ESPN replacement for people like Max Kellerman

[Casady1]

is the new sport of skipping rocks on a lake. Are you kidding me SKIPPING rocks on a lake. Give me a break.

[chicoescuela]

1. I like Max. ESPN sucks.

[H2O Man]

3. Max is a good man.

He is a very good boxing historian. He isn't as good as a ringside announcer. I remember when there was tension between him and Teddy Atlas on ESPN's Friday Night Fights back a couple decades ago.

[ruet]

8. That's Becasue TA is A Bit of an Arshole.

A great boxing mind and I think he's funny as hell but he is an ass. Kellerman is a top notch boxing analyst. I watched him for years on HBO.

[H2O Man]

9. Respectfully disagree.

I've been friends with Teddy for a long time. He is a good man, who carries on the teaching of what Cus D'Amato taught him. He cares about boxers, and calls out the corruption in the sport -- commissions, promoters, judges, etc. He is able to explain to an audience what is happening during a fight, including things like what will happen in a round or two based on a fighter's legs. In my opinion, he is as good at that as I am, which I respect.

I do recognize that, at times, his style of commentary annoys some people. And that is true of every sports announcer. There has never been one that everyone likes. Heck, even Howard Cosell had people who thought he was obnoxious! (grin)

[ruet]

11. No Disagreement.

I think I would get along swimmingly with TA. His conversational manner, however, is... well... challenging. I grew fond of TA when he was training Michael Moorer during the infamous "you're going to cry tomorrow" fight with Evander Holyfield. I knew, of course, about his history with Tyson but didn't pay much attention to him other than that. Now, I would put him up there with the likes Emanuel Steward, Eddie Futch and Freddie Roach as one of my favorites.

[H2O Man]

17. Well, he is

part Irish -- I can say that! -- and grew up in a city. (grin) I agree with what you say about him being among top trainers and cornermen. I will say that he has a more limited range of fighters he worked best with, kind of like Manny did best with taller fighters at whatever weight. (Manny called me son years ago to offer him a spot in his camp. But he soon became very sick and passed away before that could happen. I have a couple pictures of him with my daughters, using one's phone to call my boy!) Guys like Futch and Roach could work with anyone, and get them to their peak potential.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this -- getting old -- but I remember Cus at the 1972 Golden Gloves in Troy, NY. It was in mid-March, and he was downstairs in the locker room. His current middleweight, Eugene "Cyclone" Hart asked if he wanted to go upstairs to watch the fights? Cus said no, he could see everything he needed to from where he was. That is a lot like Teddy -- he looks for the mental aspects.

Hart was a character! Funny as could be, and just a good man. Teddy told me that after his first loss, earlier in that month we met him, even though it was due to cuts resulting from a head butt, Hart lost focus. So Cus wouldn't work with him. I'm friends with Hart's son, a heck of a good trainer in Philly.

[ruet]

18. Good Stuff.

Thanks for sharing the wisdom.

[H2O Man]

20. A few years back,

on some thread or another here, I noted that all of life imitates the sport of boxing. A few people reacted negatively. Proof, I say, that the understand neither boxing or life.

I posted on the DU sports forum about this weekend's big fight about a week & a half ago. It should be outstanding. In my opinion, a heck of a good case can be made for either Spence or Crawford winning.

Did you see Inoue's fight? That guy is so impressive. I respect Fulton for going to Tokyo to defend his title. Plus he is a very solid fighter. No shame in losing to a guy that many are calling the P4P best, and a great champion.

[ruet]

21. I Haven't...

paid active attention to the sport since HBO got out of the game. They weren't the be-all end-all but they were, kind 'a, my touchstone to everything else in the game. It's just too much effort to find out how to watch a fight these days. I'm 90% sure I'm going to buy the Crawford v. Spence fight though. Before I drifted away Bud was my pound-for-pound pick. Bud is wild with his ability to, effectively, go either orthodox or southpaw and has a vicious meanstreak. Jr. in a modern machine. It could be a special event.

[ruet]

24. Perhaps The Greatest...

singular display of boxing I've ever seen. Simply amazing.

[uponit7771]

2. Why is Max gone? tia

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Downsizing Talent At ESPN

Kellerman, Jalen Rose, Suzy Culver, Neil Everett, Todd McShay, Keyshawn Johnson, et al. It was something like 16 on-air folks.
Some had their expiring contract not renewed, some just launched.
Neil was my favorite SC anchor for years. Gone.

[uponit7771]

5. Whoa, they bleeding viewers that bad?!?

[ProfessorGAC]

7. No

That's the thing, when they add in the streaming numbers, viewership is up!
There were business articles about this when it happened a few weeks ago.
Many of the business writers were confused by the move.
As to Kellerman, they gave him the morning show, kept "Max On Boxing" & ADDED "This Just In" 13 months prior. He was a rising star getting a huge push. Then, he's gone?
Very confusing move.

[brush]

12. Wow. That's a lot of talent they axed. I waiting for Keyshawn...

J Will and Max to resume after Wimbledon but now I know why it hasn't.

Max at least has a couple of other shows. Looks like Keyshawn and Jalen Rose are out in the cold completely?

[ProfessorGAC]

13. Rumor Is...

...that Keyshawn is going to pair up with Skip Bayless on CBS Radio/Sportsnet. Just an industry rumor, though.
I read that Everett is going to do Oregon Ducks games, but I don't know if it's football or basketball. (His dad was a college coach, so he's been around hoops his whole life.)
The Kellerman thing is a mystery. Heavily promoted one minute, out the door the next.

[brush]

14. Anything on Jalen Rose? He and David Jacobi had that show.

He was on "Get Up" too during basketball season. Is that out too?

I feel bad for him as he and Molly got divorced and it was rumored that Steven A. Smith had something to do with it.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Get Up Is Still On

Greenberg is still a cash cow, so he's going nowhere.
But, Rose is completely expunged from ESPN.
I can see him landing at TNT, or something with the Pistons or Pacers.
Rumor I heard on that divorce was that they grew apart when she moved back to Bristol from NYC for the show.
Not sure how accurate that is. It's what he says, but who knows.

[BannonsLiver]

6. An improvement over that irritant.

I was so happy when he got canned. Long overdue.

[Yavin4]

10. ESPN and sports leagues are looking to partner. This aint good.

ESPN held talks with NBA, NFL and MLB in search for strategic partner, sources say

As Disney considers a strategic partner for ESPN, Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro have held early talks about bringing professional sports leagues on as minority investors, including the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, according to people familiar with the matter.

ESPN has held preliminary discussions with the NFL, NBA and MLB about a variety of new partnerships and investment structures, the people said. In a statement, an NBA spokesperson said, “We have a longstanding relationship with Disney and look forward to continuing the discussions around the future of our partnership.”

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1002&pid=18120417

Eventually, this would be like the leagues treating ESPN as its own streaming service.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. All The Leagues...

...have their own channels available several streaming services.
Wonder how that would work partnered with ESPN. Doesn't seem to make sense.

[Yavin4]

19. My guess is that they will all either be merged under one brand

Or. they would keep their own networks, but stream live games under the ESPN brand.

Or some combo of the two.

[ProfessorGAC]

22. Not Seeing How The Leagues Benefit From That Arrangement

They have multiple carriers competing for content. It's not to their advantage to put all eggs in one basket.
It may be a Disney pipedream, but I can't see why the leagues would buy in.

[brooklynite]

23. I guess I'd have to like sports to know who this is?