 | As Barry Bonds found out, getting the best of Bob Costas in a battle of wits is a tall order. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images |
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Submit a question or comment for Richard.
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1. Pedro Gomez, ESPN reporter and Barry Bonds survivor:
For years he has been ESPN's Dostoevsky, a man imprisoned by Barry Bonds and his quest for baseball immortality. Thankfully, Gomez has handled his baseball Siberia with the utmost objectivity and professionalism. Asked this week to describe his relationship with the Giants outfielder, Gomez called it "extremely frosty, extremely cold." When Bonds finally passes Hank Aaron -- which cannot come soon enough -- ESPN needs to free Gomez from this gulag and offer him a less taxing assignment: covering David Beckham or debating Skip Bayless.
2. Bob Costas, HBO and NBC anchor:
You want the best people in the business to be fearless in their opinions. Here was Costas this month on Bonds: "I think reasonable people conclude that while he'd be a near-unanimous first-ballot Hall of Famer, he wouldn't be approaching the lifetime record without something that is inauthentic in the mix." Bonds responded by calling Costas "a little midget man who absolutely knows [nothing] about baseball, who never played the game before." But Costas stood tall, proclaiming that " as anyone can plainly see I'm 5-6 ˝ and a strapping 150. And unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally."
3. Dan Patrick, soon-to-be-ex ESPN anchor:
The end of an era arrives Aug. 17 when Patrick signs off from Bristol for the final time. It's a bold and courageous move for a broadcaster who could have coasted on his reputation for the rest of his career. Patrick called ESPN "a protective cocoon" and told SI.com last week that he didn't think he was doing great work in recent years. Look for him to appear on NBC sometime in 2008. As for his radio show, which has been a terrific listen for years, here are two storylines to follow: Can he maintain the same standard of guests without the long-reaching tentacles of ESPN? And will ESPN personalities be allowed to appear on his show?
4. Ted Leitner, feisty Padres radio announcer:
So, Ted, tell us how you really feel about the prospect of calling Bonds' record-setting home run? "I say, 'Please, God. Not here. Not me," Leitner told the North County (Ca.) Times. "I don't want this guy to break the record on my watch. I have no enthusiasm, no desire whatsoever for this because I have eyes. No one does what he does in his 40s without some help. Give me a break. This is a bastardization of history." Alrighty then.
5. ESPN Radio and Deadspin, radio partners:
In the surreal pairing of the month (and perhaps the year), ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, filling in for Patrick on his radio show, invited Deadspin editor Will Leitch to discuss the sports blogsphere among other topics. Given that Deadspin has slaughtered ESPN over the years, Leitch is a perplexing guest. Now here's where it gets full-fledged Courtney Love: Last year Deadspin ran an item which featured Van Pelt, in full Jon Favreau mode from Swingers, leaving a message on an answering machine for a woman he had met at a bar. Depending on where you stand, the item was either hilarious, incredibly unfair, or both. But if these two can share a microphone, perhaps there's hope for the Middle East.
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