EMMY WINNERS: In April, Ch. 4 sports anchor Bruce Beck won a local Emmy for a feature he did on and with paralyzed Rutgers defensive lineman Eric LeGrand. In accepting, Beck said he had less to do with winning than did LeGrand. Yesterday, at the Kessler Institute in West Orange, where LeGrand undergoes therapy, Beck presented LeGrand with that Emmy—his, their—Emmy. (
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The memo, dated June 15, 2005, and distributed throughout ESPN, was written by an ESPN news exec.
As internal, cautionary memos go, it was slightly comical and extremely revealing — a self-indictment, a self-admission and a self-exoneration.
It seemed to claim that, “Although we don’t commit
such dishonest deeds, it’s
obvious that we do. So let’s
stop doing it — even though we never do.”
The memo was distributed well into ESPN’s can’t-miss-it self- and cross-promotional campaign to credit itself for breaking every story — real and imagined — that could be yanked from other news agencies, regional newspapers, TV and radio stations, from nascent bloggers, from team websites and even from news releases.
ESPN then attached full or partial credit for these scoops and rumors to ESPN reporters or entities.
In other words, ESPN was doing what it still does and never stopped doing. It stunk then; it stinks now.
“There are,” the memo, seven years ago, read, “a lot of people watching us, a lot of people who believe — erroneously — that we are too quick to take credit for reporting stories, and they are looking for any example that we are taking more credit for a story than should be the case.”
Yet, if people “erroneously” believed such a thing, why the memo?
This week, with NBA player movements on the boil, ESPN’s eagerness to take credit where none is due became laughably transparent. For starters:
“The Trail Blazers have offered restricted free agent center Roy Hibbert a four-year, $58 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard.”
Later in that ESPN Internet piece: “The $58 million offer sheet, earlier reported by SI.com …”
Oh.
But that “ESPN’s Joe Blow has confirmed” garbage is old garbage, designed to impress only fools, while, among smarter folks, reinforcing ESPN’s well-earned reputation for the kind of truth-telling that would disgust Pinocchio.
Tuesday, Deron Williams tweeted that he has re-signed with the Nets. Within minutes, those who cover the NBA were reporting that news, crediting Williams as the unimpeachable source.
But more than 10 minutes after Williams’ tweet, Broussard tweeted the news as a scoop, suggesting that he and ESPN were out in front of the story, that “sources” tell him that Williams will stick with the Nets.
Also Tuesday, as detailed by Deadspin.com, Broussard did similar with the breaking news — broken by the Phoenix Suns — that Eric Gordon, last season a Hornets guard, had agreed to sign with Phoenix.
In fact, in a prepared statement issued by the Suns, Gordon was quoted: “I strongly feel that they are the right franchise for me. Phoenix is where my heart is now.”
Yet, after Gordon and the Suns announced Gordon’s decision, Broussard tweeted that “sources” tell him that Gordon has agreed to sign with Phoenix.”
Then, after Phoenix issued Gordon’s statement, Broussard tweeted, “Gordon told me this: ‘I strongly feel that [the Suns] are the right franchise for me. Phoenix is just where my heart is.’ ” Good grief.
Then again, in January 2011, ESPN credited itself for the scoop that Les Miles is leaving LSU to coach Michigan’s football team, then, later that day, credited itself for the scoop that Myles is staying at LSU.
Time to redistribute that 2005 memo, the one suggesting that people “erroneously” believe that ESPN takes credit where none is due. “We don’t do that, and we’ll try not to do that again.”
phil.mushnick@nypost.com
Yanks robbed on steal? Maybe not
WHEN did baseball become the Magical Mystery Tour, played in a test tube?
Wednesday, in a 1-1 game between the Yankees and Rays, one out in the top of the seventh inning, Alex Rodriguez stole third in front of a throw in the dirt. But he was waved back to second on an umpire’s interference call. As Rays catcher Jose Lobaton released his throw, his throwing hand dislodged plate ump Mike Estabrook’s mask.
On YES, Ken Singleton, John Flaherty and Lou Piniella complained that the Rays got away with something, that the Yankees were deprived of an important base. “Bad break for the Yankees,” said Flaherty, an ex-catcher who should know better.
How did they know that the ump’s interference didn’t prevent Rodriguez from being thrown out at third? They didn’t!
They clearly could see that the ump’s mask altered the throw, yet they spoke as if an unimpeded throw wouldn’t have been any different. Stealing third’s so easy? How did they know that it wasn’t the Yankees who caught the break?
Next, Andruw Jones flew out to deep right-center. More gnashing of YES teeth. Rodriguez would have scored on the sac fly! Now that call deprived the Yankees of the lead!
How did they know all of this? They didn’t!
By the way, fellas, what was the alternative to calling the interference, ignoring the rule?
➤ Even by standards established 22 years ago, this already has been a particularly difficult week to discern what the heck is going on during Yankees games if one were stuck with — sentenced to — Yankees radio. A sample:
Monday, in the span of just one out, John Sterling, approaching the Mendoza Line for butchered calls, destroyed two of the biggest moments in a tight Yankees-Rays game.
Bottom of the seventh, Brooks Conrad hit a shot to right. Sterling: “If it’s fair, it’s gone!”
It was fair; it wasn’t gone. It smacked halfway up the right-rield barrier, for a game-tying double.
Sterling excused himself, explaining that the stadium’s outfield configurations are confusing, as if such botched calls are a rarity for him. But OK, so if he knew about the walls, and he had called games there before …
Top of the eighth, Rodriguez hit one to deep right. Sterling went into his long-gone, home run call … one that concluded with the catch being made by Ben Zobrist.
This time Sterling alibied that Zobrist “is very tall,” as if that played a role, as if he had made a leaping or high-reaching catch. Zobrist is 6-foot-3, but, as seen later, he caught the ball on its way down, not on its way out. He caught it the way a 5-foot-8 outfielder would have caught it.