Sports Media Backhaul

Rapid changes are happening in the sports world as leagues and networks grapple with the idea of how to handle coming back from COVID-19...or not coming back, as the case may be. In this episode of the Sports Media Backhaul, I touch on the NBA potentially Force Majeuring their season out of existence, the Dish Network trying to mess with the ESPN bull, and more.

On this question-driven episode of the Backhaul, I tackle some queries from the folks on Twitter, including:- What do I think of "enhanced" radio broadcasts with interviews interspersed- Will eSports capitalize on the quarantine?- What would College Hoops 2k8 look like in 2020?

Talking on the podcast today with Jacqueline Coleman (@historyandwine) about how quarantine life in Miami is going, the impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant and hospitality industries, and fielding some questions from the audience about the long-term impacts of this situation on how people interact and conduct their daily lives.

Zach Osterman of the Indy Star joins me to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on college basketball, the response by the NCAA, and what a sports writer does when there's no sports to cover.

New Sports Media Backhaul --- an all-reader question version! We tackle the question of what SI will look like in three years, whether Barstool would work as a Cable TV network, whether the NFL's Thursday Night game would actually work better on Fridays, and the dumb social media outrage over the Peloton ad.

Galen brings longtime podcast partner Brian Moritz onto the Sports Media Backhaul for the first time, as we discuss the mess around SI's Maven site for USC, their reporting about Clay Helton's job, SI's national writer denouncing an SI-enabled announcement, and how to parse the entire situation from the perspective of sports journalism, social media, and digital reporting.

On this episode I tackle a question about FOX Sports's decision to put Joe Buck on a midseason NFL game instead of an ALCS game and what that says about both sports. I also chat a bit about attendance in relation to the MLS Cup, and give some thoughts on the surprise winning bid from CBS and Univision on the UEFA Champions League.

An impromptu podcast about breakfast, science, and coffee, featuring Katie and DoctorGC, and a lengthy and fascinating cameo by our food delivery specialist. It’s noisy because it’s a live recording.

After a few months hiatus, the Backhaul has returned! Today we talk about the changes in media technology from 20 years ago and what it means for sports, media, and fans.

Special mailbag edition of the Backhaul, as we discuss Amazon's lack of sports media investment (so far), whether hamburgers should be banned from the grill, the best dishes that young cooks should master, and whether Bloomington's Kirkwood Avenue should become a pedestrian walkway.

Back after a week's hiatus, the Sports Media Backhaul tackles the "opening day" of free agency, focusing primarily on yesterday's signing announcements, their implications for the league in terms of competitive balance, and why smart teams are winning the league right now. We also talk about the Kevin Durant piece in The Undefeated, what KD's move to the Nets means for him, and why it may be the work of a really talented person who doesn't know what they want in life.Remember that you can subscribe to the Backhaul on Apple Podcasts, or listen on Spotify.

We're back with another Backhaul, talking sports media issues. Greg Gottfried joins once again as we tackle the NBA Draft and the content/hype lead-in to the draft, whether this is actually a boring draft, and how the information flow gets handled. We then turn our attention to the drama emanating from NBA Countdown, including the potential end of Michelle Beadle's run at ESPN and the question of how the show competes with TNT. We finish off with a listener question about FOX's Women's World Cup coverage, and discuss what we've seen during and after the games so far.The Sports Media Backhaul is available on iTunes and Spotify! Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review. For questions and comments, send them in to @doctorgc on Twitter.

We talk about sports journalism, open records requests, and the public appetite for college basketball scandal stories with Andy Wittry, sports reporter for Stadium. Lots of interesting stuff in this one about the process of acquiring open records, how they fit into sports journalism, how surprising it is (or isn't) that Will Wade and Sean Miller are still employed, and what that may mean for NCAA enforcement and college basketball as a whole.

ESPN's Courtney Cronin hops on the Backhaul as our special Friday guest, as we talk about the aftermath of the NBA Finals and the media coverage of both the Golden State Warriors and the end of their dynasty. We then shift our attention to the NFL and its continued popularity in TV ratings and among fans, and why its success continues to outstrip the NBA and any other American sports league.

On this edition of the Backhaul, we tackle the mini-controversy that erupted among sports media Twitter circles after the US Women's National Team's 13-0 thrashing of Thailand in the group stage, why the celebrations weren't a big deal --- and what would have happened if it had been the men's team doing the celebrating.

Lots and lots of NBA-related sports media content came out of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and Greg Gottfried is here to help me break it all down. We talk about the messaging around Kevin Durant's injury and why it was problematic, the post-game blame game reaction to the injury, the weird attempts by some to shield Raptors fans, and the New York Daily News doing what they've always done, yet getting blowback this time for some reason.

On an all-questions session of the Sports Media Backhaul, I tackle an IU football question, chat a bit more about the idea of YouTube-as-social-network, and then answer a question about who's got the most versatility in sports media today. Happy Weekend, everyone.

Professional Sports Media Connoisseur Greg Gottfried joins the podcast for a spirited discussion about Ryen Russillo's podcast renaissance and the effect he's had on the Bill Simmons Podcast. We then talk at length about YouTube and whether or not it's a social network, and come to neither a useful nor logical conclusion. We then finish up by talking about social media dogpiles in sports, with the bad behavior of Mark Stevens giving us today's example.

On this edition of the Backhaul, I talk about the Big Ten Conference's hire of Kevin Warren as its new commissioner, and what it means for the conference's vision of the future. Many people thought the conference would go with a seasoned media business veteran, but instead they went with a seasoned professional sports business veteran. Is there a clue in that?

Welcome to the Sports Media Backhaul! This podcast focuses on sports, media, technology, audiences, and the interesting ideas that exist in that space. Our first episode focuses on this article from Variety about ESPN's attempt to bring a younger audience into contact with the NBA Finals: https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/espn-nba-finals-stream-young-men-katie-nolan-1203230784/?ICID=ref_farkI watched it and tried to figure out what worked and didn't work about the stream. This led into some discussion on the way networks perceive eSports, as well as a rumination on why ESPN (and FOX) struggle to find a good partner for Katie NolanSend comments and questions in to @DoctorGC on Twitter. Thanks for listening.