SPORTS MEDIA: FIVE WHO GET IT (PERKINS, FORDE); FIVE WHO DON’T (TELANDER)
A weekly analysis of the best/worst in media from a multimedia content prince — thousands of columns, TV debates, radio shows, podcasts — who receives angry DMs from media burner accounts
THEY GET IT
Chicago website mole vs. Rick Telander — Meet Third Gen. Sometimes, anonymous souls like him actually break legitimate news. Last November, when 76-year-old Tony La Russa was hired to manage the White Sox after two DUI arrests, Telander tweeted in his role as Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist: “Tony LaRussa. Drunk at a stoplight awhile back. Drunk again recently. But not just drunk — arrogant, obnoxious drunk. Why, White Sox? This old man is your future?’’ Late last month, the 72-year-old Telander was arrested by police in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette and charged with driving under the influence, speeding, disregarding a traffic control device, improper lane usage and operating an uninsured motor vehicle. Third Gen, a Sox fan, was the first to connect the not-practicing-what-you-preach dots at Soxtalk.com, writing, “Congrats to Rick Telander for being the first member of the ‘Sox can’t hire La Russa because he drove drunk’ media club to be arrested for DUI.’’ It’s important to note, as I always do in legal cases (as you should), that Telander warrants the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. But Third Gen also did a better job of reporting the charges than the Sun-Times, which irresponsibly blew off relevant news while the Tribune and suburban Daily Herald were running stories about the longtime local media member and contributor to ESPN’s “The Last Dance.’’ Asked to explain all of this, Sun-Times interim editor-in-chief Steve Warmbir, once a crack investigative reporter, didn’t respond to an e-mail, just as he didn’t respond to a recent query to clarify accurate readership numbers — which, at this point, might rank below Third Gen’s followers count. I just wish all social media surfers would use their given names. Why is that so difficult?
Kendrick Perkins, ESPN — Early in a gnarly journey, when America’s NBA Olympians looked more like the Scream Team than the Dream Team, Perkins did his best work as a basketball analyst. He assailed the players and head coach Gregg Popovich, saying, “Team USA needs to check themselves on the defensive end, have some pride and humility … and that includes coach Popovich — the arrogance he showed in the press conference is how they looked on D!’’ When the Americans rallied to win gold and avoid a national shaming, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green were among those who fired back at Perkins and other critics. Green, in particular, was hypocritical, given his rep as a trash-talker aiming for a big media career, which didn’t stop him from chirping during the celebration, “Kendrick Perkins, you talk a lot of s—. A lot of s—. Act like you’re American.’’ What Green didn’t grasp is that Perkins WAS acting like an American. He was using his constitutional right, known as freedom of speech, just as Green uses it his every waking hour. Perkins got the final word, congratulating the winners but adding, “I’m going to keep talking my s— and ain’t nobody go shut me up!’’ That’s why they should call him The Perkolator. He can thank me for the trademark.
Pat Forde, Sports Illustrated — Stories about one’s kids can backfire on a sportswriter if the approach is excessively sentimental. Forde couldn’t have navigated a difficult challenge more expertly. While oozing appropriate pride over daughter Brooke, who helped Team USA win silver in the 800-meter freestyle relay, Forde was quick to note the professional importance of covering the Olympic swimming competition without parental bias. He wrote: “With a child on the team and friendships with many of the athletes and their parents, I would have loved to slip into the Team Dad role — but the lockdown prohibited that, so there would be no orange slices or juice boxes or food deliveries from me to them. Also, I had to work roughly 12–16 hours a day, factoring in bus time to and from Tokyo Aquatics Center. Most awkward of all, I had to attempt to objectively (and at times critically) cover the U.S. swimmers and their coaches while trying not to put my daughter in a difficult position. This was by far the best assignment of my life. It also was by far the strangest assignment of my life.’’ At the bottom of the piece was a precious photo from the mixed zone — Pat, the reporter, interviewing Brooke, the athlete. “I’m not sure I actually even asked her anything,’’ he wrote, “but it was a moment to cherish.’’ Find this story and read it.
Jarrett Bell, USA Today — Who hasn’t ventured to the Florida Keys to pick the fertile brain of Jimmy Johnson? It’s a football ritual, but only Bell returned from the famous sport-fishing boat in Islamorada with a chilling story. The veteran columnist tapped into their 32-year relationship to reveal Johnson’s tortured past, including a workaholic schedule as an NFL coach and talent evaluator that cost him valuable family time. Not once did he see his two sons play a football game growing up, and when he moved on to the Miami Dolphins, he discovered that his youngest son, Chad, had drug and alcohol problems and was sleeping in a car. ‘’For 10 years, he was on the street. And I didn’t even know it. I knew right then I needed to be with my family,’’ said Johnson, explaining why he retired from coaching. “I would lay in bed at night crying, because I didn’t know what to do. I’d tell (his wife) Rhonda, ‘I’d give a million dollars for somebody to clean him up. I don’t know what to do.’ " Eventually, Chad got better, and his father settled in as a successful Fox studio analyst, finally entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend. This is a much better story than my only time in Islamorada, when I caught an 80-inch tarpon without wearing a shirt —and suffered a wicked sunburn that hindered the rest of my college spring break.
“Jeopardy!’’ fans — Rightfully enraged that executive producer Mike Richards is bucking for the coveted hosting gig, the show’s devotees are rebelling en masse. The pressure appears to be impacting decisions at Sony Pictures Television, which still is considering several candidates to replace legendary Alex Trebek. Aaron Rodgers won’t be one of them, but Joe Buck still makes considerably more sense than Richards, whose ascension via corporate cronyism would dilute the show moving forward. This is one of the most valuable seats in the history of American TV. They’re not going to blow it, are they? At this point, I’d even nominate ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, just to remove his snark and intelligence-insulting “Bad Beats’’ segments from ‘’SportsCenter.’’ One proviso: Leave Stanford Steve in D.C.
THEY DON’T GET IT
Major League Baseball — With a history of scummy scandals — steroids, Pete Rose, Black Sox, electronic sign-stealing, illegal pitching substances, cocaine, ownership collusion, etc. — MLB naturally sees nothing wrong with discussing a TV deal with Barstool Sports. Of course, anyone with a brain and functioning conscience realizes Rob Manfred is lowering his sport into the gutter by considering such a horrific alliance. Has the commissioner not done homework on the company’s founder, Dave Portnoy, and his history of racist, misogynistic and bullying comments? Does Manfred not realize a 36-percent chunk of Barstool is owned by a gaming company, Penn National, that contradicts MLB’s ongoing lifetime ban of Rose? Or is he so desperate to hit a youthful bro-dude audience and make quick bucks for ruthless club owners, as a likely labor impasse approaches, that he’ll sell baseball’s soul for a midweek national broadcast package that possibly includes in-game gambling chatter (as reported by the New York Post)? No longer can this sport be marketed as fun family entertainment. Parents, you’re better off taking your kids to a burlesque show.
Chicago sports media — Yoo hoo? Anybody home? To ever be taken seriously again, the writing and broadcasting outlets of America’s No. 3 market — soon to be passed by Houston — must stop promoting the local franchises as sacred and start investigating scandals that impact woefully underserved audiences. The White Sox are caught in a legal mess during an otherwise glorious season — their former Double-A manager, Omar Vizquel, is being sued by an autistic man who says Vizquel sexually harassed him when he worked as a batboy in 2019. The man, now 25, also is suing the White Sox and Birmingham Barons, alleging Vizquel “deliberately exposed his erect or partially erect penis’’ to him at least five times and “forced (him) to wash his back in the shower” while he had an erection. Worse, the White Sox have been caught in a gross distortion, stating Saturday that they fired Vizquel as a result of a subsequent internal investigation when, in fact, their public story at the time mentioned nothing about the investigation or the allegations. The team waited three months before confirming an “amicable’’ parting with Vizquel through a published story by a team-friendly MLB.com reporter, in which a Sox player personnel executive wished Vizquel “well’’ and called him “a positive influence’’ who “created a good environment for our players.’’ Chris Getz, who said those words, should be fired — unless he was ordered to say those words. The Athletic reported the story with its own reporting, as did ESPN. But through Tuesday, the story was basically ignored by Chicago media beyond buried wire-story basics. Do they not see how the Sox attempted to whitewash the very allegations that they now say they investigated? Or do the local media prefer ignoring a cover-up because, you know, their bosses fear the power base of Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and don’t want to disrupt that “Field Of Dreams’’ game Thursday? The accuser is autistic, for God sakes. Investigate it or get out of the business.
Shaquille O’Neal, sellout — It figures. Never one with noble aspirations, Shaq would rather shill for a sportsbook than own an NBA team. When Wynn Resorts came calling, he agreed to sell his minority stake in the Sacramento Kings to star in WynnBet’s ad campaigns, including a “ShaqPot’’ prediction game. Sports Business Journal had the story. Granted, the Kings aren’t the most desirable franchise for an investor, but I never thought the day would come when Alex Rodriguez — approved now as co-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves — would exhibit grander business ambitions while O’Neal hangs out in Vegas casinos. His Turner Sports bosses, who employ him as a studio analyst, should care about his gambling connections. They don’t … because they’ve sold out themselves to the betting craze.
Bart Scott, ESPN Radio — Learning nothing from the recent missteps of teammate Stephen A. Smith, Scott stumbled into the reckless zone of ethnic insensitivity. In a rant about Luka Doncic, he mispronounced the superstar’s native Slovenia as “Slyl-vay-nia … sounds like Transylvania.’’ Then, shifting into bad-comedian mode, he intentionally botched the name of Australia’s Matthew Dellavedova, who is quite familiar to NBA fans, and mocked the French language — “it was bulls—’’ — for reasons unknown. Scott said he was “sleep-deprived,’’ and I credit his co-host that day, Chris Carlin, for easing out of the segment and not destroying him on the air. Do ESPN executives not listen to their own shows?
Radio market managers — As President of the United States, I would mandate vaccines. As a sports radio programmer, I would stop focusing strictly on men ages 25-54 and try to market my station to the widest range of demographics. After all, aren’t people of all ages and genders interested in sports? Every time I publish ratings in this column based on the 6-and-older demo, I hear from radio people who dismiss the usually-low number because it isn’t restricted to males 25-54. My counter is that minimizing the audience doesn’t make sense — unless, oh, some programmers are trying to avoid the embarrassment (and job insecurity) of being near the bottom of local lists with community college and Christian music stations. I say this as someone whose last day-part rating as a host, in Chicago once upon a time, routed the competition. So, I might know what I’m talking about.
Jay Mariotti, called “the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes a weekly media column for Barrett Sports Media and regular sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts in production today. He’s an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and radio talk host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects. Compensation for this column is donated to the Chicago Sun-Times Charity Trust.