As co-host of ESPN‘s daily SportsNation show Michelle Beadle is a delight to watch. She’s part goofy, part nerdy and full on funny and hot sports chick. She doesn’t seem stuck up, does stuff like eat hot dogs on camera, throws great first pitches and balances it all enough to make regular guys feel like they got a chance with her, and it’s all helping raise her profile.

Her star at the network and beyond keeps growing and the latest example of that is her appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Appearing on the show ensured that Beadlemania was not only reaching new highs but it also undoubtedly enchanted new followers, especially with the sexy red dress Beadle wore. In case you missed it, The Big Lead posted a video clip of the interview.

In addition to that video, the good folks over at SportsNation released a behind the scenes look at her getting ready for and arriving at the show via their Facebook page. Realizing Beadle’s rabid fans would want even more, they obliged and put out this post-interview video where she talks about bumping her head in an elevator on her way out.

We also have a few screen captures from the interview below and you can download the interview in high definition by clicking here.

- Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

I didn’t know about it but apparently ESPN lifts their family-friendly Disney standards for their late-night programming. Case in point was last night’s Sportscenter from Los Angeles featuring Neil Everett and Stan Verrett. Everett was a doing a tease of the stories coming up after the break, including one about former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen. In one of the clips Clausen flashed a hang loose sign after a score, but Everett thought he might have been throwing up “The Shocker.” I know this because he asked on-air.

Tony Kornheiser’s suspension by ESPN for comments he made about Hannah Storm (and Chris Berman) give cause for us to look at the network’s suspension policy. I can’t follow their logic. Cussing on the air is bad sometimes, and ripping people via Twitter will get your tweets suspended for a couple of weeks. Referencing Hitler gets you paddled, making a racial Freudian slip with Martin Luther King’s name on Martin Luther King Day garners an aw shucks apology. Look at the following examples and see if you can make sense of ESPN’s disciplinary policies.

Acceptable Comments For ESPN Employees
Mike Greenberg Martin Luther Coon Comment:

Barry Melrose Chicken Shi(t)p Comment:

Scott Van Pelt “Fuck I Gotta” Comment:

Comments That Will Result in Suspension for ESPN Employees
Tony Kornheiser’s Hannah Storm and Chris Berman Comments:

“Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today. She’s got on red go-go boots and a catholic school plaid skirt … way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now.” “She’s got on her typically very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body … I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t … but Hannah Storm … come on now! Stop! What are you doing? … She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point.”

“I know I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, like if I point out that people say that they lost 50 or 60 pounds have actually gained all the weight back…” (Co-host interrupts: “And then some. Gained the weight back, back, back, back.”)

Dana Jacobson’s Mike and Mike Roast Comments:

Fuck Notre Dame, Fuck Touchdown Jesus, Fuck Jesus

Jemele Hill “Rooting for the Celtics is like..” Comments in a Column for ESPN.com:

“Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It’s like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan.”

Bill Simmons Twitter Rip of WEEI:

Bob Griese Juan Pablo Montoya Taco Comment:

Comments That Will Get You Fired From ESPN
Danyelle Sargent “What the fuck” moment on ESPNEWS:

Rush Limbaugh’s Donovan McNabb comment (The audio quality is horrible.):

Jason Whitlock’s comments on Mike Lupica and Scoop Jackson from The Big Lead interview:

Lupica is an insecure, mean-spirited busybody. He’s upset because I put a clown suit on him on that show and in a follow-up column I wrote for ESPN. His little disingenuous overreaction to an opinion I’d stated previously on the show was staged to try to put me in a bad light. I guess no one had ever informed Mike that the E in ESPN stood for Entertainment.

Scoop is a clown. And the publishing of his fake ghetto posturing is an insult to black intelligence, and it interferes with intelligent discussion of important racial issues. Scoop showed up on the scene and all of a sudden I’m getting e-mails from readers connecting what I write to Scoop. And his stuff is being presented like grown folks should take it seriously. Please. I guess I’ll go Bill Cosby on you, but it’s about time we as black people quit letting Flavor Flav and the rest of these clowns bojangle for dollars.

My thoughts:
1. Mike Greenberg should be fired. Not only for his MLK comments but for being terrible.

2. For the most part I don’t want anybody to lose their job but things should be fair. Danyelle Sargent was shown the door so Barry Melrose and Scott Van Pelt should have to follow her. The Sargent video above is edited and doesn’t tell the complete story of her F-bomb. There were technical problems on ESPN2, so the anchors threw it to news, but the problems continued. Sargent made her comment when she thought her mic was off, not in the middle of the broadcast as the video makes it seem. Melrose made his comment coming out of a commercial break even though ESPN forced Dana Jacobson to apologize for Melrose (Still paying for her drunken roast rant) and she said he didn’t know they were live.. It’s not Barry’s fault. He’s Canadian. Up there, “Welcome back to the show” means “All cameras and microphones are off.” And I’d think Van Pelt was already on thin ice seeing how Scott Van Pelt was suspended from his radio show last year for calling Bud Selig a pimp among other things.

3. ESPN cares for the overweight. Kornheiser clowned Berman’s weight and Simmons went with the lazy and purely ill-intended “fat” tag. Both got some form of a two week suspension. Only professional athletes are allowed to be called fat or out of shape at the Worldwide Leader.

4. The world overreacted to the Rush Limbaugh and Jemele Hill comments. Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin both agree in some part with Rush Limbaugh. What’s more offensive is that ESPN has been retreading the Donovan McNabb topic for the last seven years. In the conversation above Steve Young talks about Koy Detmer replacing McNabb. Everybody that’s calling for Kevin Kolb to start in place of 5 needs to pay attention to this history lesson.

Jemele Hill fell victim to the fake outrage because she was vocal about Don Imus’ comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. The two comments have nothing in common but in this tit-for-tat, finger-pointing age we live in she committed a mortal sin. She said something that could be construed as controversial after speaking out against something she found offensive. At least ESPN suspended the editor that let Hill’s comments go to print. Didn’t they?

ESPN has suspended Bill Simmons‘ use of Twitter after the Sports Guy used the social networking site to blast ESPN partner radio station WEEI in Boston. The Huffington Post has screencaps of the tweets where Simmons refers to WEEI hosts as washed up athletes, fat, and deceitful scumbags.

ESPN.com editor-in-chief Rob King had this to say about the suspension:

We have internal guidelines designed to inform how we discuss the topic of sports media. These guidelines are important us, because they help maintain the credibility with which ESPN operates.

No one knows the guidelines better than Bill Simmons, and he customarily works within these standards. He also understands, as does everyone else at ESPN, that we regard these guidelines as being equally important when participating in social media.

While it’s unfortunate — and sometimes painful — that not everyone outside of ESPN chooses to play by such rules, we choose to hold ourselves to higher standards. Regardless of the provocation, Bill’s communication regarding WEEI fell short of those standards. So we’ve taken appropriate measures.

OMG. No tweeting for two weeks for calling out some fat scumbags in Boston.. Is Simmons still allowed to use Facebook and text message? I hope he at least gets to keep his Xbox and go to the big dance this weekend.

By now everybody’s heard. ESPN denied the Steve Phillips banging a chick on the side story when Deadspin editor A.J. Daulerio called to inquire. Then the story turned out to be true so Daulerio called to ask ESPN about a few other rumors and by “called” I mean he posted them on Deadspin. Caught in the collateral damage were Erik “I’m a lawyer” Kuselias and Katie “Who am I and who gives a damn?” Lacey..

The Tubes nearly exploded-

The Deadspin Backlash [SB Nation]

AJ Daulerio Is An Asshole [MGoBlog]

Deadspin Embarrasses Itself With ESPN Posts [The Sporting Blog]

Phillies Return to World Series, Robots Taking Over Press Box & What ESPN Axe is Daulerio Grinding at Deadspin? [On The DL]

- but not everybody was putting Deadspin down or sticking up for ESPN.

DEADSPIN IS DOING THE LORD’S WORK [With Leather]

The outrage seems to go in one of two directions. They’re pissed because they feel A.J. and Deadspin crossed a line by delving into the personal lives of ESPN employees, or because those posts will make all sports bloggers look bad. I agree to an extent with the first take but not at all with the second.

I caught Daulerio on IM Thursday to get his thoughts on the kick in the balls he gave to ESPN.

HG: IMO… i thought you guys were trying to pull them in
not quite a publicity stunt
but definitely an act designed to raise awareness

Daulerio: I guess you could see it that way, sure. Did I lash out a little bit and create a spectacle? Yeah. Do I think there’s a larger issue here that’s being overlooked in the arbitrary nature of their policy? I think that’s in play as well.

HG: What was your intent, Nick’s (Denton) too if any?

Daulerio: Cause chaos, make news, create talking points. But that’s not Nick’s. In fact, I think he gets a little spooked by how I handle things sometimes. Probably not, though.

HG: What talking points were you hoping to create? You expect a lawsuit?

Daulerio: I think there are media ethics issues here — what’s the give-and-take between PR rep and reporter/writer/blogger and what happens when they steer you off a story due to some technicality even though there’s a long-standing history of transparency between the two parties. And how flimsy this whole “code of conduct” policy at ESPN actually is.
And, no, I don’t expect a lawsuit. I never expect a lawsuit.

ESPN issued a statement late Thursday:

A.J. says he lashed out, I call it overreacting. Posting the info only because ESPN dogged him on a story makes AJ and Deadspin seem petty. I’m not saying everybody would’ve been on board- because some people just don’t like to hear about guys cheating on their wives, women sleeping their way to the top, and the traveling crews flying in road beef- but more people would’ve been receptive to the posts if they had been rolled out normally instead of vindictively.

As far as making all sports bloggers look bad.. In the same way The Enquirer makes all print media look bad. It doesn’t. What we write and how we handle topics on our sites is what makes us look good or bad. I’m not hinging my credibility on the rest of the blogosphere. If somebody lumps all sports blogs together because of the actions of one sports blog, they’re an idiot. Why would I be mad at Plaschke over something Simers wrote? And if you think this is the worst thing Deadspin has done to damage the image of sports bloggers, you must not remember Waxing Off..

BetEd sign up bonus

The 2009 ESPN ESPY awards show airs July 19, and will be hosted by Samuel Jackson. I wanted ESPN to give Norm McDonald another shot at hosting the event, but after his first performance as the MC I was basically asking for a Team USA over Spain sized miracle.

Last year I got loose in the ESPN the Magazine ESPY Style Studios and got to interview some of the nominees. Here are some of the people I’ll have a shot at talking to if I go back this year.

BEST MALE ATHLETE
Kobe Bryant, NBA
LeBron James, NBA
Jimmie Johnson, Auto Racing
Michael Phelps, Swimming

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
Natalie Coughlin, Swimming
Nastia Liukin, Gymnastics
Maya Moore, NCAA Basketball
Candace Parker, WNBA
Serena Williams, Tennis

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
Michael Phelps, Olympic Swimming
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, Olympic Beach Volleyball

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
Shawn Johnson, Olympic Gymnastics
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

BEST RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE
Usain Bolt, Olympic Sprinter
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers
Michael Phelps, Olympic Swimmer

BEST UPSET
Mine That Bird wins the Kentucky Derby
Oregon State stuns then #1 USC
Tampa Bay Rays win the American League Championship Series
US Soccer shocks Spain in the Confederations Cup semifinals

BEST GAME
Federer vs. Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon Final
Steelers vs. Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII
Syracuse vs. Connecticut in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals

BEST MOMENT
Florida’s Tim Tebow’s speech
Helio Castroneves wins the Indy 500
US swim team wins thrilling finish in Olympic relay

BEST PLAY
Ovechkin vs. Rangers
Pacquiao KO’s Hatton
Roethlisberger to Holmes Super Bowl Winning TD
Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree makes game-winning catch vs. Texas

BEST TEAM
Connecticut Women’s Basketball
Los Angeles Lakers
North Carolina Men’s Basketball
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Steelers

Your 2009 ESPY Award Nominees Have Been Announced [Awful Announcing]

• The Dallas Cowboys released Adam “Pacman” Jones following allegations that Jones set-up a shooting

The Dallas Cowboys have parted ways with trouble-magnet Adam “Pacman” Jones after an ESPN report on Jones’ involvement in an Atlanta shooting. The allegations stem from a shooting outside of a strip club in 2007, and police say the case remains open even though they’re not investigating the incident anymore.

Jones spoke to the Dallas News’ Cowboys blog about being cut, and the chance of him filing a lawsuit against ESPN.

First Pacman reacted to being released:

Are you surprised?: “Surprised. Yeah, I was surprised. All I can do is keep working hard, keep my nose clean and hope for the best.”

Who told you?: “I got a phone call, just like you. I’m alright, I’m still here in Dallas. I will workout with Prime [Deion Sanders] and go from there.”

Did the fight you got into that caused you to get suspended for six games have anything to do with this?: “I don’t know. I got suspended for a couple of weeks, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

You sound like you’re taking this pretty good?: “If I beat myself up, who will take care of me. Football means a lot to me, but it’s not everything. It’s not like I’m taking it pretty good, I love me some me. I love Dallas. I want to stay here in Dallas.”

Did the fight mess you up?: Did you feel like you let people down? “Nothing to say about all of that. I will keep my head up. I love Dallas and still here in my house [in Prosper, Texas].”

Do you think you will get another shot with another team?: “We’ll see.”

After getting over the surprise of being dropped by the ‘Boys Pacman went into legal mode.

“It will be a lawsuit in a week against ESPN,” Jones said. “That’s stupid. It’s so stupid I have no more comments.”

I don’t know if the story is true or not. The dudes that got shot at in Atlanta might be trying to build on Pacman’s rep for talking to gunmen before shootings, or maybe they caught something through the grapevine. Either way, Pacman Jones has put in his last quarters for the NFL.

Lil Wayne joined ESPN’s First and Ten to take on Skip Bayless Tuesday and had his name changed from Lil Weezy to Lil Queezy. Here’s the first segment of the show:

You can peep the whole show here, but I’ll tell you up front it doesn’t get much better. If you’ve seen First and Ten before you know Skip usually tries to make the person on the other side of the table look like a jackass. Bayless was either afraid of Weezy F. or in love with him (The Carter 3 is Wayne’s Purple Rain?!?!?!) because he was nothing like the Skip we’re used too.. And Lil Wayne must have been off those alprazolama again because he wasn’t the Wayne I expected either.

Video Courtesy of Sportaphile

Snoop Dogg joined the panel on Around the Horn for a couple minutes to drop a couple of izzles and give his take on LeBron James heading to the New Jersey Nets.

ESPN loves rappers. Nelly and LL Cool J have battled Skip Bayless on First and Ten and now Snoop’s on ATH. It can’t be long until we see Kid-n-Play hosting Sportscenter.

Notre Dame sophomore tight end Will Yeatman and freshman center Mike Golic Jr. were two of the 41 people arrested at a South Bend, Indiana home early Sunday on misdemeanor alcohol charges. Yeatman and Golic partied with members of the Notre Dame soccer and lacrosse teams, probably in an attempt to drink away the Irish’s loss to Michigan St.

From FoxSports.com:

Police made the arrests after Notre Dame returned to South Bend following a 23-7 loss Saturday at Michigan State. St. Joseph County Police spokesman Sgt. Bill Redman said police were targeting businesses that reportedly had sold to minors when they received a report about the party.

Those arrested were taken to the St. Joseph County Jail. Neither Yeatman nor Golic, whose father, Mike Golic, co-hosts “Mike & Mike in the Morning” remained in the jail Sunday evening.

Damn.. Somebody’s snitching on the Irish. This could mean big trouble for Will Yeatman. He was arrested in January for driving drunk on a campus sidewalk, but was cut some leniency contingent upon Yeatman staying out of trouble for a year. He made it eight months. I hope he receives credit for getting close. As for Golic Jr., you would think his father would have schooled him on staying out of trouble. I’m interested to see how “Mike and Mike in the Morning” cover this story.