OT: Skip Bayless the latest to leave ESPN

Submitted by Blueblood2991 on

Skip Bayless is the latest employee that ESPN lost to FOX in a bidding war.  They apparently offered him $4 million a year (seriously?) which he turned down.

To me, this is a great opportunity for them to bring some fresh blood for a fraction of the price.  But this is ESPN we are talking about, so they'll probably promote Jemele Hill to work along with Stephen A Smith and lose the few remaining viewers they have.

http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2016/04/26/skip-bayless-espn-first-take…

MGoBoard

Space Coyote

April 26th, 2016 at 5:26 PM ^

Former players and coaches and scouts and stats, stats, stats. They have all the highlights, All-22, inside access to basically all sports and at least to some degree, the ability to get it with any athlete in the world. ESPN just put together a great piece on Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, that's not what they show. Instead, there are bidding wars for Skip Bayless. That shows where we are as a society. We'd rather have fewer of the former and more of the latter.

Joined: 06/18/2009

MGoPoints: 38962

markusr2007

April 26th, 2016 at 5:48 PM ^

Sometimes you get lucky like ABC did.

Nobody could have ever predicted that you could take some obscure twangy, Georgia-born Washington State poli-sci rad (Keith Jackson), hitch him up to a former Arkansas head football coach who coached in the first "Game of the Century" with his own southern drawl (Frank Broyles) and then capture some of the greatest moments in televised college football history.

There's no effing way that a Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles combo is going to work.

But it did.

Over and over.

Highly-paid MBA automatons at ESPN and Fox will never understand that they should already understand that they've been trying too damn hard. 

Joined: 10/21/2008

MGoPoints: 19373

leftrare

April 26th, 2016 at 5:50 PM ^

Posbangs are the reason so many users have ridiculous point totals. They are strokefests in which the stokers's only purpose is to increase his/her point totals. I don't know why they think this is an important thing.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3213

gwkrlghl

April 26th, 2016 at 5:55 PM ^

Probably the richest person to ever attain his wealth by being a professional idiot. It actually makes me a little angry that it's slightly brilliant...

Joined: 04/13/2012

MGoPoints: 68

LSAClassOf2000

April 26th, 2016 at 6:30 PM ^

While it is excellent news that Skip Bayless is leaving ESPN, the joy is tempered by the fact that he is taking his absence of talents to another network so that most of the same people can suffer, but merely under different management.

I am curious - does this mean three hours of Stephen A. Smith verbally vomiting on an empty chair will be all that "First Take" becomes? 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130791

Qmatic

April 26th, 2016 at 6:47 PM ^

Once in a blue moon, Skip would have a similar strong opinion on something as me. It usually had to deal with Lebron, but he would passionately defend something I supported.

He always spoke highly if Harbaugh.

I mean what kinda people are home from 10-12 on weekdays? College kids? Unemployed?

Joined: 01/09/2013

MGoPoints: 33002

StraightDave

April 26th, 2016 at 7:38 PM ^

ESPN started to go downhill as soon as the weirdos from Disney got their mitts on it.   The left -leaning PC crap is a turnoff. I want to watch sports, not a dude in a dress.

Joined: 12/27/2009

MGoPoints: 4232

Wolfman

April 27th, 2016 at 1:54 AM ^

sports. ESPN had two prior to Skip annoncing he's leaving and Greenie and Cowherd are the other two that come to mind.

I don't know  how anyone is able to watch any of those three without thinking they'd be better off hosting a cooking show, and probably come off as a bit more knowledgeable as well.

I remember when Bayless was questioning Jalen's game and Jalen putted a Bayless and came on the show with all the research he needed to let the viewers know he was probably not the person that should be juding anyone's game.

Jalen opened with "So you are questioning my abilities,  And why should anyone take you seriously when you were a backup guard on the J.V. team when you were a Junior?" BOOM. It really didn't matter after that.  I recally Bayless, after a minute of  two of embarrassment, try to  explain his way out of it. "Well that wasn't because I couldn't play. My coach just saw me as another type guard, and I was more in the mold of a Steve Kerr." I don't care whose mold you're in, if you are a backup on the J.V. when you're in 11th grade, you should have quit the team about 2 years prior to that, joined the Y and received guaranteed PT,

And that shit we had to put up  with between him and Stephen. Stephen pretended like he actually  didn't hate the little weasel and Skip trying hard to come across as a dude so hip he can hang with anyone. Just didn't work

Damn, Guys, for those of you still in school, you might want to thnk about changing majors and get some of that money, and let's be honest, they are just giving away.

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259

wahooverine

April 26th, 2016 at 7:54 PM ^

Speaking of new talent at ESPN, some of the new Sportscenter anchors they've brought on board are actually pretty good.  They are younger, funnier, more skilled and less cocky than the likes of Buccigross and Van Pelt (ugggh).  Would love to see more young fresh talent come through.  Reboot that place.

 

 

Joined: 11/14/2011

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Leaders And Best

April 26th, 2016 at 11:19 PM ^

Van Pelt and Buccigross are some of the few anchors left on ESPN that can still remind you of the ESPN glory days. Most of the new anchors are lifeless with zero personality. I think that has led to the rise of the "Embrace Debate" ESPN today. The anchors today are not talented enough to carry a SportsCenter anymore so they constantly have to use talking heads to fill time.

Joined: 09/09/2009

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