By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

We’ve had to push back the Shots Sabbatical (see prior post) to allow for this entry featuring an email back and forth between Shots and Michael Wilbon regarding Wilbon’s recent on-air at ESPN comments regarding Kimbo Slice specifically and mixed martial arts in general.

After a Friday afternoon email from Shots, Wilbon responded late Friday and then was also good enough to follow-up with a Saturday night email too.

OPENING EMAIL FROM SHOTS:

Mike -

Sorry to bother you. [An ESPN PR person] said it would be okay to contact you [via this email address].

I’m wondering if you could expand on your comments about Kimbo Slice from (Thursday’s) “PTI” show. It seems like you were making some pretty bold statements and I’m wondering what you have to back up your claims.

Anything you have will be helpful.

Thanks in advance.
David Scott

Wilbon Response #1

David…Sorry it took me so long to get back to you…I’m getting this at home and not at my desk in the studio…I don’t have all the details here at home but we had a story about the scurrying around to get a replacement for Kimbo’s opponent…I called the whole thing a fraud because of that and because of the way Kimbo went down…just as I’ve called prize fighting, which I covered for years and loved, a fraud in some instances…like Evander Holyfield fighting for a title these days…Holyfield fighting for such a thing and the division in general suggests a fraud on the consumer…So does scrambling around like rats to find a last-second opponent for Kimbo, then the alleged star of the division being knocked around like a rag doll by some relative nobody…As a columnist I would never let that slide. There was a whole lot going on there which raises suspicion, and I read now where there’s an official investigation of the whole thing…It smacks of an exhibition, not a competition…MW

SHOTS REPLY:

Thanks Mike. Appreciate the response.

I’m far from an MMA expert – or even a fan – but the criticism I’m reading of your comments seems to stem from A) you’re not well-informed about the sport (for instance, the difference between EliteXC and UFC) and B) you’re dismissing the fact that 4.3 million watched the fight – a very respectable number and far better then hockey or soccer for instance. (That number is what MLB is averaging on TBS for the first round of playoffs, in fact).

I guess I’m asking if you would be so dismissive and condescending to the NHL? Or MLS? Or Arena Football?

Can you see where MMA fans and supporters would be a bit outraged and perturbed? Can you also comment on whether or not you would use such harsh terms with a “mainstream” sport?

Have you received a lot of correspondence re: this subject? Seems like the MMA fans are pretty protective of their sport. . .

Thanks again for your time.

Wilbon Response #2

Hi David…Believe me, I expected the criticism. But while I appear on TV 5 days a week I’m a columnist. Tough stances are what we do. I don’t need to be well versed in MMA to watch and listen and make an observation. And, I don’t care if 20 million people watch. Millions watch professional wrestling but that doesn’t mean we don’t question the outcome. The number of people watching makes it popular and well received, but doesn’t mean the event is above question. I’m not paid by MMA. I don’t care how many people watch. Why is my making the same observation about boxing, which I do know tons about and have covered and criticized, ignored in this discussion? And ANYBODY who watches “PTI” knows I have ripped (as well as praised) every single sport out there, from the NFL to MLS to NBA to the NHL to Arena Football, etc. I’ve ripped apart folks whose events get a whole lot more than 4.3 million people watching. So while there are plenty of valid criticisms of my opinions, pulling punches on various sports ain’t one of them. Whoever makes that criticism either isn’t familiar with my work or has an agenda. It’s bull*&^@ and can be completely refuted by simply pulling five tapes of “PTI” (or five of my columns) from the last 7 years. Anyway, in terms of the amount of criticism that might be coming my way, that seems to be something that people who do TV and critique TV really care about. I could care less. I’ve written a column for 18 years. I’m sure you know this ain’t the first reaction to something I’ve written. It’s their right and I encourage the give and take. But if angry readers were going to move a columnist off his mark he and his work wouldn’t be worth a damn. So if the MMA folks are upset they’ll let me know. It won’t be the first dust-up, nor the last. I think it’s a fascinating study, though, the way people apparently think now that their criticism can back people down who criticize something they love. Sorry. Not here. I don’t mind in the least the give and take with fans of whatever sport it is voicing their opinion…Conversation has to be a two-way street… In Atlanta people get upset because I call Atlanta the worst sports city in America. They write. Some scream. A very few agree. I build my argument, make my case and people accept or reject it…But it’s not like I’m going to run and hide because people send some angry e-mail…Are people in media that gutless now. If people don’t think 28 years of covering sports gives me some knowledge and insight they’ll stop watching/listening/reading. I guess we’ll see what happens over the next few days when I return to the show Monday…But thanks for engaging in the discussion. Sorry to ramble. Don’t hesitate to correspond in any case…Take care. MW

. . .It’s pretty clear to us that Wilbon is not being reckless with his words and is well aware of the impact his comments can have. His explanations are backed up well and really the only gripe we can come up with is that there is no way Wilbon would ever use such strong language (suggesting the fight was fixed) with one of the four major sports or – worse yet – a valued partner of Disney.

His other points are well taken;especially that he is a columnist – both in print and electronically – and in that role he excels like very few of his peers. It’s what makes “PTI” wor especially when he is with The Original, Tony Kornheiser.

• This note got mistakenly dropped from Friday’s column. Our apologies:

One of the best PR folks in the market, CN8’s Senior Public Relations Manager Robin Moleux and her husband Doug (owner of Northern Lights Entertainment), welcomed their second son to the world on September 8. Colin Andrew Moleux wweighed in at a John Carchedi-esque 6 lbs, 6 ounces. Big brother Jackson is reportedly already putting together a pitch for a new CN8 show called “Brothers Out of Bounds.” Congrats, Mama Moleux and the clan.

• This one confounded us the most over the weekend: In one sentence of this Frank Dell’apa follow-up in the Globe on Bob Cousy being let go by Comcast SportsNet, The Cooz claims he was being paid “what they spend monthly for office supplies.” Later, Dell’apa reports “. . .Cousy, who said he received about $50,000 annually from Comcast, will continue to work for the Celtics on a personal services contract.”

Fifty G for 10 games and (probably) some CSN goodwill appearances? That’s a heck of a lot of Post-it notes, Cooz.

Fact is, it was a cost-saving measure and yes, it was handled poorly by CSN who did its best to gloss over (and then downplay) the news of Cousy’s separation. But there isn’t a good way to justify that expense for 10 games of air time.

• Caught two seconds of Who’s Better Than Butchie Stearns on WEEI 850 AM on Sunday and we quickly switched after he reported on “Fred Smerlas’s buddy Jim Haslett’s St. Louis CARDNIALS” pulling an upset.

Sure would be an upset if a baseball team beat a football team.

Who’s better than you, Butchie? Just about everyone.

. . . Except WBZTV’s Steve Burton who wasted no time in creating must-miss TV with pink-toned Steve “DeAwful” DeOssie on “Patriots Fifth Quarter” Sunday night. So exasperated and flustered was Burton with the Pats’ loss, he could barely get words out of his mouth.

Come to think of it, that silence was the best part.

Brutal. Just brutal.

• And on that note, The Sabbatical begins in earnest.

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. and can be reached at shotsATbostonsportsmediaDOTcom.

Scott’s first book, with Memphis Coach John Calipari, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2009.