Deadspin: Michael Wilbon

Signs You're Old: Pardon The Interruption Has Been On The Air For 10 Years

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:35:00 EDT

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It was 10 years ago tomorrow that PTI premiered, and ESPN has made available some clips from that inaugural show, including Brent Musberger on the BCS and time capsule headlines like "Are the Islanders for real?" That it's still going strong is a testament to the fact that ESPN can often get things so right: hiring (and keeping) smart and likable on-air talent, surrounding them with top-notch production and wrapping it all in a snazzy package. There's a lesson in PTI's success (and that of Around The Horn, which turns nine next month). Sometimes, viewers just want to watch knowledgeable people talking sports. [ESPN Front Row] More »

You Can Say "Circumcising Mosquitoes" On PTI, But You Can't Say It Thrice

Emma Carmichael — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EDT

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The gentlemen on Pardon The Interruption exceeded the quota for the amount of times one can say some variation of the phrase "circumcising mosquitoes" on live television today. Cowlishaw, quoting (and imitating) Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, gets in two mentions, but Wilbon never gets his chance. These guys have all the fun, up until the mic gets pulled. More »

Stay Soft, Dirk Nowitzki

Luke O'Brien — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:31:01 EDT

Even before Dirk Nowitzki lifted a championship trophy on Sunday night, he was being held up as a new man. Nowitzki had reinvented himself, we were told. He'd finally "shed" the Euro-soft label plastered to him throughout his career and, to much adulation, morphed into the sort of rugged warrior that wins titles. The tale of an individual transforming himself to wrestle destiny into submission satisfies a special American yearning. In this case, it's obscuring an even more fundamentally American story. More »

Wilbon Leaving The Newspaper You'd Forgotten He Still Worked For

Tommy Craggs — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:15:18 EST

Mike Wilbon is leaving the Washington Post to devote more time to being a faintly tolerable presence on ESPN. The newspaper's memo is below. More »

So Who's The ESPN Employee Calling Stu Scott An A-Hole On Reddit?

A.J. Daulerio — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:45:58 EST

Either a well-versed prankster has invaded Reddit's popular IAMA anonymous q-and-a, or, once again, Bristol has a reckless scuttlebutt willing to (anonymously) unload about Scott, Chris Berman, Michelle Beadle, Michael Wilbon and more. More »

Pardon The Coitus Interruptus

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT

Maybe you've experienced the act of lovemaking. If so, please tell us what it's like; we're bloggers. But have you experienced lovemaking as narrated by Kornheiser and Wilbon? More »

Michael Wilbon's Untapped Thoughts Are Now Worldwide

A.J. Daulerio — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:10:23 EDT

Watch as anti-blogivist Michael Wilbon tackles high-minded issues on his new WaPo page (not a blog!). In addition to opining on sports and social issues, he also slips on a cyber velvet robe anddishes dating advice as well. [TheBigLead] More »

Michael Wilbon Just Can't Contain His Kinkyness Anymore

A.J. Daulerio — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:45:40 EST

The Deadspin Morning Video Wake Up Call needs your help. If you have any suggested videos to fill this space, email us. Subject: Morning Video Wake Up Call. More »

Michael Wilbon Thinks People Who Enjoy Pictures Of Him With Porn Stars Should "Get A Life"

Will Leitch — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:07:29 EDT

Michael Wilbon chatted with Washington Post readers today, and he addressed those brilliant porn star pictures. The good humor he had on "PTI" about it? That's gone. More »

PTI Calls Out Michael Wilbon For His Festive Night Of Hollywood Ogling

A.J. Daulerio — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:35:36 EDT

Yesterday's post featuring Michael Wilbon enjoying the alluring top shelf of Girl Next Door Kendra and L.A. Times' J.A. Adande workin' it with some women(?) who earn a livin' doing dirty things on camera, gave PTI co-host Tony Kornheiser much to work with during yesterday's show. More »

Pardon The Interruption...In My Pants!

A.J. Daulerio — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:00:14 EDT

The above photo of PTI-er and blog despiser Michael Wilbon and Girl Next Door Kendra was taken last night at a post-Lakers after party by p*rn star and blogger, Christian, from HIS personal blog Christian Sings The Blues (NSFW), which he describes as "My Strange Life Within the Adult Film Business: Experiences, Thoughts, and Comments on My Daily Activities". Fun. Last night, he apparently had a great time celebrating the Lakers victory with some of his friends at Hollywood's club Les Deux. More »

Media Approval Ratings: Michael Wilbon

Leitch — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:05:00 EDT

Watching the NBA Playoffs the last week or so, it's clear Michael Wilbon has appropriately recovered from his mild heart attack last January. And did you know that his wife gave birth just two months later? Nice work, Wilbon! More »

Michael Wilbon Gets By With A Little Help From His Young Friends

Leitch — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:20:32 EST

Michael Wilbon has been rather upfront about how he's not a fan of blogging in general, bringing out the usual bromides that bloggers lack editing, standards, accountability, all that. We don't blame him for this; as he puts it himself, "I'm old. You build up your reading habits over a lifetime." Fair enough. But in an interview with The Fanhouse's Michael David Smith (who took a tour of "Monday Night Football" this week, we learn more about ESPN staffers than we do about Wilbon. More »

Here's Sean Taylor's Past, Relevant Or No

Leitch — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:10:20 EST

Michael Wilbon appears to have backed down from some of his ridiculous, offensive chat comments yesterday, but the fact remains: The way many media outlets dealt with the death of Sean Taylor yesterday was questionable, to say the least. More »

Michael Wilbon Is On The Run From The Law

Leitch — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:35:38 EDT

A reader with a lot of time on his hands — and, really, don't we all? — was surfing around the Maryland Judiciary Case Web site and found a certain "Pardon The Interruption" host who has yet to be brought to justice. More »

Michael Wilbon has his finger on the pulse...

Leitch — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:25:09 EDT

Michael Wilbon has his finger on the pulse of blogs. [Awful Announcing] More »

Get Drunk With ESPN

Leitch — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:30:56 EDT

We've been waiting for someone to come up with a definitive ESPN drinking game, and even though this might not be the definitive one, it's pretty close. Here's a fun "Pardon The Interruption" sampling: More »

Saying Goodbye To ESPN's Mark Shapiro

Leitch — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 11:19:17 EDT

After a reign that changed the culture of the world's largest sports entertainment network, ESPN executive vice president Mark Shapiro has now left the network to work for Redskins owner Daniel Snyder with his new venture with Six Flags. Ignoring all "Quite Frankly With Yosemite Same" jokes for a moment, we're going to be taking a look today at Shapiro's tenure atop the network, what his success were, what his failures were and what ESPN (and the people left behind) might look like in his absence. More »