Thursday, December 07, 2017

Blind Item #9

This former morning show head is going to "step down" after a certain winter sporting event. If his name comes up before then, he won't be allowed to set his own terms. Same for the person who was demoted at the same network.


19 comments:

  1. Bob Costas. 2018 Olympics. NBC already has issues with his vocal opinions on football

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  2. Mike Tirico. The harassment accusations against him at ESPN were known when NBC hired him.

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  3. I heard this morning that Tirico is going to pick up more time at the Olympics since Lauer is indisposed (the new NBC roast revelations look entertaining, by the way), which seems odds if they're preparing to cut him. I think Tirico got accused of harassment something like 20 years ago, went through the apology/demotion process, and worked his way back up. It wouldn't really be fair to whack him again for it, unless he's been a bad boy again.

    Costas would be delightful. Keep your politics in your pocket, you hack.

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  4. Costas isn't a hack and politics have no place in sports.

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  5. Bob Costas has never been a morning show head. @.robert, agree that Bob Costas is not a hack. The man's a walking sports encyclopedia. However, disagree that politics have no place in sports. Sports has, at times, been ahead of its time in politics and been a shining example (but not always). See Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe.

    I think Darkmyst got it.

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  6. Does Costas on the Radio count as head of a morning show? it didn't specify tv,radio,podcast,public access

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  7. Bob Costas is not a hack. I think it was BayAreaGirl who said Costas is a walking sport's encyclopedia and he is!! I think he's one of the better sports commentators out there.

    It is wise to avoid religion and political discussions at ALL times unless you are in a church or political setting. JMO.

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  8. what a bummer if it is bob costas, i had hoped he would have been one of the good ones.

    his pink eye debacle during sochi (was it sochi? I cant remember) was kind of hilarious, loved that he joked about it. hope its not him! uugh

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  9. LOL NBC Sports isn't mad at Bob Costas because he said anything about politics. They're mad because he said that football is bad for your brain, which is a fact.

    Doubt it's him, though.

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  10. I think I put that poorly. I was saying Costas should keep his politics in his pocket, not Enty or a commenter. He has occasionally gone on a rant about something outside the sporting event, using the captive platform. That's why I called him a hack. There's no doubt he knows his sports history, though.

    It just occurred to me on a second read that Tirico could be the second person mentioned. There was some weirdness last year when the NFL didn't want him on Thursday Night Football where everyone expected to see him. Maybe they were wary of the old harassment charges. Anyway, from today's reports, it sounds like he told NBC he'd been clean since then, and NBC said he'd better be or else.

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  11. @Cail, keep in mind that Bob Costas' came from baseball reporting, which has a very long & rich history with politics (good & bad). Watch Ken Burns' "Baseball." Also, when I was a kid, South Africa was banned from the Olympics due to Apartheid. And there was the US & Russia's respective boycotts of the 1980 & 1984 Olympic games. That's pretty political. For as long as it has been a platform, sports have always been political.

    I think the second network figure who was demoted is Brian Williams--though for different reasons. Probably why it was a demotion vs. termination.

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    1. that's true @BayAreaGirl...also I remember reading Costa's book on salary caps in baseball which seemed like a good idea at the time

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  12. @Carolyn, you're right. NBC and the NFL are really upset about the concussion comments. Despite all the ink spilled on the anthem protests, I think the concussions and life threatening injuries will be the downfall of the NFL. If you've ever seen a Hall of Famer in real life, it's actually really sad. Even the rich ones are a shell of their former self. There's been a steady decline in Pop Warner enrollment over the last decade.

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  13. It's Jim Bell. Former TODAY show exec who moved to sports after the botched firing of Anne Curry.

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  14. Yep, Jim Bell. It seems he knew exactly what Matt Lauer was up to all along, and may have even helped him and helped cover up the behavior and squelch the complaints. Jim Bell is the Bob Weinstein to Matt Lauer's Harvey.

    Jim Bell is the chief of the Winter Olympics coverage and it might be too late to replace him, but if proof gets out before the games start, they won't have any choice.

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  15. For levity:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfrcIfLKvWc

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  16. I forgot allll about Jim Bell. Hence, is that the thought of NBC too, that everyone else has forgotten too? Interesting...Betcha Ann Curry hasn't forgotten. ;)

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