DL554: Josh Elliott On Leaving ESPN for GMA. Daulerio On Past, Present & Future of Deadspin, Blogs

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We’ve interviewed a ton of great guests during this run, but no show had as many downloads as our conversation with ESPN’s Josh Elliott. It wouldn’t be right to end the show without having him on again (in hopes that traffic magic returns with him, of course.)

Elliott is leaving his gig as the morning host of ESPN’s SportsCenter to take a job as the news reader (or news anchor depending on who he’s trying to impress) at Good Morning America.

The conversation is a lot about how a guy can go from Sports Illustrated to Good Morning America in two simple steps (step one, be handsome; step two, be really really good). We talk about how different the world of sports blogs has been in the last three years since live AM SportsCenter came into our lives and how Twitter has somehow made news break backwards. Trust me, the idea makes sense, even if the concept doesn’t.

Mostly we talk about Josh’s love for news and how he is, “equally interested inREAD MORE

DL548: Final Four, Logistics, MLB Openers & Is Mark Cuban Wrong About ESPN Tweeters?

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We start with a conversation about the Final Four and marvel at the fact that the UConn men’s team got to the title game and the women’s team didn’t? You know what I blame…Logistics. (if you haven’t been bombarded with the UPS Logistics ads featuring coaches — especially UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma — you’re one of the lucky ones. I can’t wait for those ads to go away.)

We talk about VCU and Butler and wonder why some media folks suggested the ratings would be higher if VCU were in the game. Don’t we know the Butler players? Isn’t the fact that a team like Butler is in the title game the best story in college basketball in years? Isn’t the UConn run in March (and April) another great story? I’d be shocked if people were turned off by this title-game matchup.

Talkin’ Baseball

If the season ended today…

In all seriousness, should Boston and Tampa be worried at all? The season is a grind, but being in a division where every singleREAD MORE

ETHICS: ESPN’S College Gameday Crew Had Super-Secret Nike Deals. Should We Be Concerned?

I’m not really sure how we’re supposed to feel about stories like this anymore. Richard Sandomir of the NYT with the dirty work:

Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso have deals with Nike that Corso described as a joint arrangement that largely involves speaking engagements for the athletic shoe and apparel company.

After an inquiry to ESPN about the announcers’ Nike contracts, Josh Krulewitz, an ESPN spokesman, said that Fowler, the host of “GameDay,” is “ending his minor association” with Nike “to avoid any potential perception issues.” Fowler was not made available for an interview.

Corso, Fowler and Herbstreit’s deals with Nike were never announced or disclosed to viewers. “We were unaware of these deals,” Krulewitz said.

There are two big reasons why this is news. First, a big deal was made about Erin Andrews signing a deal with Reebok, with some sports media types wondering if it could develop into a conflict of interest for the reporter. Second, and perhaps most importantly, nobody knew about these Nike deals? ESPN’s PR office didn’t even know? That’s crazy, isn’t it?

Or isREAD MORE

Call of the Day: “And The Fans Are Storming The Court At The RAC”

Do you think when Eamon McAnaney and Tim Welsh were assigned Villanova at Rutgers that either of them thought they’d have the game of the day, especially when the day featured Duke-North Carolina and especially when that Duke-North Carolina game featured an epic come-from-behind win by the home team?

Alas, Rutgers upset Villanova with an epic come-from-behind win of its own, down by as many as 13 points, including a ten-point deficit with just over two minutes to play. Then, this happened:

The announcers certainly seem as shocked as the viewers (and, it seems, Jay Wright). An obvious congratulations to Rutgers head coach Mike Rice for getting his first-season signature win, something his team has been knocking on the door of for a few weeks in the Big East. Now, they’ve got it…in the craziest of ways.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the fans storming the court. I hate the randomness of fans storming the court and do think there should be some unwritten — hell, written — set of rules for doing so. ThisREAD MORE

Running Numbers: Translating The Insane NFL TV Viewership Into “Unique Views”

We’ve all read release after release after release about just how good the ratings were for the NFL this season. Just how good, you ask? Well, according to CBS:

Through 17 weeks of the 2010 regular season (September 9, 2010-January 2, 2011), THE NFL ON CBS regular-season games were seen by an estimated 164.2 million viewers, 10% higher than NBC’s 149.8 million viewers, 1% higher than FOX’s 162.1 million viewers and 48% higher than ESPN’s 110.9 million.

Those cumulative numbers were based on total viewers (P2+) who watched at least six minutes of NFL game coverage. Add in record numbers for the playoffs (take it away, FOX):

Ratings climbed to astonishing levels as the [NFC Championship] game progressed, peaking at a 31.5/53 rating and 59.5 million viewers from 5:30 – 6:00 PM ET as the Packers punched their first ticket to a Super Bowl in 13 years. FOX Sports estimates that 80.3 million Americans saw at least part of Sunday’s game.

Let’s not forget NBC winning every Sunday night (and two weeknights) of the season, en route to recordREAD MORE

DL516: Groundhog Day, Letters of Intent, Stephen A, NFL Labor, Groundhog Day

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It’s Groundhog Day. I refuse to recognize Staten Island Chuck as a deciding-factor of springtime. Seriously, look at this guy:

Anyway, we talk about that, plus a ton on National Signing Day, Stephen A. Smith going back to ESPN Radio (it really IS Groundhog Day) and some NFL Labor issues.

There is another show coming today. Thanks for listening.

Urban Meyer Joins ESPN As Studio/Game Analyst. SEC Games In His Future?

Hot off the ESPN Press Release machine:

Former University of Florida head football coach Urban Meyer, who won two BCS National Championships in six years, will join ESPN as a college football game and studio analyst. He will make his debut Wednesday, Feb. 2 as a studio analyst during ESPNU’s 10-hour ESPNU National Signing Day Special.

As part of the agreement, Meyer will work a weekly regular-season game (specific assignment to be determined) and select post-season bowl games. He will also provide studio analysis throughout the year on ESPN’s dailyCollege Football Live program; NFL Draft, spring games; and bowl games, including during the network’s on-site BCS coverage.

In addition, Meyer will contribute to ESPN’s popular Saturday morning College GameDay Built by The Home Depot series (from his game site), make weekly appearances on ESPN Radio, and provide analysis onSportsCenter and additional ESPN outlets.

The life of a college football analyst is certainly less stressful than the life of a college football coach. Still a ton of travel, though. While CBS has a large chunk of  the SEC slate, it will be interesting toREAD MORE

NBC and Comcast Have A Plan For Sports. ESPN Should Be Paying Close Attention.

This video was sent out yesterday by NBCU Direct. Here’s the link to their write up, quoted in part:

NBC Sports announced today that John Miller, NBC Universal Television Group CMO, will create and lead a new endeavor, “The NBC Sports Agency,” which will focus on marketing NBC Sports Group assets, including soon-to-be-integrated Comcast properties. The new group will also serve as an agency for NBC Sports’ partners and advertisers, who already use NBC Sports as a marketing resource.

On the surface, this might not be anything more than realigning the furniture to make NBC Sports a bit more feng shui for the new Comcast brass. After all, other than their Sunday Night Football machine (and growing blog presence) NBC hasn’t had the best few years in sports. I guess the golf has done well, but the Olympics? Who knew that a few hundred million dollars could so easily turn a peacock into an albatross.

But now that Comcast’s arsenal (and money) is teaming up with NBC’s backbone, can anyone stop them from taking over the world? In otherREAD MORE

DL508: A Show About Nothing, Or Everything, But Probably Nothing

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How is your week going? If you read today’s Call of the Day you can get a sense that my day yesterday was awful, though not as bad as it was for my son. We talk about that, and life, and parenting and being selfish at a time when you need to be selfless.

That spins perfectly into a conversation about sports and life and politics and perspective and Arizona and speeches and a whole lot more.

I got this email today:

This is Floyd from El Paso. I’m your biggest non media fan. I’m the retired Soldier guy originally from New Orleans (as a Saints fan I feel your Eagle pain). Having said all of that. There is two things I would love for you and Nick to chew on.

1. Please expound on “blood libel” comment by half term Gov

2. Recoil and turn the channel when you see or hear from Matt Millen. He was on NFL live and he was commenting on one of his million first round WR picks MikeREAD MORE

Call of the Day: Sports, Politics, Silliness, Perspective

My brother told me a long time ago that we, as people, need to go into every conversation with the understanding that you don’t know what’s going on in the lives of the others involved. You don’t know what yesterday and this morning was like for me and I don’t know what that same time period was like for you. Yet our actions, and our reactions to events acted upon us — by other people or nature or God or an other worldly force — shape not just our own daily lives, but the lives of those around us.

In an odd way, that lesson relates to sports. Life is why sports are great. To most folks, sports isn’t real life. Sports is an irrational hatred of Tom Brady because you like a team that wears green not blue. Sports is the distraction from life. It’s the distraction from having to drive in rush-hour traffic or fight with your kids about bedtime or shovel six inches of snow. Without sports (or celebrity gossip or cooking showsREAD MORE