NBC fires Bud Collins

I don't know if I'm late to the party on this one, but I just heard on PTI that NBC fired Collins by voice mail after he had arrived in London to cover Wimbledon.

Most classless firing ever?

I met Collins once and he was one of the nicest guys ever...

 

Jesus, that's disgusting....the man is 78 years old. Unless he did something to deserve this, shame on NBC.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/sfl-budtennis070107,0,591045.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

 

There had to have been a better way to do it... The man is an icon...

 

All I can say is "Oooooooooooooooohhh!"

 

I was just going to post this on the Wimbledon thread.

First off, how incredibly crappy of NBC. Collins is an institution for those of us who watch tennis.

Second, Wimbledon's never going to be the same for me.

 

Fuck NBC with a rusted, jagged metal net post.

What a despicable act.

It just proves loyalty doesn't mean shinola anymore to some people in this business.

Work hard, do a good job, become a friggin' icon for crying out loud and then get a pink slip at the biggest friggin' event of the year.

Tennis fans should boycott watching the rest of the telecasts.

 

NBC shouldn't be allowed to broadcast tennis.

Even before this they were an embarrassment. Until only recently they showed the French Open women's final on a six-hour delay, and they compounded that disgrace by sneaking in commercials on even-numbered games (say, at 4-4).

If Player 1 was up a set and the second set was headed to a tiebreak and there were only 10 minutes left in NBC's "broadcast window" . . . that pretty much gave away the result. There was not going to be a third set.

 

Fuck them. Do they really think there was someone better for the job? Collins is as much of a part of Wimbledon as the matches themselves are. For shame.

 

When I was a kid, NBC Sports meant Curt Gowdy, Dick Enberg and Bud Collins. Costas better watch his back.

 

Nice money saving move...
The negative PR value alone should screw them, but tennis lemmings will still tune in to watch, just like the golf lemmings continue to watch the Masters after Gary McCord's exile.

And Dan, remember, NBC also stood for Billy Packer, Al McGuire and Enberg on college hoops; gowdy, Joe Garogiola and Tony Kubek on baseball

 

He knows the history of the game better than anyone, so hopefully the Tennis Channel or ESPN or someone will hire him.