Skip Bayless this morning made his final appearance on ESPN's "First Take" before leaving for FS1, and he addressed his departure at the outset of the show. Talking directly to the camera, Bayless exhaled and said, “Man, it is actually here. My last day on ESPN before I move on to my next endeavor. This is my last day at this debate desk in this studio after nearly 12 years on this show, 23 years on various shows on this network. On this show, I've gone from that crazy Woody Paige in New York City on ‘Cold Pizza’ to my man right here, Stephen A. Smith on ‘First Take’ in Bristol, Connecticut. ... We have had a great run against all odds on this show, and I am so proud of what we built here." After the musical intro to the show, Bayless and co-hosts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim were seated at the table and Bayless thanked Smith for appearing on the show because he “had to battle to get back here, a long hard trip from Oakland,” where he covered the NBA Finals. Smith said, “I had to come by and say goodbye to my brother, you know that. I’m here” (“First Take,” ESPN2, 6/21).
NOT GOING QUIETLY: CNN MONEY's Tom Kludt noted Bayless has spent recent years "rattling off all the reasons" why LeBron James "will never equal" Michael Jordan, the topic that has become the "defining take of Bayless's take-filled career." James on Sunday "seemed to deliver a death blow to all of those talking points" by leading the Cavaliers to the NBA championship after being down 3-1 in the series. However, Bayless "kept it up" on "First Take" yesterday, insisting that Cavaliers G Kyrie Irving's contributions "were more valuable" than those from James. Bayless even was "dismissive of James's crucial late block" on Warriors F Andre Iguodala (MONEY.CNN.com, 6/20). Author Jeff Pearlman clearly did not agree with Bayless, writing on his Twitter feed, "Skip Bayless is an embarrassment for those of us who work in media and hate people thinking all we do is scream and fabricate opinions." Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith asked, "When Skip Bayless says something dumb, is it better to point out how dumb it is, or to ignore it and not give him the attention he craves?" (TWITTER.com, 6/20). ESPN's Scott Van Pelt after Sunday's Game 7 addressed James' critics, saying, "It is time to find a new ax to grind if you have made your living ripping him" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 6/20).
DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU: ESPN Radio’s Ryen Russillo and Danny Kanell yesterday talked about Bayless' departure after a caller referenced a tweet from the show's official Twitter account. Russillo referenced Bayless' attack on James by comparing to a position "where I kept saying like Tom Brady was the worst of all-time, and there’s really a lot of evidence that tells you he’s not the worst." Russillo said, "If Le Batard wanted to come on and say, ‘I can’t believe Russillo said this,’ or ‘Mike & Mike’ can’t believe Russillo said this, I would be okay with it. I may disagree with them, (but) I would be okay with it. The problem is when you disagree with Skip, you’re not allowed to, and then he gets mad at you about it. So like, nobody wants to deal with it. That’s why when the LeBron stuff comes up, if you’re going to be so clearly doctoring the results to keep pushing you don’t like LeBron or you don’t think he’s any good, then go ahead and keep doing it because it’s clearly great for business. But you can’t get mad at other opinion people for being like, ‘Well, that’s just insane and I don’t even know if you believe it.’” Kanell asked, “Isn’t there a time, too, when you just have to go, ‘I was wrong?' Isn’t there a time? And it’s probably not after the NBA Finals when LeBron just was so dominant.” Russillo: “You’re right, Danny, but it’s not good for business. ... Business is good, so I respect that part of it. But we’re all big boys, we all say stuff, and all of us, because we’re opinion guys, disagree with each other all the time. But when you disagree with Skip, it gets handled a different way and a lot of us are just like, ‘Whatever.’ So that’s why we never bring it up.” Kanell: “Well, we don’t have to worry about it anymore” (“Russillo & Kanell,” ESPN Radio, 6/20).
