Pittsburgh Sports Media

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I am not paid to cover or follow sports. It is just something I enjoy (Mostly and though this enjoyment seems to wane year by year) anyways.....

To those out of towners, on Sunday nights, 2 of the 3 local networks have a half hour Sports "showdown" a round table of 3 local journalists and a host. I usually try and watch these, not for really any informational value, but just entertainment value.

KDKA's is usually the best, but today it definitely had the second string on with Chris Mack, Jeff Hatthorn and Andrew Filaponey (all of the Fan) with Bob Pompeani as the host.

WPXI had its #1 lineup of Mark Madden, John Steigerwald and Rob Rossi.

Anyways, both stations had 3 main topics, The Pens debacle this weekend, the Steelers and Ben's signing and the NCAA tourney, not necessarily in that order.

I am not using this to judge "this guy is an idiot" or "I hate that guy" just a theme to show you how bad basketball coverage is in this town.

The 3 KDKA guys are younger, with at least 1 of them not a native yinzer, and they all talked about the NCAA tourney. And also Pitt.

The 3 WPXI guys, all local guys, 2 of the 3 covering sports here for at least 25 years, couldn't care less about the NCAA tourney. When asked about its excitement, they blew it off. Now all 3 are card carrying members of the local hockey media intelligentsia with 2 being a Penguin apologists and Rossi being totally dismissive of everything Penguin.

But to not care. At all. Not even be able to talk about it. I love hockey, the Pens are my favorite team in sports and I make no bones about it. But I can also watch two different sports in season, and certainly look forward to the NCAA tourney every year, moreso than Super Bowl, World Series, etc... And here is another dirty secret, because the NCAA tourney is so good, it is the one single team sporting event I can look forward to with equal enthusiasm without having my team (Pitt) in it or advancing. It is that good. For grizzled journalists to blow it off and dismiss it, saying things like it is a "farce because Robert Morris has no chance to advance.".......completely miss the point.

That is all you need to know about the local sports media and not just its collective basketball IQ, but.....their interest in it.

 

[CCHS-74]

Two observations....Pittsburgh is and has always been a pro sports town. Everything else pales in comparison. Doubt it will ever change.
The other thing is that local TV sports media are pretty much irrelevant when compared to the bombardment of national sports media we experience on cable TV and the Internet. I have lived in the Philadelphia market for almost 30 years and other than one afternoon radio host, I couldn't even name the local sports media. For me, they are totally irrelevant.

 

[geeman2001]

To be honest, with Pitt not in it,I'd have actually expected them to elevate the importance of it. To try to make Pitt feel more like a "have not" as is typical here. But then I remembered Penn State isn't in it either. So whenever that is the case, it's DEFINITELY not an important event, or viceversa if they'd made it. Sort of how these guys would normally scoff at the Pinstripe Bowl,but it was magically elevated to near-BCS level this time.

So in downplaying and scoffing it yesterday, well, they have obvious and dubious motives.

But to the point about scoffing at Robert Morris level programs participating, gotta say I agree wholeheartedly. Never have liked the idea. I think the tournament should be no more than the top 16 teams at most.

The way it is now it is little better than the Olympics, with programs like RMU (or our unworthy team this year, had it stumbled in), as shameless sideshows hoping for embarrassing upsets. It's why I've always personally favored the conference tournaments, esp the BE and ACC. But I recognize the masses like the idea of a freak David beating a Goliath, like the Jamaican Bob Sled team winning a medal. So it is what it is. To each their own.

 

[pitt-girl]

Recruits, to make matters worse THE TOURNAMENT IS IN PITTSBURGH THIS YEAR. How much more local does it get than that?

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Originally posted by pitt-girl:
Recruits, to make matters worse THE TOURNAMENT IS IN PITTSBURGH THIS YEAR. How much more local does it get than that?

Yeah, it is getting about as much coverage as the WPIAL finals.

Oh and to Geeman, yo, dial down the Oliver Stone like paranoia with the anti Pitt sentiments. It ain't quite like that. Jesus man, get a grip.

 

[geeman2001]

Well, it's pretty much EXACTLY like that.

And with the old coots in the media, it's definitely personal. Smizik admitted he disdained Pitt sports ever since he leaked an off the record account of dysfunction in the Fazio era, and Pitt's killer Bs came down on him. The guy admitted it in his blog a couple years back. Said he "regretted" it. Didn't change his attitude though. And why would it? He's 666 years old. Who changes at thar age?

As for the other old guys, mostly, it's the cut and dry ... ties to PSU in some way ... went there, or worked for em, or drinking buddies with old assistants, etc. So, they don't hestate to heap dirt on Pitt. Especially when Pitt makes it so easy.

But for the other, less geriatric media guys (aka, those under 80), it's likely not personal. Like most blathering talking heads, they just want to appeal to as big an audience they can. So their bias reflects the demo. Pitt doesn't have a large obsessed fan base they have to fear offending... unlike, well, we know the ones that turn over news vans.

Guys (emphasis on guys) in this media market sadly don't have the guts of a Sarah Ganim. Why not? Cuz that's just how yinzers want it. And yinzers don't like Pitt.

But that's on Pitt, and Pitt fans. Because, what does some anonymous bungee commentator on the FAN care who he cheers or rips in his show, really? He just wants the biggest audience.

Win, attend games fanatically = get financial power as a fan base, and then we can demand similar positivity that the big boys enjoy ... or do what we do (lose, don't attend), and get what we get.

 

[Bakkush]

What these guys don't realize ist hat 80% of Americans don't know who Malkin or even Crosby is the sports coverage in Pgh is strictly a Penguin show provincial as ever and yinzer as ever, suggest you listen to Mike and Mike in the morning for a full range of exciting sports talk. I called the Nightly Sports Call and ask them to mention the NCAA tournament in Pgh and that is why Pompeani did. Hey Pgh the guys in Arizona , Kentucky and about 40 other states all know who LeBron is.

 

[Piranha]

It is an embarrassment not to mention it. The tourney is in Pittsburgh, Bobby Mo is in it, and u have local guys coaching teams in it.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Originally posted by Bakkush:

What these guys don't realize ist hat 80% of Americans don't know who Malkin or even Crosby is the sports coverage in Pgh is strictly a Penguin show provincial as ever and yinzer as ever, suggest you listen to Mike and Mike in the morning for a full range of exciting sports talk. I called the Nightly Sports Call and ask them to mention the NCAA tournament in Pgh and that is why Pompeani did. Hey Pgh the guys in Arizona , Kentucky and about 40 other states all know who LeBron is.

I am a hockey fan first. What some hillbilly in Birmingham knows is irrelevant in Pittsburgh. That is not the point. The point is, it is the NCAA tourney. Pittsburgh is hosting 2 rounds. Calipari is coaching the #1 seed. I mean, it is March Madness and to utterly dismiss it, I don't get some of these guys. They are supposed to be sports journalists, which I think would make them fans somewhat.

 

[pitt-girl]

"Yinzer's don't like Pitt."

Unfortunately, I believe you are right. And that is inherently the issue with Pitt football and Heinz Field. Until Pitt starts winning consistently and becomes a NATIONAL media target, the locals will not show up. Pitt basketball was somewhat shielded in that the Pete is a much smaller venue, so demand outweighed supply (at least until recently) and of course, Pitt basketball has been winning at a high level for the last 14 years, give or take. The local media outside of a few, lack the cajones to step out of the Stillers, Penguins and now Pirates shadow. Add in that there are some (like Filiponi) who are LOOKING for an excuse to belittle Pitt, well, you get what you get. Pathetic.

 

[yc_ballcat]

Robert Morris had Villanova totally on the ropes as a 15 seed in 2010. Now, I had to double-check the year, and have no real recollection of play-by-play, but I still remember watching that game. Nova was very lucky to survive. Many guys, like Madden and Rossi, I can kind of forgive, but if you get "paid for your opinion" (as many like to say) in the Pittsburgh market, you should probably know about that game. I don't expect them to be Craig Meyer who covers the team but to say "they have no chance", yeah, is kind of lazy. The same disinterested guys could probably quote chapter and verse for a Pens or Steelers playoff game, though.

I think many in the local sports media just have their hands full covering some combination of hockey, football, and baseball, both the local teams and larger leagues. Adding basketball to that mix is almost overkill. It's hard enough to have an informed (/distinctive) perspective on 1-2 sports, let alone having to focus on 4 (5 really with CFB). Some probably just don't have the time. I guess you could argue some don't make the time because they lack interest. Of all the media, how many would rate basketball, even Pitt basketball, in their top 3? Probably not many, particularly the radio/TV guys.

Still, there is pretty good basketball commentary from many guests on the Cochran Sports Showdown, some on the radio (although I haven't listened in recent years), and in the newspapers, specifically Pitt but also larger NCAA issues. But I get the frustration expressed in this thread. Even with Pitt out, the success of Robert Morris and Consol being one of the sites should count for something. There's still time.

 

[yc_ballcat]

Furthermore, the last time the NCAA Tournament was in Pittsburgh (2012), there was very nearly a 1-16 upset. UNC Asheville, despite their leading scorer going 1-15 or something unbelievable like that, was only down 2 or 3 with under 20 seconds left against Syracuse. Some might remember there was a controversial call on the ensuing play along the sideline on a pass to Triche. UNC Asheville almost got the out-of-bounds TO with a chance to tie or take the lead but I think the refs got the right call on the foul and Syracuse survived.

So, you had a high profile Pitt rival in a near historic upset playing in Pittsburgh i.e. another opportunity to get the local media's attention. When the tournament was here in 1997, there was an actual 2-15 (or 3-14) upset involving South Carolina that is pretty well-known locally. I remember that upset getting some mention in the lead-up to the 2012 event at Consol.

 

[Saboteur]

The sport departments at the Steubenville and Wheeling TV stations are more informed generally than the names you listed.
And if you want a newspaper in the "region" with a legit sports section and informed writers, pick up the Plain Dealer in Cleveland.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Originally posted by pitt-girl:
"Yinzer's don't like Pitt."

Unfortunately, I believe you are right. And that is inherently the issue with Pitt football and Heinz Field. Until Pitt starts winning consistently and becomes a NATIONAL media target, the locals will not show up. Pitt basketball was somewhat shielded in that the Pete is a much smaller venue, so demand outweighed supply (at least until recently) and of course, Pitt basketball has been winning at a high level for the last 14 years, give or take. The local media outside of a few, lack the cajones to step out of the Stillers, Penguins and now Pirates shadow. Add in that there are some (like Filiponi) who are LOOKING for an excuse to belittle Pitt, well, you get what you get. Pathetic.

I am not sure it is this. I think it is more like "yinzers don't know why there is fuss over college sports because it is played by college kids and not professionals so coverage of Pitt takes away from Pro and HS sports".

There is no reason to hate on Pitt if you have no rival school affiliation, I just think (and I can use my own family as an example) that they don't understand why the fuss over a bunch of college kids.

Yet, a lot of these same people think (I don't live in New Castle just using that town as an example) "why isn't people talking about New Castle's playoff run an' at".

It is a weird dichotomy. Same goes with a lot of the local media, where one day the media talk about the "big time" atmosphere at certain schools, then condemns Pitt fans for "booing' college kids. The knife cuts on both sides.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Originally posted by yc_ballcat:
Robert Morris had Villanova totally on the ropes as a 15 seed in 2010. Now, I had to double-check the year, and have no real recollection of play-by-play, but I still remember watching that game. Nova was very lucky to survive. Many guys, like Madden and Rossi, I can kind of forgive, but if you get "paid for your opinion" (as many like to say) in the Pittsburgh market, you should probably know about that game. I don't expect them to be Craig Meyer who covers the team but to say "they have no chance", yeah, is kind of lazy. The same disinterested guys could probably quote chapter and verse for a Pens or Steelers playoff game, though.

I think many in the local sports media just have their hands full covering some combination of hockey, football, and baseball, both the local teams and larger leagues. Adding basketball to that mix is almost overkill. It's hard enough to have an informed (/distinctive) perspective on 1-2 sports, let alone having to focus on 4 (5 really with CFB). Some probably just don't have the time. I guess you could argue some don't make the time because they lack interest. Of all the media, how many would rate basketball, even Pitt basketball, in their top 3? Probably not many, particularly the radio/TV guys.

Still, there is pretty good basketball commentary from many guests on the Cochran Sports Showdown, some on the radio (although I haven't listened in recent years), and in the newspapers, specifically Pitt but also larger NCAA issues. But I get the frustration expressed in this thread. Even with Pitt out, the success of Robert Morris and Consol being one of the sites should count for something. There's still time.

As far as sports calories to be used, a good example is I am traveling with two coworkers the past two days, and they are also huge sports fans, both live in the south. They were asking me about college baseball (of all things) and I frankly told them I had absolutely no interest, no knowledge, no care of college baseball. That in the northeast, in a city like Pittsburgh, it is not even on the radar, and honestly, I am fine with that.

You only have so much time to devote to things. That is why I cannot get too excited if a local radio host cannot spout off Pitt recruits, especially out of town kids, when a caller calls in. I mean, there is only so much. Madden thinks he is a hockey guru, but if I would call in about some 18 year old draft prospect out of Ontario, he ain't going to know. People only have so much bandwidth.