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Being Wrong On-Air Isn’t A Bad Thing

…if you feel yourself getting uncomfortable over the fact that you were wrong, stop to realize that’s your pride talking. Your ego. And if people call you out for being wrong, it’s actually a good sign.

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WRONG BAD

In the press conference after the Warriors won their fourth NBA title in eight years, Steph Curry referenced a very specific gesture from a very specific episode of Get Up that aired in August 2021.

“Clearly remember some experts and talking heads putting up the big zero,” Curry said, then holding up a hollowed fist to one eye, looking through it as if it were a telescope.

“How many championships we would have going forward because of everything we went through.”

Yep, Kendrick Perkins and Domonique Foxworth each predicted the Warriors wouldn’t win a single title over the course of the four-year extension Curry had just signed. The Warriors won the NBA title and guess what? Curry gets to gloat.

The funny part to me was the people who felt Perkins or Foxworth should be mad or embarrassed. Why? Because they were wrong?

That’s part of the game. If you’re a host or analyst who is never wrong in a prediction, it’s more likely that you’re excruciatingly boring than exceedingly smart. Being wrong is not necessarily fun, but it’s not a bad thing in this business.

You shouldn’t try to be wrong, but you shouldn’t be afraid of it, either. And if you are wrong, own it. Hold your L as I’ve heard the kids say. Don’t try to minimize it or explain it or try to point out how many other people are wrong, too. Do what Kendrick Perkins did on Get Up the day after the Warriors won the title.

“When they go on to win it, guess what?” He said, sitting next to Mike Greenberg. “You have to eat that.”

Do not do what Perkins did later that morning on First Take.

Perkins: “I come on here and it’s cool, right? Y’all can pull up Perk receipts and things to that nature. And then you give other people a pass like J-Will.”

Jason Williams: “I don’t get passes on this show.”

Perkins: “You had to, you had a receipt, too, because me and you both picked the Memphis Grizzlies to beat the Golden State Warriors, but I’m OK with that. I’m OK with that. Go ahead Stephen A. I know you’re about to have fun and do your thing. Go ahead.”

Stephen A. Smith: “First of all, I’m going to get serious for a second with the both of you, especially you, Perk, and I want to tell you something right now. Let me throw myself on Front Street, we can sit up there and make fun of me. You know how many damn Finals predictions I got wrong? I don’t give a damn. I mean, I got a whole bunch of them wrong. Ain’t no reason to come on the air and defend yourself. Perk, listen man. You were wrong. And we making fun, and Steph Curry making fun of you. You laugh at that my brother. He got you today. That’s all. He got you today.”

It’s absolutely great advice, and if you feel yourself getting uncomfortable over the fact that you were wrong, stop to realize that’s your pride talking. Your ego. And if people call you out for being wrong, it’s actually a good sign. It means they’re not just listening, but holding on to what you say. You matter. Don’t ruin that by getting defensive and testy.

WORTH EVERY PENNY

I did a double-take when I saw Chris Russo’s list of the greatest QB-TE combinations ever on Wednesday and this was before I ever got to Tom Brady-to-Rob Gronkowski listed at No. 5. It was actually No. 4 that stopped me cold: Starr-Kramer.

My first thought: Jerry Kramer didn’t play tight end.

My second thought: I must be unaware of this really good tight end from the Lombardi-era Packers.

After further review, I don’t think that’s necessarily true, either. Ron Kramer did play for the Lombardi-era Packers, and he was a good player. He caught 14 scoring passes in a three-year stretch where he really mattered, but he failed to catch a single touchdown pass in six of the 10 NFL seasons he played. He was named first-team All-Pro once and finished his career with 229 receptions.

Now this is not the only reason that this is an absolutely terrible list. It is the most egregious, however. Bart Starr and Kramer are not among the 25 top QB-TE combinations in NFL history let alone the top five. And if you’re to believe Russo’s list, eighty percent of the top tandems played in the NFL in the 30-year window from 1958 to 1987 with only one tandem from the past 30 years meriting inclusion when this is the era in which tight end production has steadily climbed.

Then I found out that Russo is making $10,000 per appearance on “First Take.”

My first thought: You don’t have to pay that much to get a 60-something white guy to grossly exaggerate how great stuff used to be.

My second thought: That might be the best $10,000 ESPN has ever spent.

Once a week, Russo comes on and draws a reaction out of a younger demographic by playing a good-natured version of Dana Carvey’s Grumpy Old Man. Russo groans to JJ Redick about the lack of fundamental basketball skills in today’s game or he proclaims the majesty of a tight end-quarterback pairing that was among the top five in its decade, but doesn’t sniff the top five of all-time.

And guess what? It works. Redick rolls his eyes, asks Russo which game he’s watching, and on Wednesday he got me to spend a good 25 minutes looking up statistics for some Packers tight end I’d never heard of. Not satisfied with that, I then moved on to determine Russo’s biggest omission from the list, which I’ve concluded is Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates, who connected for 89 touchdowns over 15 seasons, which is only 73 more touchdowns than Kramer scored in his career. John Elway and Shannon Sharpe should be on there, too.

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Will Women Dominate March Madness in 2024?

“Recognizable names matter. They are what draw interest from casual fans and keep them coming back. It’s something the men’s game has been missing for a long time.”

Demetri Ravanos

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2024 womens ncaa tournament logo with star players and coaches

Fields for both the men and women are set. It’s time to go dancing in college basketball. The sport more defined by its postseason than any other in America steps into the spotlight this week.

I believe we could see something extraordinary happen this year. While ratings for the women’s tournament climb each year, with last year’s title game setting a viewership record, the men have held on to the advantage. With the two trending in opposite directions though, I am ready to call my shot.

2024 will be the year the final of the NCAA Women’s Tournament overtakes the final for the NCAA Men’s Tournament.

There are bona fide stars in women’s basketball. You know all about Caitlin Clark at Iowa, but she isn’t alone. USC freshman Juju Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers stole their share of headlines too. Hell, LSU’s Angel Reese was in Sports Illustrated’s iconic Swimsuit Issuelast year. 

Everywhere you look, there’s celebrity in the women’s game. Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, and Roy Williams have retired. Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey are better known than most men’s coaches now. Geno Auriemma may be the last true icon left coaching in college at all.

Recognizable names matter. They are what draw interest from casual fans and keep them coming back. It’s something the men’s game has been missing for a long time. The best men’s teams somehow seem extra anonymous this year. It’s not to say there aren’t good players. I just don’t really know their names or what they look like.

I’m not just touting star power here. There are trends that say this very well could be the year the women take over. Last year, while LSU and Iowa were setting the good kind of records, UConn and San Diego State were moving the men’s final in the opposite direction.

There were a lot of reasons for the ratings drop on the men’s side. That lack of star power is big, but so is the lack of brand power. San Diego State is a mid major program. UConn may be a blue blood, but it’s a blue blood from an area of the country that doesn’t dedicate a ton of time to college sports. Coming off of a 2022 final that featured Kansas and North Carolina, a ratings drop of only 15% should maybe be celebrated.

Right now, there are major brands in women’s college basketball that are doing a lot of winning. South Carolina is the overall top seed. Clark, a brand all her own, has lead Iowa to a number one seed. Last year’s champ LSU will be a high seed as will schools with big, nation-wide fan bases like Texas and Ohio State.

ESPN also creates a real advantage for the women. The network has devoted a lot of attention to Clark’s records and to South Carolina’s undefeated season. It’s all in service of synergy. Yes, other networks may have some games, but the biggest event in the sport is on ESPN and ABC, the networks that put its stars front and center.

Conversely, the men’s tournament is spread across four networks that don’t show very much regular season college basketball. CBS starts airing doubleheaders on Saturdays beginning in January. TBS, which will carry the Final Four, doesn’t show any college basketball. Neither do TruTV or TNT.

I like the way the quartet covers the men’s tournament. I think the broadcast crews (now that Jim Nantz is out of there) are great and I enjoy the energy Charles Barkley brings to the studio show. I do not think for a second that CBS or the WBD networks are doing anything to hold men’s college basketball back. What I think is that the game itself is in a stage where it could use a central network acting as hype machine and broadcaster.

Audiences have proven over and over again in the last 18 months that there is an appetite for women’s sports on television. ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro makes no secret of the fact that he believes it is the best opportunity for ESPN to find new audiences. 

It may only be for one year. It may not even be a huge lead. Everything just feels like it is moving in the right direction for it to happen though. That’s why I’m calling it now. The NCAA Tournament will be the crown jewel of what has already been an extraordinary season for women’s college basketball. 

This will be the year that the women’s final overtakes the men’s final in the ratings. If ESPN is lucky enough to get Dawn Staley and South Carolina against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the championship game, we could see a number it takes years for either final to top.

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The NFL Leads the Way With the Most Stars Turned Television Analysts

This could become the new normal in these sports, we’ll see how sports executives adjust in this ever-changing media climate.

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Photos of various sports broadcasters who were former athletes

Last week the NFL league year began, thus free agency started around the sport. And with that we watched the reports on television as tons of years and millions of dollars were thrown around.

Andrew Brandt, former Green Bay Packers General Manager and current professor at Villanova Law, is a great follow on X. Brandt does a great job translating NFL contracts, and what they really mean.

What does that have to do with sports media? Well, I was thinking how after a star or known NFL player or coach retires, the immediate thought is ‘what network could bid for his services?’ We saw that this off-season with Bill Belichick and Jason Kelce. I would not be surprised if the recently retired Aaron Donald gets mentioned.

However, this is not the same in the other major sports. Let’s take hockey out of it for a second, because there seems to be an established guard around the sport. Most of the same analysts that work for NHL Network and TSN also work for the national U.S based networks. As far as baseball and basketball, it’s rare to see legit first ballot Hall of Famers on the TV screen.

Studio Analysts on National TVMLBNBANFL
Players to Debut in 21st Century308
Players Who Won Championships628
Hall of Famers324

*MLB: ESPN, FOX, TBS

*NBA: ESPN/ABC, TNT

*NFL: CBS, ESPN/ABC (Sunday & Monday Countdown), FOX (NFL Sunday), NBC

Note this chart does not include JJ Watt and Rob Gronkowski who are both likely headed to Canton. Notably on that chart though, you see players from the 21st century are lagging.

Football has multiple advantages. For starters, playing careers are shorter, money is less guaranteed, so more players may look to television. Also, it is one day a week and that’s it. Even with ESPN, their Hall of Famer on their desk is Randy Moss. Moss does not get the same treatment as Ryan Clark, Marcus Spears, Dan Orlovsky or others. The Hall of Fame receiver works only on Sunday NFL Countdown and maybe a feature here or there. The rest of ESPN’s NFL analysts are on multiple shows.

Basketball and baseball are multiple days a week. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal works twice a week for TNT on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the regular season. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley works once a week during the regular season. If you look at ESPN’s desk for the NBA Finals and marquee games on ABC, there’s not one former player. Occasionally you will see Kendrick Perkins, but he is not a hall of famer.

For baseball, FOX’s desk is probably the most beefed up it has been in its 29 seasons. With Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek Jeter, plus segments with 2003 NL Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis, it is one of the most star-studded desks in sports.

However, for FOX we will see that desk twice during the regular season. Once in June during the Mets-Phillies London Series, and in July at the All-Star game. Turner’s desk features 3-time All-Star Curtis Granderson, 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins, Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, and last year they brought in future hall of famer and 3-time MVP Albert Pujols. But for Turner, having a non-exclusive game package, not many will tune in and see that crew until October.

These are not the days when you can get Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver, Bill Russell, and Magic Johnson to do games. I mentioned the NFL’s lack of guaranteed contracts and short playing careers, well the players in the MLB and NBA play more years and have guaranteed contracts, for a lot of money, especially if you’re a top echelon player. That is what makes Tom Brady’s move to the booth so unique, because he could’ve easily chosen the Peyton Manning route where he could pick and choose his opportunities.

The podcast boon in basketball has already seen hall of famers Dwayne Wade and Kevin Garnett leave their regular obligations with TNT to pursue podcasts. League-owned networks also make it much easier. MLB Network and NBA-TV have hall of famers on their roster, but with their networks on every day, they can work around their schedules to get a CC Sabathia or Chris Webber to work in their studios.

During the conference call held by ESPN last week surrounding this season’s upcoming baseball coverage, VP of Production Phil Orlins was asked about the ongoing process of looking at recently retired players and adding them to ESPN. Orlins said “I would say my own personal thing is just trying to figure out how progressive the person is thinking about the game and also how ready they are to work. A lot of times, I’d rather find a guy four years after he’s done playing when he’s figured out it’s really, really time to get to work and passionate about it, than in some cases the guy that walks right off the field.”

This could become the new normal in these sports, we’ll see how sports executives adjust in this ever-changing media climate. All things to keep in mind with Amazon and Apple looking to join the NBA fray soon.

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Nick Wilson is Enjoying Life Back Home at 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland

“It doesn’t mean that other sports towns don’t have this, but maybe the sports towns I’ve encountered don’t have it to this degree.  Clevelanders really take pride in their loyalty to the Cleveland sports teams.”

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Nick Wilson
Courtesy: Nick Wilson

It’s been almost two years since Nick Wilson left a successful run in Charlotte to return home to Cleveland to replace Adam “The Bull” in afternoon drive at 92.3 FM “The Fan.”  Wilson had some big shoes to fill and now the chemistry has been building with Dustin Fox to the point where it has been a seamless transition.

“Now that we’re almost two years in, okay now we can push that throttle a little bit more,” said Fox.  “Now we can see we’ve built the trust and laid the foundation.  Now let’s go ahead and really examine everything we do and see what’s working for us and what isn’t.  It’s been a really fun journey and I really like where we are.”

The scenario that Wilson returned home for was unchartered waters for him during his radio career.  When he moved to Charlotte, he was new but so was his co-host.  When he was paired with a new co-host, he was the established host.  And now after returning to Cleveland, Wilson was the new guy.

It would not have been appropriate to step into the huddle like a quarterback and bark out the signals.

“I couldn’t just come in and be like we’re doing these five things differently and this sucks and this doesn’t work,” said Wilson. “That show had been the backbone of the station for 11 years.  Adam and Dustin did a good show so I didn’t want to disrupt that rhythm for the audience.”

Much like the Cleveland sports fans and the teams they root for, Wilson brings a lunchpail type of work ethic to his show each and every day.  Like an athlete who doesn’t take a play off, a game off or a season off, Wilson goes into each and every show with the same intensity and the end goal to win each day.

And that’s his objective every day when he comes to work. 

“I look at every show as a living breathing entity,” said Wilson.  “You have to treat it with that kind of reverence.  I am in the business of making things as fun as they possibly can be.”

A native of the Cleveland area in Ohio, Wilson was working for his hometown sports station when he made the quantum leap to go to Charlotte for a new and wonderful opportunity to take his sports radio game to another level.  He loved working in Charlotte, but when the chance to come home came about, he jumped at the opportunity.

For Wilson, that opportunity was there because, to steal a line from “The Who”, the new boss was the same as the old boss.

“Andy Roth has been the brand manager since day one,” said Wilson.  “He was the guy who hired me.  He’s the guy who hired me again.  He’s the guy who was very cool in letting me explore the Charlotte option when he didn’t have to.”

Charlotte was good to Wilson, but there’s no place like home so he clicked his heels and came back to Cleveland to talk to his hometown listeners.

“With all due love and respect to the good people in Charlotte, it is much easier,” said Wilson.  “I’m speaking to myself when I’m talking to the audience.”

But coming home still came with an adjustment period of getting used to a new co-host, to make sure the show continued to produce good ratings and to make sure his work life was in concert with his family life.

“It took a hell of lot more energy than I remember it taking either time in Charlotte simply because it was a completely different approach,” said Wilson.  “It was probably at some point in this second football season that I looked around my work and my life mirrored each other.”

And Wilson, being an Ohio native, certainly was aware of the audience he was coming home to talk to.  Cleveland is a very unique and special sports town.  The fans rally around the Browns, Guardians and Cavaliers to the point where it’s more than just fans rooting for a team and sports radio hosts talking to the fans about those teams.

It’s a community effort.

“It’s family,” said Wilson.  “It doesn’t mean that other sports towns don’t have this, but maybe the sports towns I’ve encountered don’t have it to this degree.  Clevelanders really take pride in their loyalty to the Cleveland sports teams.  It’s like your family.  I can bitch about them so you better not say it if you’re not from here.  If you have not lived these wars, I don’t want to hear you talk about it.”

Wilson’s approach each and every day he hosts the show with Fox is to make sure that the audience buys into what they’re talking about.  It’s sports radio but it has to be both entertaining and informative.  You can’t fool Cleveland sports fans so the content has to jive with what the listeners expect.

And that’s what Wilson and Fox deliver on a daily basis.

“My North Star is pretty much I just want to walk out of that studio feeling like I just delivered something that nobody else can but is something that is up to a standard that people can trust and respect,” said Wilson.  “To me, that begins with having fun and being energetic and being on point with what people are talking about at a bar with their buddies.”

And now that Nick Wilson has established that chemistry with Dustin Fox and afternoon drive continues to be the anchor of “The Fan,” there is a buzz as to what lies ahead.

“I’m really excited to see how the next 18 months evolve,” said Wilson.

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