Sheridan's Credibility

[Moranis]

Colin Cowherd grilled Sheridan pretty hard yesterday and Sheridan stood by his report firmly, so I wouldn't say no one at ESPN is talking about it.  Cowherd respects Sheridan a lot and said so numerous times.

[notthebowler]

Colin Cowherd grilled Sheridan pretty hard yesterday and Sheridan stood by his report firmly, so I wouldn't say no one at ESPN is talking about it.  Cowherd respects Sheridan a lot and said so numerous times.

Yeah, I heard that interview and thought Sheridan came across as a pompous, condescending ass.  Of course, that has nothing to do with whether or not his report is accurate, LOL.  I just thought he had a "How dare you question me, I am above reproach" kind of attitude.

I had been apathetic about where James ends up, but after listening to Sheridan for 5 minutes I almost hope LBJ goes back to Miami, just to make him look foolish.

[D.o.s.]

Well he doesn't work for any of the major publications and I think the general belief is that he's just making an educated guess to get a "scoop" that will drive traffic to his blog.

Actually it's just the opposite.  He's very well connected and respected within the industry.  Does he get everything right?  No, but nobody does, that's why they're rumors.   I still trust Woj and Stein more but that's just me...

Right. Sheridan's less hack-y than more or less anyone at ESPN.

[TwinTower14]

Kind of off topic but does anyone else think this Letter thing that is getting floated out there because he had a last minute change of heart and he is heading to Miami? This way he can blame Gilbert and it won't make him look as bad???

[Snakehead]

Kind of off topic but does anyone else think this Letter thing that is getting floated out there because he had a last minute change of heart and he is heading to Miami? This way he can blame Gilbert and it won't make him look as bad???

Possible.  Since Cleveland has gotten their hopes up I have thought that LeBron still could go back to Miami and wondered how he would handle that.  With some effort to defend himself I'm sure (and reasonably so, I think).

I won't be bothered by Gilbert getting more blame personally.

[joepatsfan]

The NBA reporting community sucks. There is no Schefter or Rapoport or Breer or Mort.

Only NBA guys I really trust are Adrian Wojo or maybe Marc Stein

[Donoghus]

Well he doesn't work for any of the major publications and I think the general belief is that he's just making an educated guess to get a "scoop" that will drive traffic to his blog.

Actually it's just the opposite.  He's very well connected and respected within the industry.  Does he get everything right?  No, but nobody does, that's why they're rumors.   I still trust Woj and Stein more but that's just me...

Right. Sheridan's less hack-y than more or less anyone at ESPN.

ESPN is treating the Lebron saga literally as throwing anything at the wall & see what sticks.  They've looked horrible throughout this.  Broussard at the forefront too. 

It's amazing they keep trotting that guy out. 

[D.o.s.]

Well he doesn't work for any of the major publications and I think the general belief is that he's just making an educated guess to get a "scoop" that will drive traffic to his blog.

Actually it's just the opposite.  He's very well connected and respected within the industry.  Does he get everything right?  No, but nobody does, that's why they're rumors.   I still trust Woj and Stein more but that's just me...

Right. Sheridan's less hack-y than more or less anyone at ESPN.

ESPN is treating the Lebron saga literally as throwing anything at the wall & see what sticks.  They've looked horrible throughout this.  Broussard at the forefront too. 

It's amazing they keep trotting that guy out.

Broussard is their go-to LeBron guy, which should illustrate their bona fides right there.

I remain firmly convinced that the 24 hour cycle that ESPN runs on ruins reporters and analysts until/unless they escape into broadcasting the games, ala Doris Burke (who's actually a very good analyst when she isn't getting shortchanged as the token halftime reporter)

[Beat LA]

Well he doesn't work for any of the major publications and I think the general belief is that he's just making an educated guess to get a "scoop" that will drive traffic to his blog.

I wonder why he no longer works for ESPN, because he was one of their top NBA guys for quite awhile.  The same goes for Ric Bucher.  All of a sudden the guy just leaves and vanishes from every major network devoted to the sport.  I'm neither for nor against them, I was just curious.  Ah well, people leave their jobs for any of a myriad of reasons.  Rachel Nichols bolted for CNN, which is fine by me because her voice was just so exaggeratedly annoying, kind of like the female version of Jeremy Schaap, voice-wise, if that makes any sense. 

The most important detail here is why anyone would jump ship for the opportunity to work for CNN, haha

It was kind of funny how Sheridan's report was pretty much ignored, though, especially when you consider that the 'most trusted man' in this field is the journalistic juggernaut that is Chris Broussard

Bucher at least works for Bleacher Report which is a legit organization with money at this point since they got bought up.

I did not know that, TP.  When did this (bleacher report getting bought) happen?

CNN now owns Bleacher Report

So in other words, they're back to square one in terms of having zero credibility

[Beat LA]

I wonder why he no longer works for ESPN, because he was one of their top NBA guys for quite awhile.

There's some belief out there that ESPN didn't like that Sheridan filed a libel lawsuit (later settled out of court) against Peter Vecsey.  Sheridan took umbrage about Vecsey writing the following in December 2010, about two months before Carmelo Anthony was traded:

No doubt the same fountains of misinformation that frequently play make-believe with ESPN’s Chris Sheridan, whose latest fairy tale had Carmelo Anthony notifying the Nuggets he won’t accept a trade to any team but the Knicks.

While I thoroughly accept the presupposition ‘Melo will want to play in New York until the moment he understands that’s an impossibility unless he opts to become a free agent this summer, Sheridan’s account is such a fake he needs to be called out.

Neither Anthony nor representative Leon Rose has demanded anything of the sort from the Nuggets, or anything at all, for that matter. It never happened!

And that’s not the only part of Sheridan’s yarn that never happened. For months he has claimed the Knicks and Nuggets have discussed various trades, recklessly throwing out the names of Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler and Anthony Randolph, while pretending Denver may be interested in Eddy Curry’s expiring contract and that New York owns the extraneous wherewithal to acquire a No. 1 pick from a third team to include it in the package.

Sheer nonsense! Every last word!

Here is Sheridan's side of the story:

Several top editors at ESPN knew who my primary source was, and they, too, were displeased with the tone of Mr. Vecsey’s column. But they told me they were on the other side of libel law, they were busy defending themselves against several time-consuming and costly libel suits, and they could not be on both sides of the fence.

Here’s what I wrote to the managing editor of ESPN.com in an e-mail: “As you understand from our conversations, I feel I must protect my reputation as a journalist. I have spent 24 years building it, and if I am to maintain my professional integrity, I must defend myself.”

So I rocked the boat at ESPN, my contract subsequently ended, and I no longer work there.

My guess is that Sheridan has a legitimate source, but his source is in a position where the source could be wrong or Lebron changes his mind so that the source was right that James was strongly inclined towards going back to Cleveland at one point.

Wow, TP for the info.  I had no idea about that.  I know that Peter Vescey, even now, is one of the more senior and respected figures in the field of NBA journalism, having covered the league for what, 40 years now, but that's despicable.  What a tool. 

[Beat LA]

Well he doesn't work for any of the major publications and I think the general belief is that he's just making an educated guess to get a "scoop" that will drive traffic to his blog.

I wonder why he no longer works for ESPN, because he was one of their top NBA guys for quite awhile.  The same goes for Ric Bucher.  All of a sudden the guy just leaves and vanishes from every major network devoted to the sport.  I'm neither for nor against them, I was just curious.  Ah well, people leave their jobs for any of a myriad of reasons.  Rachel Nichols bolted for CNN, which is fine by me because her voice was just so exaggeratedly annoying, kind of like the female version of Jeremy Schaap, voice-wise, if that makes any sense.

The most important detail here is why anyone would jump ship for the opportunity to work for CNN, haha

It was kind of funny how Sheridan's report was pretty much ignored, though, especially when you consider that the 'most trusted names' in this field are the journalistic juggernaut that is Chris Broussard and Cartman's body double, Brian Windhorst

The problem isn't her voice per se, it's her awkward word emphasis. She always seems to emphasize words that deserve/require no emphasis in their particular sentence or context. It comes off as alien and robotic.

Exactly, although I do feel that her voice certainly contributes to the problem when it's just her reporting.  As an interviewer, she's great, and actually sounds like a normal person, haha.  The over-dramatization, however, is reaching Scott Pelley levels.  How does that guy stay awake when he's talking?  It's slow and condescending to the point where I begin to fall asleep halfway through a sentence, and trust me, I have the most boring voice imaginable haha.  Maybe they should come out with a recording of 'Scott Pelley - Sounds of the Newsroom' as a way to help people fall asleep, haha   I'm pretty confident that it would surpass the sounds of nature for the most effective method of curing insomnia

[Beat LA]

Well he doesn't work for any of the major publications and I think the general belief is that he's just making an educated guess to get a "scoop" that will drive traffic to his blog.

I wonder why he no longer works for ESPN, because he was one of their top NBA guys for quite awhile.  The same goes for Ric Bucher.  All of a sudden the guy just leaves and vanishes from every major network devoted to the sport.  I'm neither for nor against them, I was just curious.  Ah well, people leave their jobs for any of a myriad of reasons.  Rachel Nichols bolted for CNN, which is fine by me because her voice was just so exaggeratedly annoying, kind of like the female version of Jeremy Schaap, voice-wise, if that makes any sense.

The most important detail here is why anyone would jump ship for the opportunity to work for CNN, haha

It was kind of funny how Sheridan's report was pretty much ignored, though, especially when you consider that the 'most trusted names' in this field are the journalistic juggernaut that is Chris Broussard and Cartman's body double, Brian Windhorst

The problem isn't her voice per se, it's her awkward word emphasis. She always seems to emphasize words that deserve/require no emphasis in their particular sentence or context. It comes off as alien and robotic.

Kinda like Quest (CNN). Grating voice, I cannot comprehend his speech at times.

Yeah, where the hell did that guy even come from?  Wasn't he arrested for drug use once upon a time?  I can't decipher much of what he says either, haha, but at least Piers Morgan isn't there anymore.  God that guy was such a smug, pompous, and condescending assclown.  I can't stand CNN.