‘Wilbon With An Uppercut … Down Goes Bayless!’
Uncategorized June 12th. 2007, 3:11pm
Once upon a time, one of the guys we long-admired in the field of journalism, Mike Wilbon, answered an email we sent him. We were wondering if he’d be down with an interview. He was nice enough, and responded to send a few questions over. Then we never heard back. Bummer.
It’s not as if our questions attempted to steer him in the direction of bashing any of his ESPN counterparts … something he did on his own in Monday’s Chat House. Wilbon took the gloves off and did what 90 percent of journalists have wanted to do for years: he floored Skip Bayless Clueless:
Charleston, S.C.: Were the recent comments by Butch Harmon good for Phil, good for Tiger, or good for Butch? I opt for the latter.
Michael Wilbon: I don’t see insulting Tiger as being the way you want to go about boosting Phil. Now you can see why Tiger parted company with Butch Harmon. Butch is out for Butch…which is just fine. He’s great at what he does. But sort of throwing down the gauntlet and challenging Tiger…How’s that worked out so far for people who’ve tried it? Phil isn’t a chest-thumping, I’m-here-to-kick-your-butt kind of guy. Skip Bayless suggests nonsense like this on ESPN all the time…It’s about the dumbest thing imaginable. Phil needs to just go about getting back to where he was before the meltdown a year ago at the U.S. Open…I think Harmon can help get him there, but quietly. Let sleeping Tigers sleep…if they ever do.
The next time Jemele Hill turns up on that new Cold Pizza show, she should totally nudge this potential Wilbon-Bayless feud along. ‘Skip, it’s like PTI’s Wilbon said, you’re always suggesting such nonsense.’
Chathouse (Washington Post)
33 Responses to “‘Wilbon With An Uppercut … Down Goes Bayless!’”
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June 12th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Does anyone respect Bayless?
I mean, honestly, he and Woody Paige are cartoon characters at this point.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Bayless is shockingly decent when he fills in for Rome on the radio. But he’s absolutely atrocious on Cold Pizza/1st and 10/Around the Horn/insert crappy ESPN-talking-head-show here… And Woody Paige ever collecting a check from any “reputable” media outlet is beyond amazing.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Bayless is a hack…always was always will be…what’s sad about Woody is there was a time (a long time ago) that Woody was good at what he did. He was a good reporter and a good columnist. Then he went to the WWL and turned into a hack. I think Bayless rubbed off on him.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
gotta love it when Wilbon gets upset
June 12th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I met a girl who worked/works (not sure anymore since the move) for Bayless and here comes the shock, he is still a douche off camera. Shocking to say the least. Never expected that. Anyone else believe that. I thought so. Like all WWL personalities they turn to crap in front of the camera.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I love Wilbon, but the only thing that bugs me is that he takes any slight against Tiger as a personal insult. In toss up he always takes Tiger vs the field. He still HATES Sergio because he said something about beatin Tiger ten years ago. He can be a pussy.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Guess I don’t see the big deal here. He attacks the suggestion that Phil is a butt-kicking competitor. It’s OK to attack comments or ideas, he’s not resorting to ad hominem. True, he is a bit over the top and hyperbolic about it, but that’s what sports pundits do. These guys (and ladies) love to argue (none of that around here, I’m certain). But, again, he didn’t call Bayless dumb, just his comment (and that is how you are supposed to handle it). So kudos to Wilbon. Nothing to see here imo.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
2 shows i can’t watch - the new and old cold pizza and around the horn. i actually think that when kellerman ran it, it was more under control.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Walfredo: Bayless is “surprisingly decent” when he fills in for Rome? Hmm? I disagree but I guess that is mostly because I wouldn’t refer to Rome as decent either. But I haven’t listened to his show in about two years. I would also say that most sports radio isn’t that good, but Rome would be near the bottom of my list regardless.
MtotheP: “In toss up he always takes Tiger vs the field.” Dude, Tiger wins something like 30% of the PGA events he enters. While that’s not ideal odds, they’re pretty good betting odds.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Bayliss is just another example of a guy who gets air time because he’s a blowhard. Now if they would just take that stupid Cold Pizza or whatever its called now off the air too. What a waste of the airwaves.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Bayless is a repressed flamming sissy - out to smear any and everybody. In other words - FUCK HER!
June 12th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Lemme ask everyone something… what would you rather see on ESPN2 from 10 am until 2 pm? Is there something you have in mind you’d rather see? First Take is a good morning show, not everything can be wildly entertaining… it serves its purpose, so enjoy it or dont watch the show…
June 12th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Skip Bayless is an idiot! I stopped listening to him when he claimed that Jerome Bettis shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame. The 5th leading rusher of all time not in the Hall of Fame. Give me a break. His “reasoning” was the lack of pro bowls. God what a clown. Take Screamin A. Smith, Bayless, Stuart crazy eye Scott and all the rest and send them to Alaska for 5 year story on ice. Did anybody see the guy moon the camera during the belmont pre race. Pretty funny listening to Kenny Mayne say “we don’t need to see that here.” Well we dont need to watch Sports Center and see anchors trying to be comedians. Olberman, Patrick, Kilborn were the good days. Now ESPN news gets my viewing. Peace
June 12th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Bayless, Marriotti, & Paige are a waste of flesh.
June 12th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
PTI is the perfect show. Both guys are awesome. Gotta love Wilbon and Kornheiser
June 12th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Cold Pizza/First Take is like watching paint dry.
June 12th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
“PTI is the perfect show. Both guys are awesome. Gotta love Wilbon and Kornheiser”
Just get Kornheiser OUT of the NFL booth.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
I think that’s the nicest thing Wilbon’s ever said about Skip.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
My roomate and I like to turn on first and ten and see which one of us cracks first and either calls bayless the dumbest man on television or turns the channel. Our personal best is 4 minutes.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
@J2B: I actually like Reali a lot. My problem with ATH is that the two main regulars offer up such atrocious analysis. Mariotti is the Platonic ideal of of the superficial, knee-jerk, yell-all-the-time crap I hate about sports debate. Woody is just a clown with no real legitimate points.
I don’t think Plaschke is horrible on the show, but Fire Joe Morgan has killed him so many times that I can’t take him seriously.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I like Wilbon and Kornheiser as a team. Kornheiser by himself… not so much. Wilbon is always enjoyable, either to read or watch.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Sounds like a drinking game, matt - nice
June 12th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I hear that ESPN is going to move Cold Pizza to 12:30 until 12:45 PM and call it America After Lunch.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
There’s a reason we refer to him as Skip Brainless…
How his brother (Rick, a chef who owns the 2007 Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant winner and has a successful line of food products, has a PBS show, etc) managed to come from the same parents is beyond me.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
The problem with a show like First Take or whatever they call it now, is Bayless refuses to ever agree with anything the other person says. Patrick McInroe could say that Florida is, in fact, east of Idaho and Bayless would find some way to argue that. Dude is a moron and I have to add him to the list of guys I wonder why ESPN employs…
Stephen A. Smith
Jon Barry
Steve Phillips
Jon Kruk
Woody Paige
etc. etc. etc.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Dang, I was expecting something harsher from Wilbon.
Skip Bayless is a joke.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Woody Paige was NEVER a good columnist.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
The thing about Skip is, why the hell is he covering sports? Because I have never, ever heard or seen anything positive about sports come out of his mouth or pen. I read his columns at page 2 for 6 months then just stopped clicking on them, because no matter what, it was absurdly negative. Even if I happened to agree with him on an issue, I still couldn’t get through a column without wanting to slug him. I’m not saying people should have rose colored glasses about sports to cover them, but you should at least have some visible appreciation for them, otherwise you’re just a hack doing a routine for money.
“I don’t think Plaschke is horrible on the show, but Fire Joe Morgan has killed him so many times that I can’t take him seriously.”
So true…to hear him on AtH, then read his moronic columns begs the question: is he the first person ever to have his journalistic abilities showcased in a better light on TV than in his newspaper?
June 12th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Okay, lets get this party started. Mike Wilbon is one of the few journalists with any credibility left on ESPN. When the ESPN bash machine starts he’ll actually say “IF allegations are true” rather than how to deal with the criminal involved.
All they need to do is stop the screaming, it negates any positive contribution to any debate. Skip Bayless as the non-caricature is a solid analyst, and Stephen A Smith gets real inside scoops on certain topics-trade demands, for example. Maybe this works in talk radio for people who want to be stressed-out or boiling hot, but I’d like to think sports fans need less drama in their lives;The love of sports isn’t for more pain, it is for escape.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Bayless and Paige are both schtick-driven hacks. But, at least Paige seems to do it with a wink. Bayless takes himself and his opinions so seriously. I think he’s even worse than SAS, if that’s possible.
June 13th, 2007 at 2:39 am
Unfortunately, Jemele Hill is EVEN WORSE than Skip Bayless (if that is even possible). At least Skip will say some off the wall sh*t you have never heard before. Hill just says the exact same BS that every other analyst before her said. She is downright horrible.
June 13th, 2007 at 5:45 am
Bayless is not only a hack, he’s also a carpetbagger. At least Mariotti can actually write.
I can hardly watch anything on ESPN anymore unless it is an actual game.
I can’t even watch Sportscenter. I heard some clown call an NBA highlight of a three-pointer with “Pronation, rotation, revelation.” Are you serious?
We need a new book– How ESPN Ruined ESPN.
June 13th, 2007 at 6:36 am
I’m from the San Jose area and Clueless used to write for our paper. He’s horrid and it was a sincere good riddance when his ass left town. All hail Wilbon!