ESPN Page 130 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Chris Mortensen Is Not Well-Liked, According To Sources Close To Adam Schefter
Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day....

ESPN Radio Intern Inadvertently Scratches Junk On Camera
It's been a while since we heard about a sports radio intern doing something untoward but look at what we have here. Intern Alex of Primetime with Isaac and Big Suke, we offer you our praise and condolences. [Bob's Blitz]...

Mark Wahlberg Says Boring Bristol Is The Reason Why There's So Much Banging Between ESPN Employees
This is not the first time we've heard this theory: "That's why all those people at ESPN are having sex with each other. ... They're doing wife swaps and all sorts of craziness." Horndggity-dog. [BristolToday.com via MovieFone]...

The Scapegoating Of Arash Markazi
I suppose ESPN's explanation here is reasonable, but is it any less damning than all those black-helicopter theories floating around for the WWL to say, in essence, "Our glimpses into the lives of famous people must be authorized"?...

ESPN Killed That LeBron Story Because Reporter "Did Not Properly Identify Himself" (UPDATES)
ESPN now says in a statement that Arash Markazi's LeBacchanalia story was pulled because "Arash did not ... clearly state his intentions to write a story." Full statements are below, as is Rob King's explanation for how the story was mistakenly published....

Scenes From LeBron's Too-Hot-For-ESPN Weekend In Vegas
A reader sends along these photos from the LeBacchanalia in Vegas. No naked ladies, but there is a man floating away to some casual Friday in the sky, and everyone seems to teeter precariously on the verge of fist-bumping everyone else....

Why ESPN's Statement On The LeBron Story Is Probably Bullshit
If you don't buy ESPN's line that Arash Markazi's spiked LeBron-in-Vegas story "was inadvertently put on the server" and didn't go through "the usual editorial process," here's yet another reason not to: The story pretty much went through the usual editorial process....

A Dramatic Reenactment Of LeBron's Crazy Night In Vegas
The crew over at The Basketball Jones has meticulously reenacted part of the spiked Arash Markazi story. Unfortunately, it's not the part where LeBron wishes aloud that panty-less ladies were flying around him on wires. [The Basketball Jones]...

Read ESPN's Spiked Story About LeBron Among The Naked Ladies In Vegas
ESPN's Arash Markazi managed to attach himself to LeBron James and his crew for a night in Las Vegas and wrote of a 25-year-old living life like some sort of Caligula of the Cuyahoga. Then the story disappeared. A screenshot is below....

ESPN Ombudsman Is Late To The Party, But Piles On LeBron's "Decision"
Don Ohlmeyer used 4,600 words to say what's already been said, more pointedly and for weeks, about ESPN's conflicts of interest hosting LeBron James's infomercial. Credit the dotcom for only burying it near the bottom of the front page. [ESPN]...

Looking Back On It, ESPN Editor Was Very Impressed With ESPN Event
If you're curious what a lame, easily starstruck ESPN shill sounds like after he's been put in close proximity to Very Famous People, please read this wet fart of a column by Page 2 factotum and pizza critic Lynn Hoppes....

Last Night's Winner: Brett Favre's Unsmiling Daughter
In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like Breleigh Ann Favre, 11-year-old spawn of Brett, unamused ESPYs guest, symbol of a disgruntled sports nation....

Deadspin Classic: ESPN Will Never, Ever Do This Again
In 1998, Norm Macdonald hosted the ESPYs and did just about everything short of setting the room on fire. It was the last time ESPN even got close to being dangerous, and it was the last time the ESPYs were worth watching....

ESPN Editor Is Very Impressed With ESPN Event
If you're curious what a lame, easily starstruck ESPN shill sounds like when he's put in close proximity to Very Famous People, please check out the Twitter feed of Page 2 factotum and pizza critic Lynn Hoppes....

ESPN Actually Spoofs Itself With Bill Simmons's <em>The Decision</em>
The Sports Fella took to Beadle & Colin's Smile Time Shit-Sack Variety Hour yesterday to announce whether he would renew his season tickets to the Clippers in a parody of that LeBron thing. There's more self-criticism here than Ohlmeyer's last column....

Jenn Brown Is Ready For Her Close-Up While Spraying A Garden Hose
Jenn Brown's quest to become America's Next Top Sideline Princess kicks-off with this Esquire q/a: ESQ: Your colleague Erin Andrews is going to appear as a host on GameDay this fall. Do you see her career path as one to aspire to?...

Armen Keteyian On A Stool, And Other Strange Scenes From The Greenwich LeBron Stakeout
Our man in Greenwich, Craig Fehrman, describes what it was like to wait for LeBron's Decision under a tree in a tony Connecticut town for hours with hordes of media and curious onlookers....

Yes, Dennis Green's Son, Who Apparently Writes For ESPN, Had Some Kiddie Porn On His Computer
I almost typed "kitty porn," which I assume is a lesser charge in Connecticut. Green was also charged with possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia. He was gonna have quite a party by himself. [Hartford Courant]...

LeBron Watch, Day 50: What ESPN Should Have Asked LeBron James
On a night when LeBron James became the most hated man in basketball, only one network had a chance to ask him tough questions about a decision that will shape the future the NBA. And, of course, they didn't do that....

Guy In Charge Of Policing ESPN's Ethics Completely Ignores LeBron Debacle
As ESPN ombudsman, Don Ohlmeyer is tasked with examining any professional questions or conflicts of interest raised by the network's coverage of sports and sports news. So naturally, this month's column, posted today, is about vuvuzelas....