koblin Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

ESPN Gets Defensive About Ratings Drop

Earlier this week we told you about ESPN's recent ratings woes. The numbers dropped significantly in the second quarter this year. They were down in the first quarter, too, and they were flat last year. Now that the news is getting around, ESPN PR—which usually projects an air of lordly remove in t...

ESPN's Ratings Are Way Down This Year. What's The Matter In Bristol?

ESPN may have grown into an unbeatable Goliath, as its executives spent the year telling any reporter who'd stand still long enough, but maybe the stretch marks are beginning to show. ESPN laid off hundreds two months ago, and in August it will face new competition in the form of Fox Sports 1, a ne...

Yet Another Distressing Fact About State Of American Men's Tennis

With Bobby Reynolds's loss to Novak Djokovic in the second round, we can now present to you for the 7,634th time why American men's tennis is deader than dead right now. For the first time since 1912, there will no Americans playing in the third round at Wimbledon. The worst thing about this? We'll ...

Bill Raftery Leaving ESPN For Fox Sports

Fox Sports 1, which launches in August, has poached its biggest name from Bristol: Bill Raftery is joining Fox Sports 1 after more than three decades with ESPN. He'll do Big East games with Gus Johnson. Enjoy that, internet. ...

A tipster writes that Speed Channel "has a company-wide HR meeting today at 1:30pm. Big layoffs expected. Also talk that they are closing the entire facility and moving to Los Angeles." Speed is being absorbed into Fox Sports 1 in August, so this was unfortunately inevitable. Know more? Email. ...

Curious How Much ESPN Executives Make? We Have Pay-Grade Charts

Want to know what a vice president of production makes at ESPN? We can give you a pretty good idea. An ESPN source sent us the company's pay-grade charts. ...

"So," ESPN Prez John Skipper Says, "We Eliminated A Bunch Of Jobs"

ESPN has been very quiet about the hundreds of workers they've sent packing over the past month. There wasn't any word circulating about the job cuts until the morning they came, and ESPN president John Skipper has kept communication about the job cuts to the bare minimum. ...

Roger Federer Is Out At Wimbledon In Craziest Second Round Ever

Something called Sergiy Stakhovsky just defeated Roger Federer in four sets at Wimbledon, which is less a tournament at this point than it is one of those Agatha Christie books where bodies keep piling up around some quaint English vicarage. Where do we start? Rafael Nadal got knocked out Monday. M...

"Carnage Wednesday," Brad Gilbert just dubbed it. Maria Sharapova just got bounced in the second round at Wimbledon to 131st player in the world, Michelle Larcher De Brito. French Open semifinalist* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew from play and Caroline Woznaicki, the ninth seed, lost today too. ...

Chris Berman Spoke At A High School Graduation, And It Was A Disaster

ESPN's Chris Berman was the commencement speaker at Connecticut's Greenwich High School last Friday, and it was baaaaad. So bad that the crowd actually started cheering during his apparently endless speech, hoping to drown him out and urge him off the stage, according to five people in attendance....

Rafael Nadal Loses In The First Round At Wimbledon

The best pre-Wimbledon storyline not involving the Serena-Sharapova "black heart" spat was the totally tantalizing quarterfinal: Federer vs. Rafa. They've met only twice in a Grand Slam in the last four years, and they haven't played each other at Wimbledon since the '08 classic. Finally, the thin...

Uh oh, Rafa Nadal is down two sets to love in the first round at Wimbledon to...Steve Darcis. Last year, Rafa was booted in the second round, which was basically regarded as the biggest upset in Grand Slam history. The match is live on ESPN. ...

Serena Williams Says She's "Deeply Sorry For What Was Written"

Serena Williams said some regrettable things about the Steubenville rape case to Rolling Stone's Stephen Rodrick, and today she's released a statement apologizing, sort of....

Serena Williams On Steubenville: "I'm Not Blaming The Girl But ..." [UPDATE]

Serena Williams is letting the press back into her life, big time. If you're unfamiliar, this is the "Serena comes out of her shell" part of the Serena dialectic, which is only a few pungent quotes from a full retreat and the "Why won't Serena let herself be loved?" stage....

Bill Simmons on the authenticity of television: "TV is like professional wrestling—you need to have good moves, but you also have to sell everyone else's moves. You're going to suck on TV if the other guys don't sell you." [SI]...

Here's Another Crazy Trick Shot From Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils, reigning king of the generally useless trick shot, let a lob slip between his legs, spun around and whacked a bizarre overhead return back to Tommy Haas in Halle today. In typical Monfils fashion, he'd lose the point and the match....

Bill Simmons Is Pissed That <em>SportsCenter</em> Edited Out This Joke [UPDATE]

Up above, Bill Simmons and the rest of the NBA Countdown crew discuss how Dwyane Wade transmogrified himself last night into an All-Star once again. Magic Johnson wonders if he could do it again for Game 5, and Michael Wilbon says he'll benefit from getting two off days. ...

Gary Hoenig, A Founding Editor Of <em>ESPN The Mag</em>, Has Been Laid Off

The first-ever hire at ESPN The Magazine, Gary Hoenig, has been laid off, three sources tell me. Hoenig was the executive editor at the magazine in 1998, and was promoted to editor-in-chief in 2003. He's been the GM and editorial director of ESPN's publishing division for the last five years. Hoeni...

Howie Schwab Among The Layoffs At ESPN [UPDATE]

Round 2 of the ESPN bloodletting began today, and a source tells us that Howie Schwab—remember Stump the Schwab?—was among those let go. ...

Tennis Channel CEO: Comcast Battle Like "Being Raped By Brutal Captor" [UPDATE]

Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court ruled that Comcast did not have to put Tennis Channel on its basic cable service and could, instead, throw it on a more-expensive sports tier. The court overturned an FCC ruling in the process. Tennis Channel was unhappy about this. In fact, Tennis Channel CEO ...