“SportsCenter” this week is running “Old School Week,” a promotion in which they will bring back several ‘90s-era anchors (Craig Kilborn, Charley Steiner, etc.) to host individual episodes of the show. No Keith Olbermann or Rich Eisen, unfortunately, but unlike everything else ESPN has come up with in the last two years, I actually like the idea. Dan Shanoff this morning:
”The point was the shared experience: With a collective of friends in your dorm, frat house or Melrose-like apartment, and getting the day's highlights with the anchors, not from them..
Tech and stat innovations on the show have re-defined how sports are covered and consumed, but there's something to be said for the role that the unique anchor voices played in turning us all into SC nuts."
UPDATE: The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand:
As for Keith Olbermann's absence, Mark Shapiro, ESPN's head honcho, offered a fair response. Basically, Olbermann hasn't played nice in the sandbox.
"As the result of repeated criticism, we didn't want to bring him into the work place," Shapiro said. "The damage he could cause in one day in our newsroom could put us in damage control for two years.''
Last month on SportsCenter, Sean Salisbury said if you think Vinny Testaverde is going to start in Dallas, "You don't know anything about football." Quincy Carter was cut this week. Testaverde is No. 1 on the depth chart right now.