‘INSIDE’ OUT
If Bowles wants to change Jet culture, Marshall’s TV gig must go...
In one of his many post mortem soliloquies, Brandon Marshall said it’s about how the Jets “move forward and change our culture.” If that’s what he believes, assuming he is still with Gang Green next season, than the wideout should put his TV career on hold and direct all his attention to football.
Marshall should tell Showtime suits he will not be returning to “Inside the NFL.” And if Marshall won’t pull the plug himself, Todd Bowles should do it for him, insisting Marshall not return to the show. After all, Bowles has stressed the need for a change in the environment, right?
The stench of the Jets’ disastrous season, which included Marshall being in the center of in-house controversy with Sheldon Richardson, is not going away anytime soon. The Jets must convince an angry fan base that a change is going to come. A change that includes a team totally focused on playing consistently competitive football.
How can the organization sell that perception when one of its marquee players is seen every Tuesday on national television analyzing the performance of other NFL teams and dishing “inside” insights on the Jets?
Marshall was pressed — rightfully so — by his colleagues, Phil Simms and Norman J. Esiason, to discuss the inner workings of the Jets. Were Marshall’s teammates comfortable with him engaging in these discussions? Did his dedication to building his TV career while still playing, while at the same time chiding other players for their lack of on-field desire and commitment, cause friction in the locker room?
There’s also the issue of Marshall’s self-perception. He said he got into trouble when he played for the Bears by speaking directly to the media about the team’s problems. On “ITN” he has often discussed the media and how “tough” it can be. Yet what he fails to recognize, as many players turned NFL TV analysts do, is that HE is part of the media. Marshall can’t have it both ways. The fact he is clearly conflicted over his roles is another good reason to solely concentrate on football next season.
On the latest episode of “ITN,” Marshall was passionately explaining how badly he wants to win and taste playoff football for the first time. If that’s really the case, then he won’t be doing TV next season. If he stays with the Jets, and doesn’t want to give up TV, everyone will know — or at least perceive — what Marshall’s real priority is. If Bowles & Co. allow him to continue on “ITN” it will also cast doubt on their commitment to having players being singularly focused on football.
For the Jets, perception is reality. And if Marshall remains with the team, AND returns to Showtime, the perception will be nothing much with the Jets has changed.
ROCKING THE BOAT
If the Giants beat the Packers Sunday, will Odell Beckham Jr. and friends spend Monday Ice Fishing in Milwaukee?
The fellas, at least for us, provided plenty of laughs with their excursion to Miami, highlighted by the boat pictorial followed by stories that there were actually drugs being consumed on the vessel. Now there’s a shocker, although we can’t discount the compromising position the contraband put the Giants players in.
Equally hilarious was the reaction inside the Valley of the Stupid. While assorted Gasbags were hammering “the tabloids” for maxi-playing the story, and saying they did not want to talk about it, they continued to discuss it and talk about it over and over and over again — day after day.
ESPN-98.7’s resident professor of journalism, Peter Rosenberg, characterized the Daily News’ relentless approach as a: “Fevered attack on the Giants, which is not necessary.” We take mercy on this scholar. For he must have grown up in East Bumble Fudge, where the closest thing to a tabloid was The Weekly Reader. Still, we credit professor Rosenberg for producing some entertaining passion inside 98.7’s Sominex environment.
Not everything was funny. Like some of the Giants media deciding it was not in their best interest to put some heat — in the form of a string (six, seven, eight) tough questions about the boat trip to either OBJ or Ben McAdoo. Simply put, they let these guys off the hook.
Oh so very lame!
$O LONG, MIKE
CBS Radio is going to try and make money off Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa’s “Farewell Tour.” And the moolah ain’t going to charity. This is strictly a commercial endeavor.
Spies say some at CBS would rather call the tour, “Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out.”
Anyway, For a mere $70,000 a company can become a “participating sponsor” of “Mike’s celebratory tour” for a minimum of 12 live broadcasts, which include a week of Super Bowl broadcasts and the Pontiff’s annual Slosh Fest at Bar A, according to a CBS Radio sales pitch .
The “tour” may cause some static inside the FAN Cave. Commercials for the “tour” will air prominently on the Norman/Carton show. That should make those boys happy, right?
Just wondering if Francesa is getting a piece of the action from his “Farewell Tour.”
NO DOG BONE
Didn’t know Chris (Mad Dog) Russo ran SiriusXM. Doggie sure sounded like he was boss of the satellite operation when he told the legendary Bernard McGuirk and his WABC Radio valet Sidiot Rosenberg “that the door is open any time on any channel” at SXM for Francesa to have his own show if he actually does retire from WFAN.
Said one radio mole: “I’m sure Scott Greenstein (SXM prez) was thrilled to hear he was replaced by Russo.”
Anyway, Russo, who doesn’t even run his own “Mad Dog Sports Radio” channel, is not a mouthpiece for SXM. That responsibility is confined to the company’s executives who hire and fire talent, which makes Dog’s offer to Francesa worth zilch.
YES GOING UP?
With Fox and Comcast reaching an agreement on a new carriage agreement for the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, which took 13 months to finally get done, the Bombers will be playing on a more even ratings field with the Mets on SportsNet New York.
Or at least that’s what Bombers brass hopes. After the Mets out-rated the Yankees last season, the YES spin was about the loss of nearly 1 million Comcast subscribers adversely affecting the team’s TV ratings.
Now we will see if the loss of Comcast subscribers made a difference. Or is it simply the fact the Mets field a more compelling product?
Interestingly, YES has not yet been restored to some Comcast homes. Guess the suits are not in a hurry to put the Nets back on the air.
How coveted is the Yankees’ radio job? Well, MLB spies say that even with John (Pa Pinstripe) Sterling and Suzyn (Ma Pinstripe) Waldman under contract for another season in the WFAN booth, the vultures, er, current radio announcers, already working in the big leagues are circling. According to the moles, some voices have even talked to FAN boss Mark Chernoff to try and see how long Ma and Pa will continue yakking... In an attempt to expand his horizons, Willie Colon will co-host SNY’s “Loud Mouths” with Mr. Jon Hein Monday-Wednesday next week... As far as FAN’s Joe Benigno is concerned, Donald Trump has pulled off the impossible. Benigno: “The thing about Trump is he makes Mike (Francesa) look humble, which
is hard to do.”