Media Notes
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Writer Lauds ESPN For "Outside The Lines"
Piece On Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov |
SI.com's Richard Deitsch in his weekly feature named ESPN's John Barr and Willie Weinbaum as his "Studs" for last week for their "OTL" feature on Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, an "alleged Russian mobster under indictment for fixing two skating competitions" at the '02 Salt Lake City Games. Deitsch: "Such enterprise reporting costs money and resources, and ESPN deserves credit for investing in such a story." Meanwhile, Deitsch in his "Duds" section noted ESPN last week pulled a proposed podcast between ESPN's Bill Simmons and U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL). ESPN VP/PR Josh Krulewitz: "Fans don't expect political coverage on our air." But Deitsch noted it is a "bit of a strange decision given that ESPN has allowed some of its personalities to offer politically-charged commentary in other venues," including Emmitt Smith and Stephen A. Smith (SI.com, 4/21).
TRIPLE OPTION: On Long Island, Neil Best reviews the three new afternoon shows SNY debuted last month. "Daily News Live" is the "most level-headed" show on the net, while "Wheelhouse" is the "opposite, trying too hard to be edgy and dominated by grating squawks from [co-host] Scott Ferrall." The net's "most promising" show is "Loud Mouths," which has a "jazzy score, a cool set and nice chemistry" between co-hosts Chris Carlin and Adam Schein (NEWSDAY, 4/22).
PARTNER PROMOTION: In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes ABC's Jeff Van Gundy during Saturday's Suns-Spurs game was "persuasive pitching his broadcast partner [Mark Jackson] for the Knicks' coaching job." But Van Gundy may have "other motives" for supporting Jackson for the position, as that would mean "more yacking time, and a two-man booth" for Van Gundy. Meanwhile, Raissman asks, "If Jackson is hired to coach the Knicks, will he immediately quit his ABC job?" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/22).
RACING IN THE DARK: In Toronto, Norris McDonald wrote under the header, "TV Fumbles History-Making Race." With the IRL Indy Japan 300, which IRL driver Danica Patrick won for her first victory, running in North America on Saturday night, McDonald wondered "why TSN ... didn't use that alternate channel it has on Saturday night to show me a race that turned out to be historic" (TORONTO STAR, 4/21).
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