ESPN Statement About Skip Bayless
So Skip has decided to leave the mothership, continuing the exodus of so many on air talents over the past couple years, notably Mike Tirico also announcing his departure yesterday. ESPN, in an effort to honor Skip's tendancy to go on long rambling tirades about the smallest of things has put out the following statement.
Skip Bayless has decided to leave ESPN when his contract expires at the end of August.
His final appearance on First Take will be the day after the NBA Finals conclude.
We want to thank Skip for his many contributions to ESPN. His hard work and talent have benefited ESPN for 12 years.
Yeah, that's the whole statement.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Skip!
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Comments
Good riddance. The guy was unbearable to listen to. One of the worst sports personalities out there IMO. Kind of odd with all these people up and leaving ESPN though. The entire network has become terrible to watch
Annoying personalities, overdone storylines, acting like the NFL is the only sport to ever exist. They're more of a football network than a sports network, I rarely watch SportsCenter any more.
ESECPN would like to have a word with you.
I thought the SEC was either the ninth division, or minor league of the NFL.
Hopefully Stephen A. is on his way out too
Wooooo,Tirico is leaving? Which means McDonough may get MNF which means we will lose the best college football play by play. Which is all I care about.
Wonder if he was about to get suspended for weed?
Stephen A. Smith is the best sport journalist on ESPN. He should have his own show on ESPN. Skip was an annoying guy but he made a good team with Stephen A.
I'd rather have the Ghost of Stuart Scott, a drunk Chris Berman, or Van Pelt doing anything, than either of those two overhyped windbags
SVP will forever be the coolest cat on the planet. I've had a huge man crush since day 1 on Van Peezy.
Yep, love him. Too bad he's not with Rusillo any longer, I'm not a big Kannell fan.
I don't know. I thought his show with Russilo (and now Russilo and Kanell) was just two bros in their 30s-40s trying to relive their college glory days. Was a little obnoxious at times, but just my opinion.
I think that's why I used to love SVP & Russillo. Listening to them talk reminded me of the conversations my friends and I would have just sitting around our apartment in college. Same with Shutdown Fullcast and the Solid Verbal.
SVP & Russillo video mailbags were the absolute best. Unfortunately ESPN removed most of them from YouTube ever since the show ended. A great time waster if you were ever bored out of your mind.
ATH Behind the Horn vids are also a great timewaster
I had a beer one time at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach with Van Pelt. Extremely cool guy to chat with, and definitely the only one on ESPN left that I will stop and watch.
Holy crap, I'm so jealous. Having lunch with him would definitely be at the top of my bucket list.
I'm in the minority, but I hate Berman. I can't say exactly why, but he's definitely my least favorite ESPN personality. I'll take First Take with Skip/Stephan A over Sunday Countdown with Berman.
Is it the fact that he is 100 years old, or the fact that he is just a complete ass that just mumbles and thinks its hilarious.
I can't stand Berman either. His nicknames are so annoying. And he's even worse for baseball.
you aren't in the minority, not even close
More like the majority. If someone is insisting on watching him I leave the room. I HATE him.
can't wait for the Home Run Derby! A very special Chris Berman production!
the single worst sports day of the year.
I love baseball. But hate the HR derby. It's his fault.
Yeah I've stopped watching it because of him and baseball is my favorite sport. If there's someone I really want to see I'll watch it on mute or in Spanish.
So you guys don't like to hear Berman rasp "BACK, BACK, BACK, BACK, BACK....GOOOONE" into the mic?! Man, that's what makes the homerun derby so darn interesting. /s
You're not in the minority. Berman's mom hates Berman.
What is it with people with the last name Berman that makes them become so hate-worthy?
I hate Berman too, and I'd still take his b.s. antics over Stephen A and Bayless.
Wait is this real?
I'm really hoping this is sarcastic or do we need to point out how he blindly defends his best bud Mayweather constantly.
serious?
Stephen A. Smith is the worst journalist on ESPN...
-Fixed it for ya :)
I feel like the lead was buried here.
I know, right? Tirico is awesome, Bayless is a blowhard.
And so was the lede.
At least Tirico is going to NBC.
Maybe I'll start watching First Take again...
Forreal tho, ESPN has now lost Cowherd, Bayless, and Tirico within the span of a year. What's going on here?
Budget cuts.
I believe it's due to (or at least being blamed on) a combination of fewer subscriber rates, and overpaying for broadcast rights.
You are correct. Disney mandates a certain profit margin from ESPN to the point that they have to let senior "talent" walk to pay for their overzealous pursuit of broadcast rights.
This might end up a blessing in disguise. The demanded profit margin and and the escalating cost of broadcast rights will force some of the bloviating egos out the door. The end result might just wind up being an enhanced focus on... actual sports.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be limited to on-air talent. On-air talent has contracts that are usually just not renewed when they come up. This is how they let Simmons, Cowherd, and now Bayless go. But last October they laid off about 300+ employees to meet Disney's mandate, all of it mostly upper-level employees across the board. This included long-time behind the scenes people, a lot of whom helped build the network.
http://www.sportingnews.com/sport-news/4659493-espn-layoffs-employees-pr...
"With its dual revenue streams from affiliate fees and ad revenue, ESPN had long seemed immune to the problems impacting the rest of the sports media industry. But parent Disney ordered ESPN to trim $100 million from its 2016 budget and another $250 million in 2017, The Big Lead reported in September."
Don't forget Simmons.
So a little off topic... A month or so ago, Clay Travis had Colin Cowherd on his podcast. Both Clay and Cowherd are personalities who are best in small doses. They also happen to be two individuals who have at some point left a larger organization in order to get more autonomy and daily independence. One thing they both agreed on - If you report unbiased news, there's really a cap to how much you can make. The best way to maximize your revenue is to create a persona and market it (case in point - Skip Bayless leaving ESPN is a bigger story than Mike Tirico).
So, bottom line, I'll rarely tune in to Skip Bayless, but you can't blame the guy for going out there and trying his best to get paid.
The only good thing ESPN has left is SVP. I don't watch anymore unless there's a game I care about on or SVP SportsCenter.
Van Pelt is the only redeeming quality of ESPN now
And Woody Paige on ATH
I like most of the panelists on ATH. I don't mind Tony Reali or Tony Kornheiser on PTI either. Those are pretty much the only actual shows I ever watch on ESPN. Otherwise, I only use ESPN exclusively for sporting events (mostly football)
I can't stand Kornheiser. He talks about everything except sports. When I lived in DC I read Wilbon's columns but he's not actually an ESPN personality, just on one show. I think Wilbon is the only reason PTI is still on.
I used to read Kornheiser and Wilbon in the Washington Post all the time. Love both of those guys.
I was a big fan of them when the show first started and when they were writing for the Post. But i feel like now Wilbon never misses a chance to take a shot at DC sports and sports fans, which bothers me because he grew such a large base and following and it's where he started his career leading to a national stage. Also, Wilbon always talks about he's friends with an athlete or how he recently talked to one as if we're supposed to be in awe of him.
Wilbon's wife is a UVa alum so he sometimes takes subtle shots at VT.
Wilbon is an ass. He threw a fit over Jurgen Klinsmann's comments right before the World Cup acting like he knew shit about soccer. Klinsmann was spot on but Wilbon acted like Klinsmann was an ignorant immigrant and told him to leave the country. It was so immature.
Yeah there were three things I didn't like at all about Wilbon over the years:
1) He bashes VT all the time. Constantly. If VT is notable for any reason, he just bashes the heck out of us.
2) He doesn't know a single thing about soccer.
3) He doesn't know even the littlest thing about college football. During college football season, I used to watch PTI expecting analysis, but every time they discussed on-the-field college stuff, I was stunned at how much more I knew about it than they did.
I never actually noticed the VT bashing
ATH is a show I'll stop and watch. Pablo Torre, Jackie McMullan, Kate Fagan, Kevin Blackistone, Tim Cowlishaw, Israel Gutierrez, and especially J.A. Adande. Usually reasoned voices who seem like they genuinely enjoy being on the show, and guys like Paige who are loud brash voices don't take themselves too seriously and don't just say things to get a reaction.
LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE!
Side note, Jackie MacMullan is one of my favorite voices on that show. She's awesome
Don't sleep on Neil Everrett. He and SVP are the only way I can watch Sportscenter.
I miss Holly Sonders.
Good riddance. The guy was probably the reason they had so much turnover at the host position on First Take. Jay Crawford is the only thing good to come from that show.
Yeah, I used to really like First Take when Crawford and Jacobson hosted and the show was primarily a news/interview show with First and Ten debate segments mixed in having Skip debate against a variety of guest analysts. The show became an absolute joke when Stephen A. Smith became a permanent fixture and transitioned away from being a more in-depth SportsCenter into featuring non-stop debate (loud shouting) between those two. Also the hosts they had to replace Jay Crawford in the transition to the new show were underwhelming and didn't moderate the debate segments nearly as well. They would just sit there and introduce the segment then basically listen the whole time.
Yeah I loved the show when it was called "Cold Pizza". Tried to catch it any chance I could. Absolute joke now. Haven't watched in years.
I feel bad for FS1
They the real victim here
my question is, who is the person that suggests hiring Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd and gets to keep his/her job? because that's a gig I would like to sign up for.
I'd hire Cowherd to be my personal assistant if he would just bash UVA all day long
Jaime Horowitz. The man who created First Take. He now basically runs FS1.
Skip and Faux-er Fox deserve each other. Done.
Is he finished or is he done?
As long as ESPN can hang on to Gonzalo "Papi" Le Batard, they will be fine. But if he decides to jump ship, then I'll start to worry.