SportsNation, Steroid Use Out West and George Brett
ByColin, you said other day that you knew of two Dodgers on steroids at one point. Let it out brotha! Bill, LA
Never forget where most of the steroids in the last twenty years started; Wherever Jose Canseco was and in San Francisco (where BALCO was located). Funny how a couple great arms in the Bay area got big paychecks and then went belly-up, seemingly overnight. A source out West, with connections to both the Dodgers and Giants, said that it’s common knowledge within the game that one of those former star pitchers was a steroid user. Nobody even disputes it. Figure out the rest for yourself. We aren’t talking about the guy in the picture to the left either. It’s just always entertaining to see him acting like a fool.
Love your new TV show, how are the ratings? Jason, Orlando
In television you are looking to become ‘appointment viewing.’ That means the shows before and after you have similar ratings, but the show in the middle (SportsNation) spikes. So far, that’s happening. In fact, it happened by day two. ESPN recently put it on the primary network and it held its own, and usually had the best 18-35 demographics for most of the days programming. That’s a remarkable feet, I’m told, by a show that is only a couple weeks old. The network ’suits’ (management, or as I call them regularly mustaches) seem to be very pleased. If they’re happy, I’m happy.
.Doesn’t any of the criticism by the blogs or newspaper critics piss you off? Jared, Seattle
The only thing that has ever bothered me is criticism that’s grounded in a basic lack of knowledge. All they have to do 
is call and ask. Some early critics (and haven’t really been any substantial ones, mostly a few blogs which I was sent) say SportsNation should be a half hour, not an hour. They don’t understand basic television principles. When a show starts at 4pm and goes until 5pm, our audience substantially grows, not shrinks in the last 15 minutes. Why? More people get home from work. So SportsNation’s ratings get a BOOST from that last 30 minutes. Not the opposite. Secondly, here’s a dirty little secret of TV: Most people watch far less, of even the shows they like, than you think. The average Sportscenter viewer catches only 12 minutes. That’s it. So we don’t need or expect people to watch SportsNation in its entirety. Therefore, every segment is like its own little show. Listen, do you think the producers of the TODAY show think people sit there and watch 4 hours? Hell no! But they keep adding hours, not taking them away. Executives have even floated the idea, because of its early success in ratings, of expanding SportsNation.
Who is your favorite baseball player of all time? Kurt, Brockton MA
George Brett. As a guy who had to work pretty hard to get everything I got in life, I always appreciated Brett’s hustle and flat out determination on the field. You could tell that he really respected the game and never took anything for granted. And for all you young guys out there, Brett did what you probably thought was impossible. He won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals.
