Schrutebag’s Sincere Apology
Uncategorized April 9th. 2007, 8:34pm
It seems as if the national media is slowly getting hip to the Schrutebag scandal, just in time for a significant update: he apologized on air today (very last few seconds). As someone noted in the comments earlier, the apology is about as sincere as a freight train, and it sounds like it came from ESPN or Disney, which is probably looking to cover its collective ass in case we decide to file a lawsuit. Do you realize how bananas that sounds? A week ago, were just another sports blog with some bandwidth and a voice; now we’ve got lawyers pressing us to file a lawsuit and readers urging us to take this to the FCC. Wild stuff.
In case the audio doesn’t work, or magically disappeared: “… last Thursday’s show, I said something dumb about a sports internet site. Ill-considered, shouldn’t have done it. Certainly sorry and it won’t happen again. Best of luck to the guys who own the site, who we don’t know, but wish well.€
Even highbrow Salon has weighed in on this debacle. The most puzzling link we received, however, was to this 2005 media awards rundown where the Schrutebag was named the Personality of the Year by the normally-sensible Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated.
As for us, we’ll huddle with the lawyers to talk strategy, and in between breaks, resist the urge to look at potential Friday Night Light spoilers, which supposedly can be found on this link. You’ve been warned! And if all else fails, we’ll challenge Mr. Radio to sports trivia, arm wrestling or a pop culture test, but only if he’s willing to fly to DC and compete with us on the Blog Show.
(Re: Photo - yes, we’ve gotten more of these childish images. And we laugh at every single one of them. This one, of the Schrutebag eager to chomp on some dung, really had us in stitches.)
58 Responses to “Schrutebag’s Sincere Apology”
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April 9th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Hey, good luck with the legal stuff. Please take this a-hole down for us civilized folk who know the difference between right and wrong. There are too many of these jackasses who get paid to spew out garbage, and he’s done something that can make one fewer of them.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Great comeback from your blog. Always enjoyed visiting your site and could not figure what had happened last week. Turned over to ESPN [like Mike and Mike/Patrick/Sports Bash [Coleman etc] skip this nit-wit unless he has a guest host while he is out basking in his great wealth of broadcasting ability and there he was in all his glory about crashing this no-name site. Still no clue from me as I dont rate this little baby a no-name until he made mention of the BigLead and that he would then put them on the map. Oh well would guess most of his listeners cannot read yet so probably did not help you folks much. Keep up the good work best read of my day.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Great to see this issue is getting pub. Don’t let Schrutebag bring you down to his level. Talk Radio is filled with these brainless controversy-mongerers like Rush, Stern and Imus. After pulling a (publicity) stunt like this, they then offer their token apologies. Theyre NOTHING without these cheap publicity ploys.
Just be the best sportsblog TBL can be.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
What the hell was that? That wasn’t anywhere near an apology. “Oh, BTW, I said something about someone I don’t know and not sure and sorry and won’t happen again and all that…” That is the kind of apology I gave when I was in elementary school and I was shamed by my parents or teacher for something I did that was wrong. I was embarrassed, so I just beat around the bush. I would talk quite a bit for a while, and then sneak in a half-assed apology to make up for it. Classless…
It really shows the class of this guy. And yes, do talk to your lawyer because I will tell you this. This sort of thing could start to happen everywhere. I had never really thought of shutting down a site in this way until now. I could see this sort of thing start to crop up during political elections. I can easily see some yahoo like Rosie Odonnel or a special interest group like PETA or the ACLU getting on their highhorse and encouraging everyone to flood a site whose they might not agree with.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Not to keep lathering your ass, but I discovered such stellar sites as Kissing Suzy Kolber, Deadspin and a host of other blogs through TBL. I hardly bother with ESPN anymore.
Thanks for making me less productive at work.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
We’ve had our issues TBL, and even though you haven’t responded latley, or thanked me yet I’ll still tell you that I support you on this (crazy, I know) and I’ve flooded Mr. Schrutebag’s myspace page and ridiculed him for being such a cock about this whole thing, and I’ve even gotten positive responses from people I dont even know about it, so they like ya, they really like ya. You guys may hate me (I expect it) but you know me and I’ve done you good… and thats exactly the kind of impact I’m known for.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
He hates myspace, so why would he have a page. Someone probably just made one up mocking him…. moron.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Go TBL!!!
If you could not get monetary reward in a settlement take them up on kicking this douche straight in the sack.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Sue his ass… Please sue his ass…
You’ll get a five-figure settlement to go away, which you definitely deserve…
April 9th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Hey Andy have you checked to see if he has one? No? Then shut your mouth cuz it exists dumbass.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
You should demand a week long assignment with Erin Andrews as part of your settlement.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
man, that apology’s almost worse than him not doing anything at all. what a tool.
any word about ESPN punishing him? the ombudsman said something about zero-tolerance, which, to me, implies termination (of his job, though if Jack Bauer were around…). though from what i’ve read, sounds like he’s gonna get a nothing more than a slap on the wrist if even that.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
“…where the Schrutebag was named the Personality of the Year by the normally-sensible Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated.”
_____
Deitsch also gave an A+ grade to the horrific Super Bowl XLI pregame show by Cirque de Soleil. Maybe he’s losing sense by the little as the years go by.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
ESPN is trying to sweep the whole thing under the rug. Cowherd is apparently not being punished because there was no policy relating to the offense at the time. Even Le Anne Schreiber, the Ombudsman, seems to have stopped with a watered-down, biased article vindicating ESPN for the incident. It’s a shame, because she is a brilliant, convincing writer and could make this the much bigger deal that it should be. Instead, she’s allowing the management at ESPN to ignore it after giving a generic, meaningless response about a new “zero tolerance” policy. If Cowherd believes in karma, he should be very careful crossing streets for the rest of his life.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
I cannot believe that whining little douche has any listeners at all. I have heard him say that he is wildly popular and has a huge following (talk about giving yourself a blow-job). You could put anyone in that time slot and they would draw huge numbers. Even googley-eyed Stu Scott could draw listeners during that early morning slot. Thanks for the great blog and if you get the chance, rabbitt punch him in the ovaries for me.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
“the normally sensible Richard Deitsch????????” The guy’s a dope who has to be on the take. Just another example of how far Sports Illustrated has cratered………
April 9th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
How many more hits has this site gotten the last few days? You should be thanking this douchebag. (By the way, there’s nothing here worth me sticking around–I’m not sure why this guy targeted you other than you’re a perfect example of a boring MOR blog with nothing to say)
April 9th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
thanking the schrutebag? yeah, thanks for that illegal action you took against a sports blog who never said anything to incite this idiot. thanks, cowherd, for being an asshole who isnt truly sorry for his actions. i hope he gets fired for being a tool.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
You’re the one who took the time to write a message on the site that “isn’t worth you sticking around,” so the joke’s on you. I wouldn’t be suprised if it was Schrutebag himself leaving messages.
April 10th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Yeesh. What a total asswipe. And that’s on a good day. I think the Schrutebag vendetta should continue.
April 10th, 2007 at 12:17 am
id go so far as to say that jr has never written a blog, nor does he/she understand the nature of writing a blog. big deal if site traffic has upped since schrutebag’s comments. the purpose of writing a specialized blog is not to attract everyone in the world. its to get your message to a select audience, and to give them a quality source to find the news that they are interested in. who cares if some asshat cowherd listener visits a site that they have never seen before, or one they dont care about. i would rather have a smaller audience, who accepts my message, and understands my motives for putting out blogs. just because traffic has expanded on a site doesnt mean the site is more popular, or a more reliable source. take care of your own, and cater to the people who come for the message. screw all the jerks who blindly follow cowherd, espn, and any other “big guy.” us little guys could give a shit less
April 10th, 2007 at 12:50 am
You people are hilarious. Who cares if his apology wasn’t sincere? Any publicity is good publicity and you have it now. I wouldn’t have visited this blog if I hadn’t heard it on the radio, and I have to say, its pretty lame.
April 10th, 2007 at 1:00 am
my advice is this — if you can get a lawyer to work for nothing but whatever cash settlement you win, i.e. free if you don’t win, you almost have to do it. if lawyers think you have a case, go for it.
you’d be taking a stand for blogs everywhere, and if the lawyers are doing 99 percent of the work and it costs you nothing, why not? guys will think twice before getting all their info from sports blogs without giving credit.
April 10th, 2007 at 1:57 am
I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again. This ordeal has had more positive than negative consequences for the blog. I like Cowherd and will continue to listen to his show, but I will also read this blog from time to time. I like the material I read on here. If it wasn’t for Cowherd, many readers would have no idea that this blog even existed. As a result of having more readers, you can charge more for advertising and help grow your base and relevance to the blogosphere.
April 10th, 2007 at 3:47 am
I had never heard of the site until the controversy. Maybe it will serve as some good pub for you guys.
April 10th, 2007 at 3:57 am
I’ve already emailed the big lead, but I’ll say it again.
After reading Scheiber’s piece, she allows ESPN Radio management to speak, but not Shrutebag. The only comments we get from Shrutebag is from last week when the attack occurred. Those comments contradicted his earlier claims that this attack was random.
“We don’t even know thebiglead…We apologize — just don’t screw with us.”
This quote is what bothers me the most. Shrutebag claims he doesn’t know the big lead, yet “just don’t screw with us.”
Nowhere is there an explanation to what Shrutebag meant by those comments.
ESPN Radio’s comments were there to placate all those who complained about Shrutebag’s actions without Shrutebag having to explain them himself. “Zero Tolerance” my ass!
P.S. Anyone think jay The Most Hated is Marriotti?
April 10th, 2007 at 3:59 am
Hmm..A Ryan left a comment. Ryan Lindsey used to be the shrutebag’s producer.
“I have heard him say that he is wildly popular and has a huge following.”
300+ affiliates will get you that “huge following.” It’s a clear case of over-saturation.
April 10th, 2007 at 4:03 am
Any more puff pieces about cockroaches like Panda Marchand and your site will go down again. You’re smarter than that. Don’t get duped by spineless weasels. Stay alert………
April 10th, 2007 at 4:14 am
Suing him or ESPN would be idiotic and ultimately fruitless. In the end it would make ESPN try to control and restrict what their other on-air talent is able to say by placing restrictions on them and policies, etc. in the end hurting us (the majority) that actually enjoy listening ot the other talent such as Mike and Mike and Dan Patrick.
This situation is actually kind of funny. Do you honestly think that attacking ESPN or Cowherd would get you anywhere? He is obviously in a much higher position than you, with the ability to do alot more damage than you. Yes, he could have taken the high ground and ignored your site and what you have to say but it was too easy not to. You should take this situation (i.e. the exposure of your site) and use it to your advantage to reach more people.
April 10th, 2007 at 4:57 am
I have to apologize I went out to the site after listening to Colin last Thursday, more out of sheer curiosity than any type of malice. I didn’t realize that it would crash your site, it was the first time that I have heard of it. However, after being able to view it, I am going to bookmark it. Great Stuff!
April 10th, 2007 at 6:04 am
Get over yourselves. If you put yourself out into the public domain you have to be be a big boy and take whatever comes your way and take it like a man. All of you were probably picked on in your youth. Just the thought of ‘legal action’ is comical.
April 10th, 2007 at 6:17 am
To the people hating on this blog…why are you here? Why bother commenting? You coulda just checked out the site to see what the hoopla was all about, decided it was “lame,” and just left.
This blog has its own niche and (I presume) a loyal following which enjoys the writing and media coverage/interviews. Keep up the good work TBL. You’ve become a daily stop in the mornings.
April 10th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Give it up, guys. You’ve had more hits since Cowherd did this than you could ever dream of. This is a blessing and you know it.
April 10th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I’m sure Coward and his ass munching fanboys are reading this…
Hey Coward, the Steelers won the SB because the Seacocks were awful and Holmgren was awful, you douchebag, and stop ripping off Jack Nicholson’s speech patterns.
You’re a fraud.
April 10th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
I run several small sites and I don’t know what you guys are complaining about. You got free pub (I’m here for no other reason), and traffic is traffic. I understand killing a shared server sucks, but you guys were nobody’s until last week. Thank him over and over, and try listening to the herd, its a great show.
April 10th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Sure, it’s a blessing, and if you can get some money out of ESPN, it becomes a bigger blessing. Hallelujah!
April 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Glad to have you back, TBL. I’ve been coming to the site and enjoying your roundups, interviews, and unique take on sports news ever since I saw your interview with Whitlock. To the extent Schrutebag’s douchey stunt brings you additional readers who enjoy the site and contribute meaningfully, that’s great. I just hope the moronic, mouthbreathing Cowherd fanboys eventually decide to go back to their midget porn or whatever other sites they think aren’t “lame” and stop wasting space in the comments section.
By the way, the idea that Cowherd should be immune from criticism because the “hit” he put on TBL gained you more exposure strikes me as akin to saying a rape victim should thank her attacker for helping make her more “experienced.” Douches.
April 10th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
This website sucks. That is the dumbest picture I have ever seen. Colin Cowherd is the best radio personality that ESPN has.
April 10th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Wow, just wow. O.K., to the shortbus special readers kicked this way by the cowturd; guess what? Prior to his most recent asshattery, I had never heard of the cowturd, either. The writers here have 10x the talent and professionalism as your beloved turd leader. I certainly wouldn’t ever consider giving him a try now. So yes, this will be a net positive for TBL, and I would bet it will cost cowturd more than a few present and future readers. Guess what geniuses, that doesn’t make what cowturd did right or O.K. And about the legal action; what exactly do you think would be happening if someone on the radio or other media were to very publicly incite its audience to crash ESPN.com and succeeded in bringing it down for 2 days? Think the legal department at the wwl might have anything to say about that? I can’t believe the moronic mentality that thinks it’s OK for ESPN because they are too big for anything to be done about it. Please sue. I agree with the above poster that a quick settlement would appear on the civil side. The relevant authorities will have to decide whether to pursue it criminally.
April 10th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Doc
What about what Leitch did to ESPN converstation when he sent his readers to destroy it. They had to shut it down. Where was your outrage then, Doc? They drowned it with comments that had nothing to do with the article.
Cowturd should be fired, not matter what
April 10th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Cowherd is a cocksucker, and so are all of his listeners.
April 10th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Rim,
I had no outrage because I wasn’t aware of it. But you essentially agree with me it seems. An action is right or wrong independent of who the actor is. I would not say it is O.K. for the smaller blogs to try something like that, either. Also, is Leitch associated with TBL? I honestly don’t know. The point there is that the smaller sports blogs are not interchangeable. TBL is not responsible for the actions of others.
April 10th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
But TBL knew about it and I think they even linked or wrote about it. But, if they didn’t I apologize to them. I do know a lot of blogs who are screaming now, knew what Leitch did and they were okay with it. It does not even come clsoe to justfying what Cowturd did. But is it not wrong in both cases and both should be taken to the woodshed for their actions.
But I guess a lot of the smaller blogs are scared of Deadspin and will not call them out on anything. I guess what is good for the goose (ESPN) is not good for the gander (deadspin).
April 10th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Rim,
Again, I agree. It’s wrong in both cases.
April 10th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Isnt the the same guy that dissed the US military outright?
April 10th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
“But TBL knew about it and I think they even linked or wrote about it.”
So fucking what if they did?
Deadspin’s readers — without prodding from Will, unless you count a simple link to a story as “prodding” — utilized a feature on ESPN’s site. That doesn’t violate federal law, which makes it radically different from Cowturd’s actions.
In any event, it’s idiotic to say one blog linking to another blog that’s linking to ESPN is the same thing as some talk radio asshat misusing public airways to intentionally crash a site that did nothing whatsoever to him. I’m sure TBL can show the monetary impact of Cowturd’s actions (lost ad revenue, probably increased hosting costs, etc.). Even if TBL “knew about” Deadspin’s link to ESPN’s comment section, how in the fuck did that harm ESPN’s bottom line?
By the way, I commend TBL’s measured response regarding Cowturd. Now sue his balls off.
April 10th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
There are people coming in here saying that TBL should take the free pub and forget all else. I’d personally put ESPN’s accountability to the law as the higher priority over readership. However, if publicity is in fact an issue, wouldn’t it make MORE sense to turn around and sue ESPN?? You’d continue to be the David taking on Goliath.
Anyway, great site guys, I’m fast becoming a regular reader!
April 10th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Mariotti? Go F yourself, lohur. Just because you hate him and his name is jay doesn’t mean that jay The Most Hated is him. You simple minded folk need to be weeded out.
April 10th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Hey short dick,
I know the reason you responded to me is because you like rim jobs, but if you keep cussing at me you might get something else.
April 10th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Way too many guys who call out specific things about Schrutebag’s show. That means you are a listener and he doesn’t care if you love him or hate him as long as you listen. Obviously, most of you love to listen to him because your giving him just as much pub as he gave you. Quit crying out loud and keep the site focused on your sports info or you become just as big of a tool as you say he is.
April 10th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Wow. With all the slamming on this site It’s not worth coming back. I came here because of Cowherd, but with all the negative attacks it isn’t even news. Just a bunch of crap. I’ll just go back to listening to his radio program. Best of luck with your website.
April 10th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Do all you blogger dorks relaize that all you are doing is giving this guy what he wants….PUBLICITY? Ignore him, he goes away. No sponsors, no ratings No Herd. You are feeding the monster. Then again you guys are brilliant blog guys making a huge living off writing free copy. BRILLIANT!
April 11th, 2007 at 4:17 am
jay The Most Hated-
Simple-minded folks are pissed that you would lump me in with them! They’re demanding an apology. They said the weed will suffice.
My guess is that you are sensitive because Marriotti isn’t very talented. Oh, and I first thought you could be Marriotti because of your Freeman post.
April 11th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I’m not sure what Freeman post you’re referring to… and I’m not a fan of Mariotti, I dont read him and he annoys me on ATH. I remember being referred to as him before, I guess that was you as well… but no. So I guess I’ll just go smoke a blunt and be a part of the simple minded group, at least for about an hour.
April 12th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
The Herd on ESPN Radio and it’s host Colin Cowherd, will never be taken off the air. Its a money thing. His rating are enormous and his job isn’t to do just sports radio. Like he has said a hundred times, he’s paid to be interesting, he is. He’s very interesting. I don’t agree with him blowing up your site, don’t get me wrong. It was wrong, and he should pay some form of consequense for it. But for people to say his listener’s can’t read or are “cocksuckers” proves the point. He gets a reaction out of you, he’s doing his job. I listen to Mike & Mike and Dan Patrick as well as The Herd everyday. I don’t listen to the Herd for sports, but for comedy. The Herd= best show on radio. Cowherd= best personality.
April 13th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Cowherd is funny? I find this to be completely untrue. In fact, I am amazed when I do listen (which is very seldom) at how pedestrian his sports and pop culture intellect is.
The guy’s rating are not that great. They are strong in some markets, and less than stellar in others. Trust me, ESPN will be watching closely because this guy is easily replaceable.
I seriously doubt he will be an employee of ESPN within a year. I am sure he will get canned, and tuck tail back to Portland or some other mid sized municaplity to torment listeners with his nonsense/high pitched complaining on an afternoon drive show.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:30 am
Liberal nuts. He may have crazy views, but atleast he is interesting.
WOW. I do think he should have giving the blog some props, but in retrospect atleast you had a voice in radio.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:51 am
I like this web-site. This is the first time I have been here. We should not foucus on what he says and enjoy his views. Do I always agree? Not a chance. But it is his time to voice his views. Live with it or get over yourself. It’s a choice to listen. Turn it off if you don’t like it. Hate on me if you want, I don’t care. I will lsten to an view even if I don’t like it. Again, I think this publication (TBL) does deserve it’s props though.