Bill Simmons Wonders Why ESPN Doesn’t Have More Hockey Coverage

by Ryan Glasspiegel – Follow Sports Rapport on Twitter

In today’s podcast with his buddy Jack-O, Bill Simmons acknowledged that he hasn’t been that into this baseball season for a variety of reasons: the relative struggles of the Red Sox combined with his immersion in the NBA and NHL Playoffs. ESPN’s coverage, however, has not been representative of his interests.

Around the 52-minute mark:

Simmons: It’s weird because I really got into hockey the last 18 months or so–especially this year. Turning on Sportscenter–you always hear people complain about ESPN that ESPN buries hockey all the time–and it’s kind of true. I hate to throw a dart at the worldwide leader but you’ll go on SportsCenter to watch the hockey highlights and they don’t come on until like the 35-minute mark of SportsCenter. There was a day the other day, they were showing national league highlights of two teams that weren’t even .500 and they showed like three minutes of highlights from this game and then, like 10 minutes later, they showed the NHL playoff highlights.

Jack-O: I don’t want to be a corporate shill here but don’t they do that for a reason, though? I mean, they must know their audience, right?

Simmons: Well that’s the thing. I was thinking like there has to be some sort of real science to this and somebody must have determined that there’s indisputable evidence that there’s no reason that hockey should go within these first 20 minutes of SportsCenter unless X, X, and X is in play.

Perhaps it is true that the general American population cares more about a relatively insignificant baseball game than the NHL Playoffs–we definitely care more about Jonathan Vilma’s defamation of character lawsuit against Roger Goodell and the Mark Sanchez-Tim Tebow quarterback controversy than both.

Yahoo’s hockey blog, Puck Daddy, had a great discussion about ESPN’s lack of hockey coverage: essentially, it’s a chicken or the egg question. Is there no interest in hockey because ESPN doesn’t give it any attention or does ESPN not give it any attention because there’s no interest?

Or, might it be that ESPN gives more attention to regular season baseball highlights than NHL Playoffs because it has a TV contract with the MLB and not the NHL? As soon as ESPN stopped broadcasting the NHL, it almost entirely ceased coverage.

It’ll be interesting to see whether a potential big-market Stanley Cup between the New York Rangers and LA Kings affects ESPN’s coverage and whether future years will be different.

Trading Dwight Howard is in the Magic’s Best Interest

According to a report by Chris Sheridan on Sheridanhoops.com, the Magic are about to start fielding offers for Dwight Howard:

[A league source says] Orlando is prepared to trade him sooner rather than later.

The source said that when Magic team president traveled to Michigan last weekend to speak in person with owner Rich DeVos, the conclusion was reached that not only was it time for Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith to go, but Howard, too.

Photo Credit: SoRaspy.com

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Did Charlie Sheen Buy Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl Ring?

Jay Glazer heard it, but it’s not yet confirmed:

Got no idea if this is true but if is it’s hilarious. Lawrence Taylor & his agent Mark Lepselter were told last night winning bidder for LT’s Super Bowl Ring was none other than Charlie Sheen!!!

Again, I have no clue if Charlie sheen was the actual winning bid but LT & Lepselter were told he was. If true, wow, so many ways to go here

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) May 24, 2012

Just talked to @marklepster who confirmed they were informed it was Charlie Sheen but they are still trying to confirm it by Sheen’s people

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) May 24, 2012

Photo Credit: technorati.com

The parallelism of this is perfect. The man who has to raise cash because he blasted through his fortune on prostitutes and cocaine sold his Super Bowl ring to someone who will one day have to sell off the ring for the same reasons or die trying.

Pretty please with sugar on top let this be true. Sports Rapport will keep you posted on any new information.

Update: According to Charlie Sheen, he did NOT buy LT’s ring. Via PFT:

There was a report from Jay Glazer of FOX that Taylor and his agent were told that Sheen was the buyer of the ring, which sold at auction for $230,401, but the man responsible for the Torpedo of Truth tour said that there was no truth to it.

“As much as I would be honored to own such an important artifact, I had nothing to do with the acquisition,” Sheen said, via [Dan] Patrick’s producer Paulie Pabst.

So there you have it. I’m not gonna lie, this sort of feels like we were robbed.

If Someone Would Actually Pay $3 Billion for the Yankees, the Steinbrenners Should Take it and Run

by Ryan Glasspiegel - Follow Sports Rapport on Twitter

In today’s NY Daily News, Michael O’Keefe and Bill Madden report that the Yankees might be for sale:

[A]ccording to the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation, the recent sale of the Dodgers to a group that includes NBA legend Magic Johnson is just one reason why the Steinbrenner family may be looking to sell the team, which experts estimate could be worth up to a stunning $3 billion.

“It would definitely be the right time for the family to sell,” said another baseball source familiar with matters involving the league’s owners. “The value of the team couldn’t be higher, but at the same time, it’s an older team in a division with younger teams getting better at the same time a lot of the Yankees’ core veterans are starting to go into decline.”

Photo Credit: New York Daily News

For what it’s worth, Hal Steinbrenner says that the Yankees are not for sale. (Shocking, I know.)

If some wealthy individual or conglomerate would actually pay $3 billion for the team, the Steinbrenners should take that money and RUN.

Allow me to explain.

Recently, the Dodgers sold for $2.175 billion (price quoted from the NYDN report)–at $3 billion, this would mean that the Yankees are worth 38% more than the Dodgers, which would seem to make sense considering that the Yankees have a brand new stadium, already have their own TV network, and a stronghold in domestic and international merchandising. It might be easier if they were just granted a license by the federal government to print money.

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World Wide Wednesday

How I saw the Internet this week

Deep Routes

- Yahoo’s Mike Silver caught up with Tom Brady Sr., who said that he would be “very hesitant” to let his son play football in the concussion era:

“No, not without hesitation,” Tom Brady Sr. said. “I would be very hesitant to let him play.”

Though things worked out for the kid who quarterbacked the New England Patriots to the fifth Super Bowl of his future Hall of Fame career last winter, the elder Brady believes any responsible parent should be reacting to the growing research linking head trauma and degenerative brain conditions with gravity and concern.

“Tommy did not play football until he was 14, because we didn’t think he was physically developed enough to play the sport,” Brady Sr. said of his now 34-year-old son. “It’s the same reason I wouldn’t let him throw a curveball until that age. I told him, ‘If I see you throw a curve, I will pull you right off this field,’ and he knew I meant it.

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Is Jonathan Vilma Insane?

Last week, Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who has been suspended for the entire season amidst allegations that he was a ringleader in the team’s bounty scandal, filed a defamation of character lawsuit against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Per Judy Battista in the NY Times:

The lawsuit, Vilma v. Goodell, was filed in United States District Court in New Orleans. It says, “Goodell, speaking publicly about certain Saints executives, coaches and players, in relation to purported efforts designed to injure players, made public statements concerning Vilma which were false, defamatory and injurious to Vilma’s professional and personal reputation.”

…

The lawsuit contains a blanket denial of the league’s claims about Vilma’s involvement in bounty activities. It said that Vilma was not involved in establishing a bounty system and that he never pledged, made or received payments encouraging, or resulting from, hits that injured opponents. The suit also said Vilma never targeted a player in a way that would violate N.F.L. rules, and that he never paid or intended to pay $10,000 or any amount to knock Favre, Kurt Warner or any other player from a game.

Photo credit: USA Today

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12 Coolest Cartoon-Themed Treats from the 2012 NCA Sweets & Snacks Expo

As I wrote last week in the 15 Coolest Products from the Sweets & Snacks Expo, I was lucky enough to work my friend’s booth at Sahagian & Associates, where we were trying to move yard-long containers of bubble gum, licorice, caramel corn, and taffee. I was like a kid in the candy store for candy stores!

One central theme that kept coming up in conversation at the convention–both in our booth and others–is that there isn’t going to be all that much variance in actual candy and snack products. Sure, there were some innovative items with bold flavors like the Icee Squeezes, milk-flavoring straws, and ketchup potato chips. By-and-large, however, the biggest differentiator for products was their packaging. Lots of people sell gum balls and licorice but Sahagian has built a brand on its unique packaging and is constantly defending its trademark against imitators.

With that in mind, I sought to find products which aren’t necessarily unique but are have package licenses from cartoons and video games, thus appealing to kids. From Duff Energy Soda to Angry Birds Fruit Snacks, find them after the jump:

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Who are the Preakness Horse Owners and How Did They Make Their Money?

by Ryan Glasspiegel – Follow SportsRapport on Twitter

A couple weeks ago, I was watching the Kentucky Derby and I got a text from my friend Dean. “I wish, during the four hours of pre-game coverage for this three-minute race, they would tell us who the horses’ owners are and how they got rich,” it read. “It would make it a lot easier to figure out who to root for.”

After being temporarily upset that he had not had that observation two days earlier when it would have given me time to write a CAPTIVATING piece on the subject, I wondered why this doesn’t exist.

Kentucky Derby Winner I’ll Have Another (Photo Credit: Guardian)

I know almost absolutely nothing about horseracing and don’t particularly desire to do anything about said ignorance. I went to the track once and I cannot describe to you how BORING it was. There was a race like once an hour, a huge status hierarchy among the spectators (neat, you have enough money that you can afford to lose a lot of it at the track, wear nice clothes, AND have a hot trophy wife decked out in a big hat), and I was hungover so I didn’t feel like drinking (which would have been the only redeemable part of the day).

Horse racing is fun for three days a year for the triple crown (and for the Derby it’s REALLY fun). The only bet I ever make on it is during my grandparents’ Kentucky Derby party. My methodology consists of looking at the betting slip for 10 seconds, picking the horse whose name I like best on my initial read through, and jotting it down quickly–the optimal strategy which enables me to get back to DOWNING hors d’oeuvres.

Perhaps picking the owner with the coolest American Dream story might be a better way?

After the jump, find the horses’ owners and, from what I was able to gather, information about their careers. I don’t really care at all about their racing histories–and you probably don’t either–just their business accomplishments. Some of these owners are SECRETIVE and have nary a Google trail. That being said, I was able to get at least a little bit on every owner except for one.

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World Wide Wednesday

by Ryan Glasspiegel - Follow SportsRapport on Twitter

Deep Routes

- Drew Magary profiles Justin Bieber for GQ (never thought I’d see the day where Drew was connected with either of them…). Here’s Bieber’s brand new pimped out ride:

A bit later, someone alerts Bieber that West Coast Customs has arrived with his new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. So now he’s running out to the parking lot to give it a once-over. It took West Coast six weeks to trick out the van, and WCC founder Ryan Friedlinghaus is here to hand-deliver the keys.

The Sprinter is exactly the car that an 18-year-old with too much money would drive. The interior is lined with Alcantara. There are two reclining seats way in back, with bucket seats lining the driver’s side of the main cabin, as in a stretch limo. There are three hi-def TVs, a computer dock, and a fully operational recording studio along the passenger side. All that’s missing is a button that spews out an oil slick, Spy Hunter–style, to foil paparazzi. Bieber’s pals try to guess how much it costs. “Definitely not a million,” says someone. One of Bieber’s business advisers, a woman named Allison Kaye, isn’t wild about the new toy. “Oh, this just screams inconspicuous,” she says to Bieber. No response.

Everyone gathers around as Bieber tours the van. He is euphoric. So much so that he has decided to pledge his loyalty to West Coast Customs forever and to decry its rival, Platinum Motorsport. “Fuck Platinum,” he says. “Platinum can suck a dick, man. West Coast all day.” This is a different Bieber from the one who was imprisoned with me just five minutes ago. This must be the Bieber that Bieber would like to be all the time. His R-rated rant, though, draws a reprimand from Friedlinghaus. “I respect everyone’s business—it’s all love, dog,” he tells Bieber. “Dudes came from my neighborhood, you know what I mean?” Bieber is chastened. “I respect that,” he says. To atone, he invites Friedlinghaus and the entire West Coast Crew into his recording bungalow to listen to the new songs. “I’m 18 years old and I’m a swaggy adult!” he yells. “Come on, swaggy bros!”

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15 Coolest Products From the 2012 NCA Sweet and Snack Expo

by Ryan Glasspiegel  – Follow Sports Rapport on Twitter!

Last week, I was lucky to fulfill every child’s dream and work a booth at the NCA Sweet & Snack Expo in Chicago. Working for Sahagian & Associates, who produce yards of bubble gum, licorice, and caramel corn as well as one-foot tubes of bubble gum, licorice, malted milk balls, jelly beans, taffee, and sour sweets, I spent most of my time on my feet.

While this was pretty exhausting for someone who usually spends all day typing nonsense into a computer, it was all worth it for the SAMPLES. Oh my God, the samples, you guys. Every candy and snack you can think of and thousands that you can’t were represented. This was the candy store for candy stores!!!!

It’s a good thing my doctor’s appointment and subsequent clean bill of health were the week before and not right now. BEATING THE SYSTEM!

Here’s a picture of the Chicago bean constructed out of Jelly Belly’s. If I devoted my entire life to it, I probably couldn’t re-create this.

After the jump, see the 15 coolest products from the convention, including milk-flavoring straws, bacon jerky, and mints packaged inside Nintendo controller.

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