I agree completely. I was hugely disappointed to read that ESPN cut him a week early because of the comments. So fucking weak.
On the other hand, Cowherd is such an unbearable asshole that I have a hard time not thinking the worst of him.
This reads to me as being more looking for a way to cut him. When I saw the Cowherd quote I was expecting the worst. But reading it? Meh. It just gave ESPN an out to cut him before he left. Dumb and contrived, yes, but probably nothing more than that.
ESPN allowed Cowherd to stick around after his resignation as both a professional courtesy (almost unheard of in the radio industry) and for some additional revenue gain. As soon as anything controversial came up, they booted him. Seems logical to me.
So they are changing it to the Russillo and Kanell show starting this Monday August 31st. I think that is a solid co-host choice and while Kanell has a ways to go in terms of being as good as either SVP or Russillo, I think he can do it. He has come a long way just in the past 2 years or so as a guest host.
I’m hoping he can grow into it. I find him kinda bland and I’m not sure he gets the “next level humor” that SVP and Russillo started.
Stanford Steve has also left to go join SVP’s gig and while that’s awesome for him, I think it’s big loss. He didn’t talk that much on SVP and Russillo but I just loved how surly he could be and would call people out on their stupid shit.
Outsider Mike has been a solid find and even though it has nothing to do with sports, I really enjoy when he makes fun of Russillo’s music choices. Russillo is just a little bit of a rap snob I think. It’s a minor flaw to be sure and doesn’t interfere with my enjoyment when he hosts but it’s great when the Outsider tweaks him a little bit on this.
I liked Stanford Steve a lot. Outsider Mike, not so much.
First day of Russillo and Kanell was good. Still my favorite sports talk program.
Judging from Outsider Mike’s twitter sounds like he’s not going to be part of Russillo and Kanell for much longer.
So. Russillo and Kanell is killing it. I think its as good or better than SVP and Russillo was. I like the new SVP sportscenter show but they have to do a better job of fixing the time slot. It’s only four days old and because of live programming one of the shows never aired at all and 2 of the other 3 aired later than the midnight EST time slot they advertise.
I agree that new show is good, definitely better than what I was expecting at this early stage. I think most of it is Russillo though, but Kanell is better than I thought he would be.
SVP’s gig – I know I shouldn’t be surprised by this but it is just a late night sportscenter. That’s great and everything but we just get less of SVP talking about sports (which was what was great on the radio) and a lot more of just sports news. He’s very good at the latter and injects his brand of humor into it, but I really preferred the old model SVP and Russillo in the afternoon and then I can stay up late and watch SVP tag team with another anchor on sportscenter that night to watch highlights if I want.
I think it’s really odd right now how they bring Stanford Steve to sit by the side of his desk. He doesn’t look comfortable there at all. I’m hoping they fix that.
I was surprised that they brought Stanford Steve front and center like that and I agree he does not look comfortable. But I say that based on how he contributed to the radio show. He was very comfortable in that radio role. I think maybe the camera is the difference and I hope he adjusts.
Russillo and Kanell is better radio than SVP and Russillo, IMO. They are crushing it. They had a segment on the four hour Championship Drive show tonight that was one of the best on the show.
I can’t do ESPN shows anymore. Too much blatant hype, not enough analysis of what actually happened, too many commercials and sponsored hype segments/teases of more hype, etc… The CBS college football show on Tuesday nights with Cross, Jones, Neuheisel, etc,is much better, as is the Dan Patrick show.
Sounds like you haven’t really listened to Russillo’s show, where they do a lot of really good stuff. Kanell is a former QB; I can imagine that his analysis would be great. I haven’t listened to him too much since the summer but will go find this.
— Alan
Arise!
So, Danny Kanell is out. Thoughts:
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I think he is one of the “bigger” names of the folks who were let go. He’s on pretty much all day every Saturday in the fall and co-hosts an afternoon radio stall show. Those don’t seem like small gigs to me, but what do I know. Everyone else from College Football Saturday that I think have about the same level of “fame” (Adnan Virk and Joey Galloway) are both staying.
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Seems there is a larger trend of ESPN letting folks go that probably they can immediately replace and most likely with cheaper contracts.
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I’d guess that the audience numbers for Russillo and Kanell aren’t as good as SVP and Russillo and Danny gets blamed for that. If so, that’s rough. SVP is a tough follow and I think they could do a lot worse than Kanell. Having said that, while I’m sure Danny is a wonderful person I don’t think he quite got the “next level humor” that Russillo and SVP were aiming for with a lot of their topics. Example: GOAT of the week. Ryen couldn’t hide his contempt for that segment which was a horrid combination of boring and unfunny.
On the other hand, both SVP and Russillo have made sotto voce comments to the effect that they think ESPN upper management didn’t really grok their show either. In which case you wouldn’t expect them to really notice that Danny didn’t always fit with Ryen.
Of course the whole thing might just be money driven. Danny’s contract may have just been higher (he was a TV guy before a radio guy) and ESPN can just save more money by firing him.
- Replacement. I’d pay a monthly subscription to have SVP and Russilo back but that’s a pipe dream. The most common subs have been Adnan Virk and Peter Rosenberg. Adnan’s movie stuff totally bores me. He’s more polished than Danny, but I don’t think he is any funnier. Maybe even less.
Rosenberg is closer fit I think. More informal and I love that he hates Duke.
I don’t know the ratings but I think R&K was a better product than SVP&Russillo.
And don’t get me wrong, I loved SVP&Russillo and was really bummed when it was cancelled. I just thought that it got better with Russillo driving. I don’t know the plan for that show going forward but I don’t think Adnan Virk is a better replacement for Kanell. So, IMO, firing Kanell is a big mistake today by ESPN.
I also read that Russillo was going to have a reduced role at ESPN going forward. I don’t get that. He was my favorite ESPN talent.
And in any case, the cuts today are not going to save them. Reading the ESPN press release…they touted the Six as a success…the 6pm Sportscenter helmed by the the cast of His and Hers. This is just a complete lie. The ratings for that time slot have plummeted. ESPN is suffering from cord cutters, but their hard left turn politically is also hurting them. Their ratings are down more than their subscriber base loss.
I remember Dibble insisting no pitchers would use steroids. I bet he he used them. Dibble was such a tool.
From everything I read or heard SVP just wanted out of the radio gig. And while I listened to Rusillo and Kannel I don’t think they had the “chops” to handle a show by themselves. Rusillo has a different personality that while he knows his stuff he is just not entertaining, and in the bottom line you have to be entertaining.
I also agree the industry is changing and ESPN is now just a massive money loser for Disney.
I know not everyone finds Russillo entertaining. He’s definitely an acquired taste (I really disliked him when I started listening back in 2010 to him) and I’m completely willing to admit that my liking him might be a character flaw.
But I easily find him the most entertaining of anyone in the ESPN radio lineup. I don’t think I’m alone in that - it’s partly what keeps him in on the air I think. But, I’m also very much aware that I don’t think his appeal will ever really be mainstream.