Category: Media

Its Official: Disney Has Bought FOX for $52 BILLION. So What Does That Mean for the Avengers and X-Men?

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Yahoo – After weeks of rumors, the deal is done — Disney will buy up large chunks of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox media empire for $52 billion. The list of what it won’t take is shorter: the Fox News cable channel, broadcast networks and Fox Sports, which are expected to spin off as their own business. The Disney conglomerate adds the Fox movie and TV studios (including big-name franchises like X-Men, Avatar,Alien and The Simpsons), it now has majority control of Hulu, cable channels like FX/FXX and more.

Thats Billion with a B. I’m always a little surprised when giant acquisitions like this actually go through with all the concerns around monopolies. Remember when DraftKings and FanDuel announced a merger last year? Well the United States government disagreed and basically nixed that entire deal. Whoops!

Now onto what everyone cares about from this gigantic deal; the X-Men are finally back under the Marvel umbrella via Disney. It remains to be seen what exactly Disney and Marvel will do with Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, but I am stoked for potential crossovers down the line (and maybe a Fantastic Four movie that doesn’t blow goats).

Its probably a little too late in the game to expect any current X-Men to show up in Avengers 3 or 4 as they bring Phase 1 to an end. Sure, maybe there’s some easter eggs or brief cameos thrown in, but X-Men has a ton of shit already going on they probably need to handle first. There’s the upcoming “Dark Phoenix” movie with my girl Sansa Stark seemingly taking the reigns of the franchise as X-Men does a second take on Jean Grey’s Phoenix character, which they royally fucked up in X-Men 3. *shutters*

Phoenix is slated for a November 2018 release. I haven’t seen much about that one yet, but I’m a huge fan of the X franchise so I’m always juiced for a new one. They’re not always critically acclaimed, but they always do their own thing and take some chances rather than rolling out the same old storylines. They did an entire movie around time travel for christ’s sake in “Days of Future Past.”

There’s also the incredibly intriguing spinoff/horror movie “The New Mutants” coming out in 2018, which the director has already hinted at being a trilogy.

The one thing that does worry me about this acquisition though is Marvel hitting the wrap it up box on the current X-Men universe before rebooting them AGAIN.

Disney/Marvel was not shy about rebooting Spiderman and introducing a third Peter Parker in less than 10 years.

Granted, the GOAT X-Men Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman is allegedly retired from the game so people probably wouldn’t cry too hard if Marvel went in another direction with a new flock of mutants.

Also, good luck fixing some of the inconsistencies that already exist now that both studios are under one roof; most notably the fact that there are two Quicksilvers. One, played by Aaron Taylor Johnson who (spoiler) got gatted in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Then there’s the FOX version of Quicksilver, Evan Peters, who is still alive and well.

So that character will either require some rickety duct tape explanation for being alive (and deciding which actor will actually play him) or he’ll most likely just get kicked to the curb, which is a shame.

I’m sure there are more of these inconsistencies as FOX owned the rights to X-Men, but not all of the individual X-Men characters, which is why garbage spin off shows with fringe mutants like The Gifted and Inhumans even existed in the first place.

All I ask is that the executives over at the Mouse don’t neuter Deadpool. It took years of Ryan Reynolds campaigning to get that movie made the way it was made and it was a goddamn mega-hit. Don’t fix what ain’t broke.

Now give me a Magneto vs Iron Man battle ASAP.

ESPN Laid Off 150 Employees Today. On-Air Talent Not a Part of the Purge.

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Chicago Tribune – ESPN says it is eliminating 150 studio and production employees as the sports broadcasting giant continues to shift its focus to a more digital future. The company says the layoffs, which were announced Wednesday morning in a memo to employees, don’t include on-air talent and will have a minimal impact on the network’s signature SportsCenter news program. The company says it will grow its business in several key areas, including the planned launch early next year of “ESPN+”, an app-based service that will allow viewers to purchase sporting events a la carte. The 38-year-old network has been squeezed by rising fees to broadcast live events. ESPN also has lost about 10 million subscribers during the past six years, based on estimates by Nielsen Media Research. The sports broadcaster has about 8,000 employees worldwide. ESPN laid off 100 employees in April, including some longtime on-air personalities.

The one piece I was hoping to hear coming out of all this was that it would be primarily on-air talent. Not that you ever want to see anyone get fired, but seeing 150 behind the scenes workers get laid off rather than the bloated on-air personalities is a shame. ESPN has clearly gotten too big for its own britches, but axing the camera guy making $30K a year isn’t really going to fix the problem.

Overpaying for live sports broadcasting rights, declining cable subscriptions, and multi-million dollar contracts for hosts of shitty shows is whats dragging the network down. The company continues to reshape itself, but I’m not convinced ESPN knows what it wants to be exactly. Cutting the fat and saying that you want to be “more digital” is like a string of buzzwords you’d expect to hear from the incompetent boss at your 9-5 job, not a billion dollar media empire.

Aside from all the business missteps, the biggest issue at ESPN is the content itself, which is why hearing things like the layoffs “will have a minimal impact on the network’s signature SportsCenter news program” is disappointing. Thats your problem.

SportsCenter used to be the go to show right before bed and again right when you woke up. Obviously it was always going to lose a bit of its luster with evolving technology as everyone now has every score and update right in their pocket. But great content is the one thing people will always come back for. People didn’t love SportsCenter for the score updates, they loved it because Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann were doing something no one had ever done before. They loved it because Stuart Scott was entertaining and legitimately made it *fun* to watch mindless highlights of a Milwaukee Bucks game you didn’t actually give a shit about.

ESPN used to bring the content and the characters, but thats fading now and they’re struggling to figure out the best way to plug the holes. Is it bringing in fresh talent like Katie Nolan? Or maybe revisiting partnerships with the pirate ship they fear most in Barstool Sports? Who knows. What we all do know though is that its going to take a lot more than laying off some production employees and cameramen to get them back on track.

PS – Seriously, RIP to the GOAT Stuart Scott. I met him once while taking a tour of the ESPN campus and he was the nicest guy. Was with his little daughter and still took a minute to stop and shoot the shit.

As He Awaits Trial, Alleged Ponzi Schemer/WFAN Radio Host Craig Carton is Back On the Air…Sort Of.

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GothamSN – Whether or not you love or hate him for his antics, one thing everyone can agree on about Craig Carton is he’s always been someone who’s craved the spotlight…As his former co-host Boomer Esaison said of Carton after he resigned, he wouldn’t be surprised if “somehow someway” Carton was “in front of a microphone again.” Sure enough, here he is once again with a microphone, a platform — and more importantly for someone like him — the attention. For someone facing a long and grueling legal battle to vouch for their supposed innocence, calling Carton’s decision to proceed with launching his own website and podcast questionable would be a total understatement.

Some people just can’t stop themselves. It would seem former WFAN sports talk radio host Craig Carton is without a doubt one of those guys. As he currently awaits trial for allegedly masterminding a ponzi scheme that screwed investors out of millions of dollars, Carton has (probably) told his legal advisors to piss off and is launching his own podcast.

Now is it smart for a guy currently under investigation by the F-B-I

to be all over the internet spewing his thoughts about anything and everything? Probablyyy not. My legal advice would probably be to just shut the fuck up and hope by some miracle you avoid doing jail time. Just pray for a white collar criminal slap on the wrist. I think pretending nothing is wrong and jumping back into the game, which will undoubtedly have your name making headlines (like this one!) at a time when you want to be off the radar is bad for business. I don’t know, kinda seems like a fucking terrible idea.

Maybe he’s just taking a play out of the Lil Wayne playbook: just get so much pre-recorded material in the can, then slowly release it throughout your time in prison so by the time you’re out, its like you were never gone. GENIUS. I changed my mind, Craig Carton is two steps ahead of all of us. I’m all in on Carton’s podcast now. Final answer.

Richard Deitsch Ranks the Top 25 PxP Broadcasters: The 300s Reacts

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Sports Illustrated – We live in a great era for play-by-play voices. The list of quality game-callers is deep and sports broadcasting has become far more inclusive than ever as evidenced by women (Tiffany Greene, Beth Mowins, Kate Scott, etc…) regularly getting play-by-play assignments that have traditionally been the domain of men only.

Given the quality of talent among play-by-play voices, I thought it would be a fun parlor game to list the 25 best working play-by-play broadcasters in the business. This list is entirely subjective. It is entirely based on my likes when it comes to professionalism, preparation and quality of broadcast. I expect to be told on social media that the list sucks.

While Deitsch admits that his list is subjective and that he expects to get pushback on social media, he won’t get much pushback from me. His list is more than fair and includes a wide range of broadcasters from a wide range of sports. Still, I’ll add my two cents.

23. Phil Liggett, NBC Sports

The soundtrack for the Tour de France in the United States…

22. Mary Carillo, The Tennis Channel and NBC Sports

A play-by-play caller who is unafraid to deliver truths while calling a match…

A cycling announcer and a tennis announcer right out of the gate had me concerned about the direction of this list. Where’s the Boston Marathon announcer going to be ranked?

18. Sean McDonough, ESPN

McDonough continues to be criminally underrated. While he currently handles Monday Night Football and college basketball broadcast duties for the worldwide leader, he was also a terrific college football and Major League Baseball broadcaster. Arguably the best Boston play-by-play announcer of all time.

17. Brad Nessler, CBS

Love listening to Brad Nessler. I feel like my dad watching an Oilers/Bengals game in 1990.

14. Chris Fowler, ESPN

The best tennis match caller working today. There are better on college football but he’s improved each year at that gig, too.

I’ll give Deitsch credit, he is showing more respect to non-Big 4 sports than I would on my list. But I still miss listening to Brent Musburger on big-time college football games. Fowler is ranked too high for my tastes.

13. Gus Johnson, Fox Sports

Would probably be higher on this list if he stilled called NCAA Tournament games. It’s a shame we don’t get to hear him on CBS (or TBS) in March any more.

10. Joe Buck, Fox Sports

Perennially underrated as a baseball voice and he’s self-deprecating on the mic, which is welcome.

I agree with this statement 100%. Not the best in the business, but not deserving of much of the criticism he receives.

9. Kevin Harlan, CBS, Turner Sports, and Westwood One

I respect a broadcaster who will do play-by-play of a drunk fan on the field during the fourth quarter of a lousy Monday night game.

4. Ian Eagle, CBS Sports, Westwood One, Tennis Channel, YES Network

The highest ranked Sunday afternoon NFL broadcaster on the list and I don’t disagree. Though his partner, Dan Fouts, might need to be the next analyst to get pushed out the door when Peyton Manning decides to get back in the game.

2. Al Michaels, NBC Sports

Still the gold standard for the NFL—and still going strong at age 72. He’ll call his 10th Super Bowl on Feb. 4, 2018.

From the Olympics to the World Series to the Super Bowl and everything in between, Michaels is perhaps the best of all time.

1. Mike Emrick, NBC Sports

I did not expect to see a hockey broadcaster at the top of this list but it is well deserved for the Doc. No other sport and broadcaster go together better than Emrick and hockey. Hell, Emrick does minor league and college games when the NHL goes into lockouts. That’s dedication. I can’t imagine Mike Tirico announcing a Northeastern basketball game the next time the NBA has a lockout.

What are your thoughts? Tweet at us @The300sBoston

 

Donald Trump Makes it Clear He’s a “Merry Christmas” Guy

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This guy is a big dumb animal, but even when its unintentional, he really is fucking hilarious.

“Well guess what, we’re saying Merry Christmas again.”

I mean he’s the ultimate example of “stick and move,” and “deny, deny accuse.” Just smokescreens everywhere. Oh Puerto Rico’s fucked? We’re saying Merry Christmas again. Boom. Huh? Russia? Well did you see these sons of bitches in the NFL? Misdirection strategy like you read about.

Not exactly a master politician, but as the director of the biggest reality TV show the world has ever seen? The guy is goddamn aces. Dude just puts on a show like he’s a talk radio host. Trump is basically Howard Stern at this point.

Assuming we don’t all get nuked to hell before he’s out of office, there’s one thing I know for a fact. And it doesn’t matter whether your a democrat or a republican. TrumpTV will be the highest rated thing in the history of entertainment.

Craig Carton Just Resigned from WFAN

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So after last week’s wild story of Craig Carton getting a visit from the FBI for allegedly running a multi-million dollar ticket scam, he resigned from WFAN today. What a wild situation to find yourself in. As a guy who appreciates a good contrarian in my local sports talk radio, its unfortunate to see a dude submarine his own dream job. Looks like Boomer Esiason is going to need a new co-host for one of the most popular sports talk shows in the country. Gary Tanguay was on WEEI this AM throwing out rumors that Fred Toucher could be Carton’s replacement. Gonna be an interesting story to follow, thats for sure. Carton’s full statement below:

“For 10 years I’ve had the great privilege of showing up to work every day at my dream job. I have nothing but love and respect for my co-host, the show and the entire CBS Radio family and I’ve always tried to represent them in the best possible light.

Unfortunately, the unfounded legal issues currently plaguing me will only be a distraction to everyone at WFAN and the show I helped build. With that in mind, I have submitted my resignation to the station and they accepted. I am sad to see this chapter of my life close but know that it will allow me to focus on my family, my well-being and clearing my name, while giving the show the best opportunity to succeed without further disruption.

I’ve always felt a personal connection to our listeners and want to thank them for making me a part of their daily routine. I hope they can respect the fact that as much as I want to talk about the allegations against me I can’t at this time. There will come a time when I will be able to speak directly about the case and I hope our listeners will be there.

From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank my family, friends, listeners and especially the executives at WFAN and CBS Radio for their continued understanding and for giving me the most amazing platform to do what I love to do the most, besides being with my family.”

 

Craig

Introducing The 300s Sports Journalist Power Rankings

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Sports Journalist Power Rankings? This needs to happen plain and simple. I’m sure pro athletes, for all the money and fame they have, are sick of a lot of shit. Primarily dumpy white dudes in their fifties deciding which players are the best and the worst.

 

YES, give it to me CJ. But in the meantime, lets take a crack ourselves. I present, The 300s Sports Journalist Power Rankings.

No. 1 – Adam Schefter: The perennial GOAT at the position, has remained at the height of his powers for several seasons now and we see no slowing down in sight. What he lacks in pure height, Schefter makes up for in tenacity and tweeting speed.

No. 2 – Adrian Wojnarowksi: How many writers can claim to have truly added their mark to the English language? Wojnarowski has done just that with the creation of “Woj Bombs” to categorize his breaking news tweets. While currently residing at No. 2 in our annual power rankings, we predict a battle for the top spot with Schefter as early as next season.

No. 3 – Jay Glazer: His stock has only been on the rise since a recurring role on HBO’s Ballers. Glazer lacks the lateral quickness to cover multiple sports, but is an alpha dog where the NFL is concerned.

No. 4 – Buster Olney: The thinking man’s ideal player. Olney is always one step ahead of his competition and has used that skill set to reach the top of the profession.

No. 5 – Stephen A. Smith: One of the bad boys of the league, Smith excels in his instigator role. But as a well rounded player Screamin Stephen A. is still well tapped in around NBA circles, landing him the No. 5 spot on our Power Rankings.

No. 6 – Al Michaels: A fan favorite for not only his well versed play by play, but his late game not-so-subtle references to gambling odds, spreads and over/unders being blown.

No. 7 – Bill Simmons: While leaving the worldwide leader forced him to make the Sophie’s Choice of axing his baby in Grantland, Simmons is still one of the most powerful names in sports journalism. With a heavy hitter umbrella of podcasts, Simmons is looking to bring The Ringer to a similar prominence. Bonus points: Getting Ben Affleck to go apeshit defending Tom Brady on his HBO show.

No. 8 – Peter Gammons: Gammons is still a productive player, a savvy veteran leaning on reputation alone to get the job done, but as an aging former all-star his days atop the power rankings are likely limited.

No. 9 – Matthew Berry: The definition of a role player on a championship winning team. Berry sticks to Fantasy Football, but he does it better than anyone else in the league. As a role player or a 6th man off the bench Berry provides immense value.

No. 10 – Skip Bayless: The closest thing to Lance Stephenson in the realm of sports writers. A player who’s sole job is to irritate the competition, Bayless is unmatched, which is why he closes out our Top 10.

 

How’d we do? Tweet us who you think should’ve made the list @The300sBoston