Yesterday’s “Big News”… Really?

News
BobLee
January20/ 2016

Big NewsI have four / five national sports websites I check throughout the day for BREAKING NEWS i.e. to see if Ronda Rousey (or Joe Biden) has found the cure for cancer yet.   As of Wed AM….. no, not yet.

Those sites are USAToday Sports, FoxSports, ESPN, something called Yardbarker, and another something called SportsOnEarth (SOE).   Other than SOE, their “top stories” are, more often than not, exactly the same and could all be written by the same fourteen dyslexic chimps with mail-order journalism degrees from Univ of Phoenix.

For sure the target markets for all these sites, except for SOE, are the same….. yep, those not-so-lovable goggle-eyed, spittle-spewing board monkeys all across The Fruited Plain.   The “suits” responsible for these sites determined two decades ago that “chumming for board monkeys” is the best way to generate “clicks”.   I’m not saying they are wrong in that strategy. I use The Tiki Girls at least twice a year.Jim Murray

Wherever Legendary Sportswriters go (is there a Toots Shor’s in Heaven?) I suspect Jim Murray, Grantland Rice, Shirley Povich and Furman Bisher shake their heads in despair.

Yesterday all the teams of dyslexic chimps with laptops were in sync – they all agreed – on what were THE Top Sports Stories of The Day.

•    Charles Barkley “Hates” Skip Bayless
•   A Seahawks Fan In Seattle Complained about Cam Newton

Not necessarily in a #1, #2 order.  It seemed a dead heat for THE TOP Story.  To be fair, had the aforementioned Ronda Rousey espoused on whether she, Ronda, thinks Iran has nukes yet that might have leapfrogged both Sir Charles and the latest Cam-hater.

If Charles and Cam had not sucked all the oxygen out of the newsroom…. #3 woulda been – Coach K Fails To Shake Every ‘Cuse Players Hand… K-Haters DEMAND His Execution! … sure is a lot of “hatin’ going on.  Huh?

I have to be careful here.  In the mixed-up, shook-up perspective of America’s Oft-Unwashed Mouth-breathers, ANY story that runs contrary to their POV gets the “Why is That News” reader comment.   I understand why Charles Hates Skip and Another Fan Hates Cam are above-the-scroll down National News.   But excuse me while I weep along with those ink-stained legends in the celestial Toot Shor’s.

Caulton, feel free to join me.  I bet Dick Herbert and AJ Carr would too.

Charles said he HATES Skip because Skip gives his opinion on stuff he is not a recognized expert Skip Baylessabout.   A lot of 24/7 ESPN-ites supposedly “hate Skip” because Skip has perfected an on-air persona that is designed to “really piss-off” people who are very easily pissed-off… one guess who “those people” are!  Yep.  You win a banana.

Skip Bayless’ over-the-top on-air persona combined with Stephen A Smith’s equally over-the-top on-air persona make their First Take “Embrace Debate” Show ESPN’s #1 daytime offering.   Ergo, a lot of Skip / Stephen A-haters tune in religiously to “hate’em”.

In Stephen A’s case, a lot of his haters hate him because he comes across as an “uppity you-know-what” who uses poly-syllabic words in his diatribes.  Both Stephen A and Skip makes several mill/per to be ESPN’s primo bombastic lightning rods.

Charles admits he also opines on stuff he knows little/nothing about but that’s OK because he always says “In my opinion”.   Skip doesn’t add that qualifying pre-fix before every comment.

If ESPN Honcho John Skipper (UNC’75) renamed First Take to “Skip & Stephen A Give Their Provocative Opinions About ……”  I suppose Charles would be OK with that.

Charles Barkley has, of course, also perfected his on-air persona to be provocative to a fare-thee-well.   I hope that Charles and Skip worked out this tete a tete in advance to “make news”.  If not…. check off yet another Nostradamus End of Days Sign.

It’s 2016.   More people than you want to believe can name at least two if not all 5-6 Kardashians, so Charles Barkley “making news” hating Skip Bayless sorta makes sense.

Meanwhile over at FoxSports, the only Sports Talk show I ever intentionally watch (maybe once/week for maybe an hour) – The Herd – has figured out that having Kristine Leahy on split-screen while Colin Cowherd is pontificating is effective in holding their audience.   I coulda told’em that two months ago.   Remove Colin’s “made-for radio” face altogether would help too.  Kristine’s lip gloss allowance alone has to be in the mid four figures…. and worth every penny.

Kristine Leahy

If anyone could ever make a young BobLee forget Phyllis George sitting between Brett Musberger and Irv Cross on NFL Today back in the 70s, it is Kristine Leahy.  Phyllis’ interview with Roger Staubach about Joe Namath’s sex life is still an All Time Classic.  I wonder if Phyllis is still dating Charles Loudermilk?

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Meanwhile way out yonder in Seattle, a disconsolate Seahawk fan took issue with whatever the peripatetic “Cam” – has he achieved one name icon status? – did to a 12th man flag.  Said fan sent “an open letter” to somewhere saying “Cam” was “classless” to do such a thing.

Commissioner Goodell has not formed a blue-ribbon ad hoc committee to investigate this YET but it’s been less than a day.

Add this disconsolate Seahawk fan to (1) “a woman in East Tennessee” who complained about “Cam’s” end zone dancing…. and (2) those two LTTEs to the financially-reeling Charlotte Observer complaining about “Cam” fathering a child out-of-wedlock.

By my count that makes either five or six OUTRAGED Americans who have expressed their dislike of “stuff that Cam does”.  That 5-6 is more of a mandate than George Pataki or Mike Huckabee could ever muster, but still comes up short of “registering on the Richter Scale” EXCEPT in the Wacky World of Internet Sports News.

If it gets to double figures, will Michelle Obama declare a #WeLoveCam hashtag campaign?

I would “get it” if an enraged Cam-hater physically attacked him or some such OMG incident but LTTEs and “open letters” …. REALLY?  That’s News ???

Skip Bayless gets more Hate Tweets by 8 AM Bristol Time each day than there are hard-core Cam-haters on the planet…. and that doesn’t count the Hate Tweets that his “uppity you-know-what” partner gets each day.

Sure, I get it that 5-6 “Cam-haters” supposedly PROVES that “a certain ideological faction” still has issues with an AfAm NFL QB.   Bull Connor, Orval Faubus and James Earl Ray would all probably dislike “Cam” if they were still around to do so…. or so a certain media faction ilk would like us to believe.   Vote for Hillary and all the Cam-Haters will be sent to GitMo….

Wanna bet that if “Cam’s” team beats Arizona at least one more Cam-Hater will emerge bringing the grand total to at least eight and prompting a Congressional Sub-Committee.

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I said last week that while the recently late David Bowie was a music icon…. I cannot name a single song he wrote, sang, was famous for…. which is a testament to my encyclopedic lack of music knowledge, not Mr Bowie’s talent.

A year or so ago, on a Saturday morning, I stumbled into a documentary about the Eagles on one of those cable channels.  I became glued to watching the full four hours.  I’m glad I did.  I learned A LOT.

Prior to watching I did not associate the Eagles with any song…. putting them with Chicago, Pink Floyd, Led Zepplein, and Jefferson Airplane in my “aren’t they all some kind of rock groups?” pantheon.  Then I watched that documentary.

I pretty much recognized EVERY song “they did”.   Who Knew?   I recalled all those iconic songs from the 70-90s but had no idea who sang them.  The Eagles sang them!

I knew Simon & Garfunkel did Bridge Over Troubled Waters and The Statler Brothers did Class of 57 Had Its Dreams…. and “The Singing Rage” Miss Patti Page sang “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window” or was that Rosemary Clooney?  I am Albert-esque when it comes to music.  My loss for sure.

Earlier this week Glenn Frey died.   I’m glad I saw that documentary last year.  I’m glad that I know more about the Eagles (Not The Eagles).

I’ve often thought being Mike Love (a Beach Boy) would be a nice life if one had to be a music superstar.   Memorize 8-10 songs and sing those 8-10 Golden Oldies to adoring fans in a 1,000 sold-out concerts for 40 years.

Being Glenn Frey and waking up each morning in The Hotel California to a Tequila Sunrise thru Lyin’ Eyes must have given him a Peaceful Easy Feeling too.

Glenn Frey

RIP “Desperado” Glenn  Frey.

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