There is a part of me that feels bad ESPN gets labeled (unfairly) as being “too political” because that narrative is nonsense.
SportsCenter anchors aren’t covering the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Stephen A. Smith isn’t talking about people not taking jobs because they are getting unemployment money. College GameDay isn’t explaining Joe Biden’s infrastructure deal.
So to say ESPN covers politics is disingenuous.
Now, do ESPN personalities tweet about politics? Sure. I think they tweet more about social justice issues than politics, but I know people don’t appreciate nuance these days.
It doesn’t appear ESPN’s executive senior vice president Norby Williamson appreciates any of it, though.
In a new (and excellent) interview with The Ringer, former SportsCenter stalwart, Kenny Mayne discussed his departure from the network and shared some hard-to-believe stories about just how paranoid and sensitive ESPN is about the whole politics thing.
“They were clearly threatening some of us, me particularly,” said Mayne.
Mayne also told The Ringer he was “definitely on the watch list. They told me so: ‘There’s a group of people that watch your Twitter.’ ”
Really, ESPN? How embarrassing to have grown people spend their time monitoring someone’s Twitter feed to see whether they dip into the world of politics.
How childish.
Mayne also recalled Williamson asking him one time, “Why do you have to do the politics?” And he replied, “Because I have four daughters and a wife and I want to look at myself in the mirror.”
It’s just amazing to see how terrified ESPN is of on-air talent tweeting about politics when there is an established narrative that ESPN is too political. How does ESPN not see that they’ve already lost that portion of the audience that thinks they cover politics? The ship has sailed. Kenny Mayne’s tweets weren’t going to change a thing.
It also makes no sense whatsoever that ESPN is so consumed with Twitter, which makes up a teeny, tiny portion of its TV audience.
Mayne also recalled making a joke one night that didn’t go over well with Williamson.
“Like when Trump’s stupid physical came out,” Mayne says. “Remember? ‘He’s going to be in great health for 30 more years.’ That’s not what a doctor says. So I made a joke, something like, ‘The president’s doctor just timed me at 4.1 in the 40 wearing Snoop Dogg slippers.’ I think that’s a good joke. It’s making fun of the doctor, not making fun of the president—directly.’ ”
The Ringer asked how that went over.
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“Not well,” he says. “I got a Norby call on that one.”
Again, how embarrassing that the executive senior vice president of ESPN is scolding an on-air personality over a completely harmless and benign tweet.
So to sum up, ESPN is completely over the top in making sure its people don’t tweet about politics and yet a significant amount of people think ESPN is too political.
This would be a lose-lose for the World Wide Network.
2. A brand new SI Media Podcast dropped today and this week’s guest is Tony Romo.
CBS’s lead NFL analyst talks about when he knew he wanted to get into broadcasting, being terrible on practice games and sounding like the teacher from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, whether he considers Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth competition and how long he wants to call NFL games.
Romo also shares a Bill Parcells story, weighs in on the new 17-game regular season and more.
Following Romo is the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, me and Sal Licata, from WFAN and SNY, read the latest SI Media Podcast reviews on Apple before getting into a big NFL picks segment. They each give their best over/under team win total bets for the 2021 season, their AFC and NFC title game predictions, Super Bowl winner and reveal their three best bets for Week 1 of the season.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
3. While Sal and I covered a lot of NFL gambling ground on the SI Media Podcast this week, we did not handicap this bet:
4. This is one hell of a quote from Bengals rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who had a tough time catching the ball during the preseason.
“The ball is different because it is bigger. “It doesn’t have the white stripes on the side so you can’t see the ball coming from the tip point so you actually have to look for the strings on the ball at the top, which is hard to see because [the] whole ball is brown and you have the six strings that are white. But for the most part, just have to get used to it and find out what I am comfortable with catching.”
5. Here’s a great story about Padres pitcher Yu Darvish.
6. Tom Brady’s social media team is so damn good.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: In yesterday’s Traina Thoughts, I posted an old-school CBS NFL Today opening. Today, we give you Fox’s first pregame show opening from 1994.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
