Sources inside the Worldwide Leader tell us that the NBA Shootaround team is the latest casualty in the ESPN bloodletting that is being characterized around the Bristol campus as the “End of the Boo-yah Era.”
In a deal that is nearing completion, host John Saunders, along with analysts Greg Anthony, Tim Legler, and Stephen A. Smith are being kicked to the curb. The new team, sources claim, will consist of Dan Patrick, Mike Wilbon, and Mark Jackson, the trio who worked together on ABC last season.
While the new team isn’t cast in concrete yet – i’s must be dotted and t’s must be crossed on Wilbon’s deal – Saunders, Anthony, and Legler will be reassigned to game coverage, sources say. Nobody’s exactly sure what will become of Smith. Suffice to say, NBA viewers won’t be forced to sit through another night of watching steam emit from Legler’s ears as he does battle with Screamin’ A. The plan is for the new team to rival TNT’s idyllic trio of Kenny the Jet, Sir Charles, and Ernie Johnson.
On a larger scale, this change signals yet another example of the end of the Boo-yah Era. We chose the phrase Boo-yah Era (don’t think it’s taken) because it exemplifies the attitude former honcho Mark Shapiro instilled at the network. He fell in love with people shouting on television. The blacker the better. The more bombastic and over the top, the sweeter the paycheck. Cold Pizza was his baby, too. And few at the network expect it to survive.
But slowly, over the last year, the Boo-yah Era has been virtually eliminated by new boss John Skipper. It may have been a subconscious change or an organic extension of Skipper’s personality, but the transformation is undeniable
In a deal that is nearing completion, host John Saunders, along with analysts Greg Anthony, Tim Legler, and Stephen A. Smith are being kicked to the curb. The new team, sources claim, will consist of Dan Patrick, Mike Wilbon, and Mark Jackson, the trio who worked together on ABC last season.
While the new team isn’t cast in concrete yet – i’s must be dotted and t’s must be crossed on Wilbon’s deal – Saunders, Anthony, and Legler will be reassigned to game coverage, sources say. Nobody’s exactly sure what will become of Smith. Suffice to say, NBA viewers won’t be forced to sit through another night of watching steam emit from Legler’s ears as he does battle with Screamin’ A. The plan is for the new team to rival TNT’s idyllic trio of Kenny the Jet, Sir Charles, and Ernie Johnson.
On a larger scale, this change signals yet another example of the end of the Boo-yah Era. We chose the phrase Boo-yah Era (don’t think it’s taken) because it exemplifies the attitude former honcho Mark Shapiro instilled at the network. He fell in love with people shouting on television. The blacker the better. The more bombastic and over the top, the sweeter the paycheck. Cold Pizza was his baby, too. And few at the network expect it to survive.
But slowly, over the last year, the Boo-yah Era has been virtually eliminated by new boss John Skipper. It may have been a subconscious change or an organic extension of Skipper’s personality, but the transformation is undeniable
