There are less than 50 days left in 2018. Can you believe that? The midterm elections, which couldn’t have come fast enough for some after 2016, are now in the rearview mirror and the deadline to get wishlists to the North Pole is fast approaching.
I know next week is Thanksgiving, but I wanted to get this piece out this week because next week BSM is rolling out a very involved series of college football-themed articles. Plus, this will give you more time before the holiday to seek out the projects I am highlighting so that you can mention them in your Thanksgiving prayer. So, with no further ado, here are five sports media projects (listed in no particular order) that I am thankful for this year.
1. FOUL PLAY: PAID IN MISSISSIPPI/“CROOKED LETTERS”
So, I know I said that this list is in no particular order, but I have to be honest. Nothing in the sports media blew me away in 2018 like the project Steven Godfrey spearheaded for SB Nation. It will almost certainly be the most extensive documentation of the NCAA’s investigation into Ole Miss ever created. It might be the best encapsulation of the Ole Miss/Mississippi State rivalry you could ever consume.
Foul Play: Paid in Mississippi is a four-part documentary that was originally made for the now-defunct go90 and has since been repurposed to YouTube. “Crooked Letters” is the 13,000 word article that tells the story of how Laremy Tunsill was sabotaged on the first night of the 2016 NFL Draft, the downfall of Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze, the illicit recruitment of high school linebacker Leo Lewis, and how the NCAA manages to get so much wrong in the punishment phase. Both the article and the documentary are well worth your time.
2. Bikram
ESPN struck gold years ago with its 30 for 30 documentary series. As production on new films slowed down, it made sense that the network would look for new ways to utilize the brand. Enter 30 for 30 Podcasts.
For season 3, released in May, Julia Lowrie Henderson spearheaded a five-part series on the rise and fall of Bikram Choudhury and the style of yoga that bears his name. Henderson, a former Bikram yoga devotee, makes the perfect reporter and narrator. The stories told by her interview subjects are compelling, heartbreaking, and unbelievable. ESPN dropped all five episodes at once on May 22. I had finished the entire series by May 23.
3. HIGH NOON
I have written a lot about High Noon, starring Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre. I spent a day in New York as the pair and their crew were in rehearsals for their move to afternoons on ESPN. When the show debuted, I wrote that it was something everyone that does any kind of show can take a lesson from.
Despite cutting the show’s format from an hour to a half hour in September, Jones and Torre actually got something of a promotion by moving from noon to 4pm on the East Coast. On top of that, the move made total sense. With High Noon leading the way, ESPN’s afternoon block features four very different shows and seems set for stability and longterm success.
4. KURT WARNER ON WESTWOOD ONE’S MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BROADCAST
Kurt Warner isn’t an improvement over Boomer Esiason necessarily. It is just rare that a good analyst is replaced by someone that makes it possible for the broadcast to not miss a beat. Anyone that ever watched Warner on NFL Gameday Morning knows that he has the knowledge and presence to do the job. What stands out on the Westwood One broadcast is the way Warner’s style so perfectly compliments Kevin Harlan’s.
The majority of us are not consuming Monday Night Football via radio. If we were, surely the national conversation on Tuesdays would be more about what a solid product it is and less about what a mountain ESPN’s new TV crew has to climb just.
5. BIG GAME: THE NFL IN DANGEROUS TIMES
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at the NFL league office, Jerry Jones’ personal bus, or at Tom Brady’s mansion, then you need to read this book. Mark Leibovitch, who usually writes about politics for The New York Times, got access to all of it because…well, he asked. And these guys love when people ask them to talk about themselves.
I spoke with Mark earlier this year to get a better handle on the way the league’s power brokers view their relationship with the media and their plans for a future where broadcast TV isn’t the center of the media universe. Please read that interview, but also read the book because you need to learn why Roger Goodell doesn’t like cheese. I promise it will be the only thing you think about the next time you see him.
The sports media gave us a lot of great new stuff and great new editions and episodes of some of our all-time favorites. Maybe great content doesn’t garner a mention in your Thanksgiving blessing, but it is the lifeblood of our business, so when a child at your holiday gathering asks what you are thankful for this year sit them down, grab a laptop, and expand their minds.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
