Grace to jail: Former Arizona analyst receives four month for DUI

by Ed Sherman

January 31, 2013 by admin

Sad story for a player who was beloved in Chicago and Arizona

Former Arizona Diamondbacks television analyst Mark Grace was sentenced to four months in jail after pleading guilty Thursday to felony endangerment and misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol.

A Maricopa County Superior Court spokesman says Grace will be allowed out of jail for work while he serves the sentence beginning Feb. 10.

Court spokesman Vincent Funari says the sentence also includes two years of probation.

The 48-year-old former first baseman with the Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs was fired after he was arrested last August in Scottsdale – his second drunken driving arrest in 15 months.

Grace had pleaded not guilty in October to four felony counts of aggravated DUI and was scheduled to go on trial March 19.

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Sage Enberg advice to Nantz: Less is more at the Super Bowl

by Ed Sherman

January 31, 2013 by admin

Jim Nantz is hardly a kid. At 53, he will be calling his third Super Bowl Sunday for CBS.

Nantz, though, has tremendous reverence for the broadcasters who helped paved the way for him and others. He never misses an opportunity to learn from the great ones.

Last week in San Diego, Nantz had dinner with Dick Enberg. Now 78, the broadcast legend called eight Super Bowls for NBC.

Nantz said Enberg gave him some advice on calling the big game.

“He told the story of doing the Super Bowl in 1983,” Nantz said. ”He (and analyst Merlin Olsen) were getting feedback in their headsets the whole first quarter. He couldn’t get to the third or fourth word before it was coming back. It created confusion for them. So they talked in that first quarter in short. clipped phrases.

“Eventually, the problem was fixed, but they walked … Continue Reading

Dorsett on Costas Tonight: Infuriates me that they would put me back out there in harm’s way

by Ed Sherman

January 31, 2013 by admin

The latest edition of Costas Tonight (NBC Sports Network, 9 p.m. ET) literally tackles the elephant in the room: Player health and safety in the NFL.

Here is Tony Dorsett blasting the league, saying officials knew the concussion dangers back when he was playing.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Here’s Rodney Harrison with some frank talk about his experience in the 90s. He said he was given two Advils and then went back out and played. After suffering more than 20 concussions, he is afraid for his future.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

The important details from NBC Sports Network:

NEW YORK – Jan. 30, 2013 – Bob Costas, a 24-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of America’s preeminent … Continue Reading

Rich Eisen My First Job: From stand-up comic to Redding Calif. to Super Bowl

by Ed Sherman

January 31, 2013 by admin

It doesn’t get any bigger for Rich Eisen Sunday than being the lead horse for the NFL Network’s coverage of the Super Bowl. He will host an 8 1/2-hour pregame show surrounded by current and future Hall of Famers. All in all, not a bad gig.

Yet once upon a time, Eisen was a raw anchor trying to make a name for himself in Redding, Calif.

In a Super Bowl edition of My First Job, Eisen recalls a particularly rough night when he was just breaking into the business. And I’m sure he will be delighted that I found a Youtube clip of him delivering the sports in 1995. His hairstyle, like mine, definitely has changed.

Here’s Eisen on his first job, which led to an eventual call from ESPN:

******

When I was in college, I did stand-up at the student union at Michigan once a month. It … Continue Reading

Favre to join NFL Network studio crew Sunday; Does this signal possible comeback–as an analyst?

by Ed Sherman

January 30, 2013 by admin

Remember the good old days when the daily Brett Favre updates entertained us before Tebow mania?

Well, Brett’s back. Sort of.

This is an interesting get for NFL Network (details below). Besides those Wrangler ads (“Nice job, Dale”), we haven’t seen much of the Brettster since he finally couldn’t play anymore after the 2010 season. I’ll check him out Sunday.

The NFL Network likely got Favre for Sunday since he lives near New Orleans. Doubt you’ll see him at next year’s Super Bowl in New York.

Then again, maybe Favre wants to try out this analyst thing. Perhaps he’s tired of hunting and playing golf in Mississippi? The networks would fall over themselves to get him.

Yes, more Brett Favre speculation.

Here’s the info for Sunday from the NFL Network:

Twenty-year NFL veteran and three-time league MVP, Brett Favre will join NFL Network’s 8.5-hour

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CNN/Turner Sports set to unveil Bleacher Report branded programming

by Ed Sherman

January 30, 2013 by admin

Turner Broadcasting spent nearly $200 million to purchase Bleacher Report last summer. With that kind of investment, you definitely want to get your money’s worth.

Hence today’s announcement, outlining a new initiative. To me, the most interesting part will be the sports presence on CNN.

From Turner:

Turner Sports and CNN will partner to produce Bleacher Report branded sports programming including long-form specials and daily sports updates that will air on CNN and HLN, it was announced today by Lenny Daniels, executive vice president/chief operating officer for Turner Sports, and Ken Jautz, executive vice president, CNN/U.S.
The first of the programming collaborations will be Kickoff in New Orleans: A CNN-Bleacher Report Special, a live one-hour show on CNN to be televised Saturday, Feb. 2, at 4 p.m. ET. And, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 5, CNN will air Bleacher Report sports updates

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Jeff Bradley writes about getting laid off from Newark Star-Ledger: “I’m losing my job?”

by Ed Sherman

January 30, 2013 by admin

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Patrick Stevens, a college sports reporter who was laid off by the Washington Times. I thought it was important to attach a name and voice to the endless stories of newspaper layoffs.

Unfortunately, there was a round of layoffs recently at the Newark Star-Ledger. Jeff Bradley learned he no longer was the paper’s baseball/Yankees writer.

Bradley wrote about the experience on his blog. This is his story.

He talks of getting the phone call in the morning.

Fast forward 27 years to last Wednesday morning around 9 a.m. My home phone rings and the caller ID says “Newark.” On the other end of the line is my boss, Kevin Whitmer, the editor of the Star-Ledger. I don’t want to misquote Kevin here, but he said something like, “This is not the type of phone

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Major takedown of Boston sports media: Stale reporters, crotchety columnists, and shameless blowhards.

by Ed Sherman

January 29, 2013 by admin

These are cranky times in Boston. The Red Sox were terrible; the Patriots got knocked out; and Rajon Rondo is gone for a long time.

Now add to the mix this piece in Boston Magazine. Writer Alan Siegel basically torches the folks who normally do the torching. Note: This is one of the unflattering photo-illustrations that ran with the piece.

Siegel writes:

To put it bluntly, “The Lodge”—as Fred Toucher, cohost of the 98.5 The Sports Hub morning radio show, mockingly refers to the city’s clubby, self-important media establishment—is clogged with stale reporters, crotchety columnists, and shameless blowhards. Their canned “hot sports takes” have found a home on local television and talk radio, but do little but suck the fun out of a topic that’s supposed to be just that. And we haven’t even gotten to Dan Shaughnessy yet.

I don’t live in … Continue Reading

Joe Posnanski leaves Sports on Earth for NBC

by Ed Sherman

January 29, 2013 by admin

Joe Posnanski’s wild ride continues.

According to Jason McIntyre of Big Lead, Posnanski is leaving Sports on Earth to join NBC Sports.

From the post:

I spoke with Posnanski Monday by phone as he struggled with the decision to stay or go, and he tells me via text message this morning, “Rough call … yes, going to NBC. Sad to leave, excited about the opportunity.”

Posnanski told McIntyre he will be “a digital voice” for NBC.

Why did Posnanski leave Sports on Earth so quickly? He was the signature hire for the new site founded by USA Today and MLB. For that matter, why did he leave Sports Illustrated? I still think the magazine gave him the best platform to do what he does best: write.

Costas to Jon Stewart: There may be something irreconcilable and unreformable about football

by Ed Sherman

January 29, 2013 by admin

I stayed up late last night (at least late for me) when I heard Bob Costas would appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. With the Super Bowl coming up Sunday, I looked forward to what Costas would have to say about football and the game.

However, in the segment that aired on the show, Stewart spent the entire time discussing Costas’ halftime commentary on the gun issue. Even though Costas gave reasoned answers, I’m sure the gun community was incensed. Not that the gun community watches Jon Stewart.

However, I was disappointed since Costas’ gun stance is old territory for me. I wanted to hear him talk about sports. Time, though, ran out, and Stewart said to check the Daily Show site for more of his interview with Costas. Sorry Jon, but I’m going to bed.

I did check the … Continue Reading