Back in the very early days of network television, there was an evening news telecast sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The host – – now called the anchor – – was John Cameron Swayze and the program was The Camel News Caravan. After dealing with the “big news of the day”, Swayze would proclaim that he would be “hopscotching the world for headlines”. Looking at my compendium of items for today, I think I will be hopscotching the sports world for topics. Nevertheless, I shall not be sponsored by Camel cigarettes…
Also in the early days of network television, the afternoon soap operas were mainline programming. From 1956 through 2010, CBS aired a “soap” called As the World Turns; in its TV run, the show put on 13,858 episodes. Here in 2024, the sports world has an informal program that might be called As the Jets and Aaron Rodgers Turn. It does not deliver daily episodes, but it does make the wire copy more than on game days. In the latest episode, the Jets’ interim head coach, Jeff Ulbrich, “squelched” rumors that the Jets might bench Rodgers this season because of the disappointing showing of the team; the coach affirmed that he still believes that Rodgers gives the Jets (now 3-9-0) the “best chance to win.”
Here is the Jets’ QB depth chart:
- Aaron Rodgers: 41 years old and having his worst season ever
- Tyrod Taylor: A career backup
- Jordan Travis: A rookie who is out for the year due to injury
- Adrian Martinez: On the practice squad for the second year
So, I agree with Coach Ulbrich; Rodgers gives the team the best chance of winning – – and according to a report I read yesterday, the Jets are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs even with their 3-9 record. Stay tuned. You never know if the next installment of As the Jets and Aaron Rodgers Turn will come before next weekend’s game against the Dolphins in Miami (Jets are currently a 6.5-point underdog) or maybe in the press conference following that game…
Sticking with items related to television, the suits at ESPN have announced that Around the Horn will go dark sometime in 2025. The show began in 2002; so, it has had a good run. It ran 5 days a week as the lead-in program to Pardon the Interruption and in its “glory days”, Around the Horn could command audiences more than 750,000 viewers which was a sizeable audience for daytime sports on cable TV back in the “aughts”. Max Kellerman was the original host/facilitator for the program but left during one of his multiple divorces with ESPN and Tony Reali took over that slot on a permanent basis.
The audience for Around the Horn has eroded significantly; these days, an audience of 400,000 is a pleasant surprise. I was a regular viewer of the program for years – – probably averaging 4 days a week; now, I catch a show about every 10 days. I don’t know what happened to cause the audience for the show to collapse but I know why I am no longer a regular viewer.
When the show began, the panel that “debated” the sports topics offered up by Kellerman/Reali were notable sports columnists from around the country whose observations and assertions were such that I wanted to hear them and to evaluate them against my personal position on the topics at hand. Back in the day, I heard from people like:
- JA. Adande – – Washington Post
- Jim Armstrong – – Denver Post
- Tim Cowlishaw – – Dallas Morning News
- Frank Isola – – NY Daily News
- Jackie MacMullan – – Boston Globe
- Jay Mariotti – – Chicago Sun Times
- Woody Paige – – Denver Post
- Bill Plaschke – – LA Times
- Bob Ryan – – Boston Globe
- TJ Simers – – LA Times
Folks, those were ten “heavy hitters”; their stature was such that you puffed up your chest when they agreed with your thoughts on the matter, and you furled your brow and started to rethink your position when they disagreed with your opinion. And in recent years, most of that is gone – – and I don’t mean those specific individuals.
The panels today are mostly made up of ESPN and ESPN Radio personalities. They lack gravitas and when I realized that it made no difference to me what Joe Flabeetz and/or Suzie Glotz thought about a subject, Around the Horn was no longer worth my time and attention. The show had a great run, but its time has come – – and gone…
There is a superstition that bad things happen in threes; I don’t know the origin of that belief but for those folks in New Jersey who might believe in it:
- The Tampa Bay Bucs just waived Trenton Gill – – punter
- The Cincinnati Bengals just waived Trenton Irwin – – WR
- If you are a first responder in Trenton, NJ, I would stay close to the phones…
Finally, let me close today with three random quotes from Will Rogers:
“Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.”
And …
“If you ever injected truth into politics, you have no politics.”
And …
“This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………