that's what ESPN needs: To be bigger.) The story is a fascinating look at a company — and a leader — that tries to put a jocular public face while still desiring to dominate everything it sees. More »

Meet The New ESPN Guy: John Skipper

Leitch — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 16:35:13 EDT

See that guy right there? That's John Skipper, a guy of whom it is very difficult to find a picture online. (A helpful reader sent us this larger one; Mark Shapiro, on the other hand, was smiling and waving everywhere we looked.) Skipper is also the new guy in charge at ESPN. As first reported by Paid Content (which is having a very busy day), Skipper has been promoted to executive vice president of content at ESPN. This is a particularly interesting move because Skipper is previously the editorial and business operation head for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine; in other words, he's not a TV guy. More »