The Sports Media Thread

[monkeypower]

6 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

Can someone explain why MLB is partnering with that cesspool of misogyny known as Barstool?

 

Pretty much this.

 

On 8/6/2021 at 8:04 PM, the admiral said:

Barstool's crap is orders of magnitude more popular than Drew Magary scolding people for insufficient moral rectitude or Bill Simmons doing an eight-part podcast series about the Denise Richards/Neve Campbell movie Wild Things

 

They got the reach and the young audience (and the advertiser connections?) for something like the MLB to throw a Tuesday night Rays-Royals game on.

 

Also, I don't think very few people outside of the internet a) know much about Barstool one way or the other or) give a concerted hoot about Barstool one way or the other. Also Also, the MLB has games on ESPN, Facebook and YouTube, who all have just the most squeakiest, cleanest histories and definitely haven't done worse things than Barstool with more actual real life impacts.

[The_Admiral]

If I've said it once, I've said it a billion times, the Barstool/Deadspin war is nothing more than an internecine squabble between upper-middle-class Jewish kids from the Northeast. Dave Portnoy and Barry Petchesky probably went to the same Phish and DMB concerts somewhere in Connecticut in 2003. No one who's not a media observer gets worked up about Barstool; it's just a stream of lowbrow content for affable dopes who work in marketing and don't have internal monologues. They're not the ones who have made life miserable for the past seven years.

[IceCap]

2 hours ago, the admiral said:

If I've said it once, I've said it a billion times, the Barstool/Deadspin war is nothing more than an internecine squabble between upper-middle-class Jewish kids from the Northeast.

I don't know how to feel about this. 

[The_Admiral]

I think it's relevant in that a big part of the animus toward the Barstool guys is sort of the class+ethnic treason of putting on the show they put on for mediocre goys. 

[IceCap]

3 minutes ago, the admiral said:

I think it's relevant in that a big part of the animus toward the Barstool guys is sort of the class+ethnic treason of putting on the show they put on for mediocre goys. 

There's a lot to dig into there but you gotta understand. I JUST realized Dave Portnoy is Jewish. 

[Sport]

Barstool's work is they attract a loyal following of dumbasses by positioning themselves as a brand for mentally 23 year old meatheads who feel persecuted for being meatheads and worry about things like "you can't even compliment a woman anymore without getting arrested". Then once in the tribe and feeling like a member those meatheads are fed sneakily terrible gambling advice through the Barstool podcasts and social media channels. Those meatheads take that bad advice and bet on games with the Barstool sportsbook who then collects returns at a rate that is unheard of for sports betting. The misogyny, the jocularity, the shouts against woke cancel culture et al is nothing. That's all just a tool to separate the stupidest a$$holes from the rest of us. Stupid a$$holes are easier to trick. 

[Germanshepherd]

 

[The_Admiral]

On 8/16/2021 at 9:43 AM, Sport said:

Barstool's work is they attract a loyal following of dumbasses by positioning themselves as a brand for mentally 23 year old meatheads who feel persecuted for being meatheads and worry about things like "you can't even compliment a woman anymore without getting arrested". Then once in the tribe and feeling like a member those meatheads are fed sneakily terrible gambling advice through the Barstool podcasts and social media channels. Those meatheads take that bad advice and bet on games with the Barstool sportsbook who then collects returns at a rate that is unheard of for sports betting. The misogyny, the jocularity, the shouts against woke cancel culture et al is nothing. That's all just a tool to separate the stupidest a$$holes from the rest of us. Stupid a$$holes are easier to trick. 

 

Yeah, that's about the long and short of it. They're a lifestyle brand more than anything. One time I tried to read a blog post of theirs and I was aghast at how poor the writing was. Deadspin writing is also often bad, but bad in a different way: their bad writing is that a writer will get indignant at three unrelated things in one sentence, lose his train of thought between a browser tab and the word document, and then send the post through without it going past a copy editor. Barstool writing just looks like something that a dumb 4th grader wrote. But in the grand scheme of content creation, they found a niche and exploited it beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Portnoy, like Homer, is stupid like a fox, I guess.

[Kevin W.]

It was genuinely cringe-worthy how Carrabis wanted to insert himself into the whole Slam Diego thing last year. It was so transparently commercial and his particular fratboy douchebag brand is disgusting.

[See Red]

ESPN was duped into airing a football game between IMG Academy and an online prep school that had played two days prior.  The school had told ESPN they had multiple D-1 recruits on their roster, which ESPN could have disproven with two minutes of research.   The announcers had this to say in the second quarter:

"You look at IMG and this is the most talented prep team in the country. Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of Division I prospects on their roster, and to be frank, a lot of that, we could not verify. They did not show up in our database, they did not show up in the databases of other recruiting services. So, OK, that’s what you’re telling us, fine, that’s how we take it in. From what we’ve seen so far, this is not a fair fight, and there’s got to be a point where you’re worried about health and safety.

“I already am worried about it. I think this could potentially be dangerous given the circumstances and the mismatch that we have here. And quite honestly, Bishop Sycamore doesn’t have not only the front-line players, but they don’t have the depth in case something were to happen to their roster with a kid or two here throughout the remaining two quarters of this football game.”

I don't typically watch the HS football games on ESPN but when I have, they typically highlight some of the highest ranked recruits on each roster and where they are committed so you would think someone at ESPN would have caught that Bishop Sycamore had been lying. 

[crashcarson15]

On 8/16/2021 at 10:43 AM, Sport said:

Barstool's work is they attract a loyal following of dumbasses by positioning themselves as a brand for mentally 23 year old meatheads who feel persecuted for being meatheads and worry about things like "you can't even compliment a woman anymore without getting arrested". Then once in the tribe and feeling like a member those meatheads are fed sneakily terrible gambling advice through the Barstool podcasts and social media channels. Those meatheads take that bad advice and bet on games with the Barstool sportsbook who then collects returns at a rate that is unheard of for sports betting. The misogyny, the jocularity, the shouts against woke cancel culture et al is nothing. That's all just a tool to separate the stupidest a$$holes from the rest of us. Stupid a$$holes are easier to trick. 

The Barstool Sportsbook is pretty dangerous, and it's the first thing that's made me actually feel uneasy about the legalization of sports betting in America.

 

Anyway, I do think the one other thing with Barstool is that generally, it does a good enough job of putting on a front to make following Barstool or listening to Pardon My Take or Call Her Daddy a perfectly fine thing for most people my age who aren't Online. They aren't getting into the misogyny and racism, it's just funny content. Hell, just look at the "Barstool [College]" or "Barstool [High School]" accounts — Portnoy and friends have gotten the "Prez isn't gonna you" guys to create these huge school-associated social media presences tied to the Barstool brand for free, and I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone who does left-wing social activism on Instagram also re-post something from Barstool IU or Barstool ND or whatever, because to them, it's a school spirit account.

 

To me, that's more important in the broadcasting discussion — the meatheads built the base, blow money on the app and their store, etc.; but the common acceptance of Barstool makes something like an MLB partnership acceptable.

[gosioux76]

1 hour ago, crashcarson15 said:

To me, that's more important in the broadcasting discussion — the meatheads built the base, blow money on the app and their store, etc.; but the common acceptance of Barstool makes something like an MLB partnership acceptable.

 

But it also shows how willing MLB is to turn a blind eye to an organization's predatory side just so it can get exposure to its audience. 

[ManillaToad]

55 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

 

But it also shows how willing MLB is to turn a blind eye to an organization's predatory side just so it can get exposure to its audience. 

 

nike uses child labor in sweatshops and you're worried about MLB partnering with a site because it caters to dudebros who like racy jokes and gambling on their phone

[gosioux76]

22 minutes ago, ManillaToad said:

 

nike uses child labor in sweatshops and you're worried about MLB partnering with a site because it caters to dudebros who like racy jokes and gambling on their phone

 

 

As much as I like a good game of "jump to conclusions," I'm afraid I didn't make mention of being OK with Nike, nor did I find room in there to compare it to Barstool. As far as I'm concerned, MLB should make them both answer for their sins. 

 

Sorry if that takes some of the fun out of hopping onto the 'ole soapbox. 

[MJWalker45]

4 hours ago, See Red said:

ESPN was duped into airing a football game between IMG Academy and an online prep school that had played two days prior.  The school had told ESPN they had multiple D-1 recruits on their roster, which ESPN could have disproven with two minutes of research.   The announcers had this to say in the second quarter:

"You look at IMG and this is the most talented prep team in the country. Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of Division I prospects on their roster, and to be frank, a lot of that, we could not verify. They did not show up in our database, they did not show up in the databases of other recruiting services. So, OK, that’s what you’re telling us, fine, that’s how we take it in. From what we’ve seen so far, this is not a fair fight, and there’s got to be a point where you’re worried about health and safety.

“I already am worried about it. I think this could potentially be dangerous given the circumstances and the mismatch that we have here. And quite honestly, Bishop Sycamore doesn’t have not only the front-line players, but they don’t have the depth in case something were to happen to their roster with a kid or two here throughout the remaining two quarters of this football game.”

I don't typically watch the HS football games on ESPN but when I have, they typically highlight some of the highest ranked recruits on each roster and where they are committed so you would think someone at ESPN would have caught that Bishop Sycamore had been lying. 

I don't think ESPN was duped, I think they just didn't care. At least the announcers owned up that they couldn't verify what the school was saying, but if the school is known as an on-line academy, why are you dealing with them? My old college scheduled two of these types of teams because they couldn't get D II schools to play them when jumping up from NAIA. These two schools have played each other before, two years ago, so unless the entire staff left the school they should have hknown one person to talk to that would answer them. If it was a case of not having anyone else willing to be a sacrificial lamb, own up to it instead of going, "They didn't return our calls when we asked to see who's recruiting them".  Maybe just cancel the game beforehand next time?  Or hell, ask Canton McKinley or Massillon to get their teeth knocked out on national TV? They're big enough names to grab peoples attention and Massillon would probably give IMG a game this yea, at least more of one than they got last week. 

[Red Comet]

So basically ESPN is lazy and didn’t follow up to ensure the school they were covering actually were who they said they were. Can’t bury this correction on Page 25, though. 
 

EDIT: Seriously, why am I getting South Harmon Institute of Technology vibes from this jobber school? 

Edited August 30, 2021 by Red Comet

[MJWalker45]

8 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

So basically ESPN is lazy and didn’t follow up to ensure the school they were covering actually were who they said they were. Can’t bury this correction on Page 25, though. 

Pretty bad that I think I did more research and this was on their front page. Massillon made it to the state championship last year and was blowing them out. If ESPN just went to their home page they'd have said, "Nah, we're going a different direction". The school site also doesn't list the coaching staff, a roster or even a schedule. 

[The_Admiral]

4 hours ago, crashcarson15 said:

I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone who does left-wing social activism on Instagram also re-post something from Barstool IU or Barstool ND or whatever

Thesis + antithesis = synthesis: 

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

 

I heard that today. I thought it was unnecessarily :censored:ty. Simmons could benefit from having an actual producer who points those things out to him. He could also benefit from being a decent human.

[spartacat_12]

15 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

I heard that today. I thought it was unnecessarily :censored:ty. Simmons could benefit from having an actual producer who points those things out to him. He could also benefit from being a decent human.

 

I guess they've already taken down the episode and edited out the ad read.

 

Bill has been dismissive of pretty much all Marvel movies, and comic book movies in general. I think he was trying to make a pretentious point like, "I'm so above superhero movies that I don't even know what the name of this one is".

 

I don't think he is an intentional, overt racist, but maybe all of his time living in Boston has given him a bit of a blind spot when it comes to casually offensive comments like this. You'd think he'd know better during a season where multiple members of the media have already had to place their feet directly in their mouths in regards to comments they made about Ohtani.