BSPN Breaks Out The ChapStick
August 1st, 2016
Jameis and BSPN.
For the 15 months or so that America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, has been in the NFL, he hasn’t been fond of the four-letter network.
Joe can understand. When Jameis was in college, that network reveled in the white noise that surrounded him. But from what Joe heard through the grapevine, the manufactured and patently false story concocted by the four-letter that Jameis was selling his autographs in college (a major NCAA violation) sealed the deal with Jameis. And not in a good way for the Disney outfit.
Famously, Jameis would not grant special access to the four-letter at his family’s draft party a year ago but did so with NFL Network (way to go, Jameis!). He also did his best not to talk to BSPN that night. At the Pro Bowl in Hawaii in January, Joe’s team there reported to JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters that even though the game was broadcast on BSPN, Jameis would not talk to BSPN reporters (but he did talk to Joe!).
Jameis doesn’t totally stiff BSPN. If they send a crew out to One Buc Palace he will speak to them. For example, he’s had lengthy interviews with Josina Anderson and Britt McHenry, and Jameis is polite as always to the local four-letter correspondents covering the Bucs. But Joe can understand why Jameis often avoids the four-letter. Can’t blame him.
So it raised Joe’s antennae when Joe learned BSPN radio was over-the-top praising Jameis last week. Well, now.
So Joe went back to the podcast archives of the notorious “Mike and Mike Show” Joe hasn’t listened to that show in years. Why? Joe pays $12 a month for SiriusXM. Why would listen to that tripe when SiriusXM NFL Radio is available (Booger McFarland co-hosting many mornings) with Howard Stern?
Sure enough, just as Joe was told, co-host Mike Greenberg was simply gushing over America’s Quarterback.
“Everything I am hearing, just people around the league talking, Jameis Winston is going to be a star! He is going to have a huge year and Tampa is going to make a leap forward. … I am hearing enormously good things about Jameis Winston,” Greenberg said.
Pardon Joe for being too much of a cynic, but Joe wonders, giving its past history with Jameis and some really shady reporting, might BSPN be putting on the ChapStick in order to get back in Jameis’ good graces?
Look, Jameis is too much of a class act to outwardly mock the four-letter for its past deeds. That’s just not Jameis. That’s not who he is. And it’s not like he totally stiff-arms BSPN.
Knowing how BSPN rarely allows its personalities to show their personalities and speak from the heart — virtually everything seen or heard or read on a four-letter property comes with a corporate stamp of approval — it struck Joe how over-the-top Greenberg was in his praise.
Greenberg’s words may have been quite sincere. But Joe suspects there was an ulterior motive behind the sincerity.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:17 am
Who exactly is BSPN Joe? I plugged it into Google and got back several hits, the most likely of which appear to be: (1) Bankers Sales Productivity Network; and (2) Bill Simmons Podcast Network. In any event, they sound like a network that’d be better off covering our current presidential election rather than picking on Jameis.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:32 am
@DR
BSPN is the Joe’s moniker for ESPN. Stands for bullspit network
August 1st, 2016 at 6:06 am
@MM DR was being sarcastic we all know about Joe’s use of BSPN, look I think it’s no exaggeration to say that that BSPN almost altered this young man’s destiny during is time in college. There are one or two BSPN employees that veered of the reservation who didn’t follow the network’s narrative and stuck their necks for JW am sure JW has a lot of time for Kirk Herbstreit to name one. There were lots of theories going round at the time especially over at tomahawk nation as to why BSPN was going in hard on JW. One theory was BSPN just launched BSPN SEC Network and out of nowhere this young kid comes out and made the ACC a must watch conference effectively BSPN bet on the wrong horse, they were banking on the popularity of SEC. They were losing a lot of money, their top game day announcers analysts ending up commenting of ACC games involving FSU instead of games on their show piece BSPN SEC network. Then again it was just a theory at the time which means it could be wrong!
August 1st, 2016 at 6:22 am
Great write up Joe. My guess is you are spot on.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:33 am
Wow👆👆
August 1st, 2016 at 6:37 am
Haha welcome to Joebucsfan and the only positive thing lately about espn is the hiring of hard working Jenna Laine. Jameis should definitely keep storytellers at an arms length
August 1st, 2016 at 6:44 am
Good point
August 1st, 2016 at 6:48 am
@MM DR was being sarcastic we all know about Joe’s use of BSPN, look I think it’s no exaggeration to say that that BSPN almost altered this young man’s destiny during is time in college. There are one or two BSPN employees that veered of the reservation who didn’t follow the network’s narrative and stuck their necks for JW am sure JW has a lot of time for Kirk Herbstreit to name one. There were lots of theories going round at the time especially over at tomahawk nation as to why BSPN was going in hard on JW. One theory was BSPN just launched BSPN SEC Network and out of nowhere this young kid comes out and made the ACC a must watch conference effectively BSPN bet on the wrong horse, they were banking on the popularity of SEC. They were losing a lot of money, their top game day announcers analysts ending up commenting of ACC games involving FSU instead of games on their show piece BSPN SEC network. Then again it was just a theory at the time which means it could be wrong!
August 1st, 2016 at 6:53 am
@Joe please ignore the comment awaiting moderation I made under the name of Hew I forgot my username I used to register it’s been a while since I came to joebucsfan.com
August 1st, 2016 at 7:27 am
The worst part was BSPN even seemed to have gotten to Gruden. When Gruden had Jameis on his QB show, he loved him, then in all the predraft hype, all the sudden he changes his tune and hardly had a positive thing to say as he jumped on the MM bandwagon. I love Gruden but was deeply disappointed that he so completely sold out to BSPN and it was fairly obvious that he had been muzzled.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:31 am
NFLnetwork for me yo. Jameis was just interviewed via satelite on they’re new format “Good mourning football”. First NFL to be interviewed by the way. What I will say as far bspn is concerned,Skip Bayless was on board from day one. Not sure as to why he left First Take but he always spoke highly of Famous.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:35 am
Make no mistake tho all heads will be singing his praise here shortly. Remeber the one’s that have been down on him,they will be shouting the loudest in an attempt to mask they’re initial disdain.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:35 am
Dream:
Joe had heard from people who would know that what Chucky says on TV and what he says off TV are often two different things.
August 1st, 2016 at 8:26 am
“Look, Jameis is too much of a class act to outwardly mock the four-letter for its past deeds.”
Does this mean that anyone who outwardly mocks them is not a class act? Or is media exempt?
August 1st, 2016 at 8:28 am
Some people will say anything for a paycheck, I guess. There are sites I go for opinions and sites I go to for facts. Thank god JBF is a place where I can get both.
August 1st, 2016 at 8:51 am
TBBF, LOL! Now THATS pretty funny!
August 1st, 2016 at 9:43 am
That four letter is a big cut of the cable bill, and then more each year. It starts with an s and ends with a t with a short greeting inside.
August 1st, 2016 at 10:02 am
I agree with this and I hope Jameis continues to keep ESPN an arms length away while at the same time putting an arm around the writers at JoeFucsFan!
August 1st, 2016 at 10:18 am
The guys on ESPN radio say what ever they want. Nobody has ever tried to hold back Russilo and Kannel or Dan Lebatard from voicing an opinion on a guy.
August 1st, 2016 at 11:20 am
Hhhmm. Not familar with how BSPN works? (Joe has spoken with many BSPN employees, past and present. The suits very much do sign off on everything said or someone will get suspended/fired. The suits there are the worst of micromanagers.)
August 1st, 2016 at 11:23 am
Ha, thanks D-Rome!
August 1st, 2016 at 11:27 am
I lost all respect for bspn when they spit on the rays and their fans, which many of us are. Rays attendance has alot to do with a lack of coorperate sponsorship due to the fact that no executive wants their name on a stadium that bspn always makes fun of! So their spit taljing about us has hurt our attendance when it was already down to beigin with, kicking a man when he’s down is wrong. Plus, the whole coorperate sponsorship or lack thereof, oh no bspn dosent want fans to know that is how over half of a teams tickets are sold, the lack of attendance is not so discreetly blamed on the fans being not “real” fans. Claiming we have “no fans” when they kniw damn well how tickets are sold/consumed in professional sports.
August 1st, 2016 at 11:45 am
You have to be really careful about what you read these days. I read an article claiming that there’s only a perception of choice when it comes to media, and for that matter all consumption. All the major media in this country (cable, TV, radio, newspaper, online) is owned by 6 companies. You don’t think that they have agendas? These corporations have other investments and investors.
Largo’s right, the constant fan bashing of the Rays has reached a level of ridiculousness. It’s created a mentality among the Bay area that the Rays can’t succeed where they are. Been to downtown St. Pete lately?
Whoa, sorry about that.
Stay true to you Jameis. Who cares about BSPN?
August 1st, 2016 at 11:56 am
Ahem.
August 1st, 2016 at 12:28 pm
@Joe In reference to radio shows like Dan lebetard show, ESPN doesn’t control their material but in regards to sports center and live broadcast, BSPN is aiming snipers at them to get what they want. ESPN is anti Jameis and only gives him coverage when there was negativity during his FSU days, they are agenda driven.
August 1st, 2016 at 12:52 pm
Bspn could have used the Rays stadium issue as a medium to educate the casual fan about how tickets are sold and consumed, but no they turn it into a narrative about how bad our fans are, granted that is to a degree true but not to the extent they lead their audience to perceive. And of course by extention stroking the egos of the yankees and red sox and their fans. And the topper in all this is that they are partly to blame for the low attendance, because no coorperate exec is going to put their name on a stadium that is the constant target of the four letter network. We were competetive for a six year span. We had took time to develop talent but nope. It was all a fluke, right bspn?
And yes Stu has gone on record saying he needs more from the fans. Well all us fans could do was watch the region, ownership and mlb let a competetive team loose everything.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Thank you.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:40 pm
Have spoken with enough folks who have worked on BSPN radio and written for their website. They are told what to talk about/write about.
Spoke with one former on-air radio host who told Joe when he showed up for a (daily) production meeting hours before going on air, he was handed an outline from producers of the subject matters they were to talk about. They were not allowed to interject any subject they wanted that was not on the outline.
Then, the producers went over each subject matter with the hosts.
Please click on the link above where Skip Bayless said he was censored by the suits as additional evidence.
Yes, BSPN is very much agenda-driven. They push properties they own big time and all but ignore properties they don’t own.
August 9th, 2016 at 12:00 pm
In defense of Greenberg; he always said that Winston would be the #1 pick. He always held the stands that he was innocent until proven guilty. Golic also always said it wasn’t close between Jameis and Mariota. Jameis was the better pro prospect; the off the field was the only reason there was a discussion. So Mike & Mike are pretty consistent with their praise of Jameis.