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Whitlock undresses ESPN

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Shaggy, Nov 26, 2008.

  1. broadway joe

    broadway joe Guest

    All the criticisms of this column mentioned so far have been spot on. To begin with, it's wildly unfocused and it has way too much of Whitlock kissing his own ass. It's absolutely comical how he always has to tell us how great he is. Beyond that, his central point -- that evil ESPN is the reason Ball State doesn't get enough attention -- is ridiculous. The television exposure from ESPN is the reason teams like Ball State get any attention at all. It's also part of the reason mid-majors like that get talented players, because kids know they don't have to go to Oklahoma or USC to get on TV. If ESPN is killing the little guy, how did players like Colt Brennan and teams like Boise State get so much love in recent years?

    Then you have the criticism of Fowler, where Whitlock had a valid point but proceeded to get all juvenile with the jock strap line, which conveniently overlooks the fact that whatever Fowler's athletic history, it's pretty likely that he could now kick Whitlock's ass at anything other than a hot dog eating competition. And by the way, if you're going to spend that much time ripping Fowler for his vote, could you maybe give him a call and give him a chance to explain/defend himself? Instead of telling us for the 1,000th time that you've been on Oprah, how about getting a quote from the guy? Especially since you're moaning over the decline of good journalism.

    There's a germ of a worthwhile column in there, but it's lost in under all of his egotistical, long-winded bullshit. The only way an editor could have saved this would have been to send it back to him and tell him to start over.
     
  2. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    Yeah, you hack the column down to a 1,000 words and you got some good stuff.
    Instead, it is just Whitlock rambling from point a to a personal attack, and then back to point a, and then off the point b, but with a quick stop at something random.
    Lazy and indulgent.
     
  3. zebracoy

    zebracoy Guest

    I'm joining this conversation late - as in, I read Whitlock's column, most of the first four smartass posts and then zipped in with a reply - but allow me to say that the fact that ESPN allowing Ball State to play all of its last four games to national television audiences on a Tuesday is a damn travesty.

    We can't have a playoff system because it takes the kids away from class, but a game on a Tuesday night is perfectly acceptible? Please.
     
  4. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I listened to Whitlock fill in from Rome today. I enjoy his work, he stirs things up, and obviously has a broader view on things than most columnists.
    But really if you look at Ball State's season and look at their non-cons, it doesn't exactly scream top 15. They beat Indiana and Navy. Many teams have beaten Indiana and Navy this year and they're not ranked. Whitlock also seems to be tight with a lot of people who have bad public images, Jeff George, Kelvin Sampson, Bill Snyder...why I enjoy hearing the other side of the argument, it seems that Whitlock has a very strong alergic reaction to conventional wisdom.
     
  5. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    This should be a crawl 24/7 on all ESPN channels

    Reputable journalistic mediums offer disclosure when discussing news items for which the journalist, newspaper or magazine when there is an appearance of a conflict of interest. Many NY Times columnists disclose the Times ownership stake in the Red Sox, the WashPost routinely discloses its business interests in companies it covers in its business pages.

    ESPN is a partner with the NFL, MLB, NBA, BCS, NCAA, PGA ... It's not a news station or a journalistic outlet. Something newspapers should stress and promote.
     
  6. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    Not sure how FoxSports can be equated with FoxNews and the like. Rupert Murdoch owns a lot of properties, advancing many different types of agendas. The main common thread is that they're all there because he thinks he'll make money off them.
     
  7. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member


    Funny, because my first glance yielded "Whitlock undresses," which scared me because I knew someone would post that the thread was worthless without pictures.

    Yikes. On a holiday weekend, yet.
     
  8. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Especially now that The Tribune is selling the Cubs, Gannett is selling its stake in the Diamondbacks.

    It's easy to take shots at ESPN, but they do a great job with college football. Throw in ESPN 360, ESPNU and their various other platforms and they provide more coverage to more teams than they could ever imagine. I'd rank Ball State in the top 15 not because they're a great team, but because they are better than a lot of the dregs at the bottom of the rankings. They've taken care of their business. Boise beat Oregon (which is ranked) and Utah has beaten Oregon State, BYU and TCU (all ranked). Ball State just hasn't done enough.
     
  9. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    You mean the same Whitlock who has made hundreds of thousands of dollars on such dross? That Whitlock? He the one who is trying to stand up and be heard and save something?

    The guy is the biggest fucking fraud in the business. I cannot believe anyone on a sportswriters board would take anything he ever has to say seriously. He's probably sporting an erection over three pages of posts. Kudos to you "Jase!"

    Damnit! Beat me to it.
     
  10. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    This is true. But looking at where many of the NFL's recent MVPs played college: Farve (USM), Steve Young (BYU), Randall Cunningham (UNLV), Kurt Warner (UNI), Marshall Faulk (SDSU), Rich Gannon (Delaware), Steve McNair (Alcorn A&M) and LaDanian Tomlinson (TCU) to name a few, his criticism of the network for completely ignoring mid-major players in its Heisman hype does seem very justified.

    Players from that level are not in the conversation because ESPN/GameDay/College Football Scoreboard Show, which dictate to a large degree the direction of that conversation, don't include them.

    And BTW, Brady Hoke would do a great job at Tennessee, ND, Indiana, Clemson or Washington or whatever "big time" school decided to hire him. Which they never will, because he's from Ball State. Washington should remember where Don James came from before immediately dismissing Hoke as a possible candidate.
     
  11. Charlie Brown

    Charlie Brown Member

    Fixed.
     
  12. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    You're right, Charlie Brown.
     
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