espn Page 99 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

ESPN's Fall Lineup Should Include Loads Of Political Attack Ads
Save for its role in putting Craig James's head on the nation's television screens, ESPN has traditionally allowed viewers to ignore politics. The ad spaces during timeouts and between SportsCenter segments were for Gatorade and Five-Hour Energy, not campaign ads....

What Happens When ESPN Accidentally Allows Write-In Votes On A Facebook Poll
Open Facebook polls are one of the underrated treasures of the internet. Instead of being bound to the only "logical" or "possible" answers, ESPN allowed fans' imaginations to run wild. Asking who will win tonight's Home Run Derby, ESPN didn't limit voters to just eight boring choices—and lo, Josh H...

Did An ESPN Anchor Need To Apologize For An Astros "Trailer Park Day" Joke?
Car seats are used to safely secure children inside of automobiles. They are not baseball gloves and should not be used for such a purpose. When SportsCenter showed the highlight of a Houston Astros fan attempting to utilize such a device for exactly that, an exasperated Bram Weinstein asked, "Is ...

Prophet Or Troll? Ron Jaworski Names Joe Flacco The 9th-Best NFL QB
Remember how Ron Jaworski had Matthew Stafford 14th on his list of current NFL quarterbacks? The trolling had only begun. Jaws lists Joe Flacco ninth, and cites that noted cannon of a right arm....

Bristolmetrics: Amid College Football Chaos, ESPN Reports On Which Games Will Be Seen On ESPN
When last we met, Roger Clemens was the most important defendent, the NBA ended but continued to dominate, and Rick Reilly continued to lift his own material. What would this week bring? ...

5 Times As Many People Watched The BET Awards As Watched ESPN <em>Sunday Night Baseball</em>. Sports TV Ratings, In Context.
A weekly feature wherein we contextualize TV ratings for national sports broadcasts. Data via Nielsen and Sports Business Daily. Viewership numbers represent approximate number of persons tuned to a given program; ratings share refers to the percentage of all households using a television who are tu...

Sorry, Mario Balotelli Didn't Really Make This German Fan Cry: How TV Lied To You During Euro 2012
In the 36th minute of the Euro 2012 semifinal, Mario Balotelli scored his second goal, a screamer to the top right corner. Balotelli ripped off his jersey and flexed, and the telecast cut to a woman in the stands, a German flag painted on her cheek, a single tear leaking from her eye....

Chris Berman Was Looking Toasty Last Night
Hot on the heels of news ESPN would be putting him in the booth for Monday Night Football, Chris Berman showed up to call last night's Rays-Yankees game from St. Petersburg. It might have been the lighting, but it looks like Berman decided to enjoy some of the Suncoast's pristine beaches while down...

ESPN Didn't Try That Hard To Keep Erin Andrews: How The Sideline Reporter Wound Up At Fox
Everyone in Bristol figured Erin Andrews would return. Andrews told SI's Richard Deitsch:...

It's Official: Erin Andrews Joins Fox
Well, congratulations are in order. Fox has officially announced the return of Erin Andrews to the network responsible for her first break in 2000 when she worked at Fox Sports Florida. ...

Four-Team Trade Sends Lamar Odom To The Clippers, ESPN Searching For New Picture Of Tadija Dragićević
The Mavericks sent disgruntled power forward/Kardashian sweetheart to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal including four teams. The Clippers sent Mo Williams to the Utah Jazz who in turn received the draft rights to Shan Foster from the Mavericks. Dallas received the draft rights to Tadija Dragićevi...

Erin Andrews Is Leaving ESPN
ESPN just confirmed that the network's relationship with Erin Andrews is over. It looks like she's headed to Fox, per a Richard Deitsch column....

ESPN's Draft Coverage Buzzword: "Rim"
ESPN's NBA draft coverage has become so predictable it's inspired its own drinking game (one Jay Bilas even referenced on the broadcast). Every year features a buzzword like "length," "scorer," or the always-controversial "character."...

Is <em>USA Today</em>'s Veteran Gambling Guy Buying Twitter Followers?
Remember our old friend Sarah Phillips, the internet huckster and former ESPN columnist? One of her many tricks, we learned, was to buy followers on Twitter—a new scheme for a new era. The more followers you have, the more influence you can claim to have. In a monetized social-media landscape, the T...

Andy Katz Is The Latest To Be Victimized By "Bulging Dicks"
ESPN's Steve Levy originated the "bulging dicks" blooper, and since then we've seen it committed by, among others, Al Trautwig and Ricky Bottalico....

Matthew Stafford As The 14th-Best QB: Is Ron Jaworski Crazy, Or Are The Rest Of Us Overrating Stafford? Discuss!
Ron Jaworski's been counting down his list of the best NFL quarterbacks, and Matthew Stafford, despite clocking in the top five in most statistical categories, landed at No. 14. Is Jaws right, and Stafford's sample size too small? Or could you stick a lump of Shaun Hill-shaped beef behind center, an...

This At-Bat Captures The Sublime Ridiculousness Of Men's Slow-Pitch Softball
Literally dozens of people came out to ASA Hall of Fame Stadium tonight in Oklahoma City to see the USA Futures defeat the USA National Team in a 38-37 win, decided on a tag out at the plate on the final play. However, the first two outs of the inning came when two players hit home runs, actual fa...

Bristolmetrics: Nobody Cared About The Roger Clemens Trial Except ESPN
When last we met, the Jerry Sandusky trial was largely ignored, the Heat were once again all over SportsCenter, and hey, ESPN did a good job covering a perfect games and a no-hitter. What would this week bring? ...

Here's Why Chris Berman Calling An NFL Game Is A Terrible Idea (In Case You Needed A Reminder)
Over the years, ESPN has used the second game of the annual Week 1 Monday Night Football doubleheader as a kind of test kitchen, to see just how much bullshit American sports fans can tolerate. We've been subjected to Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, and Mike Ditka, all at once. Twice. And now, as the ch...

ESPN Finally Relents And Will Let Chris Berman In The Booth For One <em>MNF</em> Game
For years, Chris Berman has wanted to call a pro football game—something he hasn't done in all his time at ESPN. Before the 2009 season, we've heard, Berman asked the network if he could call just one game, maybe a late-season nothingburger like Cardinals-49ers. And ESPN, as it always has, slammed t...