Floored to see Stark on cut list

Every sport has some type of cutdown day. The executive says, “We’re going another direction,” and the talent leaves with a box full of stuff while saying goodbye to coworkers thankful it wasn’t them.

Now a sports network had a cutdown day. It was never a mystery that ESPN was a bubble waiting to pop, as a friend texted me about the downsizes announced Wednesday. But it was, and still is, flooring to see the names on the list.

Two coworkers said, “Well, who’s on it?” I told them to look it up themselves. I wasn’t trying to be difficult; I just knew I’d forget somebody on a list of 100. I also knew the people who’d stand out to me wouldn’t be a radar blip for someone else.

One person in our sports department said, “They just canceled half of my favorite radio show, and the other half will have a reduced role.”

Jayson Stark’s name floored me. Andy Katz’ floored another. This paragraph could include 15 more sentences about shocking see-ya-laters.

For the immediate future of these people, I’m not too concerned. I am sure Stark will pop up somewhere with his column on why statistics show nobody will win the World Series this year. He writes it every year, and it’s fun to see who proves him wrong ... except for 1994.

There are plenty of people who survived the cuts that I’d have preferred not — but I don’t blame the people who survived. I’m willing to bet most of the people who hate Steven A. Smith’s loud and caustic style would be twice as loud and caustic for half his salary.

No matter who ESPN downsizes or keeps, the two biggest reasons for the cutbacks don’t change: Broadcasting rights fees have gone up, and cable subscribers have gone down. It’s a squeeze countless media outlets have felt for years, with more demands and fewer subscribers to subsidize those efforts.

For $65, I can either get a cable subscription where I might watch a third of the channels, or I can have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, NBA League Pass and HBO Go.

Former ESPN personality Bill Simmons said higherups believed the network would flourish as long as SportsCenter is a viable show, and reality has borne that out.

That was the case in the mid-1990s, when my friend would tell me to watch SportsCenter for that awesome Ken Griffey Jr. catch.

That’s not the case now. Same friend 20 years later. “Check YouTube for Odell Beckham Jr. The catch should be there in two minutes.” And it will be preserved about a dozen places online once the YouTube is wiped out for copyright violations.

I don’t know why I’d plan my night around SportsCenter. Unfortunately, I don’t know what ESPN could do to change that.

Kevin Wilson is managing editor for the Clovis office of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]