Brace Yourself, Denver: Woody’s Comin’ Home!
Uncategorized November 3rd. 2006, 2:03pm
Remember when we brought you those rumors in early October about ESPN’s Woody Paige retreating back to Denver? Despite Woody’s best attempts to deny it all, it has come to fruition: It’s official, Woody Paige is leaving New York and headed back to Denver to rejoin the Denver Post:
After taking his act to Broadway for a little over two years, Woody Paige is returning home and to our sports pages as a columnist. As many of you know, Woody went to ESPN where he became a bit of a phenomenon on Around The Horn and Cold Pizza. But Woody has repeatedly expressed a desire to return to his “first love” of writing. That yearning only grew and we began discussing his possible return about two months ago. I am happy to report Woody will rejoin The Post on Dec. 1. He also will retain a relationship with ESPN as a regular on Around The Horn, which will be filmed in the ESPN studio we built near the design department.
But the most interesting portion of this memo to the Denver Post staff is what isn’t there. Wither Cold Pizza? Clearly, this is the final nail in the coffin of the dreadful First and 10. But unless Cold Pizza plans on beaming in Woody via satellite to spar with Skip Bayless, one would figure that come Dec. 1, the world will have rid itself of their senseless, mid-morning screaming matches. As for Cold Pizza itself, mum’s the word in Bristol.
A quick eulogy about Bayless, since his days at the network appear numbered. First, the guy mercifully gets his Page 2 column yanked, and now his wingman is running back to Denver. What’s next, Skip? As someone pointed out to us last night when we heard the news, Bayless is the sports journalist with a thousand lives. He’s had pits stops in Chicago, Dallas, San Jose, and now ESPN; one of our ESPN sources compared him to NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer (Cleveland, Washington, Kansas City, San Diego). He’s decent during the regular season, but you just know he’s going to fuck up in the clutch.
We imagine a few NFL press boxes will be setting up pools this weekend with everybody throwing a $5 spot in the hat with guesses as to which out-of-touch Sports Editor will be foolish enough to take on Bayless.
Cold Shoulder to Cold Pizza (Sportsjournalists.com)
More Messages: Turning another Paige (Westword: The Latest Word)
5 Responses to “Brace Yourself, Denver: Woody’s Comin’ Home!”
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November 28th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
as someone who actually lives in Denver, I can tell you is actually pretty popular around here, even if he doesn’t make sense all the time. fuck all you woody haters, you all must be really sad to pick on a guy like that, you know our world has actual villans to rip into, like our prez. the fact you alll have nothing to do but rate entertainers is truly revealing into how sad you all actually are.
November 29th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Boy, you got that wrong on most counts. Cold Pizza will be in the Frigid Zone if Woody isn’t on and Mr. Bayless gets the boot. What else does it have to offer? Point and Counter-Point always works. Woody and Skip make a whole lot of sense — more so than many of other sports shows that border on boredom.
I’ve been a print journalist for most of my career and now concentrate on the Internet since most of my freelance income comes from horse racing, racebooks and websites after retiring from The Miami Herald in 2000 after more than three decades as an editor, copy editor, writer and columnist.
In fact, I edited Skip Bayless years ago when he wrote sports in the West Palm Beach bureau of The Herald before moving to the LA Times. He had a way with words then. Like most people in this business, he took advantage of opportunies when he moved on.
So wise up to the real world. Many journalists switched to broadcast journalism because that’s where the money is. The written word is passe until it appears on the Internet.
December 5th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
We will miss Woody on Cold Pizza. He an Skipp are the Abbott and Costello of the Sports scene. Maria and Ray.
December 5th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
I was wondering why First and 10 and Cold Pizza both SUCKED Lately and now I know why, I was hoping Woody was just on vacation, but alas, the show is over as far as I’m concerned.
December 7th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
I too was hoping that Woody was on vacation. Then I was able to catch ATH and saw that he was back in Denver. I understand, Woody, I would rather be in Denver anyday. But I will sorely miss you, and will no longer wait to watch Cold Pizza.