ESPN yesterday moved to discredit a N.Y. Post report that quoted anonymous “insiders” who blamed the N.Y. Daily News’ Mike Lupica as the main reason the net is canceling “The Sports Reporters” in May after a 30-year run. In an email sent to reporters yesterday afternoon, ESPN President John Skipper is quoted as saying, “The story suggesting that the decision I made about the future of The Sports Reporters had anything to do with Mike Lupica is completely inaccurate. Mike has been a constant throughout the show’s long history and played an important and constructive role in the difficult transition following the tragic death of his good friend and long-time host John Saunders.” Using anonymous sources, the Post’s Page 6 story described Lupica as a “total diva,” adding that he was “abusive to people and mean to the staff.” The story also quoted anonymous insiders as saying that Lupica, who became the show’s host after Saunders’ August death, did not adapt to that new role (John Ourand, Staff Writer).
HEY JONESY! ESPN today announced that it has re-signed play-by-play announcer Mark Jones to a multiyear deal. Jones, who has been with the network since '90, regularly calls NBA games airing on ABC on Sundays, as well as NBA games on the flagship cable net. He also calls special NBA events such as the All-Star Celebrity Game and Summer League. Jones also handles several of ESPN’s college basketball and football assignments. Jones was represented on the new deal by Headline Media Management CEO Lou Oppenheim, whose firm last week was acquired by ICM Partners (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
SCRAMBLING IN THE POCKET: In San Jose, Jon Becker notes ESPN NFL analyst Steve Young is in the "midst of defending himself after a profile in Bloomberg Businessweek portrayed him as focused on finance rather than football." In the profile, Young said that he "only spends an hour or two at the stadium each week doing preparation" for his "MNF" analyst role. Young added that he may have "stepped away from ESPN years ago if it wasn’t for his private equity partners, who convinced him his network TV job can boost business for their firm." However, Young "insisted some things were taken out of context and has apologized to ESPN." Becker notes Young is "good at his ESPN job and the network has quickly come to his defense" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/15).
SEE YOU IN COURT: The AP's Christopher Weber noted tennis commentator Doug Adler has filed a wrongful termination suit against ESPN after he was fired by the net over a "remark about Venus Williams during the Australian Open." Adler "maintains he was describing Williams’ aggressive style last month as 'guerrilla' tactics and not comparing her with a 'gorilla.'" He "apologized for his poor word choice but was let go from ESPN mid-tournament." The lawsuit "calls for punitive financial damages, but doesn’t name an amount" (AP, 2/14).
