Sports Online
Sports Media Pays Tribute To Mike Leach
“This is just a small list of the tributes and memories that poured in on Twitter. To put together a full list would take more bandwidth than we have here at BSM.”
Published
2 months agoon
By
BSM Staff
Mike Leach has passed away. He was 61 years old.
The Mississippi State football coach is the first active SEC coach to die since 1980 when Bo Raine was killed in a plane crash while recruiting for LSU.
While Leach could be the source of controversy at times, what most in the sports media remembered and loved about him was his irreverent personality.
He was a favorite interview subject of many that covered the sport and they paid tribute to the man on social media following his death.
"[Mike Leach was] the smartest coach I've ever been around. … He's one of the truly irreplaceable figures in the history of the game. Records are one thing … but the legacy that one leaves behind is what I heard from his many friends and coaching colleagues."
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 13, 2022
—@finebaum pic.twitter.com/JwIamgWCnW
Mike Leach was 1 of 1. Quirky personality with an unbelievable football mind. Look no further than Heisman trophy. 1-2 and 5 finishers coaches either played for or coached under Leach. Praying for his family & friends. Gonna be hard to replace that space in their hearts.
— David Pollack (@davidpollack47) December 13, 2022
Mike Leach had a law degree but never practiced law.
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) December 13, 2022
He had strong opinions about shrunken heads, ancient military tactics and cargo shorts.
He also changed the way nearly everyone at every level of football plays offense.
Goodbye to one of one.https://t.co/mTT6JlCSF2 pic.twitter.com/0NEyEALsaw
Our broadcasting team had the privilege of calling the last game of Coach Mike Leach’s distinguished career. The spirit and character his team played with that night embodied what I came to think of him as a coach and leader. My condolences to all who loved him. RIP coach. 🙏🏾
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) December 13, 2022
Mississippi State just announced that Mike Leach has passed away. His impact on football was— and will continue to be—truly remarkable….
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 13, 2022
Thank you Mike ❤️ pic.twitter.com/atY9eELO6P
RIP Mike Leach 🙏🏼
— Jesse James Palmer (@JessePalmerTV) December 13, 2022
Truly nobody like him on the sidelines or off the field.
Great memories laughing with him in meeting rooms, and trying to keep up on the scoreboard when we played against his high powered @UKFootball offense in ‘98 🏈
You will be missed. #RIP
RIP to Mike Leach. College football innovator and one of the great personalities in sports.
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) December 13, 2022
Mike Leach invited me to his house in Key West. It was not a big deal. He pretty much invited everyone he met down there.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 13, 2022
I never went. I regret that.
Mike Leach was a really interesting person who was really interested in other people.
That's a good way to be.
RIP
An incredibly sad and somber day for college football. Thinking of and praying for everyone who knew and loved Mike Leach.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 13, 2022
Now at @SatDownSouth:
— Matt Hayes (@MattHayesCFB) December 13, 2022
Mike Leach, the beautiful mind whose life was full and free of norms. (He was also a helluva football coach). https://t.co/ByzOIFs18T
RIP Mike Leach all time football guy pic.twitter.com/9xFiaLbQXX
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) December 13, 2022
The best part about a Mike Leach meeting was going off topic as soon as possible. There was no one more endearing than Mike Leach on a tangent.
— Anish Shroff (@AnishESPN) December 13, 2022
RIP Mike Leach, a true original and one of the greatest characters and coaches of an entire generation. Thoughts are with his loved ones right now. https://t.co/Qit8oe3QMd
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 13, 2022
RIP Coach Mike Leach. Damn…
— Landry Locker (@LandryLocker) December 13, 2022
Mike Leach, one of college football’s most distinctive personalities & innovative offensive minds, died Monday night, his family announced through university spokesman @sidsalter.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 13, 2022
He was 61.
Mike Leach was 1-of-1. He was one of the best characters in sports and was an innovator that helped change football. In a world where coaches are corporate and mostly the same, he stood out because he was genuinely himself.
— Brandon Walker (@BFW) December 13, 2022
This is a terrible day for college football.
There were few personalities in sports quite like Mike Leach, a breath of fresh air for sure.
— steakshapiro (@steakshapiro) December 13, 2022
RIP Coach.
Rest In Peace, my friend! We love you! #MikeLeach pic.twitter.com/QhKeuzaeIr
— Chris Childers (@ChildersRadio) December 13, 2022
This is a hard one for college football and especially hard for those of us who had a chance to get to know one of the most unique characters and brilliant minds the sport has ever known. Here is our news story on Mike Leach’s passing. He was 61. https://t.co/DgbgRuMR84
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) December 13, 2022
We take for granted the spread offense in college football these days. 25 years ago NO ONE was running it before Mike Leach got it going at Texas Tech. Changed the entire sport.
— Mintzy (@BarstoolMintzy) December 13, 2022
Blessed to have experienced Mike Leach. Truly one of a kind – still feels surreal. https://t.co/CFPuKOybO6
— Josh Pate (@LateKickJosh) December 13, 2022
The world and college football are a better place because of Mike Leach. We lost a legend and I’m going to miss my friend very much. I cannot believe this has happened. Devastating. I will cherish the many talks and laughs. He will be dearly missed. God Bless Mike’s family 🙏🙏🙏
— Sean Salisbury (@SeanUnfiltered) December 13, 2022
Here’s how you know someone made an inedible impression in their life. EVERYONE has at least one Mike Leach story. And each them starts and ends with a laugh and a smile. 🙏🏼🏈
— Matt Barrie (@MattBarrie) December 13, 2022
Mike Leach was an absolute treasure. Not just because of his clever one liners and legendary press conferences, but also because he made every single person around him feel important.
— Kayce Smith (@KayceSmith) December 13, 2022
Today is a sad day for college football. Prayers for his family and friends.
Mike Leach invited me down to his Key West home before his first year at Washington State. A walking tour that lasted 8 hours, 5 miles and a few adult beverages later I got to my hotel room and asked myself, "What just happened?" I will always remember The Pirate.
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) December 13, 2022
As unique as you could be was Mike Leach. Football was more fun because of him. RIP https://t.co/UeUvXUDTYN
— Cody Stoots (@Cody_Stoots) December 13, 2022
This is just a small list of the tributes and memories that poured in on Twitter. To put together a full list would take more bandwidth than we have here at BSM.
Credited as one of the creators of the Air Raid offense, Mike Leach revolutionized the game while serving as offensive coordinator at Kentucky under Hal Mummy. He eventually became the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, a role he held from 2000 until 2009 when he was fired amid accusations of mistreating a player that had suffered a concussion. After three seasons away from the sidelines, he became the head coach at Washington State in 2012. He left Pullman for Starkville in 2020.
During his career, Leach amassed a 158-107 record. He lead his teams to bowl games in 18 bowl games in his 21 seasons as a head coach.
Mike Leach is survived by his wife Sharon and four children: Janeen, Kimberly, Cody and Kiersten.
Sports Online
Bomani Jones: Chris Canty Made Me Rethink How I Look At This Job
“You’ve heard me say this before. I have a particular respect for former athletes that get in and treat this job with care like in the same way they would the other job.”
Published
2 days agoon
February 3, 2023By
BSM Staff The Right Time with Bomani Jones has been one of ESPN’s most successful podcasts recently. Part of the appeal is that the conversations can go anywhere. Jones and his guests talk plenty about sports, but they will venture into pop culture, current events, and more. When it is “Foxworth Friday”, there is a good chance that the show will give some insight on other ESPN personalities.
On the most recent edition of The Right Time, Bomani Jones and Domonique Foxworth discussed how hard it can be to come up with a unique view on a topic every single time you are asked to talk about it. When Foxworth said that ESPN Radio’s Chris Canty makes it a little easier for him to be entertaining in those moments, Jones added to the praise.
He discussed a conversation he and Canty had at a Halloween party hosted by FOX’s Nick Wright.
“You’ve heard me say this before. I have a particular respect for former athletes that get in and treat this job with care like in the same way they would the other job,” Jones said. “Chris was like ‘Hey man’. You know, he’s got a Super Bowl ring, but he’s like ‘I didn’t get a gold jacket. I wasn’t great at that. But this? I have a chance to be great at something else.’”
Bomani Jones was impressed by that attitude. He admitted that it was eye-opening.
“That really made me look back at how I do my job and was like ‘Yo, I need to be looking at this in a very similar way.’”
Foxworth agreed. He said that it isn’t hard to believe that Chris Canty wants to be great on TV and radio. It is easy to see when he is making an effort to get better.
“He works at it and he doesn’t rely on just one move,” Foxworth said. “Using the basketball analogy, he’s adding new stuff to his game.”
Chris Canty clearly has fans in Bristol. ESPN keeps finding ways to use him across multiple platforms. In addition to his daily ESPN Radio show with Chris Carlin, he also makes regular appearances on Get Up with Mike Greenberg.
Sports Online
Dave Portnoy Drops Appeal Of Lawsuit Against Business Insider
“In dropping the suit, both Portnoy and Insider have agreed to pay their own legal fees according to Awful Announcing.”
Published
2 days agoon
February 3, 2023By
BSM Staff Dave Portnoy is done with his legal fight against Insider. He filed an appeal after a judge dismissed his initial defamation suit in November. That appeal has been dropped.
Nich Carlson, the Global Editor-in-Chief of Insider, took to Twitter Friday to announce that the legal standoff had come to an end. He also notes that Insider is not surprised by the decision. The company stands by the reporting in the initial story, in which multiple women alleged that sexual encounters with Portnoy turned “violent and humiliating”. It was one of two stories the site published featuring these kinds of accusations against Portnoy.
Both sides will move on. In dropping the suit, both Portnoy and Insider have agreed to pay their own legal fees according to Awful Announcing.
In November, a Massachusetts judge ruled that Portnoy would have to prove that Insider acted with “actual malice” in publishing the stories. That was going to be a high bar considering that Dave Portnoy is a public figure.
Neither he nor his legal team have publicly commented about the status of the lawsuit.
Sports Online
Nick Wright: Majority of Media Got Tom Brady Retirement Story Wrong
“I don’t think people understand that these are not easy decisions.”
Published
2 days agoon
February 3, 2023By
BSM Staff The news of the retirement of Tom Brady wasn’t the most shocking development, but FS1 host Nick Wright believes the way some of media coverage around Brady evolved wasn’t handled correctly.
During his What’s Wright? with Nick Wright podcast, Wright argued that those who have been given tremendous talents are put in different situations than those who weren’t, stopping just short of saying Brady had a duty to continue to perform his craft. He later added that those joking about Brady’s marriage failing for an extra season in the league weren’t viewing the entire picture, and that the divorce wasn’t something worth joking about.
“I see a lot of stuff people are saying about Brady, and I think it’s bullshit,” Wright said. “‘Oh, you sacrificed your marriage to 8-9’. And I don’t think people understand that these are not easy decisions. These are not easy things, and people know we know we are at times putting yourself first, in a selfish way that you’re not supposed to as a parent.”
The First Things First host then said the situation is similar to one he experienced as a child, but grew to realize there were bigger things than simply being a parent.
“It’s what I learned from my own dad. My own dad — who I have massive admiration for — absolutely put me and my sister — at times — on the backburner to negotatioting the best bargain possible for the Kansas City Firefighters. His legacy — he’s a great dad, who I adore — (but) his life’s legacy is not the things he did for me and my sister, his real legacy is the things he did for those firefighters and their families. You have those push and pull things and you make decisions and you deal with the fallout of it. It’s really sad that he and Gisele didn’t make it.”
I think the majority of the media has gotten the Tom Brady retirement story wrong. I greatly empathize with what he was going through, and I got quite emotional when discussing my own similar family struggles. We discuss it here. pic.twitter.com/Mx5vJIga9K
— nick wright (@getnickwright) February 3, 2023