My friend, John P.Wise, founder of the website, One Great Season (link below) produced an unscientific survey of who we like and dislike on ESPN. He asked some of his writer and blogger friends to send him a list of around ten on air personalities on the WWL that we like and ten we dislike with a short quip explaining our reasons.
Thought it would be fun to start a conversation with our readers since we all have our faves on ESPN. Following is the list I sent to him with my choices. You will find the results of the survey on his website. (link below)
Favorites
Neil Everett-Smoothest and wittiest SC anchor. Perfect for late night when you want the facts and a little entertainment.
Kirk Herbstreit-Most knowledgeable of all CFB experts and perfect on Gameday. Hunky delight.
Ron Jaworski- His NFL Matchup show, hidden in some god-awful early morning slot on Sunday, is required viewing if you want to really understand the game of football. Love Jaws and everything he does. Often imitated but irreplaceable.
Linda Cohn-One of my heroines and still my favorite female SC anchor. Funny, smart. Makes it look easy. Great laugh.
Tim Kurkjian-Huge crush on my little baseball nerd. He gets why baseball is more about emotion and history than all other sports.
Tom Jackson-Old school. Gives us the info and gets out of the way of the pre-game hoopla.
Jay Bilas- Very bright, knowledgeable, fearless and I pray he does the college hoops game I’m watching.
Tony Kornheiser- The man I think of when I think of an old school sports reporter. Smaht. Loves the game. Crotchety. Makes me laugh.
Michael Wilbon- Perfect partner to Kornheiser. Wry. Just gets why we love sports. Love PTI.
Chris Carter-Fearless and says what he believes.
Wright Thompson-Perfect features reporter. Knows less is more in choice of words. Paints the emotion of a story with his simple words. ESPN should feature him on camera much more. His piece on New Orleans and the Saints was pitch perfect.
Un-Favorites
Skip Bayless- His whole spiel is irritating. He’s wound too tight and the outrageous things he says to get attention just gets old. Forrest Gump of sports. Been to every sporting event known to mankind. Am I right?
Jim Rome- Like Bayless he seems to dislike athletes in a personal way that is unappealing. Gives preferential treatment to those who appear on his show. Arrogant.Chris Berman-Used to love him, but he has outlived his sell by date. Seriously induces migraines.
Dick Vitale-Enough already. Go away. Seems to gives his coaching pals a pass. i.e.-Calipari.
Dana Jacobson- Moody. Comes across like she doesn’t want to be there. Thank God she’s actually not there all that often. Chick takes more vacations than George W. did.
Rick Reilly- Grew up reading him in SI. Love to read him, just don’t like to watch him. Ego on overdrive.
Craig James- Why does he still have a job?
So do you agree or disagree with my choices? Let me know. Would love to hear some of yours.
Please check out John's site to see the results and also to read some great posts about college football. John spent last fall traveling around to a different major college football game each weekend and created his website so people could follow along. His website grew so popular that he has continued it. It's a great source for all sports, most especially college football and basketball. He is currently writing a book about his year on the road.
(photos from ESPN)
Truthfully, since the ESPN website announced the 2005 Cy Young winner on its home page with the headline of "Sorry, Dontrelle" I have very, very rarely gone to the site or watched the channel at all. The only exceptions are Sunday Night Baseball when the Cards are on and Monday Night Football when the Bears are on. So I don't even know who many of those you list are! :)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. ESPN can be exasperating. I was always a Sports Center junkie and would never miss the nightly sports wrap up. Since I've been at home more, I've watched much more of it than I ever thought possible.
ReplyDeleteIt has some great shows and on air people as well as some dreadful ones. Since I'm a rabid multi-sport fan, I feel like I've become an ESPN expert. ;)
I watched way too many 1AM "feelgood editions" with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann for my own good. They are the originals that people like Stuart Scott are trying to imitate. Maybe that's why I value so highly people like John Buccigross, Steve Levy, and Mike Tirico for their combination of professionalism and knowledge which is delivered without fanfare.
ReplyDeleteI'm absolutely not a fan of "homers" like Lou Holtz and Rodney Harrison, and I can't tolerate overrated ex-players like Joe Morgan. Perhaps my biggest "nails on chalkboard" moments come from Jon Gruden who always seems to be angling for his next coaching gig.
I too spent many a late night with Dan and Keith, who really reinvented sports reporting. They are often imitated but never replaced.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your likes and dislikes as well. I really had to narrow down my list, so I tried to get a cross section of all types of on air personalities.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Really appreciate it!
Scott Van Pelt is, without a doubt, my favorite. Also a big fan of Woody Paige, but I'm not sure if he counts.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand Rome or Dick Vitale.