Emmy scandal reeks of widespread ESPN shadiness
Its all a con, continued:
Bernie Madoff, the Guinness Book of Records Ponzi operator, had a rule that, for subscribers to the too-good-to-be-true dictum, served as a red flag:
The rule: Youre not allowed to ask questions. Just give him as much cash as you can gather, then sit back and reap the totally unqualified and beyond-belief interest on your investment as per an earnings report provided by the accounting firm of Null & Void.
Thus last weeks tale of ESPN, the self-destructive Disney sports network, winning sports Emmys for 13 years based on submitting fabricated names came as a shock only in that it took so long to have its cover blown off. After all, once a secret is shared and this con had to be shared by plenty its no longer a secret.
Consider the path this couldnt-end-well scam traveled, from the submission of phony names of imagined production staffers to those assigned to scratch off those fabricated from the statuettes and replace them with on-air talent, nearly 40 of them, from Kirk Herbstreit to Desmond Howard.
7APNone even knew theyd been nominated? None asked for exactly what theyd been nominated or who they beat out to win? NATAS, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, took ESPNs word for it for 13 years, never even slightly curious as to who all those nonexistent production folks are? Never even asked for a bio, even if it was bogus?
see also
ESPN, NFL in advanced talks on agreement that could give league stake in TV giant
Or werent you allowed to ask questions?
Naturally, and presumably transparently, ESPNs oblivious hierarchy was caught totally unaware until the day last week when ESPN was caught at something it had little chance to contain. Heck, 13 years of bogus acclaim and purloined honor is a pretty good run, thus a damned good try.
The sports Emmys have always reeked of insider trading in service to egos that dont much care if the flattery is sincere or based on a lie.
Years ago, an NBC Sports junior executive confessed that, as a sports Emmys judge of live programming, his bosses instructed him on how to vote:
Vote NBCs entry for first place. Next, vote what struck him as the best competing production for last. Then the most unworthy nominees second, third and so on. Imagine grown men and women in authoritative positions playing such a silly and shameless game.
Then again, NBC spent last week excitedly telling us how fortunate we are that Saturday nights Dolphins-Chiefs playoff game can only be seen behind an NBC paywall. Hooray for us! Bernie Madoff lives!
7A number of the members of “College Gameday” received the fake Emmys. Getty Images
7Former ESPN SVP Production Lee Fitting reportedly had a part in the Emmy scandal. Sports Video Group## Late soccer star was out of this Cosmos
Franz Beckenbauer the West German World Cup champ and leader, and later a globe-shaking Cosmos purchase died last week at 78.
As a sweeper back not to be confused with the recently discovered MLB sweeper pitch Beckenbauer was a master of making productive calm out of the chaos of a Cosmos team of international superstars most of whom demanded the one ball in play.
For all his mature serenity and on-field foresight, he was a fascinating dude with an understated candor as when he called the playing field in Rochester a potato patch, no rancor, just an honest assessment.
7Franz Beckenbauer died last week at the age of 78. APA straight arrow, it remains irreconcilable that Beckenbauer was suspended by FIFAs ethics committee for failing to cooperate with a probe of corruption in voting for the venues of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Then again, FIFA should be banned from the planet for awarding the last Cup to Qatar, which made absolutely no sense beyond what oil monarchy Mullah moolah can do. Perhaps Beckenbauer was aware that FIFA has long and reasonably been suspected of demanding negotiation tables from which to do business under.
My sustaining memory of Beckenbauer was when he first joined the Cosmos. He strolled into the hotel lounge in Minnesota and saw a bunch of traveling media playing a difficult, as in impossible, tabletop pinball game.
Was ist das? he asked. We showed him. When he accepted our invitation to give it a go, he lasted on his first try until we tired of our fascination, but thoroughly convinced he was, head to toe, a gifted athlete.
7A memorial image is displayed on the scoreboard after the passing of former German football player and manager, Franz Beckenbauer, prior to the Bundesliga match. Getty ImagesI challenge one CBS Sports shot-caller to sit with me and watch a recording of last Sundays Titans-Jaguars, then give their approval, on the record, that this is what viewers both want and deserve.
Not only did Kevin Harlan holler before, after and during every play, his parenthetical comments were absurd including, The Titans have a really good red-zone touchdown rate. That mustve explained their 6-11 season.
World gone nuts, continued: Saints star running back Alvin Kamara, who last year settled with a man who alleged Kamara and his pals nearly stomped him to death at 6 a.m. in a Vegas night clubs elevator, remains NASCARs first Growth and Engagement Advisor. I suppose they couldnt find anyone better.
I guarantee that CBS Jim Nantz, throughout the first 30 years of his career, never said a QB used his legs to run for a first down. And never would. Hed simply say he ran or scrambled.
But Nantz, too, has caught modern silly-speak, long-form disease, as heard during last Sundays Bears-Packers.
Reader Bob Friant suggests the Giants should replace Wink Martindale with Bob Eubanks.
Seasons longer, but stats same
Significant football context has been abandoned by TV the same as comparing Yogi Berras World Series-only totals to those who play three rounds of postseason baseball.
ESPN recently noted that Miami is seeking its first 12-win season since 1990. The fact they now have an extra game to do so with a 17-game season since 2021 instead of the previous 16-game schedule was left unmentioned.
7Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates the school’s national championship. APThis omission is even more egregious when discussing, say, the standard for a superior season among NFL running backs. Achieving a 1,000-yard season has been marginalized with current seasons extended seasons thus averaging 59 yards per game is now equally as special to rushing for 1,000 yards in 12-, 14- and 16-game seasons.
But last weeks winner, naturally, was ESPN, which reported that Michigan became the sixth team in major college football history to finish 15-0 or better in a season.
But such has been possible due to seasons extended to 12-games plus conference championships years ago then playoff games beginning in 2015.
The one exception was the 1897 Penn team that went 15-0 while defeating opponents by a total of 463-20. But ESPN knew that.
Rather disappointing that Nick Saban, in departing Alabama, didnt credit all his recruits who would be arrested for everything and anything from sexual assault to illegal possessions of guns. Hey, he couldnt have done it without them!
7Nick Saban APA good, high-scoring NBA game was played last week in spite of (or due to) the paucity of 3-point shots.
The visiting Nuggets beat the Warriors, 130-127, shooting a mere 26 3-pointers very few, these days and issing 17 of them. Radical!
Last weeks gold medal-winning U.S. junior ice hockey team draped their arms around one another while singing our national anthem as it played in Sweden. U.S. Medal of Honor recipient, as per President Biden, the self-entitled, classless, vulgar Megan Rapinoe and her U.S. womens national soccer teammates must have been appalled.
I blew it here Friday, writing that South Carolina lost to Mississippi State. In fact, it won the game.
How many decks are used in poker?
In most popular poker variants, such as Texas Hold'em and Omaha, a standard deck of 52 playing cards is used. Each deck contains four suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) and consists of 13 ranks (Ace, 2 through 10, and the face cards: Jack, Queen, and King).
What is the bonus code for WPT Global Poker 2023?
The best bonus code for WPT Global is WPT777. By entering the bonus code, players will get a welcome bonus 100% up to $1,200 on the first deposit. The minimum deposit is $20.
What is the best WPT Global bonus code?
Use the WPT Global bonus code WPT777 when registering to get a 100% deposit bonus up to $1200 plus a $100 No Deposit poker bonus.
