Browns vs. Rams – What We’re Watching For…
August 20, 2010Hey Mister! Can I Have Your Autograph?
August 20, 2010If anyone cared about Jim Gray’s career, it would be hard to tell who came off looking worse from “The Decision” between he and LeBron. Jim Gray has been a joke in media circles for a long time, but cemented his status when he had his infamous confrontation with Pete Rose at an All-Star game appearance. Since the highly-rated debacle on ESPN the excrement has been flung far and wide at all parties involved. Even the highly respected Michael Wilbon ended up coming out of this with a stink on him. It got me thinking though. Jason Whitlock has been one of the most vocal making fun of LeBron’s selection of Jim Gray to do the interview. Buzz Bissinger has piled on as well. Did Jim Gray doing that show actually save some people?
J.R. Moehringer is the latest go-to LeBron expert as he did the GQ story that is on news stands right now. He had this to say about Gray.
“People have just dumped all kinds of abuse on Jim Gray, but I don’t think anybody would have wanted to be in that director’s chair. That was like being the captain on the Titanic. It was doomed from the start.”
True enough. Now that I think about it, I can’t imagine any announcer worth their salt doing that job. It had to be a clown. Bob Costas gets on my nerves with his over-dramatization of everything, but the dude is a pro and very very smart. I can’t imagine him stepping in to do it. Joe Buck is widely respected if really annoying. He showed interesting judgement in letting Artie Lange crash his show, but I still think he was way too smart to get on that ill-fated train.
So on second thought, Jim Gray was the perfect person to host “The Decision.” A show that ill-conceived, that was also his idea, had to be guided down the toilet bowl by him. It couldn’t and shouldn’t have gone any other way. And even if by some outside chance there would have been another media member that would have considered hosting that show (I am looking at you Ahmad Rashad) they are probably ecstatic that they ended up missing out on another nail in the coffin of Jim Gray’s career.
9 Comments
How could you bash a former Cavalier play by play voice?!
Also, I’d love to have Gray’s career. He’s the king of freelancing these days. He seems to have no problems finding work.
Gray is garbage. ESPN is garbage. I have not tuned in since it was announced The Debacle would be aired on that network. I refuse to give them 1 minute of my attention.
Sean Salisbury was too busy studying for his new gig in the Lingerie Football League
Gray may in fact be some sort of secret genious. He has no reporter chops, gets few hosting gigs, so he’s carving out a niche as the passive, amiable guy for treacly fluff. Jock needs a passive media bendover? Call Gray, he won’t look embarrassed, won’t so much as smirk at the cameraman. Like a sports media version of “Dirty Jobs.” In its own way it’s old school sports media, pre-Watergate and Jim Bouton. I mean, it’s not like a LeBron interview is more important than a Lindsay Lohan interview, it’s all just entertainment.
Somewhere, Roy Firestone’s agent is deleting his screaming voicemails.
pete rose should be banned from baseball for wearing that tie.
I wish Jim Gray would actually jump on a grenade
in response to #2, I’m with you. ESPN is total garbage. I haven’t watched ESPN unless it was for a game they had on since they threw maurice clarret under the bus and put him on TV before the washington game in 2002. What did they think was going to happen when they put an 18 yr old kid with an inflated ego on the way they did? Sure Mo did it all himself, but the whole time ESPN producers were salivating over his self-destruction more than anyone. Do you really think they were surprised how how Mo’s life played out?
With the whole bron thing, I don’t even think espn cares it came off as a huge debacle. They’re just glad everyone is talking about it. IMO they’ve been playing these athletes out like they were snookie or the situation for way too long. I always disagreed with the notion that sports is the greatest reality TV show because I don’t think people realize how contrived “reality” TV actually is. But with ESPN, i guess it’s the truth. They’ve turned sports into “reality” TV.
Jim Gray …. I can only shake my head.
Is it wrong that I was genuinely excited when I first saw this headline, only to be disappointed to learn it wasn’t a lteral statement?
Yeah, that word would be “literal”: don’t judge me, it’s 8:30 on a Saturday morning