meltdowns Page 182 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Year In...Sports Fella
So, the next nine days will be chock full of end-of-year retrospectives. We'll do our own as well. Today: Bill Simmons...

Detroit Columnist Manages To Piss Off Just About Everyone
Detroit News columnist Rob Parker says he was just joking when he asked Lions head coach Rod Marinelli if he "wishes his daughter had married a better defensive coordinator?" Wow. Some joke....

Bill Simmons Conspiracy Theories And The State Of Edginess At The WWL (Update)
We get all sorts of amazing Bill Simmons conspiracy theories sent to the email box each week....

ESPN Backs Up Ed Werder: "We Stand By Our Reporting"
Even though Terrell Owens went out of his way to single out the supposedly "made up" reporting of ESPN's Cowboy specialist Ed Werder, the WWL is sticking by their mustachioed menace....

Stacey Dales Out At ESPN, Turns in Long Pantsuits and Microphone
According to an emailer, college basketball and football sideline reporter Stacey Dales could not reach a contract agreement with ESPN for 2009, so she'll no longer be chasing down coaches and players for the WWL. ESPN has confirmed that rumor....

Ax Drops At Sports Illustrated; Layoff Rumors Include Hoffer, Wolff ... And Dr. Z?
The massive layoffs that had been hanging over five magazine groups at Time Inc. have come to fruition, and as promised in the infamous Nov. 10 layoff memo, one of the hardest-hit was Sports Illustrated. Rumored to be among those leaving — and not of their own accord — are senior writer Richard Hoff...

The Curious Case of Fred Hickman
Most of you probably don't remember Fred Hickman's somewhat brief tenure as an ESPN anchor and talking head and most of you also were probably unaware that the man is no longer working for them. Hickman was signed on from the YES network in 2004 to a significant contract to come over to the WWL, due...

When Blogs Go Too Far?: Yahoo! NBA Writer Calls Blogger After Perceived Threat
There's an odd but serious spat brewing between MVN blogger and Yahoo! Sports basketball writer Adrian Wojnarowski over an extremely disturbing post that has now extended beyond the web pages. Amir Panchmatia, of the "Cavalier Attitude" fan blog, posted an item in late October titled "Going American...

Oh...And About Simmons' Podcast: "He Told Me He Quit It"
So, here's a little snippet of of information from an individual close to the ESPN/Simmons slap-fight. Remember last week, when we reported that ESPN insisted that there was nothing to the sudden disappearance of "The B.S. Report" and that, according to them, there's no smoke, fire, or truth to that...

The Ongoing Odd Behavior of One Bill Simmons Continues to Captivate, Cause Concern
Many of you emailed to inform me that I was inexplicably name-dropped in the Sports Fella's most recent mailbag column, which was quite hilarious, if not a little jarring. Was this another not-so-subtle way of Mr. Simmons extending a bony middle finger to his employer? Not really. It was his own way...

Ad Agency Behind Controversial ESPN Spot Speaks: "It Wasn't Meant to Offend Anyone"
Many of you saw Awful Announcing's fascinating post about the leaked casting call item for an upcoming ESPN commercial. The concept seemed innocent enough: "The spots take place in the ESPN College Basketball Call Center (CBBCC). All of these guys are there representing their schools, calling people...

Contentious Media Dork Calls Bill Simmons a "Jock Washer"
Throughout Bill Simmons ongoing mysterious Andy Dufresne saga with the WWL over his podcast, his NFL Picks column, and his treatment at Page 2, his thinly-veiled digs have, for the most part, only been scrutinized by the sports media watchers fascinated by the Sports Fella's every move.(Myself inclu...

According to Jemele Hill, Warren Sapp Deserves a Pounding for Keyshawn "Bitch" Comment
Here's an amusing little snag from Awful Announcing, featuring current "Inside the NFL" analyst Warren Sapp and budding home decorator/"NFL Live" analyst, Keyshawn Johnson. Sapp was responding to viewer questions during his "Ask Warren Anything" segment. One viewer was curious about Sapp's thoughts...

And Just When You Thought You've Seen Everything on Facebook....
This is Fox Sports/KC Star columnist Jason Whitlock's latest status update. Good God. Somebody send the man a laxative. Given all the problems Facebook has caused people in the last week, this one will hopefully not get anyone fired. Except, perhaps, Mr. Whitlock's proctologist. Odds on being de-fr...

ESPN About Simmons: Nothing to See Here, Please Disperse
Over the weekend, the latest Bill Simmons vs. ESPN passive-aggressive flame war ignited after the Sports Guy evidently had his weekly NFL Picks column spiked by The Dot Com for an unknown reason. Simmons responded through his Sports Guy Unplugged site, with requisite Shawshank photo screengrab. Bost...

ESPN Jerks Bill Simmons Around, Yet Again
If you're a regular reader of ESPN.com, you probably noticed that Bill Simmons's NFL picks column didn't hit the web this past Friday. Well, according to the Sports Fella, ESPN elected not to publish it. The tension between Simmons and his employer, ESPN, has been well documented and the latest bit...

A Detroit Columnist Caught Making Stuff Up? Surely Not
Detroit News columnist Rob Parker really doesn't appear on my radar screen much, except for this infamous column, and of course his work on the dearly departed Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. So that's two strikes against him right there. But now comes the news that he apparently fabricated sou...

Arkansas Radio Host Just Thankful Gregg Doyle Didn't Bite Off Any Extremities
Shawn Arnell isn't sure what he did to piss off CBS Sportsline columnist Gregg Doyle so badly. On Tuesday we detailed their radio interview in which Arnell, co-host of KARN's "Morning Animals" show in Little Rock (that's him to the right), jousted with the feisty online columnist about a piece he wr...

ESPN Deems Bill Simmons' Fantasy Basketball Entrant NSFW
The Big Lead hopped on this story (via Hank Brockett) earlier today about ESPN forbidding Bill Simmons from having adult entertainer/blogger/ESPN fan boy Christian, of Christian Sings the Blues (NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE TO BEING SAFE FOR WORK), in his fantasy basketball league (along with roto dungeon mas...

Danyelle Sargent Is Trying to Put All of This Behind Her
Fox sportscaster and potty-mouthed vixen Danyelle Sargent went on Dan Patrick's SI radio show this morning, sounding beleaguered and contrite for her embarrassing Bill Walsh slip-up that unfortunately made the airwaves on Sunday and unleashed the wrath of Mike Francesa. This is her quote from Patric...