Why the fuck is Lennon's death on ESPN?

[MrRant 0]

You couldn't use the the fucking time to show... highlights could you?

[Darthtiki 0]

Because his death was announced by Cosell on MNF so therefore it is considered sports

[MrRant 0]

Bullshit

[nl5xsk1 0]

The anniversary fell mid-week, meaning there wasn't much NFL to cover, and even less college football to cover. There weren't many major trades in MLB to cover. It was a relatively quiet night in the NBA & college basketball. And ESPN refuses to acknowledge that the NHL is back.

 

So, their choices were: a long-ass thing about an ESPN-original movie or a long-ass thing about Cosell calling Lennon's death. They chose the latter.

 

It could have been worse: Stu Scott could have done a be-bop spoken word about it.

[Guest Leelee]

Like any of that matters...

 

Eventually, ESPN will find a way to not show any highlights, whatsoever.

[The Czech Republic 0]

be-bop spoken word

Bebop is instrumental. And wank

[nl5xsk1 0]

be-bop spoken word

Bebop is instrumental. And wank

Should I have used "beatnik-esque" in it's place?

 

Or should I just make a "Stu's spoken word was music to my ears" joke?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Having watched it, my god was that a self-indulgent piece of crap. No, Howard Cossel didn't elevate the moment. He made it worse.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I wasn't paying attention -- when was this announcement made, at the end of the game?...

[mike546 0]

With three seconds left, just before the Dolphins set up for a game winning FG.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Having watched it, my god was that a self-indulgent piece of crap. No, Howard Cossel didn't elevate the moment. He made it worse.

 

 

Everything Howard Cossel did was self-indulgent.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Having watched it, my god was that a self-indulgent piece of crap. No, Howard Cossel didn't elevate the moment. He made it worse.

 

 

Everything Howard Cossel did was self-indulgent.

Chris Berman takes notes on Howard Cosell.

[Fökai 0]

They also aired that "Anatomy of a Fix" segment that they aired years ago, passing it off as new content.

[nl5xsk1 0]

With three seconds left, just before the Dolphins set up for a game winning FG.

Actually, I think the Pats were going for the FG, not the Dolphins.

 

And I liked how Cosell prefaced his announcement by saying how unimportant football was compared to Lennon's death.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Wait a second.

 

If there was three seconds left, that means the game had to have been taking place past 11 p.m., if they kept the same time schedule back then.

 

This means that even though there was no real cable news networks, unless Lennon died at that very second (I don't know if he did or not), and NBC and cBS didn't make any announcements on their own 11 p.m. news broadcasts, ABC's local newscasts would have reported this in a matter of minutes after the game ended.

 

So what's the big deal -- am I missing something here?...

[Fökai 0]

^

 

Lennon died sometime around 10:45 p.m. From Wikipedia, who I usuallly take a grain of salt with, but they do sum up the ESPN segment well...

 

A stunned world was informed of his death by Dr Stephen Lynn who shortly before had broken the devastating news privately to an anxiously waiting Yoko. However, most Americans learned of the murder via an unusual source. When Lennon was shot, ABC Television was in the midst of airing their ratings bonanza, Monday Night Football. Instead of breaking to a news bulletin and against the wishes of his producers, legendary football announcer Howard Cosell (who had interviewed Lennon on MNF years earlier) went ahead and stunned the nation by announcing news of the murder with one of the most memorable and chilling calls in TV history:

 

Cosell: This, we have to say it, remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City. John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous perhaps of all the Beatles, shot 5 times in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead…on…arrival.

 

...and another summary of that segment...

 

Upone learning of the shooting, ABC News phoned the production team of MNF and told them what had happened. At that point Lennon was still alive but there was not much hope of survival. Twenty minutes later they called back with the news that he was dead. Cosell, who had struck up an unlikely friendship with Lennon after his MNF visit in 1974, broke the news to America. He did it in classic Cosell form; eloquent, dramatic, and respectful.

 

Being aware of the events of December 8, 1980 did not stop me from getting goose bumps as I heard Cosell deliver the news on via Sports Center replay. Twenty five years later and without the immeasurable shock value that Cosell's message had I still shook when Cosell said the words "dead on arrival." It is a testament to the magnitude of the Lennon; man and his legend.