Watchdog

I wrote a column Friday about clutter in the sports media marketplace in which I quoted Jamie Horowitz, the ESPN executive behind the controversial "First Take" and a guy whose job it is to create more shows for the network.

Horowitz is a smart, interesting fellow, so it is worth quoting more of his thoughts than I could fit previously. (These are comments from a lunch we shared...

Ray Lewis announced Wednesday that he plans to retire after this season, so it came as no surprise Thursday when SI.com reported the future Hall of Fame linebacker is bound for ESPN’s cast of a thousand former jocks.

All good. Lewis is almost as compelling as a talker as he has been as a player, complete with smoldering intensity and deep thoughts. Therein lies what should make his studio...

On Wednesday, Rob Parker took to his Twitter account (@RobParkerESPN) for the first time since Dec. 13 and issued this apology for his comments about Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III"

"I blew it and I’m sincerely sorry. I completely understand how the issue of race in sports is a sensitive one and needs to be handled with great care. This past Thursday I failed to do...

Was Rob Parker’s "First Take" take Thursday questioning Robert Griffin III's credentials as a black man moronic, offensive and just plain silly?

Of course it was. He even introduced many of us to a brand new term, "cornball brother," that we were better off not knowing.

The thornier question is whether Parker, a former Newsday columnist, deserved to be suspended by...

ESPN suspended "until further notice" Rob Parker, a panelist on the debate show "First Take," in the wake of controversial comments on ESPN2 Thursday about Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.

"We are conducting a full reivew,'' the network said.

Parker, reacting to an article in which Griffin discusses how he is viewed in racial terms, called him "a...

Tim Tebow has faded into near invisibility on the football field. Now it appears the Jets’ backup quarterback will fade from view even on the television network that has followed him most obsessively.

Sports Business Journal reported Monday that ESPN president John Skipper recently told producers to back off on a network-wide fixation with Tebow that for months has drawn criticism both inside...

Manny Pacquiao got knocked out and fell face-first on the canvas, courtesy of a Juan Manuel Marquez right hand to the kisser on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Witnessing that shot on HBO pay-per-view didn't have to cost viewers any money either -- and no, we're not talking about illegal streaming online.

All viewers needed to do was be awake after 1 a.m. and tuned into ESPN's SportsCenter,...

In "You Don’t Know Bo," the ESPN "30 for 30" that premieres Saturday night after the Heisman Trophy show, Bo Jackson comes off as a blend of confident jock and humble regular guy, part of his unique charm.

At 50, he mostly is a private person these days and largely is unknown to young sports fans. But the documentary reminds us of the cultural phenomenon he once briefly...

Just to be nice, I waited a minute into my conversation with Mike Tirico Friday before asking him about the status of his "Monday Night Football" partner, Jon Gruden, who has been and will be linked to assorted coaching jobs.

"Call Jon, he's a big boy, " Tirico said, good-naturedly, considering how often he has addressed the subject.

"In all honesty, I've said...

There is no more incendiary figure in sports media than Skip Bayless, about whom Charles Barkley memorably told Dan Patrick last year, "I hate Skip Bayless more than any person in the world."

Most people do not get quite that worked up about ESPN's "First Take" agitator, but Barkley hardly is alone in his vocal disapproval of Bayless, among whose biggest claims to fame...