There is wrath. And there is the wrath of Pam Oliver.
We felt it a few times. About a year ago, she was upset over the insightful, brilliant commentary we wrote about her partners Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Oliver came to their defense during a blistering telephone call.
If she was ticked over that, imagine how her mood swung after Fox Sports boss Eric Shanks yanked her from her role as Fox’s No. 1 sideline reporter, a post she held with great distinction for 12 seasons (she is entering her 20th year with Fox). The everything-is-cool pap coming out of her mouth now is robotic recitations from a scorned woman playing the role of company puppet.
Pam Oliver is loyal. Where exactly did that get her?
Oliver acting like a good soldier (gee, Shanks threw her a bone, allowing her to work this season with the maxi-hyped team of Kevin Burkhardt and John Lynch) is only topped by the Foxies spinning this as some sort of promotion.
“Pam Oliver Elevated To Senior Correspondent” is the headline of Fox’s press release, intended to put some high-gloss polish on her demotion. Either that, or the Foxies were going for laughs.
Oliver knew what was going down months ago — at least that’s what she said a couple of days before the Jersey Super Bowl. In 2012, she knew her days were numbered when Fox Sports invested heavily in Erin Andrews, 36, who is 17 years younger than Oliver, 53.
Oliver, like many other women in the television business, is a victim of prejudice. It’s no revelation. Think about it. Men who work for sports divisions are actually paid to find women they think other men will drool over while watching a football telecast. This is more than creepy.
Yet when it comes to men, the Foxies have no problem with a heavyweight, triple-chinned Tony Siragusa roaming the sidelines. Fox pays Siragusa for his football knowledge and comedic value. That’s the way it should be. His looks are irrelevant.
Yet the kind of experience Oliver brought to the table, her years of outstanding work, meant nothing to Fox Sports suits. When it comes to ageism, sexism, and double standards, the Foxies are now officially triple threats. Shanks probably spent more time counting the wrinkles on Oliver’s forehead than the number of quality reports she delivered over the course of her career. Or maybe it was her hair he was concerned with.
The bet here is Andrews is going to get more face time than any other sideline reporter in the business. The Foxies didn’t make this switch to keep her in cold storage. And if Shanks doesn’t like how Andrews ultimately performs (or looks), he can “borrow” one of the many blond talkers on Fox News Channel’s roster.
Last week, Andrews was the target of a Boston-based radio gasbag’s vulgarity and stupidity. In time she will get over it. Oliver had it far worse: she was mistreated by the people she works for.
Who think they are doing her a favor by making her a “senior” correspondent.
See?
FOX INFLUENCE? YES
Here’s evidence the Foxification of the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network is underway.
YES Network’s “This Week in Football,” which has been on the network for 12 years, won’t be returning this season. Economics played a role. The Foxies, who own a majority stake in YES, are looking to trim budgets at all their regional sports networks, making “TWIF” expendable.
Fox could look to replace “TWIF,” which featured Howard Cross, Daily News football columnist Gary Myers, Ross Tucker and Ryan Ruocco, with NFL programming currently airing on FS1.
PRISON BREAK?
Phil Jackson and Jose Calderon, the Knicks’ new point guard, obviously have not enrolled in James (Guitar Jimmy) Dolan’s and Professor Barry Watkins’ Gulag Media Training Academy.
Upon his arrival in the city, Calderon tweeted a picture of the Daily News’ front page announcing Carmelo Anthony’s return to the club. And last Thursday/Friday, two lengthy excerpts from Jax’s newly updated autobiography ran exclusively in the Daily News.
Considering the strained state of the Gulag-Daily News relationship, Guitar Jimmy must have been thrilled.
Yet Jackson is looking to carve out a new relationship with the media. In one of the book excerpts he said: “I’m not a fan of putting tight restrictions on the media. Instead I prefer to build trust within the group so that everyone is committed to protecting the team’s most vital secrets.”
Has Jax run that by Dolan?
SIMUL-KAY-ST
It now appears that when he debuted on YES in February, dumping a bottle of Diet Coke in the garbage, Michael Kay was symbolically predicting simulcast supremacy over Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa, whom he replaced.
Turns out Kay was correct. The 2014 viewership of his ESPN-98.7 simulcast on YES, with Don LaGreca, is 36% higher than the average number of eyeballs Francesa attracted on YES during the same time period in 2013 with his WFAN simulcast. Kay’s YES simulcast is also running ahead of the Pope’s FAN simulcast on FS1/FS2.
Strictly on the radio side, where their real bread is buttered, His Holiness is comfortably ahead of Kay’s ESPN-98.7 soiree in afternoon-drive ratings.
Yet it’s worth noting the Pope benefits from getting his ratings off two stations (660 AM and 101.9 FM). If this were just a one-on-one showdown, FM vs FM, the Francesa/Kay ratings battle would be a lot closer.
The Pope must be very happy WFAN has remained on 660 AM. And is probably using all his influence/mystical powers to keep it there.
KIM JONES-JETER?
In terms of unusual (OK, wacko) calls to the Valley of the Stupid, this one is right up there.
Tom from the Bronx, calling FAN’s Kimberly Jones/Marc Malusis on Tuesday, said Jones should propose to Derek Jeter, get married at home plate and honeymoon in a Stadium luxury box.
“I really don’t see where my idea is so far fetched,” an earnest sounding Tom said.
“I’ll mention it to Derek the next time I see him,” Jones said matterof-factly.
For some of these callers, creativity knows no bounds — or something like that.
DUDE OF THE WEEK: MESUT OZIL
For opening up his heart — and wallet. The midfielder for World Cup champion Germany went to the tournament with all intentions of sponsoring 11 Brazilian children who needed surgery through the BigShoe charity. After Germany won the Cup, Ozil decided to sponsor surgeries for 23 children, or one for every member of the team. Each player received about a $300,000 bonus for winning the Cup. Ozil, who also made major moo-la-di when he moved from Real Madrid to Arsenal last summer, is putting his share to great use. And also may have taken some of the sting out of that 7-1 beating Germany put on Brazil in the semifinals.
DWEEB OF THE WEEK: DICK MONFORT
As a tribute to those out-of-touch sports lords, we present Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort. He responded to one fan’s complaint about the underachieving club by stating: “If it is that upsetting don’t come to the games.” To prove his sensitivity chip is still active, Monfort agreed to meet one disenchanted fan for breakfast in Denver to discuss her concerns. They met at a joint called Snooze. Now that’s symbolic.
DOUBLE TALK
What Rex Ryan said: “8-8 would be a hell of a disappointment for us.”
What Rex Ryan meant to say: “8-8 and I’ll be looking for a TV gig.”
